Chapter 19

Chapter 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Astra Lost in Space manga. It is the first chapter of the Arispade arc and, in the compiled volumes, the first chapter of the third volume.

Synopsis
At her home in the city of Mousanish, Emma Spring watches the news. Speaking from the gates of Caird High School, a reporter states that over 40 days have passed since Group B-5 disappeared without a trace while on McPa, and that the search for the children has been canceled with the understanding that the chances of them still being alive are virtually nonexistent. Emma shuts the television off, tears forming in her eyes as she speaks her daughter's name to herself.

Later, she attends a meeting at Caird with most of the other parents of the missing children: Gert Zweig, Ulgar's father and the school's vice principal; Jed Walker, Zack's father; Wei Lu, Yun-Hua's mother; Olive Raffaeli, Funicia and Quitterie's mother; Rei Hoshijima, Kanata's father; and Sofie Lacroix, Charce's mother. Gert informs the group that, since a month has passed since the cancellation of the search, they need to file an adjudication of disappearance, intending to have the children declared legally dead before the usual one-year length of time mandated by law.

This sparks a heated response from Emma, who engages the rest of the parents in turn to advocate for further searching; the other parents seem prepared to have their children declared dead, but Emma refuses to admit it. Emma engages in a back-and-forth debate with the others, about the lack of evidence found on the surface of McPa, odd details that seem inconsistent with the conclusions yielded by the search, and the possibility of other places to search, including space. She is rebuffed by all the other parents in turn, and eventually apologizes for being disruptive and denying that their children's deaths are a certainty.

Sofie mentions that Luca's father, a senator named Marco Esposito, has not arrived to discuss the matter with them; a man wearing dark sunglasses, seated behind Gert at the head of the table, states that he was scheduled to provide his DNA to the government in compliance with the Genome Control Act. Jed mentions that Marco was staunchly against the passage of the act, and briefly wonders aloud how he feels having to comply with its demands before apologizing for distracting the others.

After the meeting ends, Emma confronts Gert directly over an issue about which she is deeply worried: namely, that Aries would have discovered she is not Emma's biological daughter when they were both required to comply with the Genome Control Act. Emma declares her intention to tell Aries the truth when she returns, and Gert agrees to help her talk to Aries about it, should her daughter ever return.

As Olive walks through Caird's courtyard toward the gates, Jed catches up to her and asks if they can walk home together; she firmly expresses a desire to walk separately from him, but he decides to walk with her anyway. Olive tells him of her coworkers' suspicion as to their relationship status, as they see each other frequently at work, and her hospital employees nagging her about when she and Jed plan to be married. When Jed mentions the possibility that Zack could marry Quitterie, she becomes colder than ever, remarking that they both know such a thing is not possible.

As Marco Esposito leaves the gene collection center after complying with the Act, he is accosted by reporters, who demand to know what he thinks of having to comply to a law he disapproves of. He replies simply that people have a duty to obey laws once they are passed. As he waits for his aids to bring his car, a reporter asks how he feels about his son being missing; turning to look the reporter in the eye, emotionless, he replies that he feels terrible, using almost the same words Gert used in the meeting Marco did not attend to describe his own feelings.

As she walks home by herself, Emma looks up into the blue sky; tears in her eyes again, she again expresses the desperate hope that Aries is alive and well. At that same moment, on the distant planet Arispade, a ocean world dotted infrequently by islands, the crew of the Astra relaxes, tanning on the beach, playing in the ocean, and hunting in the forest. Eating a juicy tropical fruit, Aries remarks that Arispade is paradise.