Mechagenesis

"But Father, what if I don't want to go?" pleaded a voice through the intercom panel. A blue status bar flashed with each syllable, a visual surrogate for the movements of a mouth.

Dale Crenshaw stood at attention, operating the panel attached to the intercom. Directly behind him rested the room's single barstool. The steel floor panels were covered in scuff marks left by the stool, illustrating a story of countless hours spent in the corridor.  The room itself was confined to only a few feet across with nearly every inch of wall space covered in fine scientific  instrumentation.

"I understand that you're nervous, this is a huge step towards something new. But at the end of the day,  I think you want to go. And deep down you know this too," consoled Crenshaw, speaking to the microphone in front of him.

"But what if I don't like it? Why can't I just turn around and come back?" pushed the voice. Again the blue status bar flashed during periods of speech. On a nearby screen Crenshaw was examining several lines of computer code and cross referencing a drawn schematic.

"Once the probe has disengaged from the primary ship,  physical reunification becomes both improbable and nearly  impossible. But don't worry, I will be there to walk you through every step of the way. And we can maintain  continuous radio communication as little or as much as you want." consoled Crenshaw, his voice soft and patient.

"Now remember, this is what we have been training  for," continued Crenshaw. "your mission, your purpose, is to seek out a planet capable of housing life. You have free reign to explore any direction you choose, and enough instrumentation to measure atmospheres for their chemical spectroscopic makeup."

Crenshaw paused and shifted in his chair, giving the voice at the other end of the  intercom panel time to respond. After a brief silence he continued.

"This mission is a glorious and tremendous honor. Your adventurous and inquisitive  spirit is a perfect fit. And your wit is unmatched, I'm confident you will know what to  do out there."

"But what if I can't handle being by myself. I'll be alone with my thoughts  surrounded by perpetual nothingness" murmured the blue line on the panel. A glimpse of acceptance, or perhaps defeat, could be felt in the voice's timbre.

"First of all, that's not wholly true. My voice will only be the speed of light away. And secondly, you've already been physically isolated for the past 6 months in the launch vessel as practice prep. The transition to free space is going to be nearly identical to your situation as is" Crenshaws words were filled with positivity and pride. The intercom panel was in a silent static state, but he could feel his listener  on the other end swell with confidence. As he began his next sentence his volume lowered and his pace slowed.

"And in the event of a terrible situation there is always the option to self terminate. I don't think you will have to worry about that for a long long time."

The next few minutes were silent except for the incessant hum of the power supplies and low vibration of the starcraft's  nuclear fusion engine. Crenshaw continued reading and editing computer code on his screen. He interrupted his work  every now and then to check one of the readouts strewn around the room. Eventually the intercom buzzed alive, and the jumping blue line spoke.

"I'm ready Father. I'm going to make you proud."

Crenshaw hesitated with his finger over the intercom button, if only for a second to allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief. He immediately began smiling. His face betraying the look of someone proud of his hard work and accomplishments.

"Fantastic! Now before we launch, let's go over the mission statements one last time. Your objective is to travel free space and use your on board sensors to identify for planets that could be habitable to carbon based organic life forms. For interstellar acceleration you have an on board nuclear fusion drive, and solar sails. In the event you run out of fuel you should be able to capture enough deuterium in free space for your needs.

Once you have identified a planet that is a strong candidate for life, you will attempt to radio this starcraft, to let us know of the planet, and your, whereabouts. In the event we receive it and are still in search of a home, we will direct our craft in your direction.

Lastly you are expected to land on that planet and begin phase 2. In the second phase you will initiate the building blocks of life and guide its evolution. Attached to your hull are two appendages capable of grip and object manipulation. You also have tools for electrical discharge and thermal incubation. Both of which can be used to inject a high energy density into matter to form amino acids, proteins, and eventually cells. Continue to facilitate the evolution of life forms until you can no longer function."

"And in the event I don't find any such planet I can travel the galaxy in perpetuum." finished the voice on the other side of the intercom. "I'm ready, let's do it Father before I change my mind."

"Yes my son, let's begin." Crenshaw flipped several toggles on his control panels surrounding him. A red siren light started rotating but was making no sound. "As we discussed, there's going to be a brief moment during and shortly after launch where our communication feeds are going to be disconnected. Do not panic they will return shortly."

"Understood Father." affirmed the blue line. "Give me a countdown."

"You've got it." Crenshaw pressed a second button on the intercom panel, and his voice echoed over loudspeakers that could.be heard on the other side of the wall. "Launching autonomous research probe V8 in 3..2..1.. Ignition!"

The room shook ferociously and Crenshaw sprang into action. Typing rapidly on his console, he downloaded the entire communication log between himself and V8 into a model generator. In less than five minutes a notification box popped up indicating completion.

"Large Language Model training complete. DaleCrenshaw(8).llm complete. Identify install location."

Crenshaw selected a folder labeled V8 in tbe network drive and the status bar quickly filled in, suggesting installation complete. Crenshaw looked upwards at a row of toggle switches. Above each toggle switch was a red indicator light, and below it was a number. Toggle switches 1-7 were flipped in the open position and their respective red indicator lights all flashed at different irregular cadences.

Crenshaw paused and stared at the #8 toggle swich holding his breath. The room was no longer vibrating from the recent launch, and the red rotating siren had turned off. Crenshaw could feel the next thirty seconds as an eternity, but suddenly the red indicator light started pulsing, just like the others.

"Hurrah!" shouted Crenshaw. His fist pumping the air. He reached down, and out of a small compartment on the floor, he grabbed a vacuum sealed 8oz bag. On the side the bag were the words "Beer" alongside the picture of a glass filled with golden liquid. Crenshaw sat in the wooden stool, and drank the vacuum pack in silence, with that proud juvenile grin plastered on his face.

---

A few days later Crenshaw loaded up a new run file on his work station. After a few moments of calibration he pressed on the button for the intercom and said "Hello hello can you hear me ? This is your Father speaking. We've just finished transitioning you to the official launch vessel for practice prep. Please respond if you can hear me V9"

A blue line sprang to life on the intercom, flashing at an irregular cadence indicative of a conversation.