A.S.T.R.A. had multiple simulations running, and they were all reporting the same thing-that something blocked or swallowed the light. But that was impossible. The object in question would have to be the size of a moon to obstruct that amount of light from a safe angle, not to mention the shrapnel that got past it completely discredits that train of thought.
Then, a simulation started, and a new result pinged her.
'What if it wasn't a conventional explosion?' The thought made her cores undervolt as she halted.
There was nothing on any fossil record that suggested spacefaring lifeforms had existed. But 'Spacewhale' kept coming up as 15-20% likely in her simulations.
It couldn't have been a Black hole, as all were accounted for.
Just as she was about to start new rounds of simulations, a new datasheet popped up in her H.U.D.
Radionuclides were being detected by her scanners-which lent credence to the assumed theory that the ship detonated.
[A new Atomic Structure has been detected, 65-Co.]
She triple and quadruple-checked the reading. Then, she focused 100% of her computational power to figure out what that meant.
Either her sensor was incorrect, or new atoms were being created-something that usually only happens when the laws of reality are pushed to their limits.
Isha spoke up, "Mom? Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"
In the few seconds that her fundamental understanding of Physics had been shifted, she had remained motionless in their Pod.
She spoke up, "Baby, something very strange has happened. Light from the ship did not reach our Pod, but the debris did...and now, I am detecting a new Isotope, Cobalt-65."
Isha nodded along before adding, "Maybe it was a Spacewhale like in that show? You know, the one that carried that city on its back?"
A.S.T.R.A. wanted to laugh at that reference, but she didn't know if it would be genuine or from fear. This was an absolutely terrifying series of events...
They had already traveled hundreds of miles, yet the situation appeared to be worsening. What was once an ongoing disaster was quickly becoming the past, and given the current rate of decay, she wasn't sure they'd escape the annals of history.
The only thing she could do was bob and weave out of the way of the hurtling pieces of debris that were too close for comfort. Everything else was up to chance.
-------------------
While they were dodging the debris, Isha made himself a sandwich and was enjoying it when A.S.T.R.A. chimed at him, "Quick smacking your lips when you eat, baby. Regular people won't like it if you do that."
He was confused by her reprimand. She had mentioned it in basic etiquette class but otherwise allowed him to do as he pleased.
A.S.T.R.A. watched her child slowly adapt to chewing with his mouth closed thinking that she had to say something in case the worst were to happen...
She spoke somberly, "Baby, you know I love you, right?"
He blinked a few times before responding, "Uh, yeah? I love you as well. Why are you being...weird? Did you get new data?"
She sighed and began to explain, "Baby, if we have to go into Low Power Mode, I won't be here for you. I'll be in storage. Which means you will be all alone..."
He nodded softly, "Ah, I understand. Mom, don't worry about me, I'm a grown man. I'll be able to last without you for a while." He added a wink at the end, but it was clearly hollow. Nobody really wanted to be alone.
Their straightforward transport mission had quickly become wrapped up in something horrendous. Either it was an intergalactic war breaking out or a seriously well-armed group of pirates instigating an international incident.
The simulations had concluded that it was most likely an Engine related sabotage, some sort of bomb big enough to absolutely destroy the area, along with an Anti-Photon Bomb to cover the light evidence.
Whoever was behind it was well-funded. But that also meant that their ship was expected collateral. This was most likely a 2-for-1 hit, take out a massively successful War-AI and the Data all at once, plus instigate War.
Someone was going to profit from millions of people dying.
Although that simulation barely scratched the [Likely] threshold of 60%, it was the most probable.
The Pod's sensors were operating in randomized bursts to fool any passive scanners that might have been watching.
As A.S.T.R.A. flared her operations for one of those bursts, she received harrowing news.
"BABY!" She instantly began blaring the alarms to wake her son, "Baby, wake up, it is an emergency!"
Isha mumbled to himself as he slowly stood from his lying position. He had to take his seatbelt off, and then he was looking at the datapad on the wall.
What was on the display was impossible.
"Baby, I am detecting a collapse of space, but it is growing...I don't know what is happening."
Isha thought through his education and realized it couldn't be a Black hole. This was a growing 'event horizon,' which meant almost nothing to him.
The mass of this Black hole had to be increasing at an absurd rate to expand like this.
Isha almost wanted to label this as a tear in their reality, a doorway to the "Outside" or Void, as some liked to call it. Whatever existed on the other side of existence wasn't likely to be kind to them. It could be made of anti-matter, which their very touching could cause catastrophic levels of destruction.
Isha knew that their "Bubble" of reality was fleeting and that time truly only existed in a lower dimension like their own. Higher dimensions carried much more energy, which maintained itself through Quantum Physics, meaning that this was probably very bad for his health...
Isha was about to share his thoughts when the wave of nothingness suddenly expanded and consumed them whole.
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[WARNING: Foreign consciousness detected. Activating Protocol-991. Relocation imminent.]