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Migration

In the year 2238 an ingenious invention utilizing Nanotech's new dark matter transmitter had enabled the company to virtually revolutionize the industry. In the opposite concept of Nationalization the company had purchased all the governments of Earth, having realized an enormous influx of capital due to their patent.

Using their new invention, it was possible to send one thousand teraflops of data to any location, however remote. Encoded in this information were the genetic markers of those to be disassembled and reconstituted at whatever destination was desired. This same genetic information was stored in the database, allowing retrieval of the subject once their mission was complete. Spectrum analysis had progressed to a point where a suitable atmosphere to sustain human life could be accurately determined on those planets that were selected as appropriate candidates for profit.

Early experiments on human subjects to try out this new method of transport were met with disappointing results. Surviving family members had been compensated with an appropriate number of stock options. A simple reversal in a diode had solved the problem of having their bodies turned inside out upon the return transport, which had also caused some distress for the technicians operating the machine.

With no other obstacles facing them, the board of directors instituted "Reach Out"; a series of expeditions meant to locate and retrieve natural resources that would add to the bottom line. Along the way they encountered other civilizations that were either tolerated or "cleansed", a corporate buzz word for annihilation. Other worlds were colonized if they were found to have value as a satellite location, thus insuring the growing influence of Nanotech throughout the cosmos.

The planet Cryalia was so austere that it normally would have been discounted as a place of interest for colonization or cleansing. Fortunately, a large deposit of diamonds had been found that made the risks of mining it acceptable. The local populace had been found to be bothersome though, resisting all attempts at eradication. It seemed that they were impervious to any weapon known to man. Light was found to be the only thing that would keep the Shadows at bay.

*
Captain Jason McCord looked at the GPS readout and saw that the display showed that they were exactly 14.752 Earth miles from the compound. Sunset occurred in exactly forty two minutes. He looked around at the barren landscape, fully aware of the danger

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