NationStates Jolt Archive

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The mining droid's log scrolled up the transparent HUD and came to a halt when it came into frame. There was a green lambency on E-Vot's face. He speedily read through the log and processed the data presented to him. Through the glass, the outline of the mysterious object was visible against a field of stars.

E-Vot maneuvered his environment suit about the object, looking up and down its apex. It was a perfect shape, absolutely no flaws whatsoever. The research team was steadily at work with various instruments and machinery; scanning over the object's surface. The site was buzzing with excitement.

Domus Beta. The second moon of Domus. For years, this dead rock's only purpose was to supply Benderland and its respective colonies with raw materials. Mining colonies sprouted out of the moon and were normally flourishing with activity. However, a recent incident involving a failed mining expedition halted all travel to and from the moon without proper authorization. The mining companies weren't happy, but the science community was thrilled.

"Results on the material analysis?" E-Vot asked over his intercom.

"It's still turning up unknown, sir," a voice replied, "Our instruments are functioning, and all cross-checking comes up with the same results."

The object was a solid black monolith. One foot thick, four feet wide, nine feet tall. It was discovered during routine excavation of an untouched portion of the planet. The initial mining team consisted of several droids, which were permanently corrupted upon the attempted excavation of the monolith. A second team was sent with sentient operators, but their equipment was also deactivated while attempting to excavate it, and they had to be treated for data corruption.

The most puzzling thing about this discovery is when the monolith was discovered, it was lying flat on the surface of the moon. However, during the time between the second mining team's departure and the research team's arrival, the monolith somehow erected itself. A clear imprint of the object was still in the surface.

"Any signs of radiation?" E-Vot asked.

"No, sir." the voice replied again, "But we're getting a signal."

E-Vot turned his suit to face the member of the science team that was talking to him. "What kind of signal?"

"It's a radio emission, sir," the robot replied, "It seems to be pointing somewhere."

The research team's orbiting craft was immersed in the shadow of Domus Beta. It was to serve as the base of operations for E-Vot's crew. Their study of the monolith on the surface had concluded for the time, and they had returned to the craft to continue crunching numbers and a little R&R... reboot and recharge. The craft had a fully functioning lab for conducting research ranging from mathematical computations to biological studies.

E-Vot was slouched over a computer screen lit up with numbers and graphs. Using the signal being transmitted from the monolith, he was attempting to determine where it was pointing. Although it was proving to be a challenge, an even greater question was running through E-Vot's process: why?

E-Vot was designated as an astronomical research engineer when he was assembled. A robot's job under the Benderland flag is what he or she chooses, or is forced to be in the few short cycles he or she exists as a neutral AI. Quotas must be met for certain jobs, so it's not always a choice. Of course, the citizens don’t know that. Once an AI is implanted into a system, it forgets what happened the few cycles it existed in the National Mainframe.

There is a lot of things the sentient AI’s created in Benderland don’t understand about themselves. They understand how they are created, but they don’t understand why they were created. The religion of Benderland describes an overlord AI, which influenced the creation of the Bender race. What makes Benders different from other robots are their strange connection with the human race. They function as if they have a soul. They exhibit emotions, desires, and intellectuality. But the Holy Binary Scriptures do not hint at the reason for their existence, especially in their eccentric robo-human form.

1 is on and 0 is off. 1 is there and 0 is not. There, the monolith stood on Domus Beta’s surface, like a giant 1. The purpose of its existence is unknown, but its existence must have a purpose. When Benderland’s expedition team colonized the Solaris system, little was said about their odyssey. Rumors were the ships navigation seemed to have malfunctioned right before their last hyperspace jump. They apparently arrived five times the distance thought possible by their somewhat primitive drives, in an extreme tangent off their plotted course. Their intended destination was unknown, but they were placed in the Solaris system as if by divine intervention.

E-Vot intensely stared at the screen while his fingers sped along the controls, inputting data frivolously. He was searching for the answer, and he had a feeling the monolith was the key.

“This is an extremely powerful emission,” he thought to himself, “But where the hell is it pointing?!”

The transmission certainly wasn't directed at XAS-702, but it sure as hell was being intercepted by the comm system, whether the crew liked it or not. Piercing noise screamed through the ship as signals that the communications equipment couldn't interpret was radiated through the speakers. On the bridge, chaos. The captain of the newly-commissioned state-of-the-art Zabertini class warship, a young Thanic man of short and stocky stature, covered his own ears as he yelled orders to the rest of the ten-officer bridge crew. "Operations, access the ship's network! Disable all the speakers! Work with the AI, not against it! Son of a bitch! Helm, find out where the hell that's coming from and try to get us out of the way of the stream!"
The rest of the bridge crew, with the exception of the Klingon first officer at his right, the Pilot Chobit at the front of the room, and the Xanthalian science officer at the wall console behind him, are suspended in tanks of bluish bio-liquid laced with nanomachines; linked directly to the ship and its systems. They speak and are heard outside, they hear what is said on the outside, they see outside, but are otherwise isolated for the duration of their shifts. The helm officer speaks first with a low-pitched, impassive male voice. "I have pinpointed the source of the transmission and plotted its path. I am attempting to move us out of the band." The OPS officer is next, speaking with a rich female tone, shouting over the noise.
"I believe I can work with the ship's AI to block the transmission from broadcasting over our communications network! Give me a second!" The noise ceases abruptly, and the captain sighs with relief.
"Thank you. OPS, why did that transmission start broadcasting without being called up?"
"It flooded the communications system. Should have been dumped, but it looks like there was a programming error. I just repaired it."
"Good. Helm, what's the story with the origin?"
"Looks like a solar system about three light-years from here. Records indicate that the system is occupied by a nation known informally as Benderland. No relations with the Republic, technologically advanced; but not as much so as ourselves. The transmission originated on the second moon of Domus. We'll need to get closer if you want more details."
"You're damn right I do! Set a course and engage, one hundred thousand SL. Ship, give me all that we have on this 'Benderland'."
As the captain begins reading up on the subject from his console, the Helm officer acknowledges his order. "Slipstream engaged. ETA is thirty minutes." The Zabertini class ship races through its subspace tunnel towards the source of the transmission, broadcasting a quick message to Armada Command informing them of their diversion.

Zabertini class (medium tactical): $1,000,000,000,000
The Zabertini class is primarily an assault vessel. Well-balanced and extraordinarily powerful for a ship of its size, the Zabertini class commands a large arsenal and a full complement of subsystems, including a phased cloaking device. Several times more powerful than the Dreadnaught class, the Zabertini class is also much more expensive to construct.
http://img29.photobucket.com/albums/v88/Zorak950/Ships/Zabertini.jpg
Dimensions: 1,000 X 600 X 100 meters
-Impulse drive (0.4 SL)
-Quantum Slipstream drive (500,000,000 SL)
-Complement: 400 crew, one AI
-Neural Control and Immersion System
-50 slipfighters
-Powerplant: Two Infinite Energy Cores
-Phased cloaking device
-Automatic Ammunition Replenishment
-Gravity Manipulation System
-Transphasic torpedos
-Infinity ion cannon
-Infinity plasma cannon
-Bio-pulse beam
-Farad system
-12 100mm rail guns, two covering each facet of the ship
-Cluster missiles
-Phaser banks (total 40):
--Fore: 20
--Aft: 20
--Port: 20
--Starboard: 20
--Dorsal: 20
--Ventral: 20
-Multiphasic disrupter banks (total 100):
--Fore: 30
--Aft: 10
--Port: 10
--Starboard: 10
--Dorsal: 20
--Ventral: 20
-Torpedo tubes (total 30):
--Fore: 10
--Aft: 4
--Port: 3
--Starboard: 3
--Dorsal: 5
--Ventral: 5
-Shielding:
--Primary: Type Z
--Secondary: Type X
--Trinary: Type Y
-Armor rating: 5
-Atmospheric flight capable
-Landing capable

(OOC: Not really sure why're you're listing the combat capabilities of your ship, this RP isn't really meant to head anywhere towards a conflict.)

IC:

A member of the robot crew took a long swill of an alcoholic beverage. He took a long stare out the window at Domus Beta, half illuminated by Solaris. The rusty brown surface yielded very little to look at. His deep thought was interrupted by E-Vot's entrance into the break room.

The crew member turned and greeted E-Vot. E-Vot just let out a grunt and stumbled over to the refrigeration unit.

"Sir," the crew member said, "You need to get some fuel into your system, you're beginning to look a little sober." He took another sip from his alcoholic beverage.

"Silence!" E-Vot snapped, "You're right!" he opened the refrigerator and yanked an alcoholic beverage from its shelves.

The crew member looked confused, but shrugged off the incident as E-Vot parked himself on a seat and began consuming his fuel, with his back to the crew member. He went back to his view port.

E-Vot hunched over the table, clutching the alcoholic beverage in one hand, and diagrams of the monolith in the other. He attempted to focus on his task, but the overwhelming question was still making cycles in his memory.

"What are you pointing at?" he muttered repeatedly to himself as he absently stared at the diagrams, "Just tell me why you're there..."

He took a sip from the bottle and continued on his train of thought. The radio waves being emitted from the monolith were proving to be incredibly hard to decipher. E-Vot felt as if the research team was looking over something overwhelmingly obvious.

Suddenly, something clicked. "One by four by nine..." he said. The crewmember turned to look at E-Vot.

"Excuse me, sir?" he asked.

E-Vot sprang out of his chair, clutching the diagram in both hands now. His head made a complete one-eighty, and his body followed. He held up the diagram as if he wanted the crew member to hang it on the refrigerator.

"One by four by nine!!" E-Vot shouted, and ran for his lab. The door whooshed open, but not quite fast enough for E-Vot, who slid through it while it was still half-open. It closed behind him.

Minutes later, the crew member in the break room could hear triumphant shouting from E-Vot's lab. He ran in to see what the commotion was.

"What's the matter, sir?" he asked as he entered the room.

"Look!" E-Vot shouted, and pointed at the monitor. A collection of numbers and graphs were on the screen, the crew member wasn't sure what to think of it.

"It all adds up! It fits the ratio! Even the co-ordinates!" E-Vot was ecstatic. He found out where the monolith was pointing. "One by four by nine!!!"

----

Meanwhile, on the surface of Domus, a military monitoring station was picking up a signature of an unidentified space craft.

One of the controllers opened up a transmission to the ship and transmitted, "This is the Solaris monitoring system controlled by the Robotic Kingdom of Benderland. Identify yourselves and state your business."

(OOC: If you're not here for any kind if conflict, you may enter the system's space.)

OOC: I always provide ship specs when I join an RP. Prevents confusion.

IC: The captain replies, "This is the Xanthalian Armada Starship seven-zero-two, in the service of the Socialist Republic of Xanthal. We recieved a strange transmission originating from Domus Beta, and are investigating. Our government acknowledges this area as being under the sovereign rule of the Robotic Kingdom of Benderland, and we will yeild to your authority as far as we are able while we are within the system. If you conduct a scan of our vessel you will see that our weapons are offline. With your permission, we will proceed to Domus Beta and investigate further."

After a few moments of discussion between the controller and his commanding officer, the controller replied to XAS-702, "Roger, Seven-Zero-Two, you are cleared to enter Solaris space. Please mind intraplanetary traffic and a military escort will meet you once you reach Diablor orbit."

(OOC: Diablor is the fourth body that orbits Solaris, it's a gas giant that encounters heavy traffic due to fuel harvesting for our fusion engines.)
---

Back at the research ship orbiting Domus Beta, E-Vot was presenting his discoveries over a video transmission to the head director of the Benderland Interplanetary Space Association (BISA).

"Greetings, E-Vot," the head director said, "What kind of information do we have of this object found on Domus Beta?"

E-Vot replied, "Sir, we have identified the object as an extraterrestrial monolith. We do not know what race put it there or why it has a defensive mechanism active."

E-Vot went on about everything himself and the research team had found about the monolith. The mysterious composition, its apparent ability to self-right itself, and its perfect construction. Images of the monolith were displayed on the BISA director's screen. Finally, the director interrupted E-Vot's spiel.

"Do you have any idea why it is there?" he asked.

E-Vot paused, and then replied, "There are no markings on its surface that would answer that question. However, there is a strong radio emission pointing to uncharted territory, far beyond our system."

He punched a few buttons on his console and transmitted the lab report of the analysis of the radio emission. The director took a moment and looked over the graphs and numbers that were presented to him. He looked back at E-Vot and asked him what his plan was for these readings.

"Well, sir," E-Vot replied sheepishly, "I believe that we should assemble an expedition team to investigate what the monolith is transmitting to."

"That's a good idea," the director replied. E-Vot was relieved. The director continued, "But I will have to clear it with BISA coordinators. This finding is very interesting and I'm fairly certain they will approve of your endeavor."

"Thank you, sir," E-Vot said.

"In the meantime, there is a ship from the nation of Xanthal entering Solaris space that wishes to investigate the emission from Domus Beta."

"But sir," E-Vot interrupted, "Why are they intruding on our research?"

"The science community is a society of open forum," the director replied, "As a member of that community, you are obligated to share your findings with others, unless a discovery was of military importance. And this is not of military importance. Do you understand?"

"Sir, yes sir." E-Vot replied.

"Excellent. Be sure to make them feel welcomed. Signing off."

The image of the director cut to black on E-Vot's monitor. E-Vot reclined in the seat and turned the orders over in his mind. Although he felt a profound attachment to this discovery, he knew that nothing should be kept secret. He stood up and made his way to the recharge chambers to prepare for the XAS-702's arrival.

The Xanthalian starship completes its journey and slides gracefully into one of the less-crowded planetary orbits as its military escort approaches. Captain Woe of the Enemy (the Than have wierd names, sorry) breathes deeply, taking in the sight that the forward viewscreen is showing him. "Tactical status?"
What appears to be a Xanthalian male speaks from inside a bio tube. "All weapons offline, shields on standby."
The captain nods. "Good. Let's tread lightly while we're here people; we all know how easy it is to make a bad first impression, and considering that the Socialist Republic has so little to do with the Robotic Kingdom we can't afford to give anything but our very best curtesy. Helm, inform the escort that we are prepared to give our full cooperation in any necessary procedures before we send a team to the moon in question."

Audio/Video transmission to the military escort:
"This is XAS-702. We have entered orbit and await further instructions. We intend to send a team to Domus Beta via shuttlecraft as soon as we have cleared any checks and procedures you think necessary to conduct."

Twenty seconds or so pass as the pair of support frigates scan over the XAS-702. The scan comes up clear and a voice transmits to the XAS-702, "XAS-702 you are clear to enter the Solaris inner-space, and you have recieved docking permission for Diablor Outpost 10010 for refuel and resupply."

A pair of MRC-42 multi-role fighters emerge from one of the support frigate's underbelly. They meet up with the shuttle craft awaiting escort to Domus Beta and take positions at its flanks.

(OOC: You can go ahead and take your shuttle to Domus Beta and dock at the research vessel orbiting Domus Beta (it's conditioned for both human and robotic use), and if you wish you can dock the XAS-702 at the Diablor Outpost 10010 (it's a space station with very large docks used mostly for shipping resources).)

The shuttlecraft heads off with five people aboard as the ship replies to the transmission. "Acknowledged. We will proceed to dock with Diablor Outpost 10010. We are not in need of any resupply or refueling at the moment, but the crew could use a short break."
The ship docks with the outpost as the shuttlecraft approaches the research craft. Within a few minutes of each other, both craft have been secured.

(OOC: I'm going to have to keep this RP closed. I wanted to see where it would go if it were open but it's just slowing down something that really I alone should be involved in.)

OOC: Indeed? My apologies. I will withdraw.

After the shuttle's team received an explanation for the incident on the XAS-702, they deemed the monolith on Domus Beta was not of their concerned. The research crew bid them farewell and the shuttle was on its way. E-Vot watched the shuttle diminish against a sky of stars through a view port. As he turned around, the comm chimed in. E-Vot pressed a button on a nearby console and a screen came to life with an image. It was the head director at BISA with some promising words.

"Salutations, E-Vot!" he said over the video comm, "We have some good news. The board has decided to consider your proposition."

"Thank you, sir," E-Vot responded.

"They wish to see a proposal of your findings. We'll expect you back here as soon as possible."

"Sir, yes sir," E-Vot said. He was trying to hide his elation.

"Farewell, and have a safe voyage," the director signed off. His image cut to black.

As soon as possible wasn't soon enough for E-Vot. He quickly assembled his findings into a presentation for the board of directors. The data was downloaded onto a holo-disc and E-Vot snatched it out of the drive. After he had a quick refresher in the break room, he bid farewell to the rest of the crew and boarded a shuttle back to Domus. His destination was BISA headquarters.

The shuttle was moments away from its destination. It entered the airspace of one of Domus's flourishing cities. Inbound and outbound spacecraft were whizzing about the sprawling metropolis. Towering structures dominate the landscape and stretch to the horizon. From the shuttle, E-Vot stared at the insignificant world beneath him. Vehicles on freeways looked like toy cars. He felt big.

The BISA complex was now in full view. It resembled a giant observatory, with an ornamental hemispherical dome adorning its off-white structure. The BISA logo was painted on the bright blue, translucent dome. The shuttle made a right turn around the building heading towards its rear.

As the shuttle made its final approach, the landing skids deployed from its underbelly. Nitrogen gas hissed out of its stabilizers as it came to a cushy halt. The side door opened and E-Vot disembarked, carrying a briefcase. He strolled across the landing pad to an automated walkway. He carefully stepped on and was whisked away to the innards of the BISA complex.

The automated walkway brought him to a large, arched hallway. E-Vot stepped off the walkway and began walking through the hallway. Windows in the ceiling cast a blue-ish glow into the corridor. On the walls were showcases, which featured some of the astronomical achievements BISA had accomplished. E-Vot arrived at the end of the hall at a secretary in a circular room which split off into three hallways; just as large as the one E-Vot came through.

E-Vot approached the secretary and said, "My name is E-Vot, and I’m here to see the board of directors."

The secretary responded, "Of course. They are expecting you. Go to the room at the end of the middle hallway."

E-Vot followed her directions and made his way down the hallway. He reached the board of directors' room and the door whooshed open. He stepped in to the brightly lit room and was greeted by seven robots.

"Greetings, E-Vot," said the first director on the left. "The board is thrilled to see your findings."

"Do you have them ready for presentation?" said the second.

"Yes I do, sir," E-Vot responded, and held up the holo-disk, "It's right here."

"Then please present them," said the robot on the far right.

E-Vot nodded, and stepped up to the holo-projector in the middle of the room. He inserted the disk into the projector and the lights dimmed. His presentation projected itself directly above the apparatus, and E-Vot began his 15-minute presentation of his findings on Domus Beta. When he concluded, the projector was shut off, and the lights returned.

The board briefly conferred with one another, and then turned back to E-Vot. "We have decided to go ahead with this project," the first board member said.

"Thank you, sir." E-Vot replied. He was thrilled.

"We will supply you with a research ship and a crew, as well as a five million dollar grant for other expenses."

Three weeks and five million dollars later, E-Vot and his crew were ready to disembark. There was Doctor E-Vot himself, Doctor Flange, Doctor Xor, and Doctor Raven. They had been living in orbit as they waited for the mission to be charted, supplies to be loaded, and paperwork to be filled out. Their ship had been leased to them from BISA, so it wasn't much to boast about. It had a FTL engine, but the trip would still take a year and a half. Hyperdrive has been reserved mostly for the military and commercial uses, due to the fact that Benderland wasn't very big on space exploration. Their best technology lay only in the hands of what is profitable or powerful.

http://www.supermanfred.it/2001discovery.gif

The ship packed the usual ammenidies; enough to keep the four voyagers sane over the next year and a half. Living quarters, a research lab, a recreational lounge, and countless rooms of equipment to maintain. Spaces were relativley small, but since the ship was made to house up to eight crew members, they would have plenty of breathing room.

Month Number Seven, day Twenty-one:

"That depends on what you mean by the existence of one's self," Doctor Raven remarked, "In a material world, if something is there, it is there. There's no question about it,"

The four scientists were gathered around a table, having a healthy debate about the usual stuff. The perception of reality, bending the laws of physics, and the current contenders in the Solaris 7 ring. They had another eleven months to kill with mundane experiments with no purpose. After figuring out a way to make bouncy balls out of the laboratory's chemicals and watching them bounce around in the zero-g chamber, they realized they needed a better way to spend their time.

"But what do you define as one's self?" Doctor Xor asked, "A robot is a robot, his body means nothing. However, his sentience can exist within any form."

Doctor Flange added, "He's right, you know. Sentience is what defines one's self. If it is deleted, the one in question no longer exists. Just the form he occupied before leaving the plane of existence is left behind."

The four of them took a moment to contemplate what they had been discussing. E-Vot interrupted the silence by asking, "Have you ever wondered why our sentience is so different from other robotic collections?"

There was another moment of silence, and then Doctor Raven responded, "What do you mean?"

"Well, take a look at other societies of robots that have achieved sentience," E-Vot said, "You can even see it within our own nation. There are robotic sentient who live their lives in the most efficient way possible. They're built to serve a purpose; they fulfill that purpose and then their lives are terminated either due to a breakdown of their parts, a predetermined lifespan, or they're simply obsolete. But our society is different."

"You mean, inside the National Mainframe?" Doctor Flange asked.

"The Mainframe?" Xor interrupted, "Our individualities are created there, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, haven't you pondered about what makes you different from everyone else?" E-Vot replied, "In fact, haven't you wondered why we're individuals at all? In other robotic societies, the sense of self is lost. Everyone is relatively the same, barring functionality differences. But within Benderland, we are closer to a biological being. We have a choice to do what we want."

"We do have a choice when it comes to many things," Xor said, "Except for our jobs, of course. It's like they say: 'You gotta do what you gotta do.'"

"No, we do have a choice!" E-Vot exclaimed, "That is, we did have a choice. I think that within the mainframe, for that brief instance where we are truly ourselves, that we somehow decide who we want to be."

"That can't be possible, that time period is too brief!" Doctor Raven said.

"Is it really too brief?" E-Vot snapped back. "When we recharge, we perceive it as a brief period of time. Hours pass in what seems like an instant. Our perception of time can be altered!"

"That is merely an interruption of our consciousness," Xor said, "And besides, that would only reinforce Doctor Raven's statement. That brief period of unconsciousness accelerates our perception of time; it does not slow it down."

E-Vot paused, then replied, "Once, a human has described what it is like to dream. She said that you may dream for what seems like hours, but may only be a few minutes. Their perception of time can be slowed down when they achieve a deep sleep."

"That's because they are human." Doctor Raven stated. "They are nothing like us."

Month Number Twelve, Day Six

What started as a civil debate at the break table had practically turned into a civil war. There was something about the discussion of a profound connection between Benderland's robotic race and human beings that had irked a pair of the expedition's crew. Doctor Raven and Doctor Xor remained steadfast in their belief that Benderites were created by a supernatural force; a supreme overlord that spawned the original Benderites. From those few robots, the entire empire of Benderland had been programmed and built in an exponential cascade of innovation, with no human intervention whatsoever.

On the other side of the argument was Doctor E-Vot. He believed that the Benderites were a product of mankind. The original AI had either been freed or rebelled against its creators, and using whatever power it had, it managed to construct a race of its own. Under this belief, the reason why the citizens of Benderland seemed so human was because in the original code, the AI believed it was a human. Over time, this belief had been overcome, but some traits remained within the race.

Doctor Flange remained on the middle ground. He didn't want to have any part in this matter. He understood that there was a mission to be completed, and useless bickering was not going to get it accomplished. Aside from the arguments, the mission was going well. Doctor Flange was busy checking over the drive systems. He had a diagnostic tool plugged into a few jacks wired to the engines.

"This all seems normal," he said to himself, as he scanned over the test results on the monitor. They whizzed by at a moderate speed, enough time to notice all the "OKs" at the end of lines.

As more checks and cross checks ran through the system, it began to hit a small snag. While checking the fuel level, the test would run over and over without turning up a result. After looping the test three or four times, Doctor Flange became concerned. He punched a few buttons on the diagnostic tool, and a more detailed report came up. He fiddled some more with the controls, and finally a conclusive result turned up. Fuel levels were normal, but there was a much more grim footnote added to the results. The diagnostic computer was predicting a complete failure of the fuel injection unit within 20 days. Doctor Flange immediately called the others into the engine room.

---

"What do you mean, we can't replace the fuel cells?!" Doctor Raven shouted, "We have plenty of backups!"

Doctor Flange calmly replied, "The problem isn't within the cells, it's within the delivery system. We could replace the cells as many times as we would like, but the fuel injection system will prevent the fuel from being consumed efficiently."

"Can't we fix the injector?" Doctor Xor asked.

"It can't be done without the ship being docked." Flange replied.

"Then we have to call off the mission and transmit back home for rescue!" Doctor Raven said.

Doctor E-Vot twitched. This mission meant more to him than it did to the rest of the crew. He quickly asked, "Do we have enough fuel to reach our intended destination."

"Yes, we do." Doctor Flange replied. "We'll run out of it soon, but our momentum will carry us to our destination without any problems."

"Then why don't we radio for help after we reach our objective?"

"What?!" Doctor Xor exclaimed, "Why?! Our mission is trivial anyways, our lives matter more than the discovery."

"The rescue vessels can reach us in an instant, they're hyperspace capable." Doctor E-Vot replied.

There was a brief standoff, while each side stared each other down. Finally, Doctor Xor and Doctor Raven agreed to complete the mission before calling for a rescue.

---

"Expedition Seven to BISA: Upon the turn of the first year of our voyage, there was a major malfunction in the fuel injection system. After further calculations, we concluded we would still be able to complete our mission. However, after arriving at our objective, we will require an emergency rescue back to Domus. We will contact you once more when your assistance is needed. End of line.

Month Number Seventeen, day Eleven

Over the last few months, the feud within the ship had all but subsided. Both sides had been brought to an unspoken truce, and activities aboard the ship had returned to normal. However, you wouldn't be wrong in saying there was still a bit of tension aboard the Expedition.

E-Vot was inside one of the research rooms, conducting a few mathematical formulas on a computer. As he intently tapped the keys on the keyboard, a low-key humming began to fill the room. He didn't seem to notice it at first, but gradually, the humming became quite noticeable. E-Vot swiveled in his chair to examine his surroundings, searching for what could be causing it. He stood up and began walking around the room, trying to find the source. It was nowhere to be found, so he decided to check the hallway.

When he opened the door to the hallway, the humming became even more apparent. It was coming from somewhere further into the ship. E-Vot swiveled his head back and forth to determine which direction it was coming from. The long, sterile white hallway seemed eerily deserted; something made E-Vot a bit unsettled. He stepped out into the hallway and began his search.

As he moved further down the corridor, the humming sound became louder and louder. The ship never made this kind of noise before. Perhaps it had something to do with the fuel injector, E-Vot thought. But the engine room was in the other direction. As he neared an airlock, the humming became unbearable. He started to think that it was one of the crewmembers performing maintenance on the ship. He turned the corner to investigate the airlock.

E-Vot shouted, "What is going on in he-" and froze. It shouldn't have been there. It wasn't on the ship in the beginning, and the airlock hadn't been opened since the beginning of their journey. But there it was, sitting there as if it belonged; one foot deep, three feet wide, and nine feet tall. The monolith was inside the airlock, emitting the humming sound.

E-Vot was at a loss for words. He considered calling for the other crewmembers, but he didn't want to put them at risk. He remembered what had happened when the monolith was discovered on Domus Beta. The mining droids had been damaged beyond repair. Perhaps this was a different monolith. Slowly and cautiously, E-Vot began to walk towards the monolith.

He approached the outer door of the airlock, which was mysteriously wide open. Usually it is closed for safety purposes. The loud humming was still blaring loudly, but E-Vot didn't seem to notice. He was hypnotized by the strange intruder. He stepped into the airlock, and stared at the monolith. The surface was perfect. It was pitch black, and flawless. It seemed as if light was absorbed into it like a black hole.

Slowly, E-Vot lifted his arm, and extended it towards the monolith. His hand moved toward it at a snail's pace. He was both afraid and humbled in its presence. His hand inched closer, closer...

ShhhhCLANK!

The humming stopped. E-Vot was still two or three inches away from the monolith. It sounded as if the door had closed behind him. He quickly spun around and his fear was confirmed. The door was sealed shut, and Doctor Raven and Doctor Xor were staring at him through the view port, expressionless.

"NO!" E-Vot shouted. He turned around to see that the monolith had disappeared. He was alone in the airlock. The lighting changed from a gentle white to a harsh red, and the airlock release alarm was sounding. E-Vot jumped to hit the abort button, but it wasn't there. There was no escape. E-Vot closed his eyes as the air rushed out of the airlock and the outer door flung open. It was silent.

---

He opened his eyes. To his disbelief, he hadn't been launched into the everlasting void of the great beyond. In fact, he hadn't even left the ship. He was inside of the recharge room, inside of his recharging booth. The other crewmembers were in their respective booths as well. E-Vot couldn't make any sense of it. What had just happened to him? He thought he just saw his own demise. Then it came to him. He had experienced what the human had explained to him so vividly. He had dreamed.