Hurtling through space for a greater part of one’s youth and adulthood wasn’t what AL01 had expected their life to consist of. At least they had company alongside AL through AO’s 100 units per iteration. A total of 400 warm bodies.
For centuries now, their genetic sequences were mapped completely, able to be modified in order to express certain mutations and expressions. Each generation became more cutting-edge than the last. For instance, higher production of fat-processing hormones greatly decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease — They felt particularly bad such breakthrough technology couldn’t be applied to their predecessors. After all, one’s genetics could not be forcibly activated or hidden past the embryonic state.
And so, as their forebears underwent experiments to further a more intense muscle building regimen needed for efficient space travel, without this essential mutation, a whole era was sacrificed for the betterment of society.
By the time the top performing 100 AO individuals were chosen to advance humanity’s frontiers, the Bx generation were about to be rolled out, deprecating a lot of the newer, more advanced genetic mutations administered to the Ax iteration.
At the time of their departure, plans containing step-by-step instructions for every contingency were charted and were still continuously revised by the artificial intelligence possessing quantum supremacy onboard their mothership. It was because of these thorough procedures that AL01 had the utmost confidence that their generation would do something wondrous. The first generation would have laid some form of groundwork by now, the second building upon the first’s sweat and toil. On and on it would go, creating something beautiful, something meaningful for civilization.
That was their firm belief even when the first sign of something amiss appeared.
“What is that?” AO99 was the first to point out towards what should have been a desolate landscape. Through the porthole was a colossal structure spinning and gyrating at a consistent, yet furious rate. Much more so than any planet they’ve seen or studied about before. Although far out in the distance, they all immediately judged the sheer enormity such an object had to be to be seen under the profound darkness of space.
How could their sensors have missed something which ought to possess such a non-trivial gravitational pull? There were no signs of light or electricity or plasma, there were no reactions on their super magnets or radars to indicate poles or directions. But for such a mammoth thing to rotate like this, surely it possessed an electromagnetic field as well. Could this perhaps be some advanced technology of an unknown life-form?
They had often deliberated on the existence of aliens, whether they would be more or less intelligent, what their culture or language would consist of, how their physical appearances would look, but most importantly, whether they would be friendly or hostile.
There was a deafening silence as their fleet re-routed towards the strange structure. Only the steady drone of beeping indicated the AI’s re-examination of indeterminate possibilities.
Countless protocols ran through AL01’s head and an unaccustomed feeling washed over them. How would they prepare for first contact? What should happen if the other lifeforms were malicious?
All at once, a signal aired across the ships. It was unfamiliar and felt wrong. This off-put feeling intensified and a frigid chill settled into their bones. They were all prepped for the possibility that this could occur. No, they knew eventually the AI would be unable to resolve the myriad of unknowns and impossibilities that would incur over the course of their travels. The sound marked the passage of truly uncharted territory.
Everyone seemed glued to the apertures, only an emptiness filling the spaces between… Between what? Them and us? The unknown and familiar? The trickling concern pooling around their consciousness was a dark and strange void.
“We’ve trained all our lives for this,” AO99, suddenly spoke. “Do not lose heart. No matter what events unfold here, our cause - the advancement of humanity - will not be lost. Everything we do now will provide value to the next. There will be others who will take up the mantle. In this way, we will not fade into obscurity.”
An audible breaking of reverie could be heard amongst everyone.
They were right. It was almost laughable to be halted in their tracks due to fear. Onwards humanity would forge, as it always did, as it always had, generation after generation. Each one built upon the last like farmers which plant seed to soil to bloom.
The feeling dissipated as soon as it came. “AL01,” They were called up by AO99. "Please suit up and prepare for landing."
It was protocol to send out the oldest units first, even incremental advancements in genetic modification could prove vital in such a mission. So why was it that AL00 wasn't called? Unfortunately, they malfunctioned early in the mission due to a voltage leak in the upload schema. Tragic indeed, but what stood out to AL01 more, was that such an early death seemed to be a harbinger on their mission.
Shaking the memories and uncanny feeling away, they turned their thoughts back to something brighter. Their life was not lost in vain. The malfunction was promptly fixed in ensuing models. Yes, it was because of them that saved the other 399 units from the same fate. Just as AL01 would do now.
The halls converged in on themselves and distorted more and more each step they took. They walked slowly to the airlock, still, time moved much too quickly. Bright lights shone against their face, the glare blinding.
After donning the spacesuit, other units gathered around them. They wished them luck, gave words of encouragement, and applauded with gusto. AL01 tried to enjoy the cheer, but a bleak undertone roared and crashed against their eardrums.
“This is as far as we can take you, AL01.” A shoulder pat from AO99 served only to make them more queasy, “If this is the last we see of you, on the behalf of humanity, I wish to tell you: thank you for your service.”
The advancement of humanity. The advancement of humanity. They repeated these words as if it were a mantra, willing themself to have courage. The advancement of-
The airlock hissed open and all eyes eagerly awaited for AL01 to go beyond. For perhaps the last time, they took a deep inhalation of sweet, sweet, re-circulated air, before stepping inside the pressurized chamber. The barricade immediately shut, a flashing red light dyed their surroundings. When the other side opened, a deep void permeated all around.
With tether in hand, they slowly hopped out, making sure their velocity was not too great. The structure seemed impossibly large. Closer and closer the alien object grew, its size somehow seeming to expand even further.
“That’s it, AL01.” The earpiece affirmed, their de-facto leader spoke in a steady tone. “You’re 3km from the superstructure.”
It felt as if centuries had passed by the time they drifted near enough to stretch out their fingers and touch the obsidian walls. Realistically, they couldn’t feel anything through the thick garment meant to keep all the harsh environmental factors out. However, AL01 would have liked to think it felt smooth to touch. As glacial and biting as its surroundings.
All at once, yet also somehow expected, something lit up a distant blue. On the periphery, they could see movement on one of the structural arms far off. Utilizing the helmet’s optical technology, they zoomed in on the activity — a door had opened.
After relaying this newfound information to base, AL01 made the trek (drift) over. The opening was even smaller than they imagined. Still, it suffused a mellow azure light, shining more deeply and further than one would expect in this deep and dark expanse.
Once inside, the entrance, or exit, closed shut. A pressurized vapour filled the chamber, most likely sanitation and perhaps atmospheric gases. They opted to keep their helmet on though. as they were unsure whether alien lifeforms would require the same gases required by humans. But indeed, it was off. For all intents and purposes, this place resembled the airlocks they had seen so many times before.
They half-expected some alien contact after the next door’s chamber opened. So it was perhaps even more shocking that no one awaited them. Motion sensors immediately detected their presence and lit the hallway up, it was smooth and empty.
“AO99?” They spoke into the receiver, no response save for static answered back.
Although unnerved, they calmly turned on the spacesuit’s built-in logger and transmission system. It would transmit every last piece of information at the first chance possible once reconnected. This included vitals, data from the inertial navigation system, electromagnetic readings, as well as any sound logs. The default title was simply the date and time of creation, but it was good and standard practice to give a more descriptive name.
The walk felt heavy and it wasn’t until a couple minutes passed that they became increasingly aware of this nostalgic strain on their body. “Gravity?” They vocalized aloud in shock.
What need would alien beings have to simulate gravitational force?
Some intuitive understanding settled in their gut and their hesitant steps soon became a sprint. When their helmet became too stuffy, they threw it off in a fit. Then jogged back and picked it up, continuing to run with the bulky thing. They kept turning corner after corner, throwing open door after door. The familiar floor plan made their stomach churn ever so increasingly as each room proved empty.
They saved the control centre for last.
As AL01 entered, a steady drone hummed in the background. They walked up to a computer station and searched through the file, typing command after command to get a sense of the situation. In the system was a whole host of papers and research and logs filled to the brim with data. They detailed maps of planetary terrain much further out, technology far more advanced than this generation could have thought possible, decades upon decades of journals on psychological and medical research.
A realization dawned upon AL01 — humanity must have had a breakthrough in faster space travel technology and managed to colonize generations upon generations.
Time dilation was a bitch, they grimaced.
Although a bit bitter about this unexpected development, they suppressed both that and the gnawing feeling that something wasn’t right.
The last file available was titled a date and time, uncharacteristically ill-defined. Perhaps it would have been better to look through the logs in chronological order. However, all they could think about was the ending.
They clicked the file open. It was eerily quiet, only white noise filtering into their ears.
Only a single mumble was heard in the entirety of the audio clip. AL01 had never heard such an all-encompassing despair in a voice before. “It’s all over.” This and a single click resounded, finalizing the end of the transmission.
They stiffened, unable to understand or process what had happened. A few minutes of pure shock passed before they suddenly and very desperately rummaged through that day’s metadata for any semblance of a clue. But that log held nothing of value. There were 25 other units still active and although that was a meager amount compared to the sheer size of this superstructure, there was nothing to indicate anything was wrong. All vitals were normal, there had been no indication of hostile intrusions or coup uprisings. No disease or sudden surge in radiation or temperature or atmospheric pressure.
They retraced their steps backward, one at a time through the logs. Before long, an aberrant trend started to emerge. Like clockwork, every couple of months, a unit would abruptly and seemingly without cause, die.
This abnormality provoked all the other units to collectively throw themselves at research. It wasn’t long before they zeroed in on the mutation causing it. AL01 didn’t have the knowledge or understanding of such advanced scientific breakthroughs. Try as they might, the only information they could parse from this disconnected language was about a seemingly benign sequence of DNA which allowed for greater cardiac metabolism. Deemed safe, it was one of the first discoveries in epigenetics. Soon this genetic modification became standardized and rolled out to every model for promise of greater quality of life. Who would have thought that such an inconsequential genetic expression from iterations past would mutate under very specific conditions? Namely, accelerated space travel. Atmospheric pressure, temperature, PH of their bodily fluids, etcetera etcetera were a few of the myriad of factors.
Such a small oversight.
And yet the realization slowly dawned upon AL01. They had this same mutation. Everyone in their fleet possessed it. The society they left behind had it.
A great light snuffed out.
Camaraderie, hope, perseverance. It whispered of purpose one last time before decaying. All was a withered field. They fell onto their knees and only the all-encompassing void of space was there to greet them.