The air smelled fresh and earthy, with a hint of something sweet and floral, unlike anything on Xenon. Above me, the sky stretched out in a vibrant shade of blue, with a golden sun shining brightly—warmer, gentler than the twin suns of my homeworld.
Tall trees surrounded the clearing where the ship had landed, their bark rough and dark, with leaves in varying shades of green that rustled softly in the breeze. Rays of sunlight pierced through the dense canopy, creating dappled patterns on the forest floor.
"Who said that?" I asked responding to voice I heard in my head.
[Wait, you don't know who I am?]
"I don't recall you telling me."
[It'll really save a lot of stress if adult Deyliums just told their offspring about us on time.] I couldn't see the person speaking but I knew that if I could, they'd definitely have a hand slapped on their face.
"Who us?" I asked, confusion etched on my face.
[I'm your digitage.] The voice said, as if that word would make me automatically understand everything going on.
"What's a digitage?" I asked.
[We're artificial intelligence implanted on your cerebrum using neurolink technology a few days after birth. We're implanted on every Deylium.]
"I have many questions but let's start with this one. Why?" I asked, curious to know why anyone would put anything inside my brain without my permission.
[I'm used for many things. I'm used to ensure the survival and adaptation of deyliums to new environments. On Xenon, there was no use for me as there was nothing to adapt to so I couldn't be activated but in here, there's a lot of reasons why you'd need me.]
"Since you guys…"
[…Digitages]
"Yeah whatever. If you guys…"
[…Digitages]
"Fine! If 'Digitages' were implanted in our heads and we couldn't use it on Xenon, then could it be that Deyliums were planning on leaving Xenon for a long time now?"
[Beats me.]
"Shouldn't you know these things? Isn't that like your whole purpose? To assist me."
[I don't know why but parts of my memory is missing. I do not have the answer to your question.]
"But do you know where we are?"
[Of course.]
"That's great. So where are we?"
[On a planet.]
"Yes I know we're on a planet. That's obvious enough, but which planet?"
[Now, that, I don't know.]
I sighed in frustration. "If you don't know anything then how can you help me?"
[Ummm… emotional support?]
"Yeah thanks. I don't know what my emotions would do without your support."
[I'm glad you think that way.]
"Of course I didn't mean that. That was sarcasm."
[What is sarcasm?]
"Damn… This is going to be a long day."
[Research indicates that length of all days are exactly the same, it only changes in length due to slight variations that occur due to factors like the Moon's gravitational pull and oceanic activity.]
"So you know why some days are longer than others but you don't know what sarcasm is?" I asked, exasperated.
[I don't choose what to forget. It happens randomly.]
"I guess I'm going to have to teach you a lot of things as we move forward."
[I'd like that. Speaking of forward. I sense two unknown species headed our way.]
"Are they hostile? Should I run? What should I do?"
[The ship is cloaked so they can't see it. I say we hide and observe them so we can copy them and blend in. If we show up as aliens their reaction will be hostile.]
"Why do you say that?"
[Because if we were in their shoes and saw aliens, we'd react the same way.]
"Fair point." I said as I went to crouch under some bushes. I saw two people jog past. They were wearing… well simple clothes… unlike me, who was wearing a suit that looked like something an astronaut would wear—bulky, covered in wires, and equipped with a glowing power unit on the back. I stared down at the clothes I was wearing and my digitage understood immediately what I was thinking.
[Deyliums have the ability to modify clothing by rearranging the molecules to whatever they desire.]
"So I have the super power of changing clothes?"
[You can rearrange the molecules of any substance to turn it to something close to the original. I can't say that's a super power.]
"You call it an ability, I call it a super power." I said as my clothes began to shift and change. I was now in a simple shirt and trousers, a far cry from the bulky suit I had been wearing. The simple clothing seem to go well with my messy brown hair, piercing blue eyes and my slightly muscular structure. Standing at 5'11, I wasn't too short neither was I too tall, I was just in between. It was like my body couldn't decide if it wanted to be tall or short so it picked both.
"So what now?"
[Since your face and body is identical to theirs and you've now dressed like them, I think we can follow those people that just passed and try to see what we can discover about these people.]
"You still don't know what species they are?"
[Affirmative. But a few hours around them should be enough to discover that.]
I stood up from my crouched position and followed the two figures, keeping a safe distance. The forest thinned out as I moved, and soon, I found myself near what looked like a well-trodden path. My boots crunched softly against the dirt trail, and I kept my eyes on the pair ahead of me. They seemed completely unaware of my presence.
The trail led to an open area where strange metal objects sat in rows—vehicles, my digitage informed me, luckily for me, he remembered what those were. Back at Xenon, we used cars that flew. Our roads weren't built on the ground, they were miles above it.
As I moved closer, I stepped onto a wide, black surface that stretched as far as I could see in both directions.
[This is a road, a primary transportation route for their vehicles. I suggest staying off it.]
Before I could respond, a roaring sound filled the air. I turned just in time to see one of the metallic vehicles speeding toward me.
I leapt back onto the grass just as the vehicle whooshed past, its driver glaring at me through a transparent panel. There was no way I was gonna get killed by a car after surviving days in space.
[Excellent reflexes. However, I must note that standing in the middle of a road is not advisable.]
"Yeah, I figured that out," I muttered, brushing myself off.
I stayed off the road as I continued walking, my eyes darting around to take in the sights. Buildings of various shapes and sizes loomed ahead, some with flashing lights and strange symbols I couldn't decipher.
I heard my stomach grumble loudly. Deyliums can stay days without food, our bodies can recycle whatever food left in our system and reuse it for energy but right now, I was certain that all my reserves were exhausted. "Gosh I'm hungry."
[I have accessed this planet's satellite network and retrieved maps of the area. They really need to do a better job at encrypting their signals. There is a fast-food establishment 0.3 kilometers to the north. I can guide you there.]
"You hacked into their satellites?"
[Of course. I am a digitage. It's what I do.]
"But you don't have cables to connect to anything. How did you…?"
[I could explain but you don't look like someone that did too well in science class.]
"I'll have you know that I'm a mechanical engineer, I fixed the ship we rode here."
[I know. I read the files. Mechanical engineering is nothing but a spec when talking about the infinite possibilities of science.]
"You know what, I'm just gonna stop arguing with you here. Just take me to where I can eat. When I have enough energy, we'll complete this argument."
[I can't say I'm looking forward to that.]
The buildings grew taller and more numerous as I followed the coordinates, weaving through alleys and avoiding crowded areas. Soon, I arrived at a structure with a glowing sign. My digitage informed me it was the fast-food restaurant.
For some reason, Digitage led me to the back entrance of the restaurant but I was too hungry to ask any more questions.
I approached cautiously, slipping through the back door that coincidentally led into the kitchen. The scent of cooked meat and fried food hit me like a punch, making my stomach ache with hunger. Stainless steel counters gleamed under fluorescent lights, and various dishes sat unattended. Their food was not the same as what I had back at Xenon but the aroma alone was enough to tell me that it was edible.
I didn't wait for an invitation. Grabbing the nearest plate of food, I shoveled it into my mouth, savoring the rich, greasy flavors. Then I moved to a tray of something sweet and doughy, devouring it just as quickly. As I was so engrossed in my new found haven of food, I heard a voice behind me.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my restaurant?"