Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – The Service Shaft’s Sonata

  In the dead of the night I hear a creaking. The sound echoed through a great distance of the long intertwining shafts that make up my home until, finally, it reached me.

 I was floating in a cove in one of the crew service shafts that was created due to the small dip in the internal structure of the ship. 

 I wasn't really sleeping or anything, I don't think that's possible because of my psyche augments, but it was probably something similar.

 The creaking brought me out of the trance I was in and my ears strained. 

 Sound had a hard time traveling from the interior of the ship due to the low air density that separates us, so for the creaking to reach all the way to me it must have been from the walls of the shaft reverberating, rather than the machinery on the other side of them.

 'Is it a debris cloud? If I recall correctly we weren't going to pass by a galaxy for another few thousand light-years..'

 I crossed by arms and sharply threw them to my side. It was a motion activation sequence that triggered a response deep within the nano-tech embedded in my skull.

 Suddenly, a flash of blue entered my previously dull view.

 Floating ahead of me, words cascaded down in multiple sectioned off screens, replacing the darkness that surrounded me before. 

 I navigated the system overlay until I pulled up the course statistics tab.

 A blank three dimensional star map replaced the screens. Right through the middle of it was a gray line that was solid on the bottom and dashed on the top. In the center of that was a small arrow that represented the ship's location.

 'Just as I thought, there isn't any space debris. What is causing the creaking then?'

 While I was preoccupied, I failed to notice that the creaking grew louder. 

 The corridors of the shaft extended throughout the entire ship; about six thousand kilometers length wise and two thousand kilometers in width and height.

 Whatever was causing the creaking must have been traveling extremely fast to have increased in volume so quickly.

 Suddenly, a warning sign shut down the nav overlay I was scanning. 

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/!\ Warning /!\

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An unknown error has occurred! 

A total of (1,092) unpredicted deaths have occured within the stasis chambers (A1), (A2), and (A4) in the past 30 minutes. The reason is undetermined. 

Data obtained from the stasis pods of the deceased show that the deaths were preceded by increased heart rate and other bodily indications of intense fear and distress.

There are no available crew members with operative permission within the vicinity of the erroneous stasis chambers, so the warning priority has been updated to include all active crew members. 

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End of Report

============

 My body instantly tensed at the warning. I also began to notice that my back, pressed against the service shaft, began to faintly vibrate; enough so that it could be felt through my body suit.

 I have worked alone inside section C3 of the ship for my entire life. This was the first time I have ever gotten a warning from other sections of the ship, let alone a weird one like this. 

 I was utterly confused, but I began moving regardless.

 I left the cove I was in and launched myself to the left down the shaft. Because I was in zero G, I floated effortlessly down the passage. I quickly maneuvered my body, pushing along the walls to gain speed.

 In the end I was hurtling forward at about 130 kph. I was approaching the closest stasis chamber to me so I could access the physical computer within it.

 Suddenly, another report appeared in my feed.

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/!\ Warning /!\

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A physical anomaly has been detected within the ship. An emergency diagnostic has been requested by the central intelligence core, as it may pose a danger to the lives on board. All (16) crew members should begin their duties according to the next received report.

=========================

Emergency Diagnostic Request

(EDR)

=========================

Report immediately to, and occupy the nearest stasis pod. Prioritize the safety of the crew member over the passenger. The data stored within your consciousness could compromise the safe arrival of ship ARI-1093 and its (21,890,002,981) occupants if released, so please do not mull over the expense of a single passenger. A detailed report will be given to you once you have entered the simulation. Until then express utmost caution and urgency.

============

End of Report

============

 Panic began to set within my mind. There are no vacant stasis pods in the ship, so the ship's AI basically just told me to eject, and subsequently, kill a passenger.

 I had no clue if this was a bug in the system or not, but I continued on nonetheless.

 The creaking grew into a rumble that physically shook the shaft around me. I began unsteadily braking myself so I wouldn't slam into the door a little ways ahead of me, and eventually came to a steady walking pace.

 I noticed that it was getting much harder to maneuver because of the shaking, but I am highly trained when it comes to difficult circumstances like these. 

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 I opened the door with a simple hand movement and pushed through the opening.

 A huge circular room opened up before me, the size must have been a few hundred kilometers in diameter. 

 The walls were covered in individual pods large enough for a single human to fit inside from a fetal position. A band glowed around the outside of each pod, causing the room to look like the inside of a glittering blue geode. It was quite beautiful, but I wasted no time appreciating it.

 I grabbed a service rail, one of the many that lined the stasis chamber so crew members were able to travel the room efficiently.

I pulled myself along it until I reached the nearest pod. 

 Once I arrived at one, I pulled it open and inside I saw a young boy, probably around my age, naked and curled in a ball.

 The pod was filled with a gel like substance and there were multiple probes connected to his skin. 

 I began to reach out to him, but I stopped. If I pulled this kid out, he would definitely suffocate without a suit. I remembered what the system said though.

 If there truly was a risk to the entire ship, I wouldn't hesitate as much to throw him out. But the situation was just too weird and sudden.

 Nothing even similar to this has ever happened in the entire history of the flight, and though I didn't want to doubt the seriousness of it, it still seemed unreal.

 My doubts were soon forcefully cast aside. The boy was suddenly ejected at extreme speeds into the air above me. 

 The probes inside shot out of the pod and connected to my suit. I was forcefully pulled into the pod without being able to fight back.

 The pod closed and I was left crumpled in the small space in shock. 

 I noticed that there was a small tinted window built into the hatch. 

 Looking out of it, I could see the boy curled up a distance away from me. Somehow, the gel-like substance still surrounded him like the whites of an egg.

 The inside of the pod shook just as much as it did outside. The magnitude even began to increase, becoming so violent that I felt nauseous.

 Then, in the midst of it all, the boy burst.

 He quite literally exploded. Just like that, a cloud of blood and gel spread out from where he was previously floating. Pieces of his flesh soon reached the window of my pod and stuck to the edge.

 There was no premonition for the event. It was as if an invisible giant came in to the room and squashed him between his fingers.

 I had never before seen such a gruesome sight. 

 I was born between two unknown passengers, then taken away to be raised and trained by an AI within the shafts. Therefore, this was the first time I saw another member of my race, and he just blew up in front of me.

 I felt the unsettling feeling of bile rising in my throat, but I choked it down.

 "Welcome, crew member 001. The previous passenger was automatically disposed of in consideration of your hesitation to do so yourself.

 I have detected a heightened sense of emotion, please remain calm and composed. It is of utmost importance in situations like these. 

 You will now begin to enter the simulation. You may be confused at first due to the lack of biological modification in the body you will inhabit. The change in physical environment may also cause mental and physical distress.

 Please be aware of this and adapt as soon as possible."

 A familiar electronic voice sounded out within the pod. 

 It belonged to the central AI, who I now assumed was responsible for the boy's explosion. I have never spoken to it directly before, but right about now I wish I could scream profanities at it.

 Also, it said something curious. I am crew member 006, not 001. Unless it's a bug, the only way to obtain a new crew ID is when the ID lower than yours becomes disused.

'What happened to the other crew members?'

 The view I had of the outside through the window began to dim until the pod became pitch black. The light strips around the pods were disabled.

 I noticed that the pod was refilling with that gel substance I saw around the boy, and I felt cold patches form on my body as the probes slipped through the access slots in my suit and connected to my skin underneath.

 The voice of the AI sounded out once more.

 "Remember, this simulation was designed in the interest of human beings, therefore it won't always adhere to logic and common sense. 

 If you encounter anything that conflicts with your knowledge of physics and science, it is normal, so don't be concerned.

 Good luck, crew member 001."

 I was out of time to make sense of things.

 My vision faded to black at the AI's final notice, and I began to lose consciousness. The last thing I felt was akin to suffocation as the gel covered my nose, and a soft prickle shot across my body as my senses were deactivated.

— Author Note —

This is my first go at writing something. It is a huge time consumer so I probably will stick to updating once a week. This story isn't meant to be some masterpiece, and it definitely won't be of professional quality, but I'll try my best to make it a unique and fun read.

I would absolutely appreciate it if you pointed out any mistakes or have any tips on what I could do better, and I'm also somewhat open to story suggestions, though there is no guarantee I'll follow them as I already have an idea of the direction the story is going. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I am planning to make the story a sci-fi / dark fantasy fusion, so it might be a bit confusing at times due to the contrast in genres. I'll try to make it worth your while though.

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