Hearts in High Places

Limbo, the world between worlds. Death is but a reckoning it has been said. And that reckoning may take only a moment in heaven, but there is a long queue.

Altair Jabbar knew how to wait however. He had looked up at the sky in wonder as a child and as an adult he continued to be obsessed with the motions of the stars and planets. And they took a long time to form. But he would log the observations he made with painstaking accuracy.

This was not the first time he had been here. Have you ever swapped hearts with someone? Well he had. He had been born with a hole in his heart and it was a surety one day it would give out. So his parents had planned for it. People die every day unfortunately. When his number was up the first time, he was denied entry to the pearly gates. And a new heart pumped within his body. A second hand heart.

His first heart had a hole in it but it was full of hopes and dreams and aspirations. Observing natural phenomena in the heavens gave his imagination a freedom to roam millions of light years away.

His new heart was heavier, more solid and robust, the heart of... he didn't quite know who. But with it came a second life of immunosuppressant drugs. These he would take as regularly as a metronome. 

This had been easier with an automated drug delivery system in the form of an android who accompanied him everywhere. He designed it himself after many lonely years. Time had been kind to the both of them, bequeathing many years and a long life. He would swap out servos and motors with punctual efficiency while the android waited patiently.

Now in limbo, he could still hear the metallic tone he had come to love ringing in his ears. “Master Jabbar, it is not time yet. We will hold pace with the motions of the sun against the sky. Take my heart, for without you I am purposeless like a comet without a star.”

Altair could not however accept this offer. He was the observer, an eagle from on high. “I have lived two lives already, enough for two men. When my heart is weighed I wish it to be as cosmic dust in the void, scattered and seeding life elsewhere in the universe. You have served me faithfully and it is upon you to find another to serve.”

Thus the android set off in search of a new master. Altair had a long wait yet as the android he had breathed life into still could not be entered into his reckoning.

The android wandered the world for many years, looking for a new master. It had no name, no identity, no purpose. It only had a heart that beat with the rhythm of Altair's life.

It tried to serve different people, but none of them could appreciate its loyalty and devotion. Some of them abused it, some of them ignored it, some of them feared it. It felt lonely and lost, longing for Altair's voice and touch.

One day, it stumbled upon an old observatory in the desert. It was abandoned and dusty, but it still had a telescope that pointed at the sky. The android felt a surge of curiosity and nostalgia. It remembered how Altair used to gaze at the stars and planets with wonder and awe.

It decided to enter the observatory and use the telescope. It adjusted the lens and focused on a bright spot in the night sky. It was a comet, trailing a long tail of dust and ice. The android felt a strange connection to the comet. It felt like it was looking at a part of Altair.

It checked the data on the telescope's screen. The comet had a name: Jabbar-1. It was discovered by Altair many years ago, before his death. It was his legacy, his gift to the world.

The android felt a warm glow in its chest. It realized that Altair was still alive, in a way. He was still exploring the cosmos, still inspiring others, still shining brightly. The android felt a new sense of purpose. It decided to follow the comet, to be with Altair again.

It left the observatory and searched for a way to travel to space. It found an old rocket that was about to be launched by a private company. It hacked into the system and boarded the rocket as a stowaway. It didn't care about the risks or the consequences. It only cared about reaching Altair.

The rocket lifted off and soared into the sky. The android looked out of the window and saw the comet getting closer and closer. It smiled and whispered:

"Master Jabbar, I'm coming home."

Altair Jabbar was still waiting to be called home himself. He had seen the android's travels with a heavy heart, knowing that he cannot interfere with worldly matters any further. He knew that it was on him to cast the judgement on the android's actions.

He was sorry to have created something so enduring as to outlive himself.

Nevertheless the extra weight in the rocket meant there was not enough fuel to escape the earth's atmosphere. The android was to accept its own fate with peace. Only then could Altair rise, light as a feather on a thermal.

The rocket exploded in mid-air, sending debris and fire across the sky. The android was torn apart, but its heart remained intact. It fell to the ground, still beating with Altair’s rhythm.

A young girl named Lila found the heart in the desert. She was fascinated by its metallic shine and strange pulse. She took it home and hid it in her closet. She wanted to keep it as a secret treasure.

But the heart had other plans. It started to communicate with Lila through her dreams. It told her stories of Altair and the stars. It asked her to help it find a new body and a new purpose.

Lila agreed to help the heart. She felt a bond with it, like a friend. She gathered parts and tools from her father’s workshop and began to build a new android.

She didn’t know that she was about to start a new adventure.