Earth

They call Ymir a Super-Earth, and that in itself already starts the comparison. But no, this planet is nothing like Earth. Even if you ignore society, pollution, war, all of what humanity hath wrought, even then the very planets differ like night and day.   Heh. Night. That is the first difference. We had nights on Earth, an actual day-night cycle instead of artificial time. There actually was a thing called morning, where you'd wake up to see the first signs of the sun, rising gently from the horizon. Not tidal-locked like Ymir, no. And seasons! The planet was slanted and it took a full year to go around the sun, so we actually had seasons there. You'll know some folks here came from Alaska, who will happily tell you about their winters that lasted half a year, meaning they really had to make things count in summer.   Meanwhile, others talk about how their winters went away, how climate change heated up everything for them, making snow a thing of the past. Or the other way around, how both their summers and winters intensified and blizzards became worse with every year. Because the damage was there, despite all the attempts to control it. The planet was irrevocably damaged, through greed and ignorance, so many places having lost their beauty. A scar upon our soul, knowing what we had done to such a beautiful place.   So here we are, hell-bent on doing better, doing it right this time. And we are failing at it, but hopefully only for now. We are still going the right direction, even if we oft are taking a step back. A unified project, with dozens of economic superpowers joining forces to make it happen, designed to learn from our mistakes and build a better world. And slowly we are getting there.   It does get hard at times, looking back. Knowing that even family that was not born yet when we left, had passed away from old age by the time we arrived here. A twenty-year delay in the occasional communication sent here and back. Watching some distant relative's video of their message to you, desperately looking for any sign of recognition of the family you once knew, and wondering if they already died by the time the message arrived, or if they maybe will still be there when your response gets back, four decades after.   But most of all, I miss the moon. I miss looking up at the night sky, seeing the stars and a bright full moon, shining down on me, illuminating the dark. Watching the world stretch out around me, nature in a quiet hush, going on a silent walk, no words needed as the moon guided me. The old bard said it best, my mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun. And no matter what I find on this planet, that is something I will never be able to live again. But even then, I am still glad I came here.

— An old one