It was almost a complete moment later that the rest came to a pause. The light was back as he stepped off with a yawn then stretched his arms as he came out of the pod then rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Did we land alright?"

"Affirmative." Robot twirled toward the freezing tubes then toward Will. "We are okay."

Will approached the front half of the ship observing rock, dirt, and plants dislodged beneath the lower hull.

"Then why is the ship embedded in the ground?"

"The inside is intact." Robot clarified. "The outside . . . Has to be checked."

"So, uh, got a name?" Will asked.

"My designation is general utiltilies non-theorizing environmental control robot." Robot said. "Everyone calls me Robot."

"I like to be called Will." Will said.

Robot twirled toward the resting man in stasis.

"And. . ." He lifted a claw out gesturing toward the elderly man in a freezing tube. "This is my old buddy, Doctor Smith."

"That's Doctor Smith?" Will stared at him. "He doesn't look like him." he squinted at the elderly man. "The last time that we were here, he wasn't that old."

Robot had a mechanical laugh back at the younger boy beside him.

"That was in part of a alien time flux activator." Robot turned in the direction of Will. "How long has it been since the narrator was here?"

"What narrator?"

Robot twirled toward Smith then back toward Will.

"Forget about it."

"You had a alien calling themselves a narrator?"

"We had the keeper, the trader, the princess; it's a common title around here to not have a name, Will."

"That's weird."

"It is not weird at all."

"Geeze, I feel like I am from the third reboot that is a streaming version of this place. Way too innocent and simple."

"What about television reboot?" Robot's voice became hitched so the boy pouted, sadly, upon the machine.

"The first television reboot never got picked up." Will said. "Probably because the film made decades after it bombed at the box office and the fans hated it."

"Never got picked up!" Robot bobbed his helm up in alarm. "At least, they have each other on a barren planet and Doctor Smith."

"You know, some worlds don't have certain people in it, Robot." Will said.

Robot became silent then bobbed his helm down.

"I will determine if this planet has breathable air." Robot said.

Robot wheeled toward the airlock door then opened the first button. The machine moved out of the room then the door closed behind him as he performed a check regarding the atmosphere. Will waited then looked around the room taking in the views of the fancy technology. A few moments later as Will returned to the tube that concealed the elderly man; Robot returned to the bridge leaving the door behind him open.

"Breathable?" Will asked.

"Affirmative." Robot replied. "First matter to attend to." Robot clacked his claws together then a folded set of clothing appeared in between his claws. "Your uniform."

"What do you have inside that generates material?" Will took the clump of dark clothing from Robot's claws. "A mattering unit?"

"Affirmative." Robot said. "It was installed by Doctor Smith once shutting down Robbie the Robot."

"Robbie the Robot?" Will exclaimed. "You met the legend?"

"I believe we are discussing two individuals." Robot said, his helm twirling.

"I don't think we are." Will said as he shook his head with a smile. "Only one robot is called Robbie."

"A worthy adversary but a foe that showed his true colors." Robot's helm and antenna sensors twirled. "Get dressed in the lower decks and leave your clothing in a cabin for later storage." He extended a claw toward the doorway."I will survey the exterior of the damage and stand guard."

Will nodded then looked toward the area ahead of him.

"Where is the entrance to the lower decks?" Will asked.

"That door," Robot gestured toward the doorway. "Press the button and it will open. It does the same action by default from the other side of the door."

"Okay."

Will went out the doorway with the clump of clothing in hand and Robot exited the Jupiter 2.


Will changed out of the dark blue and dark orange uniform then got changed into the new uniform. With lthat done, Will went into the bathroom and stared at himself. His eyes boggled as he looked back at his uniform. He recognized the uniform in the instant that his eyes locked on himself staring in shock taken back.

It was the uniform his mother had out for him as part of a formal video where he greeted the future generations of humans heading for the Alpha Centauri system before they suited up, took their packed belongings, then went inside of the Jupiter 2. It was all the same uniform, parts and all featuring the burgundy v-neck, white dickie with a tab collar, and primary black uniform. And it spooked Will at first as he flashed back to when he first showed it off to his family.

"Mom, this is really comfortable."

Will came down the stairs to his family waiting for him donned in clothes similar in style to the young boy while John and Maureen beamed. John was the only member of the family that was dressed in colorful clothing compared to Maureen. It was a clash of purple and pink that blended in together very neatly.

"Exactly what the doctor ordered." Judy said.

"It looks pretty good on you, squirt." Penny said.

"Did people wear this in the old days?" Will asked.

"No, Will, they did not." Maureen replied with a smile.

"Are we going to wear these at the colony?" Will motioned his hands with a sweep toward the uniform.

"We are not." John said. "We are going to wear different clothing. Modern clothing."

"Are they pajamas, dad?" Penny asked.

"They are formal uniforms from what I heard." John shrugged. "Got your masks?"

"Packed double." Judy waved the package from side to side.

The family went out the large doorway wearing their masks but it was John who left the door opened with his gaze lingering on his small family then closed the door and followed them down the steps toward the electric car that waited for them. Will hopped into the seat between his sisters then clasped his hands in his lap.

The doors were slammed shut quickly then they drove off as the holographic screen lowered from the ceiling with the light gray edges standing out and the film title 'Spy Kids' popped up in black ink as Will stared back at himself in strange clothing, smiling.

His smile faded at the memory. They weren't there. But, he was.

"Will?"

Will looked toward the device.

"Hi, Will." The older man waved. "So, something tells me that you have already met Doctor Smith."

"Not in person, yet."

"Will, don't wake him up."

"What did he do?"

"He makes trouble and makes a lot more headaches. In his defense, he can't help himself and he wants to go home so badly." His counterpart emphasized. "

"Sounds like he is deeply invested in getting home."

"Yeah, DEEPLY. "

"Just like me."

The older Will winced.

"Will. . .No."

"Why not?"

"Because, Will, Doctor Smith is part of what family that I got left existing in the original reality and talking him back into a freezing tube—I can't do that again." Was the reply that silenced him. "If you do it then you have to put him back in there; alone." He pointed back at the boy. "Think about it, really hard, before you do that kind of life altering choice because I know for a fact that you didn't put much thought into pressing that button."

"I will." Was a promise that didn't feel like it could be kept, his older counterpart looked at him skeptically. "How are my siblings?"

The older man shrugged.

"I don't know."

The younger boy's brows furrowed.

"You don't know?"

"I am being held in a room with this woman who is looking at me funny."

"Does she have dark brown hair?"

"Yes."

"She impersonated Doctor Smith and left him to die."

It was a slow morph of horror.

"And he could very well be dead."

That became complete by complete utter rage. Will hadn't seen that from a adult nor had he been capable of thinking he would see it - let alone - from the face of someone who had the face of what was that world's version of Doctor Smith. A normally happy face full of fury wasn't the most pleasant to see and quite unnatural and felt alien in most ways to Will after having known his counterpart as a young friendly and kind unphased by space boy.

The screen turned to black then Will shook the device waiting for his counterpart to reappear, slapping the side of the device, looking at it, repeatedly slapping it trying to make it work. "Come on, work." His mind raced, what was he doing with June Harris? He generally hoped that it wasn't cruel enough to cancel out what his siblings had in store for her sneaking aboard the Jupiter as a stowaway. His efforts came to fruition with his counterpart back on screen radiant and happy as ever.

"Okay, back. Did I miss anything?"

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"I am you. I know you. You did something."

His counterpart sighed.

"Okay, I dressed her down really good and told her that she isn't going to be lucky after whoever captains the ship deals with her."

That relaxed Will.

"Is she still there?"

"Have you ever heard of having a nervous breakdown, Doctor Smith?" June's voice came from the other side of the screen.

His counterpart was visibly uncomfortable by the comment.

"Robot is . . . I. . . Dunno." the older man shrugged as he changed the topic. "He is probably waiting outside the door waiting for proper authorization to greet me."

"Of course."

"Just like my friend waiting outside our room!"

"How do you know–"

"This is a very altered world, Will." then he smiled. "Now we got that down pat." The older Will laughed for a moment then shifted his attention up toward his counterpart. "How is the ship?"

"We crash landed." Will replied, casually.

The older Will paled.

"Oh no, not that again." The older Will said.

His head fell into his hands.

"What is 'that' you are talking about?" The younger Will lifted a brow.

"You are going to have a rerun of year one on that planet!" Will lifted his head up toward the younger Will. "You are really going to face survival that isn't on a literal sea fairing planet or a planet that spends weeks at a living then dying on a cycle."

"Did she tell you that?"

"She's annoying and a talker and I do not like her."

"Me too."

"Compared to the Resolute and the Cycle of Life planet; Will, you are not going to have a good time in the original universe."

"How bad of a time are we talking here?"

"It's dark, it's bleak, it may be colorful but it is shady as hell. But, in the end of the day, there will be two opposing principles and issues. Yours and . . . what aliens want. It's black and white where you are. Not non-stop constant edgy problem solving situations. It's survival out there. And it happens normally once a week to every two weeks. It's a little lot more innocent, hopeful, and optimistic where you're from."

The young Will nodded.

"So it's television episodic?"

Will smiled fondly as he rubbed his chin looking back at the past, nostalgically.

"So, you are very stressed about living in space, is that the case?" Was June's comment.

His counterpart closed his eyes, taking a deep sharp breath, struggling not to respond to that.

"It is television episodic." Will shifted his attention toward the counterpart. "Notwhatever has replaced television in your era episodic." Will heard the sound of a door opening behind the older Will. "I have to go, Will."

It was almost a flick of a switch and the connection was over from his side through Time and Space.

"Will? How did you do that? Will? Will!" Will called. "Will!"

Will sighed shifted his attention toward the doorway.

Will slipped the console device alongside his forearm then walked on.


"Robot, what's that?"

It was late into the same first night that Will poked at the cylinder in the galley as he posed the question. The circular transparent device contained grains that he recognized from doing his fair share of planting in the first year being stranded in space planting with his family. It was late into the day right at his bed time when he asked the question. Robot came out of the doorway behind Will joining him by his side at the galley with his arms slunk into his chest.

"A food processing unit." Robot's helm bobbed up.

Will stood up to full height.

"What are those inside of them?" Will pointed back at the device.

"Seeds." Robot said.

"Seeds?" Will lifted a brow.

"Affirmative." Robot confirmed.

"Where do all the perishables go?" Will asked.

"In the food pantry." Robot said.

"Where is the food pantry?" Will asked.

Robot came over to the bins alongside the galley then slid them open and revealed the precious cargo full of apples, berries, meat, oranges, sugar, and what appeared to be lettuce.

"This is the food pantry." Robot said. "Unfortunately, we have to eat them sooner than later."

"Why is it that, Robot?" Will asked.

"We do not have any Carbon Tet left over." Robot replied.

"Why don't you install a refrigerator?" Will asked.

"A—what?" Robot's helm and antenna sensors rotated at once.

"Oh, uh. . ." Will said. "weren't fridges invented back then?"

"What is a fridge?" Robot asked.

"It keeps food at a certain temperature for a certain period of time so they last longer like Milk and juice." Will replied. "I have been taking fridges and preserved food for granted." And what he got in return was Robot's mechanical laughter.

"That would have been very handy." Robot replied. "The writers did not believe that a fridge would be needed for a colony ship."

"Nobody expects the unexpected to last." Will said.

With a large scooper, Robot scooped out a couple of apples, berries, and sliced oranges.

"I will prepare your dinner." Robot said. "Will, go to the last bin and slide out five meat balls."

Robot handed Will a scooper.

"Got it!" Will nodded.

Will ran over to where he was directed to then turned and spotted a small gray bowl waiting for him.

"Put it in there. Then, heat it up in the galley to four hundred degrees and let it cook for one and a half minute."

Will looked at the buttons, puzzled, as the machine cut up the berries and tossed them into the salad bowl.

"Which button works the microwave?" Will asked.

Robot whirred toward Will.

"That is not a microwave." Robot said.

Will frowned as his attention turned toward Robot.

"That is a microwave." Will said. "Robot, you don't know what a microwave is."

"That is not a microwave." Robot said.

"Then it is a oven." Will said.

"What is a microwave?" Robot whirred toward the bowl and resumed stirring.

Will had to pause thinking it over looking aside then snapped his fingers and grinned facing Robot.

"A portable oven." Will replied.

"A lot has changed since I was invented." Robot bobbed his helm down.

"A lot." Will's voice grew quiet. "I bet if whatever world made this idea and made a television show about it; the only ones around are mom, my sisters, and Don's counterpart."

Will stepped back watching as Robot prepared the plate and waited for him to react.

"I will get that." Robot twirled the knob then back toward Will as though he hadn't dropped that information. "You have never cooked before. Haven't you?"

"Most microwaves have buttons."

The galley door open then Robot slunk it forward. He chopped the chicken nuggets into slices then tipped it over into the salad. He set it on to the table then went into another part of the ship. Robot returned with a white and gray cup then tapped against it. There was a soft pop then Robot set it on to the table alongside the meal. It all felt quite calm in the ship that had just been full of terror.

"Then you will be familiar to these buttons by the time you get back to your family, Will." Robot said. "Now eat."

Will did as instructed then proceeded to eat dinner. After, he changed into the pajamas that Robot had generated for him and retired into the cabin that Robot had picked out for him. Will watched as the light from the residential deck flickered off then he walked toward the bed that was set down. The young boy closed the door behind him then returned to the bed and fell asleep once slipping in.