The Search for Curiosity - Pt.4

May 28th, 2042:
The Search for Curiosity - Final Part
Journal Entries by Doctor Cornelius Lorenzini, astrophysicist stationed at Helios Outward Station, 200 kilometres from the Noctis Labyrinthus.
It has been a little over a month since my Father was taken home. Back to Earth, to be buried on the grounds of Harvard University. I'm not sure if he would have liked that, or hated it, but the University was quite insistent. A strange request, to be sure, as it was the institution that expelled him from academia, but one I decided to let happen. Some of his assistants wanted him to be buried on Mars, at the spot where he found the Curiosity and the... ship, but I decided against it. He didn't like Mars. He met my Mom at Harvard, and had, I think, the best years of his life there.
He's a hero now. There is even talk of the Noctis Labyrinthus being renamed the Cornelius Labyrinth in his honor. It's going to be preserved; a stalwart reminder of what Mars was like before humanity came and set our feet here. I know for sure he would have hated the idea, but maybe it's funnier this way. Curiosity will remain on Mars, and the ceremony was this afternoon. Enshrined in a monument at the center of Harmonia-1. Our first explorer. With my Father, immortalized in Mars rock, standing next to her.
I guess I'll call it a her. He did.
The speech said he loved this here red planet, and the "mystery" of Curiosity. They couldn't be more wrong, but what's the harm now? He's an inspiration to thousands of students. All because he wanted to find a lost piece of junk on a barren planet, and ended up unearthing one of the greatest scientific finds of the last decade.
Maybe, that is. There's a lot of debate going on over exactly what that ship is. We're not able to get close due to the radiation leaking out of it, and many back on Earth (including the Church) are loudly denouncing it. Right now all we've got is some fuzzy video and my Dad talking about the characters on the side of the ship. They're saying maybe it's just a crashed probe except that doesn't explain the peculiar radiation. Either way the debate will continue until we can get down there. 
I miss him. We'd just... rekindled? I guess. I think he expected to come back from finding the Curiosity. He made preparations in case he didn't, but I really think he wanted to come back. He was a cantankerous asshole, and a miserable father, but he cared about me in his own way. When he could. Mom understood. Also, in her own way. I'm the caretaker of his legacy now, and that's pushed me a lot further up the food chain than I ever expected.
I've got a good view of the University Square. Overlooking green grass, swaying trees, and that statue of my Dad, pointing Skyward. With his girl, at his side. Forever.
Laura... Out.
Category:Cornelius Lorenzini
Category:Unknown Ship
Category:Noctis Labyrinthus
Category:Curiosity Rover