Where I am, Janet thought as she looked around her. It was obvious that she was in a star system far from Earth. But how far? She guessed her flight from the Sun lasted thirty seconds, give or take a second. Assuming she was 50 light years from Earth (a very conservative estimate), her velocity would have been over 100 light years per minute. After several multiplications, she determined that she flew more than fifty million times the speed of light. FIFTY MILLION.
Janet giggled as she examined the alien star system. She could count twelve major planets and more than hundred smaller objects. Eight of them were gas giants, far away from the star they orbited. Of the remaining four, three of them were very close to its star. They were small, rocky planets covered in molten lava. It was the final planet that drew Janet’s interest. It looked like Earth.
She propelled herself towards the planet. It was about the same distance from its star as Earth was to Sol. It was likely within the narrow range in which life could survive and evolve. Scientists call it the Goldilocks Zone. As she approached the new planet, she saw it had two moons smaller than Luna. A quick orbit around the planet confirmed her suspicions. She spotted five continents and numerous islands surrounded by three oceans.
Janet descended and soared over the major ocean at hypersonic speed. One question remained. Was there life on this planet? It didn’t take long for her to find the answer. She spotted a remote island. She stopped and lowered herself at about a thousand feet. She saw beneath her a rainforest like one she saw over Hawaii a few years ago. She concentrated her vision and saw numerous strange land animals. One of them resembled a jaguar.
Satisfied, she rose back to the planet’s stratosphere. As she flew over the coast of the largest continent, her supersensitive ears picked up what appeared to be voices. She stopped and looked down. It was a group of people. They look just like people from Earth. As she flew on, she could hear thousands of more voices. Tracing the origin of those voices, she found a large group of structures. A city! This planet did not just have life, it was home to a civilization of human-like beings. Grinning with excitement, she headed towards the city.