In the vast expanse of space, a fleet of spaceships with an insignia of a '^' with three dots in the middle is flying away in relative to a cluster of explosions happening right behind.
To their relative left are another fleet bearing the symbol of a cross with rounded corners shooting bright plasma beams towards them.
To their relative right is another agglomeration of thousands of asteroids that are seemingly remnants of a planet.
However, in front of them is a ring of white light and absolute black in the middle. Its edges seem to deform lights as large masses of cosmic matter move towards it.
Looking at the cockpit of the largest ship, red lights are blaring all over, tinting the transparent glass bright red. Behind the glass, however, are hardened faces. Some are crying, some are gripping photos, while some are holding each other. Even then, every single person that is still living is looking at what's in front of them without breaking eye contact.
It was a wonder how the light blue barrier remained intact as plasma beams and asteroids continuously collide with it. Especially more so for the ships with the '^' insignia remained calm as they slowly drift towards the black hole.
Suddenly they stopped, or so it seemed.
All other enemy ships that belong to different factions began to withdraw. Their job was done as the entire fleet committed suicide by falling into the black hole.
Even with their advanced technologies, the event horizon remains as a dead line for every single being in the universe.
——
Slowly, everything around the fleet began to shift faster and faster like it was going on a fast forward.
Every crew member in every ship closed their eyes, praying to whatever gods they put their faith into. This really was it.
A man standing somewhere in the ship wearing a black suit with a yellow accent with a badge that displays a star within a star within a star. This man is a three-star commander. The commander grabbed his captain's hat, which revealed his ash blonde, military cut hair.
With his other hand, he tapped the metallic emblem on his right temple with the same design as the insignia of the ship.
An interface appeared in his eyes. The first thing he looked at was the network icon that has an 'X' on it.
They were now absolutely disconnected from the rest of the universe.
He knew this would've been the case. Still, he wanted to check. This was his stubbornness and will to live.
Still, he shook his head. He looked at a screen that immediately feeds into his interface.
Time of departure: 10 minutes.
A wry smile crept upon his face. This was really it.
He turned around only to find his crew looking at either their very own interfaces or the ticking countdown of their 'departure.'
Even so, the heavy atmosphere from when they were running away was gone.
Ten minutes left.
"Turn every facilities on, everyone has ten minutes left to enjoy what life has to offer. Everyone is dismissed." The commander bellowed.
"Sir, yes, sir!" everyone answered.
The woman sitting on the console right in front of the commander moved her interface, which changed the currently grey boxes into green. Due to their escape, every energy they had was diverted to the shields. Now that was unnecessary, she began to power up the rest of the ship.
Afterward, she stood up just like everyone else, turned to their captain, and bowed.
Seeing this, the commander formed a genuine and sincere smile. This was his wife.
He reached out his hand as she grabbed it back. They decided to go to their own heaven before they do.
——
Living Quarters, Command Ship.
User: JSunn (Jonathan Stefri)
Time of Departure: 00:08:56
Network Signal Strength: null.
Local Network: connected.
Trex OS 1.33
Compared to the futuristic UI of the commander's and everyone else, this one has a DOS-themed UI, a favorite of most computer scientists in the present era.
[Setting up virtual world…]
[World parameters established…]
[No network found, this world would be limited in features and can only achieve 30% realism. Continue?]
"Yes," a voice of an average young adult spoke.
[Detected a supercomputer in the local network. Connecting to this will improve the virtual world's realism by up to 80%. Proceed?]
"Yes."
[Calculating parameters… 23%…]
[Calculating parameters… 73%…]
[Calculating parameters… 100%…]
[Producing generational seed…]
[Procedural world generation… 58%]
[Procedural world generation… 100%]
——
Time of Departure: 00:06:01…
Time of Departure: 00:06:00…
Time of Departure: 00:05:59…
The moment the timer has six minutes left, Jonathan began to feel a different sensation. He felt like he was on a cliff, hanging on a ledge.
"Faster… please…"
During their run towards the event horizon, not everyone was just staring at the black hole. Most, just like this man, were doing something with their smart mind.
The smart mind is a piece of smart technology that is attached to the temple part of the head. It was the only piece of smart technology that does not need to be augmented or replace an organic part of the body without the hassle of keeping something like a mobile phone.
It replaced all smart mobile devices such as smartphones and laptops.
For the entire time that the commander decided they would throw their lives away to keep the secret to themselves, Jonathan began to rush to complete his game engine. A virtual reality game engine that he, himself, designed built on an operating he also created.
This was his dream. To be a game developer rather than a war information technology specialist.
His last hope, to play by himself, even if it's just for a few days, which he could achieve by using the dream-like state of mind.
——
Time of Departure: 00:02:43
[Creating world spawn…]
[Procedurally generating entities…]
[World creation completed…]
[Warning, lack of network may cause AI to be only at the intermediate level. For realistic AI, please consider connecting to the network.]
[Warning, no personal space restrictions set. This game is against the law AHA 1907, which is the Personal Space in the Virtual World Act. Playing this game is ill-advised.]
[Warning….]
Hundreds of warnings blared, but Jonathan ignored it all. If it weren't for the lack of processing power, the world he created in a rush would've been the most realistic world the universe had ever seen.
This was his pride and creation. Unfortunately, it'll be brought along with him on his grave.
"Initiate log-in." He almost screamed due to his tense nerves.
[Logging in…]
Jonathan's vision logged out.
In this extreme environment, a minute can go as long as ten days. With a time remaining of a minute and twenty-four seconds, Jonathan has 14 days to live.
That was only if things went as smoothly as he had hoped.
/"Attention to all crew mates, this is cockpit speaking. A neutron star is about to collide with us! Can you believe it?! We're going to fucking die by burning! I thought becoming a spaghetti was the way of life HAHAHAHA"/ a voice riddled with ridicule, hate, desperation, and hopelessness resounded throughout the speakerphone.
/"HAHAHAHA Holy shit! Are you all feeling this? The gravity is balancing itself! I feel like the star and the blackhole is gonna rip me in half! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! I'LL DIE KNOWING THAT A BLACKHOLE AND A NEUTRON STAR FOUGHT A TUG OF WAR FOR ME HAHAHAHA"/another voice replied to the ship's comms.
*Tsssssssssssssss*
Desperate laughs abruptly ended in static. It didn't even take a breathe's worth of time before everything burned down and ripped into two.
That is until something occurred.
The amount of energy passing through Jonathan's smart mind churned.
The pull of gravity between the black hole and the neutron star opened up a wormhole, dragging Jonathan's head in it, leaving behind everything else.
[Connection interrupted. Host's heartbeat flat-lined. Finding course of action… hibernate… wait for hope if the smart mind survived…]
[Condition successfully added, the trigger is set to general.]
[Entering hibernation mode…]