20: Zariah
I wake to the softest sensation I’ve ever felt against my body.
Gravity doesn’t seem right. I push up in the plush pile of blankets, no memory of how I got here. The world spins. Up isn’t where it usually is. It’s all around me, beneath me, then somewhere overhead. I squeeze my eyes shut and brace my aching head, trying to tack down my senses.
A cabinet blinks beside me. “Zariah, may I suggest some pain meds and water?”
I crawl through the blanket pile to the cabinet. It opens at my touch. Inside, I find an array of standard medications and a supply of water. After I down the meds and half of a bottle, I feel a little better.
“You have been processing a lot of Elix’s serum and have had significant blood loss in recent days,” MONA remarks. “You are dehydrated.”
“Where is Elix?”
“He went to search the wreckage for parts.”
“How bad is it?” I push myself up, see my breath fog the air, and sink back into the blankets.
“He wishes you to stay in the cockpit as it is warmest in here.”
“I wouldn’t call it warm,” I say.
“This planet’s average temperature is fifty-two degrees below freezing by Fahrenheit standards. You won’t survive outside. You are not adapted. You must stay here.”
It makes me wonder how anything survived here, let alone a whole species. “The damage, MONA?”
“Tail section needs repair before flight capabilities are restored. Life Support is down.”
“What about a space suit? Those are rated for colder temps.”
“You are too weak for traveling the landscape alone.”
“Are you telling me no?” I ask in disbelief.
“My purpose it to protect the lives of my caretaker, his crew, and his patients.”
There has to be a way to outsmart this AI. As I sit and think, I look at the swirl of blankets around me and realize Elix has built me a nest. The little heater whirring beside me is comforting and touches my heart. But all of it means nothing if I don’t have him with me.
“MONA, your objective is for the preservation of life, yes?”
“Correct.”
“And what if Elix’s life is in danger outside? How do you help him when you are stuck here with the ship?”
“I would leave if I could, but I can’t.”
“But I can,” I say. “He is out there alone. No one is watching his back.”
“I am not permitted to break this rule.”
“Sometimes, we have to break rules to help those who need and deserve it because an exception has not yet been made for said rule,” I counter. My father was a pro at exceptions. It was how he lived his life.
“What if you are hurt, too? Then I have failed my prime objective by allowing both of you to be hurt or killed. Elix is familiar with this planet. You are not.”
“That’s a fair point. But I am familiar with being in unpredictable places. I take my ship into remote regions few have ever seen to pick up cargo and deliver it to places just as remote. I can handle the risk. The probability is what’s important.”
“I am certain he accounted for this. Elix knows a lot about you.”
I wonder how far he’s followed me and what all he knows. And that makes me think about my ship and hope it is still undisturbed.
