The Abyss / Season 1, Episode 10
The Threshold
THE ABYSS Season 1, Episode 10: "The Threshold" --- [CHAPTER 1: THE LAUNCH] The starship Endeavor launched on a clear morning in 2089, fifty years after Mira Chen first descended into the Mariana Trench. Elena watched from the control center, seventy-two years old now, her hair silver like her mother's had been before she died. Mira had lived to see humanity reach the edges of the solar system, but she'd passed peacefully in her sleep three years ago, having finally made peace with the entity that had defined her life. The memorial service had been attended by thousands—human and communed alike. The entity itself had sent a message, the first time it had ever acknowledged a single human death: "SHE TAUGHT US WHAT IT MEANS TO SAY NO. SHE TAUGHT US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE. SHE WILL BE REMEMBERED UNTIL THE LAST STAR DIES." Now humanity was taking the next step. The Endeavor's engines—a hybrid of human engineering and communion-shared technology—would carry a crew of two hundred to Proxima Centauri. A journey of four years, made possible by advances that neither species could have achieved alone. "Final systems check complete," reported Captain Singh from the bridge. "All departments report ready for quantum translation." "You're cleared for departure, Endeavor," Elena answered. "Godspeed." "Ambassador Chen?" Singh's voice was hesitant. "The...