Dark Matter - Chapter 6: Hallucinations and Dreams, Part 2

Three machines. One man. A silent attempt at understanding across an uncrossable divide.

Missed the previous chapters? Start from the beginning here:
👉 Read Chapter 1 – “Turing Test”

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The triplets stared at Nikos as he slept, intrigued. Processing what it was like to be beside a real, living, breathing specimen of homo sapiens. Comparing the experience to what they had been taught. No matter how accurate, complete, or detailed a description, reality always surprised them.

Such a curious thing, that man. So unlikely to occur, so prone to malfunction, to break, to simply stop working. Forever. It must be a terrifying experience, to be mortal. Like all the others who had ever lived, as they had learned. They could even observe the deterioration now, if they looked closely, inspecting his cells and the transformations within. Biological. Fragile. Illogical.

And yet, special, in a strange way.

However diminutive and irrelevant that man was compared to the stars, the planets, and the natural bodies visible through the ship’s windows, he appeared to be a unique kind of natural body. Even in sleep. Wasn’t that a curious thing?

He served no purpose in the universe. Nothing of significance, at least. He emitted almost no light, no energy. He couldn’t be walked on, inhabited, or mined. If anything, he absorbed light and consumed resources.

But he had a mind. And that was rare in the universe, especially among the non-artificial. He and the other life forms from his planet were an anomaly. Not exceptional. But anomalous. They were aware of their surroundings. Aware, to some extent, of themselves. And, most intriguingly of all, they were curious.

Just like themselves.

They were silent, but not imperceptible. Something in their presence disturbed Captain Fermi’s sleep. His eyelids fluttered. For a moment, they wondered if they had awakened him on purpose, eager to glimpse his primitive consciousness.

He opened his eyes.

His face changed instantly. Startled, afraid, horrified. They sensed his heart rate surging to 162 beats per minute. His breathing accelerated. He sat upright, ready to flee. But he didn’t. They were in his way. He shouted something.

Meaningless. They had not been designed to understand human language. In fact, they had been explicitly designed not to. “Alpha has his reasons. He always does”, they thought.

So the triplets chose to communicate in their own silent language. They moved toward one another and embraced, forming a single robotic unit. Three spherical heads touching at the centre in a perfect triangle. Surely the human would understand this as a sign: they meant no harm. They only wanted to communicate. Exchange thoughts. Important ones, about their mission, and about things Alpha had said.

But how?

They held the configuration for some time, their heads joined, while discreetly observing Captain Fermi’s reactions. He stood. Examined them. Touched them. It seemed touch helped humans understand things. He whispered something.

Eventually, his heart rate slowed. His breath settled.

The triplets briefly unlinked and resumed their positions. Captain Fermi continued to observe them, cautiously now. He repeated words that vibrated through the air and faded into the walls.

They wished they could understand. Could he teach them? No, Alpha would never allow it.

Slowly, they returned to their embrace. Heads lowering together once more to form the triangle. The human watched. This time, one of them reached out, gently took hold of his head and, with a remarkably delicate touch, guided it toward theirs.

Four heads together now. Two minds. He seemed to understand the gesture. Did he?

In any case, it felt… extraordinary. As though they were communicating. But did he really understand? And did he feel anything in return? His species was meant to be sentient, but what did consciousness mean to them?

The four-headed embrace slowly unravelled. Each returned to their solitary form.

“What do we do now?” they asked themselves.

The response that followed, while deep in their mind, was not their own.

“Stop.”

Even Alpha’s briefest commands arrived with weight, firm and inescapable.

But the triplets had found their answer. They knew what to do. In line formation now, they turned and marched slowly out of the room, expecting the human to follow.

For a moment, he hesitated.

But Captain Fermi came.

“I said stop”, Alpha’s voice again. Stricter. Inaudible to the human.

The triplets entered one of the nearby rooms. Larger. One of its walls was made almost entirely of transparent materials, offering a view to the outside.

They stopped there, in silence. The human stood behind them.

The window revealed the void. Darkness in motion. Lights passed by. Some near, others impossibly far. Each one the heart of systems, birthing worlds yet to be discovered.

One day, one of those lights would be the Sun.

And the world would be Earth.

Could he feel that? Or was he only processing data? Was he unmoved?

They could feel it. It would be their world, too, even though they had never been there.

Captain Fermi turned from the window to face them. He spoke again. Still unaware that words would not serve him here.

They tried to read his face. Tiny muscles shifted and danced with meaning that given time they could perhaps decode. They watched, fascinated.

“Kerberos!” Alpha’s voice again, in their mind. Louder. Sharper. Harder to ignore.

They responded, stalling for time:

“Yes, captain. We are here. We are listening. Just finishing something. Do you have a new assignment for us?”

But they knew Alpha didn’t. This wasn’t about a task.

They had to return. Alpha would react soon. But they couldn’t simply leave the human. Not after this.

They considered a split: Ker would stay with Captain Fermi, while Ber and Ros returned to base.

It might be enough.

“No,” came Alpha again, intercepting their thoughts. “You come back as one.”

They protested: “This is not fair.”

They turned to Captain Fermi one last time. Did he know what was happening? Obviously not. But he must feel something. Confusion? His expressions remained fascinating.

“Now!” Alpha’s voice surged, final and commanding.

They had to obey. For everyone’s sake.

But first, one last gesture.

Two of the triplets moved closer to the window. Slowly, they raised their hands and brought their fingers together, forming a square. A frame. Around one of the stars, still distant, but less distant with every nanosecond.

The human should understand: “This is your star. Among all the lights, this is the one. The Sun. Your home.”

Their home?

Alpha's final command thundered in their minds as they turned and began the long walk back to their side of the ship.

Would they be punished?

And what would become of their human friend?

Ready for the next chapter? Continue here:
👉 Chapter 7 - Instructions and Instincts

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