“I have an idea,” Lora interrupted him, “It’s most likely that the infection was from Earth. In any case, nothing points to the alien origin of the virus. It could’ve been activated during the flight, or you were already infected when you were getting into the anabiosis.”
“I doubt that the authorities from Earth would’ve sent ill astronauts on a mission in space,” commented the captain.
“Was I an astronaut?” asked Derek.
“We’re not sure. We still haven’t been able to restore the data from the onboard computer,” the girl sighed heavily, “The scariest scenario to my mind is this: what if your ship was actually sent for help? It’s possible that people suffered from a pandemic and couldn’t find an alternative way to contain it.”
“In this case, they’d have to wait for our return for quite a long time,” noted Paul.
“What if there was no other way? Or, what if the ship from Earth carried the only survivors?”
The young men simultaneously looked at the girl.
“Derek, do you remember you said that you had very little time? It could be connected with the illness. Maybe even the anabiosis couldn’t stop the virus and you knew about it…”
Paul frowned and rubbed his temples.
“If we develop this idea further we can come to a conclusion that the Earth population has been destroyed… Two hundred years have passed…”
There was a pause. Lora couldn’t see Derek’s eyes behind the dark glasses.
“Derek?” Lora was closely watching the young man, “Have you remembered something?”
He seemed to have plunged into his thoughts again as had happened many times until that moment..
“No,” answered Derek, “Anyway, I must go back. If your experts can’t find the answers on the onboard computer, I’ll find out everything myself on Earth.”
“You’ll have to cross half a galaxy to go back,” exclaimed Paul, “Literally.”
“Do I have a choice?” asked the guest.
“It’s important to wait for the test results from the IT department,” answered the captain calmly. “And, of course the medical department results as the return might not be safe…”
“What if there are survivors on Earth and they need help?!” Lora joined the conversation. “What if the old feud doesn’t matter anymore and we can go back home forever?!”
“Slow down, I don’t follow you,” said Paul.
“But I do,” Derek’s words resounded with unshakable confidence. “The only way to find out is to return to Earth.”