Context
From the midst of the tranquility and solitude of the Abyss, the galactic core burns furiously with the light from billions of stars. Beyond that lies the struggles of humanity which appear to be nothing more than a pebble, washed continually by the cosmic tide on a sprawling interstellar beach. The inhabitants of the Milky Way are generally focused on the daily struggle of nurturing and protecting the grain of sand to which they lay claim. Their actions often echoing the all-consuming raw destructive nature of the environment in which they continue to survive and grow, against the odds.
But here in the majesty of the void between the Scutum-Centaurus and Sagittarius-Carina arms of the galaxy, the stillness of the expanse does little to betray the frenzied activity in the spaces around and between each shining point of light. For that is the mundane life. The galactic grind of moving people and things between two points; the engines of commerce. The perils of opportunism and the cataclysm of conflict.
For me these things are the foundations on which we exist. Yet my heart burns for something more. It is engulfed with the same ferocity as the cores of the stars which we pass by each day, for we exist in a place of wonder. A sea of perpetual sun rises and a galaxy of awe-inspiring majesty. You can choose to spend your time chasing each and every credit, living each day in the confines of mission parameters, no matter how noble the cause. But there is more to this existence than purely existing.
I must experience that which is beyond and travel into the unknown. Let me pass as a whispering harmony on the solar wind to observe, collect and record all there is to see. To know the unknown and experience that which, before today, was yet to be appreciated. For I am an explorer and with these words I imbue the tools of my trade with perpetual observation.
The Oath
Detect a presence within this vast expanse.
A something among the great absence.
Measure, catalog and analyze,
That which shall be first seen by my eyes.
Hold true to what is and what is not,
Capture, chronicle, scan and plot,
So I many find a place to land,
And experience this discovery firsthand.
No other has been here before this date,
To scan the rocks and plants that await
To contribute and enhance
Our collective sciences, do advance.
For I was here and did observe,
But held true my duty to preserve,
I leave it as once was found,
To my Explorer’s Oath, I am bound.
