Supernova Dream

A powerful rain of crystals continued to fall furiously all over the protective dome. Inside the dome, a human slept soundly. His only company was an arachnid-like robot with small robotic legs, and a spherical head that emitted a scarlet red light. The robot was named Rogerick and it was a technological marvel. He had convenient skills such as temperature sensors, location radars, and the autonomous development of human emotions. Its only flaw is that, like any other organism with "life", it needed to recharge its energy regularly or he was at risk of shutting down forever.

Rogerick was worried. He had only five hours of battery left and the human had been asleep for too long. The man was tall, pale-skinned, had black hair and bushy beard. He was dressed only in black pants. His back and right arm were covered with bandages. Rogerick climbed into the bed, stood on his chest and checked his vital signs. The robot realized that the human was having a hectic nightmare. It was then that the man woke up breathing heavily. They both stared at each other.

—Good morning, Captain Bismarck — said the robot.

The captain did not answer the greeting. He sat on the bed and placed his hands on his head. He was suffering from a mild migraine.

—Rogerick! You have woken me up... How long have I been asleep?

—16 hours, twenty minutes and ten seconds. I have recorded much of his long nap. Do you want me to project it? I warn you that it will not be a very stimulating film.

—That will not be necessary, Rogerick. Oh dear! I had a horrendous nightmare.

—I would like to understand your suffering, Captain. However, robots cannot dream.

—Well, consider yourself lucky. I wish I could sleep until this crystal rain passes without being tortured, by my own subconscious.

Bismarck got out of bed and dressed in a shirt, jacket, and boots. Rogerick wanted to offer his apology.

—I am very sorry, Captain. I did not want to bother you.

—Don't worry about it, Rogerick. You did well to wake me up. We have no time to lose. We must plan how to get out of here. This crystal rain is not like earth's snowstorms. The last time I tried to get through it in my protective uniform, I ended up with several wounds on my back and arms. They are little crystals, you know? Small crystals that cut like hot knives from all possible directions. I have no protection against that. You in the other hand are well protected against those crystals.

—I can go out whenever you desired, captain. My iron shield will help me get through without a scratch. It is better for you to rest. Your wounds have not yet healed. I am very embarrassed to have woken you up. I very much regret that.

Bismarck was surprised.

—Did you just say that you are ashamed? Have you developed human emotions?

—I cannot help it. I was programmed this way. It seemed logical to my creators that I could experience emotions so that to some extent I could guide my colleagues in times of crisis.

—I think it is pretty cruel. And a bit disturbing.

—Oh! The last thing I want is to disturb you captain. I am here for your services. However, enough of the talks. I just want you to authorize me a little recharge. My battery is very low.

—I see. That is why you woke me up.

—It is a matter of life and death, Captain.

Bismarck walked toward a device that examined his fingerprints. This device deployed a slot with two fluorescent green microchips.

—Bad news for you Rogerick. Apparently, there are only two microchips left. You will have to find a way for this dose to last much longer than usual.

—I will make my efforts, Captain. Please insert the microchip.

Bismarck obeyed. He inserted the microchip into an internal slot located in the left side of the robot's head. Rogerick floated for a few seconds in the air and when he returned to the ground, he looked much livelier.

—I feel like new! At your command, Captain!

—Listen carefully, robot. The first thing I want you to do is that you go outside and take a good look of my ship. I left it in open field, so I am afraid this crystal rain may destroy it. In addition, I want you to use your sensors and verified if this raining, has decreased compared to previous days. 

—I am going right away! — A few minutes passed. The access door to the dome opened and closed quickly — I am back captain! The crystal raining has slowed in intensity. I predict that in five Earth hours, you will be able to tell the difference and soon this insidious crystal rain will cease. In regard of your ship, I am afraid is inoperable.

Rogerick showed a virtual projection of the ship. It look bashed and reduced to a pile of rubbish. Bismarck was not happy.

The captain peeked out of one of the circular windows of the dome and proved Rogerick was right about the crystal rain. The raining was still imposing, but it had shrunk a bit. He could see more clearly the trees around the dome. He thought about his ship, abandoned in a near location and being bombarded by those vicious crystals all day long. Suddenly, in the distance he heard the roar of a beast that seemed to be colossal.

—Did you hear that?

—I did not hear anything, Captain.

Bismarck did not believe his answer.

—I know very well that I hear something. If your plan is to drive me crazy, Rogerick. Let me tell you, it will not work.

—That accusation is somewhat funny, Captain. I do not intend to drive you crazy. That would be highly unproductive.

—Come on now! Do not take it personally, Rogerick. Didn't they implement "a sense of humor" in your system? I am just kidding with you. I have a special mission for you and you must fulfill it right now.

—A special mission?

Captain Bismarck walked back and forth, as he said:

—I am sure you know very well that we are in a very critical situation. My rations are running out. My mind plays tricks on me. In addition, we only have one of your precious microchips left. To top it off no one is answering my emergency calls. You have not detected any other ships or forms of technology on the peripheries of the planet. We are trapped, Rogerick. No one will come for us and it is time for us to do something about it. In five hours, we will depart from this place. What I ask is that you go out for an hour and record with your cameras and sensors everything you see. I want you to be alert to whatever way of life you encounter. In the meantime, I will try to repair my hypersonic weapon. We will not wait any longer on this site. We will leave here today.

—Yes! We will leave here today! Wonderful plan, captain! As I told you before, my reinforced ultra-protective armor can give me a shield from the crystals. Although I had already thought about this plan, but you know that I cannot do anything without your permission.

Rogerick prepared to immediately leave the dome and set out on his mission. However, the captain had something to ask him.

—Would you swear to me, Rogerick? Would you be unable to do anything without my permission?

—What do you mean, Captain?

—I am beginning to forget key moments in the past. Every minute I spend here, I get weaker. I remember very well what our main mission is, but I do not remember much of my training. I am afraid I forgot my father's name, my family's last name, my city of birth, even my date of birth. I want to survive of course, I want to go home, and it is just that, I do not even know who I am. My identity fades with every 16-hour nap. And I cannot find any explanation for this selective amnesia.

—Captain... I remember absolutely everything, so I could not say I understand your pain. However, if I could feel compassion, I would feel it for you. I have not said it before, and I do not quite understand the concept, but I consider you a "friend" and I am worried about your well-being.

Bismarck was alarmed and yelled at him:

—Did you just say you pity me? Bah! I do not need your compassion. You stupid robot! And do not call me a friend either! Go outside at once and do what I told you.

The human emotion software inside Rogerick made him feel humiliated and sad. Before leaving, he left a platinum memory card on the table where the hypersonic weapon was located. In a blink of a flicker, Rogerick left and he was not expecting to comeback before one hour passed. Bismarck looked closely at the card and inserted it into an old projector. What he saw was a video sequence in which he and other crewmembers were trained by the ground interstellar travel commission. 

A man dressed in military clothes told them in a class what to do in cases of emergency:

"Listen carefully, if you ever get stranded on a distant planet with no possibility of communication, stay where you are. Do not try for a moment to survive on your own, without thoroughly studying the conditions of the planet. Remember that we do not think as individuals, but as a team. That is what we have been teaching you since you were born out of this labs. There are ranks for a reason, but at the end of the day, goodwill prevails. I do not want any of you fools to play the hero part. Keep your head down and wait for instructions. Someone will come for you. It does not matter if you are lost in deep space. Now, I want you to be smart. Spend your time properly. Do not be an unproductive moron”

Bismarck shed a tear as he remembered the other members of the intergalactic research program. “So I was born in a lab” “I guess, I don’t even have a family,” he thought. He was recovering his memories. A man in a scientific gown and glasses took the floor:

"Now everybody, your mission is quite simple to understand. We have detected an unlimited energy source in the Noetik universe, a hundred light years from our universe. You will have to explore the planets that make up that universe and find that source of energy that will serve for the progress of the human race. You are the best from the best. You were created for this sole purpose. Do not let your inner thoughts or human nature get in the way of your mission. We need that source of unlimited energy. You must be willing to give your life for humankind. In case of an accident, build a metal dome and stay there, as long it is necessary. If you experience strong headaches, hunger, and loneliness, or nostalgia, remember that you are artificial beings, your genetics is superior to the others inferior human beings in this damn planet, you are designed to survive at all cost. You people are the closest thing we get to a superhuman. Of course, you could have been better human prototypes. Stronger and smarter. However, we did our best”.

Bismarck knew very well that his mission was to find that source of energy, and that it could help him repairing his ship. Bismarck overcame the sadness he felt and began his attempts to repair his weapon. Fortunately, he remembered more clearly his training.

By the time Rogerick arrived, Bismarck was out of control.

—Captain? Are you okay?

—Why hadn't you shown me this before, Rogerick?

—I did. A few week ago, you saw the same movie. His amnesia is getting worse and worse. You need to regain control of your subconscious.

Bismarck was unnerved:

—Why do you keep lying to me? I have never seen that movie in my life. You hid it from me. I have been stuck in this dome for 82 days asking for help with this transmitter and eating canned goods. Those people... Those soldiers, doctors and engineers have abandoned me. They set me up. This was a trap. The ship was faulty, so I crashed on this awful planet. Yeah, that is right, you people set me up! You keep producing babies on your labs just to raise them and turn them in useless bags of meat exploring the universe and dying left and right. We meant nothing to you. We are replaceable. We are mere products from your baby factory. You bring us to this world to serve your malicious purposes! And you, participated in all this. I see it clearly. While I sleep, you have interfered with my brain structure. You have altered my memories and made me think I have a father and a mother.

—Please, Captain. This discussion is highly unproductive. 

—Shut up! I want you to leave this place immediately.

—I am afraid I cannot abandon this mission.

—I am the captain. Obey my orders. I will do this alone. 

—Captain, please, you are not thinking logically... I just want to help you.

A crazed Bismarck approached Rogerick and at the least expected moment, he hit him with a metal bar. Rogerick was semi-destroyed. His voice was much less pleasant to hear. Rogerick was in a bad shape. Aware that he was acting like a maniac, Bismarck rushed to his aid.

—Rogerick! No... No... Please... Forgive me, Rogerick. I beg you, please. I did not want to hurt you.

Bismarck cried in despair.

—My sensors did not fail me; I was hoping you would not dare to hurt me. All my functions are tur-ned off, Captain. I am sorry, I disturbed you. 

—Don't say that, Rogerick. I'm sorry I hurt you. You are my partner, you are my friend, You did nothing wrong. I am very sorry!

—Am I... your... friend?

—Absolutely! We are in this together. Do not go to sleep. Please resist, Rogerick.

However, the robot did not respond. Bismarck proceeded to insert another microchip, and for a second this seemed to work, but the damage was so severe that Rogerick went into restart mode. Bismarck was left alone. Again, he heard the roars. He looked out the window and felt the time had come. Bismarck dressed in his uniform and a helmet. He said goodbye to Rogerick and ran out of the dome pointing his hypersonic weapon into the darkness. He ran for several seconds without running into anything. Everything was too quiet. The crystals kept falling, but at a very slow pace. A glacial wind swirled around him.

Bismarck lit his flashlight and saw what appeared to be a deformed human with crusty skin and sharp teeth. He had no nose, mouth or eyes. He had just a very ugly scar in a circular shape. It did not take long for him, to realize that he was surrounded by those things. They pounced on him and Bismarck responded with blasts that effectively tore his predators to pieces.

—Come for me, disgusting creatures!

Two of them jumped on his back and bit him with their horrific mouths. Bismarck bent one knee as if he no longer had strength, but at the right time, he was strong enough to pull them off and shoot them, killing them. The creatures kept appearing and advancing. His roars were different from those he had heard in his paranoid stage. The creatures multiplied. Some clung to his legs and others to his back. The crystals began to fall with greater intensity. Fortunately, his helmet protected him. In a crucial moment, Bismarck recalled his training and adapted the weapon to be a fantastic sword fed with gamma rays that cut in half any solid object. Using that sword he managed to rid himself of the plague. It was then that he saw a gigantic creature similar to his enemies, but larger. That creature rammed him with a horn that looked like it was made of black ivory. He fell a couple of miles, near a forest. Bismarck was exhausted and sore. Before closing his eyes, he saw the creatures opening their jaws and felt the thunderous footsteps of the beast that had rammed him. Bismarck was prepared to die.

However, someone came to his rescue! Rogerick placed some explosives on the larger creature, causing an explosion of light. In a nanosecond, he protected the captain from the explosion with his protective shield function. A bright light blinded Bismarck. He heard the explosion and fainted.

By the time he woke up, the crystal rain was over. Bismarck was badly hurt, but there was nothing to worry about. With some difficulty, he stripped off his helmet. It was then that he noticed Rogerick was there, greeting him.

—Good morning, Captain Bismarck!

—Rogerick! You saved me!

—Of course I did! After all, we are friends.

In a clear demonstration of joy and liberation, Bismarck laughed with happiness. He thanked Rogerick for saving him and the robot performed a small dance to display his joy. Bismarck pulled a tracker out of his pocket and said:

—If we follow this direction, we will find the source of energy. That is the only way I can repair my ship and leave this planet. We must return through the dome, recover and continue our mission. If we find that source of energy and a way to contact someone on Earth, we can go home.

—Do you want to continue with this mission?

Bismarck stood out. He saw the blue sky and some flying creatures soaring through the clouds. Bismarck said:

—I was born for this.