[ WP ] Humanity recovers after a second Dark Age in the far future . Civilization decides to expand into the stars , but finds humans from before the collapse of society are already living on nearby worlds .

The man looked around, the helmet that he wore limiting his field of view significantly, and forcing the man to turn his entire body to see. He had landed on the far side of the moon, the side not able to be seen by their telescopes. They had decided to expand outwards in the galaxy, to grow as a civilization both technologically and culturally. Naturally, the moon was the first step. 
 
 Their ship was large, and held over a million people. hopefully enough to establish the first off-planet colony. They had succeeded in testing the colony prototype at the southern tip of the planet, where very few people lived anymore. 
 
 The man was breathing deeply. He should n't be seeing what he was seeing, it should n't exist. What's worse, it was n't even aliens. He could have lived with what he was seeing if it was aliens. 
 
 The people were starting to stop and stare as well. This was likely unusual for them, up here in their thriving world. 
 
 His helmet communicator buzzed to life. 
 
 `` Unidentified male, state your purpose, and colony of origin.'' a soothing female voice said to him. 
 
 `` Um, we were sent here to colonize the moon. We're from Earth.'' he stammered. 
 
 `` Earth?'' she asked. Her voice cracking. `` That's impossible. No one lives on Earth, not after the event.'' 
 
 `` The event? What event?'' the man asked. Dark thoughts started seeping into his mind. Thoughts of a destroyed world, of the people on his ship being the last, began to invade his thoughts. 
 
 `` I do n't remember, it was a long time ago, we do n't cover it very well in history class. Something happened about fifteen thousand years ago. It was cataclysmic, completely reverted everything there to the dark ages. I thought that everyone had been picked up and taken away, and that no one lived there any more. 
 
 `` I do n't know anything about that. I just know that civilization has expanded rapidly in the last five hundred years or so, and that the decision was made to expand and live among the stars. The moon was the first place we picked. But... you're already here, and this city...'' the man in the space suit trailed off, staring at the city before him. The giant glass dome that covered it was transparent, allowing him to see the towering buildings and beautiful trees and gardens. 
 
 `` We've been here for at least eighteen thousand years. We're mostly a production facility, covering most of the side of the moon that's always facing away from the earth. We produce plenty enough food to ship out to the other colonies on Mars, Pluto, Neptune, and several of Jupiter's moons. We do n't ship out to the people in other systems though, the produce their own food there for the most part.'' 
 
 `` You're, you're saying that there are more places like this? More colonies of humans?'' 
 
 `` Of course, were n't you listening? We've been here for eighteen thousand years. Humans have expanded across the galaxy, we're everywhere.'' 
 
 `` But, how do you have a centralized government?'' the man asked. 
 
 `` Oh please, government was done away with over three thousand years ago, and it was the best thing that ever happened to us.'' 
 
 `` So who enforces laws? Who prevents crime?'' 
 
 `` There are no laws, there's no need. People here, they get that crime does n't help anything. It just detracts from the society as a whole. Plus, most of the crime that existed was as a result of poverty, and once we did away with money and social class, crime was completely a thing of the past.'' 
 
 `` No money? But, how do people **buy** things?'' 
 
 `` They do n't, if you need something, you go to the market and get it. People only get what they need to live off of happily, and they do n't want for anything more. It's a paradise up here. So here's the deal. I'll let you and your people in, if you agree not to mess anything up.'' 
 
 The man looked back to the ship, at over a million people that he knew to be aboard, and knew that they would never be able to adapt to this society; and he knew that it would be unfair of them to mess it up. These million people could completely mess up a system of what had to be trillions of people that spanned the galaxy. There was only one thing to do, that would ensure that the colonization push was forgotten about forever, and never tried again. At least not until they were ready. 
 
 The man got back on the ship, moving quickly back up to the bridge and sitting down behind the controls. He explained the situation to the other five people that he needed to help him control the ship. The agreement was unanimous. 
 
 They flew the ship out four hundred miles from the moon, still using its mass to shield them from the earth. the man took a deep breath, knowing that it would be his last. With a single typed command, he detonated the ship, incinerating everything on board instantly, and protecting the way of life for trillions of people.
