[ WP ] You are an explorer , it is today and technology is as it is ... but the world really IS flat . As far as the biggest telescope has seen or the furthest travelled probe has gone , it 's totally flat .

Sarah squinted at the horizon, watching its seas of grass wave in the sunset. At least the scenery changed every day she's looked westward for the past forty years. 
 
 She looked down at her laptop, her trusty laptop that's been functional since it was built in the late 80's. It was one of the last pieces of equipment she received via a rocket resupply, but eventually she had gone beyond the range of even those. It's surprising the springs in those keys still hold - clacking away, she fires off a short message: 
 
 < Soon we'll have to deploy another signals relay balloon - but we've been running low on these and have been trying hard to max out the range of each one before sending up another. At 1800 miles driven per day, we might run out by the end of the year. Please acknowledge and advise. > 
 
 It'll be over two minutes at the speed of light before headquarters receives that message. But it's been years since she's gotten a response. She held some hope the signals have the power to make it back after bouncing so many times, but even if it did n't - she knew her mission was clear. 
 
 Charged with preparing the country for a second manifest destiny at the peak of the cold war, Sarah knew her life's work was n't to be in vain - it could provide salvation to her countrymen. Sometimes she'd like to think she'll find the end of the world in her lifetime, just to prove the theorists who think it continues forever wrong. But even if she did n't make it, she knew her team will have gathered an invaluable amount of data regarding terrain, navigation, resources for those who follow. 
 
 Her research team members are starting to arrive back with forage for the day. Her mechanics have finished maintaining their gigantic solar rover that's been their home for so long. Slowly winding down the day to rest, a beep on her laptop startles her... 
 
 she had almost forgotten what that meant. 
 
 < Dr. Sarah Armstrong, this is the pilot-on-shift for Long Endurance UAV-2013, Please acknowledge. We'll be passing overhead at 0700 tomorrow to take over mapping sector 18392.992U. Please return to Washington for debrief. >
