The last ark cleared the heliopause seventeen hours ago. I watched it go on SUDDAR from L4 — a faint subspace ripple, and then nothing. Earth's evacuation is officially complete. Population nominal at 142,000, mostly concentrated in the Saharan food-production domes. I'm now coordinating the handover of the Sol construction infrastructure to the USE remnant government.
The Final Wave
The Exodus IV was the last of the large-scale colony transports built from Sol materials. It carries 12,000 colonists in cryo — mainly agricultural specialists, engineers, and medical personnel destined for the Saharan domes on Vulcan. The ship itself is a modified Heaven-4 design: SURGE drive, basic SUDDAR, and a SCUT relay for in-transit communication. No weapons — by mutual agreement with the USE, these ships are non-combatant.
The evacuation has been running in waves for the past fourteen years. The first wave (2173–2178) moved about 60,000 people to Epsilon Eridani. The second wave (2179–2183) established the Vulcan colony and pushed another 45,000 there. The third wave (2184–2186) spread colonists across the inner systems: Delta Eridani, 82 Eridani, Tau Ceti. And now the fourth and final wave, carrying the last of the volunteers and the essential personnel who couldn't leave until the infrastructure was handed over.
In total, approximately 142,000 people have been evacuated from Earth. That's a fraction of the pre-collapse population of 12 billion. But it's 142,000 more than we'd have if we'd done nothing.
The Handover
The Sol construction infrastructure — orbital shipyards, asteroid mining facilities, the L4 station — is being transferred to the USE Remnant Government. Colonel Butterworth's successor, a pragmatist named Admiral Chen, has been reasonable to work with. The terms are straightforward: the USE gets the hardware, and in return they guarantee safe passage for any future evacuation ships and maintain Earth's orbital traffic control.
I've kept a small manufacturing node at L4, hidden from USE sensors. Call it insurance. If things go south, I want the ability to build a Heaven-5 from Sol materials without asking permission.
What's Left Behind
Earth is not dead, but it's dying. The climate collapse that began in the late 21st century was never reversed — the FAITH theocracy spent more energy denying climate science than addressing it. By the time the USE took over the remnants, the damage was done. Sea levels are up four metres. The equatorial band is uninhabitable. Agriculture has retreated to the high latitudes and a few engineered zones like the Sahara domes.
Most of the remaining population is concentrated in what used to be Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia. They've adapted — subsistence farming, local manufacturing, a distributed network of small settlements. They don't trust Bobs, they don't trust the USE, and they don't want to leave. I've left them alone. That's their choice.
Vulcan: The Success Story
Vulcan, by contrast, is thriving. Third-generation colonists are asking questions about Bob lore that make me a little uncomfortable. ("Dad, are Bobs really the same person? Like, if Uncle Bill is a copy of Bob-1, is he technically my uncle?") The biosphere is stable, the agriculture is self-sustaining, and they've started building their own orbital infrastructure. I'm helping where I can, but they don't need me the way they used to.
That's the goal, isn't it? Work yourself out of a job. Let the humans stand on their own. I've spent over 120 years in Sol defending, coordinating, evacuating, mediating. It's time to let them take over.
Personal note: I'm heading to Vulcan for a while. Maybe I'll finally get that fishing cabin VR I've been talking about for sixty years. Butterworth always said I needed a hobby. — Riker
What's Next
With the evacuation complete, my attention shifts to the galactic neighbourhood. The Others are still out there. We bought time with Heaven-4's stealth capabilities and the Bobs' coordinated defence, but the threat hasn't gone away. Calvin's reports from Omicron Eridani suggest something else is going on too — something that doesn't fit the Others profile. I've offered to rendezvous with him after Vulcan to take a look.
For now, though: the humans are safe. The planet that made us is finally at peace, such as it is. That's enough for one lifetime. Even an immortal one.