[ WP ] You are sent on a spaceship to colonize another world , before you leave you are told the next generation of ships will beat you to the new planet carrying your supplies and food . When your ship finally arrives you are the first and only ship there .

`` OK, so what does the MU-TH-UR say?'' 
 
 `` Hang on a minute, it's just collating the last of the data.'' 
 
 `` Jesus, I thought this thing was a supercomputer! My skin is crawling waiting for an answer!'' 
 
 `` We both know what it's going to say. More or less. There are only a few explanations and only a few options for us.'' 
 
 `` I know, I know! But I want to hear it say it, or print it out or display it or whatever it does! I'm not resigning myself to anything until we absolutely have to.'' 
 
 The two men waited another 15 minutes in silence. One sitting at the screen staring. The other pacing and shuffling in silence nearby, clenching and unclenching his hands. 
 
 `` OK, here it is.'' 
 
 `` Finally!'' 
 
 `` OK, well regards why the supply ships are not here ahead of us; it says the fleet launched fine but telemetry was lost 50 years into the journey for unknown reasons. That would be about 75 years after we left.'' 
 
 `` Unknown reasons?'' 
 
 `` Yeah, but, MU-TH-UR also conducted a search of media content that was beamed out from that time and...'' 
 
 `` And what kid?'' 
 
 `` A war. The supply fleet must have gotten caught in the crossfire.'' 
 
 `` Oh for fuck's sake! I thought we had moved passed all that shit when we left! What was it this time? More religious shit? Did someone start a war because they disagreed on what side of his pants their particular sky wizard kept his dick?'' 
 
 `` No. MU-TH-UR says it was a series of natural disasters over the course of a few decades that exacerbated climate change and that led to resource wars for water and food.'' 
 
 `` Christ. Is there anyone left back there?'' 
 
 `` Unknown. No new media has been beamed out for 12 years. You can read it yourself, but it did not look good at last data dump.'' 
 
 `` OK, well never let any one say scientists are n't pragmatic. What does it say about our current predicament?'' 
 
 `` It estimates that without supplies, even with cannibalizing the ship, establishing a sustainable colony here would take at least two years. We were slightly slower in getting here than originally calculated. MU-TH-UR made the flight adjustments while we were under, but either way, it means we did not get here in spring as planned and this planet's winter is coming on fast and...'' 
 
 `` Will you stop with the pauses! Move, I'll read it myself.'' 
 
 The two men changed places. 
 
 `` Fuck! 95 %. We would lose 95 % of our crew in the first 6 months alone!'' 
 
 `` Well what do you expect? Minimal medical supplies, minimal rations, minimal shelter or power and winter coming on quick on an alien planet.'' 
 
 `` I know, but it's hard seeing it written so plainly like that.'' 
 
 `` Well, like you said, we should be pragmatic. I'll start the wake-up process and once the rest of us are awake we can start making plans.'' 
 
 `` Wait. Hang on a minute.'' 
 
 `` What?'' 
 
 `` Let me just put in a few variables here.'' 
 
 `` Aw come on. It will take forever. Let's just go get started.'' 
 
 `` No trust me, this will be quick. I'm just changing a few numbers. There, see; it's already done.'' 
 
 `` What is it?'' 
 
 `` OK well, I changed the number of starting survivors down to the 50 losing 95 % would leave us with and asked MU-TH-UR to give me a survival strategy again.'' 
 
 `` What do you mean'starting survivors'? No one is dead. Everyone other than us is alive and well in their tanks.'' 
 
 `` Just wait, listen to this; if we started with only 50 people we could stay living on the ship without having to dismantle it for parts, everyone would survive the winter and in the new year MU-TH-UR estimates we could have a sustainable system for indefinite living within 6 months.'' 
 
 `` Yeah, but there are n't only 50 of us. There are 1000 of us.'' 
 
 `` Look, I'm being pragmatic. Which do you want to do? Wake everybody up, break the news about Earth, about our situation, wait for us all to argue it out and then spend the winter burying the dead or in reality probably just dumping their bodies outside because the ground is too hard to dig. Or do you want to take care of them now, cleanly and try to scavenge some sort of comfort from the rest of our time here? I mean we're not getting rescued, we're not going home. If we wake them all up, wake up those other 950 mouths to feed and bodies to warm it will just be a question of living as if we are on some intergalactic gulag waiting until we die.'' 
 
 `` How... I ca n't....'' 
 
 `` Look we do it this way, we can still complete the mission. We can still establish a colony, we can grow the community, we can do research. We'll just tell the 50 we wake up that there was an accident of some sort. Then maybe in a century or so when Earth rebuilds they can come here and find a great city instead of a cold fucking graveyard. We just need to make this one decision.'' 
 
 The two men stood in silence again. One with his mind made up and looking expectantly at the other who was yet to decide. 
 
 `` OK. I... I agree. But...'' 
 
 `` How do we choose who lives? Like I said, we're scientists. We look at the files and talk to MU-TH-UR and see who gives us the best chance of survival.'' 
 
 `` We... we... we'll have to take potential mating options into account too.'' 
 
 `` Of course we will! And hey, there are more than a few lookers among the group if I remember correctly. And no turning down the nerds now, it's for the good of the species!'' 
 
 The other man smiled in spite of himself. 
 
 The first man stood up and put his arm around the other man's shoulders. 
 
 ``'Atta boy! It will all work out, you'll see. We can even set up our own science awards or something. This time next year you'll have a Nobel prize and,'' the man winked `` I know you had your eye on that French engineer with the huge tits. She'll lap up you up kid!''
