Axy Stormforge and her Journey to the Edge of Reality

Chapter 2: Departure

Ch 2: Departure

"I just don't understand why they don't just use some droids for all this." said Dad.

Family dinner was a tradition. An incredibly weak, shallow one. Today's setting was a stone garden with cheerful (or revolting, if you're Axy) green and yellow foliage, an almost overwhelming amount of bird chirps, and a rustic wooden table you couldn't eat off of. Because everything is holographically projected. From three different locations in Illumount, Father, Mother, and Axy ate a variety of menu items together, dispensed on trays directly from the wallls. They could hear and see each other just fine, but the scent generators made all the food smell the same.

"They do, Dad, for the actual mining and stuff, but the surveys need - "

"Well, I don't think it's very responsible to leave your job you just started, not to MENTION leaving US. You know how much we had to spend on a license to have you? And how much your Incu-cell cost??" Mom interrupted.

"You didn't *have* to have me in an Incu-cell, Mom, you could have just had a natural bir-"

"Nobody has had, like, a fully biological birth in an eon, Axy. It's probably not even possible anymore. Thats WHY WE HAVE droids and.. pods and stuff to begin with." said Dad.

"That's just it, Dad! EVERYTHING is fake. This habitat is fake. This food is fake. You're not even here. IM fake. I'm just so sick of everybody pretending this is all normal!" Axy finally raised her voice.

Dad, ever the non-confrontationalist, just switched off and disappeared, leaving Mom with the emotional cleanup. She did not own a mop.

"Axy... you're NOT LISTENING. I'm telling you it's NOT FAIR to leave us for who knows how long on some... dangerous expedition that'll end up just picking... garbage up out of some asteroid hole somewhere anyway. You wanna do that? Just switch on your damn holofield and load up one of the programs your father and I worked HARD to bring to you. Eeeeeverybody else in Illumount gets along here JUST FINE, I don't see why you - "

"I'm NOT everyone else, Mom. I'm me. And I wanna go."

"Axy, you're not making sense! How long have you known this guy now? Two months? Think this through, what are Dad and I supposed to do when - "

"Don't pretend you need me, Mom. You know what today is?"

"I don't know and I don't care! What I'm trying to tell you is - "

"Today is the 1 year anniversary of the last time you came to visit in person."

(Despite trying, humans couldn't break out of their circadian rhythm as a whole, so 24 hour day/night cycles persisted, and on those days were based weeks (7 days), months (30 days), and years (360 days). )

Mom was a little shocked. They sat in silence for a moment.

Everybody lived in a separate living pods, fathoms apart from each other in this endless concrete and carbon fiber jungle of a habitat. It doesn't take more than an hour or so to get anywhere in Illumount with the fully automated transportation grid, but most people did not venture out. Work was at home, food came through your walls, and VR was.. well, as good as the real thing for 90% of anything you want to do. In this age, It's easier to leave a droid to mother your child for you. After all, maternity A.I. has parented millions of children, and learned from them all - nobody could make a better mother than a droid.

Except maybe a present one.

"I've asked all my questions, I trust him, and I'm going to take the job, Mom. And this is going to be my new chapter. And I'm not promising you I won't fail... but I'd love for you to be here when I come home if I do."