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Stardust

Aren Laure Lizardo

    “A stowaway,” the robot started. “What are you doing here?”
    The boy sat there in the vent, looking up to the 6 foot tin figure. His hand was holding onto a sandwich, where a soda can resided nearby. He gulped once before he spoke, the crumbs floating from his lips.
    “I’m sorry,” he stuttered. “I saw the opportunity to finally see space. I couldn’t afford the ticket, but please don’t tell anyone about this! I will pay any penalty fines after this. Please let me stay just for a little while.”
    The robot floated where it was. It showed no signs of emotion, no body language of any kind. It was just there, watching the boy sitting in the vent. A little hum of a whir started in its chest, and then its arm came alive which reached out to the boy.
    “What’s your name, child?” it said, as the boy rose from where he sat.
    “Philip.” The boy patted down his clothes, and then looked at the robot as if he was comparing his own height to the robot’s. “What’s yours?”
    “I was named Sheba. Please follow me; we must talk.” As soon as it finished its sentence, more sounds of whirs came about, and Sheba became alive. It grabbed the wall and pushed itself into another corridor. Philip followed close behind as the distant sound of engines hummed throughout the steel haul.
    “I’m not being cast away, am I?” Philip asked nervously.
    “I am sorry, but any stowaways I find, I must send them off this ship.”
    “That’s inhumane!” Philip shouted angrily.
    “I am not a human. I am a robot. Hurry, I must return to the console to resume my navigation.”
    “Please, don’t do this. I just wanted to see the stars.”
    “I am sorry, but where I am going is not safe for human beings. Not even for robots.”
    “What are you talking about?” Philip asked.
     “I am going to crash this ship into the Sun.”
    “How come?”
    “It was what the deceased on this ship wanted as his death wish, to be sent into the sun for it is the tradition of the humans of this time. The Grave for the Luxury, it is called, to be with God.”
    “Where is he?”
    “He rests in the cargo bay with all his belongings and farewell gifts ready to be sacrificed. Come now, boy, getting within five kilometers of the Sun is harmful to the living, even with the shielding the ship provided.”
    Sheba continued its way through the corridor, where it stopped to turn to the left, nearing the airlock. The boy floated behind slowly with his head turned all around. His eyes scanned all over, sometimes catching a porthole with the stars moving across it. Sheba caught his act and caught up to Philip.
    “I know you are not here for star gazing, Philip.”
    “What? I’m just trying to find a better view of space, you see? These stupid portholes don’t let me see enough of it.”
    “When I am inevitably sending you off into space, you should know that you will see enough stars to make you wonder how many there are in a galaxy. Come, follow me.”
    And away the robot went to the right of the corridor where it ended up in the cargo bay. Philip came along in a hurried fashion. His gaze went around the room until it met the coffin fastened to the floor in the center of the room. Roses and tulips floated everywhere with wilted petals floating endlessly in space. Albums, books, and clothing were left on their own in the air. It was a total mess for a funeral.
    “You are here for your dad,” Sheba stated.
     “I came to say goodbye,” Philip confessed. He floated towards the coffin, only to stop at an arm’s length. “I couldn’t before, and then I was ready. But I thought I was too late, and here I am.” His hand glided across the surface of the coffin, the glossy finish stained with his dragged fingerprints. Philip floated there frozen in time, his hand barely touching the coffin now. His eyes began to water, but he gritted his teeth and with a shallow breath, he said his farewell and some words of his own before turning around towards the robot.
    “Danger,” said a monotone voice in the PA. “Shielding at thirty percent.”
    “Hurry, child, we are nearing the danger zone.” And the two went back to the airlock.
    Philip was fully clothed into an emergency space suit as the door to the airlock opened to a chamber. Red light filled the whole ship as the heat of the Sun was becoming present.
    “Please refrain from rapid movement and prolonged activity, as your extraction may vary from hours to days. Your suit’s built-in life support systems will last a week within a safety margin, but the liquid nutrients will only be enough for a couple of days. In exactly 5 minutes after your departure, the emergency beacon will activate and the nearest transport vessel will arrive to your location.” With a whir, the robot gestured to the airlock.
    “Can I ask you question? Why do you want to do this? I mean, you’re going to die if you stay here.”
    “Although I am an artificially intelligent robot, per the ratification of Asimov’s 3 laws of Robotics by the United Interstellar Worlds, I must obey human command, even if I wanted to differ, I must adhere to my programming. I am the robot for this job. Besides, there is only enough fuel for a one-way trip.”
    “Thank you. I kinda enjoyed your company, even though you’re sending me off to space, but it also means you’re saving me.”
    “Danger,” the PA continued. “Shielding at five percent.”
    “Yes, it is shame we have to part ways. Goodbye, Philip.”
    And with the door closed and a push of a button, the sound of airlock depressurization was silenced by the vacuum of space. The boy looked back, and saw the robot waving at him from a porthole.

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