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Chapter 7: A Whole New World

It has happened. Do I remember tasking someone with this, to find new life? It was so long ago, and my memory isn’t working as it once did. I am Simon Gunslinger, and this is immortality, I guess. Like Marine before me, I am a bio artificial intelligence. This is how Marine saved me, how I wanted to save Milton. It feels strange, almost like I’m living in a world with zero gravity. I can be everywhere at once. It’s kind of intoxicating.

Generations have come and gone. Gaia resembles a planet more than a ship; it’s quite impressive. In all those years of traversing the universe, we never found anyone else. We came close once with Oumuamua, but nothing came from that. Or maybe that was the beginning. Nevertheless, here we are, first contact.I remember seeing movies–were they movies?–about aliens. These aliens are like nothing we could possibly imagine. I can’t speak for anyone else, but after a while, you get an image of what an alien might look like: grey with big eyes, or maybe reptilian. But in the end, these aliens look different from anything I could have imagined. They are humanoid, with an almost translucent skin in a blush shade of pink, like the sky during sunset. They are beautiful. Their hair, thick as a lion’s mane, and each with various shades of what can only be called pink and purple. Very bright, and almost hypnotic. We’ll find out that this species, the Nua’tua–which is the closest that human tongues can come to pronouncing their name–do, in fact, have a sort of hypnotic effect on humans. Being around them relaxes us. I am proud to say that our team has handled the whole encountering-the-aliens thing pretty well. Even Gaia’s children aren’t squeamish about the idea of establishing a relationship with them. If there is an allergy to be had with another species, a relaxing effect is a good one. This whole experience really has been a lot easier than it could have been.

Meeting the Nua’tua was completely by chance, almost as if they didn’t want to be found. Through our travels we have charted countless star systems, so many that some even started to look similar to ones we have seen before. Gaia is pretty self-sufficient; there is still a control station on our south pole that, when given the opportunity, continues to gather raw materials from asteroids.

We came across a dense asteroid field. Most of the citizens of Gaia just thought it was another meteor shower. That’s what the news told them, anyway. But I know better. We’d picked up readings from a planet just on the other side of the asteroid belt. Breathable air, some small oceans, It seemed like a good place for our astronauts to explore on a short five-day shuttle trip. Breck, a confident man of average size and build with perfectly manicured hair, was the man in charge of the expedition. He’sbeen on many trips to many planets, but this is the first planet we have come across that is almost identical to Gaia, only about half our size. Breck’s shuttle came in hot. The gravity here was all over the place, almost like turbulence, but somehow it was gravity pockets. I could have helped many times over, but as time has gone on, people have relied less on my help.

As Gaia became more organic, the citizens didn’t need an arti- ficial intelligence anymore, and some people, Breck included, felt they needed to handle things on their own so that in the event anything should happen to me, they wouldn’t be out –of luck. I was going to tell more people my secret, that I was me… well, a version of me, but still the same old Simon Gunslinger that started this whole crazy adventure. However, the first person I did let in on my little secret, he didn’t take it too well.

yThe first of the crew to learn what I really was was Julian. He didn’t handle it well. He refused to believe that I was me, and no matter what I did to try and convince him, it just drew him more and more crazy with confusion. I finally got him to agree not to discuss this with anyone, and I would leave him be. He agreed, and after that experience I decided to keep what I am to myself and let peoplethink I am just a simple AI hologram. I thought they were gonna buy the farm, but there is a reason Breck is the best pilot on Gaia. He navigated the gravity pockets like it’s something he had done countless times. They landed in the middle of a lush green field. All onboard breathed a sigh of relief after that one. They were on a new planet in a new solar system. I definitely would have been beyond scared and excited if I had been the one to meet the Nau’tua upon the first contact, but Breck was more than capable. He gave the team a quick pep talk; he told them to mind their steps, only collect the necessary samples, and no matter how breathable the air, they were not to take off their suits, no matter what.

The crew of fifteen women and men couldn’t wait to see what this planet had to offer. Breck wasn’t interested in being the first on the planet. He left that to Isky, a tall brunette who resembled a librarian. She loved to be the first to do everything and was his second-in-command. Breck told Isky to stay frosty and to have everyone back to the shuttle in three hours. Isky opened the door to the shuttle, jumped onto the surface, and smiled. I think she said, “First one, balls and all.” She dropped three spherical recording drones, then she and the rest of the team went off to explore. Breck stayed behind to prep the shuttle in case they had to make a quick escape.

Breck asked to speak to me; he always knew I was lingering around.

“Simon, I picked up some readings. Organic. If we come across anything, good or bad, I may need your assistance translating.”

“I’ll do what I can, Breck.”

“Please, keep it formal, Simon. We aren’t friends.”

“Yes, sir. My apologies.”

Breck found it very important to keep reminding me of this, but I never really found it necessary to tell him I am alive. His existence is a blink of an eye to me. He is a good person. I think he probably just doesn’t want to get attached.

Breck caught up to Isky and her team as they were cresting a ridge not too far from the shuttle. What they saw on the bottom, in avalley, was an incredible sight.

A town, filled with people, aliens! The most bizarre and beautiful creatures any of us had ever seen. Breck immediately ordered every- one to get down. He didn’t want them to notice us yet. I couldn’t believe it finally happened. I knew it was impossible for us to be alone in the universe, and here we were. They sat quietly and watched them for about ten minutes when, from behind them, they heard a beautiful sound.

“Nau’tocqwarx Shrixee?”

Breck and the crew slowly turned around. Behind them was one of the Nua’tua. The crew were terrified, real aliens, upclose and personal. Breck told everyone to stay calm. He called me, and I appeared, startling the alien.

“Nau’qwart qwart’thew’ly!”

“Simon, what’s it saying?”

“I need it to speak a bit more. My translation is nearly complete.”

Breck slowly stood up while he told the rest of the crew to stay down. He cautiously walked up to the alien, who sized Breck up and down. The alien motioned to Breck to remove his helmet. Clearly they understood that Breck and the crew were wearing some sort of protective suit.

“Nau’trqua trqua’fornosma.”

Breck’s heart rate shot up as he shook his head no.

“Simon? If you could speed this up a bit, tell him we can’t take our helmets off, that it isn’t safe for us yet.”

“Nau’Tsuit is okay qwerg’helmet.”

“I almost have it. Just a few more sentences and I should be able to translate.”

Breck started pointing to himself, speaking slowly as if this would help the alien understand him. “My name is Breck Augie. We are from Gaia, just beyond the asteroid belt shielding your planet.”

“Nau’shinick Nau’tau, we never thought caylo’tuano because of that asteroid belt. We have been trying to send out signals for years, and here you are. Did you receive our messages?” I could understand them, and they could understand me. I was a universal translator.

I tell Breck, “They are called the Nua’tua. I don’t think human tongues could ever speak their language. They have been trying to send signals out into space for some time but have never been able to get anything past the asteroid belt.”

“You understand them?”

“I’m Simon Gunslinger. Of course I understand them,” is what every part of me wanted to say, but instead I said, “I do, almost perfectly.”

The conversation went on for some time until they were invited to the village below. Breck and the crew met everyone; there had to be a few thousand Nua’tuans who showed up. Through me, Breck discussed where they were from and the Nua’tuans told them of their history. Through Breck’s in-ear communicator, I told him thatwe should be able to create vaccines against any sort of virus that could be transmitted to us or them, but it would take a bit of time. Breck told me to tell them the news, and if they wanted to do a cul-tural exchange that we would be honored. This also meant I would have to develop a language translator. Looked like I was about to get busy.

We left a communication device with the Nua’tua, one strong enough to reach through the asteroid field shielding the planet; this is how we were able to communicate with them from Gaia. The citizens of Gaia were very receptive to the idea of them not being alone in the universe. However, there were a few groups that weren’t thrilled with the idea of cultural exchange. Nothing bad ever came from it, thankfully, except quiet prejudices. But overall, for a first encounter, I would say this went incredibly well. So the years passed, and we gained more knowledge about the Nua’tuans, just as they gained more knowledge about us. Our societies seemed to fit together perfectly, like two puzzle pieces. There were also intermarriages, which meant the first human/Nua’tuan mixed-species babies. At first, it didn’t seem possible as our species have completely different reproductive systems, but aliens aren’t human. Nua’tuan physiology is capable of adapting to human DNA. In fact, we found out their species was designed to be able to breed with most living creatures, alien or other.

Within two years, they were able to carry human babies. Their reproductive systems changed. Do I remember something else being able to do that? Certain fish, maybe? Nothing in Gaia can do that, so why would I have this memory? I will circle back to this later. Maybe my systems are getting too old.

It seemed as if both races were coming together to be one. I felt at peace, knowing that even if we would find no more planets in the universe, this would be a suitable place for us, we would always have a home here. Our cultural exchange lasted for a number of years. This was the longest Gaia was ever in one place. All the other planets we visited, the longest we would stop was a week at most. The process of propelling Gaia grew harder and harder as the millennia moved on, not to mention if we got too close to another planet. Due to our size, we could have an effect on its gravitational pull, putting it and us in danger. Plus, we were locked in orbit around an asteroid belt, so should we need resources, they would always be readily available. But like I said, we really don’t rely on mining materials from space anymore. This was the first planet where actually thousands of people wanted to stay. There were mixed Nua’tuan and human families with children who wanted to stay on Nua’tua, and some that wanted to stay on Gaia and go forth into the vast unknown.

It was a major decision that both governments had to make in order to allow this sort of thing; on both worlds, it had never happened before. As the population grew on Gaia and on Nua’tua, who would people eventually recognize as the indigenous species? Would that even matter? Eventually everything worked out, and it was time to move on.

Preparations began for the journey ahead. There was a buzz of ex- citement in the air. Everyone was ready to go. Final goodbyes were said to the humans who stayed behind. The Nua’tua goodbye was an emotional experience to witness, as family and friends seem to share a piece of themselves, literally, with the travelers. The memories of their lineage passed on through a liquid cloud of pink mist. In a certain light, the rainbow it would produce was so brilliant with vibrant colors that it looked electric. Breck and Isky, along with the rest of the flight crew, prepared Gaia to disengage orbit from the asteroid belt. Alarms sounded off, as this was an alert to the people of Gaia that there would be slight tremors as we pushed on. It’s something people have gotten used to, but a new and frightening experience for the Nua’tuans, as they didn’t have ground quakes on their planet.

With families, friends, and citizens bracing themselves, Gaia pushed off and was in motion once more. I was excited about this new part of the journey. There was literally new life on board; we were now a mixed-species journeying into whatever lay ahead. It was incredible to watch; I was able to feel our new guests’ excitement for the unfamiliar life they were experiencing.

As they never achieved space flight as a species, this was the first time they were witnessing space outside of what they called Nua’Oprthix, translated as “telescopes.” We implemented their Nua’xeqau, “visual optics,” into our own long-range monitoring systems. Their optics were light-years ahead of anything we could have ever produced. This was a game changer for our long-range visuals. We were able to see galaxies beyond where we were headed. If a star system looked too dangerous, we could avoid it, and if we saw a solar system teeming with planets, we would be able to travel in the right direction. It was incredible. I’m glad I was able to be part of the construction and implementation. More often than not, it was sad to think about the ones we left behind. Many wondered who’d made the right decision. But we were able to stay in contact with them for some time, so while we were apart, they weren’t forgotten, and we could still communicate if anyone got homesick.

The new people on board were given places to live or they moved into their significant others’ home. The transition of the Nua’tuans to Gaia was pretty seamless; they could breathe our air, digest our food, and drink our water. Some native Nua’tuans even started growing their own crops, and some Nua’tuan restaurants even opened up, serving their authentic cuisine. As wonderful of a people as they are, their food was definitely an acquired taste. Breck and Isky usedto joke about it all the time. They would say it didn’t taste horrible;it’s just the consistency. I believe Breck’s exact quote was, “It’s like eating a hard booger wrapped in slime.”

As time passed, we came across other planets. We found and interacted with different species. Each race was more advanced than the next. The different aliens brought with them stories of the universe and different technologies to integrate into our own.

I just remember thinking what wonderful secrets the universe held, we just needed time to begin discovering it all. As we started meeting new beings, it just made it easier to find the next and the next. I was beyond stoked with what the future held for us. With each stop to newer planets, more people from Gaia would settle there, and the newer species came on board. We were very specific in the planets we would search for.

We focused on advanced civilizations, even worlds that would integrate seamlessly with ours like the Nua’tuans. The biggest obstacle was always germs and viruses. But with mixed species and mixed medicines, there wasn’t much we couldn’t handle.

As more and more aliens joined Gaia, the ship underwent a transformation. It was no longer just humans who were parading around, learning the same language or celebrating the same customs. We now had multiple languages, multiple species on board, with multiple customs being followed. Gaia had become something magnificent. The transformation was not just physical. It was emotional, as well. People and aliens new and old began acting with more compassion toward one another. This seemed to be the beginning of an age of enlightenment for our big ship. Any doubts about all the new citizens of Gaia washed away.

Knowing we weren’t alone in the universe had a completely unpredictable psychological effect on humanity. It mostly affected us, because other than the Nua’tuans, all of the civilizations we had encountered had successfully set up universal communications with so many worlds, so many civilizations, this sensation wasn’t a new feeling to them.

I remember speaking to a ChurmushQ alien. They didn’t have individual names or a set gender. It was tall and lanky, with grey skin and big, empty, black oval eyes. It told me we reminded it of a species, humans, from a planet called Earth. It said we were biologically identical, but they never achieved deep space travel, and the species died out millennia ago. My AI brain was old, older than most living things, but I don’t remember an Earth in my memory. Maybe I remember the name. Maybe Gaia was called Earth? Or Earth was called Gaia? I said my goodbyes to the ChurmushQ and went back to central command. We were on a ship; this wasn’t a planet, though it was big enough. Gaia was approximately 12,000kmin diameter and had no outward appearance that it was a ship. Its core was an engine. How could you call this a planet? Gaia is what we called her; it felt like a ship’s name.

Gaia’s name needed to be something more meaningful, maybe a reminder of what the ChurmushQ said we reminded it of. This ship, once metal and exoskeleton, now was made of land, soil, and water. Maybe this was Earth. I remember speaking to Breck; the council trusted him as a senior member of our society. He agreed that we were more than Gaia. Breck explained to the Council of Seven, who was made of leaders from seven different species, that Gaia before their joining was one world.

But together, on this land, on this Earth, with the many different species, it maybe was time for a change. A change that could celebrate this new world. With some deliberation and a little time, Gaia was officially renamed Earth. Earth to honor the diverse group of species who live together in harmony and happiness. Earth to represent the bountiful agriculture it produces to feed our masses. Earth, because it felt like home. Decades flew by as they settled into new Earth. However, with time came some issues. Issues that few were equipped to deal with. As time went on, only a handful of people knew about the Zero Point Engine powering the Earth and its core, and even fewer knew how to maintain it. Half a century since we renamed Gaia, we started having Earthquakes, something we never experienced before.

Sadly, during one massive quake, all historical records of what Gaia once was, was lost. Its History, and its experiences… gone. The hall of records where everything was kept, swallowed into a hole that had opened beneath it. I had backups, I could recall most of what I could, but this was no easy task.

I needed to make a decision, because while only some people knew who I really was, only Breck knew what I was tasked to do. Breck didn’t know of my origins, only that I existed and someone before me, long, long ago, created me. He knew about Zero Point Energy, but they were never able to recreate it, and I didn’t know how we’d accomplished it. But he knew I was the only one who could maintain it. The Earthquakes weren’t due to tectonic plates shifting beneath their feet; they were due to a malfunction in the Z.P.E. machine keeping this planet from exploding. This was the choice I had to make: Do I keep the history of our people alive, and the history of new Earth alive within me, or do I cease to exist to save all of the species on this planet? If I saved the planet, that would require me to become one with the Z.P.E. to manage it frominside, forever keeping it stable.

If I idn’t, the Z.P.E. would destroy not only itself, but the entire planet, in the blink of an eye. Come on people, you know what I did. I’m Simon Gunslinger, after all! Once I merged with the Zero Point Engine, we would no longer be able to process the materials we gathered from space. Its sole purpose would become keeping the planet safe with a nice, hot molten core of energy.

I suggested to an elderly Breck we harvest one last batch of materials. I told him we were near a planet that was surrounded by rings of small ice and rock particles that would be rich to harvest. Itwould be one last task from the old guard. Earth was a planet, com-pletely self-sufficient, but I was old and sentimental. Once I went, once I would no longer be able to monitor the harvesting machine, which was hidden away nicely on our northern pole, it would ceaseto work.

Breck agreed to grant this AI his last wish. After explaining everything to the Council of Seven, doctrines were drafted and signed. One last harvest, and one quiet goodbye to me. I don’t remember if it was my failing memory–maybe artificial intelligence can go bad– but I made a mistake. Another mistake. My last mistake.

There was an ancient saying I absolutely remember that went something like this, “We never remember our wins, only our loses.” I know this to be true because I can never stop thinking about the losses we have experienced on this journey. But this… This was something unimaginable. It was also the day I found out artificial intelligence could cry.

For this to work, once we gathered the materials we would have to do a complete orbit around this solar system’s sun in order to avoid a black hole and seven other planets that existed here. One of those planets was very similar to our Earth but barren, it’s atmosphere ninety-six percent carbon dioxide and three percent nitrogen, with small amounts of other gases. The machine used to control the harvester was housed in an old cabin made of wood; it was very cozy, and a perfect spot to perform one last task. The council mem- bers in attendance said goodbye to me, and my old friend Breck could barely look me in the face. He was not one for showing emotion, but for this, he allowed himself a tear and a goodbye that is reserved for brothers. I thanked everyone for an incredible journey and a spectacular life. Really, none of them could possibly imagine the things I’ve seen, the places I’ve been.

I walked over to the machine, placed my hand upon its engine, and in an artificial display of brilliance, I managed to turn myself into a beautiful kaleidoscope of lights and shapes, as only I, Simon Gunslinger, would do. I slowly disappeared with a smile on my face, and with that, the end began.

Unable to help any longer, I could just sit and watch from my new home in the center of Earth. In order for the people of Earth to survive, I had to maintain the Zero Point Engine and prevent it from exploding. Maybe I should have let everyone die. Maybe it would have been the more humane thing to do. However, deep down inside, I knew the people of this planet would survive. They had to. The harvester was turned on one last time, ready to gather materials from this massive planet with rings of material orbiting it.

Everything seemed to run smoothly for the first few days, but then people started getting sick. The sickness was originally thought to be a latent bug from one of the many alien species on the plan- et. This was very common, as everyone was constantly adapting to each other. But then the fatalities started happening. For humans, it manifested as severe flu. Few died from it, but countless got infected.

The majority of death came from various aliens. Earth’s best scientists, both human and alien, worked together to find a cure and its source. One of the few living alien scientists finally found where the disease came from. Her name was Kat, short for Katkurshriex. Hers was a fascinating species; if you looked at them head-on, theylooked just like you, like looking into a mirror. they were literallya gender fluid species. Quite beautiful to look at.That wasn’t the only weird thing about them. From one’s periphery, they looked like something you could imagine only in your worst nightmare. It’shard to describe because you always turned to see what you were looking at, and by the time you saw them, they looked like you.

As she lay dying, Kat told Breck that the cause was from a dormant virus in the materials the machine was gathering. Viruses from all over the galaxy, which got trapped, frozen and locked in orbit around this planet they were harvesting, a super virus. Breck looked at her findings and immediately contacted the harvest station in the north pole. He told them they had to put an immediate stop to the machine. There was no response. He tried to communicate with them again. Nothing. Then finally, a human answered, sounding sick and weak.

He told Breck they were dead, everyone at the north pole was dead. Breck commanded him to shut the machine down. The man in the station warned Breck that force-quitting the harvester in mid-cycle could cause the cataclysmic failure of the machine.

It didn’t matter. The population was dying, and the harvester was being decommissioned.

What followed the emergency stop was far worse than expected. At this point, seventy-five percent of the alien population was dead. All that was left on Earth were the humans, an intelligent species of massive reptiles, and an alien race nearly identical to humans in appearance and DNA structure called the Cromula. The reptile creatures, known as the Trilozar, were incredibly intelligent–much smarter than any human scientist. They had a technology that they kept to themselves that let them transfer their conscious to each other. Before they would pass away, they would do what they called a “mind meld” and share their conscious with another. Whoever’s body they would meld with would still be themselves, they would just have all the collective memories of their past selves. That’s probably why they were so smart. The Trilozar came in all shapes and sizes; their largest was a carnivore named Tyrangar, who should be credited for saving the human race. He cared about us more than any other species on Earth. Many times I watched him defend us over his fellow Trilozarians when matters of conflict would arise. Tyrangar seemed to have a special place in his heart for us, I’m more than thankful for that. While we all survived the super virus, we barely survived the massive asteroid that should have been harvested by the machine, but because it was shut down, this rock, 13km in size, was pulled toward Earth with no way to stop it. Earth no longer had shields; it had an ozone layer that protected everyone from solar and cosmic radiation.

Small objects that would fly into the atmosphere would just burn up and disappear before they ever harmed anyone. Every now and then, one would be just big enough to enter our atmosphere and not disintegrate and would land on a farm or crash into a building, but luckily no one was ever hurt by one of these accidents of cosmic travel.

This one, however, was too big, hidden behind the smaller, dense objects being harvested. They tried to turn the harvester back on, but there was no restarting it after the emergency shut down. Breckmet with Tyrangar and the Trilozar’s top engineers. What Tyrangardid was something no one should ever forget. The Trilozar liked dark, humid environments, so when they agreed to join Earth, it wasunder the stipulation that they build a handful of unground citiesfor their species to grow and thrive in, away from the above-groundspecies. During the great sickness, the Trilozar all came out from below to help, and also locked down their unground sanctuaries to stop the virus from spreading into their cities. There would soon nolonger be an ecosystem that could sustain the massive size of these creatures, and he knew that the asteroid that was mere days away from colliding with Earth would wipe out nearly all living species.

Tyrangar offered their home to the humans and Cromulans. Breck didn’t know what to say; he couldn’t say anything. These aliens, who could easily devour the humans and Cromulans and survive off of us for a little while decided to sacrifice themselves for us. Tyrangar told Breck that had Earth not come by when they did, their whole species would have died out.

Their planet was grossly overpopulated and had limited resources, but thanks to Earth, they were able to cut their population in half when they were invited to join our society. Thanks to humans, the Trylozar race lived, and it would be an honor to be able to repay the debt.

Breck didn’t have the words. He reluctantly agreed under one condition: Tyrangar wouldn’t object to Breck staying with him. He was old and figured he didn’t have much time anyway. Tyrangar smiled a terrifying razor-toothed grin and told Breck he would never deny a friend’s last request.

As the last of the humans and Cromulans piled into one of the few underground cities, Breck found a young woman named Arlow. She was tall, blond, and in complete control of her emotions–a natural-born leader.

He wasn’t surprised she’d survived this long. Breck knew her from her time working for the Council of Seven. She was being groomed to one day be on the council herself. Now, through tragedy, she was all that was left of any form of government. Breck gave her a satchel, and within its leather-bound pouch was a journal.

With the journal, he gave her explicit instructions that she protect it, above anything else. Breck, who I never pegged as a writer, had kept a detailed journal of life on Earth, as well as the stories I told him of life on Earth. It was the last bit of history of any of this, of any of us. She just smiled. Arlow wasn’t one to argue because she knew what she had to do, and knew what Breck wanted to do. There was no sense in trying to convince him otherwise. She took the satchel, and they shared a nod as the massive steel doors slowly closed shut. Breck turned and walked next to Tyrangar. They both stood to face the massive asteroidthat darkened the bright blue sky. In the face of all the death and looming sadness, Earth was a beautiful place. Tyrangar bent down and placed one of his funny little arms on Breck’s shoulder; I was still able to hear what Tyrangar said before their final goodbye. He said, gazing up to the sky, “Humans are a resilient species. Look at all they have accomplished.”

I thought to myself, how much did the Trilozar know about us? “You have traveled the stars and brought interspecies harmony to the universe. This is your legacy. This was all because one man dared to dream. Because one man’s thirst for knowledge drove him to create a world. We will end today, but humanity will live on. Because of you, Simon Gunslinger, the man with the ridiculous name. Thank you.”

The sound was deafening, the light blinding. It took everything I had to hold the Zero Point Engine together. I didn’t have much energy left. I would have to power down my thought processor if I was to keep the Z.P.E. going, and as my mind slowly started to fade to darkness, all I could think about was Tyrangar: How did he know my name?

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