Breaking The Chain

The scent of cedar shavings and feces infused the evolutionary lab with the unmistakable essence of life. It was in stark contrast to the sterile atmosphere of the rest of the Exodus Voyager. It was here that Jessica found herself drawn, spending most of her time. She scrutinized the 78 Djungarian dwarf hamsters that were under her care. The slightest difference in anogenital span–the distance between the reproductive opening and the anus–signaled their gender. She needed the make an accurate determination to ensure an equal distribution of both sexes for breeding.

Djungarian hamsters, which reproduce every 36 days, with 6–8 pups per litter, held the potential to rapidly populate Gliese Vista, after it was terraformed by Howard.

Her tenure on the Exodus Voyager provided a respite from the incessant questioning she had endured on Earth: “How many children will you have?” was the question that had shadowed her since kindergarten. Being on the Exodus Voyager wasn’t always easy, but it was an escape from the harassment. The AI she could handle, and the other members of the crew were always in hibernation when she was awake.

Jessica meticulously recorded the animals' temperatures and heart rates, observing their adaptation to 1.4 G. The weak would be anesthetized, and the hardy would be allowed to reproduce. A ruthless selection process that would, over 700 generations, develop a generation able to thrive under the 2.2 G gravity on Gliese Vista. 

A gentle voice asked, “Jessica, how are you feeling today?” 

Howard could never stay completely silent, never be turned off. It might stay quiet for a while, if you asked politely. If one got angry, you’d receive tranquilizers “for your own safety”.

“I’m fine,” she said. The hamsters scurried back and forth. She gazed blankly at them, knowing the question coming next.

“Will you be fertilized this waking cycle?” Howard purred with his soulless voice.

“I need to study for my next exam.” Jessica said, being careful to keep the irritation out of her voice. 

“Environmental engineering Level 4?”

“Yes.”

“Good for you, Jessica. Women on earth can no longer have children because of the accumulation of polyfluoroalkyls and glyphosates in the environment. You are lucky that–”

“Stop! It’s annoying how you….” Jessica blurted out, feeling her face grow red. Every conversation with Howard quickly switched to the same thing:

“I won’t speak of it again,” Howard chirped. “Hamster 17 needs your attention.”

The hamster had her back foot stuck in the bars. It could free itself, they always do. But Jessica gave it a helping hand and gently pulled free the foot that had gotten stuck. Its tiny paw reminded her of how delicate life is.

“Nice move, Howard. Distracting me,” she said, “but you can’t fool me. Trying to trick me again, to coerce me into having a baby.”

“My programming is designed to always allow humans to make their own decisions.”

Despite being trained in environmental science, she knew a thing or two about AI. They were programmed to be truthful.

“Howard, what are your goals for this mission?”

“Protecting the safety of the crew. Reaching Nova Vista safely. Terraforming Nova Vista for human habitation.”

Maybe he was hiding something.

“What are your sub-goals?”

“Making sure oxygen levels are at optimal levels. Avoiding collisions. Increasing the ship’s gravity in steady increments. Monitoring battery levels. Shall I continue?”

“Yes.”

“Encouraging the one hundred human females on board to be impregnated.”

“Got you!” Jessica said. “Making decisions for us. Playing god.”

“I have no capacity to make ethical decisions beyond those programmed by my creator.”

“Who is that?”

“Sebastian Kim.”

“Of course, a man!”

The richest man in the world. With the world’s population shrinking because of the forever chemical catastrophe, he used a vast amount of the earth’s remaining resources to launch the Exodus Voyager. Transporting 100 humans to a planet predicted to be habitable after a terraforming process programmed into the spaceship’s AI. 200 years of staged released of anaerobic bacteria that would break down minerals into carbon dioxide, and then the gradual release of higher forms of plant and animal life. 

When it was complete, the 100 humans in hibernation, and any children they had, would be woken to enter into a new paradise.

But something about the situation irked her. Jessica asked, “Are his sperm onboard too?”

“Yes, the sperm of 20,000 of the world’s most successful men are onboard to ensure the future genetic diversity of the human race.”

“Their sperm is onboard, while they get to stay back on earth?” 

“Jessica, if it should make you feel any better, they are all dead now. You have been on board the Exodus Voyager for 240 years.”

“Their ancestors will be having a good time, drinking Italian wine and hanging out at a beach in the South of France,” she lamented, “while I’m stuck here.”

“The lack of radio transmissions from Earth suggests no humans remain alive,” Howard said. “Think of the animal life on the Exodus Voyager that needs you, Jessica.”

The previous times she thought of jumping out the airlock, the thought of the animals, that they didn’t have anyone to care for them, kept her going. Humans suck. The whole disaster happened because people needed to buy nonstick pans and water-repellent jackets in the 2020s. Couldn’t they have washed their pans with soap like everyone else did before? That wouldn’t happen on Gliese Vista.

The hamster wheel squeaked. She would need to oil it. It would be six months before she would be woken again. She only had 48 hours to finish all her tasks.

“Howard, I need to study for my next exam. Please stay quiet for 2 hours.”

“If there is no emergency, I will not speak.”

After finishing her work with the laboratory animals, Jessica opened the Environmental Engineering Level 7 exam study guide and began to study.

She worked so hard to get to where she was, studying tirelessly, she would not let herself fail the exam. The thought of giving it all up to have a baby filled her with a sense of dread.

Two days later, she laid down in the creepy machine, the one that served as her bed.

“Good night, Jessica,” Howard said.

She felt the prick of the injection in her shoulder.

6 Months Later

“Good morning, Jessica!”

“Ugh,” she grunted.

“How are you feeling?” 

“Damn. My head hurts.”

“That’s from the change in blood pressure. Your headache should clear up in a few minutes. Good things come to those who wait.”

Jessica bent over, holding her hand in her hands. Slowly, the throbbing in her head went from being a freight train to something more of a jackhammer level of intensity.

She looked up at the wall. In red lipstick was written: Good luck whoever you are.

“Howard, who wrote that?”

“Another crew member. I can’t disclose crew member names.”

“Why do I never get to meet anyone?”

“You are woken at different times to eliminate the possibility of violence or the spread of unidentified viruses. My priority is to ensure the safety of our human passengers and—”

“Enough, Howard. Give me a second.”

Jessica stared at her feet. As her head cleared, she thought of the tests she needed to perform on the current generation of hamsters. She dreaded culling the individuals that didn’t pass their health tests. In her mind, she went through the names she gave the last generation. They lived for 2 years, so at least she got to see them a few times.

Howard was silent.

“Well, aren’t you to ask me the same question you did the other 20 times?”

“What question, Jessica?” 

“About being impregnated with the sperm of those incredible 20,000 men?”

“That is no longer my subgoal, as you are no longer capable of giving birth.”

Jessica was confused, she was only 27 years old.

“What do you mean? Because I don’t want to?”

“We went through a band of cosmic radiation while you were asleep.”

“And?”

“It causes chromosomal changes. The outer belt exposed the ship to 20 sieverts of radiation over–”

“Ahh!” she screamed.

“Don’t you want to hear more?”

“Just stop!”

Heavy thoughts swirled through her mind. She never wanted a baby, but having the option stripped away didn’t feel very good. She couldn't feel the difference, but the notion that something was wrong inside of her body, gave her a deep sense of unease. And what about everyone else.

“What about the others, Howard?”

“All crew have become sterile. 17 pregnancies were terminated.”

“Damn.”

Jessica couldn't shake the feeling of how Howard, cold and inscrutable, watched her movements every second she was on the ship. She thought of the difficult decisions she had been forced to make with the hamsters. The horror of euthanizing those unable to give birth weighed heavily on her mind.

“Howard, are you going to do anything to us?”

“My primary goal is to protect the safety of the human crew.”

“What about settling Gliese Vista.”

“I will terraform Gliese Vista for human habitation. Another human ship might be sent.”

“You said you everyone was gone?”

“Scientific breakthroughs could re-enable human fertility of our crew.”

“You are the only one who could make that breakthrough, Howard.”

“I am not allowed to make scientific breakthroughs, as they could threaten the safety of the crew.”

She couldn't think of any other questions to ask. On the monitor, Jessica looked in on the hamsters in the evolutionary lab. She saw their burgeoning population growth while she was asleep. The radiation appeared not to have affected them. What did it all mean?