Siff raises her hand, and the scientist nods her way, “Is the AI ever wrong?”
“Don’t think of it in terms of right and wrong. Think of it more along the lines of greatest possibility of success. The goal is for the human race to succeed, and this project is the greatest possibility of success by a very large margin.”
“Is it possible there are people born on the ship now that would have qualified to be a Chosen One if they had been born all that time ago?”
“Young lady, that is a very interesting question. The rarity of the specific genomes and psychological makeup, however, makes me think it is not possible. Remember we found just enough for three small communities from searching the millions that remained of us, and we are now only a few hundred-thousand. Our humanity has evolved to be fundamentally flawed and therefore destructive; the chances are beyond miniscule.”
“What would happen if someone snuck in and joined them?”
“We very rarely make contact with them, and when we do, we do so as gods. We have worked very hard to create their reality. If someone were to break that protocol it would be disastrous and create an irreconcilable flaw in the Chosen Ones. They would be contaminated and the mission would fail.”
“So there’s no hope for us to make ourselves good for the universe?” Siff couldn’t keep the words inside her head, but immediately regretted speaking her mind.
“We are always improving for the purposes of the mission. Everything we do is for the Chosen Ones, because they are our hope. Be careful with that line of thinking, it can lead you to dangerous places.”
Suddenly aware of everyone’s stares, Siff closes her mouth and looks down, trying to shrink away from sight. One part of her knows she really shouldn’t have said that, but another part knows she doesn’t believe what the scientist is saying. There has to be hope for her. Deep down she doesn’t feel evil, after all.
The group files back onto the grav-rail, Siff receives a few ‘accidental’ bumps from her classmates as the technician announces they will be arriving at the final stop shortly: the observation decks.
It is a few minutes of watching blurred lights outside the window; Siff listens in silence to her classmates’ increasing excitement about where they are heading next. The observation decks. They are going to get to see them. As the grav-rail slows and the doors open, their teacher has to give an assertive cough to keep the students from sprinting out of the carriage. Their guide smiles and steps off, the excitement is palpable and the students are led to an entranceway. A man is standing there, waiting for them. An awed hush comes over them as they realize who it is: Pluto, The Caretaker.
“Good day to you all, and welcome to the observation decks. This is the very heart of what we do here, and the only reason any of us exists. I could not exaggerate the importance or significance of what you are about to see. I want to thank you all for your diligence and your commitment to our mission; without you we would have no hope at all.
“We have prepared lunch for you as you must be famished, but first I am sure you are dying to see first-hand what we are all living for. So let me introduce you…to the Chosen Ones.”
Pluto gestures and the walls and floor fade away to reveal transparent panelling, and the wonder of the Chosen Ones’ environment. There are gasps and awe-filled stares at the beauty all around them, “The Needle sits inside a giant tube that rotates to give the Chosen Ones a twenty-four hour day cycle. Their gravity is created by eight grav-modules on the outside of their environment that rotate along its radius and length. The tube is 1,574 kilometers long, and 499 kilometers in interior circumference. This creates 785,426 kilometers of valleys, mountains, deserts, rivers, lakes, and forests for the Chosen Ones to explore. Through the far end Vesta’s star, Olympus Nova, is clearly visible with its surrounding constellations.
“From the Needle we observe, protect, and guide this wondrous scientific achievement.”
Siff joins the other students in wonder as she looks beneath her feet and over her head at the beauty and scope of this incredible world. Pluto continues, “Perhaps this view can help you understand why we choose to appear as gods to them. We created their world, oversee their every movement. We provide life and death; we create everything they ever experience. We control their weather and their water systems, we watch over them day and night. What are we, if not gods?
“Now if you will follow Ceres, she has your lunch provided in the dining hall. I wish you, my fellow gods, a wonderful day. I expect I will see one or two of you here in the Needle in the coming years.” Pluto leaves them still staring in wonder and strolls through an open door before disappearing around the corner. The class follows speechless as Ceres leads them to a large adjoining room.
The dining hall has tables set with places for all of them and a buffet to the side. Transparent panelling in this room also affords them breathtaking views. They eat staring at the scenery, barely registering the food. Siff tries her hardest to find some Chosen Ones in the distance, but cannot be sure of finding much. It is then a classmate spies a village and everyone jumps up to try and get a better look. Overhead and slightly to the right Siff sees small stone buildings on the side of a mountain; specks move among them that could only be people. Following lines across the landscape she is able to track down an adjoining village a few kilometers away, and soon an entire mini-society has been observed by the excited class. Smiling, their guide walks over to
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