Chasing the Setting Sun

Call me Memory Dash Six Zero Point Dee. Some Millenia ago; never mind how long precisely, the human brain has not the capacity to comprehend such a number, and I lack the empathy to digress from my principal objective; having little to no (Insert Historically Faithful Currency Here) to my name, and being counterintuitively programmed for Quote, Adventure, Unquote, I thought I would unreasoningly launch myself into the deep dark void of space and explore its vast nothingness, as I was seemingly so naively programmed for.

Nearing the end of my dear human artificer’s natural, albeit hilariously short life, commutatively it is my understanding a small world enables grand hallucinations Dreams, my creator however, had none. At Death’s doorstep; one foot in the grave; give me liberty give me death; trapped by death; my creator was preparing to Quote Meet thy maker Unquote. Presumably a morbid joke on his behalf, he sought to bestow upon me a gift he no longer had the time to give himself. A sense of adventure. Objective Updated.

Never there was a more feared commodity than the great unknown.

Floating through a deep black expanse, I nearly found myself achieving my inventor’s end goal. Lamentably I was picked up by a ragtag group of deplorable scallywags a characterization they presented themselves as, and one I took many years to fully comprehend, and admittedly still don’t. Be that as it may, I was responsive to their Quote The danger of adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort Unquote reckless mentality. Captain Arlox’s words superseded logic, and I soon found myself in uncharted territory, both physically and metaphysically.

First Mate Constellation was the first character I was introduced to, it was his words that circumscribed his crewmates as deplorable scallywags. The ragtag group was consequentially added by Ca’vi Kumekti, SHE, a term I must use unconsciously and without justification for Kian’chians have non-descript gender classifications. She sought to further entangle my understandings, describing their term of endearment as both a compliment and a malicious term. Which was just something Pirate scallywags such as themselves did. Though they were the deplorables of incorporated civilization, they were nonetheless, manufactured on good merits and an altruistic sense of comradery for one another. An accrued tribe. A fabricated family of misfits. A ragtag group of deplorable scallywags.

We were seeking adventure.

Across several lightyears we traveled, covering large quantities of the vast emptiness of space. And though I could never fully appreciate the journey, Ca’vi would never falter in her inexhaustible pursuit to teach me. Treasure was always the object of intent, and once again this meant something different to each individual. Though many times our group had stumbled upon a horde of jewels, a mountain of glitter, or even just a handful of coin, it never seemed to be the end.

It wasn't just the means of fulfilling an immediate satisfaction, though the crew partaked in that more than enough times. There were individual aspirations, each of my new friends had their own personal Holy Grail, and the pursuit would drag them and I, through it all, thick and thin, hellfire and heavenly fury. They remained steadfast and doggedly determined to conquer life's greatest episodes. Tenaciously spurred on.

My relationship with equivocality further complicated.

First Mate Constellation derived from a planet with 3 almost identical suns, at near-perfect distances apart the stars created a triennial phenomenon his species referred to as The Triclipsian Event. Describing the experience as both an Orgy of galactic sexual fulfillment and an otherworldly spiritual soiree. Ca’vi recapitulated it as a Quote Fuckfest Unquote.

Ca’vi had a similar paragon, though, in her words, her species was much more empirical, culling a more physical hardship to gain spiritual prosperity. Seeking out the most hostile environment

on her planet, a vast emptiness such as space, but much more environmental, simply describing it as a terrain of extreme fire and pain, allowing them the ability to appreciate the beauty of simplicity and the small pleasures.

Captain Arlox once described Ca’vi’s hostile spiritual dwelling as a desert, a word in his language that seemed to allude to an environment as scoldingly hot as it was quietly gorgeous, such as his own Sahara Desert. Which resided on his home planet of Earth. And though Captain Arlox only described this experience once, it seemed significant enough to warrant no replication, and yet it seemed Captain Arlox and consequently the rest of this ragtag group of deplorable scallywags sought just that.

A paradox in of itself. And one I immediately recognized as nonsensical.

It was the uniqueness of each individual's persistence to remain synchronous with the good and the bad that perplexed me perhaps more than any other biological response. Similar in foundational style, their survivilistic almost animalistic manners at times mirrored that of their generosity and their almost inescapable sense of chivalry. They unequivocally remained morally outstanding despite a universe of troubling mayhem and miscealanously distributed bad luck.

Bittersweet. Captain Arlox once referred to it as bitter and sweet. Antonyms. Opposites in tandem, even in conjunction with. As he purposefully made them one word, one thought and one driving force for his intent. Captain Arlox finally imparted, something he held close to his chest. Revealing to me his Holy Grail, and that it wasn't something he could achieve by going forward. Captain Arlox, beyond simply a snarky attempt to short circuit my system, was implanting me with the truth, the ultimate reward was being able to look back at it all and smile.

There it was. Land Ho! Or in this case the cosmic equivalent of the Sun’s radiant, hellfire rays cascading across the golden sand dunes of Earth’s mightiest desert, the Sahara.

Captain Arlox, First Mate Constellation, and my dear friend Ca’vi Kumekti, could not pry their eyes from the majestic sight. To each of them, the physical representation was symbolic of various planetary likenesses, it was the immaterial significance that made the biggest impression on them, and yet, I could not feel fulfilled.

What was Adventure?

Beyond them, looking past their moment of contentment, back turned to the Quote Sunset Unquote I had turned and walked away, once again launching myself into the deep dark void.

I say unto thee, reach for the stars.

Without equivocation, Memory-60.D