Brandon Q Morris [Morris - Proxima Dying

They actually did it! Marchenko 2 shakes his head, but immediately rejects this human gesture. That ungrateful packthey threw him out of his own base! And he had been so full of hope when he finally saw Adam and Eve again. My children! He had recognized them immediately, even though he had not seen them for 14 years. They had grown into beautiful children. What am I thinking? They arent children anymore, theyre grown-ups.

Marchenko 2 thought about it for a long time. Should he try to avenge this betrayal? Should he lie in wait for them when they leave the station? On the second day he stopped outside the range of all sensors, sat on the ocean floor, and pondered his options and strategies.

His hardware, J the robot, gives him freedom to endure. He can exist underwater for as long as he wants, because he has all the resources he needs. He is able to generate energy by using the temperature differences between various water levels. Using this energy, his fabricators can produce anything he needs to get along in this underwater world.

I have decidedI am going to accept their judgment He is already on the way to the dark hemisphere of this planet, a planet that always faces its same sunburnt and hot side toward Proxima Centauri, its sun. The decision has not been easy for him. It might be interpreted as acceptance of the injustice done to him. That was the only reason he hesitated so long, because he obviously did not accept the verdict of his children. His children... When he thinks of them he feels the infinite love he had to suppress for so many years. He is not responsible for what happened, not he, because he is the victim.

It wasnt easy sweeping away this argument, but finally a probabilistic analysis opened his eyes. He calculates which courses of action were open to Adam and Eve. He knows a lot about Proxima b, things that they have yet to find out. They are stupidthey should have disassembled his body in order to extract his knowledge. This would have saved them a lot of disappointment in the near future. But the knowledge he acquired over the years also tells him that Adam and Eve will inevitably venture into the dark hemisphere during their search for the former inhabitants of this planet. It is only a question of time, but he will see them again. If he gets going now, he will have a chance to thoroughly prepare for their arrival.

The ground ahead of him is sloping down slightly. The pressure sensors report a cool current moving towards the north-northwest. He scans the ocean floor with his searchlight. That is an old, deeply human habit. He does not need light to discover obstacles, but now and then he feels the need to see, just like he used to in his former life. He decided a long time ago to put away such behavioral patterns. They do not belong to him anymore. They are part of what he once was, a human being with all his shortcomings.

Today he is much more than that. He can be whatever he wants to be. For humans, that is a utopian idea and will always remain so. For him, it is a reality. During the first four years of his space voyage, he still believed he owed something to humans. But after the flare killed Adam and Eve, and the ship denied him a new start-up for the Adam and Eve project, he realized he owed humans no debt. He is alone, but that doesnt matter: He can learn indefinitely, and his power is without limits. Still, he can clearly feel something is missing. The Creator has denied him the ability to create life, and it logically follows that his omnipotence is wasted if he has nobody to protect and to support with it. He needs Adam and Eve, and he knows they will come to him.

Shit! Its cold! Adam yells. The water level in Valkyrie sinks as fast as the bilge pumps can manage.

Dont make such a fuss, Eve replies, already starting to take off her thin pressure suit.

I can easily understand Adam. Taking a short trip in Valkyrie is much too cumbersome. The battle with the other MarchenkoMarchenko 2for the station set us back seriously in terms of technology. My robot body, J, still has not been completely repaired. We also havent yet had the time to upgrade Valkyrie with a real airlock, or at least with a coupling port to attach itself directly to the station, meaning Adam and Eve have to swim through cold water. While the suit-heating mechanism is working at its maximum, trying to keep them warm, water has a high thermal conductivity and the cold ocean quickly reduces their body heat.

The problem down here at the bottom of the sea is energy supply. The nano-fabricators can produce almost anything from practically any material, but they need the energy to do so. On the surface of the planet, the local sun Proxima Centauriprovides more than enough energy, but the underwater station laboriously generates it from currents and the temperature differences between various water layers. That limits our options.

It is Eves fault we are starting our first excursion today, only a week after the dramatic conflict. She complained until I finally gave in. The two of them were not convinced by my counterargument that Marchenko 2 might have chosen to lurk nearby and, if so, I could not help them without J.

Our destination is the alien transmitter, the only still-workingpossiblytrace left of the former inhabitants, as far as we know. It must have some function!

Well, shall we go? Eve is really in a hurry. Is this caused by curiosity, or by boredom with life at the bottom of the sea? She and Adam spent many years on board Messenger, which is very similar to the station down here. It is clear Marchenko 2 deliberately placed his ship here and then expanded it.

Another 37 seconds, I answer via the loudspeaker. The pumps are almost finished.

And then? Adam asks.

We will have to see, I say. Eve is in charge today.

Adam sits down in the seat near the stern end of the cabin and buckles himself in. Eve sits down as well and turns the monitor towards herself. She checks where the transmitter is shown on the map, but she doesnt yet choose a course. Adam gives her a puzzled look, but she does not notice it. Then she reaches for the control levers to the right and left of the monitor. Valkyrie starts moving. For a few seconds a metallic scraping can be heard, until the vessel rises far enough above the sea floor.

Eve does not seem to be taking the direct way. The small arrow on our screen indicates our direction of travel, and it points into areas we havent yet explored. At this depth there is eternal darkness anyways, which makes it hard for me to talk of a dark hemisphere.