Evolutionary Prison

A soft sound of something rolling pervaded the hall, and Dustin paused to look at Olivia. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small robot pause as well. It had four legs that ended in balls instead of wheels, and a large head that sat on top of a small body that was really just a control box for the legs. Its glowing blue eyes shone out starkly against the black finish of its skin.

"It's kind of cute, do you think it wants to hurt us?" asked Olivia.

At her words, it started forward again, coming to rest at their feet.

"Friend or foe, state your reason for boarding this vessel." Its voice was very mechanical, with no personality to it.

"We're friend? And we're here, hoping to find some way of getting away from the Josagn," said Dustin, wondering what this little robot was.

It sat there silent, for a moment, before zooming past them and then stopping. Turning towards them, it said, "Follow me. The AI of this ship wishes to speak with you."

Olivia looked at Dustin and he shrugged. It seemed to be going in the same direction they were already heading, so they might as well.

After almost an hour of walking, they reached the powered section of the ship. The first thing they noticed, was that there were lights everywhere, and names were listed above the doors. There were monitors built into the walls just like they had thought. Continuing to follow the small robot, they noticed the security station.

"Let's check it out, really quick. We're right here anyways, and the AI can wait a few more minutes," said Olivia, heading to the door without waiting for him. She was very disappointed to find the room empty.

There were some monitors, probably part of some surveillance system, but it was turned off, so they were all blank. Other than that, it was empty.

"Figures," pouted Olivia, as they turned back to follow the robot again.

It led them to the main bridge, where it was obvious the ship took a lot of people to run normally. There had to be at least fifteen different stations positioned around a round cylinder. As they got closer to it, a tiny holographic figure appeared on the cylinder.

"Hello, your kind are not in my database, so I hope you will forgive me for not greeting you in a proper manner." The figure was at least very polite.

"My kind?" asked Dustin, then looking down, he chuckled as he remembered he wasn't human anymore.

"We used our PED's to evolve in order to survive the planet below," explained Olivia. "We were human."

"I am not familiar with PED, but if you were once human, forgive me for my ignorance. May I enquire as to why you are here?"

Olivia turned to him, and said, "How could the ship AI not know what a PED is?"

"Well," started Dustin, rubbing his head. "We were placed on the planet below by the Josagn. They have been trying to kill us, so, we were hoping to escape. However, the shuttle we have, cannot support space travel between more than just surface to ship travel."

"I am familiar with the Josagn. They are the ones responsible for much in the history of man. If you are seeking asylum from them, I am afraid there is little I can do to aid you. When the station was abandoned 207 years ago, nothing was left behind for the Josagn to claim. Even the vast majority of my databases were taken. I am left as merely a rudimentary program to ensure the continuation of this station for as long as possible."

Dustin was excited, and from the look on Olivia's face, she was too. It would be nice to get some real answers!

"Have the Josagn been here?" asked Olivia, before Dustin could ask his first question.

"Yes, they arrived two days after the last ship left. They only remained on the station for a total of three hours as they did a complete search for something. I do not believe they found what they were looking for."

"Could they have messed with you?" asked Dustin.

"No, I was under orders by the last captain of this vessel, to hide myself and to place the station in lockdown mode. The only thing they could access was a rudimentary program to control the life support, which they shut off. I was able to turn it back on once they left."

Dustin knew that the Josagn were more advanced than humans were, and that it was entirely possible that they erased the memory files of the AI for when they had messed with it.

"Do you have any periods in your memory files that are missing?" asked Dustin, moving forward to a console beside the cylinder with the projection.

"No, I do not."

As he started typing on the keypad, Olivia spoke up, "Could you tell us about the Josagn? I remember studying them, but I'm not sure if my memories were messed with."

"The Josagn first contacted the human race in the year 2536. The human race was just recovering from the fifth world war, and was enjoying a time of peace while space exploration was becoming popular. Much trade was initiated between the two races for almost fifty years before tensions suddenly became tense. The reason for the altercations seemed to stem from fighting with another alien race, the Ogifgar. While the reasons behind the war with the Ogifgar are classified, it is well known that the humans did not wish to break off relations with the Josagn. They initiated a bombardment on the home planet of the Ogifgar, decimating eighty percent of the entire population.

"The Josagn went in after the bombardment, and enslaved the remaining members of the alien race, citing reparations for tensions between the two races. The human government attempted to reconcile with them until the year 2601, when war broke out between the two races. It was at that time, that all personnel away from the home base were called home in order to aid in protection. I have received no new information on the Josagn since."

"Dustin, what do you think? Could it have really been two hundred years since we were brought here?"

"I believe the Josagn are capable of a lot, after seeing some of the things they can do now. But it does seem a little farfetched. I wonder what happened back home? Will we get back only to find everyone dead?"

"That would explain why they want to breed us, I suppose," she admitted.

They both stood there for a moment, lost in thought.

"What was the purpose of this station?" asked Olivia, finally.

"This station was placed here in an attempt to establish whether or not sentient life lived on the planet below. It was hoped that if none were found, it might be suitable for colonization. However, once we arrived, it was discovered that the atmosphere was not suitable after all. The station was reallocated for scientific use."

"Regardless of what may have happened back home, or how much time has passed, we still can't stay here," said Dustin.

"No, you cannot. The atmosphere here is not suitable for prolonged life of any living thing. My air filtration expired 72 days ago. Also I am receiving reports of incoming vessels approaching the station."

"Are they Josagn sh.i.p.s?" they both asked at the same time.

A hologram of several similar sh.i.p.s appeared where the figure had been. They had long tubular bodies with four wing-like fans spread out in the shape of an X near the nose of the sh.i.p.s. They were black with bright purple lights on the tips of each wing. Green lights ran down the center of each wing.

"What are those wing things?" asked Dustin.

"Those are solar wings. They catch any solar radiation and use it as fuel for the ship," said Olivia.

"I guess that means they belong to the Josagn?"

"Yep."