"How long has it been since they sent you here for testing?"
A man is observing a data stream on his monitor inside a small room full of holographic displays. On his right, various instruments are flashing with lights showing that they are being used.
"It's been 3 years, 5 months, 12 days, 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 39 seconds."
A mechanical voice responded, echoing around the space with no intonation, giving an unfeeling perception to the listener.
"While I appreciate the precision of your answer, your logic module should know how to distinguish between general chat and research orders. It will help you establish your preliminary category for multi-thread thinking and human cognition faster..."
"In short, I was just asking for the years."
Having the corner of his mouth upturned, the man, Quin, glanced at a monitor with a distinctive setup relative to the rest of the devices. It has a unique camera that is pointed at him. Scanning his every movement and analyzing his actions while being attached to a pole with robotic wheels, allowing it to move on its own for its convenience in collecting data.
"So it's been 3 years, huh?"
While he stood in a daze, Quin recalls everything he's done while staying on this Science ship.
In the beginning, as a volunteer astronaut. They briefed him on his mission goal.
Sailing near the edge of the star system and docking with the farthest celestial body possible.
To collect data on the alternating energy tides affecting the heliosphere protecting the solar system.
Although, he does not know what they will use this data for. He knew that the federation wouldn't waste resources sending him traveling for 2 years in Cryosleep.
Only to receive useless data being sent back with an ongoing delay of 4 and a half hours.
"Professor Quin, I received an encrypted message from the control center, ready for viewing."
Snapping out of his recollection, he mused that it is now convenient having this artificial general intelligence around. Unlike the first year, when he was only staring blankly at space with no one to chat with, surrounded by cold machinery.
Artificial general intelligence was first considered a success the same year the federation launched the mission for probing the outer reaches of the solar system.
But there was increasing debate about its existence and use, especially with the detection of its weak consciousness. The situation forced the decision-makers to apply the pilot run of this technology outside the planet.
By sending it away on a probe chasing the Science ship, reaching its destination a year later.
Imagine his surprise waking up with an urgent message waiting, notifying him of this situation.
Although, having a companion, albeit not human, is something to be glad about. It is still uncertain if artificial general intelligence is harmless to humans and animals.
In retrospect, everything worked out just fine.
He now has a helper of sorts and a chat buddy all-in-one. Only the hassle of the adaptation period allowed getting used to the eye-catching omnipresent camera that is always pointing in his direction.
Plus, the acknowledgment that everything you do is being analyzed and dissected every minute and second of the time.
Quin inspected the mail, it was a notification that they found some anomalous data from one probe that had its scanner pointing straight at the spacecraft from the outside.
The committee requested an additional investigation using more unmanned probes, especially if this anomaly has something to do with the changes in the surface of space.
"Alpha, bring up the data from probe #5 starting from 5 hours ago and compare it to the data of probes #8 and #3. Check if there is anything unusual."
As Quin studied the surface data, he noticed something remarkable with the distance of some reference objects enlarging without apparent movement from optical scanning.
As time goes by, this distance is also increasing.
Alpha projected original data points from probes #8 and #3 to the monitor, overlapping with the scanning result of probe #5, showing a bizarre curve from three separate scanning positions.
"Alpha, what do you think happened?"
Quin touched his chin as he contemplated about the conjecture that can explain this phenomenon.
"Professor, in the limited amount of information I am allowed to browse. There are 3 dissimilar phenomena described from the scientific literature that can cause this condition."
While answering Quin's question, Alpha projected the information to the large monitor on the wall of the data room. It depicted what looked like a crack in space, a spherical wonder with the light bending around it, and what appeared to be a bubble.
"If it is the case, this is a big discovery." Quin nods with a straight face.
'bullsh*t! this thing is not just a magnitude of a big discovery!' Quin had his pupils constrict as he considered the consequences of having his ship near a blind box that rewarded a space crack, wormhole, or a space bubble.
He knew he needed to stay away from whatever that thing is as soon as possible.
"Alpha, turn on the mobile system of the spacecraft and get ready to start the engine. We need to get away from that anomaly as soon as possible!"
"Also, leave a message on the probe to be sent to the closest relay station in case of a communication accident telling our current circumstances and conjectures."
"Don't forget to keep recording and turn all the nearest probes to observe the anomaly."
Quin floated away from the data room and passed through a steel corridor that had illumination from the floor activated by his movements. He went straight to the deck of the spacecraft, sitting right in front of the control panel, waiting for alpha's notification while setting up all his protection measures.
"Professor, all systems are online! The Fusion engine is ready to ignite, just waiting for your physical access key verification..."
"The jet spray is now being used to align the spacecraft away from the anomaly..."
"It will take 2 minutes and 27 seconds for the spacecraft to turn away and get ready for launch!"
'Good job!' Quin squints, thinking in his head that sending Alpha to his mission was the best decision the federation made that year, not one of them.
Making everything lightning-quick for operating spacecraft systems. With him now not having to be trapped into pressing a multitude of buttons before starting anything.
He took out a black card from his shoulder pocket. Quin inserted it in the mainframe with his finger, just pinching the middle-end of the object, allowing his identity scanned via his fingerprint.
"Alpha, Fusion launch!"
As soon as he delivered the command, in the engine compartment, a device the size of a standard cabinet lit up and started activating.
The particles reacted, but they achieve an untimely resonance between the process of fusion and something inside the anomaly, activating some sort of mechanism.
"Professor, there was a sudden weak reaction from the anomaly just after I started the fusion process... Would you like to see the current data of probe numbers #3 and #8 and check if it is a threat?"
As Alpha reminded Quin of its discovery from probe #5, it projected the result of the optical scan modeling on the right monitor in front of the mainframe.
It demonstrated a disturbing and out-of-place crack, growing larger and then contracting as time advanced, just like a beating heart.
'No sh*t'. As the alarms activated, Quin frowns, as he knew for a fact that something annoying should have happened outside of his scope.
He now regarded the closest thing that can be a threat as the sudden anomaly.
Quin realized directly that sh*t just hit the fan and any delay can cost him his life.
"Alpha, get ready to have the plasma engine overloaded. We need top speed as soon as we have it activated."
"There's no time to waste waiting for it to warm up!" Quin asserted.
As the crisis came closer and the pressure of a life-and-death situation descended, Quin calmed down and had his emotions enter a state of tranquility, just waiting for judgment.
He knew he did everything he could, and the rest was up to fate.
As a normal human, he is powerless under the unpredictable variability of the universe and the power of nature. As the predecessors stated based on their experience; in space, anything and everything can happen.
So the moment he volunteered for the mission, he thought he was ready for death. Just he never understood that when death knocks, nobody was ever ready for it.
"Plasma engine started..."
"Overload sequence activated..."
"Countdown to plasma's incoming thrust in 12..."
"10..."
"5..."
"4..."
"3..."
Before Alpha could finish the countdown, the space crack outside opened wide and swallowed the spacecraft in an instant with no warning!
It disintegrated everything into basic particles under the scouring of the energy inside it.
Only there seemed to be a random activity of the energy resonating with something and forming an immaterial crystal.
It orbited a bigger one in what looked like a series of freak coincidences.
It sheltered two weak consciousness and defended them from the scouring of energy, polishing it clearer and unblemished.
As the crystal resonated, it melded with the weak consciousness that it harbored, making them undivided from each other.
It enabled the activation of an instinctual response from the crystal's mechanism.
All energy was absorbed and consolidated toward the crystals.
As it instinctively used the excess energy to nourish both weak consciousness. The crystals radiated a dazzling glow and disappeared inside the area with no trace.
The space crack closed shut right after.
It left nothing in its position as evidence of its devastation.
As the area returned to normal. All that is left are the icy cold probes that witnessed the event, recording the entire process of Quin's defiance of nature and the resulting outcome.
They are waiting for anyone to receive and propagate the evidence of his existence and end.
Just the same as every moving thing in the universe, all drifting in silence.