It’s the year 2198. 92 years ago, the asteroid 253 Mathilde began humanity’s first interstellar mission with a crew of 200 people. Now accelerating through the Oort cloud at a millimeter per second per second, the descendants of the original crew have as yet no inkling of where the next 42 years of their lives will take them.
The Asteroid
253 Mathilde is an asteroid from the main belt, discovered in 1885 and first visited by a human spacecraft in 1997.
In the early 22nd century, with some help from advanced extraterrestrial technology, it was fitted with engines fueled by refined asteroid ore. Launched on humanity’s first interstellar mission, it has been accelerating ever since. Now 92 years into a 780 year journey, generations of inhabitants have come and gone in the colony built just below the asteroid’s surface.
Communications with Earth involve many months of waiting, so the people of 253 Mathilde are on their own. Some remain dedicated to their mission, others would like to cancel it. Alien passengers have the luxury of sleeping their way through the centuries.
92 years into the mission, something has gone wrong.
What lines will they cross to save a life?
We hope you enjoyed the first two episodes of 253 Mathilde by Paul Knierim. If you wish to hear more, you can find more episodes on their website. And if you want to help support this awesome Audio Drama, check out their Kickstarter page and donate!
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