Table of Contents

history class

Julia watched patiently as the children filed into her classroom.

“Last time,” she started, “we talked about the ship’s origins. Religious doctrine states that The Creator who built the ship and created us to live on it. That was 2300 megarotations ago, at least according to our central clock. He put us on a course towards Andromeda, where we will find a planet of milk and honey.

Of course, this is the subject of a lively debate. It is also said that our forefathers lived on an inhabitable planet. That this ship was actually built by humans. That there may have been other ships. These people often believe that we need to seek another inhabitable planet in this galaxy, rather than travel all the way to Andromeda.

Both sides have valid arguments. There is no proof for a Creator. The belief requires a leap of faith.

But the religious point out that the notion of humans building this ship is quite absurd. For example, we do not know how the ship’s engine works. At 2300 megarotations, humanity is some 230 generations old. And 230 generations of our best minds have tried to figure out how the engine works, but have failed.

Other questions remain: What is the purpose of this ship? Are we alone, or are there other ships? And if we departed from a planet, is that still inhabited? Or did we have to flee that planet?