Generation

To Infinity... [FIRST DRAFT]

They were thirty million light years from Earth. Not that anyone on board had ever been to Earth. It was really only used for navigation nowadays.

Millon watched the screens idly as they flicked through navigational nonsense. "It still strikes me that we really named a whole fucking planet after dirt."

"We sure did," Genie lay on an old-fashioned couch, upholstered in a garish floral pattern. It contrasted sharply with the rest of the ship's bridge that was made of shiny steel and sleek modern fittings. She stared at the roof, watching something on her brain-feed. "Old humans were funny people."

"They were. Ricardo?" He spoke into the radio on his lapel. No response. Millon leaned into the console and pressed a button. "Ricardo?" The question echoed, loudly, through the ship's PA system.

"Be patient." The reply came through the radio in both their ears. "I'm coming up from the second floor. Be there in five."

Millon groaned. "The fuck is he doing on floor two?"

Sighing, Genie sat up. "Probably raiding the fridge again. I hate it when he takes all the good stuff."

"If you're gonna talk shit, turn your mics off." That was Ricardo. "Much obliged."

Genie rolled her eyes. She was a slim girl, with dark hair hacked into a messy bob. Though she held herself with a casual demeanour, her eyes darted everywhere, alert.

Millon dragged his finger across the screens, selecting options, making calculations. He bit his lip as he brought up two side-by-side and adjusted his cuff. He pressed his shirts each morning and sometimes even in the middle of the day if it wrinkled. His face was narrow and all sharp angles that ended in sharper points.

"All right, shitheads," Ricardo said as he entered the bridge. The others turned - he strode towards them, hands shoved deep into the pockets on his bomber jacket. "Why am I up here?"

Millon pointed at the screen. "We need to decide where to go."

Ricardo frowned. "We're going to C-6, yeah?"

"We were, but Genie had an idea."

She cleared her throat. "What if we went to the end of the universe?"

Ricardo looked at her, expression unclear. He was short, about Genie's height, and he spent his whole life apparently trying to make up for it.

"Thoughts?" Millon said.

"Genie," Ricardo said, "You're one of the most innovative people I've ever met. You're also one of the only people I've ever met, but that's beside the point. You have some pretty great ideas." He beamed. "This isn't one of them; what the fuck are you thinking? Why would we go there? There's nothing."

"How do you know if we've never been there?"

Ricardo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you really trying to convince me there's something further than the end of the universe."

"It's only a theory, Genie," Millon added, "That there's something more. What's the point in going further? It's not like there's much point to all that voyage and discovery nonsense the founders went on about. We're the only ones left to see it and that shit got them killed."

"I'm not saying we do it for all that greater good of humanity bullshit. I'm saying we do it for ourselves."

"Tell me," Ricardo said. He paced back and forth and spun dramatically. "Why we should do something dangerous, possibly fatal, when we can live the rest of our lives in comfort?"

"Don't you want to know?"

"Not really." Millon checked his nails for dirt. "I'm pretty happy to spend the rest of my life cruising around the universe. Sipping cocktails on C-6, seeing the caves on Andoras... there's a lot of great things out there."

Ricardo patted her on the back. "You're outvoted. Don't worry; you'll thank us in a year or two. Anyway, I have a fridge to raid. You guys want anything?"

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Genie crept through the hallways. It was dark. The steel panels were illuminated softly by a low light close to the ground; it was to help keep a human circadian rhythm with the dark, but gently lit to avoid the possibility of trips.

The doors to the bridge opened quietly. Genie was grateful for that as she crept through to the main console, her bare feet padding softly as she walked. The steel floors were cold to her feet.

She sat in the chair at the front of the console. She pressed a button to mute the computer and scrolled to the set course menu.

A warning popped up on the screen as she dialed in coordinates. Genie pressed "OK" without reading it.

Quietly, the ship changed direction.

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Thanks for reading everyone! This chapter is still a first draft so any and all feedback and comments are more than welcome. There's going to be six chapters all together so keep your eyes peeled for the rest of them.