Salvation Ch2: Growing accustomed
I am not sure how long it was before I figured out how to operate my implant. Considering I still have no idea what it’s limits are, I suppose the process is still ongoing. SEMI talked me through the very basics and had attempted to familiarize me with the very different way of life aboard the Dawn Seeker. Telling someone about some crazy invention is one thing, but experiencing it is entirely different. For example, on earth clothes were made from fabrics and other solid materials and typically covered the body. Now I am still moving about trying to get used to the feeling of my uniform composed from tangible light. It feels as if nothing is there, but at the same time touching it from the outside provides a layer of resistance, a solid barrier both for touch and sight. They call this Hardlight, or at least that is the closest translation in english, and it is the key to the majority of their Galactic age technology.
When SEMI had first introduced me to this place, I believed myself prisoner, but as I explored the options listed within my implants interface, another projection of Hardlight, I discovered that I was as much a prisoner here as a child in his own room, free to wander the ship, once I figured out how to operate the door that was. I looked onto the screen before me, thankfully having been preset to english. There was a list of objects end equipment that could be projected for me, as well as controls for the lighting, decorum, and ambiance for my room. One of the last options under the room controls was an open or closed switch. I flicked it over to open and watched as the barrier dissipated revealing a hallway. I walked out after checking again to make sure that my clothes were still projected. I imagine this one will take awhile to get used to.
As I left the room the AI from before piped up,“I see you have decided to leave your quarters.” SEMI said.
“I wanted to explore a little bit.” I explained, “Everything here is so strange.”
I heard her digital laugh, “You are the strange ones.” She said, “Did you know that before humans came along, I never once needed an update? Every other sentient race in the universe that we have discovered thus far had fit within my original parameters. Your planet is home to hardships almost no other living planet deals with and you have grown accordingly. The Union has observed your planet for a long time, but based on prior regulations could not assist your race until you achieved intergalactic travel for yourself, that was of course until your planet was in immediate danger.”
“You know for thousands of years people have wondered if there was life elsewhere in the universe. Within 2 days it has not only been confirmed to be abundant, but to have been silently watching us. What was once fantasy became a reality. What danger was it that saved us hundreds more to be here?”
I began to walk as we talked, still intending to explore the ship.
“The position of your galaxy is… less than fortunate. The universe has a way of letting energy spill in through weak points in dimensional walls. This excess energy can lead to, unexpected behavior. Your whole galaxy has been moving toward one of these leaks for decades. Had we not evacuated the galaxy all life forms would have faced nearly a century of bedlam before being removed from its effects, though based on what my data says about humans, I do not think there was danger of extinction. I believe this evacuation is merely because the Union leaders did not want to wait to interact with your kind.” SEMI explained.
Well it was nice to know that humans were at least noteworthy of whatever government the aliens had. It did also occur to me that I had not actually met any alien life yet.
“SEMI,” I asked, “Where is everyone?”
“You will need to be a little more specific” She responded.
“The crew, other passengers, anyone else?” I clarified.
“There are currently 378.5 individual life forms aboard the Star Seeker, of them 297 are asleep, 293 of those in their personal chambers. The remaining 81.5 are spread throughout the bridge, hallways, gymnasium, and cafeteria.” SEMI said.
“How do you have half of a life form?” I asked confused.
“Androids and other synthetic creatures, while meeting all the requirements of life by Union decree are not counted as a full individual for use in voting, taxation, or other population based assessments.” She explained.
“So the half portion..” I started,
“Is me” SEMI finished.
It felt strange to feel sorry for a robot, but just that twinge of strangeness indicated that I too harbored an unspoken biased against them. Perhaps the rest of the universe wasn’t as far along as I thought. I toured the rest of the ship in relative silence. SEMI would introduce me to a new room or sector of the ship as she saw fit, and indicated how to use the mapping function on my implant to navigate on my own. Eventually I made it to the bridge to see my first alien life. I don’t know what I had expected, but it certainly wasn’t what I found.
When I entered the room all eyes came to me. There were 12 aliens staring at me from around the room. The first was a large gel like creature, it wore no clothes and was partially translucent with an implant device like mine floating inside of it. The next seemed insectoid it a yellow and shiny exoskeleton, surrounding it. Rather than having an implant inside it, it wore one like a watch on one of its 4 wrists. Another seemed to be made of living metal tinted blue and polished, it stood on four legs and was most comparable to that of a human horse despite its lack of fur, and its armlike appendages extending from its back. So on and so forth I observed the strange life forms that filled the room, and all of them stared back at me like I was the weirdest one there. Perhaps I would accustom myself to them before they accustomed themselves to humanity.
I am not sure how long it was before I figured out how to operate my implant. Considering I still have no idea what it’s limits are, I suppose the process is still ongoing. SEMI talked me through the very basics and had attempted to familiarize me with the very different way of life aboard the Dawn Seeker. Telling someone about some crazy invention is one thing, but experiencing it is entirely different. For example, on earth clothes were made from fabrics and other solid materials and typically covered the body. Now I am still moving about trying to get used to the feeling of my uniform composed from tangible light. It feels as if nothing is there, but at the same time touching it from the outside provides a layer of resistance, a solid barrier both for touch and sight. They call this Hardlight, or at least that is the closest translation in english, and it is the key to the majority of their Galactic age technology.
When SEMI had first introduced me to this place, I believed myself prisoner, but as I explored the options listed within my implants interface, another projection of Hardlight, I discovered that I was as much a prisoner here as a child in his own room, free to wander the ship, once I figured out how to operate the door that was. I looked onto the screen before me, thankfully having been preset to english. There was a list of objects end equipment that could be projected for me, as well as controls for the lighting, decorum, and ambiance for my room. One of the last options under the room controls was an open or closed switch. I flicked it over to open and watched as the barrier dissipated revealing a hallway. I walked out after checking again to make sure that my clothes were still projected. I imagine this one will take awhile to get used to.
As I left the room the AI from before piped up,“I see you have decided to leave your quarters.” SEMI said.
“I wanted to explore a little bit.” I explained, “Everything here is so strange.”
I heard her digital laugh, “You are the strange ones.” She said, “Did you know that before humans came along, I never once needed an update? Every other sentient race in the universe that we have discovered thus far had fit within my original parameters. Your planet is home to hardships almost no other living planet deals with and you have grown accordingly. The Union has observed your planet for a long time, but based on prior regulations could not assist your race until you achieved intergalactic travel for yourself, that was of course until your planet was in immediate danger.”
“You know for thousands of years people have wondered if there was life elsewhere in the universe. Within 2 days it has not only been confirmed to be abundant, but to have been silently watching us. What was once fantasy became a reality. What danger was it that saved us hundreds more to be here?”
I began to walk as we talked, still intending to explore the ship.
“The position of your galaxy is… less than fortunate. The universe has a way of letting energy spill in through weak points in dimensional walls. This excess energy can lead to, unexpected behavior. Your whole galaxy has been moving toward one of these leaks for decades. Had we not evacuated the galaxy all life forms would have faced nearly a century of bedlam before being removed from its effects, though based on what my data says about humans, I do not think there was danger of extinction. I believe this evacuation is merely because the Union leaders did not want to wait to interact with your kind.” SEMI explained.
Well it was nice to know that humans were at least noteworthy of whatever government the aliens had. It did also occur to me that I had not actually met any alien life yet.
“SEMI,” I asked, “Where is everyone?”
“You will need to be a little more specific” She responded.
“The crew, other passengers, anyone else?” I clarified.
“There are currently 378.5 individual life forms aboard the Star Seeker, of them 297 are asleep, 293 of those in their personal chambers. The remaining 81.5 are spread throughout the bridge, hallways, gymnasium, and cafeteria.” SEMI said.
“How do you have half of a life form?” I asked confused.
“Androids and other synthetic creatures, while meeting all the requirements of life by Union decree are not counted as a full individual for use in voting, taxation, or other population based assessments.” She explained.
“So the half portion..” I started,
“Is me” SEMI finished.
It felt strange to feel sorry for a robot, but just that twinge of strangeness indicated that I too harbored an unspoken biased against them. Perhaps the rest of the universe wasn’t as far along as I thought. I toured the rest of the ship in relative silence. SEMI would introduce me to a new room or sector of the ship as she saw fit, and indicated how to use the mapping function on my implant to navigate on my own. Eventually I made it to the bridge to see my first alien life. I don’t know what I had expected, but it certainly wasn’t what I found.
When I entered the room all eyes came to me. There were 12 aliens staring at me from around the room. The first was a large gel like creature, it wore no clothes and was partially translucent with an implant device like mine floating inside of it. The next seemed insectoid it a yellow and shiny exoskeleton, surrounding it. Rather than having an implant inside it, it wore one like a watch on one of its 4 wrists. Another seemed to be made of living metal tinted blue and polished, it stood on four legs and was most comparable to that of a human horse despite its lack of fur, and its armlike appendages extending from its back. So on and so forth I observed the strange life forms that filled the room, and all of them stared back at me like I was the weirdest one there. Perhaps I would accustom myself to them before they accustomed themselves to humanity.