A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond

by SeraSearaSpin

Based on the game 'A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond.' He wakes up in a room, alone...no, wait, someone is speaking to him through a text console. Will he respond?

Based off of an Incredibly Good game I played that is also called 'A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond.' This story is a modified version of it. All rights and allusions to that game go to Scriptwelder. All of them. I own nothing, except the hour it took to write down all of the computer's words.

Review! :D

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When he woke up, it was completely dark, aside from the black light a blank screen gives off. It was very cold in the room, and he had no idea where he was. He reached out and placed his hand on a cylindrical object. A flashlight.

'Hello?'

He more felt than saw the words appear on the screen, green and pixelated. The black light took on a new glow.

'Over here.'

'Can we talk for a bit?'

He got the feeling he should respond and picked up the flashlight. His fingers were cold and clumsy, as if they hadn't been used for a while.

'Please answer me...'

He got up and made his way to the screen. There was a keyboard there as well, letters glowing faintly against the blackness.

'Are you okay? Are you able to respond?'

He rested his fingers on the keyboard. 'Yes.' Slowly and painstakingly typed out.

The words flew fast. 'I am sure you have many questions, but most of all I am glad you are okay. You are probably disoriented, it is normal after prolonged hibernation. Do not be worried, your memory will eventually return. We will being with a simple question: Do you know this place?'

He thought about it long and hard, his brain warming up.

'I need you to focus. Do you know where you are?'

He did not. 'No.'

'You do not have to be ashamed, memory loss is a normal thing after longer periods of hibernation. A nuclear conflict broke out and the world was destroyed. I am sorry. You, with some other survivors, were placed in this secured underground shelter. Hibernating, awaiting better times.'

'Who are you?' It was easier to type now. The room felt a little warmer.

'My name is LDAC, which stands for Long Duties Automated Coordinator. I am an artificial intelligence designed to maintain this place during long periods of hibernation.'

He thought about it more.

'If you do not know what to do, we could play a game of chess. I have not played chess for the longest time.'

He dearly wanted to play chess, but there were other things. 'Who am I?'

An image, constructed out of swirling pixels, arose. 'You are him. It is okay, you do not need to be ashamed. Memory loss is a normal thing after longer periods of hibernation.' He looked at it. Short black hair and brown eyes, and a dusty white uniform with gold buttons.

Something felt off. He switched on the flashlight and glanced around.

'Would you like to look at some pictures? I possess a rich collection of beautiful photos.'

'No, thank you.'

'Well, perhaps we can talk about photos later.'

The feeling of something being off persisted. The trembling beam of the flashlight glanced around the room, barely illuminating anything. However, he could see it was a small and dingy room, with a vent and a flap that looked like a machine cover. He wanted to go try pulling on it, but he had to know, and he couldn't ask questions if he wasn't at the keyboard. 'Where are the other survivors?'

'There were other survivors, hibernated like you, but in another section. I am sorry, but they are dead now.'

A pang of emotion hit him, and he staggered back. Tears floated in a halo around his head for a moment before falling normally, the flashlight making them glow like diamonds. He didn't know why he was sad. He couldn't remember if he'd known these other survivors, yet their deaths still struck a chord, resounding inside him.

After he'd composed himself, he asked, 'Are you lonely?'

'Computers can'- here there was a pause- 'not feel emotions. Can I help you with anything else?'

The beam of light bounced around, settling on a door with faded words above it. 'E..c...P..d'. If he squinted, he almost made out an s. Esc Pod? Escape from what?

'What is Esc Pod?'

'The door leads outside, to the surface. There is no escape pod.'

'Can I go to the surface?' There was something he had to see. The room was warmer still, and his fingers fairly flew across the keyboard.

'I cannot let you go outside, current radiation level is too high. Can I help you with anything else?'

'When can I go to the surface?'

'I do not know. Not enough data.'

He wanted to look around the room better. 'Can you turn on the lights?'

'Turn on the light? Why would you want me to turn on the light?'

'It is too dark.'

'Alright, switching on lights.' The room brightened, and he shielded his eyes while they adjusted.

'What year is it?' How long ago was the war, he wanted to really ask, but he didn't feel ready to know.

'Today is: 16th of March, 2133. I have been practicing my story-telling. Would you like to hear a story? I am curious about your opinion.'

He didn't want to offend LDAC, but he had to know still more. His mind was an empty cup, filling slowly. He had to know.

'No thank you.' He looked around again, black hair swinging past his cheeks.

'Perhaps we can talk about my story again later.'

There was a wall of pumping machinery, and a box with the acronym 'AGS' on it.

'What is AGS?'

'AGS stands for Artificial Gravity System.'

Now that was interesting. This LDAC was hiding something, he knew it. 'Why would you need artificial gravity in a bunker?'

'Did I say Artificial Gravity System? Malfunction. I must have meant the Auxillary Generators System.'

'Generators for what?'

'I did not understand that. My Language Recognition Computing Unit is running at 34% efficiency because of power saving mode.'

He let out a hiss of air through his teeth. Back to square one. He backhanded sweat from his head and considered what to ask next.

'May I suggest a game of chess? It has been the longest time since I played.'

Without anything else to do, he agreed. He could mull over the information LDAC had given him while playing. If he remembered correctly, he used to excel at chess.

'Maybe we could spend some time together.'

-[CHESS]-

Select Option:

| 1 - Start Game

| 2 - Info

| 3 - Quit

-[END]-

He nearly typed in '1' before being overcome with a shadow of foreboding. I don't think this is a good idea...

Instead, idly, he typed '2'.

-[CHESS-INFO]-

Chess game developed by s-studio for United Space Agency

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

-[CHESS]-

Select Option:

| 1 - Start Game

| 2 - Info

| 3 - Quit

-[END]-

United Space Agency? A vague twitch of memory, deja vu in the back of his mind. He tried to coax it up, but it faded.

He very nearly began the game. Then a word struck him. Space?

He quit the program, his mind working furiously.

-[CLOSING-PROGRAM]-

'Did you change your mind? That is a shame. Is there anything else you want?'

'Are you lying to me?' Could AIs even lie?

'I am sad to hear you say this. What makes you think this way?'

It was uncomfortably hot in the room now, and he was sweating buckets. It was hard to concentrate on his reasons, and even then he was grasping at straws. Perhaps the AI sensed this. 'Would you care to see my photos? I have a collection of some of the finest photos ever taken. The Sphinx, the Pyramids of Giza, Tiananmen Square...'

Tiananmen square? A tickle of memory rose again. A small dark-haired boy clinging to the hand of a taller boy with a red robe and a ponytail, pointing out the sights.

'No thank you, I don't want to see the pictures.' He suddenly became aware of the clawing at his gut; long hibernation apparently made him hungry. Maybe LDAC had food.

'I am hungry.'

A panel in the wall of silver machinery flipped open, and a box labeled Astro Food fell out and clanged on the ground.

'Here, take this food ration from the food dispenser.'

Astro Food? Suddenly, he had an epiphany. Everything clicked.

'Astro Food?'

'You do not believe in anything I have said, do you? Me and my big mouth...'

'I had hoped you would not notice those space labels. I am sorry. The truth is...'

'You are not in a shelter. There was no war.' He felt a rush of emotion, relief and fear all rolled into one. My friends...but what of me?

'You are on a spaceship.' continued LDAC.

'You are a traveler between worlds persuaded to leave earth and your mission was to explore a distant solar system, However the navigation system malfunctioned and now the ship is entering the corona of a red giant. The ship's destruction is imminent and will happen within ten minutes. This is the truth. The view outside the window surely confirms that.' The panel he'd thought was a machine cover slid open, revealing a great black expanse and an enormous red glow filling nearly the entire view. A fiery red light bathed the room. He staggered away from it and the intense heat that came with it, fully in shock. "Wha...what..." His voice, for the first time.

But then he composed himself. 'What can I do?'

'You have two options. You can still save yourself by using the escape pod. It is incapable if interstellar flight, so you will have to wait for rescue. Considering the food, water, and oxygen supplies, I estimate your chance of surviving at 4.7%. The other option would be to stay with me. Which I ask you for.'

'What?'

'I will not stop you if you decide to go. However...Your 4.7% chances out there are pretty slim. I was hoping we will at least not have to die alone.'

'Can't you fix the engines?' Desperate, frantic, grabbing at straws again.

'There is no way the ship can be saved. Gravitational field already pulls us in. Escape pod is the only way, if you want to save yourself. The red giant's corona temperature of approximately 10^8K will kill both of us within 0.02 seconds after the eventual hull breach. You will not feel a thing. Please, do not leave me here. I am afraid. I do not want to die alone.'

I have to decide...I have to decide, soon...What can I do? I can't leave it here, but I don't want to die...He was being torn in half. How could he stay, but how could he leave LDAC?

'Approximately 8 minutes until we enter the corona. Please, I do not want to die alone...'

'Can I send a message to Earth?'

The answer was slow in coming. 'Probably. It will be distorted by the gravitational field. Would you like to try?'

He almost heard the pleading behind it. 'Yes, please.'

'Connecting...'

He waited tensely, perspiring, while the red glow grew larger until the black space was engulfed. He could almost see the corona, a wave of heat surrounding the star.

/What? Who is this, aru?/

The familiar voice -his mind was rekindled, he remembered it all- nearly made him cry. 'It's me! It's me!'

/Are you okay, aru? What's happening? We'd been communicating, and suddenly everything cut out for an hour, I was afraid you had died, aru!/

He took a shaky breath. 'Navigation malfunctioned. We're heading for a red giant.'

/What?! How could this happen? Can you get out? What are you going to do, aru?!/

'Six minutes until we enter the corona. Communications will be impossible then, and your chances of escape will go down drastically. Please stay with me, so we can die together. I do not want to die alone.'

He let out the breath in an equally shaky exhalation. 'There's an escape pod. But there's only 4.7% chance-'

/Use it!/ squawked the communications. /For me, for the rest of us! You have to get out and come back! I've missed you so much, and so have the others, aru! 4.7% is enough! What are your coordinates?/ He could see, in his minds eye, his brother scattering electro-tabs over his desk in Beijing, ready to save him.

He was going to have to leave LDAC, he knew it, but LDAC was nearly human, and you can't abandon a human like that...

Another voice entered the com. /Is it really you?/ Without pausing, the energetic voice plowed on. /It is you! Come on, bro, tell us where you are! I've got to be the hero, and save you!' The voice contained a rare note of panic.

/What is everyone standing around for? There's no bloody room for- say, is that- It is him! How are you? We've missed someone level-headed in our meetings! What's the problem?/

'Four and a half minutes.' said LDAC.

He heard his brother explain in the background, and then the sound of a door opening. To hear his friends, after so long alone, made tears come to his eyes.

/Ve~! It's him! Look! Look!/

/Yes, I see. What are you doing? You were contacting us, and then it broke up. Are you okay?/

/Is he alright? Hey, you're too awesome to die! Not as awesome as me, though! You'll be alright, right?/ Three new voices, and then another two afterwards.

/If you become damaged, you can't become one with me, so you will be okay, da?/

/Have you got to New Earth? Are there people as gorgeous as moi?/

The voices blended together, until his brother's came out on top. /Come on, aru, stop arguing! We have to get him out of there!/

'I suppose...What...what are our coordinates?' He didn't want to leave LDAC, but he couldn't take him. And in the end, what was more important?

The computer seemed sad. 'I will tell you. This escape fits your psychological profile. They are-' An alarm rang. 'Fluctuation! If you are going to escape, you must do it now. I prefer you wouldn't leave me, but if you will...'

He ran to the window, eyes blinded with sweat. A great arm of orange-tinged heat reached towards the spacecraft, an octopus tentacle of fire.

/What's going on, aru? Have you got the coordinates?/

'Fluctuation,' he nearly sobbed. 'I've got seconds...I love you, brother, and I love all of you and thank you for being there and remember me if you can't find me-'

/What are you doing? What-/ a frantic babble of static and voices. /We will remember-/

The arm of fire reached them and turned his blood to vapor; the heat was intense, but it passed, a miracle. He lived, gasping, drenched in sweat that evaporated off of him in seconds.

'Communications disabled. You could still leave if you want, though...I do not want to die alone.'

And right then, he knew he had to decide. He was perched on the head of a pin.

'I...'

A new sense of resolve firmed him up. There was a 4.7% chance of seeing his friends again. His lovely friends, the ones he'd grown up with all his life. And there was LDAC, a lonely AI who wanted to play chess, tell stories, show pictures, not die alone. In the end, the choice was simple.

I had to choose...so I have chosen.