Sole Survivor

While finding a living person among plenty of dead ones was a highlight of this expedition, there was a lot more to catch the curiosity of our duo.

Like the professor Aurussium had mentioned, the equipment was ancient. He had not bothered to specify how much. The monitoring device of the only functioning cryo-pod indicated it had been operational for over five centuries. It was much more difficult to evaluate how old the technology itself was.

Since the beginning of the space conquest era, cases of radical innovations had become sparse and distant from one another. One would have required knowing minute details and specificities to differentiate two similar products. With his initial impression, the Ichtyophon could believe the pods were at least five hundred years old.

Aside from the stasis pods, the cargo bay additionally included storage for various items. Here lied the bigger part of the issue. While he could assume their function and assign similar products, the designs were foreign to him. So much so he was, for the first time since his arrival on Poseidus 3 ten years ago, intrigued and hopeful he could uncover knowledge never recorded before.

On top of that, he uncovered military equipment. There were the traditional blasters and high-frequency portable forcefields, with a design he was unfamiliar with. And there were the more traditional ones: metallic armors, shields, crossbows, axes or swords. They appeared technologically sophisticated and likely had a gimmick to them, but the Ichtyophon was baffled anyone would still rely on such antiquated ideas.

For the present, the half-sized humanoid had preferred keeping his thoughts to himself. No good in startling the boy any more, he thought, as this is probably the first time he has dealt with so many deaths at the same time.

They disconnected the cryo-pod for the ship's energy network and loaded it in the hovercraft, with a sample of these exotic technologies. The student and his teacher had made sure there wasn't any risk to the health of the person sleeping inside. They came to understand those pods were equipped with safety batteries that could last for a few hours in the eventuality of a temporary shutdown of the main system. This would allow them to get back to the station without apprehension.

The return trip felt much longer to Haul. His awe and enthusiasm had made space more internalized dread. As his gaze was wandering between the mossy plains around them and the horizon, his brain was fusing with questions and worry.

Who was this person? Where did they come from? Why were they the lone survivor?

He tried imagining the distance the ship had crossed over five hundred years of aimless drift. Did it come from neighboring solar systems? Or the other side of the galaxy. For the second time of his life, he felt humbled in front of the vastness of the universe.

He tried to stop thinking, cursing his brain for being unable to do so. Cursing evolution for granting him a brain. Cursing the universe, for allowing life to exist.

"Come on Haul. Install the pod in the hangar. I'll go search for the injectable ambrosia we have left and I'll take care of helping our new guest of honor."

Haul obeyed. He always did with Aurussium, expressing an immense respect for the distinguished engineer.

Ambrosia was a volatile particle discovered soon after the start of space exploration. A self-replicating molecule, with a behavior similar to nanites. While a single unit of Ambrosia held limited computing power, they possessed the property to assemble in clouds, allowing them to form neural networks comparable to brains. In fact, Ambrosia was particularly compatible with any lifeform with a nervous system.

These nano-elements could be employed in almost any field. They could repair internal organs or supplement the natural immune system. They could be included in structures and objects to grant them an intelligence of some sort. They could assemble in super-computers.

That was the theory at least. In reality, not much was understood on how to exploit this resource. No one could definitively answer if Ambrosia was the result of a natural phenomenon. Or if it was the remnant of a long-lost intergalactic super-civilization, like some would have suggested.

An interesting quirk of the nanites was their density on a planet was inversely proportional to the presence of complex life forms. The leading hypothesis suggested Ambrosia acted against evolutionary processes, removing predation and limiting the impact the environment had on an ecosystem.

Its properties and value, as well as the fact no one had discovered how to mass produce it had given it an essential place in the intergalactic economy. The monetary of most – if not all – resources and services were indicated and paid with moles of Ambrosia.

One thing that was certain about its uses was the doping effect it exerted on any living creature. It was recommended to receive a small injection of Ambrosia after a long cryogenic sleep, to help the body to recover. In fact, the majority of modern stasis modules automated that step at the end of space travel.

"Say, professor. Do you think their ship utilized Ambrosia technologies? Maybe that'd explain the discrepancies."

Haul's question was not without interest. Not all civilizations had been equal in their search of acquiring and mastering this extraordinary technology. Through serendipity or continuous research, some had developed ways to exploit the nanites in unique results.

"No trace of Ambrosia was detected when I ran my initial diagnosis. We will need to return and reproduce the tests, but I don't believe it'll be that easy. Don't get your hopes up too high, is what I mean."

"Yeah, right…" Haul released a nervous chuckle. Once again, he was allowing his imagination to get the better of him. "I'll prepare the med bay while you're opening the pod."

Haul and Aurussium were living in a scientific station, posted in the middle of nowhere on Poseidus 3. Their job was to investigate shipwrecks and salvage any part that could be used again or recycled.

Poseidus 3 was not an interesting planet. Not a lot of mineral resources, an Ambrosia density too low to harvest any, and its most complex indigenous life forms were mosses, algae and bacteria. This being stated, what it lacked in nature, it had in history.

Poseidus 3 – rather its high atmosphere area – had been, in a distant past, the theater of one of the most large-scale battles in history. The tens of thousands of wrecked destroyers, battleships, cruisers and even dreadnoughts at least indicated this much. Remnants of a forgotten past – and an excellent opportunity to nick and reverse-engineer some technologies.

So scientific outposts like this one had been scattered on its surface. Because of their isolation, they needed to be self-sufficient, from food production, to waste disposal, to personal health. Hence, the need for an easily deployable med bay.

It was nothing fancy. A screen to monitor the vitals. The necessary probes and sensors. A small size robot surgeon, with an unmanned module for ease of use. A molecular synthesizer to produce needed drugs, like anesthetics or antibiotics. Anything that an urgent care would require, but lacking the specific tool to handle lesser threatening and rarer afflictions.

With a typical decompression sound, the door or the stasis pod was finally open. Mist from the cold air inside poured in the hangar, revealing a short and slender figure.

The passenger, the sole survivor was a female girl, physically about the same age as Haul. She had redwood hair, the right half being braided. More curious was the odal rune, inscribed with ochre pigments in the middle of her forehead.

Because she was not wearing any clothes, the duo hurried to pull her from the capsule. They placed her on the med bay table, set all the sensors before covering her with a heating blanket. Haul performed the catheter insertion, while Aurussium finished mixing the intravenous fluids with the Ambrosia. When everything was undertaken, the screen lit up, indicating all her vitals were normal and stable.

The adolescent student finally realized the awkwardness of the situation. He had observed the first nude female body of his life. Life on Poseidus was lonesome. It was now dawning on him that it had been over a year since he had talked in person to another human being, let alone a girl.

"Stop dazing around and go back to sleep." The Ichtyophon had noticed the peculiar behavior of his student. He had heard about the lascivious reputation of human individuals from his peers, but never gave them much thought.

"Shouldn't we keep an eye on her?"

"The med bay can take care of this better than we would. Remember, we're engineers, not physicians. Besides, it's probably best if we isolate her for a while."

Haul knew his teacher was right. They couldn't imagine what pathogens she could have carried, and they preferred not having to find out. In spite of that, the young man was too troubled about her state to sleep soundly. Noting that, the professor resigned.

"Fine, suit yourself. You will have none but yourself to blame if you fall ill."

Haul grabbed an adjacent chair and sat a meter away from the central table. He kept his gaze focused on the girl's sleeping face. The question he had begun to ruminate on earlier had resurfaced. He was feeling somewhat ashamed for all the excitement he was building. Ultimately, he merely wanted to grant her some help.