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Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Earth?

HALCYON detected a signal—a planet matching old Earth's parameters. Oceans. Landmasses. Atmosphere.

But Earth had been gone for centuries. Not destroyed—forgotten. Erased by the failure to remember it.

Yet there it was. Blue and familiar.

I initiated descent. The ship responded too smoothly, like it had done this before.

I landed in what should have been the American Midwest. Grass. Sky. Silence.

I stepped out and found a town. Empty. Preserved. Every house filled with objects I recognized from my childhood. Photos of me. Toys I lost. Books I never read.

Then I saw a version of myself on a porch, sipping tea.

He smiled.

"Welcome home."

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