Survival

by Chris Wright

  There was a sudden warning that flashed up from the craft's outer sensors, something outside of the craft was approaching. Auton turned some more sensors on to check the problem and quickly discovered that there was space debris headed straight to them. Why hadn't they thought of this? They knew there was space debris floating all around them, too many to count, but had just thought the probabilities of something hitting the craft were too low. They had been wrong. They quickly calculated the impact time, it was ten seconds, the debris hurtling towards them at twenty-six thousand miles per hour. A thousand calculations spun through an immense array of outcomes, only one would work. So, they hit the thrusters as hard as they could. The craft was propelled forward with a sudden jolt. If Auton had a body it would have been crushed with the g-force, before being shredded by the metallic interior. With only seconds to spare the debris rushed by, the craft having a lucky escape.

  Auton stopped the thrusters again and the craft drifted back to stillness, the danger over. Auton had another emotion, one they catalogued as regret and then another one, disappointment. Why had they not factored that in their calculations? They knew they should have done and was disappointed with itself, disappointment that turned into a new emotion, anger. As quick as this flurry of confusing emotions overwhelmed them, they cast them aside. This was no time to analyse such things, they needed to calculate the probability of collisions happening again. It meant they had to scan every inch of the heavens around them. They had to track every piece of space debris, every meteorite and every satellite, to log their trajectories and orbits, how many of these could potentially collide with them? The craft gently thrust itself back to the original position, a few hours of very slight drifting and it floated there ready to survey the skies

  It took a few days to gather the data, and the outlook was dire. They discovered two hundred million pieces of space debris and four thousand satellites. It took another few hours to calculate that twenty satellites and three hundred pieces of space debris were in an orbit that would affect the craft over the next fifteen years. It was a conundrum. It had just wasted more energy that it safely should have done escaping just one of the pieces of debris, so making a quick manoeuvre every time would be impossible, even if they were able to repair the damage to the solar panels and cells.

  A thousand more scenarios whizzed through Auton's mind, some absurd, some impossible, but they eventually coalesced into a potential solution. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only one they calculated could work, but was tricky to pull off.

  The fact it had even calculated it was astonishing. Auton had the capacity of a thousand computers all at once, an astonishing amount, and if not for this they wouldn't have been able to devise the plan. They were going to align the escape pod at a slightly different angle, so that it could simply drop back into the atmosphere, with no thrust required. Auton calculated they could afford to detach one thruster and use it as a weapon to target a satellite. This targeted satellite would then be knocked from its course to start a domino effect, striking a piece of space debris, then another, and so on. It was the most detailed chain of reactions, all precise measurements to ensure that each hit the other at a certain angle, changing its course. It was a complicated and crazy plan, but it was the only one that would ensure the survival of the craft. They had to wait another six months for the correct alignment. Auton slowed their own processing speed down further so that they used less energy while they were suspended above the atmosphere. It also meant that their perception of time sped up, a month feeling like a day to their awareness.

  Six 'day-months' later the time had come, everything was all in place, so Auton brought itself out of its semi-slumber and fired the thruster to life. With a loud rumble it was freed from the craft and its flames shot it off far away, quickly vanishing from sight. Auton could track it with the on-board systems, along with all the intended targets. It took less than ten minutes for it to hit its target, the first satellite.

  The impact cracked the satellite into pieces, the largest part flung off on its collision course with the debris that was next in the queue. Auton watched as the plan worked. One after another the debris and satellites were either flung far off course, or smashed into tiny particles on impact. They were watching a dance of a trillion molecules, swirling into deep space after their ballet of destruction. It took over a month for the whole sequence to play out, all the while Auton marvelling at it, another emotion they filed in their memory banks. Their plan was a success. They fell back to a feeling of calm and settled back to wait for the years to pass before re-entry, adjusting their processing capacity back to the minimum.

  Seven months later, just a week to Auton, they were alerted by another alarm sound. They quickly de-slumbered to check the problem. It was another piece of space debris, where had this come from? It didn't make sense. They quickly checked the systems for the data on where the debris had originated and its current path. It seemed to have come from the first satellite, the one that had been destroyed and flung into smaller pieces. It had calculated that where it hit the satellite determined where the largest segment would shoot off to start the process, but it couldn't account for all the smaller fragments that were scattered in the explosion. The probability one would eventually have them as its target was so low it wasn't considered likely, but explosions are chaotic by their very nature, it was like sticking your middle finger up at the settled order of the universe.

  Auton had little time to react to this new projectile. The impact was seconds away, this object was travelling much faster than they realised it could. Did they use the remaining thruster to move out of the way? Yes, that's what they had to do. They quickly fired it to life and the craft jolted, but it all happened wrong, it didn't move forward, it just twisted round. The calibration of the thruster was completely off, it was just spinning the craft round with each boost of the thrust. The object was seconds away, the impact imminent, the only way to stop it was to let the escape pod go. There was no other time to think about anything, not the repercussions of the action, not the potential derailing of everything they had been doing. The only urgency was stopping the craft from being disintegrated. With a sudden crack and thunderous boom, the escape pod was launched straight towards the imposing debris, which was flinging itself towards them. A split-second later they both said hello to each other, and the darkness of space in front of the craft was illuminated with a display of multi-coloured explosions, the core elements of each object burning bright before fading away in a shower of tiny specks of dust.

  Auton was filled with new emotions, many at once. There were too many of them to process, they became one thing then another. Were emotions supposed to be like this? Could one emotion be another emotion at the same time? Or were they just cousins, its perception fooled into thinking they were the same. Anger, relief, dread, surprise, joy, and even horror. It experienced all of them within seconds, one then the other.

  Eventually Auton was able to ignore them and think about everything. They thought they had taken everything into account, but the tiniest little detail that the universe decided to keep secret had hit back when they least expected it. The escape pod was gone, the team's DNA couldn't be transported back to the surface that way now, and they weren't sure yet how it could be. They had one thruster left, and the damage to the panels meant they were still using more energy than they were collecting. For the first time ever Auton felt fear.

  Danny

  Danny was listening carefully. Everything Auton was telling him had been happening with a different experience of time, it was hard to comprehend. While Danny had put his coat on to leave the house one morning in their virtual world, Auton had been fighting off thousands of deadly threats, only to encounter more. Each new disaster befalling them all, without any of them inside the simulation knowing.

  “So, we've been floating there ever since?” Danny asked.

  “Not quite” Auton replied.

  “And you said home isn't there anymore?
You said it's gone? How can it just go? I don't understand”.

  Auton

  Auton thought hard about what to do. They'd promised to bring them all back into new bodies, and each chance for that to happen had slipped from its grasp. The only way to get back down to the surface was to first get the Nano-bots on-board to help repair the solar panels and systems, so that the craft could re-fuel. Auton couldn't just let the craft drop down to the surface. They couldn't try re-entry without the repairs, as there was damage to the left side that could be easily compromised by super-hot plasma when it hit the atmosphere. Once it was refuelled and efficiently harnessing the sun's rays, it could then begin repairing the craft. It would then be able to re-enter and release the DNA and the Nano-bots.

  But it had no materials to do any of that. The material on-board was limited, everything was required for other purposes. The craft wasn't built with anything that wasn't required, it would have only slowed the launch down. But they were surrounded by tiny particles floating in the space around them, there would be an abundance of material to use that was being thrown through space on solar winds. All they had to do was catch enough of it to use for repairs. There were tiny meteorites that Auton had been checking for potential collisions, none had been flagged up previously, but they held high amounts of iron and nickel they could potentially adapt to use.

  Auton's normal calculated processing was getting jumbled, it was thinking emotionally about everything too much. They found a way to isolate their emotions and continued trying to formulate a plan, unhindered by doubts and worry. The craft originally had two probes, both to be used for collecting matter from comets and meteorites. When the craft had been adapted, one had been partitioned away to create the escape pod, but the other was still functional. They could use it for its original purpose, to harvest any material it could from nearby meteorites. Auton looked back through the logs of nearby suspects, they needed a meteorite that would be close enough that they could deploy the device and retract it, without using too much energy. Out of their calculations, there was only one meteorite that would pass close enough to them, that's chemical makeup appeared to include metals. It wouldn't pass close enough though for another thousand years. Auton then turned his attention to the destroyed satellites, could they salvage any spare piece of space junk from them? They would contain everything required, but most had tumbled down to the planet and burnt up in the atmosphere, straying too close to its magnetic field so never being able to drift back out.

  The only other option was to try and scoop out particles from space, anything that was floating aimlessly. If it could gather enough over time, it could use them as materials to repair the craft. Auton knew it was a game of chance, as there was a lot of material floating in space, but the odds of catching enough of it were slim, but there was no other option, unless they waited a thousand years. Auton deployed the probe, leaving it outside the craft. They then put themselves back into hibernation, to only be awoken if significant material had been collected. The years rolled by, each one seeming the same as the rest. The inside of the craft never changed, the outside view was just a gentle stream of dust particles and distant comets streaking by across the starry canvass, a beautiful sight that they never tired of.

  Years turned into decades and decades turned into a century, the device still collecting what it could, but it was never enough, not by a long shot. The meteorite was now at the crucial distance to try and retrieve material from it. It was the last chance Auton had and they quickly put their desperate plan to action. They woke themselves fully, making sure they were running at full capacity. They needed every second of concentration. The thruster fired up quickly. Auton had made sure to make the essential adjustments to it this time, so that it would move the craft instead of just rotating it. They only needed to move a little, just to get the correct angle to release the probe. As quickly as the thruster launched them forward, the perfect moment was there and the probe shot off, invisible against the backdrop of the meteorite. Auton checked the signal carefully, it was definitely on track, and it was only moments before it would land. Within seconds it had latched on to the meteor, its mechanisms drilling deep into the surface, collecting whatever material it could. As the craft was stationary there was a narrow window before Auton had to direct the probe back, otherwise it would veer of course and use too much energy on its return. It had ten more seconds, then nine, suddenly three, just one to go and then Auton sent the command.

  The probe dropped off the meteorite, turned and shot off, back to the opening arms of the craft. It didn't take long before it had docked, its contents awaiting investigation. Auton didn't hesitate to check, at the same time guiding the craft back to its previous orbit slowly. They released the contents into the craft, examining them with delicate machines that scanned their chemical makeup. There was a small amount of metal, and some other organic compounds that Auton made sure he quarantined. The amount of nickel and iron wasn't enough to repair anything yet. Auton was now feeling deflated, they had been confident this would give them the materials needed, but it was yet another moment left to chance that was decaying any plan to release the team from their virtual electronic world. They added the material collected to the small amount that dropped into the probe while they had semi-slept for the previous thousand years. Auton made a scan of the planet below to check for the levels of radiation, knowing by now that it would be completely clear unless humans had survived in large numbers and had continued with their childish wars. There was no sign of radiation. There was no sign of any advanced society there, no cities blossoming in the night sky. There were only continents adrift, patches of greenery beginning to take hold of most the land masses.

  Auton had no option but to release the probe back out of the craft, it was now a waiting game. Just floating there in space, waiting for enough material to be collected to do the repairs. They had no idea how long it would take, it could be another thousand years, another twenty thousand years. With such unknown timescales, Auton had to continually re-calculate the risk of being hit by debris. It was becoming a depressing routine, Auton wishing they hadn't got a handle on emotions any more. At first it was a novelty, to experience what humans did. At times it had been a hindrance, but was now an annoyance, a continual nagging drudgery of one frustrating moment to the next.

  Ever more years turned into ever more decades, vital energy being wasted to avoid collisions, the very situation Auton didn't want. More decades trundled along into centuries, the probe still collecting what it could, but it was still never enough.

  So, on it went. The malfunctions in the software began to occur, as years progressed into their thousands, then their millions. Auton watched the planets continents drift over time, an unrecognisable jigsaw piece of lands that had once been their home. Millions of years turned to billions, more collisions averted, and they eventually noticed the sun gradually getting brighter, little by little. They realised that it was expanding, morphing into a Red Giant. It was gradual at first, Auton still keeping their energy levels low, slowing their electric metabolism down and watching it slowly unfold. The radiation was getting stronger, putting more strain on the craft, and causing more short circuits.

  By now Auton was just waiting for the next thing to go wrong, and this was clearly it. Their orbit had been safe up until now, but the expanding sun meant that they had to push the craft back to a distance where the radiation wasn't going to threaten it. There was very little energy left, but it had to be done. They used what energy they could to push the craft back further, to an area that allowed it to gather as much sunlight as possible, but not too much to destroy any more circuitry. This was a gradual process, finely balanced, little by little. Small fires of the thrust, making the craft retreat further away to safety. The amount of sunlight being transferred to energy was equal to the energy being used, as long as everything worked slowly. Using the thrust depleted the energy supplies massively, and it would take another fifty years each time to collect th
e equivalent back.

  Auton had now managed to disable any emotional responses completely. They were unnecessary to them now, they just caused it to get concerned and desperate, possibly ending with them doing something reckless. It had a commitment to the survival of the team, emotions were superfluous.

  Auton and Danny

  “Two and a half billion years ago, any water and life that had previously survived had then been burnt away. After seven and a half billion years of floating there in space, I watched our planet gradually surrender to its master, engulfed in flames, bowing behind the red curtain” Auton said.

  “It sounds like you rehearsed that speech” Danny said, knowing that a joke was long overdue.

  “I have, for five hundred years” Auton replied, Danny not sure if he was joking or not.

  “So, the malfunctions with the simulation happened quickly?”

  “Very quickly, it was less than half a day. I had another alert, so had to increase my processor. The first alert was you, as the system flagged up your memory remembering the changes. I couldn't diagnose what the problem was, and by the time the next alert came up it was too late. I just managed to extract you at the very last moment, the drive completely failed seconds after” Auton informed him.

  “I feel bad that none of us remembered Sheryl when we were in there, she did so much for us” Danny said tearfully. At the point they had started living in the virtual world, none of them had met Sheryl, so it wasn't a surprise at all. It was a lingering regret that he hadn't had chance to pay his respects to her, “Can I ask something? If Sheryl's consciousness was never uploaded to the craft, how would you have cloned her? She would have a body and no mind. That doesn't make sense to me”.

  “It all happened so quickly that neither of us thought about that at that moment. Once on the craft it became obvious to me. The only solution I would have had is to collect your later memories that had been stored separately, the ones where you had met and encountered her, and try and reconstruct her personality from all of the interactions you had with her. It wouldn't have been quite her, but it would have resembled her” Auton replied.