[ WP ] Planets orbit their stars . Stars orbit the center of their galaxy . We just found what all the galaxies are orbiting .

It was almost eight in the morning, and I was collapsing onto the couch. The night shift at the factory was brutal; it was slowly eating away at my soul and energy. The job did n't even require me to do anything, I literally just walked around to make sure nothing was wrong. Technically, I was a night watchmen, but that title would have been too prodigious for what I did. 
 
 Every inch of me wanted to quit, but English majors were n't in high demand and I had student loans. As a result, I was stuck with the American dream: an excruciatingly boring job that paid the bills. Of course, my social life was all but gone. Relationships of any sort are impossible to maintain or develop when you're sleeping all day. 
 
 So here I was, a single guy fresh out of college, doing a job I hated. 
 
 Clumsily, I reached for the remote and popped on the television. My only friend nowadays. There never was anything on at eight in the morning, but that never stopped me from flipping through the channels. About 30 clicks in, I remembered that the President was supposed to give an address at eight. Figuring'why the hell not' I turned to the closest news station. Two anchors appeared in front of me, a man and a woman. The latter was speaking. 
 
 `` We have no clue as to why the President is addressing the nation, but we — like all of you — are dying to find out... What is this?'' The newswoman held her hand to an earpiece, `` Well, ladies and gentlemen, we now go to the White House for the President's address. We will be here to analyze the speech upon its finish.'' 
 
 Switching from the newsroom to the White House's pressroom, the screen showed me the leader of the free world standing behind a podium. The beginnings of these speeches were always filled with fluff, so, grunting form fatigue, I got up to appease my growling stomach. 
 
 `` Good morning to my fellow Americans and the other nations that have tuned in,'' the President started as I dragged my feet into the kitchen. 
 
 `` Today, I come to you with news that — and I put this conservatively — will shock the world.'' Filling a bowl with cereal, the phrase caught my ear. 
 
 `` As you know, 50 years ago the US decided to increase the budget of our space program; that investment had paid off.'' At this point, I was filling up a glass of water. The President had my attention now, so I left the box of cereal and pitcher of water on the counter as I hurried back into the living room. 
 
 `` 15 years ago, we launched the telescope Hermes 3 into space, in the opposite direction of the Hubble. Up until now, it collected interesting pictures of asteroids and distant, uninhabitable planets, but within the past two months it has answered an important question that we rarely think about. What are we revolving around? The moon orbits the Earth. The Earth orbits the Sun. The Sun orbits the center of the galaxy. But what does the galaxy revolve around? We now have that answer.'' 
 
 I'd never had any interest in science or space, but this speech had piqued my interest. The significance of this speech was monumental; anyone watching could have told you that. 
 
 `` The size of this object would have to be beyond anything we could ever imagine, and it is. A year go, we received images of what we originally believed to be stars, lights among the blackness. However, this looked different than the previous images of stars we'd received, so we've spent much of our time researching this further. The image was not of stars. Rather, it was lights on a planet that is billions of lightyears in size...'' 
 
 The President paused, letting the magnitude of what he'd just revealed sink in. My mouth was agape; I'd dropped my glass of water onto the floor. I felt like I was watching a science-fiction movie. 
 
 `` Secretly, we've been experimenting with technology that would allow us to travel much further than our solar system, as we've already visited all eight of its planets. It would allow us to travel beyond even our own galaxy, much further than we've ever been before. We are very close to perfecting this technology. 
 
 `` We've seen ships traveling to and from this titan-planet, which tells us that it is inhabitable, and that it houses a species that has intellect either equal to or beyond ours. With the technology we already use for interplanetary travel, we feel that we'd be able to utilize this technology to its full potential 
 
 `` We have made a decision: we want to visit this titan of a planet. The risk is understandably high, but we feel that the opportunity to trade technologies and histories with an alien species is too much to turn down. We need a crew, not just of scientists, but of all ethnicities and backgrounds. We need you.'' 
 
 The President pointed and I could feel him addressing me: the educated man who was unhappy with his life. 
 
 `` If you are interested in this opportunity, please call the number that your station will be displaying. Unfortunately, we will not be accepting members of a family. We do not want to risk disrupting the bonds of the existing families. I must remind you, the risks associated with this mission are great. We do not know the nature of the planet or its inhabitants, nor do we know what awaits us. Pioneers who do not fear death are needed. 
 
 `` I will be addressing this more as we plan this mission further. The process of choosing a team will be long and arduous, which is why we are starting now. Thank you, all. Today marks the next chapter in our planets history.'' 
 
 The President nodded and stepped out of the room. The shocked faces of the reporters took the screen, and before they could speak I muted the television. Shaking my way out of a shocked trance, I pulled out my cell phone. 
 
 I was going to change the world.
