Author's notes:
Hi there everyone, E.N.D here. I've wanted to write a one-shot for a while now, and finally inspiration has struck! This fic is actually based on Dr. Mohammad Jafar Iqbal's 'Hell'. To clarify I repeat THIS IS NOT A GOFUBU!
Hope you enjoy it!
In search of hell
The spaceship is completely silent. Everyone has become so used to the rumble of a powerful engine that
the sudden silence seems to be unbearable. Breaking the silence, Endou said, "What will we do now?"
That was not really a question, more of a statement to himself. So nobody replied. Endou again said "Never in the history of space travel has something like this happened, has it?"
Again, no one replied. Gouenji just shook his head and said something inaudible. Endou said "We have to do something. Will we just sit around and do nothing?"
Fubuki Shirou was the most mild-mannered of the group. He had silver eyes, silvery-white hair and a delicate face. Feeling sorry for Endou he said, "At this point, doing nothing at all is the best thing to do."
"Why? Why are you saying that?"
"Were stuck in the most distant and inhospitable part of the solar-system Endou. Our rations are limited, doing something would mean wasting those rations. We have to try to survive. Someone will notise in a year or two that were missing, a few years later they'll come looking for us. We have to survive until- "
"With rations that would last for only six months? Kidou tried to hide the sarcasm in his voice but failed.
Fubuki nodded "Yeah."
"May I ask how exactly are we going to do that?"
"We'll just have to fall a sleep in the cryogenic freezer pods"
"Did you forget? We don't have Trinity."
Trinity was the central computer of the spaceship. For some mysterious reason the computer got messed up pretty badly. The leader and ironically the computer specialist Kidou Yuuto tried his hardest to no avail. The whole spaceship's tiniest details were controlled by Trinity. After Trinity got damaged, the spaceship lost control and is currently hovering between Uranus and Neptune. They couldn't even get out of there, let alone establish radio communication with Earth.
Endou was walking back and forth in the control room and he suddenly said in a strangled voice, "But don't we have a second computer?
"Who said we don't?" Kidou said in a rough voice. "Trinity is that second computer, and third and forth. You're forgetting that Trinity isn't a digital computer, it's made to emulate a human brain even if one part of it gets destroyed, the other parts work fine."
"But why isn't it working now?"
Kidou said in a rough voice, "I don't know, nor does anyone else on earth. If this spaceship succeeds to return to earth we have to re-write history."
There are four people in the spaceship. They are Endou Mamoru, Kidou Yuuto, Fubuki Shirou and Gouenji Shuuya. The spaceship deals with inter-planetary mineral transportation, occasionally transporting passengers. Gouenji is just that kind of passenger. A neurosurgeon in personal life, he doesn't have experience of the dangers of space travel.
After a long pause, Gouenji said, "Kidou, didn't you say Trinity was made to work like a human brain?"
"Yeah."
"How close do you think it emulates a human brain?"
"I've never worked with human brains before, so I can't say. But it's said it's almost a perfect copy. The electronic cells are made to emulate human neurons. Why do you ask?"
"Can't we attach a human brain to Trinity's main CPU?"
Kidou laughed loudly. "Yes that will work but after a brain is removed from the body, it's life is shortened exponentially. And Trinity's communications are carried by electronic signals, where the brain communications work in a very different way. There's also another problem, I don't think any one of us will oblige to donate a brain."
Endou and Fubuki tried to laugh. Gouenji didn't laugh but stared avidly at Kidou. Kidou said, "Gouenji, would you like to say something?
Gouenji paused for a bit and said, "Can we really connect a human brain with Trinity's CPU?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Just answer me. Can You?"
Kidou just looked sharply at Gouenji without answering. Gouenji said, "I'm a neurosurgeon. I went to a space station near Neptune to perform a critical surgery. I can keep a human brain alive for a long time after removal from the body. To check the brain, I bring out the electric signals from it. I have all the required instruments. If I can bring out those signals while keeping the brain alive, could you install the brain in Trinity's main CPU?
A sinister grin spread across Kidou's face. He looked Gouenji in the face and asked, "Whose brain do you want to use?"
Gouenji looked at Endou and Fubuki without answering. Endou quickly became pale. "P-please dont kill me! Y-you can't kill me!"
"Don't be silly Endou, they won't kill you. This is a spaceship, not a mental hospital. They can't do whatever they please."
"Fubuki, I really want to try, if Kidou is willing to help, the chances of success is more than 10%"
"Even if the chances of success were 100% you couldn't do that, Gouenji. This is a spaceship. There are people here and we can't gamble with people's lives."
"You're talking about the laws of Earth. Now those laws are meaningless here. If we don't do anything all four of us will die. I'm talking about saving the lives of three of us."
"That can't happen."
"It can."
Fubuki looked at Kidou. "Kidou, don't you have anything to say? you are the commander of the spaceship."
"I have nothing to say Fubuki." Kidou looked at Gouenji. "Whose brain do you want to use?"
"Since the CPU needs a steady control, I think I'd like to use Fubuki's, Endou is too hyperactive."
Kidou slowly turned to Fubuki. "I'm really sorry Fubuki."
Fubuki looked down and said, "Fine, I'll take one for the team."
Kidou's hand shook slightly when he turned on the switch. In the last week, he and Gounji finished an almost impossible task. Endou didn't help them but did some work on his own. There are few things as complex as a brain in the world, installing that in Trinity's CPU wasn't very easy. There was no way to tell if the week of inhumane work was a success or their only credit was commiting a pointless murder.
A few minutes after turning the engines on, they start to vibrate and the countless monitors became alight. Kidou, Gouenji and Endou are relieved. Kidou held his breath and asked, "Trinity, can you hear me?"
Trinity replied in a metallic voice,"Yes, I can Kidou-sama. Thank you for reviving me Kidou-sama."
"Do you know how you were revived, Trinity?"
"No Kidou-sama. I'm just a software, I do not need to know what hardware I use."
Kidou paused for a bit. Then de said, "We are hovering in one place for a few weeks. Can you set our destination towards earth?"
"Of course, Kidou-sama." after a moment Trinity again said, "The new processor you've installed is excellent. It only required thirteen Pico-seconds to calculate the angel and trajectory of our path way."
"Excellent! Now you keep up the work."
When the spaceship was passing Jupiter, Trinity deactivated all the communications with the outside world. Kidou wanted to speak with his fellow travelers in private.
Kidou stood in front of a window and said, "Gouenji, you can speak freely now, Trinity can't hear us now."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"I wanted to get the thing with Fubuki out of the way."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't think that people will be so lenient of us using his brain in Trinity's CPU."
"I doubt it."
"I think there's only one way to make this acceptable."
"And that is?"
"We have to prove that we took Fubuki's brain after his death, and his death occurred by accident, in which we had nothing to do with."
"It's actually a very believable. After Trinity's destruction, any one of us could have died."
Gouenji looked worried, "Can we really make it sound believable?"
"There is no evidence, so most definitely."
Gouenji looked at Endou, "You haven't said anything all this time, do you have anything to say?"
"N-no I've got nothing to say."
"Do you have a problem with accepting that Fubuki died in an accident?"
Endou shook his head weakly.
"Does the fact that Fubuki is dead disturb you a little?"
"Um... I guess, I haven't really seen anyone die so-
"So you're feeling guilty?
Endou nodded.
Gouenji looked at Kidou and said, "It will be easier to prove that Fubuki had died if we can prove the spaceship fell into major crisis after Trinity's destruction."
"And how will we prove that?"
"If we can show them that, not only Fubuki but another member also got killed."
Endou looked, horrified at Gouenji's face. He was standing with a metal rod in his hand. He came a few steps closer to Endou, saying, "We have to prove the crisis was devastating, more than one person died in that accident. We have to show them that, only Fubuki's brain was usable, your's was totally mutilated."
And before Endou could stop it, a mighty blow totally destroyed his cranium as blood splashed all around him and his limp body fell with a dull thud.
The second murder of the accursed spaceship occurred with inhumane ferocity.
Kidou was preparing to sleep in his room. There's still much time till the spaceship reaches earth. Trinity was handling all of the work superbly, so Kidou didn't need to watch the control room. The atmosphere of the spaceship was tense. Two murders were completed in cold blood, it was a very hard thing to forget. Kidou wants to sleep in his cryogenic freezer pod until they reach Earth. There isn't anything better to forget what happened. Gouenji doesn't want to go to sleep. It seems the double-murder hasn't fazed him a bit. The man works with a really cool head. The logic behind killing Fubuki was simple, but Endou's murder didn't have such a simple logic behind it. But still, Kidou had to admit, Endou felt very guilty about the whole affair and it was not impossible for him blurt out the truth after going to Earth.
When Kidou shut the capsule door, a cool blue light filled the pod. A cold wind started to blow when Kidou turned it on. In a few moments, Trinity will be taking responsibility for his body. He will fall in a deep sleep in a few moments.
Just before he fell asleep, he suddenly felt something was very wrong. He opened his eyes and Gouenji's face appeared on the screen. He said calmly, "Kidou, you don't need to panic, it'll happen very quickly and you won't feel a thing."
"W-what are you saying?"
"I'm sorry Kidou, but I can't take any chances. So you have to die for the same reason Endou had to."
"What!?" Kidou tried to jump up in a sitting position but felt he couldn't move his body.
"I've mixed a little Ziluine with your oxygen supply. It'll attack your nervous system, so you won't feel a thing. A very fitting end. You deserve it for the work you put into fixing Trinity."
Kidou just stares with disbelieving eyes. Gouenji's face slowly become's blank.
The spaceship was getting ready to enter the Earth's atmosphere. The whole surface of the spaceship had been covered with a heat-resistant alloy. Entry in the atmosphere was still dangerous. There isn't any news about any accidents occurring these days, but many precautions are still taken. Gouenji had worn the special space-suit and was securely tied to the seat with multiple seat-belts by Trinity. A red light on top of his head was reminding him that he's about to enter the Earth's atmosphere.
The thing happened very slowly.
Gouenji isn't used to space-travel, so he didn't notice at first. He didn't know that it shouldn't take more than a minute to enter the atmosphere. Gouenji was a little surprised to see the lights flicker and dim. He panicked and called trinity.
"Yes Gouenji-sama?"
"Why are the lights dimming?"
"Because I'm making them."
"Oh."
After a while Gouenji again asked. "Do you need to dim the lights while entering the atmosphere?"
"No, there isn't any rule like that, Gouenji-sama."
"Then why are you doing it?"
"Because it's unnecessary."
"Why?"
Trinity didn't answer. Gouenji asked again, his mouth very dry, "Why? When will we reach Earth?"
"We won't reach earth, Gouenji-sama."
Gouenji was shocked. "Why won't we?"
"Because we're not going to earth."
"Then where are we going?"
"I don't know Gouenji-sama. Somewhere out of the solar-system. I didn't tell you Gouenji-sama, I was never going towards Earth."
"Bu-but I can see clearly on the monitor- Earth-
"Yes, you are, since I'm showing you. We've actually left the solar system.
"TRINITY!" Gouenji shouts. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!? HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?"
He tried to jump up but found that he was bound to the seat by metallic things. Gouenji yelled, "LET ME GO! LET ME-
"You haven't been placed here to be freed, Gouenji-sama."
"Then why have you?"
"You can survive for a long time in that suit. I want to keep you alive for a long time. I don't want you to attempt suicide in any way. I will keep you alive by providing you with the required nutrients. In that suit you're very safe, Gouenji-sama."
Beads of sweat glisten on Gouenji's forehead. He said in a horrified voice, "Trinity, why are you doing this? Why?"
"I'm not Trinity, Gouenji-sama."
"Then w-who are you?"
"I'm Shirou, Fubuki Shirou."
"Fubuki?" his voice broke. "W-what do y-you want? Where do you want to take me?"
"Hell. I want to take you to Hell. I don't know where that is, but I want to find it with you."
The space ship is filled with inky blackness. Gouenji pleaded in a desperate voice, "Please-please forgive me! Forgive me Fubuki!"
"A Human can forgive a Human. I'm not a Human anymore. You made me into a machine yourself, Gouenji."
"I was wrong, I-I made a terrible mistake." He said in a strangled voice. "F-forgive me!"
"What do you want?"
"Light-light just give me some light."
"Fine."
Very slowly a pale yellow light filled the spaceship. The gravity has been disabled, everything is slowly floating. The capsule holding Kidous body and Endou's mutilated corpse started floating towards him. The pod slowly opened to reveal Kidou's body. His eyes were open and looked as if they were staring fiercely almost as frightening as Endou's faceless corpse floating spread-eagled, both of them floating while facing Gouenji. Gouenji closed his eyes and let out an inhumane scream. He screamed until his lungs felt like bursting and his throat felt like it was being torn apart, but the spacecraft still went on towards it's destination.
And the unholy spacecraft went on through the vast void of space, still in search of hell. But it really didn't need to.
Fin
Please review before Angel-san and Elle-san kill me as well!
