You are a world famous astronaut working for a space exploration company. Earth’s population is growing at an alarming rate and soon there will be no more room for anyone. It’s your mission to explore planets for the possibility of establishing human colonies. You've been exploring planets for several years, but so far you haven't found any that are suitable for humans. You are getting discouraged and frustrated. If you don’t find a suitable planet soon, Earth will be in trouble.

You have just returned from another disappointing trip and decide to take a few days off to go fishing. The last planet you visited almost killed you and you want to relax a little before you go back into space.

You have your fishing gear together and are getting ready to leave your house when the phone rings. Something tells you not to answer it. You let it ring several times, but you finally answer it. It's your boss, Sam. He has another assignment for you and he wants you to leave the next day.

“Can't it wait?" you ask him. “I want to take a few days off and go fishing."

Sam tells you that scientists have discovered a planet at the far end of the galaxy. It’s too far away to be able to tell anything about it, and they need you to explore the planet.

You think about what will happen to Earth if you don’t find the right planet soon. “All right, all right," you grumble. “I don't like it, but I'll go."

You report to the launch pad the next morning and climb into your ship, the GR-12. "Good morning!" greets your on-ship computer. "Please fasten your safety harness. All systems are go. Lift off in five minutes for the planet Goran."

You strap yourself in and check out the instrument panel as the computer counts down. You're unhappy about not going fishing, but you're excited about the trip. Maybe this will be the planet that saves Earth.

Five days later, a planet appears on your ship's screen. You tell the computer to scan the surface of the planet for life forms. The computer tells you there are signs of life, but the life forms are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and your computer can’t identify them either. This is going to be one interesting planet to explore!

You land the ship in a clearing and tell the computer to check the atmosphere. The computer reports the atmosphere is almost the same as Earth so you won't need your space suit. But you take the standard issue emergency kit and double-check the contents. "Let's see," you mumble to yourself, "Flashlight, rope, specimen bags, rations, water, compass, survivalknife. Yes, it looks like it's all here." You also stuff a small tent into your kit. You usually return to your ship the first night on a new planet but you never know what might happen.