memes

Or worse, you meet the super intelligent giant spider your human ancestor left behind, and you accidentally start a war with them because no one realizes the computer on the ancient satellite is made to behave like the project founder is trying to make first contact.

EDIT: If you haven’t figured it out, I’m describing the novel Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Well at least you didn’t have to spend the rest of your life building civilisation from scratch.

Or you wake up and there's nothing there because that star died a thousand years ago and the light from the supernova hasn't reached earth yet.

So you're telling me, someone else did all the work already, I don't have to lift a finger? Awesome.

At least you aren’t a soldier ready to restart a war that’s been settled

Cryosleep in earth would be pretty baller. Imagine all the people who'd sign up to just skip ahead 50 years.

that's why we should only go when it's possible to travel near lightspeed, can't beat that

The Ark, tv series.

Christopher Mason understands the Relativity of that situation. https://relativitypodcast.com/

Babylon 5 had an episode on this. A sleeper ship was launched and a few years later we got jump gate tech from an alien race.

That's the plot of a nice obscure theatre piece I know, but they don't travel that far, are awake, and see the other ships pass. It's awsome and fun for the audience and super frustrating for the characters.

That was the only memorable part of Starfield for me.

If they had faster ship technology, surely they’d be able to locate the older ships in transit and relieve the astronauts of their duty.

Jerks didn't come pick me up on way there? Wtf dudes.

But at least your great great great granddaughter is pretty fine 👉😏👉

I think either Asimov or A.E. van Vogt wrote a short story with this premise already back in the late 1940s.

Surely if you’re sending someone on a 3000 year journey, you’ve prepared for the possibility of making a faster ship in the time between them leaving and arriving at their destination!?

I'm psyched. Less work for me!

I read an interesting book based on this premise called The Forever War, it’s been awhile but it was pretty good!

Similar premise but with soldiers sent to fight a war and eventually finding it already over.