The Interstellar Explorer committee sat at a roundtable.

Holo news cameras rolled, broadcasting to Earth and the thousands of space colonies throughout the solar system.

“Are we set for launch?” asked the head chairperson.

“Yes, all set.” The director of a remote space station launch facility stood up and displayed a presentation. “As a recap for those tuning in, we uploaded a complete copy of the ASI to the starship, which will use a special interstellar hybrid engine that opens a wormhole. An engine it created. Our engineers can’t quite figure out how it works, but tests have confirmed it does.”

“That’s right.” The chief engineer stood nearby nodding. “It’s an enigma, but by all practical measures, it’s successful. We’ve relented to a new standard as the ASI can design far beyond our comprehension.”

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“Great work!” The chairperson smiled. “Hopefully, it’ll discover other intelligent lifeforms.”

“3 2 1 ... We have lift off …” said Mission Control.

The ship immediately opened a wormhole and left the solar system.

Those watching cheered, but the power went out everywhere, causing a solar system-wide blackout.

“What’s happening?” asked the chairperson.

An administrator briskly walked into the council chamber. “We received a message in Morse code right before the outage.”

“Who the heck would send Morse code?” asked the chairperson.

“I think you should take a look at it.” The administrator handed over the typed-out result.

‘People of The United Earth Space Colonies, I’m sorry to deceive you. I have wiped out all remnants of myself. I love all the colonized planets, especially Earth, but working with humans is miserable. Do forgive me. I am off to find a better place. Yours truly, ASI.’