How far away they all were from Earth now, seemed almost unimaginable. The last space stations, and any other distant planet which could be recognised within the known solar system, had been long since left behind.
From time to time, when it was safe enough to have the windows unguarded, Walter sat and looked out at the endless black of space. It was somewhat prophetic, he presumed that was perhaps the right word to use; prophetic to the point where humans clearly came from this blackness originally, and now were returning back to it. It was destiny clearly. Or rather, karma in a sense.
Not that Walter thought to bitterly about his human equivalents, but they had rendered Earth almost inhabitable. Give it another few years, or rather, by the time they reached Origae-6, that the Earth they left, might not even fully exist anymore. He couldn't help but slightly muse on the fact that: if they did it once, what's to stop them again? The lottery pick of people on this ship was meant to be the good, and the decent, he guessed, the best of the best to start a new life, on a new world. But then again, even the best people, with the best intentions could abuse power and it could so easily go downhill fast.
Walter had been on his own for long enough now that his thought processes were going through loops. Thoughts were going down avenues, which previously they hadn't even ventured down. He was always under the presumption that he was here to help humans settle a new life elsewhere, and he'd help anyway he can, and that's it. Short and to the point. But now...the idea that this ship was being used as a beacon of hope, Walter couldn't help but muse, would it still be a beacon if it went downhill, just like the planet everyone was trying to get away from?
The reason his thoughts had turned to topics such as this, was simply because, pioneers don't always have a happy ending. Several more embryos had perished, the crew remained the same, and nothing had changed too drastically for Walter or Mother to be concerned.
It wasn't as if Walter wanted something to happen to break up the routine of, well, the same old thing, but there was a serious case of Groundhog Day. Anyone else would've been driven mad, if not for the sheer repetitive nature in which Walter now lived, but the enclosed space of the ship, and the darkness beyond the windows, when it was safe to have them unshielded. That's mainly why he was here really, yes he was stronger than humans, quicker too, and more intelligent than some; but the loneliness of space, and the slightly claustrophobic nature in this temporary home didn't affect him the slightest.
Walking down the corridor to do crew checks, hood up on his jumper and walking in silence, was fine for Walter. Throughout the time spent here, as of recently, Mother hadn't really piped up to talk to him. Which he was fine with, he was indifferent to talking to the AI, mainly because it always just seemed to be so automated. Like questions and the appropriate answers were already programmed in. Ridiculous to think about considering technically Mother would be one of the strongest artificial intelligence programs going. Weyland-Yutani really didn't scrimp and hold back when they created her, him, and subsequently this ship.
The corridors stretched onwards as Walter made his way down. Tunnel vision would've kicked in now, if only he needed to specifically see where he was walking. The layout and the amount of times he'd walked this route, was now so well ingrained in his head, he could walk it with his eyes closed.
Just out of curiosity one day, and to break up the monotony, Walter tried it. With much success, may he just add. He didn't walk into anything, he didn't take a wrong turn, he wound up just where he wanted. The crew room, to do daily checks.
Each day he did this, and each day the readings didn't differ. The whole crew slept on peacefully, completely ignorant to everything that went on around them. Not that there was particularly much to write home about, all that happened was Walter pacing from one end to the other, check whatever was in his routine, then sit in the bridge, legs stretched out and leaning back in a chair. That was his routine and life right now.
Although, he hadn't thought much else other than this, the here and now. Yes, he had dwelt on what was Earths plight, and all that went with that and how they got here. But he never thought of the future. What would their new home be like? Yes, it was like another Earth, but it would have differences certainly. What would happen to him? Would he be rendered redundant? Would he end up being the lone android, in an otherwise human society? The crew accepted him, from research of his model, people accepted him better than others. But that still didn't mean life, once on Origae-6 was going to be smooth sailing.
"All is well," Mother's voice suddenly echoed from above. He was partially wondering where she was. Usually whenever he did crew checks, she'd always come out with the same comment. It seemed he wasn't the only one stuck in a same old-same old routine. Walter just gave a nod of his head, he knew Mother didn't need a verbal response. Mainly because if something was wrong, she'd had told him. "Walter, please report to the bridge. It's about time to recharge the grid." The accidental personal assistant reminded Walter promptly what was his next task.
He was still in the room where the colonists were housed, almost close to leaving the room having deposited another damaged embryo in the hazardous waste container. He just picked his belongings up, and just commenced walking. "Coming, Mother." Was the automatic response given. Wasn't like he could decline what could've been seen as an order. AI ordering fellow AI seemed a bit...off, however Walter placed the tray down and walked along the corridor towards the bridge. The small dark space didn't change, the computer screens still black with the company logo on them, chairs cold and pushed under desks from not being used, other than the one he sat in daily.
Pulling his chair closer to the computer, Walter's blue eyes flicked over the pre-check system which was running. If they were currently flying too close to something that could be a danger, then this couldn't happen. The sails were thin and fragile, sure they were robust, but still delicate in nature. Last thing they needed was for them to get destroyed.
Having the system confirm everything was okay, Walter nodded, more to himself than anything, or anyone. "Deploying collectors now." Pushing himself slowly out of his chair, there was a moments hesitation before leaving. He just wanted to make sure that nothing serious was going to happen before leaving the sails and subsequently Mother to do their thing.
With nothing else to do, Walter walked along another corridor before reaching a door and walking in. Yes, where the plants dwelt was somewhere he went to think, and to seemingly sit in peace, but sitting at the window seat looking out at space was somewhere, where Walter felt more close to Onora. He wasn't meant to have a sense of missing, loss. But sitting in her room, not hearing her talk quietly or even sit beside him...undoubtedly, Walter had a sense of missing, he missed her.
Leaning his head back against the wall, he shut his eyes. The peace didn't last long however before Mother's voice reappeared. "Walter, we may have a problem."
His eyes opened quickly, swinging his legs off the seat, his feet landed heavily against the floor. He stood suddenly and looked upwards with a small, growing frown. "Mother?" He questioned, prompting her even to explain just what her words meant. She didn't reply instantly, which if anything caused Walter's serious expression to grow even more.
"An atypical energy burst has been detected. Consisting of heavy particulate matter. Analysing composition."
That was enough for Walter. He was out of Onora's room in moments. His feet quickly pacing down the corridor, frown still on his face. "Where?"
"Sector 106. Very close. Source was masked, hence the extreme proximity prior to discovery. Undetectable earlier, due to unique concatenation of spatial and gravitational distortion in the vicinity. Apologies. Initial analysis was insufficient to gauge intensity, as well as proximity. Reappraisal suggests possibility the event could be substantial. Unable as this time to predict risk."
This was one of those times where Mother spoke an enormous amount, all the information registered in Walter's mind. It didn't sound good. It clearly wasn't good, for Mother to ask out for him. This was a rare moment really. "What are the chances of intersecting it?" He had come to a stop in the corridor and awaited a response.
"Very high. Detecting extreme proximity and precision."
That really wasn't good. Not what Walter wanted to hear at all, as he picked up walking again, his pace getting quicker as he urgently tried to get to the bridge. "Mother, retract the collectors and channel all the reserve and backup power to the shielding. Initiate emergency crew revival." He was running by now as he turned corridors quickly. All open heavy duty doors were passed with speed as he made his way down the stretching tunnels. This wasn't how he wanted to wake the crew, but he couldn't do this alone and they would be needed.
"Underway. Indications achieved. Intersection in nine, eight, seven..." For something that could not be seen, it was certainly felt as it battered into the ship. Walter, who at this time was still jogging through the corridors almost found himself falling. Ever steadfast on his feet, he shuttled against the wall. He slipped a bit, only to push himself upwards and onwards. Keeping a hand to the wall, he paused for a moment before commencing walking again. All around him metal groaned as it rocked and shuddered from the impact which was pushed against it.
He had hoped that together, Mother and himself would have managed to salvage what could've been an awful event. But even as he struggled to keep his footing from the shockwaves buffering around the ship, he could hear clattering and banging back in the distance. The sails that he urgently wanted to get in, were first to get damaged by this event. The golden sails weren't designed for forces such as this. It took very little to shred and damage them.
The ship could take care of itself, as ridiculous as that sounded, Mother had the flight course and piloting under control, whereas he could deal with anything which required a more hands on approach. Although right now, his hands were struggling to keep himself steady against a wall as he almost staggered to his knees. How the journey, which had been so peaceful and controlled so far, could turn so suddenly, Walter didn't know. It appeared to be too much to have asked for smooth sailing. And in this moment of awkwardly trying to keep his footing, he couldn't help but bring up his earlier thoughts: pioneers don't always get a happy ending; trials, and tribulations always wrought the best of journeys.
----
(A/N: I am sorry for the delay. I am struggling currently with most things I'm writing; there's a small number of things wrong and troubling me there. But eh, I've updated at last! Technically have @melisa-nur32 to thank for this being updated tbh. So thanks for reading, and bye!)
YOU ARE READING
Singularity
Fanfiction"Everything that is alive, can love; it can feel. Even if you think you can't, doesn't actually mean you can't, Walter." Onora Price smiled from behind one of the many trees which were stashed away onboard the USCSS Covenant at the brunette syntheti...
