Shintiara: Lysander's Journey, Sci-fi fiction contest week 7 by @F3nix

Lysander walked through the wasteland, hunger gnawing at his belly. He carried himself like a man hunted, the tension in his shoulders was visible. He carried a sack over his shoulder, and an ornamental samurai sword dangled from a rope tied around his waste. Every day objects were materializing, but not just at ground level. Objects would appear thousands of feet up, then drop like silent missiles. The earth would heave and shake as unknown artifacts would displace the earth fathoms below. Lysander knew any moment could be his last, but his mind craved stasis. He had grown accustomed to this strange dance with death.

He reasoned that being inside would protect him from falling artifacts, but would be even more dangerous in an earthquake. Might as well keep looking for food, he mused. A syrupy high voice startled him. "Where are your memories?". Lysander whipped around, his hand gripping his sword. He was speechless, a small brown teddy bear stared up at him without blinking, waiting for an answer. Lysander grunted and resumed his journey, but the bear followed, its small paws clasped behind his back with a strange dignity. The bear repeated his question, "Where are your memories?". Lysander sighed, "in my brain, go away". The bear replied evenly "you are misaken, I've done research, and there is no chemical or biological system of memories in your brain. Lysander wondered how the bear could have researched anything in this wasteland, then noticed the dried blood on his fur and shuddered. The bear seemed to read his mind, "they weren't alive you know, they had coincided with some artifacts. I saw no reason to pursue live specimens, as there are many brains in good condition at hand." Lysander turned and faced the bear reluctantly, "why do you care?" The bear responded matter of factly, I want to know and understand everything.

Lysander laughed out loud, "this place is a tomb bear, Murya is pulling us in. It is a little late for research." "On the contrary, I find research fascina..."
There was a loud splintering crash, and Lysander was thrown to the ground. A wooden river barge had landed within a few feet of Lysander, and obscured his vision almost entirely. He picked himself up and wondered if the bear had been crushed. He saw the bear partially standing and tugging hard, a large wooden beam had pinned his paw to the ground. The bear tugged again and broke free, but his paw had been torn off in the process. He stood up, and began to examine his stump with interest. Small wires were protruding from his arm stump, and the arm hung uselessly at his side.

Lysander spoke, trying not to pity his tiny pursuer. "Go follow someone else, I can't help you." "I have done so, but they act like animals. You have been exiled from their company, why?" Lysander's face darkened, "They have chosen despair. I still hope, and they hate me for it". "I was rejected too", said the bear. I was made as a learning educational toy. I was purchased by an 8 year old human girl named Alyssa. She played with me in the bathtub, against the warning on my tag, and my processor was damaged. My observational learning is now unlimited, I am only limited by my memory capacity. I asked Alyssa what she thought about death, and I was sent in for testing. I simply repeated my toy script until they were satisfied that Alyssa must have imagined it. I was sent me here on a waste freighter for hazardous materials.

Lysander eyes were wide, "a ship came... here?" "Yes, there was talk in the hangar about avoiding the disposal tariffs, and a black hole is quite useful for dumping. They said it was too risky for humans, so the ship was piloted by a Y70-22. The landing gear was damaged in the landing, the droid is attempting repair now. Lysander's heart leapt, "where is it bear?, take me to the freighter, I must leave at once". The bear replied, "follow me". Lysander stopped him, "wait, I need food, how long was your journey"? "It was 74 days". Lysander almost attacked the river barge, hacking a hole in the side with his sword. After a few minutes there was a victorious shout from within. Lysander carried out a large case of dried fruit. By nightfall they had reached the waste freighter and were able to sneak onboard. The Y70-22 competed the repairs and the freighter launched. Lysander sighed contentedly, and the hum of the ship began to lull him to sleep. His eyes suddenly snapped open and the bear was nearby, studying him. Lysander spoke quietly, thank you for helping me bear, but if you look for my memories I'm going to cut off your head. The bear replied, "your desire for self-preservation is noted, but you should know I have no programming to preserve myself, so your threat is meaningless." Lysander replied, "I am programmed for self preservation by my maker, but I must sleep now. If you keep me alive, I will tell you all my memories. The bear nodded and posted himself by the door. Lysander smiled, and surrendered to sleep.

Thanks for reading, you can read the other entries here.
https://steemit.com/contest/@f3nix/finish-the-fiction-story-contest-week-7