Space has always been the same: cold,
unwelcoming and largely boring to watch. That is because, despite how big it is
and how many natural phenomenon happen all around, some parts, most parts, are
just empty space surrounded by that black veil tinted with stars. People who
decide to work there are either adventurers or simply the ones that never got
what they wanted and now have decided its time to sacrifice body and mind for
the greater good of humanity.
Every “day” it’s the same thing: waking up to
realize you are in space, alone and bored. Then you have some breakfast,
normally one of those dehydrated foods that need some water drops to transform
into something a little bit tastier. Then, it’s time for hygiene and cleaning
of the facility. Most of the time, it’s all about mopping and sweeping all
around, nothing interesting like discovering asteroids or observing one of the
many wonders of the universe. That’s for others to do.
Stevenson had been assigned to that quadrant
and to that station almost one year ago. He was really looking forward the year
to be completed because he would be eligible to be replaced and send to some
other planet or station, hopefully one where boredom is not a cause of death.
Inexperienced people, as he was at the start, normally get to monitor the
boring areas of the universe. The ones that people know about and admire, those
are normally assigned to more popular areas of the territories.
As he sweeps and mops, Stevenson likes to put
on some music and dance to it while he does his chores. Many days, not caring
much about the security cameras and the visual diary he must keep, he takes off
all his clothes and walks around naked, doing everything he normally does only
that with not one fabric over his body. Is not really a statement or something
funny to do, but just the fact that people get bored really fast and easy when
nothing happens around them.
One of those naked days, Stevenson was
preparing dinner. It had been another uneventful day for him and he was looking
forward to his weird sleep. For dinner, he made a sandwich, which he had to
create in the microwave. When he was eating, one of the emergency sirens
started. It was a very loud noise and he had never heard it. Actually there
were many things he didn’t really know about the station and he normally
learned on the way. He went to the command center but it wasn’t clear what had
happened. The siren was turned off and no reason was found for its activation.
However, the onboard computer declared that
the siren had been activated through movement in a forbidden area but it
couldn’t really tell what actually moved. Stevenson thought it was a moving
cable that wasn't working anymore or maybe it was something worse. He had heard
of parasites bigger than fists infesting stations all over the place. Of
course, they weren’t creatures that lived in space, but they attached
themselves when stations were built or launched into their positions.
He decided to check everything before going to
sleep. He spent several hours on the computer, checking everything on the
corresponding monitor and holding the station’s manual on one hand to verify he
was doing all he standard procedures correctly.
It took hours but at the end of it all he didn’t find any actual proof
something had moved anywhere around the ship. He also found out there were no
parasites. The ship was in perfect shape, working like a well-tuned clock.
As he walked to his room, he thought about the
possibility of something actually exciting happening there. He had been alone
for long, so bored too, that he had been excited because of the siren. It was
scary at first, but it made him feel alive and useful, instead of useless,
which was what he felt every single day of his life. As he covered himself with
the bed sheets, he looked one last time to his window and wondered if he would
ever feel like more than just some lost guy.
Stevenson had a nightmare: it was about him
running all around the station. He was running away from something but he never
saw in the dream what it was. But it had to be something really scary because
he could feel on his body when it came too close. It was a very tense
situation. He would scream sometimes and run. He would also get into areas of
the stations that didn’t actually existed. Then, whatever was after him finally
caught up with him and jumped and it was then when he woke up.
Not only the scare woke him up, but also the
fact he had fallen from his bed, covered in sweat. He took all his clothes,
what he used as a pajama, and threw it on the bin that was actually a washing
machine. He had never experienced that kind of nightmare. It had really been
scary. He even realized his face was covered in tears when he removed his
t-shirt. He decided to get into the shower, as even cold water would help
getting his ideas in order and all of the bad thoughts out of his mind, at
least for while. He needed to feel calm once again. But that didn’t last very
long.
As he walked out of the shower, the alarm was
activated again. This time the computer was able to tell him way with one word:
asteroid. He ran still naked and wet to the command center, holding a towel on
one hand. Stevenson put the towel on the chair and sat on it and then pushed
some buttons and wrote some words in a keyboard. He was chatting with the
computer. On a screen, he got an image of whatever it was that had activated
the alarm. He had to enhance the quality because it was very small.
Indeed, it was an asteroid. It had a very
classical shape and was travelling slower than most asteroids did. But that
wasn’t the reason the alarm had been activated. In the last few months, he had
encountered other rocks like that one. The difference this time was that all
the instruments onboard the ship had detected life on the rock. Some form of
life was around or inside that asteroid and he had to be able to get it for
himself as that would be his ticket to a much better life.
The station couldn’t really move but he did
have a vehicle for outside exploration. He ran to the hangar, put on some
piloting clothes and hopped into the small vehicle, which was shaped as a
tennis ball. The idea was to grab the rock and carry it back to the station
with the mechanical arms the vehicle had. It shouldn’t be hard as the rock was
not that big and he only needed some pieces. So he went out inside the ball and
navigated bravely towards the floating rock.
An incredible velocity pushed it though space
but it was too slow for asteroid standards. So breaking it a little bit
shouldn’t be hard at all. He started doing so when a powerful sound almost made
him deaf. It was coming from the station, another alarm. He had to complete his
work fast with the asteroid first, so he decided to use a laser to extract a good
chunk of it. His operation on the rock was successful and he was able to take a
very good part back to the station, where the sound seemed to get stronger.
Apparently, it was an urgent message and that
piercing noise was the way to get it through. He was surprised to see it was
not only a short written message that said, “Stand by”. He didn’t really
understand. Besides, his mind was with the rock he had just brought back. But
then, the alarm ended and a screen that had never worked had been turned on.
There was a face there, it was his boss. He was pale and looked very skinny and
tired. He declared they had encountered something and that, whatever it was, it
had attacked them. He failed to explain it further. But his next phrase was the
one who made Stevenson feel heavier: “The Earth has been destroyed. Don’t come
back”.
