The Show
The probe made it to Alpha Centauri, ‘though it took more than thirty years, adding to the fifteen years from inception to launch. The ship’s on-board machine intelligence identified a habitable planet orbiting the second star of the system, sent down the lander, and constructed a settlement. The colonists were then created using encoded DNA data sent from Earth.
Back on the home planet the Mission had by now run into severe political and financial difficulties. It was bailed out by the transnational media corporations, but they extracted a price. From now on all Mission data (and effectively the lives of the colonists) would be made available to them…to do with as they wish…
The result was the world syndicated Alpha Mission Hour, presented from Sao Paulo by local starlet, Senhora da Guia, the highest-rated show in entertainment history…