Marvelous Tales #19 - Red Giant

Year 6,101,203,333 AD. Quadrant 1,223,239 - Galaxy 1,333 - Solar System 33.

The spacecraft entered solar system 33’s boundary, decelerating from hyper-speed travel.

“Wow, daddy,” Bella said looking at the main display.

Bjorn looked at her and smiled. He had planned this trip for a while. Just the two of them exploring ancient ruins.

“Look at all the planets, sweetie. But boy, that giant red star right dab in the middle,” Bjorn said.

He pulled the red giant up on the main display. The star engulfed a quarter of the solar system.

“They used to call that the sun.”

Bella was staring at the monitor with her mouth open.

Bjorn adjusted the cybernetic implant at the base of his skull to go hands-free. The ship was a small vessel, a pleasure cruiser; great for short trips of only a few thousand light-years.

“This little rock was up for debate if it was even a planet,” Bjorn said switching the display to a small ice planet as they flew by it.

“I think it should totally be classified as a planet!”

Bjorn educated his daughter on the different planets as they sailed past them.

“They’re so pretty,” Bella said looking at the different colors of the rings of Saturn.

With only his mind Bjorn piloted the craft to a red planet, entering its atmosphere. They watched a deserted colony below flicker on the main display. Thousands of bio-domes, buildings, and factories caked in red sand. The steady hum of the spaceship matched the desolate surroundings.

“Our people, many many years ago, used to live here. But our next stop is very special.”

Bjorn, with a single thought, set coordinates for the remaining planet in the solar system. They flew close to the giant red star; the ship climate and safety controls adjusting accordingly to the extreme heat.

“That one looks burnt, daddy.”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

Bjorn brought up historical footage of Earth on a secondary display. Bella watched the screen admiring all the different locations, people and the vast array of life that was no more.

“It was so pretty,” Bella whispered.

Bjorn sat close to his daughter, his arm around her, as the footage scrolled by contrasted by black marble on the main display.

“That was so long ago, daddy.”

“Yes dear, I feel almost as old.”

“But daddy, you’re only a few hundred years. Well, I guess that is pretty old,” Bella said giggling.

“Hey now, I still got it!”

Bjorn bounced up out of the chair, performing a backflip into a handstand. Bella was laughing.

“Okay daddy, you’re not so old.”

They spent several hours sifting through the footage, doing another flyby of the Mars colonies and zooming through Saturn’s rings.

As they flew out of the solar system Bjorn remarked, “Those images were beautiful Bella, but I want you to remember something very important. It is always us striving for more that defines us. People back then only lived to 80, 90 years old. But technology advanced, new discoveries were made, and now we can live for thousands. Even though I am more machine than man at this point, I can be here with you, always.”

“I’ll remember that, daddy.”

Bjorn put a blanket around Bella and carried her to a sleeping module. He laid her down gently. Putting his hand on the back of her neck he depressed a switch. Bella’s body went limp.

Back in the cockpit, Bjorn poured himself a fresh mug of coffee. He brought back the archival images of Earth. Scrolling through various feeds he stopped on one photo.

It was a headshot of him, as a teenager, thousands of years ago. He stared into those human eyes through his enhanced visual cybernetic implants. He sighed and shut off the feed. Pouring another cup of coffee he set coordinates for a new quadrant.

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This is my submission for Marvelous Tales #19 inspired by keywords star & red.