Orion's Arm Universe Project
Happenings on the Quasi-Generational Ship Rabelais
by InterstellarSleeper (2025)
To the Director of the Ecosystem Affairs, Colonial and Exploration Missions Division Satellite Office
Hello John, I hope my message finds you well. We met at the "Habitats in Rotation" symposium at Piazzi Orbital and you told me I could reach out to you whenever I had a request. I am sending this letter in advance of a formal proposal that I believe will be beneficial not just for the Genens, but the Federation as a whole. My formal title is Lead Researcher of the Quasi-Generational Ship Institute on Horvat Station and I represent one of many dedicated Genens working to catalog successful and lost missions that our clade has launched over the centuries. The ships were manned by generations of crew called Caretakers that monitored the vessel's systems as well as the Genetekker genetic material used in birthing at their destination. To provide some understanding of the importance of our mission to House Genen and the Federation, I would like to describe a recent visit to the "Monument to the Genen Explorers and Colonists" on Horvat Station's Spoke One.
My visit to the monument took place about one month ago. The quasi-generation ship shaped monument stretches three kilometers up one of our habitat's spokes. The monument is composed of a high tensile metal and features our House's insignia, the Genen Gene, at its Apex, the ship shaped monument's bow. As those in your office may be aware, this monument is dedicated to the ancestors of House Genen who voyaged beyond the Jovian System and Solsys. The colonists' names are inscribed along the full height of the structure. Just as I did that day, many Genens make the journey to the venerated memorial to honor the memory of our ancestors by climbing the spoke and reading the names of those venturing travelers on its shiny metallic surface. As I climbed the spoke and read the names that day, I kept thinking 'What were our ancestors like?' 'Where are they now?' When I made it to the top, I was afforded a grand view of our home, with its seemingly endless supply of flora and fauna in cyclical, symbiotic relationships of near perfection in the Genen way. After taking in the view, I read our House's dedication placed on a placard, written in the old Jovian tongue: "To those brave, intrepid Genens who paved the way for our Genes to spread to the far-flung worlds of the void." This visit to the great monument reinforced my commitment to commemorate the ambition of our ancestors.
For any members in your directorate who are not familiar with our history, one of the successful missions was that of the Rabelais. Its destination was a planet in the Iota Horologii system named Heket, but now called Frog's Head. According to our records, the Rabelais was launched in 791 AT during a dark and calamitous time in Solsys's history and arrived at Frog's Head in approximately 1611 AT. What made the voyage particularly notable is that it was fully launched without the assistance of GAIA. The vessel was constructed and launched from one of the Trojan asteroids in Jupiter's orbit. The Genetekkers elected to use nuclear pulse drives for the initial launch away from Solsys and then switch to antimatter propulsion further along in the voyage.
We would like to propose that a joint Genen and Federation delegation travel to Frog's Head to honor the descendants of the original colonists as well as ensure that the presence of the Federation is felt at Frog's Head. We propose the installation of a permanent marker at Frog's Head commemorating these brave explorers. Thank you for your consideration.
Letter from Dr. Forshee Schmidt, Lead Researcher of the Quasi-Generational Ship Institute on Horvat Station to John Collins, the Federation of Sophonts Executive Director of Exosystem Affairs, Colonial and Exploration Missions Division Satellite Office on Serenity Orbital in Federation Central — 1700 AT
More about Frogs Head Here
To the Director of the Ecosystem Affairs, Colonial and Exploration Missions Division Satellite Office
Hello John, I hope my message finds you well. We met at the "Habitats in Rotation" symposium at Piazzi Orbital and you told me I could reach out to you whenever I had a request. I am sending this letter in advance of a formal proposal that I believe will be beneficial not just for the Genens, but the Federation as a whole. My formal title is Lead Researcher of the Quasi-Generational Ship Institute on Horvat Station and I represent one of many dedicated Genens working to catalog successful and lost missions that our clade has launched over the centuries. The ships were manned by generations of crew called Caretakers that monitored the vessel's systems as well as the Genetekker genetic material used in birthing at their destination. To provide some understanding of the importance of our mission to House Genen and the Federation, I would like to describe a recent visit to the "Monument to the Genen Explorers and Colonists" on Horvat Station's Spoke One.
My visit to the monument took place about one month ago. The quasi-generation ship shaped monument stretches three kilometers up one of our habitat's spokes. The monument is composed of a high tensile metal and features our House's insignia, the Genen Gene, at its Apex, the ship shaped monument's bow. As those in your office may be aware, this monument is dedicated to the ancestors of House Genen who voyaged beyond the Jovian System and Solsys. The colonists' names are inscribed along the full height of the structure. Just as I did that day, many Genens make the journey to the venerated memorial to honor the memory of our ancestors by climbing the spoke and reading the names of those venturing travelers on its shiny metallic surface. As I climbed the spoke and read the names that day, I kept thinking 'What were our ancestors like?' 'Where are they now?' When I made it to the top, I was afforded a grand view of our home, with its seemingly endless supply of flora and fauna in cyclical, symbiotic relationships of near perfection in the Genen way. After taking in the view, I read our House's dedication placed on a placard, written in the old Jovian tongue: "To those brave, intrepid Genens who paved the way for our Genes to spread to the far-flung worlds of the void." This visit to the great monument reinforced my commitment to commemorate the ambition of our ancestors.
For any members in your directorate who are not familiar with our history, one of the successful missions was that of the Rabelais. Its destination was a planet in the Iota Horologii system named Heket, but now called Frog's Head. According to our records, the Rabelais was launched in 791 AT during a dark and calamitous time in Solsys's history and arrived at Frog's Head in approximately 1611 AT. What made the voyage particularly notable is that it was fully launched without the assistance of GAIA. The vessel was constructed and launched from one of the Trojan asteroids in Jupiter's orbit. The Genetekkers elected to use nuclear pulse drives for the initial launch away from Solsys and then switch to antimatter propulsion further along in the voyage.
We would like to propose that a joint Genen and Federation delegation travel to Frog's Head to honor the descendants of the original colonists as well as ensure that the presence of the Federation is felt at Frog's Head. We propose the installation of a permanent marker at Frog's Head commemorating these brave explorers. Thank you for your consideration.
Letter from Dr. Forshee Schmidt, Lead Researcher of the Quasi-Generational Ship Institute on Horvat Station to John Collins, the Federation of Sophonts Executive Director of Exosystem Affairs, Colonial and Exploration Missions Division Satellite Office on Serenity Orbital in Federation Central — 1700 AT
More about Frogs Head Here