My son the misanthropist was once surprised as he was laughing to himself. “Why do you laugh?” he was asked. “There is no one with you.” “That,” he replied, “is just why I do.”

—Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga und Paralipomena, I, 1851

They continued over the next few weeks through system after system. Some had no worlds in the Goldilocks Zone. Others, as far as they could tell, had no worlds at all. On the few occasions when they did find a rocky planet with oceans and warm skies, there was inevitably a different problem that forced them to rule it out. One planet was covered with carnivorous plants. Two had gravity issues. Another seemed to have good conditions, but life had apparently never gotten started. That meant there was no vegetation and consequently nothing to produce oxygen. There was no way they could transform the atmosphere in the half century they had available.

Hutch sat on the Eiferman’s bridge and found herself thinking about lifeless solar systems, which was the usual condition even when planets were properly placed. In the past, she’d simply accepted reality. The universe was, by and large, devoid of even the most primitive life-forms. But doing the math and watching it play out were two different experiences.

Why was the universe so empty? Did that question even make sense?

•  •  •

One planet had apparently experienced a nuclear war. Everything was in ruins, and the atmosphere was highly radioactive. Another was a worldwide desert. The next one, Twenty-five, had a living world, but it was occupied. Lizard-like creatures lived in colonies and wore clothes. They moved on.

Twenty-six provided a surprise. There was a planet in the Zone, and the telescope picked up images of oceans and continents.

It was green, covered with forests and jungles. It had oceans. And the climate looked stable. There were two continents, a lot of islands, and three moons. They were approaching from the sunlit side. It looked empty. “We may have a place for Arin and his people,” said Derek. “Let’s go down and take a look.”

•  •  •

Once they were certain the world had no inhabitants, they launched the lander, and Barry ran some atmospheric tests. “It’s okay,” he said. “Oxygen content is a bit high, but that’s also the case on Volaria. It might be a perfect fit for them.”

Hutch, Derek, and Ken descended in the middle of the afternoon onto a wide plain, near a mountain. Two of the moons were in the sky. “They’re beautiful,” said Ken.

Gravity was okay, possibly a bit light but not enough to make a difference. No predators were in sight. And everyone had the same reaction: The place was gold. Exactly what they needed for Arin’s people. If we can figure out a way to get them here. “Now,” said Derek, “the job gets seriously hard: We need to find whoever got rescued from the ice world. They should be in the area somewhere.”

•  •  •