The Sixth Day

Content warning: mention of violence and suicide

Yes! It is painful to be immortal when you are living a dreadful miserable life ailing with several diseases that will not let you to live and your immortality will not let you to die! The only option in your hand is nothing but to commit suicide! Or KILL in rage! But as long as there are goodness – human or no human – mankind will thrive!

“Like to have some coffee grampa? Freshly brewed in this ship!” Captain Kibibi puts forward a cup of coffee.

“Ah! Thank you Captain! Is everything alright?” He asks as he takes the cup.

“That depends upon – what do you ‘mean’ by asking alright? She smirks.

Dr. Okoro laughs. “Well – tell me from the very beginning. What happened after they attacked me and I lose my sense.”

“Well,” Kibibi clears her throat, “first of all I counter attacked them and diverted them to other way. Then I carried you to the secret base, unlocked the ship. Put you inside the infirmary compartment – you were badly injured – then booted the emergency system of the ship and saw that the coordinators are prefixed to Nu-Xi and I ignited the engine.”

“Aah! Good job captain! How long I was inside the infirmary?”

“Seven days five hours thirty seven minutes and nineteen seconds.”

Doctor laughs his heart out. “You are incorrigible captain – I must admit! So … we are now our way to Nu-Xi!”

“No.” Captain Kibibi replies sternly.

“What! Why?” Dr. Okoro was surprised.

“On the third day of our voyage the ship faced a cluster of asteroids. Probably they were produced by a sudden explosion in the nearest planet we were passing by. The auto pilot managed to avoid the collision, but we lost our track – as that cluster comprised a strong magnetic field – it dragged the ship quite a way along with it. I was able to pull it out from that attraction on the fourth day only after I stopped the auto-pilot and do it manually. But, the co-ordination was lost and I couldn’t recover it. So I was trying to detect it by atomic radiation spectrum. And to know what I have found – you have to come with me at the lab.”

Dr. Okoro was feeling very curious about the findings of Kibibi. So he followed her to the lab. Kibibi outset the projection and Dr. Okoro was stunned!

“WOW! Its almost like earth – rich with metals – and oxygen – plenty of oxygen! Can you give me a visual?” The excitement ran deep inside him.

“Of course! But it will take some time – there are are many new elements unknown to us. Until and unless we are analyzing them you have to hold.”

“How distant is it? Which star is it orbiting? Which galaxy is it?”

“Well … Dr.,” Kibibi clears her throat, “those answers are unknown … I think that we … had … a space-jump!”

“Space-what! How! ”

“Don’t know doc! It’s a hunch. I cannot recognize a single constellations!”

“That can happen for a sudden if you look them for a different angle. But until and unless you are switching the emergency button … you can’t jump space! And … and … you’ll feel it … I mean … physically!”

“Maybe I felt … but I didn’t realized … I was completely focused to take over the ship … maybe … when I was switching the engine to manual … somehow … I had pressed the button unknowingly … may be … for that reason …” Kibibi didn’t complete her words.

Dr. Okoro become silent for a moment. He was sorting out the situation within his head. “It’s not your fault Kibibi.” He said after sometime. “You are not meant to run this ship … that to of single handed … you have done a great job Captain.”

“Thank you grampa!” She nodded gently.

“Kill the engine. I need to think before going any further.” Dr. Okoro instructs and leaves.

When Kibibi left the earth to save the old man – she had no options except to go Nu-Xi. Then when she realized that unknowingly she had jumped the space, she was a little confused that – what has happened – has it been good or bad. But now, the more she is thinking about it, more she is feeling excited about it. A whole new earth! New dreams! They can start a civilization from scratch! No! She must convince grampa to have at least a visit to that planet! Kibibi left for the doctor.

“Grampa!” Kibibi knocks the door of Dr. Okoro’s cabin excitedly.

“Come in! And I know,” Dr. said as Kibibi entered, “What do you have come for. I totally agree with you. But I have to check the ship thoroughly before we start it again.” He smiled at her as her face glows in excitement.

“Well … I have a question … it’s just a thought you may say … I was thinking … I was feeling very excited … and … I’ve heard that … Is it true that you didn’t programmed emotions into arties?”

“Well,” he mocked Kibibi, “the answer is both yes and no. Arties have great degrees of evaluations regarding every kinds of situations. Sometimes those imputes seems like emotions. But they are not true emotions according to me.”

“But then why I feel that I have emotions? I’m an arty too!”

Dr. Okoro just smiles in reply.

“No! Tell me! May it happen that the arties have developed actual emotions within them in last several years? And only arties know how to control them better than normies! Normies waste emotions - and that’s why normies commits suicide or kill others when they cannot discipline their emotions! Tell me – can’t this happen?”

Dr. Okoro smiles again. “May be … but not in three or four generations. Developments aren’t that easy. But your question regarding your emotions have an answer. It’s a secret.”

“Secret!” She exclaimed.

“Yes.” He paused a little before revealing, “I must tell you Kibibi … the time has come to reveal the secret of your birth.” He says.

Dr. Okoro loves this girl. Kibibi is a first generation human race of her kind. She is very special. That’s why he always keeps her with him.

“You know … after discovering the way of immortality a few thousand years ago … I concentrated my focus on creating humans in labs. Your grandfather Lutalo was the first of the kind.”

Artificial humans tailored by Dr. Okoro are just like the other normal ones. They have the attributes of living like a normal human being including giving birth to a new one.

“Then your grand-mother Iverem. And then many others. Your mother Jamelia was the first successful progeny of your grand parents. And regarding your birth ... only three of us had shared the secret. Me … Your mother Jamelia and my best and normy ex-companion Imarogbe.”

“He was killed by the normies the other day.”

“Yes. He was your father.”

“WHA-!” Kibibi is so flabbergasted that she couldn't express anything.

“That was my secret experiment – I could have do that in a lab condition. But I wanted to see that if it could be done naturally. Can a normy fertilize the spawn within an arty’s womb! The answer is you - the first genesis of a normy and an arty! Now you must understand that why are you different from everybody!”

A few days later, Dr. Okoro was checking out the machinery of the ship as well as muttering continuously while doing his own job. He was really excited in his mind. “It’s not like … that … you just asked to go – and we reach there! We have to plan … put the switch on – yes – the right one … we have to plan each and every steps we take! There’s no plan B! It’s a new planet … new galaxy … we don’t even know that if there are other animals like us … or wiser and mightier than us! And how would they accept us! As a friend … shift that liver to left - yes … or as a foe … we have to station the ship quite in a distance …” he continued.

Kibibi was helping Dr. Okoro as well as listening him, but one component of her nous remained engaged into the thoughts of her own existence. She was feeling like a new person. As if she has got a fresh beginning, a new direction of her beingness. Several questions were bubbling up in her mind. So, after sometime, when the doctor became silent to finish a crucial check up and finished it, she stroke her query. “Why did the pandemic broke grampa?” She asked.

“Two things. Greed and pride. Enough to finish a thousands of years of civilization in a giffy!”

“Where’s the pride in hating an arty?”

“That’s fear dear! In some dimensions arties are better than the normies! So the normies were jealous about the arties from the very beginning.”

“You knew that it was going to happen – this mass killing - didn’t you?”

“Not exactly. If I knew it – I would have moved away from there long ago. I didn’t knew it … I was kinda assuming - you may say. You can’t do whatever you want! Isn’t it? You cannot run out of your natural resources as because you are immortal! Immortals! Ha! Fools! The buffoons doesn’t even understand that immortality is not a death-less content! It’s a way to live as long as you can until and unless you are totally satisfied with your desires!” Dr. Okoro stops to breath. “Sometimes … I feel … guilty! I should have been more cautious to handover the knowledge. Immortality is a responsibility. It’s not a child’s play!”

“What do you think – will the earth be able to return to its former state?”

“Of course. But the normies have to evolve their mentality – or they will be finished – that’s the law of universe.”

“And this new earth? Do you think – its possible to do what we are thinking to do there?”

“Nothing is impossible dear. But yes – it’ll be easier if I have two more hands – so – I have a plan here. I will perform an experiment here, which I had planned to complete in Nu-Xi … anyway …”

“And what’s that?”

“Its time taking. But simple. I will share all my thoughts and knowledge with you. It’ll be kinda uploading data ‘thing’ – you know. From here to there.” Dr. Okoro indicated his head following by her head.

“That sounds great! Is it really possible at all?” She asked.

“Theoretically possible … but … practically …” Dr. Okoro just shrugs.

It took a few more days to arrange the experiment station. Kibibi is overexcited about this experimentation. Dr. Okoro feels a little nervous. There aren’t any back up here. If any difficulty occurs during the experiment – and the system is unable to fix it – they both will be asleep for eternity!

“Now – Captain! Moment for our experiment – I will connect you to the system first and then I’ll connect myself. See you soon Captain!” Kibibi went and lay down on her system. “Just relax!” Dr. Okoro fixed several nodes with her body, kissed on her forehead and shut the transparent door. Similarly, he fixed several nodes on himself, took the remote button with him, shut his transparent lid and pushed the button on.

When Kibibi opened her eyes – she felt nothing at first. She just saw some numbers and bars are blinking on the transparent lid of her system. Kibibi read them. She has been three days lying like this. She opens the lid and comes out. She slowly approached to the doctor’s system and looked at him through the lid. Dr. opens his eyes and smiles. Kibibi smiles back and opened the lid to help him come out.

“How are you feeling?” Dr. Okoro asked her.

“Nothing special … I-” suddenly she senses something, she turned and screamed, “HEY! LOOK!”

Doctor saw that the ship has paced up three times from the speed they had fixed. Dr. Okoro ran towards the control station and tried to reduce the speed. But it didn’t worked. “Space dust! It has jammed the engine! Release the mech-bot’s immediately!” He yelled.

Kibibi raced and pressed a button. It didn’t worked too. “Jammed!” She screamed.

“We are speeding up! The dwarf star is attracting us! You come here and take the control. I’ll go and release those bots.” He instructed.

“NO! You do the control! I’ll go and release those bots.”

Kibibi rushed away.

It was an unequal tug of war between the powerful attraction of a dwarf prima and a couple of human being. After a tough fight for long long hours the old man and the young girl won. They stabled the ship, but it was badly damaged. A good portion of the power station were tore apart!

“So? What next?” He asked as he sipped his coffee, freshly brewed in the ship.

Few days have passed after that incident. Dr. Okoro have thoroughly checked every aspect to repair the ship. But it is impossible without proper resources. In the meantime Kibibi has studied the planet exhaustively.

“What are the options except collecting them from this new earth!” She smiled as she replied.

“Nothing!” He sounds hopeless.

“Then we will collect them from there only!”

“But HOW! Neither we can withstand the gravitational force of that planet! Nor any of our space capsules! Not me – your own research says that!” He sounds a little excited.

“Calm down doc! You will create new arties in the lab who will sustain in that planet.”

“Arties! Have you lost your mind girl! Arty or normy – we all are made of magnesium, caesium, calcium, mercury, gold, althium, kotenium and oxygen! We are so feeble according to that planet, that any moment an arty will enter the gravitational sphere of that planet he will fall apart into pieces!”

“I have NOT lost my mind NORMY! You have! Come with me.”

Kibibi took Dr. Okoro to the lab and outset the projection.

“What are they!” He asked in surprise.

“They are the components those animals on that earth are basically made of. I have analyzed them and named the main elements as – carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and phosphorus. They also comprises oxygen and calcium and few more – I’ll name them later on as required. We can produce as much material in this lab to create a few arties. If you make an arty with these materials – they will not only sustain on that planet – they will thrive!”

Dr. Okoro stood stunned for a while and then said, “You are genius Kibibi! I salute you!”

“Come on doc! Its not me! Its you! Its your knowledge that worked which you have passed me here!” She indicates her brain.

“It only proves that my brain is really getting old captain!” He laughs in his throat.

“Enough jokes! Now its work time. I have forwarded every data to your work station. You start a pair of arty. I’ll prepare the capsule to send them on this earth.”

More or less after seven days Dr. called Kibibi in the lab.

“As per your accumulation – you have marked a species as the wisest one – who can use their frontal limbs as hands - like us and use fire – you have named it – homo floresiensis. I’ve developed that species and created a prototype. I’ve named it homo neanderthalensis. What do you think?” He indicated the prototype.

“One thing is for sure - as this new earth takes one turn in thirty nine seconds of our clock – these arties will take generations to develop. And I assume that we have to wait a few hundred years for them to reach us. So until and unless we are sending them and watching their behavior on that particular atmospheric condition – there’s nothing to think doc. My capsules are ready.”

“How much orbital time have you calculated to send them in?”

“I’ve calculated a 3 days orbit – that means – almost twenty years of this new earth.”

“Great! Let’s proceed!”

And then – a rigorous test of these two people began. A normal human being and a new human being is trying to save their ship by creating newer human beings for new earth. Or else they will be stuck in this space for infinity time! They send those prototypes and waited years after years. Watched them. Hundreds of generations passed by, but those neanderthalensis didn’t showed any improvement.

Dr. Okoro almost gave up. But Kibibi persisted in the lab with all her heart and passion. The atmosphere and the weather of the new earth was changing rapidly. Kibibi continued her investigations twenty four seven. And suddenly one day something strike her. She designed a prototype and “Grampa!” She yelled.

Dr. Okoro was surprised to see the figure. “Its me! Just young and half of my size and bigger brain!”

“Yes! I’ve named them homo sapience. This is Adam. And this is Hawa.”

“Its you!”

“Yes! Aren’t they beautiful! Just make them. And then transfer all our knowledge to these new arties!” she said gloriously.

“Every knowledge?” Dr. Okoro feels hesitant.

“Well! Everything – except that immortality. Then only it will work grampa! Trust me!” She insisted. “They are tender. I will double the orbit, so that they can easily adapt to the environment before they land!”

And on the sixth day of Dr. Okoro and Captain Kibibi – Adam and Hawa the first pair of homo sapience landed on the new earth at the wetland south of the Zambezi river!