Neight went on a scouting mission, leaving me alone on the ship. At first, I busied myself with preparations and even managed to make two batches of six, but, to be honest, it was incredibly boring and tedious. I understood that the task was important and useful, but it was just not interesting at all.

He said I could work at my own pace! it flashed through my mind. That’s it. I’ll take the opportunity to explore the ship again.

First, I went to check out the storage. I was really curious about what was kept in the other drawers. On the control panel screen, I selected the cabinet that Neight said stored tools and something else. Then I tapped on the first drawer and saw the message, “Access Denied.” After trying to open all the cabinets from “D” to “H” one by one, I realized that they were all locked for me.

As expected, but still disappointing, I sighed. It seemed Neight made sure I didn’t poke around where, in his opinion, I shouldn’t. Let me guess, in the provision section, only ‘C3’ is accessible to me.

Imagine my surprise when ‘A1’ opened without any problem. I quickly rushed to examine the contents. Inside were many small metal boxes, tightly packed together. The lids were labeled, presumably indicating the contents: “Cabbage,” “Onion,” “Peas,” “Dill”...

Interesting!

I picked up one of the boxes and shook it. The rustling sound it made allowed me to determine that there were many small objects inside.

These are seeds! I exclaimed in delight. That means I can try to grow something on this planet.

After checking the contents of several boxes, I was already imagining myself growing and harvesting potatoes, and after all the hard work, finally tasting some decent food.

Wait, I got distracted. I wonder what else is in here?

With a lifted mood, I began opening the next drawers, eventually concluding that the “A” cabinet contained seeds of various crops.

What about ‘B’?

Inside, I found a real treasure! Salt and sugar. It wasn’t surprising since these are some of the simplest preservatives. Plus, they’re excellent seasonings that can enhance the flavor of any dish. All these discoveries inspired me so much that I had a brilliant idea.

I’ll cook dinner myself!

I was already planning out my steps in my head and thinking of various recipes I could try to prepare with the available ingredients. I remembered how Neight prepared breakfast and decided that I could definitely handle it. Besides, he already taught me how to peel and blend greenvegs for preservation.

Yes, it’s not that hard...

But my enthusiasm slightly waned when I remembered how Neight had refused my help with cooking several times before. I had some vague doubts about whether I should take on this initiative. On one hand, I was afraid that I might anger Neight, especially if I made a mistake and didn’t succeed. Who knows how he might react... But on the other hand, I wanted to prove that I wasn’t useless and could take on some of the responsibilities. Yes, I was taught how to do preparations, but that shouldn’t be my only task. And perhaps the main reason was my own desire to try cooking something, to conduct my own little experiment. In the end, I made a decision.

I can do it!

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After calculating how much time I would need for cooking and when I should start, I realized that I still had a couple of hours, which I could spend either on further exploring the ship or preparing more preserves... Well, exploring the ship it is.

Climbing the stairs was tough and painful, but I wondered if Neight had granted me access to the second floor. I was curious to see what was up there. It was the last place on the ship that I hadn’t been yet.

I bet the control room with the ship’s navigation instruments is behind that door.

Another disappointment. “Access Denied.” I should have guessed that if they didn’t trust me with tool cabinets or simple cooking tasks, they wouldn’t open the door to the most important section of the ship. For some reason, I pressed my ear against the heavy metal door, as if expecting to hear some sounds coming from the other side. Predictably, I heard only silence. Sighing sadly, I went back down.

My next idea was to check all the walls for hidden built-in doors, similar to the one in the cabin’s bathroom. I started walking along the walls, pressing the panels with a bit of force. My first discovery was a small square built-in compartment in the kitchen that provided access to water shutoffs, electrical circuits, and some other sensors that I didn’t understand. I didn’t mess with them but was pleased with myself and my find. Then, in the corridor, I found a small closet with equipment, presumably meant for cleaning the ship. There was also a separate faucet for drawing technical water. Not a bad find either.

Finally, I stopped in front of the door leading to the laboratory. This was the last place I wanted to go, as it only brought up negative associations. The longer I stood there, the stronger my sense of unease grew. Moreover, I began to realize that besides the memories of waking up yesterday, other fragments from a more distant past were flashing in my mind.

A white room, bright lights, unfamiliar people in medical attire, calming me down and assuring me that everything would be fine, and a feeling of primal fear... Were these memories of being put to sleep?

I felt sick. My whole body began to tremble. My teeth started chattering. Grabbing my head, I stumbled back to the cabin, where I collapsed onto the bunk, burying my face in the pillow.

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Apathy took hold of me. I lay there, clutching the pillow tightly, curled up and staring at the white wall. I had no desire to do anything. After all, what was the point? With each passing second, the realization grew stronger that my world was shattered. I had lost everything I had, and on top of that, I was on an unknown planet with only one person who clearly raised a lot of questions.

I opened my notebook, flipped through my notes, and stopped at the very first one.

Survival... And what’s the point if there’s no one else left?

I sank further into darkness. The fragments of memories from the last day made it clear that what was happening to me was real. This wasn’t someone’s joke, not a staged show, and not even a dream.

Why is this happening to me? Why me?

My eyes reflexively fell on the time displayed in the top right corner of the notebook’s screen as the numbers changed.

18:00... I was planning to make dinner…

Setting the notebook aside, I continued staring at the wall. It felt like I had no strength left to fight, and I had completely lost heart. The silence, loneliness, and despair were crushing me.

Neight doesn’t expect anything from me anyway, so why should I bother doing anything? Besides, he’ll do everything faster and better. He clearly has a plan and some information. Maybe I should just obey…

I turned over to the other side.

But how long is this going to last? Forever? Sure, it’s convenient when all the decisions are made for you, but is it the right thing to do? What if he’s not telling me the whole truth? What if there are other survivors? After all, my parents might still be in captivity, in cryosleep. I should at least try to learn more about what’s going on.

I got up and went to wash my face a bit to clear my head.

I have to at least try, I repeated out loud.

Feeling a little more refreshed, I headed to the storage room to gather ingredients for dinner and then went to the kitchen. As I had done for the preserves, I peeled and chopped the grinvags, then added some salt and cautiously tasted the resulting puree.

That’s strange... It’s actually edible!

Of course, the dish wasn’t amazing, but at least it wasn’t repulsive. Was it because of the salt? And I didn’t add those strange blue berries either. Could they have been the reason for the unpleasant taste? I couldn’t understand what Neight had done to make the food taste so awful. In any case, my mood lifted, as the result exceeded my expectations. I was already anticipating how Neight would appreciate my skills and admit he was wrong about me. Now I just had to wait for him to return.