Unbreakable

Lost Drifters

"Sir, what is the story behind the destination planet's name? Mogo Ri Chu means 'Mushroom Sunrise' in Chinese. Are there lots of mushrooms on this planet?" Senior Engineer Chen asked Captain Bostaph.

Unbreakable was en route to the planet Mogo Ri Chu 2-0. Captain Gerald Bostaph had recently signed up for the Milky Way Delivery Service in an attempt to make some money to feed the crew and keep the ship in flying condition.

"I don't know if there are actual mushrooms on this planet, Chen," Captain said. "The legend says when the first colony ship arrived, and the settlers observed the first sunrise on the new planet, they witnessed purple clouds resembling oyster mushrooms in shape. Since most of the settlers were of Chinese origin, they named the planet Mogo Ri Chu – 'Mushroom Sunrise'."

"Why was it purple?"

"Hernandez, this nerdy question is for you," Captain turned to Chief Scientist.

"Of course, Captain." Maria Hernandez smiled. "There are some primitive photosynthetic bacteria on this planet, which is retinal-based rather than chlorophyll-based like we have on Earth. Retinal protein absorbs the green-yellow light spectrum, allowing red and green to pass, resulting in beautiful purple color. These bacteria are also airborne and provide the same purple color to Mogo Ri Chu's clouds."

"Thank you for the lecture, Chief Scientist. I am amazed as to how much useless information your brain contains." Captain winked at Hernandez.

"With all due respect, Captain, I disagree!" Chief Scientist shook her head, setting free her beautiful long red hair. "I would say sometimes we find scientific facts quite useful in our adventures."

"You are right, Maria. I was just teasing you," Bostaph smiled.

"Wait...did you say bacteria? Did settlers bring it with them or was it native to the planet? Like...alien?!" First Mate Lukic whispered, his eyes open wide. "Does it mean we made alien contact? And I was not there?! You broke my heart, Maria!"

"They are native to the planet, Rade," Hernandez patted First Mate on the shoulder. "But don't despair, humans discovered many planets with primitive microbial life forms. Just no advanced ones. We will keep this honor for you."

"I really hope this day will come soon, can't wait any longer!" Lukic exclaimed. "Captain, what are we bringing to Mogo Ri Chu, again? Could these native bacteria be harmful to our cargo?"

"I don't think so, Lukic," Captain answered. "We are delivering a shipment of toys for kids. Cargo Bay One is completely loaded with all kinds of games, dolls, puzzles, gizmos, and I don't know what else. Do you have kids, First Mate?"

"Aye, Captain! Nine, to be precise!" Lukic demonstrated nine fingers so everyone can be certain as to how prolific his family was.

"Wow, Rade, you keep surprising me!" Navigator Maynard said.

"And I think I know all the toys there are!" Lukic continued proudly. "I am literally a toy expert! For all ages. There are actually a few games I enjoy playing myself!"

"What are they, if you don't mind sharing?" Captain asked.

"Sure! For example, the Humavoid Robot Doll – you cannot distinguish her from a real human, she possesses advanced AI, and you can configure her looks and all the physical attributes just to your liking. They can also be changed at any time if you don't like the way she looks anymore. Amazing toy, highly recommended!"

"Rade, are you sure this is a toy for kids?" Maynard asked, squinting her eyes.

"Well, yes, I think so...then there is another one, you need to design and build a toy spaceship using different parts and components made out of different materials or 3D printed. Then you make sure your spaceship flies, and you launch it to collide with other spaceships to see who survives. Very entertaining!"