[ WP ] Humanity ventures far and wide into space , but we are horribly unprepared for what we find .

Joanna opened her locker and stared at the pictures of Earth. Some of the cutouts were curling and yellowed at the edges, it had been seven generations since their ship had left. A digital voice came on over the closest intercom to let her know that she was supposed to arrive at her station in five minutes, she gingerly closed the door and headed down the sterile white hallway. A TV was playing the European President's speech from the day the ship left. 
 
 `` Do you fear that we might encounter something more powerful than us?'' asked a reporter who recorded the interview on her cell phone. 
 `` No,'' replied the President, her English showing her Belgian heritage, `` I believe any species as scientifically advanced as our own would be intelligent enough to recognize the benefits of peace and commerce. Our Dyson bubble should indicate our own progress, intelligence, and capability.'' 
 
 Joanna laughed. The footage of the launch day, and the full week of festivities that preceded it, came on at least twice a year on the ship. There were other television shows too, entirely reruns. 
 
 At the end of the the walkway, Joanna turned to a white room with a large window, 3 others sat at their desks watching screens of scrolling data. Her table was familiar, the computer had chosen Monitor for her profession after she graduated from the academy and she had been watching the data for almost a decade now. In past times, and in the computer's programming, this job had been prestigious. She turned on her computer by pressing her thumb to a box on its lower corner, then put on her headphones, which had different colored ear pads from two different brands, and a headband from a third. 
 
 A hand tapped her shoulder, it was Hyung-min Park, he was pointing to his haircut with his other hand. 
 `` Do you like it?'' 
 `` I'm on duty. But yes. It's cute. Now let me get back to work.'' 
 `` You're not going to see anything. Nobody has seen anything in 200 years. Take the day off, the sweet potatoes are being harvested today and it's one of your only chances to get one before it's turned into paste.'' 
 
 She turned away from him and looked at her screen, her fingers weaving to form a rest for her chin. 
 
 `` You do n't think I'm ever going to find anything, do you?'' she said. 
 `` We've never even found a radio signal. You're matching hydrogen's frequency, you've got Sarah matching carbon's, Diego is on silicone's, and Jonathan changes every day. None of you have even heard a single blip.'' 
 Joanna sighed. 
 `` Nothing from Earth, either. I still check it every day, even if the war happened before I was born.'' 
 Hyung-min looked out the window. 
 `` We've been looking for a new planet for a long time in Scout. Nothing matches, there's so many near-Goldilocks that end up having sulfur or carbon dioxide atmospheres.'' 
 `` Park, what if we're all there is?''
