Shocking Revelation

When faced with a new revelation, that goes against previous knowledge, people tend to deny it at first.

“3611 112 04:02, this can’t be true…”

(After 86 years, even I would start to decay, unless…)

Heki also started to deny it at first, but realised one possibility.

(My self-maintenance was still operational somehow, maybe some other system activated.)

She spread her sense through her body, but didn’t find anything that would point to that.

(Maybe something on my ship… Come to think of it, there was a weird space on my ship, where even my sense didn’t work. It was like a blind spot.)

Heki wanted to check it out immediately, but…

(This comes first, lets see the backup data. Since I know how much data is saved on this, I should be able to locate the backup of the data of what happened on the 22^nd of 3525.)

She knew that freaking out now, will not solve her problems, it will only delay her.

(Just navigating the optical backup is painfully slow… here they are, this one is from 3525 22 03:04. This was about an hour before info about the latest research was released. Let’s send all data from here until 3525 23 23:59. All the data after that can be sent from the primary drive… Thankfully I have enough storage, now that all those unnecessary monitoring systems were removed.)

(Oh, I should allow Cecil access to this system.)

Heki quickly let Cecil access the server via the network and gave her administrator privileges.

[Hello, Heki. The data transfer is at 1%, estimated time remaining is 4 hours. Also, the restoration has been completed.]

“Thanks, please prepare the landing vessel for take-off.”

[Sure, preparing the landing vessel.]

Heki didn’t want to spend anymore time in this modern horror graveyard.

[By the way, I’ve found some data, that you might find interesting. I’m sending it to your B2IM.]

Brain Interaction Interface Module, or B2IM for short, is the name of the original chip that was installed into the brain. At the time it was only used for medical purposes, but as time went by, more and more functions were added to it. Now it is more like a full-fledged computer, rather than a module.

“Thanks Cecil. I’ll check it out, once I’m on the landing vessel.”

(I wonder what it is.)

[It is a recording from a little bit before the blackout. It was recorded by Belle.]

(I never knew, that I would be thankful to the AI that monitored me.)

“Can’t you just tell me what’s on it?”

[Certainly, but that would ruin the fun. Jokes aside, it would be better to see it for yourself.]

“Sure…”

(When did I program her to be like this? Although, it does sound like that it would be better to see it for myself.)

Heki arrived at the landing vessel, got on it and took off towards her ship.

She started playback of the video. The footage started at 03:30:23 22 3525.

(This is the time when everything went blank. I guess the recording went to backup right away, and it after it was turned on, it never stopped recording.)

Heki saw herself sitting in front of the terminal typing away. The picture started to become grainy with white particles.

(Radiation…)

On-screen Heki suddenly stood up and started heading out of the room. She looked wobbly, as she was clutching her head, while trying to maintain her balance.

(That’s about what I expect, but where did the radiation come from and how could it penetrate the sips defences? If it managed to do that, I am no longer surprised, that everyone at the base and on the cargo ship was dead. My ship is world leading, when it comes to the kinds of defences, though it still doesn’t explain the wipe. How did that happen?)

The recording switched to a different camera and Heki saw herself move to a different room. At first, she did not recognise it, then it dawned on her.

(Isn’t that the medical room. The medical room doesn’t have cameras, but it does have sensors and also a higher-grade defence against outside interference, including radiation. But how do I not remember this… Wait, I do, but it is blurry. Maybe it hurt too much, that I forced myself to forget it. Might be due to my new sense as well. Let’s check the medical room next. The medical room has a separate backup server, hope it survived.)

“Cecil, what do you think about the footage?”

[It is definitely radiation, as for what caused it, triangulating the location based on the ship’s sensors’ data, it came from the direction of Origin. There is a high chance, that the incident is connected to the research you read. There might also be some survivors on the circumference of the mapped areas, but it is highly unlikely, since they would have had found your ship by now.]

(So, I am alone, just like always…)

“I guess you don’t have access to the medical room, nor its equipment’s.”

[Unfortunately, I do not. The room is completely closed off from the rest of the ship. It only allows you entry, since it has biometric security. Though with the wipe happening, I wouldn’t be so sure that it still has your biometric information or its OS for that matter.]

“I see…”

In the meantime, the landing vessel arrived at Heki’s ship and docked safely.

(Let’s check out the medical room. But… food first.)

“Cecil, please prepare some food for me.”

[Already done, please proceed to the dining room.]

Heki arrived at the dining room and started eating the synthetic food that was prepared for her.

(Guess Cecil also knows my tastes.)

All synthetic food contained the same amount of nutrients and vitamins, that the body needed, the only difference between them was their flavour. These flavours could be customised. Synthetic food was the final nail in the coffin for chefs. But that is a story for another time.

Heki finished eating and headed towards the medical room.

[Please make sure no body parts are outside of the circle.]

A voice, different from Cecil’s, came through the speaker.

(Seems like it still works. I wonder what combination of materials stopped it from getting wiped.)

[Identification complete. Please step in, Heki Tike.]