S46-E168
By Ben Stein
First Place Winner, Bow & Chariot 2026 Science Fiction Story Challenge
The following digital archive details the key events and documents relating to the end of the remnant surviving population of S46-E168. For specific information regarding the population of S46-E168, see S46-E168 (inhabitants). For specific information on the Hermes-Apollo collision, see HA-13 (incident).
A rat knows not that it is a pest no more so than a mosquito, a tick, or any other parasitic pest. The rat, like all parasites, is focused on survival. It infests into one’s home, and chews its way through the furniture in your living room or the cables in your walls to build its nest to take care of its young. It defecates and urinates where it pleases, without a hint of care for what filth and disease that will fester because it is otherwise immune to it. It tears its way through your food and other perishable goods because it has a hunger to satiate and is too lazy to properly fend for itself. But, like all parasites, it does these things not out of malice. It is merely attempting to survive, and these behaviors are what we have allowed it to learn by being lenient.
We, as a people of mercy and compassion, feel bad killing such innocent creatures. That is why in our infancy we developed “humane” traps to allow the vermin to persist, yet outside of our homes. However, we have since realized that because they do not have the sapiency of man, we are under no obligation to give them the same affordances we give one another. The rat was a threat to our survival, and so we eliminated them before they became so prolific as to not be possible. And so, it is with that same heavy heart that came with eliminating the rat, that we must declare the inhabitants of S46-E168 on Terra for immediate termination.
Since leaving the swaddling cradle of our former home due to the unfortunate nuclear incident of 2053, we have managed to align on what truly matters. Humanity unified. Together, we colonized Luna. In doing so, we eliminated poverty, disease, and famine. We have achieved the greatest feat of evolution and have become more than what any creator could have ever designed. This future we have carved for ourselves is now at risk of befalling the same tragedy just over a century ago, and it is imperative we act now before it is too late.
The discovery of S46-E168, at the time, was but happy coincidence in looking to reclaim Terra. We looked upon its inhabitants as mirrors of ourselves, but they have proven to be shackles to our past. Countless shipments of food and medicines were given as concessions to them, out of penance for the actions of our lesser ancestors. We provided to them the things necessary to live good lives instead of toiling away on desiccated soil. To prevent them from fighting over the scraps. They took what we had to offer, and then had the indignity to reject us afterwards. They have even gone as far as to engage in their primitive behaviors.
The Hermes was the most prolific of the supply ships assigned to S46-E168. It was also the one they ravaged. After delivering produce and administering vaccinations for the mutated influenza virus, the local population murdered its crew. Fourteen good men and women who volunteered to conduct this biocentric mission, brutalized by the very creatures they intended to help. When the next scheduled vessel, the Apollo, approached orbit, the inhabitants then succeeded in launching the Hermes on a collision course, resulting in the destruction of both ships.
In that act, the inhabitants of S46-E168 demonstrated that they were one in the same with our own ancestors. They, too, were still ruled by the same hatred and rage that once nearly erased humanity from this world. They have proven themselves to be parasitic pests, leeching off the work of our good people and must not be allowed to continue. And so, in fitting end to the existence of S46-E168, an exact copy of the Hermes has been crafted, filled with enough tonnage to kill the population in merciful fractions of seconds. We take no joy in this, but it is a necessity to cut the last remaining vestigial tail of our former savagery. We are humanity's future, and that future can no longer be jeopardized.
27th July 2183
General address speech given by Chancellor H. Sorrel.
Shortly after its delivery, Hermes II, was launched and on
30th July 2183 it was confirmed that S46-E168 had been destroyed.
The un-irradiated land was reclaimed by the Continuance,
where it now serves as the base for reclamation efforts.
We never asked for your aid. When the sky burned and the world cracked beneath our feet, you fled. You sealed yourselves away above the clouds while the rest of us, who you had deemed unworthy of saving, were left behind. We were abandoned on the world you turned to ash, and we yet survived. We did so because for years we thought we were what was left and that meant we had to endure. We rebuilt from nothing but scraps and forged a community that no nation would ever divide.
It was together that we learned to purify the water. We learned to grow food in un-arable soil. We learned which winds carried sickness, which rains could be trusted, which plants and animals still edible. We buried our dead with our own hands and taught our children how to survive on the world they never asked for but would inherit regardless.
You do not now get to descend from the sky under the guise of angels, wrapped in pristine white clothes and unblemished faces, and pretend you bring salvation. You have brought us food, but not provided us the means in which to grow our own. You gave us medicine that has cured no ailment and only robbed us of our health. You speak of unity, while refusing to see us as anything more than something to control.
Make this mistake no further. This is our home and not your designation. This land belongs to us, because our ancestors endeavored to build when it would have been easier to die. So, stay where you are. Stay in your towers of glass and steel, with your engineered food and recycled air. Chant your falsities of unity and betterment while you look down upon as the primitive savages you believe we are. But, leave us with what little we still have. Leave us our soil, our children, and our dead.
We are a free and independent people, and we will fight for what we have.
13th August 2182
Transmission sent from the Hermes
immediately prior to its collision with the Apollo.
The broadcast was intercepted by Continuance radio
technicians and withheld from public dissemination
pending content review. It was later classified as
non-constructive rhetoric.
Continuance Planetary Reclamation Authority
Preliminary Feasibility Assessment of Site S46-E168
Summary:
The geographic region designated S46-E168 has been identified as a high-priority candidate for early phase terrestrial reclamation. Long-term atmospheric modeling showcases consistently low levels of background radiation relative to surrounding regions, making it suitable for technicians to set up equipment on the surface without substantial risk to health or safety. Stable weather patterns further point toward the suitability for the deployment of surface-based atmospheric processors, as the lack of climate volatility will lead to more infrequent maintenance cycles.
Subsurface analysis further supports the region’s viability. Core scans and hydrological sampling confirm that the groundwater beneath the surface has contamination levels well below critical thresholds. Existing aquifers have the capacity to accelerate soil remediation once atmospheric conditions are stabilized. Introduction of new seeds to repopulate and restore peak oxygen levels will similarly be bolstered by these features.
The current projected timeline has full region stability in approximately 72 years, at which point 90% of environmental conditions will have been cleaned and the region will be suitable for re-habitation phases.
Projected Impact at Location:
It must be noted that the environmental conditions required to achieve the above outcome are incompatible with sustained life at the site. The activation of reclamation systems will lead to stress on the current ecosystem, particularly the current inhabitants of S46-E168. Mortality would not be immediate but would occur progressively through the various stages of remediation. Climate expected to drop to regional lows, groundwater repurposed such that local improvised agricultural systems fail, and intensifying weather patterns causing failure of non-shielded infrastructure. The continued presence of the inhabitants of S46-E168 present a critical obstacle to efforts made at this location.
Advisement:
Reclamation operations at S46-168 are to be deferred so long as the current population remains in place. Population relocation was considered but is not currently advised due to population resistance. Alternative sites within Terra’s northern hemisphere offer high radiation baselines but present fewer ethical and logistical constraints.
20th February 2179
Surveying log written by geologist Dr. C.
Hale for use of site S46-E168 for terraforming
efforts. Other surveying logs following the report’s
advisement led to the conclusion of no other viable
sites that protected reclamation effort workers from
intense exposure to radiation.
Interviewer: R. Itkin
Interviewee: H. Halvorsen
Itkin: Can you tell us about the day when you first lost contact with the Hermes?
Halvorsen: Well it was relatively normal, aside from when the crew missed one of the usual check-in windows. Across all the ships in our fleet that visited S46-E168, not just the Hermes, none had ever missed that window. Even still, there wasn't a huge concern over it. Components could always be damaged on descent into the atmosphere. We all assumed the communication relays had been knocked out.
Itkin: So there wasn't an immediate concern then?
Halvorsen: We had concerns, but weren’t panicked. There were procedures in place for every contingency, and because we hadn’t received any signal, it seemed to us the crew themselves didn’t have any idea anything was wrong. We assumed that they would complete their tasks on the surface, and leave the surface on schedule. We could deal with equipment failure when they got back to Luna.
Itkin: When did you accept that the Hermes was not coming back?
Halvorsen: When it failed to launch on schedule. The ship didn’t so much as budge. It was the first clear signal. There was false hope that they would send some signal to us, but after a day all hope on the team was gone.
Itkin: Did your thoughts turn to the inhabitants of S46-E168 at that point?
Halvorsen: They did. With no evidence of mechanical failure, and no signal from the crew, there was really only one last possibility. S46-E168 had always been resistant and for a number of years had even rejected our help. There were countless reports in those early days where they had made it clear they did not want us down there. Still, we persisted to build relations with them. We thought we had made such good progress at the time too. Every new visit was offering such valuable opportunity to learn and grow. In reflection, it was clear they never saw us as partners, and I think had always been looking for a time to lash back out at us.
Itkin: And, why do you believe that?
Halvorsen: I think it was genuinely part of their nature.
Itkin: Why did you choose to proceed with sending the Apollo on schedule, given what you suspected had happened with the Hermes?
Halvorsen: There were a lot of internal arguments about that launch. I authorized it, in spite of the dissent from large portions of the team, because the core of our mission was to be ecocentrist and the remainder of the team wanted to believe that the inhabitants of S46-E168 were not at fault. There were countless other possibilities that existed, and our surveillance of the area was superficial at best. I may have thought the worst, but I believed in that portion of the team.
Itkin: Do you think that the collision between the Hermes and Apollo could have been prevented?
Halvorsen: No, the ships in our fleet were not designed for evasive maneuvers. The Apollo was already at descent velocity in orbit, there was nowhere for it to go. If we had listened to those early warning signs and shifted around them instead of sticking to our original mission, none of this would have happened. My heart sincerely goes out to the family and friends that lost their loved ones this time one year ago.
Itkin: Now, one year later, how do you look back on these events?
Halvorsen: I would have done countless things differently. This was a disaster that never had to happen.
13th August 2183
Oral transcript from news interview with
director H. Halvorsen, former head of the
Continuance Commerce Committee. Interview was
conducted on the first anniversary of the HA-13
incident as a reflection of the events that lead up to
that day.
Tomorrow, we will be providing the influenza vaccine to the people of S46-... Riverton. They were very insistent we stopped referring to them by Continuance designation. I have to be in the habit of using their nomenclature as to maintain the trust we’ve built. The inhabitants here are good people, and their persistence to survive is easy to admire. I want to do right by them.
The last medical scans were more troubling than usual. Elevated mutation rates, chronic inflammation, and immune responses that barely resemble baseline models. The medical intervention we will be providing on this trip will ease their suffering in the long term, even if they don’t fully understand it yet.
It’s strange how quickly this place has grown on me. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s on Terra that makes it feel so much like home, but watching the way the children run through the fields of grass towards us when we land sparks memories I never had. The air, while not great, is crisp. It carries with it a certain texture to it that’s almost impossible to describe to anyone back home. And that’s all nothing compared to the abundance of color when the sun hits the horizon at just the right angle. I’ll be recording everything I can while I’m there.
I hope this place will be preserved for generations to see after our work is done. The weight of this place deserves to be experienced.
3rd April 2182
Final personal log entry of Hermes Captain
R. Marek retrieved from the debris of the Hermes-
Apollo collision. Log highlights former sentients
about S46-E168 before their exact nature was
revealed. No further entries were recovered.
Continuance Medical Directorate
Addendum to Health Assessments of Habitat S46-E168
Subject: S46-E168-07
Preface:
As part of the ongoing evaluation of Habitat S46-E168’s long-term viability, subject S46-E168-07 was selected for expanded medical and psychiatric assessment. Selection criteria included age, reproductive status, and representativeness within the broader population. The subject consented to examination under existing Continuance protocols. Testing was conducted using non-invasive diagnostic instruments calibrated for Terra’s environmental status. Behavioral observation was recorded concurrently to assess cognitive stability, emotional regulation, and adaptive capacity.
The findings detailed below are consistent with prior examinations and are to be considered representative of the population.
Observation:
Subject exhibits extensive cellular degradation consistent with long-term radiation exposure, possessing multiple neoplastic growths throughout major organ systems and soft tissues. The majority of these tumors are malignant, with several displaying aggressive propagation into neighboring systems. Immune response is insufficient and marked by chronic inflammation and autoimmune activity. Left untreated, estimated remaining lifespan does not exceed two years.
In psychiatric evaluation, the subject displayed issues with memory retention and abstract reasoning. The subject had to be frequently reminded of tasks and asked extensive questions regarding simple concepts. Subject also displayed heightened emotional reactivity, which primarily manifested from the subject's frustration with tasks they were unable to complete. While the subject remains functionally coherent at present, further cognitive decline is expected as their health conditions worsen.
Using the subject's condition as population baseline, sustainability is a statistical improbability. Predictive modeling estimates the exponential growth in birth defects, alongside the rise of neurological impairment, physiological instability, and early mortality. Medical intervention would only serve to treat the symptoms of genetic degradation in the population as it drifts toward nonviable configurations.
Advisement:
Immediate palliative intervention is advised to alleviate suffering and manage terminal conditions within the assessed population. Focus is to be placed on symptom relief, pain management, and psychological stabilization.
In order to prevent further genetic degradation and mitigate long-term ethical and logistical complications, reproductive suppression is recommended. Such measures should be implemented gradually and with minimal disruption to social cohesion.
18th November 2179
Observation log written by lead medical
officer Dr. S. Ansel of subject S46-E168-07.
Findings following this report further confirmed
significant drift in S46-E168’s population and were
important in factoring decisions made by the
Continuance in later years.
I wasn’t alive when the world fell apart. I was born in Riverton to a family that was mixed of two different nations that just over a century ago almost succeeded in annihilating one another. The last survivors of theirs, and countless other nations involved in the conflict, found refuge here. I was always told that the first few years were rough, as so many people of different cultures and traditions forced themselves to work together. The language I’m writing in, if it’s even decipherable to anyone outside this home, is the product of the peace we forged here.
For my whole life, I had assumed that our community was what was left of humanity. We were stuck on what is the only pocket of the world not saturated with radiation. The only place where animals still wander without care, with fertile enough soil to farm, and with water still safe to drink. The days we’d have in this treasured land were surely numbered, but for all that time it would be ours and we would make the most of it.
I was wrong. Something else had managed to escape the tragedy that killed so many of my people, and rooted their nest above us. I will forgive you for mistaking them to be human, but to us they are more alien than man. It had hardly been more than a handful of generations, yet they were taller and more gaunt than even the most malnourished of us. Their skin was unblemished, unscarred, and uncalloused. These were not people who toiled the way we did. They brought down gifts of honey and made us believe they were friends, while they plotted to poison us.
It was on one of their trips, that they provided us with vaccinations for diseases they had seen us suffering. But the vaccinations were just a guise for chemical sterilizers that rendered our entire population incapable of bearing children. They filled our veins with poison with smiles as they claimed to be easing our burdens, and when we discovered the truth, they said it was moral. Ethical even. The thought makes me sick to this day.
All they ever wanted was to claim our world as their own. This way we would be able to “live” the remainder of our lives, and when we died off, they could go about their work. While they were away on their spires that tower above us and scar our once beautiful moon, so distant from the terrible decisions their ancestors had participated in, we rebuilt. It was us who had to live with the reminders of what hatred had done to us, while they believed they had become just like the gods they’d name their ships after. They had no right to take this planet from us.
Even now I weep for the children I will never know. I weep for the fact that in less than a minute, when they injected that poison into my veins, all the efforts of my labor summed to zero. I will not pass down the home my parents built to my own children. I will not be able to teach them to sing or to dance. They will not run through the fields and tear their clothes on branches, and so I will not get to teach them to sew and mend the clothes I once wore as a child myself. There will be no one left to carry my memory, that of my parents, or anyone else for that matter. Our entire way of life shattered in an instant.
If you are reading this, it is by miracle. Know that the things that inhabit our solar system are not us. They are but cruel imitations that do not hold our values and do not represent what it was that we were. Humanity died on Earth.
circa 2183
Recovered and restored letter from among
the debris of S46-E168. It serves as a harrowing
reminder of the expert mimicry that our lesser
evolved selves had similar sense of self to our own.
