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Hello friends! Since we are all bored, I thought I would attempt to make another writing prompt. This one is a bit different. I want to co-write a story with anyone who will participate. Rather than write a story and let people vote on what to do next, I want people to write the next part.

Here is how I envision this working: I am going to write the "first-page" of a story, and anyone can continue it. This first page will be labeled with "1. Title of Segment" as the first time or subject line. Anyone who wants to continue the story will respond with a post that starts with "2. Title of Segment" followed by the last line of the post that it is continuing.

Each entry will be labeled to make it easier to follow the story. This is important because anyone can add their segment anywhere. For example, if four people have a different idea for part two of the story, then there will be four entries that have a "2" in the title. This is ideal since we are creating a CYOA here. Each of these new segments will create a separate branch. This will continue until someone intentionally writes an ending (I suggest putting "THE END" at the end of your post so it is clear).

I hope to turn this into a real story game at the end (assuming we get quality entries). With that in mind, there are a few rules:

- Please proofread what you are posting and pst a "finished piece" rather than a "work in progress."

- Label your posts with a number and start with the last sentence of what you are continuing off of so that I (and others) can follow the story.

- Try to follow the story. You do not need to conform to any script or anything, but what you write should fit in with what came before. This includes things like the point of view the story is told in, characters, immediate plot points, setting, etc should be continued from where the previous author left off.

- There is no limit or requirement for length, but try to write something manageable and meaningful. The idea is to write this story one page at a time, not one chapter or word at a time. 500 to 1,000 words on average is probably a good goal to shoot for.

- Try not to continue off of your contributions. The idea is that this is a mash-up of a bunch of different authors. Let others write a segment before you add again or go to a different branch to continue adding.

- Have fun with it! Your submission does not have to be perfect. There is also no time limit.

- Do not respond to this post, just the following one that contains the story

Depending on what happens, I'll try to make a game from it and give everyone credit. I suppose it can always be edited, and I can cut branches when making a story if they are not well received. My goal is to create a fun story that everyone who wants to can contribute to though. This is sort of like a collaborative story on infinite story but comprised of short posts here. I consider it an experiment. My apologies if this has been tried before. Also, Mizal has a great story started if you want to continue that one. There is a link on my profile.

It should be fun! Here is the first part...

"Process complete, all vital readings are normal," a robotic voice calls out from somewhere over your head.

A door just above your head swings open, and cold water drains out of the tub you are laying in. Warm air rushes against your face, causing a burning sensation to spread from the tip of your nose to the bottom of your feet. Waking up from cryosleep is never fun.

Getting up, you look around the large dimly lit room filled with pods like the one you came out of. The ship woke you up, just you, which means that you haven't reached the Milkyway galaxy yet. If it is not time to slow down, this has to be an emergency.

"Computer, why did you wake me from cryosleep?" you ask aloud, walking down a narrow hallway to the bridge. Maps of the galaxy you are currently in, titled CYS-27B by the computer, appear as a three-dimensional image above a large projector table in the center of the circular room.

"We have been steadily approaching the Milkyway galaxy as instructed; however, our sensors just alerted us to an unidentified black hole in our projected route," the computer responds.

"Can you pinpoint the location of the black hole?"

"Yes, captain, its gravity is the strongest at the coordinates of the star formally known as... THE SUN."

"Wait, it's in the Milkyway galaxy?"

"That is correct."

"Do the sensors pick up anything else from the Milkyway galaxy?"

"Negative."

"Are there any incoming or received transmissions?"

"Processing request... Captain, there are no new transmissions."

"That's... not possible..."

"Captain, I have recalibrated the scanners and preformed additional scans of the Milkyway galaxy. New data confirmed that my original report is indeed possible. Our target location is within the gravitational pull of the black hole."

"Thanks," you sigh as you collapse into your chair overlooking the maps. Expanding, these maps now show several galaxies surrounding the Milkyway galaxy. Red marks cover areas that are too dangerous to travel due to the gravitational readings from the black hole, including the sector that used to contain Earth. "They can't all be gone... Someone would have done something..."

"Captain."

"Yes?"

"What course of action would you like to take? We can not accomplish the current flight plan. Current estimates show a... 0% percent chance of survival."

"Okay, okay... let me think," you mutter, rubbing your temples. "Is there any other significant data?"

"Yes, the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies have been significantly altered from previous data logs. This is likely due to the formation of the black hole in the Milkyway galaxy. These galaxies show signs of life; however, if the black hole expands further these galaxies could eventually be consumed. Centaurus A and Bode's galaxy have also ben altered. They are too far for the scanners to confirm if life is sustainable within them. Calculations indicate that there is a... 13.2% chance that a planet could be livable and 37.9% chance a planet could be terraformed into a livable planet."

Silence follows as you furrow your brow in thought. The crew is still asleep and doesn't know what is happening, waking them might be a good idea. You could also target one of the galaxies that the computer mentioned and resume cryosleep, essentially continuing the previous mission with a new destination. There are also limitless galaxies around you, should you decide to slow the ship down or head to an unexplored region of space. Heck, you could also be the first crew ever to fly into the gravity of a black hole.

Only one thing is for certain: your deepspace mining mission just got a lot more complicated.