Chapter 3 - Doubt's Shadow

A letter arrived for Solomon and his family. They had been selected for a special place on a ship for a tour of the solar system. This was done by lottery across the entire United Earth Empire. Having diverse travelers was very important to the empire. Good for getting the word out to different communities. Good for fostering unity and all of that good stuff. He showed it to his wife, Moira. Her eldest son from a previous marriage was not on the invite.

“Perhaps there has been some mistake, maybe we could call and see if they will let him join?”

Solomon shrugged “Sure, but they could just give our places away for the hassle.”

“You’re probably right, it’s only for a month anyway.”

....

And before you knew it the date was there. Dr. Covern had struggled to prepare everything. Having to reveal to a select few rich and powerful higher ups the particulars of his mission. In exchange for their help, he granted them passage aboard the ships. Though proud, he felt uneasy and disturbed by the whole thing. An entire planet about to die. There one minute then gone, dead. But, there it was.

He had sole access to Corinne, to the information about Earth’s impending doom. His was a hard decision that had him jerking awake in cold sweat almost every night. He knew that he could have raised the alarm, but that would have done nothing, ultimately. People would break back into those groups that had fought so long and try to preserve only themselves and fuck anyone else. In their mad efforts to save themselves, they would destroy any chance at the continuance of their species. He had had Corinne run projections and even with optimal coordination, the amount of people that an effort from the people of earth could not only save, but also get to safety and resources and life was minimal. No more than what he knew he could do. And they had to get to a safe distance in time too, that event was going to be strong and far reaching. A mothers goodnight kiss reeking of cheap bourbon and vomit.

Luckily this project would be over soon. They had decided to launch the ships about a month before the event. Almost everything was in place except for the people. Some would undoubtedly not show so then it was a matter of filling those spaces. Because of this passengers were asked to show up 3 days beforehand. Get accustomed to the ship that would be their home for the next...his mouth twitched...they thought three months, he knew 50-100 years. Passengers would begin arriving next week and everything would be fine. He did have a few modifications to do to the computer system before he let those ships depart, though. Hard storage of Corinne would have to be overwritten with something less...ruthless. Less heartless. He knew that it was near impossible for AI to learn empathy but he had been trying. His new prototype, Salla, was hibernating on those ships and with the right combination of words and circumstances she would be released. She should have no problem shutting Corinne down.

Dr. Covern continued to sit on the park bench, watching the beautiful sun set over the small pond in his back yard. His life had afforded him some luxuries, comfort being one of them. He made as though to pick up his tablet and head inside but he found that his hand was too heavy. He felt very heavy all of the sudden. “Well shit...” was the last thing he thought before his consciousness separated from his physical body and drifted into oblivion.

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Chapter 1 link here!
Chapter 2 link here!