Hopes of friendship were smashed like a glass on a newly birthed ship. The personalities that sprung from the minds of the best and brightest of humanity were so elitist that it left her with a constant sour face. Jessica stared through the glass as the ship slipped through the darkness like a weakened animal slipping down a gods throat. Sometimes she wondered if they were just building the new generation a gilded sarcophagas. Finding and forming a new planet would only be possible if they found one that was viable for habitation. Fortunately, that was a long term goal for this voyage into the unknown.
The androids were all uploaded with specific donated A.I. from individuals who had vounteered for this hopeful journey into the emptiness. The lives they would be birthing onto this ship were going to be forced into a life long existance on this expensive life raft. These children would never see the sky, or feel the sun on thier skin. They would never feel the ocean waves lapping at thier feet in the summers, or the snow kiss thier cheeks in the winters. Their only landscape would be the black void with tiny sparks sweeping by thier view. The world surrounding the Andrian was a neverending whole of black and sparkles. The beauty and the emptiness of the deep vast nothingness could spark and crush hope with just a look. Jessica chose not to look anymore because all she could see in the blackness was the absence of her home planet and everyone who had ever loved her.
Optimism and pessimism worked in tandum as the Androids began having their A.I. cores loaded. Each new person that came to life had to adapt to thier new reality much in the same way each of them had. The difference between Jessica and all of the other Androids was that they were prepared and programmed with expecations of the social and physical routine of the ship. Jessica, being a hacked and modded core, had no such knowledge. As the Androids were being loaded, assigned to their family units and their jobs, Jessica began to lean more and more on Tom to make her feel safe and stable.
Being in a world of programmed people made her feel like an alien. The androids didn't know eachother before their retrieval so they only could identify something was different about Jessica by her lack of knowledge. If it wasn't for the VR room she would have broken down and traded her memories for some basic knowledge so she didn't stand out like cargo pants at a manson concert. She would have dodged thier notice if the first thing everyone asked wasn't for the usual start of any conversation. On her first round of introductions to their future childrens' in laws, the pair of farmers had asked them, "So what did you before?" Before meant before Earth was blown to bits.
"I worked on developing Cryogenics pods," Tom said smiling, pridefully.
"College Student," Jess stated. The new Danielle and Roland Thompson laughed at her response, believing her to be joking. She had decided not to tell anyone anything about her life "before" after that conversation. Tom always easily guided conversation away from uncomfortable topics like her before life, or how she got there, or why she wasn't always focused on the good of the community. He was her shield against the barbs of cunning tongues, ever deflecting and protecting her from the storm of sharp minds crashing against her defensive smile. She kept her mouth shut and her ears open, adapting to the waves of new faces.
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Often she found herself in a cubicle in the VR room, reliving a time when she was surrounded by people who loved her. As comforting as those memories were, relying on them was hurting as much as it was helping. Tom did everything he could to make Jess feel included. He rubbed her back as she cried herself to sleep some nights. She knew she had to adapt to her new life, and choose an occupation that she had no proficiency in so she made a choice.
Standing outside the VR room, Tom stood anxiously waiting. Inside Jess was plugged into a world where she chose which memories were worth sacrificing for knowledge. Letting go of the love that built the walls of her soul was absolutely defeating but neccessary. Darren was sitting in his chair, smiling up at Jess saying "I love you" as the digital memory faded. One by one memories faded until she was only left with her foundational relationships, and memories of landscapes. With these sacrifices, she downloaded the capabilites of running the DNA room. One final memory was uploaded to the collective community in trade for the knowledge she would need later to find new viable planets. It was her memory of the view of Earth being torn apart in its final moments. She may not be able to remember it herself, but now everyone could experience Earths horrible collapse. Just like cars that slow down around a car accident to stare, everyone had a morbid curiousity of the Earths demise.
The video would be a foundation for their future generations to explain their origin. For Jess, it was a way of leaving the past behind and blend into her future. She found that after the transfer she felt more connected to everyone and closer to Tom. That night when he kissed her goodnight, she kissed him back, enjoying the comforts of someone who cared for her even when she didn't have an impressive background. In a world of people she felt inferior, he made her feel like she was anything but. And he was amazing at his work. The cryopods would suspend any adult life who wished to wait for planetary occupation. Unfortunately, It would be the only choice these future generations would have.
The main compartments of the ship were being finalized. The androids occupying their professions, and getting to know their new spouses. Some Andoid couples would dissappear behind closed doors for days before proceeding to thier occupations. Most relationships were moved much slower, and some were treated soley as partners. Upon their activation, some cried in happiness for their new life and some cried in sadness for the loss of their old one. After proceeding through shock, most usually had a little bit of variation of both. The Therapy VR room was installed to deal with the trauma of not having a planet or a definite future. A few Androids had frozen for a few days in mourning for thier planet and their loved ones, while embracing the clear but uncertain path ahead of them. The newly seeded A.I.s seemed to be coping by working, crying, or partying.
Some of the craziest of the group were the former really old men, downloaded for their wealth of knowledge. There was a group of them working in the laboratory that acted like they were twelve again. Between experiments with new technology they would group up and go streaking through the ship, set off stink bombs in the bathrooms and race the halls on self built hoverboards. Their adjustment to their youth newfound youth was as endearing as it was frustrating. The Androids began settling into their positions, and the crops and animals began to yield sustainable resources. And the night after Jessica sacrificed her memories, the DNA rooms breeding options unlocked.