Dotty placed her sockless foot on the accelerator. This time she pressed down with caution and the car responded in kind. It lifted off the ground and slid forward like a skater across an ice rink.
The vehicle picked up speed, leaving behind that section of tunnel. Dotty turned the wheel, driving the car up onto the wall. The magnetic motor allowed the car to stick to that surface and defy gravity.
"Have you driven one of these before?" asked T1N while looking at the young woman. Her eyes were glued to the road ahead and her thumbs pressed hard into the steering wheel.
"Yeah. And you? Mind telling me where the hell you came from?"
The android sat a second with his mouth hanging open. He was about to speak again when she had interrupted him.
"As I'm sure you understand, I don't know who or what you are. I don't have many reasons to trust you. I'm sorry I tried to run you over but there were all kinds of monsters back there… How do I know you're not with them?"
T1N thought back on that moment and replied:
"I'm from Earth, just like you. I was built there. But… Could we start from the beginning, please?"
The headlights of the car were working, but their beams were weak, reaching only a few metres ahead. Dotty had to swerve around abandoned vehicles and other obstacles. It didn't help that she was driving far too fast.
"My name's Dotty. The Hermes woke up because we were approaching the moon. All I know is that those creatures…" She swallowed and tried to push the image from her mind. "They rushed in as soon as the hatch opened and they started eating everybody."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I witnessed that moment." The android closed his eyes. "According to the database, you must be passenger A10: Dorothy Gale, of New Kansas. 172cm tall and 51.3kg in weight. You were travelling with your guardians, passengers A11 and A12: Henry Gale—"
"And Aunt Emma. I don't need you to remind me. They're dead now." Dotty suppressed a sob with clenched teeth. "And why are you here? Actually, wait. What's your name? What the hell kind of model are you anyway?"
"I am a host android, class Horizon Prime. I am the only one of my series. My serial number is T55527-1N, but you can call me T1N. That was what my creator called me."
"T1N. Like a tin can. I got it. What you doing on Eidolon?"
The hovercar swerved up and down the wall as obstacles flew past the window at great speed.
"Honestly, I don't know. It all started on Earth. An unidentified malfunction in my operating system caused a certain… interference. I received messages, in the form of sound or visuals, that had no place in my memory banks. I was drawn to follow that voice in my head. Here." He signalled with his hand. "You have to take this exit."
Dotty agreed and took an almost ninety-degree turn into a new tunnel.
"I don't really understand, but I don't care either. I just want to know what side you're on."
"I'm just as lost as you," replied the android. "Right now, the priority is to find water, food, and something we can use to defend ourselves."
Dotty looked at him and the skin of his face showed her reflection.
"So if you were on the ship, then you saw those things? Do you have any idea what they are or where they came from?"
"I'm afraid I don't have enough information to form a solid conclusion."
"Typical robot response. And why couldn't we get back on the ship? I saw it take off just before I ran into the tunnel."
"Hermes is programmed to return to Earth as soon as all of its passengers disembark."
"But they didn't 'disembark.' That was only me and you. How do you know so much?"
"I'm an android. I can talk with machines and I have an unlimited memory."
"I've never liked androids. They never seem trustworthy. Uncle Henry wanted to get me one for my sixteenth birthday but I made him take it back." This time Dotty couldn't catch the tear that rolled down her cheek. She quickly dried it with the back of her hand. "All that effort they wasted just to get here. Why? Just to die so far from home?"
"I'm very sorry, Dotty. Why did you decide to move to Eidolon?"
Dotty bit her lip and pressed even harder on the accelerator.
"I didn't want to leave Earth. They forced me to come."