Course Corrections
I woke up after a nap of two hundred years. It was cold, but before I could ask Nyla to increase the temperature, I felt a gentle breeze of tropical air filtering into my pod and the smell of coconuts. Nyla knew me better than I knew myself. I stretched and opened my eyes. The translucent shell of the pod glowed a brilliant sky blue with wisps of clouds tracing across the image.
“Where are we?”
For the first time Nyla spoke. “We’re passing through the Laquinelle system, ma’am.”
“That means nothing to me.”
“Should I show you a galactic map?”
“Nah, don’t bother. Can I leave this thing?”
“It will take five minutes and twelve seconds to adjust the atmosphere to a habitable level. Shall I begin oxygenating the room?”
“Sure, I guess so. Is anyone else awake?”
“Yes, but not on this ship.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind seeing another friendly face.”
Nyla stayed quiet. “So when will we be arriving at our destination?” I splashed my arms in the small pool of hydrogel I was suspended in. Nanomachines inside my body kept my organs and muscles supple and strong.
“Accounting for course corrections and our present rate of velocity, it will take another nine hundred and seventy-eight years.”
“That’s so lame. Aren’t you bored?”
Silence again.
“What do you do while everyone is sleeping, Nyla?”
“My mission objectives are to navigate the fleet, manage life support systems, perform maintenance, coordinate drone AI, and study the galaxy. In my free time I play chess. Thus far, I have played 8,033 quintillion games and have never lost.”
“Huh.” Nyla was putting me back to sleep. “It would be nice to have some breakfast.”
“Preparations for that have already begun.”
“Oh, good. Something more salty — ”
“Than sweet. Yes ma’am.”
My memory stirred. I had been asleep for far longer than I’d ever been awake. “Nyla, I don’t understand. Shouldn’t we have arrived on Awerwa by now?”
“We are no longer traveling to Awerwa.”
“That’s news to me. What about our colonization plans?”
“They have been altered. You may now exit the pod.”
The shell opened and I stepped onto a soft, black synthetic rug. I slipped into a robe and a holographic projection of Nyla appeared in front of me. She was everywhere and nowhere at once. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’ve been asked not to say.”
“Open a communication channel to the other ship.”
Juno came into view. “You.”
“It’s good to see you again too, Mira.”
I unclenched my fist. “Nyla tells me we’re no longer traveling to Awerwa. Why?”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Because we have made first contact with someone or something and Nyla tells me their signals indicate they’re asking for one thing.”
“Let me guess. The one person who speaks every language in existence. A universal translator.”
“That’s right, Mira. You.”
