Dreaming in Static

Chapter 3

Andromeda

As the shuttle dove towards Earth, Andromeda pondered the situation.

She couldn't think of anything. Eleven androids had been killed. Only Andromeda remained. The ship appeared to have suffered no damage, other than being hit by a few asteroids. (Andromeda laughed at how sarcastic it sounded, even in her mind.) But the asteroids couldn't have been the cause of death. Asteroids didn't make heads fly off and leave one android undisturbed, unless the asteroids had somehow damaged the shuttle interface, thus sending radiation into the cabin and manipulating the androids' programming.

Andromeda sighed and leaned back in her chair. Although that didn't explain why she was the only survivor, it was the only theory that made any sense, so it'd have to suffice for now.

She piloted the ship toward a flat patch of land that was reserved for ship landings. It was in California somewhere, but she couldn't recall exactly what city it was in, which should've been impossible...maybe her brain was just taking longer than usual. Andromeda knew the coordinates, though, so she punched them into the control panel.

Oh. The San Francisco Landing Site, a few miles away from, well, San Francisco.

She pressed GO.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts and return your seat backs to the upright position. We are now commencing the landing process," Andromeda said in a faux flight attendant voice.

She closed her eyes.

Then opened them what seemed like seconds later to the sound of alarms blaring.

"Oh, not again," she groaned, getting up and shouting, "What is it? What is it! Tell me!"

She screamed and pounded her fist against the control panel, shoulders shaking. "Engine malfunction," the ship replied, impassive as always. "Portside engine has combusted. Engine malfunction. Portside engine has—"

"I GET IT!" Andromeda yelled. She sat down and slammed the yellow button down as hard as she could. The ship shot forward using up its one-time thrusters, and entering Earth's atmosphere. The top layer blazed by, red-hot flashes scraping against the windows. Andromeda checked the ship trajectory and cursed—they were off course by at least 100 miles, and that distance would only grow as they neared the ground if she didn't do something about it.

She gritted her teeth and grabbed the yoke, swinging it to the left as hard as she could and nearly tearing it out of the panel. The ship jolted, throwing Andromeda off balance, and then it started to spin, making Andromeda slam into the wall. She clawed at anything and everything she could find, the ropes hanging from the ceiling, the switches, and then she clutched at the control panel and settled back into the chair. Her systems were overheating, her vision was blurry, she couldn't see—

She gripped the huge switch to her right and yanked it back, forcing it all the way. And then the ship jerked up, sending Andromeda sprawling, hitting her chin on something hard, but at least she was safe; that had been the parachute.

The ship crashed onto the ground. Andromeda lied on the floor, breathing hard, her heart thumping. She closed her eyes, squeezing hot tears out of them. She wasn't sure if they were tears of relief or fear or anger, but it didn't matter. She was safe.

Polaris

She ran as fast and hard as she could in the direction of the nearest meadow. Because she loved meadows. Polaris always had, although she'd never seen one. There was something endearing about a flat expanse of land and grass and flowers, softly brushing against her knees...but maybe those were impeccable fantasies. She intended to find out.

Polaris found herself at the San Francisco Landing Site, barely a mile from her house. She was surprised at how tired she was, even as her air vents pumped air into her system. 

But she liked being tired. She'd never felt utter, complete physical exhaustion before; it made her feel human.

Besides, it'd only been four minutes. A quick Internet search confirmed her guess that that was the fastest mile time ever recorded.

Polaris collapsed in the meadow, smiling as the birds flew high above her, along with another giant gray blob. She squinted, confused. It was much too large to be a blimp, yet it was heading almost straight for her...oh. It was falling.

Planes don't fall, Polaris thought, just as the giant gray blob crashed into the ground next to her.

Andromeda

The impact shocked her much more than it should have.

Andromeda had released parachutes and taken every other safety precaution possible, yet it didn't seem to slow down the shuttle one bit. So she was thrown against the wall, again, as the shuttle crashed into the ground. It skidded along the grass for a few moments and then stopped. Andromeda took a deep breath and opened the hatch to the outside world.

The first thing she saw was a girl with dark purple-blue hair covered in dirt and grass staring at her. "Hi," she piped up cheerfully, as if a shuttle crashing into the meadow was an everyday thing. "I'm Polaris, like the star. And I'm a Serfdroid. What's your name?"

"Andromeda," she murmured, staring at the other android, who beamed at her.

"I'm so glad to meet another android. Come down here, I have something to tell you."