PART TWO

  Glix led the way, following the glowing yellow arrows on the displays and navigating the turns as the image of Hoshi, in the form of Grubnash, jumped from one of the smaller displays in the tunnel to the next. The corridors she and the others were walking through seemed to have been made deliberately for someone Goblin-sized or slightly larger, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was on purpose.

  Daegnon followed behind her, lost in his own thoughts, dutifully trailing along but not interacting with either her or Raknak.

  Raknak, for his part, stomped down the tunnel in a huff, following Daegnon. His entire demeanor was that of a disrespectful child rather than the stalwart bruiser he was generally thought of as. In the burrow, he had been a hunter and had provided his share of food and assistance to the Rustfang clan.

  But there was another side to him as well, that of a thug more than anything. He frequently bullied the smaller Goblins, making them take the lead so that he could stay safe until he found the correct moment to strike. Many Goblins had been lost to this tactic. But he had also protected the burrow several times from monster attacks. His strength was an asset, so his behavior was generally tolerated.

  Finally, the image of the elder Goblin stopped on a display and began speaking once more in the metallic voice that accompanied the image. All three of them gathered close so they could hear what the spirit, or AI, told them.

  “Underneath this display is a panel which you will need to remove. Use this tool,” the voice continued, as a strange white and red object appeared in a small drawer beneath the display. It had a long metallic shaft ending with a star-shaped tip. “To open the panel, place the tip in the corresponding shape and twist to the left.”

  Glix took hold of the tool and quickly found the small piece of metal the image had mentioned. She placed the tip of the tool into the hole and twisted.

  “Good, now do the same to the other three,” the metallic voice of Grubnash commanded.

  Glix did so, and once finished, the wall opened up. The panel, which had the four holes in it, fell from the wall, revealing a space behind it. “Wow,” Glix whispered as the panel fell and she could see the inside of the wall.

  “Good. Now use this tool,” the voice continued, and once again, another drawer opened below the display. This time, the tool was not so simple, and all three of them stared at it in curiosity.

  “Use it to first clean, then seal the hole located in the tube behind the panel,” the voice finished.

  This time, the details were a little more difficult to explain, and it took several attempts before Glix was able to properly figure out how to use the device. The tool was shaped similarly to a small pistol, although that was not a term they were familiar with. The first challenge was getting Glix to grip it correctly. Once that part was finished, Hoshi made sure that the other two would understand how to use the tool as well, since the hope was to have the three of them separate and each work on different areas.

  The tool, which Hoshi called a mender-beam, had multiple settings and could be used in many ways. For this application, there were two settings that the AI had to show the Goblins how to operate. The first was a low-range, light-based laser. This beam was used to remove any debris, rust, contaminants, or excess buildup along the interior surface of the Dark-Matter Fusion Conduit into which the panel Glix removed led.

  The second beam was used to repair the damage sustained. This beam looked the same when used, except for the color, changing from a pale reddish hue to a bright green. This green beam reassembled the atoms in the structure it was pointed at, aligning them as closely as possible to their original state. When necessary, it would collect atoms from the surrounding atmosphere, rearrange them, and attach them to the surface being repaired, thus rebuilding the surface altogether.

  When this level of repair was necessary, a small cylindrical object was fed into the shaft of the tool. The object's material was then atomized within the tool's chamber and converted to the correct material before being transferred via the beam and rearranged sequentially, atom by atom, to refill and bond with the missing area, thus recreating the structure.

  While both beams were technically harmless to living beings, the light shining from the end of the device could be rather bright and, when shined in one’s eyes, could cause temporary blindness. This is what happened when Raknak took his turn trying out the tool. He inadvertently held the device backwards, and the beam shot directly into his face.

  Once this section of the Dark-Matter Fusion Conduit was repaired, and Glix had demonstrated her understanding and control over the tool, Hoshi sent the female Goblin off to a different area of the ship. The area to which she was sent was located much lower, requiring her to climb down numerous ladders and take alternate corridors in order to arrive. When the route was displayed, the remaining two bid her farewell, hoping their ultimate destinations wouldn’t require such a difficult route.

  Once she was separated from the other Goblins and led off to begin her more advanced tasks, Hoshi led the remaining two Goblins to a nearby location further down the corridor where several more areas needed attention and each could practice using the mender-beam until they were more confident in its use.

  “Argh… Stupid thing always shoot wrong way!” Raknak growled as he once again pointed the wrong end towards the metal and blasted himself in the face. He had done this several times now and had taken to closing his eyes before ever activating the beam, so that even when he had it facing the correct direction, it rarely hit the target.

  With a light kick to Raknak’s leg, Daegnon scolded him. “Hold it the Sogging right way! Grubnash already tell you stop do-ing your stupid way! If you listen to ship spirit you stop have-ing the problem.”

  “My way work better,” the overly wide Goblin retorted. “‘sides, it easi-er for me use this way when I lay down like this.”

  “The angle of your body does not influence the device's capabilities,” the metallic voice of Hoshi, projected through the image of Grubnash said. “It is illogical to believe your body’s position would change the direction the mender-beam operates.”

  “Hear that, dummy?” Daegnon said as he kicked Raknak again. “Not, no…, he corrected himself, “Don’t matter how you use it, if hold backwards, it gonna shoot you in the face!”

  Raknak just grumbled under his breath and moved the device around in his grip.

  Hoshi had been monitoring the Goblins’ speech patterns to assess how rapidly the SCANT’s influence was increasing their vocabulary. Progress was not going as fast as they had hoped, but there was marked progress. Daegnon was using larger words and better syntax than Raknak, but both had a long way to go before they would be as fluent as possible with their limited tongues.

  It would still be days yet before they could initiate the influence of the Myrdin language into their language centers. Eventually, it would be optimal for all crew members to speak Myrdin, as it was the language used by the ship itself. Hoshi could render a simple translation for now when data needed to be displayed, but ultimately, a common language spoken by all aboard would not only ease the requirements for the SCANT, but would promote camaraderie amongst the crew.

  Meanwhile, Cyrus slowly moved into the darkened room, taking his time to touch everything , to better make this place feel real. Alongside the chair, where his arms would rest, were strange controls. He was used to having trigger-like devices to hold onto when using VR headsets, but the devices at the end of the armrest seemed more stationary.

  An image of an old set of brass knuckles came to mind as he looked over the devices. There were rings where his fingers would slip through. Each small ring was set on its own pivot so that each finger’s movement could be utilized. Also, what looked like small mechanical buttons rested just in front of the rings, and he supposed he would be pushing them to activate some function. Finally, there was what amounted to a small joystick where he imagined his thumb would sit. It reminded him of the one used on the old Nintendo controllers he had when he was young. The thought brought a flood of memories into his mind, of times he and his father had played video games together.

  The memories were pleasant, ones his mind didn't conjure often. Normally, they were quickly followed by images of his house exploding, tainting the good aspects of his early life. But this time, the memory lingered, bringing joy to him, and he felt a small tear roll down his cheek as he lingered there for several moments.

  ‘Once you have registered with the ship and completed the initialization, I will have further tasks for you,’ Hoshi said within Cyrus’s mind. ‘You will need to sit and don the headset in order to begin.’

  Cyrus was looking forward to the experience before him but was still a little cautious too. ‘This is an alien ship and technology far beyond anything I have ever dealt with; who knows what’ll happen when I finally take the plunge,’ he thought to himself as he ran his fingers over the metallic chair and the soft cushions inside.

  ‘Your DNA is 88.4 percent compatible. There should be no issues with interfacing using the Exo-Pilot terminal,’ Hoshi mentally reassured him, reading the worried thoughts he had just had.

  “88.4, huh? That means there’s some room for improvement, or error, depending on how you look at it,” Cyrus said aloud. “What will happen if my DNA doesn’t properly integrate?”

  There was a pause before Hoshi replied. ‘There is no accessible data to compare with, but I do not believe there would be any lasting effects. Perhaps a minor headache or loss of sensation in your extremities?’

  Cyrus raised an eyebrow at that. “So it could paralyze me?”

  ‘That is a possible outcome, but the paralysis would be temporary… most likely,’ Hoshi said, the last part of the statement sounding much quieter within Cyrus’s mind.

  “Hmmm….” Cyrus said, bringing his hand up to his chin as he considered. He stroked his chin as though he had a long beard sprouting from it.

  “Aww… what the hell. I’m here, and I’m not getting back any other way, so I may as well get it over with,” Cyrus said, and his stomach growled as if to punctuate the need for him to learn how to pilot the vessel.

  The holographic image of Hoshi smiled at him and waved its arm, gesturing for him to sit.

  The Exo-Pilot terminal shifted, moving into a more inclined position, and Cyrus sat down gingerly, taking his time to feel the controls on the handrests and the texture of the material on which he sat. As he fully rested his body on the now upright sitting chair, he slid his hands into the ends of the armrests, feeling the buttons and joysticks beneath his fingers.

  Then the chair began to move again, reclining in a smooth motion until he was almost in a lying-down position, his legs and chest level. Small pads rose along the arms and where his wrists would sit once his hands were inserted into the rings. He tested them, his fingers slipping in easily, the buttons and joystick easy to reach and manipulate, almost as though this chair was designed specifically for him.

  From this position, the headset was easy to reach, so he took hold of the dangling device. It was very unlike the bulky headsets he was used to; this one was sleek and thin. It was almost like an eye mask that he had seen women on TV using to take a nap, but this was made of a warm metal that was solid yet looked shiny enough to be a liquid.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The tube connecting it to the ceiling was attached via a smaller crossbeam that would rest on the top of Cyrus’s head, while the rear of the device was slightly elastic, although it also looked and felt as though it was made of the same liquid-like metal.

  Cyrus inhaled, closed his eyes, and set the headset over his head. It fit as though it were custom-made for him; the crossbeam and the curvature for the nose fit snugly into place without discomfort, and he felt the rear tighten slightly as the helmet settled securely.

  Surprisingly, Cyrus could still see through the metal, which he found almost as amazing as the room itself. The science behind the transparent metal was far beyond anything Cyrus could imagine.

  Hoshi gestured to the handrests, and Cyrus slid his fingers into the rings. It felt right here, almost as though he had found his new sanctuary. A warmth washed over him, not just emotionally but physically, as the metal of the visor began to fade, becoming opaque and solid, as metallic objects are intended to be.

  Then came the feeling of sinking, but it was of a much different kind, not melting into something, but more like synchronizing. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were open or closed now, but it didn’t seem to matter; his mind was now capable of seeing in this place. The sinking feeling he experienced was of his entire consciousness being immersed into a new reality.

  Glix had been navigating a maze of tunnels, most of them so small she fit through them comfortably, as though they were made exactly for someone her size. Occasionally, they opened into hallways similar to those they had explored before the ship left the mountain. The entire time, she followed the bright yellow arrows projected on the walls, with the image of Hoshi, as Grubnash, guiding her along, telling her where to turn and where to go, until finally, at the bottom of a long ladder, the floor below opened to reveal a room unlike any other she’d seen.

  The room expanded out before her, the size of a huge cavern similar to the one the Goblin clan occupied. Yet this gigantic room was filled not with tents and scurrying Goblins, but with machines and lights, hoses, gears, and sounds unlike anything Glix had ever imagined.

  “This is the main engineering bay, which houses the JUMP engine room,” Grubnash’s image said from just under the display where the elderly Goblin’s face appeared. “This will be like a second home to you. In time, you will know every inch of this place, know what every system and device does, and how to properly maintain and repair it.”

  Glix’s jaw hung open at the sight, her brain spinning, mostly with excitement, but also with a fair amount of anxiety. She had always been considered “smart” compared to the other Goblins, but the thought of having to learn everything about this place was an extremely daunting task, one that she wasn’t sure she was prepared for.

  “There is no need to worry. I am actively making you smarter. Before long, you will be the smartest Goblin ever,” Grubnash’s image chimed from the wall.

  The ladder she gripped vibrated slightly, and Glix watched as it extended downward into the expansive room. She was tired from travelling so far and from having to use not only her legs but also her arms to navigate the ship's many levels. But the eagerness she experienced upon seeing this room and the wonders it offered filled her with renewed energy, and she quickly descended the final few yards.

  Darkness enclosed around Cyrus for a moment before a semi-translucent hologram appeared before his eyes. The hologram was the same one he could see due to the SCANT: it was Hoshi, yet it was also slightly different.

  “Welcome, Cyrus,” the hologram said. This time, rather than hearing the sound only in his head, he felt that he was actually hearing the vibrations of the AI’s voice coming into his ears, rather than simply experiencing a mentally placed voice accompanying the hologram as it normally did. This was also the way he heard and understood the Goblins when they spoke.

  “This is the training simulation,” Hoshi continued, gesturing with a wide sweep of an arm. Cyrus realized then that the hologram was no longer in the large kimono it had been wearing. Its outfit had changed to a dark gray garment somewhat resembling a type of flight suit, although the cut and texture of the garment looked unlike the style he was used to seeing back on Earth. They also held a helmet tucked under their left arm, similar to but different from those he had seen in TV and movies.

  On the helmet was printed a blue star with red and white wings sprouting from each side. The logo was extremely familiar, and Cyrus had to wonder if the AI had taken the image directly from his memories or if it had scoured Earth’s databases and gathered information while searching for him. The entire appearance of the AI was both familiar and somewhat alien. It reminded Cyrus just what an odd turn his life had taken, and how, no matter what happened from here on out, he would never be the same.

  Before Cyrus could ask or even fully complete his speculation, the darkness around him filled in. The image of the ship, the Cosmic Sentinel, which he had seen from the information dump earlier, appeared floating in front of him. In this view, it was roughly the same size as he was.

  “This is the Cosmic Sentinel’s exterior. You can use this image to check on any structural issues, ongoing repairs, and, at times, make modifications, but those will be covered later,” Hoshi said. “You can mentally move, angle, spin, or otherwise manipulate this image as you would like.”

  Cyrus had played enough VR games that he had a rough idea of how this worked. VR on Earth wasn’t quite advanced enough for mental manipulation, so learning to use his mind to make the same moves his fingers were used to making took some practice. However, within a few moments, Cyrus had the image of the ship rotating smoothly. He studied the ship while he had the chance.

  The entire front end of the ship was bulky and triangular, with the bottom point jutting down lower and sharper than the other two. It almost resembled a huge, kite-shaped shield and was definitely not aerodynamic in the least.

  Along the front, there were two large, darkened intake manifolds that, viewed head-on, looked almost like large, dark eyes. There was also a large opening set into the middle of this forward section, around where a nose might be placed on a humanoid face. This opening was covered by what Cyrus thought of as a huge windshield. He could see the interior of the ship and immediately understood that this area was meant to be the bridge or command location. While he didn’t yet understand why they were there, the dark intake ports and the clear viewing screen gave the ship an almost sinister-looking ‘face.’

  Cyrus had heard of how human brains could see faces in objects that didn’t actually have them, and he assumed this was what he was experiencing now as he looked at the ship seemingly staring back at him. 'Pareidolia,' the word floated into his mind as he continued to study the Cosmic Sentinel's menacing visage.

  With a small shake of his consciousness to break the spell, Cyrus spun the image of the ship to the right, revealing a large, complex structure behind the shield-like front. The rear of the ship tapered backward to a point, forming a four-sided pyramid shape. The base of this pyramidal ‘body’ of the ship attached to the rear of the triangular shield at the front. The uppermost point of the pyramid aligned perfectly with a small divot at the top of the shield, the three lower points well hidden behind its protective guard.

  The ship's body was layered with an array of decks, intricate tools, and unusual-looking devices. Cyrus instinctively felt many of these were smaller thrusters as well as various weapons, though he couldn’t identify them yet with any certainty. These unknown, but obviously highly advanced, elements broke the relative smoothness of the pyramid's surface.

  The remaining prominent feature was a fin-like structure extending from the pyramid’s lower edge. This fin jutted downward and backward, ending in a curiously glowing sphere. The sphere, though small compared to the rest of the ship, felt as though it held a role of critical importance. It was positioned lower than and behind the pyramid's point, adding to the ship's overall length.

  As Cyrus continued to rotate the ship’s image, he realized the elongated downward tip of the frontal shield was designed to protect the fin and whatever significant power it held within it.

  The Cosmic Sentinel was not just a vessel; it was a flying fortress, bristling with mysterious technology and an intimidating presence. Cyrus’s mind raced with the possibilities and responsibilities that came with piloting such a formidable ship. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the challenges of repairing and flying this ship as he continued to familiarize himself with every inch of the craft’s exterior.

  “Now that you are familiar with the exterior,” Hoshi spoke while Cyrus continued to ogle the ship, “you need to initiate neuro-registration.”

  The image before him shrank and moved into a small window located at the bottom right of his vision. Cyrus could still see the ship as it slowly spun in the new window and knew that he could focus on the window to bring it back into full view when needed.

  He had dealt with HUDs before (Heads-Up Displays) and was familiar enough with the way this one was functioning thus far to understand the basics. He wasn’t totally confident with the way it moved and adjusted using only his mind rather than his fingers, but he knew that would come with time, just like it took him time in any game to understand how its setup was different from any other. It was a learning curve.

  Once the ship’s exterior view recessed, a new image formed at the center of his vision. Now demanding his attention was an image of what his mind interpreted as a cloud filled with swirling multicolored gases. The image was not flat; it had depth and moved as though he were looking at the cloud in real time from different angles. The cloud appeared to be contained in a type of faintly glowing bubble.

  A set of four more similar-looking cloud-filled bubbles appeared in the corner of Cyrus’s vision as he studied the central one.

  “Your first puzzle will be to match the nebula in front of you to its corresponding representative,” Hoshi said, her holographic image shrinking to make additional room for the cloud filled bubbles.

  Cyrus stared at the circular, gas-filled bubbles, trying to discern what exactly he was supposed to glean from them. He tried to move the central bubble to his left for a better view of the others but found that his hand and arm didn’t respond.

  He hadn’t noticed until now, not needing to move, but in this space, he was disembodied. Looking down, he saw nothing where his torso should be. He tried to feel along his body, to move his fingers or toes, but there was no response. Panic bubbled up as he turned his attention to the flight-suit-wearing Hoshi.

  “Where’s my body?” Cyrus asked, a layer of panic lacing his thoughts. But even as he thought the question, he realized he didn’t have an actual voice—that his words were emanating from nothing and that what he heard was all within his mind. Yet, his thoughts filled the area just as Hoshi’s did.

  Hoshi looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You do not need a physical body in this space. Once your neuro-registration is complete, your body will be that of the ship. Until then, it is only your consciousness that is manifesting.”

  “My consciousness?” Cyrus asked, the idea slowly sinking in. “And… My body will be the ship?”

  “Yes, in order to pilot the Cosmic Sentinel, you must fully integrate. This means that your consciousness will take over the systems of the ship, allowing you to function as both its internal regulator and its pilot,” Hoshi explained.

  “Your brain already runs the systems of your body, such as your cardiovascular system, metabolic processes, and so on. This ship requires the same regulation. Similarly, your brain allows you to walk, run, and reach when needed. It is the same in this ship—the systems require both a regulatory mechanism and a pilot to function.”

  Cyrus was quickly becoming overwhelmed. He had assumed that being the pilot would be something akin to playing a video game, using controls at his fingertips to maneuver the ship. The realization that he would essentially become the brain of the ship was more than he had anticipated.

  There was a long pause as Cyrus contemplated all that Hoshi had told him. His introspection came with many questions and few answers.

  ‘Will I still have a body? Will I ever be able to leave the ship again? What happens if the ship is damaged or destroyed—will I die here? Is the chair I’m in going to be the last place I ever sit? Will I never eat again? Never have sex?’ He cringed internally, ‘Am I going to die a virgin?’

  The questions swirled through his mind, sending him spiraling down a rabbit hole of anxiety, fear, and curiosity. The enormity of the situation, of merging with a spaceship, seemed to momentarily jolt his inner voices back to life. But they were different now, subdued, as if projected from a distance.

  The Hopeful Voice tried to reassure him. ‘This could become my new safe place, my new home. It’s not like I enjoy leaving anyway, so what’s the harm?’ It reasoned. Then the Despairing Voice interjected darkly, ‘But what about when you take damage—or the ship takes damage? I'll bet it's gonna hurt. How are you going to deal with that?’

  It was almost as the two voices unified as the next question entered the chaos of his mind, ‘Would it be that bad to just give myself over to this ship? I’ve often said I'd rather have a robotic body.’

  The questions and uncertainties began to spiral out of control, with more frantic and unusual thoughts taking hold and floating to the surface.

  ‘Would I live forever as the ship? Can spaceships have sex? Would Hoshi basically be my lover? I would have Goblins inside me? Do you think space tastes good? Would I be able to smell anything?’

  Finally, Hoshi’s voice broke through the cacophony of chaos within Cyrus’s mind. “You will be connected to the ship, but you will still be you, and can still leave and have a life. Your restrictions will be minimal. As for the rest of your strange array of thoughts… the SCANT is still working on those.”

  With an effort of will, Cyrus pulled back, reining in his rampant questions and stray thoughts. He regained a measure of focus before asking, “So, you’re saying that I don’t have to be connected all the time, that the ship can regulate itself without me?” he asked Hoshi, whose image had enlarged to demand Cyrus’s attention once more.

  “No, the ship cannot self-regulate, that is why it is in the degraded state it is in, but once the neuro-registration is complete, your brain will be accessible at all times via the SCANT. This means you can continue living normally. You will only be required to be here in this chair when needed to pilot the ship,” Hoshi explained.

  It took a few more moments for Cyrus’s mind to settle down, his emotions calming and anxiety releasing its grip on the higher functioning parts of his brain.

  “Oh, okay… So basically, this is like the hard interface, but the simple stuff can be done by the link already inside me, the one that we are talking through right now?” Cyrus asked, finally grasping the basics of how this neuro-registration worked.

  “Yes. The SCANT is capable of broadcasting over a large distance using what you would call subspace. It is not infinite, but you will actually have much more freedom than you had on Earth. Essentially, you have the entire galaxy to explore, even if you don’t wish to take the ship with you,” Hoshi concluded.

  There were still some of the more obscure questions that had come up during his minor panic attack that Hoshi hadn’t really addressed, but Cyrus decided that since Hoshi hadn’t brought those up, he’d be okay leaving those strange thoughts to himself.

  “Okay, I’m sorry I freaked out. Let’s continue,” Cyrus said, watching as Hoshi’s image once more shrunk and retreated to the corner of his vision and the gas-filled bubbles returned to the center of his vision.