A Journey of Survival, Discovery, and a New Beginning

In The Heart of the City

In the heart of Birmingham City Centre, lies a college called Saint Thomas's College. There was a young boy called Jacob. He was a friendly person who enjoyed life but was also keen to concentrate on and make sure his work was done correctly. Jacob had one brother called William. William studied engineering, often seeking engineering dissertation help not far from home and was very Knowledgeable about how things actually work. He really enjoyed mending things and taking things apart.

The family is unlike any other as they have chickens, rabbits, one dog and a cat. They have been living in their home with a basement. William often came back during the holidays as Jacob came back most weekends. Amber keeps the house tidy and also teaches French to local school students. Amber and Martin have been happily married for a long time now. The family often visits their relations during Christmas. The two boys met their grandmothers a lot. One owned a huge family home where the whole family enjoyed playing games and having fun. Over many years the family had gatherings of many different types as these brought happy and sad memories. The whole family enjoyed playing in the woods as others relaxed on the terrace during the summer. The other grandmother was quiet but also happy to be around her family. The families met a lot during Christmas and went for long walks up snowy mountains.

The summer

During the summer, if they met, they sometimes went boating on the lake. As the family came from near and far to see this Grandmother at festive seasons, there were lots to catch up on. Sometimes the Grandmothers visited Jacob's family and had fun taking their dog for a walk in their field next to their house.

Jacob and William had lots of friends. These friends were often doing rounds at the house. Jacob didn't socialize as much as William but they still got on. Some weekends the family went to the cinema. In the mornings, you could often hear music blasting out their bedrooms. Amber and Martin were religious minded and went to church every Sunday. Jacob and William didn't go as much as they had things to do on Sunday. Jacob was often doing his home work. William was often not around on weekends apart from the holidays. Last year he went on a gap year and enjoyed another life in a different country. Continue your exploration of Role of ipRGCs in Visual Processing with our related content.

During the holidays, William often came home and helped out with the family or fixed anything that needed mending. Apart from being clever, he often socialized with his mates. He had various friends, some at the university and some at home. His parents, Amber and Martin were not always sure where he got his money from to socialize with others but did not want to argue with him as they knew he was very strong and difficult. However, they praised him for his inventions. He built loads of inventions in design and technology such as a candle holder, water cannon and a run for their chickens.

The family used to spend most summer holidays at home and then used to leave for somewhere abroad. During the previous year, the family went to America where they had never been before. Jacob really enjoyed the food there and William had fun water skiing. The parents hired a car so they could be able to explore more of the surrounding area. They had booked a hotel with a swimming pool and also were right next to the beach so could make the decision whether to go to the pool or to the beach.

Family Life

Amber is caring but can sometimes worry about the family. Amber is also the mother of the family and is married to Martin. Martin currently works as a bricklayer and has built his own home on Earth. He is friendly but can be strict when he needs to be. One summer's day Jacob was in class, Jacob was being taught in humanities when suddenly he heard a humongous noise that did not sound like an earth-quake at all. He was told to hide under his desk and to wait further instructions. Jacob was worried. What is this noise? The next thing he knew that the sky had darkened and the fire bell went off. People shouted to leave the building and to seek shelter. He ran home as fast as he could. When he got home, he found William back from the university. The whole family grabbed essentials and then ran to the basement to shelter. They stayed in the shelter for just over a month and then were very glad to come outside.

Inside The Basement

"It smells here," said Jacob trying to climb up the steps and falling down due to hunger. "Can we go and explore?" said William. Williams's mother agreed and the family took the first few steps outside the basement. "Be careful" Martin warned, "as we are not sure what caused this and who's alive." Martin cleaned up the Basement and Amber and her two sons carefully wandered into the house to explore. "Where's the Sun?" Jacob asked, "There is no Sun. It is pure darkness and cloud! There is a wind sweeping through the area." They wandered round their block and discovered complete devastation. There were pipes which had broken down; pylons down, cars smashed and pieces of rock everywhere, as if the earth had been hit by a meteor shower. "This is total chaos" William said. "I wonder if anyone is around apart from us." Jacob asked. "It looks grim but I hardly doubt that there is anyone alive." replied Amber. They wandered back to the house and tried watching TV but that did not work as that was all fuzz. The radio was also on the blink. Martin came upstairs from cleaning the basement, from the month-long time the family had spent in there. "I did hear mild screams and chaos during the time we were in the basement." Jacob answered.

Martin suggested that he was not sure how long the meteor shower would continue. To be safe, he asked everyone to return to the basement having collected more food, drink and an occupation for themselves. During this time William started creating a Space Machine. The other members of the family were not intending to be in the basement for long. They decided that Earth was uninhabitable. While the rest-of-the-family were feeling helpless, lonely William created a new spaceship that would mean that the whole family could get to Space. Due to a real problem on Earth they can start a new life on another planet. After a while after realising the realities associated with the situation of Earth by the family, having spent a very long time there, they came to a decision. Within the time they had during the disaster on Earth, they decided that Earth was not good any more so the family packed up and filled up the Space ship with the remaining essential edibles and drinkables before heading off. It was Williams's idea to create a space ship and send his family into space. He had to do a lot of research and provide encouragement tohis family to get them into space. His studies at the university did help as William was very into his studying.

The Spaceship

The spaceship was built on the grass that was cleared, though there was not much space left since the Earth's disasters. As most of the area was messy and not very clean. William took his family to the spaceship. The space ship was about half the size of the front lawn but had to be brought out in to pieces when it was in the basement. William was just making the final touches when Martin walks in. "Who is going to power this space ship up?" Martin asked. "You can'', replied William.”All ready everyone" Martin asked, "No" Amber replied, "just the last few items." “We're the last family on Earth, stop being silly mother!” Jacob responded. They knew this as during the last days they had been on the dark planet, they had been exploring and getting a better understanding of who was staying on the planet. They had decided, as a family, that they were to leave this planet as Earth was uninhabitable and no one on earth anywhere could live there. "Right Everyone, ready," Martin questioned. Everyone agreed. "Five, Four, Three, Two and One," William Shouted! There was lift-off! After a while in the space, objects started to float randomly without control just like it had meant to be. The family was still strapped into their seats when William wanted a snack. He opened the cupboard and everything fell out as it was floating around the cabin. Jacob and his mother started floating whilst William went to check on his dad who was in control of the ship. Martin who had left his job recently due to the meteor shower, had recently spent some time trying to work out the reason why this meteor had struck Earth and why are so many rocks hitting the Earth without warning. As of now, Martin and William spent a lot of time making sure the space ship was working so it could take the family to another planet as even all the Animals were killed on planet Earth. As Martin was keeping an eye on the shuttle and where it was heading, he had to make sure that the ship did not crash into any rock. During the time they first came out of the basement, they had been keeping an eye on the weather and the surroundings. They knew that they were the only family and that there was no other life on the plant . This prompted them to leave.

Within Space

After a certain while and also in space away from the problems facing planet Earth, Martin saw that there was a special force pulling meteors towards Earth. He drove the ship way from the meteors and away from Earth. While this was happening, the other members of his family were getting used to a place with no gravity. Jacob was even playing with his food and letting it hover by his very eyes, whilst William was trying to consume a drinkable element without spilling it. After a while, when the family had supper and Martin had left the planet Earth, he was heading towards a new and previously Unknown Planet. William was back in the cockpit and was looking up the details of this planet. He said that it had similar properties to Earth. Martin was on his way to the new planet, when he passed the Milky-way. "Everyone that's the Milky-way" Martin explained. A few moments later, during this time Jacob was asleep, Martin grew ever closer to the planet. Eventually they started descending and landing. "Why are we going to this planet?" Amber questioned. "It's the closest planet with similar properties to Earth" William explained while planning for arrival. "Everyone head back to your seat, we are going to land." Martin explained. Jacob woke up. "We are in for a bumpy landing" William remarked. They eventually made a safe but bumpy landing. "It's sandy here, I wonder if there's any life?" Jacob wondered. Jacob was desperate to explore whilst William wanted to find a shelter. Amber, who was also asleep through some of the journey, was hungry. They set off except from Martin as he wanted to guard the ship. Jacob left though he did not stroll too far as he was called back by his mother. Amber then decided to, go with her two sons and find shelter, food and explore. They wondered off for an hour or so, but they did not find any animal. All they found was deserts and forests. Amber picked some berries from various bushes and other edible vegetations. They also found shelter in a nearby cave. It was damp and smelt horrible. They started to transfer their luggage to the cave and use some of the metal to make a door frame out of it. Whilst Jacob was walking around, he found a river with what looked like animals in it. He called William over and sure enough, there was fish swimming around. Jacob ran to get a fishing rod made of sticks, twine and some meat from Earth. Jacob caught enough fish for supper while William was creating a camp fire. After Jacob caught supper, he then went to help his mother create a washing line. Martin, by this time was helping William to take the ship apart and was creating a new home in the cave. Amber walked in and decided to light a scented candle to remove the smell. William started the camp fire and started to help in cooking the fish. At supper the family sat round the fire talked about the last few months and tried to understand what happened on Earth. After supper they went back into the cave and eventually went to bed. The next day, the families woke up by sounds of screeching. William ran outside to see what it was. Two huge birds were fighting. He whistled. The huge bird stopped and came towards his way as if the cave was his. The bird landed and William tried to get on the bird but the bird took off again. William whistled again, but this time the bird stopped and William was able to get on it. He hung on for dear life. "What's that noise?" Jacob wandered. Jacob ran back inside to tell his mother. Amber then came out after she heard Jacob calling. "Mother, Mother, Williams on that big bird over there." William cried. Martin rushed out hearing the noises coming from outside the cave. "What's all this noise about?" Martin asked. "There are huge big birds out here. William started to whistle to them and now he is on one of them." explained Jacob. Martin then shouted to William to land. William was flying around hanging around mid-air clinging for his life. "William, Can you land the bird or jump off when you're near the ground?" Martin Shouted. William started shouting as well and kicking the bird to try and make it go lower. He eventually, jumped off with a bruised knee. "I'm hungry." Jacob moaned. William then suggested that the family should hunt the animals for meat. A while later after breakfast, Jacob said that he missed his friends and the rest of the family agreed. After the meal, Jacob, Martin and William set off to explore the planet to see if there was any intelligent life on the planet. Amber stayed put and cleaned the cave. Martin and his sons walked off towards the hills and then started to look for where the creatures lived. They hiked up the canyon towards a large nest and stopped. "Martin can we take some of these eggs" Jacob questioned. "We should be very careful as the parents might be around but let's take a couple". Martin replied. They put the eggs safely away and continued walking. They wondered over deserted lands of the Unknown Planet. Eventually they came to a rain forest. "Should we go in there?" asked Jacob, Martin replied, "We are exploring, no problems with what could be there? Jacob and William agreed and started to walk into the rainforest. "It looks scary! Jacob moaned. "Come on you two! Don't be afraid. William replied. They pressed on into the wet jungle, keeping together. "What's this animal?" Jacob asked. "Don't touch that, it maybe poisonous." Martin explained. "Remember we were the last people on earth, to maintain our existence we need to eat!" William said whilst smelling food. "I understand Will but we need to be sure it is safe." Replied Martin. "It is very hot here at the moment." William said while they climbed logs with thorns in, nearly got stuck in a swamp and getting wet in the rain. The sun came out and they were all feeling hungry, tired and fed-up. Having already travelled miles they stopped and had a rest by a stream. "Here we can rest and wash our clothes. No one's around so we don't need to feel watched. "Martin told his sons.”It is very hot at the moment so we can relax here" William agreed. "Don't drink the water though as we don't know whether it is safe. Here is a bottle of water from my rucksack and a snack." "What's that crawling on your knee?" Jacob asked William. "It's a new insect, one that I have never seen before. I think it lives only here as I haven't seen it anywhere else we have been." As he was carefully taking the bug off and placing it back down on the ground. Martin was collecting fire wood to make lunch. "After lunch we need to head back to see Amber". Called Martin. "Why?" The boys questioned their dad. "It's because we need to get back to our home to see your mum. It takes us nearly half a day to get back." explained Martin, William and Jacob helped to create a fire and toasted insects before setting off home. They quickly destroyed the fire and left. The three of them wondered back the way they came, through the rainforest and across the desert. After a while they walked up the canyon to where they found the eggs. They walked past the massive nest and back down towards the cave. While on the canyon they could see the cave and where they lived. Amber had supper ready by the time they got home. The family chatted about their adventure and planned to leave early the next morning. The family soon went to bed. The next morning the fire pit was still smoking from the previous night. William gathered some wood whilst Jacob cooked his egg which he had brought back from his travels yesterday. After breakfast, the whole family including Amber set off to explore more of the planet. They locked up and set off the route they went yesterday. After a while they came to the rainforest and decided to take a different route as the route last time was too dangerous. William and Jacob showed their mum the new climate they had found and animals that were surrounding them. At lunch time in the middle of the rainforest they relaxed before carrying on. They continued their walk through the rainforest, cutting down the humid branches as they went. Jacob led the way. All three of them were careful as there were plenty of dangerous animals which resided within the rainforest. Some of these animals had never been catalogued before as they were located on a deserted planet. The rainforest was quite hot, stuffy and was generated thirst for anyone while taking each step. The plan was to trek through the rainforest because they wanted to find more of a civilization. The ground of the rainforest was mostly moist but sometimes problematic to tread on. So it was wise to be cautious when hiking through the rainforest. At times, Jacob, William and Amber waited for each other. They were not in a hurry though they wanted to explore their foreign land. They eventually got to the edge of the rainforest, slightly damp and a bit of breath. They looked round and surveyed the land. Jacob decided that from what he had found, he would gather some material from the edge of the rainforest. Both Jacob and William knew the route back so they would take the material for their house through the rainforest and back to their cave. This material would be for the fire and also essential other equipment that would be helpful later on. After collecting the material including the sticks, vines and moss they stuffed this into their sacks and headed through the rainforest back where they came. The route was marked by their footsteps so they knew where they were going. Jacob tried taking a shorter path but ended up getting stuck. Luckily, all three found a dry safe path which was quicker than the way they took to get the materials. After getting a bit wet, itchy and bitten from walking through the rainforest twice, they managed to find the exit and leave. By this stage, William had started complaining regarding the effects which he had experienced from the rainforest and stated that he was unsure about how the bites from the insects living in the rainforest could be cured. As no one had been in the rainforest before to their knowledge, as this was a completely undiscovered planet like Earth. Where as Jacob was lagging behind as he kept stopping for water. Amber was trying to encourage both of her two sons though she had problems of her own! She was loosing some of the material that was meant for the cave and all three were starting to feel the cold this new planet’s weather had brought in. Awhile later they marched over the mountain where the cave was situated. While they were exploring, Martin was lighting the fire. When Amber and her two sons were approaching the cave they saw the bellowing smoke from the fire. This stirred their spirits and got them to march further. Finally, they all arrived at the cave and warmed up. Martin put supper on that he had brought from previous planet. They had brought with them a limited amount of food and the rest of food they had to find for themselves. After their meal, they unwrapped the materials which they had gathered from the rainforest. They used the materials that they had gathered for their cave. They had found sticks which they used earlier on for their fire and had a few left over for other fires in the next few days. They had also found warm bedding like moss that they could use to keep them warm. Also they had found strong damp twine, which would be useful for the cave for the days ahead. All these tools would be useful or become useful. The family finished the meal. The children started to go to bed early. As they were on another planet, they had no understanding of time. So were just relying on when the Sun would rise and would set. At times the planet got cold at night so it was best to keep warm. Amber's family did this by warm fires and reflecting mirrors to reflect the rays of the Sun to gain additional heat. Sometime in this case, this led to burning but by cooling the idea down with water they reduced the temperature. The sun soon started fading and the temperature started drop. After the meal the family had a hot drink and sat round the fire. The family soon decided to go to bed. They all had different places to sleep. The cave was cold as it was night time. Every night they were at their cave to spend the night and they took turns to keep guard. They would approach their cave, but was safer in an unknown land to keep watch. Their nights were cold but who ever was on watch kept the fire burning, even if the fire was smouldering. Within their cave, they had laid out materials that that were collected from the other days trip. These were used to create bedding, fires and make the cave more of a homely feel. They also had materials that they had brought from earth. These materials were limited as they could only bring so many with them when they left their old planet. It was unsure when they were going to go back to their old planet. The family had a good night as this was one of their first few nights. The next morning, the family woke up. There was limited breakfast, so some of the family members went to search for food within this new planet. The family had situated themselves on the top of a mountain within a cave. This was overlooking a canyon. It had looked at one staged that it had some lush grass and was a valley. This canyon was dry compared to the other side, where yesterday the family went. Before their breakfast, Andrew and Jacob walked to find their meal. They walked through a valley that took them a while to find their meal. They were after vegetation which was edible as Andrew had recognised some of the plants from their home planet before they had left. They were gathering berries within a large wooded area. They had walked for quite a bit though considerably less then the other members of their family who had walked the other day. After walking from their cave they walked through the valley and on the right was a blank mountain where as in the middle in the distance there was a lake with a field running up to this point. On the left there was a forest and here was what led Andrew and Jacob to find their berries. They were walking through the valley and then turned left through the forest with the weather being cold and unforgiving. They were walking along an unmade path when they found the berries and the mushrooms. They also found other vegetation which they dared to try.

The Unknown Planet

When spending time on this new planet, the whole family had to adapt to the new weather conditions and the environment. The planet was similar to their home planet as the landscape was similar but the temperature was different, not that they had to wear oxygen masks but a few degrees different. This meant that at certain times of the new planet the temperatures were either slightly hotter or slightly colder. When Andrew and Jacob were walking in the valley, they were feeling much colder as when the other members of the family were walking the other day the temperature was much hotter. Some times it rained but when it was not raining it was freezing. When the weather was pouring it down, it was very similar to their home planet.

Jacob and Andrew also bundled up some wood and some of what was on the ground for their cave and walked back to their cave. They walked out of the forest and started to march across plains towards their mountain where the cave was situated. As they were walking the, the Sun began to shine in such a way it reflected on the lake behind them as they were walking up the mountain. They were in warm clothing as the weather had been quite dark while they were foraging. Though nothing came out of the sky and it was just very dark. The two kept on walking up the mountain on their way back to the cave. They had only gone out to get some breakfast but this took longer as they had not been to this area of the valley and they were coming to know everything since everything else rather than themselves were new to them in this planet.

Eventually, they got back to the cave. One of Andrew's sons had put on a camp fire but there were strong winds that were blowing, so he had to stop the fire from going out. They had some food left over from when Amber went to explore and find food. The entire family had breakfast then and another son of Andrew's set to work fixing the space craft that they had travelled in.

Their breakfast consisted of what they found around them, on their travels. They had found wild food that they had to make do with whilst on their planet. They did not know how long they would be on the planet, so they had to make do with the environment around them.

Fixing the Craft

After the meal was finished, one of Andrew's sons started putting together of what he could that was left of the space craft. This was difficult as the space craft that smashed into this new planet, was in bits and pieces. William was very interested in fixing things. When he came to fix this, he found that the craft was spread over a vast area. Not all the parts for what he wanted were near the crash site, as some were missing. William decided to go and search for some extra parts.

He walked through a valley to where he once remembered seeing something that would help him complete the build. These were different material than what he was used to but he was hopeful on using them. As they were from a different planet, he was not going to get the same materials as Earth - so he had to make do. William eventually arrived back at the crash site. Amber made him a drink whilst he got to work trying to recreate a craft that would take him home.

A New Beginning

For a while now, the family had been trying to figure out when Earth would be suitable to return. The rest of the family were also hoping that William could build a craft to send to Earth. William had to put all the materials that he had, otherwise there would be no chance of heading back to Earth. Some of the rest of the family had nearly understood if Earth was safe to return.

Earth was changing over time, the family believed. They had worked out that very soon Earth would become the right place for them. William was just finishing the craft when Amber told him about Earth. He was just adjusting some minor functions, when he got called for supper.

''Everyone, I have a surprise for you!'' Shouted William to his family. ''What's That!’’? Replied certain members of his family. William explained about his craft and how this works. The family seemed impressed and wanted to understand more. He showed his family round and answered any questions he had.

Earth should be safe now. The next day, they launched the craft and cleared their home away leaving no traces. They packed everything in the craft and strapped themselves in their seats.

The family left The Unknown Planet and headed into deep space. Eventually, they got into deep space and could float inside their craft. William had set the coordinates for Earth.

In Space

Some of the family found this a fun time floating through the craft in space whilst others were consuming food and drink.

They travelled for what felt like a few days, when they eventually caught sight of Earth. They started to head back to where each of them where sitting and prepare for decent.

They started heading into the atmosphere ready to land in water. William had repaired the craft with a boat so that once they hit the water, they can attempt to find land. Their decent took those hours. When the family looked outside, they could see fire and cloud from their decent downwards. All they could do is just wait the time out.

After a long time William started to see that he needed to control the craft, as this was going the wrong way. At first, this was going towards the land but with Williams’s skill, he managed to move the craft towards water. During the last hour of decent, the family hit the water. William got the boat out. The whole family travelled for miles on the ruff sea until they eventually came to land.

When they eventually arrived at the land, they found that the place was completely different to when they had left the place. They could not make out where they were and what area they were in. So they, headed for what they thought was the nearest town. They hoped this was where they originally lived - Birmingham. During the time when they left, they had completely lost direction of the area, so they made a new home in the area they had found.

Home Sweet Home

They had made the journey back to their new home. Though Earth was looking very different now but still it was suitable to live in. They wondered up a deserted street and found a house that looked as if it was in a decent state to live in. William and Jacob went first to check what was ahead. They had found that some sections of the house were damaged but other parts of the house were still intact. Every member of the family went to relax. One of the sons brought the equipment from what was left of the craft and took the equipment inside.

The next day, they decided to explore Earth. Over the coming days they had found creatures which were still alive during the time they had to leave. This was surprising to Amber as she had a passion for nature. The family was the only family left on planet Earth. They had to find, make and survive - all alone together.

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