-Aculeus-
“Passengers of the Vecto, we will be lifting off shortly, you will feel a little heaviness, but that is normal. You may continue with your activities.” The announcing Arficialus informed us. I stared out the large window nearby. With little vibration, the Vecto slipped away from it’s dock, turned as it lifted up, and charged through the horizon. It happened so quickly I barely noticed. Through the window was Milthos, our dying home. It’s two moons shone like pearls, sailing silently around the planet, so slowly you would not notice unless the Vecto stayed still for days. The sky just wasn’t the same in a ship as it was on Milthos. For one, you were not staring at a sky that you thought would be there every night, forever. You were staring at your planet; your home, which would never be seen again. The days you thought would be limitless were now numbered.

***

-Vendella-
I could only gaze at the moons that sailed across the vacuum of space helplessly. I silently mourned for everything I had abandoned. Everything I once knew of was being stripped away from me. My parents are deceased, and Milthos was soon to follow. The Geography of Milthos would be nothing but an object of comparison for the new planet we would live on. History would be changed, now that the planet it had occurred in was about to perish. The variety of cultures would be pulverized together. Where would I fit in, since those subjects would transform dramatically? Those subjects were half of what I had learned on Milthos. I burst into tears, traumatized by the recent events. If my parents were truly dead, then why haven’t I been reported to about the details? I was anxious to discover what had led up to my parent’s demise. I hoped it was not something I was responsible for. Finally exhausted from the heaviness caused by the Vecto’s acceleration, and from my own sorrow, I drifted into a long sleep.

***

-Aculeus-
I stared at Milthos and it’s moons until they were so far that the light of their star seemed to swallow them. It couldn’t have taken much more than ten minutes. I closed my eyes and searched the databases until I found Vendella Vincenzo. I recorded her room number, and then accessed the digital map of the Vecto. It would take me about five minutes to run there, if I didn’t mind people noticing how fast I could be. But since I wanted a low profile, I simply started trotting. As I weaved my way through the crowd, I noticed a strange individual. He had very dark red hair and bright blue eyes, which were fixated on me. He was very tan as well. I simply took note of him and continued on my way, but I could sense his eyes piercing into my back. Finally, I was out of his sight, and hopefully out of his mind. After about fifteen minutes of wandering, I came across a large structure constructed in the wall of the Vecto. It seemed fancier than the others, although I couldn’t quite say why it looked that way. After a few elevator trips, I found a door matching the numbers of Vendella Vincenzo’s room. I rang the doorbell once. Then twice. I waited. I could detect her in there; it seems she was sleeping, and now was sitting up. Impatience consumed me. I rang the doorbell a third, fourth, and then a fifth time. Finally, the door opened. A young lady occupied the room. Normally, I wouldn’t care enough to call someone by a formal name, but that term suited her too well to not call her that. She wore a fitted red dress with the skirt flared out, yet the skirt was long enough to cover her knees. The sleeves were cuffed, and the collar of the dress was high. She also wore dark stockings. They were probably designer clothes, but I wouldn’t be able to be sure unless I looked it up in some database. She had long, light black hair, and wise, deep green eyes. I knew in an instant she had many questions she wanted to ask me, but her ladylike nature prevented her from demanding them immediately. For now, all she could say was, “I am Vendella Vincenzo. May I ask you for your name?”

***


-Vendella-
“I am Vendella Vincenzo. May I ask for your name?” I pleaded to this stranger who had interrupted my nap. He had unnatural dull green hair and silvery eyes. I assumed he was an Arficialus. He also had a rather towering figure, and yet was unusually handsome. “Yeah, I’m Aculeus… Silvestre. How’s it going?” he answered. I was taken aback by this response. I had concluded that he was an Arficialus earlier, but it was nearly impossible to program them to talk… informally. Even if someone was a connoisseur in programming Arficialus, it was extremely difficult. “It is going well…” I misinformed him. There was a rather awkward silence that followed. “Do you know what happened to my parents?” I blurted out. Realizing my abrupt inquiring, I apologized. “I am very sorry for that hasty question, but I-“
“Hey, no need to say sorry. Just lighten up a bit. Yeah, they died in an accident or whatever, right? Sorry about your loss. I guess.” Aculeus interrupted.
“What exactly happened to them?” I questioned.
“I wondered about that myself. All I know is that it was an accident.” He shrugged.
“Oh, forgive me; I assumed you were someone who came to explain to me the events.” I explained.
“Nah, I just met your dad once or twice, I just thought I’d meet his daughter.” He stated.
Then there was more silence, which he soon broke. “You’re a real chip off the old block, all formal and you think too much. And I’m off.” He finished. He strode away so quickly I was not able to bid him farewell. I watched him as he went across the corridor and entered the elevator. I could only close the door to my room so I could return to sleep again, with more questions than answers from the strange encounter.

-Aculeus-
As I sat on one of the benches in the residential area, I scanned through random data. I didn’t have a room, since there were no more rooms to occupy, and I had little else to entertain myself with. I found out a few interesting things, such as there were about one hundred Arficialus on the Vecto, compared to around four thousand humans. There were plenty of supplies to make technology, such as weapons and computers. Also, I learned the trip on the Vecto would be extremely short. It turns out there was another ship, the Solace, that traveled ahead so that it could create a wormhole for the Vecto to travel through. The trip on the Vecto would take only a week at the most, although we actually were traveling through the wormhole at this time. I was unsure at this piece of data, so I looked into it a bit more. Turns out the windows had a screen on them that fooled us into believing that there were stars around us. I was still a skeptic, so I hacked an outside camera. There were lights and colors I had never seen before, speeding past unusual shapes. It was an unusual beauty that somehow reminded me of the moons I was so fond of. I would have gazed at this strange phenomenon longer, but I detected a soldier that, as I turned to face him, the soldier screeched, “There is a problem we cannot inform you of, but have you seen anything suspicious?”

***

-Vendella-
I was aroused from my sleep by a disturbing dream; one that I forgot as soon as I awakened. I searched for my dear ComLife, and then I realized I had left it in my urgency to escape from Milthos. I sat on my bed for a few minutes, mourning the loss. I was rather devoted to reading that small device. My heart seemed to drop and the small amount of noise present seemed to fade away when I discovered my misfortune. I decided that it would be best if I wandered through the Vecto. This ship was my current, yet temporary, home. It would be in my best interest to become familiar with it’s layout. I opened the door to exit my room and began my exploration of this vessel. Almost forty-five minutes of enjoying a leisurely stroll, I noticed something awry.
Soldiers were conversing in a very hushed manner amongst themselves. The soldiers also skittered around, much like little mice. As I continued my venture along the ship, a soldier was barking at a man at a deafening level. When I noticed that the man being subjected to this verbal abuse was the same fellow who visited my room earlier, I halted and inspected the chaotic situation. “So if you see someone with technology you don’t recognize on this ship, or some technology you know they should not have, respectfully inform one of us. Why was a lower class kid like you invited to the Vecto, anyway? Perhaps you pulled some strings? I wonder what punishment they would have for an under-the-table….” The soldier dragged on and on. I was concerned for Aculeus, who voluntarily conversed with me earlier; so I interfered. “Sir….” I could only mumble. The soldier spun around. I paused. I realized that I had planned to lie, although I could never do such an offense. I had never lied before; nor did I know what to lie about. Fortunately, addressing him was enough to pacify him. He inhaled deeply, glared at Aculeus, and stormed off without another word.

***

-Aculeus-
Okay, so I wasn’t the most polite “civilian” on the Vecto, but if someone tries to interrogate you for hacking a system without proof, you tend to get emotional, especially if you’re responsible. Even though I was grateful for the surprise help, I was rather bothered that it was that Vincenzo girl. Her father had “helped” me enough in my early days. Vendella’s eyes studied me for longer than I needed them to. I think she wanted to ask why a guard was having a temper tantrum in the middle of the residential area of a migration ship. Now that’s a puzzling scenario in itself. What did come out of that mouth of hers was also to be questioned. “Are you supporting a cause that is motivating the soldiers to become excitable?”
“Uhm, what?” I replied.
She heaved a rather annoying sigh, and apologized for being rude.
“Well, I didn’t understand enough to be offended. Anyway, if I’m guessing right, my answer should be no?” I told her.
She smiled rather apologetically.
“Well, that’s all I desired to be confirmed.” She said.
“And if that’s all, I’m out of here.” I stated.
All formal, she told me to have a good day. Since “day” was defined as the interval of light between two successive nights, I wouldn’t be having one at all in the darkness of space.

***

-Vendella-
I watched Aculeus as he wandered off. He seemed rather unsocial, but it also seemed to me he could not bear to be completely solitary at all times. I, too, sought companionship, although I was probably more desperate. I simply roamed the Vecto, hoping for a familiar face to reminisce our recent events with, and perhaps an answer to what caused my parents’ demise. None of the events that preceded my exams seemed to be a part of reality. They felt as if they were in a sphere in front of me; as if I were examining a world expanding away from me. Suddenly, my face had a sensation of warmth, and my chest felt compressed. I began to cry. I wasn’t positive if I comprehended my sorrow, but I could discern it. I began to run. It was as if I was running from the sudden reality of my circumstances. I do not know the length of my run, but when I was finished, I had ceased my crying. I stood, as if I were but an empty shell, mourning the recent affairs. Examining my surroundings, I noticed that there were many people passing by, in many different directions. Then there was a boy that seemed to be about my age approaching me. “Hello, I….” He started. The boy paused and shifted as if he were nervous. “Well, this is a bit embarrassing, but I’m a bit lost. Do you have any idea where Section B, Apartment 6 is?” The boy finished. “No, my apologies for being unable assist you.” I replied.
“Oh, no need to worry. Sorry if I’m being a bit blunt, but are you also lost?”
“Well, I can’t deny that I am unsure of the location of my own dwelling, but it should not be difficult to uncover that information.” I reassured him. He nodded and scoped around him. “How about we find our places together, then? Everything is easier when two people are on the job, as long as one isn’t sleeping.” he proposed. I took this as an extended hand of friendship, which was not a thing that I could pass up at that time. As we started searching, he spoke about himself. He informed me that his name was Kirill, and he spoke fondly of his parents that were accompanying him on this voyage to a new world. I rather envied him for having not only family, but friends on the Vecto as well. “Kirill, there’s a map in that direction.” I gestured to a hologram of the ship. He typed in his apartment number in the computer beneath the hologram. It enlarged the area, and then drew a red path from his room to his current location. “Okay, now you know where I live. My temporary home, anyway. You can visit me if you want. After all, there’s not much to do on this ship. By the way, I didn’t get your name earlier.” he stated. I managed a polite smile, and then said, “Vendella Vincenzo, it was very nice to meet you. I hope I am able to meet with you and your family soon.”
“Great, see you later!” he yelled running off.
I was not able to speak much of myself to Kirill, since he did not give many pauses in his own conversation. Fortunately I preferred to not have my own side in a discussion. There was much that I myself did not care to even think about then. Placing one foot in front of the other, I carried a heavy heart. I was overjoyed to meet someone who was willing to be a friend, but my parents’ absence was always affecting my disposition. When I had arrived at my “temporary home”, I fell into unconsciousness swiftly due to fatigue from my long walks.

-Aculeus-
Boredom seemed to be my only companion. In order to ward him off, I constantly scanned through the cameras placed around the ship, as well as data. Apparently, we were going to land today, but most of the civilians would not be told, since there were a few preparations that needed to be tackled first. Now this was upsetting news to me. I was eager to see this new world we traveled to with my own eyes, or what passes for eyes. After considering if I should sneak out of the ship or not when it landed, I decided against the idea. The soldiers were already suspicious of me, so taking the chance to attract more attention to myself was not a good thing to do. I’ll just use the outside cameras to steal a sneak peak, then, I decided. According to the data, the ship was going to land. Right now. Ecstatic, I switched my scan to the camera nearest to the new planet. Now this…there’s no way this can be real, but I guess they couldn’t fake this either, were my thoughts. It was nothing like Milthos. You couldn’t see the surface of Milthos from space, the fog was so dense. Even if you could see that far somehow, all you’d see is a grey barrier, protecting it’s people from the dangerous fog spewed out from the planet.
This new planet was mostly had different shades of green with rusty browns near the center of the greens, and a lot of blue here and there. There were also white wisps floating around the whole planet, much like how our machines once floated in the sky. Soon, we were among those wisps. They were a lot like the fog, how we could move through them and such. Still, they seemed to be a lot cleaner; even pure. These wisps were angels of the sky rather than the fog. I used to think that anything in the sky of a planet was scum from the planet itself, but the wisps proved me wrong. Whether the wisps were from the planet or not, they were not scum, like the fog was. “Passengers of the Vecto, we are aware of the turbulence, so do not panic. There is nothing to be concerned about.” The announcer’s voice shattered my concentration on the scan. I didn’t notice the vibrations of the ship until he addressed them. Since I knew the real reason, I went back to the scan, unconcerned. We had just landed. Everywhere around us, there was tall, untamed grass. I knew what grass was; anyone who wasn’t too lazy to take a walk in one of the parks knew. But that grass was short and trimmed neatly. This new grass had never been trimmed, and was enjoying it’s freedom basking in the bright sunlight that no one on Milthos was old enough to remember. Then there were trees and other plants gathered around many small rivers and streams. The plants were all synthetic in the parks, but these were real, growing plants. Now, just to beat it into your head, I’m a Arficialus, which are beings that normally can’t appreciate anything but their own slavery. However, my creator wanted to see how human I could be. I don’t know if he put my fondness of nature in me or if I gained it myself, but I like the company of silent life better than the life that speaks through lies. I didn’t really care who put my emotions in me, I just wanted to see this planet with my own eyes. How sad for me that I would have to wait a while.

***

-Vendella-
“Passengers of the Vecto, we are aware of the turbulence, so do not panic. There is nothing to be concerned about.” The announcer shocked me, as well as the hectic vibrations of the Vecto. I was currently in a line to receive my lunch. “Hey! Vendella!” a rather loud voice shouted. I turned and pinpointed Kirill, and shyly waved to him. After I had obtained my meal, I walked over to him. “Hey, you’re eating a bit late. I mean, so am I. But if you come earlier, you can sit with me and my friends. We can sit together today, still.” He quickly stated. “I would be very grateful to accept- “ I started, but he interrupted, “We’re friends, right?” I cautiously nodded. “Then why are you still talking funny?” He finished. I mulled over his statement, and requested that he clarify. “See, you talk to me like I’m the chief here. If we’re friends, we’re equals. I think. So just talk to me like you would talk to a….. Just talk informally.” He muttered. “I will attempt to- “ He interrupted again, “No, say something like… I’ll try. Just make your sentences as short as possible. You’re not giving a speech to the survivors of Milthos, you know.” “Okay, then.” I whispered. I knew that “okay” was slang for “very well then,” but it would take some getting used to talking informally. If it would aid in socializing a bit, I would allow it. “By the way, you didn’t tell me much about yourself the other day. Let’s start by you telling me why you speak so stiffly.” It would be rather dull to repeat what I told him to the exact syllable, so I will leave out his reminders to me to speak plainly and his other interruptions. I told him my upbringing, to the point of finishing my exams. “Okay…. And your parents are… where exactly, now?” Kirill asked. I shook my head and quickly excused myself. I wanted to know the details about my parent’s death before I told him the little I knew.


***

-Aculeus-
As I stood, watching the fake space on show through the ship’s windows, I noticed that redhead that was glaring at me the other day approaching. He seemed less tan, now. “Aculeus, you’re trespassing.” He stated hands behind his back, all high and mighty. “You’re not just here to mess with me, right? You upper crusts are too busy for that.” I remarked. I hated that he knew my name and where I was supposed to be, but I was too lazy to ask him how he knew. “Aculeus, you’re supposed to be dying, along with the rest of humanity. Some actually are going to die; some are here on this ship. We weren’t born in space, nor on the new planet.” I chuckled at his wacky belief. “I’m just a machine; we turn off, or break. There’s no life to die.” I told him.
He stared into my back. I wasn’t even going to look at this guy. There was an annoying silence. “Do you want to know how I knew your name at least?” he said. “As long as you don’t bother me, you could know how many hairs I’ve lost since being built.” I muttered.
“Aculeus, Dr. Vincenzo died because he tried to make another like you. Like you, it was a machine, but with a “conscience”, or so he insisted. I don’t see how any… thing like you could have a conscience.”
“Just get to the point already. I’ve been bored with your ethics since you started preaching them.” I groaned.
“This new machine had emotion, but never obtained what it was meant to. The only emotion it truly ever gained was fear of death.”
“Uhm, ‘truly’ gained?”
I could sense him grinning, probably glad I was finally showing interest.
“Truly, Arficialus can never feel emotion; only pretend to have them. You actually feel them, but Dr. Vincenzo’s new creation could not, except that fear, that fear of death.”
“Of being turned off, or broken like a toy.” I corrected him.
“Broken, and forgotten, like a cheap toy. Easily replaced, toys are. It killed it’s own creator when he decided to scrap the toy to make a new, better one. And now you know of Vendella’s father’s death. I myself can’t tell her; government regulations, you know. But you’re not even supposed to be here, why don’t you tell her?”
I finally turned to look at him. His blue eyes were too bright for him. That bothered me, so I turned away again.
I replied, “I’ll tell her about her mother and father once I get the info about-“
“Her mother was knee-deep in research that many were afraid would somehow be used to damage this migration. She was simply not told about the Vecto, and was told that her daughter committed suicide after learning of her father’s death.” He said without emotion. “I wish I could tell you more about how these two good people died, but I’m already telling you far too much.”
“You people are sick… I’ll tell her if I find her in the right mood.”
And what was his response to that? “You are too kind, you should be much colder. Computers only receive, store, and send information. They don’t decide what to do with it and when to deal with it.”
For a long time afterward, I wished I could have come up with a better comeback than this:
“Yeah, well, this one does. But before I go, why would you tell a machine, like me, all this?”
“Because Dr. Vincenzo built you. He may not have cared about how you felt. He only cared that you did feel. You will probably live to be much older than all of us, and you will remember what Milthos was really like after this generation passes. Along with any extra information I give you. I just wanted to make sure our research was remembered, along with how it ended. We would have changed everything, science, ethics….”
I shook my head at this little rant.
“What do you mean by ‘our’?”
“I was recently transferred to help with Dr. Vincenzo’s research. I started working with him only about a week before he died, sadly.”
“What happened to the other machine Dr. Vincenzo made, the new one with emotions?” I had to ask. It was the only other creature like me that I knew of, even if it did feel only one emotion.
“We destroyed it. It only had fear, and fear without remorse is dangerous. In theory, it could become slightly afraid that someone would betray it, or kill it, and then it would think it would be perfectly logical to murder that person. All the stranger might’ve done was bump into him and he could become fearful. So, out of fear, we destroyed the machine that felt only fear. We do not plan to continue this research of making machines grow a conscience. It would not be good to do any dangerous experiments with a small population on a new planet. The citizens of the Vecto are already afraid and stressed over silly matters, we don’t need to give them a real reason to worry. ”
I walked off without giving a reply to this.

***

-Vendella-
I was excited to finally see what the new planet would look like. We finally landed, and they let people out in groups. They didn’t want a huge crowd fighting each other for the opportunity to see their new home, after all. I was in line with about twenty-five other people, right outside the large airlock doors. When they opened, a light extremely bright shone through, unlike any I’ve ever seen. As we walked out, I was disappointed. The clear sky was pleasant enough, but there were no houses, no mansions or clean floors. There was only dirt and unorganized plants. A few rocks also decorated the crude landscape. We were guided out by an Arficialus. After a few long minutes of trekking through the tall grass, I spotted Aculeus fingering a plant. It was a rather tall bush, with large, flat leaves. I silently walked away from the group and approached him. I knew Aculeus wasn’t the type to want his presence known. I figured that a man who fought with soldiers and stayed away from groups would prefer that no one would know where he was and why he was there at most times. He turned to me, and stared at me in the same way that Mr. Walker did when he brought me the news about my parents; stern and rather sad. “Hello, Aculeus, are you doing well?” I asked him. “Yeah, other than you didn’t say any words over three syllables.” He remarked sarcastically. “I’m sorry, I just thought that you would prefer-“
“Yeah, I prefer you speak plainly. Congratulations on learning a new language.” He said.
I stared at the plant he was examining. “Aren’t you worried that the plant you were touching could have poisoned you or something?” I questioned. “No, I don’t worry about every bad thing that could but won’t happen to me.” He replied, almost laughing. I decided to change the subject, even if just slightly. “I can’t believe how unorganized the plants are.” I stated. His good natured smile turned back into the sad, stern expression. “It’s nature; do you expect plants to shoot up in perfect triangles? Or how about a hexagon or whatever?”
“It’s so… different. Almost unpleasant…”
His grim face became less cheerful.
“The lawlessness of nature isn’t something any man, woman or child can really copy. It seems that they can’t appreciate it either.”
“If you appreciate it, then wouldn’t you count as some man that…”
Feeling that something so silly would turn into a heated argument, I decided it would be best to listen instead of to talk.
“Okay, then. Why do you like the lawlessness of this landscape?”

***

-Aculeus-
“Okay, then. Why do you like the lawlessness of this landscape?” Vendella asked.
“Okay, watch your big words there, please. Anyway, I guess it’s because it invites exploration. You can wander without anyone breathing on your neck, if you can call all those faces in the crowd people. And while I’m at it, it’s new. There was nothing like this on Milthos.” I let that sink in. Again, that silence. Do all rich people like the sound of nothingness? It made me think, which made me debate whether to tell her or not. I could tell her that her mother might still be alive, slowly dying in some disturbing way back on old home rock. I could tell her why her father was killed before I told her about her mother. Or I could stay in this hopeless stalemate of silence forever. “Anyway, I have wandering to do. You better stay alive for awhile; I have a lot you need to hear.” I said jumping onto a high boulder. She jolted and stared in awe as I disappeared behind it. Someday I would tell her. About her parents… and about the kind of thing I am.









***

-Vendella-
I was shocked that a human could jump so high. My mind kept returning to the thought that he might be an Arficialus, but there was no way he could be so expressive and talk so plainly if he was a machine. But his words to me shocked me more than his jump. I could still not understand why he loved this new place so much, but I envied him for that. I longed to be as excited as he was. So I decided that I would try; I would try to love this place as much as he does. It was going to be my new home, even if it would never be my parent’s home.