If there was indeed a signal,  there must be a working transmitter somewhere on the planet. And it would have to be close to our location, based on the signal strength that we were able to detect. I gave an order search for any clues around the landing area leaving Neva with the examination of the rest of the artifacts. I looked down on my watch to remind myself of the time we have before the report back to the main ship.

Neva, my navigator, expertly steered the ship to align with the spot where my finger was pointing and the ship began to descend into the atmosphere. We had the initial view of the atmosphere during the descent and found it to be identical to the Earth’s atmosphere’s composition during the early 20th century. Most important of all, the level of oxygen in the air was just the right amount for human to breathe. 

It has been 32 years since humanity had escaped the planet Earth for good. Centuries of civilisation depending on the natural resources meant that by 23rd century , surface of the Earth resembled the cities after World War 3. Mighty Jungles and raging rivers had disappeared from the face of the earth , only to remained as display sets in the art museums. Winds blowing at near Cat 5 hurricanes swept everything on the surface with relentless energy.

It has been more than 100 thousand years since the Humanity , of the last remaining , left Earth to venture out into space. The search for new home was the message sold off to the dying , sick and the old that packaged and sent to far away destinations but it was essentially an escape from the dying world. Earth was dying at the end of the 35th century. Smoked filled cities occupied the top layer of the surface while the poor struggled below the metal plate holding the enormous factories. The privileged wined and dined above the clouds with clear view to the artificial surface below using the projections to hide the death and destruction below.