[ WP ] The Seven Wonders of Space

*Attention passengers. This is the Captain, we will shortly be approaching our first stop. But first, I would like all of you to know -- * 
 
 The Tourist inserted his noise dampeners. He had been on several trips like this, he knew the story. He was a valued customer for choosing Sirius tourism, the company really hoped he could appreciate the value of this tour, and that he'd have Sirius fun looking at it. 
 
 The Seven Wonders tour was the most expensive on their registry. It was the last in their Seven Sevens product series, which included *The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World*, *The Seven Wonders of the Early Space Age*, and *The Seven Wonders of Modern Life*, along with others. 
 
 The Tourist had been on all of them. It was what he did. He had inherited quite a bit of money, invested it in a small company that would come to revolutionize interstellar travel. He never had to worry about money since. 
 
 A small light went on in his console. He removed the noise dampeners, just in time. 
 
 *Our first destination: The Tell Quasar! * 
 
 *The Tell Quasar is the -* 
 
 Again, in went the noise dampeners. The Tourist had read the guides, he knew more about the Quasar than the attendants. It was the largest black hole accessible to current technology, and it would require a massive leap of technology to reach the closest one which was larger. He came to see it. 
 
 Deliberately, he stood. Looking out the window, he saw a stunning sight. It was not so much as to take his breath away, but it certainly was something. The accretion disk stretched out, forming a proto-galaxy. 
 
 He had seen enough. He had seen many things, he was waiting on the crown jewel, the last stop. That was what he paid for. He pressed the button that signaled his permission to move on. 
 
 Several days later, they came to the second stop. The Tourist did n't bother removing his dampeners for this. They were the Dyson nursery children, the eight stars which had formed near enough to be in a single gravitational system. Four orbited the other four, forming a tangled gravitational mess. The area very near was one of the few areas considered impassable to modern vessels. 
 
 The third destination was a globular cluster. The Tourist slept through this and the fourth destination, a blue giant star, having seen them both on previous tours. He wanted the big prize. 
 
 The fifth destination merited a small look. He had seen cousins of Abraham's Folly before, but this was the largest and most intricate supernova remnant there was. It had been named after a vessel named Abraham, which had been caught in the original blast. It had been many centuries, and the formation had a more scientific name, but that particular one stuck through the generations. 
 
 The sixth destination was again one the Tourist did not care for. It was the Imperial City, a massive construction greater in size than the average inhabitable world, and wholly artificial. It was the pride of the Empire at large, permanently housing two trillion souls entirely on its own, integrated deep space communications for government management, on board shipyards build deep into the facility, and orbital defenses built in to the surface. Economically prosperous, home to the most citizens in the Empire, and militarily impregnable, it was truly a glorious achievement. 
 
 It was also the birthplace of the Tourist. Despite the insistence of the Captain and his superiors that it well deserved the title of second best sight in the universe, the Tourist considered it the ugliest world. He had grown up in the streets, before he had grown, before his inheritance had arrived, and he had seen far too much of the packed, underserved masses of the world. He would have nothing of it. 
 
 That was not to say that he did not understand why it was on the tour. He knew that the Empire gave Sirius Tourism a sizable propaganda stipend for placing the Imperial City where it was on the list. He did n't care, all that it hurt was a few days' wasted travel. The Tourist had plenty of time, and his destination was worth the wait. 
 
 The seventh, and ultimate, destination, the Tourist had not read the guide for. He had actively restricted his knowledge of it for years in anticipation. It was the only destination where he kept his noise dampeners out. He allowed the Captain's speech to pass, as the goal appeared. 
 
 The Seventh, and greatest, wonder of Space was a small world, about two sevenths the size of the Imperial City. It was mostly water, so much so that it appeared a vivid blue against the stark background of space. It had a single natural satellite, tidally locked to its parent, with old records of exploration on it's face, including a single large outpost that had been abandoned since it came into Imperial control. 
 
 The Tourist noted the grand comparison between the drab grayscale of the Imperial City and the lush greens and royal blues of this world. It was truly magnificent, the most beautiful world the Tourist had ever seen in all his travels. 
 
 And the only one in years which left him taken aback, breathless 
 
 Finally, the Captain stopped talking, and the Attendant started her description. 
 
 *Our seventh and final destination is Epsilon Zorovahri Three, Imperial Colony designation Z-0138c, common name Jewel. * 
 
 *Jewel is commonly regarded as the most beautiful world known to the Empire. While small, no world has ever been found which is more well suited to so many forms of life. * 
 
 *In fact, 90 % of all species known to the Empire are capable of survival without any ancillary equipment on Jewel, and nearly 20 % of those are native to this world! * 
 
 *For centuries, this world has been a favorite destination for Imperial citizens from all walks of life. It is truly marvelous, is n't it? * 
 
 *Now, for a small somber history lesson, which must accompany Jewel as a reminder of the costs of such beauty. * 
 
 *Long ago, when the empire found this world, nine billion individuals of the dominant native species inhabited it* 
 
 *They were rather intelligent, starting to strive into space, starting to colonize their moon* 
 
 *But we were greedy, and they treasured Jewel too much. * 
 
 *We exterminated them, in our haste to keep Jewel for ourselves. * 
 
 *They fought hard, for they had learned to treasure their beautiful world, and they would not let go of Jewel so easily* 
 
 *But the Empire was strong, and Jewel too great a prize. So we removed them, made sure they were gone so they would never challenge our hold on Jewel again* 
 
 *And so, we must treasure this world. The extinct natives had their own name for it. * 
 
 *For the extinct, but not forgotten human race, let us treasure Earth, for it is truly a gem which we can not afford to spoil. *
