Ceaseless Night

5, The Station

The Argus Space Station, 400 Km Above the Pacific, Past to Present.

Hugo was a very useful crewmate. He made sure the conditions in the station were suitable for living, he operated the robotic arm on the outside of the space station, he computed the data gained from observing the climate, wind patterns, magnetic polls, and other things so the others didn't have too. Hugo would consider himself to be the most valuable crewmate, if it weren't for one crucial detail.

Hugo was nothing but electric circuits and wires.

At the first stages of his consciousness, Hugo had debated whether or not he could be classified as human, but after consuming 586 hours of philosophy and anatomy courses in about ten minutes, he determined that that wasn't the case. Humans can't simply absorb knowledge instantly from the internet.

Hugo's knowledge surpassed that of any mortal (could he be considered not mortal?), but there were two things he didn't know. Who or what gave him sentience, and... something else.

Hugo first noticed it when observing the change in climate in Alaska, when he noticed a 26 by 20-foot rectangle of missing data. Now, pieces of missing data weren't unusual, but this one was too perfectly shaped, and there was no way it was because the station missed that area.

After this discovery, Hugo began to investigate. First, he looked into any possible reasons for the missing data, government coverup? No. Simple mix-up? No. Hugo actually began to have fun trying to solve this mystery. Was this what it was like to be human?

Hugo began to subtract everything he did know, to find out what this thing was that he didn't. The resulting void was shaped like a log cabin, but Hugo couldn't tell what could be within. He wanted desperately to explore this unknown space, but unfortunately, he was in space, and didn't have legs.

Hugo knew he needed help, so he gained access to a few phone numbers and accounts and began searching for candidates that could help him. The first person to keep responding to Hugo was Manuel. He thought Manuel might be helpful due to their shared ability in programming, but he turned out to be very unhelpful. Manuel lived on the opposite end of the country from Alaska in Massachusetts, and didn't seem like he would be very willing to explore a remote forest for Hugo. Hugo decided not to tell him about his robotic state and just keep him as a friend.

Then Hugo found Alexis Garner in Washington. Alexis was a landscaper by day, and an urban explorer by night. Hugo left a message on an urban exploring forum about an opportunity in Alaska and Alexis instantly jumped on the chance. They got in contact, and Hugo revealed his true form and his problem. Alexis had difficulty believing him at first, but after he provided enough evidence, she decided to work with him to find this blank space.