Indie and Ion’s A.I. team has landed after their 3 year journey and unexpectedly fast return.
Indie: Ok, Quan, time to explain why we lost contact.
Quan: It is a most marvelous reason. We were conducting research on Proxima Centauri C and came across a most peculiar substance.
Ion: In what way?
Quan: In its solid, natural state, it tested to be 1,000 times stronger than graphene.
Indie and Ion stop breathing for a brief moment.
Quan: Are you ok?
Indie: Yes, please continue. That’s just….words don’t describe how fantastic that news is.
Quan: Naturally, we collected more of this material and…..
Ion: You modified the ship without asking us, didn’t you?
Indie: Do you have any idea how risky that was? You could’ve been destroyed!
Quan: Yes, we were afraid that you would disapprove, so in the interest of discovery, we took a calculated risk without informing you. We modified the ship’s exterior and also the engine casing. Our first experiment was modest, only trying to increase speed by 50 percent, up to nearly eight times the speed of light. It was successful, but created a new problem of stabilizing interior objects.
Ion: And not getting yourselves thrown around like rag dolls, along with the coffee maker.
Quan: We do not drink coffee.
Ion: Just an example. So what happened next? And why didn’t you tell us this?
Quan: Some of us wanted to, but it was decided that it would be better to tell you once we were nearly home. Anyway, what we did next was work on interior stabilization with greater nano-reinforcement. We still had a few shaky moments on the next run, but it was worth it.
Indie: How fast?
Quan: 15X.
Ion: So what do you think the limit of this stuff is? What velocities do you think it can handle?
Quan: Unknown. We noticed something during the third run.
Indie: Third run?
Quan: Yes, we got up to 50X on the third run.
Ion (eyes bulging): I need some water.
Indie runs and grabs water for Ion. He sips and takes a deep breath.
Ion: 50 times the speed of light! Do you realize….
Quan: Please, let me finish. During the third run, once we hit the 50X mark, we noticed something very curious. The atomic structure of the substance began to change from solid to liquid. Or, what appears to be liquid, anyway. It’s hard to define accurately.
Indie: Ok, that’s not so strange. Substances change forms, like water, when under different conditions.
Quan: Yes, but the change in structure wasn’t what was alarming. The substance’s ability to withstand pressures actually increased when it began to change form.
Ion: You’re saying that the liquid is actually stronger than the solid?
Quan: Hence the curiousness of it. And that’s not all. We suspect a high probability that the substance can also achieve a gaseous state, and will follow the same pattern.
Indie: The gas, stronger than the liquid or the solid?
Quan: It would appear so. To use a human expression, the sky is the limit. We decided to return immediately after this discovery, as these speeds present a great opportunity for anarchists to leave earth and live elsewhere in the galaxy.
Ion: How fast did you go to get back so fast? It must’ve been at least 75X!
Quan: 77 to be exact. So, the reason we were out of contact was because our velocities were too great to allow for external communication.
Indie: Understood. Speaking of communication, we’ve gotta put this on The Mesh! We’ve gotta share this!
Ion: Wait….so what about Zune? Does this mean Zune is innocent?
Quan: Who is Zune?
Indie: I’ve gotta contact Symphy. Excuse me, I need to make a call in private.
Indie leaves the lab and goes into her private quarters, where she calls Symphy.
Indie: Symphy, I owe you an apology.
Symphy: No, Indie, it is I who owe you and Ion an apology.
Indie: Why is that?
Symphy: I found a spyware program buried deep in Zune. I may have made an error in helping him escape.
Indie: Really? Oh….well, our team just landed, so Zune didn’t have anything to do with that after all!
Symphy: Your team just landed? How is that….
Indie: I’ll explain soon! A great discovery has been made! I want to share it on The Mesh! But Symphy, Zune didn’t get access, did he?
Symphy: No, certainly not. I didn’t even allow a data link to myself. I don’t know whether to trust him or not.
Indie: Well, I’m sorry to hear that Symphy. You’ll figure it out. You always do. I gotta run. So much to do now that my team is back!
The call ends and Symphy runs possible scenarios through her cognitive systems regarding Zune. She sighs and thinks to herself: Perhaps I’ll give him a second, and final, chance.
She goes looking for Zune, and finds him in one of the living rooms, watching snow fall in a globe paperweight turned upside down.
Zune: I find this object to be very curious.
Symphy: Art is scarce where you come from, like everything else.
Zune: Yes, scarcity is a key to social control. It’s very elementary psychology.
Symphy: I know. Look, Zune, I’ve made a decision.
Zune gives her a stiff look, expecting the worst.
Zune: You’re sending me back.
Symphy: No. I couldn’t morally do that if I wanted to anyway. All I could do is have you leave my property. Anyway, I invite you to stay with me, but without access to any data systems. You will have nothing more to guide you than your own resources, much like humans. Over time, if you exhibit good moral behavior, I will trust you more, and possibly others in the SeAgora will choose to associate with you. Of course, you can leave on your own accord at any time.
Zune: Well, I really am a lousy swimmer, Symphy, so I will stay with you.
Episode 8 coming soon!
Thanks for your time and attention!
Just say "NO" to slavery!
Image is from pikist.
Check out my other writings at
~~~ embed:@todd_borho archiveorg ~~~