SpacePipe

It was unusually warm and beautiful for an April morning. Jason Torres welcomed his day off outside with fresh coffee and a nonchalant flick through the newspaper. His focus was on his two boys, Lucas and Jake, playfully wrestling nearby in the backyard. They had not seemed to enjoy life as much as this morning since their mother passed many months ago. Jake was the first to notice the unusual shadow on the ground. The family all looked up to see the faint line in the vivid blue sky. "What is that?" asked Lucas, the elder of the two boys. Jason was torn. Even a Ph.D in astrophysics could not prepare him for his son’s question. News reports interrupted normal television programming for the rest of the day, with updates hourly on the structure and origin of the phenomenon. Jason ignored these, instead opting to spend the rest of the day with his boys. Working as a single parent meant days like these were rare.

The next day, Jason sent the boys off to school then cycled into work at the research centre to a flurry of activity. Whiteboards were constantly inked with equations and erased like the windshield of a car during rain. The artefact in the sky was determined to be cylindrical in nature and was dubbed “Space Pipe” by the media. The afternoon was broken up with a visit by officials from the national aeronautics division. The highest ranking official stated that the team was looking for the most physically able astrophysicist for a one-way flight investigating the internal structure of the artefact to determine its safety. Jason’s physical fitness from his insistence on cycling led the other scientists in the room to all silently turn their heads towards him. “Please. We’re depending on you...” implored one of the lower ranking officials.

Jason felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he agreed to three years of extensive training. It was physically and mentally draining, involving daily exercises in simulated zero-gravity, and meetings with a psychologist. It was only through the thought of ensuring the safety of both his boys that he was able to accept his fate. Lucas was beginning to show an interest in engineering, while Jake was always able to win his way out of any argument. The proud father expected he will make a great lawyer some day.

The scheduled departure date finally arrived, despite being postponed by the various religious groups founded since the event, as well as a number of developed religions taking credit for the existence of the unknown structure. Jason took one last moment with his now teenage boys. Wiping tears away for the final goodbye, he reassured them to not be afraid as if he can be brave, they can too. After climbing into the customised gold and white capsule and triple checking all instruments the engines rushed on. As the capsule was raised from the Earth to the impeccable blue sky, a thought kept occurring to Jason. He could not help but think how unusually warm and beautiful it was for an April morning.

SPACE PIPE INSTRUCTIONS

Tap bottom left to turn left.
Tap bottom right to turn right.
Tap the top half of the screen to jump.