Elizabeth prepared some food and watched David across the room. He was studying. He turned to watch her for a moment. Their eyes met and he smiled then returned to his studies. Elizabeth sat and turned to face the opposite direction to eat with little enthusiasm. Food that was made to last for years certainly did not taste very good. She stared out at the passing stars.

They had traveled on for at least a month. She was troubled. She was scared. As an explorer, she'd left her fear of the unknown behind long ago, but still, it was a lot to ask of any human being to keep her sanity through all that she'd been through.

David had been a remarkably good companion so far, watching out for her health and well-being, even though he'd been the one who'd been the cause of her most serious injuries. He seemed to enjoy the fact that it was just the two of them alone together in this part of the universe, his robot Adam to her Eve. David was perfectly at home in this alien ship. He was remarkably happy. But, she did not trust him. Elizabeth knew that David was hiding something from her. Something that was worth being frightened about. How could she find out this secret? Did he have weapons hidden on the ship despite his claims to the contrary? She'd searched and found nothing but this ship was massive and incredibly complex. She'd have to keep looking.

Still, Dr. Shawl had hope that she would find humanity's "creators" soon and that they would be peaceful and reasonable beings. She had serious doubts after the discovery of the Engineers' biological weapons but was hopeful that the outpost they'd already discovered had been an aberration. She had to hope. What other choice did she have? She wanted to find The Engineers. She wanted to learn about their civilization and looked forward to the day when she and David would come across their planet.

Dr. Shaw took a deep breath and tried to eat the unpalatable food. She looked over her shoulder and saw that David was still bent over his books studying. She watched him for a few moments but quickly turned back to look out the window again. If she watched him for too long he would feel her stare. Too late.

"Did you need something Dr. Shaw?" David asked without turning around.

"No, David, nothing. I was just eating and thinking, that's all."

"What are you thinking about if I may ask?"

"Guess." Elizabeth responded.

"I thought you might be thinking about the Engineers perhaps."

"Perhaps." She answered. He had guessed correctly as usual.

"Elizabeth, let me know if you would like to take the time to learn their language, I'm a very good teacher. It would not take long for you to learn it."

"David, I'd be more interested in learning about this ship, there is still so much that I don't know about it." Elizabeth suggested.

"Perhaps." he answered. He then went back to his studies.

Elizabeth considered David, her inscrutable android companion. David 8, the robot with too many emotions. His father/creator Dr. Weyland was a monster of a man – egomaniacal beyond reason. David's only other relation was his "sister", the heartless Martha Vickers. The same Martha Vickers who took a flame thrower to Dr. Holloway. David had more Freudian complexes than any human being she'd ever known! It's no wonder with that family!

David was consumed with the idea of creation. David was intrigued to the point of monomania with his "birth". How could he, such a perfect creation, have been created by inferior humans? She recalled the sharp exchanges between Charlie and David. David was unreasonably stung by Charlie's jibes. He seemed to hate and despise most humans, except, for her.

Why did he "love her" as he'd told her on more than one occasion? She was learning more about him every day they spent alone together and this "love" that he expressed for her was obviously something warped and abnormal. David was not "human" enough to hope for love in return but he wanted something from her. What was it? To create life together in some way? She'd assumed that was what he wanted from her – he'd tried once already to "create" life, that's how he'd infected Dr. Holloway and subsequently, her. The result of that experiment was horrifying. Did David plan another experiment to create life with her and would it result in her destruction?

She feared that David wanted to destroy her in the most intimate and creative way that his intelligent mind could invent. Le Synthetique Fatale! Yet, she could not bring herself to disable him. Why? She needed him to operate the ship and he knew the language of The Engineers but, was there more to it than that? She did not have the energy to ponder her own psychological needs at the present time. She had to focus on her own survival.

"David?"

""Yes, Elizabeth?" David turned to look at her.

"Teach me how to fly this ship." She walked up to him and put her hand on the book he was reading. She noticed the title, Darwin's On the Origin of Species, and her heart took an extra beat. She smiled and brushed a lock David's blonde hair back from his blue eyes. He smiled back at her, blue eyes gleaming.

"When would you like to begin?"

"Now." Shaw replied rather curtly and immediately headed towards the flight deck.

David watched her go then reluctantly got up to follow.