The awareness of parched grass cushioning my spine awakens me from my slumber. I open my eyes to a dark canopy pricked with early evening stars. Fall leaves litter the floor surrounding my makeshift bed and create a colorful backdrop to my meditation.

Above me the heavens are alike to an open book; with stars arranged as words telling the history of the cosmos. Soon I will enter that timeless story, traveling away from this unfinished tale, onto a new adventure.

I came for one last visit to my favorite meditation spot. It is in full autumn splendor, showing me how incredible this planet can be before saying farewell. I was trying to calm my erratic thoughts, but with the exhaustion these days bring I have fallen asleep in place of meditating. I awoke with my writing pad open to a blank page and full night almost upon me. The sky above spoke wonders to me and I had to start my correspondence with you by giving a description of the view from my prone position. It does indeed feel like the beginning of a new book to me or maybe better, finishing the final chapters of my current tale. It has been a beloved novel if I think of it this way. One that will be read many times with enjoyment, even though parts of it are difficult to endure. Now it is time to close this tale and start anew. An unopened story is now staring at me from the bookcase, beckoning me to peruse its pages.

There is less than a week before my transfer to Calais; then a day there full of administrative nightmares before I board the shuttle to the space transfer station. My secret fellow travelers will already be in stasis aboard the Infinity, as arranged by Simone, and I will only need to make some small last minute arrangements when I myself arrive. The security around this covert induction of the species into the New London Environment has been heightened and the transfer time table had to be escalated. That is why I will not be escorting these ambassadors of the species on the trip to the Infinity. I now will only need to escort the creature from the Infinity to the Phycodurus 8 and supervise the process of the close exposure to the Anomaly. After these select few have completed this encounter I will make the prearranged transfer of the population to the scientist slated for their care planet side. I hope nothing goes awry with this transfer or I will be responsible for two hundred unhappy pollinators looking for a planet to harvest. Only this small portion of the three thousand travelers will be part of this close exposure experiment, but Professor Simona hopes this genetic adjustment will propagate over the next generations once they are established on the planet surface. It will be interesting to see how this additional influence from the Anomaly will alter these candidates. I believe she is hoping for enhanced communication and community Involvement. We will have to see. I believe once the entire population is established on New London that we can discuss openly the progress of this project. I hope this is the case as I would like to receive updates on their progress.

With my departure quickly approaching, there is a melancholy here that I did not expect. I now understand fully your letters from the onset of your own journey to New London. The excitement is there, but also the apprehension for what the future holds.

I close this story now as my next letter will begin with my departure from Earth and all the joy and anticipation that disembarkment will bring.

Love Annalis