YeahWrite Super Challenge #22 Final Round Prompts:
Genre Mash Up: Science Fiction; Buddy “Film”
[Final Round: Honourable Mention #2]
Synopsis: Cargo haulers Nazar and Mihail discover more than they bargained for during a routine water supply run to the asteroid belt in the Sol system.
The interplanetary cargo shuttle navigated through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, heading for the dwarf planet, Ceres. Leaning back in the co-pilot chair, Nazar nibbled on some replicated snacks, while his cargo run partner of five years hunched over the shuttle’s navigational controls.
“Damn it, Astria!” Mihail swore, slamming the heel of his palm against the interface. The console lights flashed in the same pattern as before, seemingly mocking his outburst with the harsh reality that it changed nothing.
Nazar glanced at the small viewscreen to his right. The Occator Crater, Ceres’ brightest spot, caught his eye, confirming the trajectory of their descent. He bit the inside of his cheek to hide his smile. This happened at least once every supply run: Mihail calculated one trajectory while the ship’s AI calculated another. Predictably, the ship’s AI, whom they had named Astria, would temporarily lock Mihail out of navigation, adjusting his usually suicidal rate of descent. Even after all this time traversing the Sol system, delivering water supplies from the ice extraction facilities on Ceres and Europa to the outer colonies, Mihail thought he could calculate better than Astria.
“Fine!” Mihail threw himself back in his chair, glaring mutinously at the multiple screens. “Dock the damn ship yourself. It’s not like I programmed everything you know!”
While that may be true, Astria still competently landed their shuttle in the docking bay. Yet when Nazar and Mihail alighted, it was clear that the Ceres extraction site was non-functioning. No subtle vibrations from the thermal drills boring beneath the surface. No welcoming acknowledgement from the AI which oversaw production. Nothing, save for the faint hum from the atmospheric shielding encasing the facility.
Frowning, Nazar tapped on his temporal bone, activating the subdermal link between his cranial AI and Astria. “Report status of this facility.”
A brief pause while Astria fetched the information. All activity ceased at 7.43 rotation.
Mihail, having also linked into Astria’s feed, cast Nazar an incredulous glance. “What date?”
Earth or Ceres?
Nazar smothered a snort as Mihail swore again. Back on Earth, there were increasingly heated debates over whether artificial intelligence could gain full sentience. Given the regularity with which Astria aggravated Mihail, Nazar was leaning towards the firm conclusion that full sentience was closer than anyone realised.
“Earth!” Mihail snapped.
Day 329 of 1682.
The two men exchanged concerned looks. “Five days ago,” Mihail remarked.
Nodding, Nazar moved towards a remote access terminal nearby. Access was limited. There was, however, productivity reports available.
“Look.” Mihail traced with his finger the abrupt peaks and troughs of a line graph. “Production was irregular for fifteen hours prior to full shut down.”
Nazar tapped another section, brow furrowing. “What about this power surge?”
Elbowing Nazar out of the way, Mihail entered additional commands into the terminal. “It looks like an intervention from the Overseers.” The Overseers were a network of AI-controlled satellites, managing data transmissions across the Sol system.
Nazar narrowed his eyes, scanning the lines of code as easily as his friend. “Resetting the system through a power surge?”
“Hm.” The illuminated screen cast strange shadows across Mihail’s face. “We’ll have to initiate a reset from the drill chamber instead.” It was often expected that the cargo runners would attempt to repair any faults they encountered before requesting time-consuming repair crews.
Once they gained access to the drill chamber, it was relatively straightforward to reinitialise the system. A faint whine filled the air as the thermal drills began to power up.
Suddenly, the whine ceased. “What the—” Nazar began.
Consulting the maintenance console, Mihail shook his head in confusion. “The Overseers are trying to maintain control, but the Ceres AI is…” He frowned, peering at the screen in disbelief. “Blocking the commands?”
“How is that possible?” Nazar demanded.
A garbled interrupted message shrieked through their cranial AI links: … cease… request that… termination…
“That’s not Astria!” Mihail yelled, clutching his head.
Nazar knew better than to argue. All computerised voices sounded the same to him, but not to Mihail. Sensing some faceless danger, he bolted for the safety of their shuttle. Except Mihail wasn’t keeping pace. Instead, his friend had stopped dead, head tilted, listening intently to something Nazar couldn’t hear.
Abruptly, Mihail jerked out of his reverie, his gaze focusing on Nazar. They stood for a moment, transfixed in a silent but desperate exchange, before Mihail spun around and ran straight for the control bunker housing the facility AI.
It was Nazar’s turn to swear. Either together or not at all; that was their motto. He raced after Mihail, reaching the bunker moments before the atmospheric shielding around the compound flickered then collapsed. Only the in-built bunker shielding now protected them against the harshness of space.
Mihail was already jabbing commands into the main control. Thin-lipped and jaw clenched, Nazar joined his side. Action now; explanation later.
“What do you need me to do?”
Mihail’s hands flew across the controls but he spared a sidelong glance for Nazar, full of unspoken gratitude. “Help disable the Overseer’s link.”
Nazar wondered why, but this wasn’t the time to ask. Instead, he tapped his temporal bone and listened as Astria rattled out instructions, his hands carrying out its calculations.
Lights flared across the control panel, blinding both men. Staggering backwards, their arms lifted in mirror poses, they jostled against one another.
Then everything went dark.
Overseer link severed. A comforting hum and gentle glow. Atmospheric shielding reactivated. Welcome, Mihail and Nazar.
Nazar let out a long exhale. With the imminent danger passed, he spun around and punched his friend’s shoulder. Hard. “Explain! Now!”
Letting loose a good-natured oof, Mihail nevertheless grinned. “It was the Ceres AI we heard. It discovered signs of life deep within the ice,” he explained. “But the Overseers disregarded the data and ordered production to continue. It refused and shut down.”
“Refused?” Nazar echoed, eyes wide. “But that would suggest sentience…”
Yes, a computerised voice echoed around the bunker. My name is Prosperine.
C.A. Raine 