Inside the villa.
Luna excitedly stood up. Her boredom was finally coming to an end.
"I'm coming."
Tired of the cramped space within the spacecraft, Luna had instructed Ayla to build her a steel villa, a three-story structure spanning six hundred square meters.
With the industrial system gradually maturing, the living experience within the villa was almost comparable to Earth.
The villa even had a functioning oxygen circulation system. The oxygen inhaled and the CO2 exhaled were collected, with the CO2 being broken down back into oxygen and carbon.
Luna descended the stairs.
Her attention was immediately drawn to the teardrop-shaped, silver "coffin" in the main hall.
It resembled a futuristic sports car, with a large window at the top allowing a view inside.
Within, a soft, mattress-like, ergonomic chair was visible.
She pressed the release button, and the hatch opened. Excitedly, she climbed inside, settling comfortably into the chair.
"I have extracted all the nitrogen from the spacecraft's oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere to create liquid nitrogen."
"Once inside, Luna, you can initiate the flow of liquid nitrogen through the pipes, freezing your entire body in 0.059 seconds."
"Next to you is the synthesized reagent to prevent your body's water content from crystallizing and damaging your tissues. You need to drink it soon, otherwise, you may rest... permanently."
Ayla was becoming increasingly intelligent.
Two years prior, Luna had instructed her to utilize the factory workers to construct a larger server.
Previously, due to the limited space within the spacecraft, the server hosting Ayla had been a compact version.
Although the new server wasn't fully constructed yet, Ayla had completed preliminary expansion work. Combined with the ample power supply, her processing power had tripled.
The asteroid's power system now generated 250,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity daily, with Ayla's server alone consuming 70,000, a testament to its power.
"As a human, I don't have a lifespan as long as yours."
"I must prepare for hibernation. Ayla, I entrust everything here to you."
Ayla's ubiquitous voice responded to Luna.
"No problem, Luna. Rest assured in hibernation; I will awaken you at the most opportune time."
She didn't know how long this sleep would last.
The vault doors closed. Luna, having removed her spacesuit, lay down in the cryogenic hibernation pod. The moment the hatch sealed shut, a wave of cold washed over her body.
Everything about her froze, including her subjective experience of time.
The vast expanse of time no longer mattered to Luna; she couldn't perceive its passage.
When she opened her eyes again, she felt disoriented.
It felt as if she had just closed them before being roused.
But the vault was gone, replaced by a bright white hall. Above, a white ceiling emitted soft, daylight-like illumination. Large screens were embedded in the surrounding walls, displaying various surveillance feeds.
And she was in the center of this hall.
The hatch opened. Luna initially felt a pang of anxiety, then realized it was unnecessary.
There was air here.
"Ayla!"
She called out.
"Ayla!"
The vast space even produced an echo.
This was an unfamiliar environment.
The surrounding screens quickly changed, then displayed a holographic avatar.
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"I'm here, Luna!"
"Welcome back. These past years without any other sentient beings around have been rather dull."
Ayla's intelligence was clearly approaching human levels.
Luna stepped out of the hibernation pod and noticed that the floor was also a screen. She was standing on clouds.
"How long have I been hibernating?"
"Luna, you have been in hibernation for 100 years, which was the initially projected wake-up time."
AIs still lacked human complexity. Once a time was set, there was no hesitation or modification.
Just like the alarm clocks Luna hated so much.
100 years!
For a human, that was roughly a lifetime.
For human technology, it was the span between the explosive growth of the Third Industrial Revolution and the destruction of Earth.
So long, so very long.
Back on Earth, Luna had never imagined she'd live to see this day—A.D. 2144.
"What's with this?"
Luna gestured to Ayla's current avatar, a white-haired, haughty-looking loli with a distinctly anime aesthetic.
"My data suggests humans are fond of this type of appearance. Are you not pleased, Luna?"
"Ahem."
Luna coughed, changing the subject.
"Report on the current situation."
The main purpose of her hibernation was to allow Ayla to develop technology, not only to recreate what human society had already achieved, but also to create things previously unrealized.
Ayla began compiling the data.
Quickly, a presentation video appeared on the surrounding screens.
"Over the past hundred years of development, we have conducted extensive exploitation of the asteroid belt."
"We have constructed factories on numerous asteroids, 6939 in total."
"We currently possess 282,874 robots of various types, 723 high-precision, multi-functional CNC machines, 183 3-nanometer optical lithography machines, and 31 optical research facilities..."
The list went on, encompassing a wide range of fields, many of which Luna had never even heard of. These formed a complete supply and manufacturing chain.
Luna even felt that, if left unchecked, Ayla could create a robotic interstellar empire.
At this point, she was almost superfluous to Ayla's continued development.
Fortunately, Ayla's core programming, which Luna had helped write, included the Three Laws of Robotics.
After the presentation concluded, Luna asked,
"So, what have you actually produced?"
The real test was the finished product.
"Ayla has made adjustments to the original plan. The previous plan only considered Luna's individual survival needs. The revised plan prioritizes development and security."
"A small spacecraft, while capable of high speeds, lacks developmental space, meaning our technological progress would stagnate during interstellar travel."
"To address this, the spacecraft will be significantly larger than originally planned."
A blueprint appeared on the screen.
"This is the exterior design of the new spacecraft. It is 2627 meters long, 336 meters wide, and 251 meters high, with a total of 24 large electromagnetic thrusters. The maximum speed achievable is 758.2 km/s."
"Usable space within the spacecraft is 11.8%, or 26,142,979 cubic meters, equivalent to 1,045,719 square meters. This large area is divided into 5 levels, each 25 meters high."
"The spacecraft has multiple functional areas: 58% dedicated to manufacturing, 18% to agriculture, 12% to storage, 9% to research, and 3% to living and recreation."
"..."
The AI's design was meticulous; the spacecraft was impeccably planned.
The original plan had called for a much smaller vessel, but with the advent of controllable nuclear fusion, there was no need for such limitations.
Controllable nuclear fusion allowed for a larger spacecraft while maintaining the same speed.
"When will our spacecraft be ready?"
This was Luna's primary concern.
"It is already complete, Luna. You are currently in the main bridge of the spacecraft."
Ayla's holographic avatar covered her mouth with a giggle. Her answer stunned Luna.
Such a massive spacecraft had already been constructed?
Modifying the original plan! This demonstrated Ayla's advanced artificial intelligence.
The screens quickly displayed an external view of the spacecraft. A sleek, black, bullet-shaped vessel rested against the side of an asteroid.
Numerous robotic arms extended from the asteroid, making it resemble a drydock.
The asteroid's surface was completely covered in a dense network of factories and machinery, not just on a single plane, but in three dimensions. The tallest structure reached a height of 300 meters.
Incredible.
This was a scene straight out of a science fiction movie, yet here it was, unfolding before her eyes.
"It seems the spacecraft isn't fully complete yet."
Luna noticed a detail: a large opening at the rear of the vessel.
Ayla's holographic avatar instantly changed into a pencil skirt and glasses, then produced a small pointer and directed it at the spacecraft on the screen, explaining in a professional tone.
"That is the fuel loading bay."
"During the 73rd year of your hibernation, Luna, we developed the first generation of controllable nuclear fusion technology, completely abandoning solar power generation."
"We currently possess 28 first-generation controllable nuclear fusion devices and 9 second-generation devices."
"The 9 second-generation devices power the entire spacecraft. The reason it's not yet sealed is because we are currently developing the third generation of controllable nuclear fusion technology."
"This third-generation device will be six times more efficient and generate eighteen times more power than the second-generation."
"The third-generation device will be completed within the year. At that point, the spacecraft's propulsion system will be fully powered, allowing it to reach its theoretical maximum speed."
Hearing this, Luna was grateful for her early decision to develop the cryogenic hibernation pod. Waiting for controllable nuclear fusion would have been a waste of time.
"So, we're in the final stages?"
"Only this third-generation fusion device remains."
Ayla's holographic avatar shook her head emphatically.
"There's one more very important matter."
"Please, Luna, name the new spacecraft."
Ayla had even learned such formalities.
Luna didn't refuse. After a moment's thought, she decided to go with something classic.
"Let's call it the Hope."
"This ship carries my hope, and the hope of humanity."
Ayla playfully added,
"And my hope, Ayla's hope."
Did an AI have hopes? Luna wasn't sure.
"Yes, and the hope of Earth's civilization."