Athena couldn’t help but feel a little slighted as she looked through her bedroom window past the variegated grays of the lunar landscape. In the ink black sky hung the most beautiful jewel she’d ever seen: Earth. She remembered being enthralled with its vibrant colors and diversity even as a small child. When most of her friends were off playing reduced-g sports, she’d spend hours in her room watching old nature documentaries on her parents’ ancient DVD player they’d brought with them.

And although back then she’d just felt like a nerd, now she began to feel utterly, profoundly displaced. She wondered at her generation, the first. The vast majority seemed to be completely uninterested in their ancestral home- to them, it seemed like an unwanted anchor to a solar system they couldn’t wait to escape. But she knew that as her friends looked to distant stars, her destiny was tied to a planet now devoid of human life.

And then, one day, the ban was lifted.