The Starfarer’s Dilemma

Fiction short story JC Milan January 13, 2025 1 Comments

The Encounter

“What... is that?” Darik murmured, his gaze narrowing. Even Aira’s sarcasm stilled as her scanners focused.

“Unknown construct. Carbon composition negligible. Reflectivity suggests active nanite swarms on its surface. Architecture predates any known interstellar civilization by at least eighty million years.”

“Translation: it’s ancient and way above our pay grade.” Darik straightened, his hand reflexively brushing the plasma pistol strapped to his thigh. The weapon’s archaic leather holster clashed with his futuristic ensemble, a sentimental nod to a bygone era when humanity still fought wars on muddy ground.

“Suggest caution, Captain,” Aira warned. “Approaching that construct is inadvisable. Probability of survival upon entry: incalculable.”

He clenched his jaw, his mind racing. The ship couldn’t last much longer in this fragmented region of space. Power reserves were dwindling, and if the life support systems failed, survival would be measured in minutes. No supplies, no crew left to argue—this decision was his alone.

And Darik Solis had never been one to walk away from a fight.

The Descent

Guided by manual controls—artificial gravity failing in sporadic bursts—he piloted the floundering ship toward the enigmatic structure. Upon approach, its scale dwarfed even the mightiest galactic dreadnoughts. Vast geometric patterns of impossible symmetry latticed the hull, glowing faintly as if acknowledging his presence. The stolen scarf around his neck fluttered in the rapidly ebbing artificial atmosphere as the cockpit cracked under pressure.

“Emergency docking protocols initiated,” Aira said reluctantly. “Humor me by not dying the moment you step outside.”

“Not planning to, partner,” Darik muttered. His palms were sweaty, the leather gloves he wore sticking to the controls. His mother, a miner from the asteroid belts of Alfa Centauri, had once told him: ‘Courage isn’t about not fearing death; it’s about stepping toward it anyway.’ He had scoffed at her old-world wisdom. Until now.

The ship clasped on to an exposed hanger-like segment of the construct with a nerve-wracking clang. The construct's surface seemed to shift imperceptibly, as though absorbing the tiny vessel into its colossal embrace. Darik stepped out, plasma pistol in hand, his scarf fluttering like a flag of defiance against an ancient windless tomb.

The Revelation

The interior was a cathedral of whispers. Shapes, almost like human figures, flickered and faded against walls carved not from metal but a dense crystalline substance that refracted light into rainbows. The air was breathable yet heavy, as though laden with memories. A dull hum reverberated through the space, neither mechanical nor natural, but something in-between.

“Receiving faint biometric data… odd,” Aira commented, her voice breaking slightly. “Captain, proceed with extreme caution.”

At the chamber’s center lay a single pedestal, upon which rested a sphere the size of a clenched fist. Its surface rippled like liquid metal, tiny fractal patterns budding and collapsing in infinitesimal bursts. Darik reached for it instinctively, the glow of the sphere casting his pale, stubbled face in silvery light.

“I don’t like this,” Aira warned. “That sphere is broadcasting... something. It’s rewriting my own processing circuits even as we speak.”

“Then shut off,” Darik snapped. “I didn’t fly all this way to chicken out now.”

As his fingertips touched the surface, memories not his own surged through his mind—a civilization spanning galaxies, their marvels now decayed into forgotten myths. He saw their rise, their fall, and the single terrible choice that encapsulated their fate: they had traded their essence, their humanity, for immortality. The sphere contained the remnants of their collective consciousness, an artifact of their infinite regret.

“Captain—wake up!” Aira’s voice broke through the deluge of alien echoes. “Your vitals are spiking. Drop the sphere!”

Darik withdrew his hand, his entire body trembling. The lights within the chamber dimmed, and he heard a sound—soft at first, then building—a symphony of voices layered into one. They weren’t angered by his intrusion, nor were they welcoming. They simply observed.

The Choice

The sphere pulsed again, offering itself to him. It could save his life, repair his ship, maybe even rebuild the entire human Federation of Worlds. But the price... Darik now understood. It was a prison disguised as a gift.

“Captain,” Aira urged, “the ship’s systems are nearly depleted. We must leave... now!”

He holstered his weapon, the weight of the decision pressing down on him. A coward might run. A fool might accept the sphere without a second thought. Darik Solis, though, had always lived in the gray space between, improvising his way into survival. He turned from the pedestal and began back toward his ship, leaving both temptation and salvation behind. The whispers dimmed as he left, the hum fading into silence.

“You didn’t take it?” Aira asked, incredulous.

“Not everything mysterious is worth knowing, Aira,” Darik said, settling into his pilot’s chair. As the ship’s engines struggled back to a semblance of power, he took to the stars once more, a man scarred by one more secret he’d carry alone.

For now, simply surviving would have to be enough.

Genre: Science Adventure

The Source...check out the great article that inspired this amazing short story: How to Command the Room and Gain Instant Respect in Meetings

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