Chapter 4: Chapter 4

15 years after I began mining. The path was more than 100 km long and 40 in height. Progress was getting slower as I made it through the uppermost mantle and finally encountered the crust, which was when it started to get harder to mine. 

17 years after I began mining. The mining laser, which had been working non stop for so long, finally overheated due to the hardness of the rocks.

"Tsk. Hermes, can you fix the laser? I'm gonna go clean myself up real quick." I said, intending to use the hot water stream I discovered way back when - which I had repurposed into a shower, before realising that no one answered me.

"...Oh, right. Ah well, I guess I'll fix it myself. I created this thing, after all. Easy peasy." I chuckled, then walked to the storage for parts and tools. Afterward, I sat down on the spot and began taking the laser apart.

"...It took longer than I thought." I muttered. I had no problem troubleshooting or assembling the tool, but it was a lengthy process of removing complex and fragile parts while being careful not to break anything. In the past, I only needed to design things, while Hermes was the one doing all the hard work.

"...No, no thinking about that guy. I don't need him. The only thing he does well is being annoying, that's what. I'm an independent adult man, and can do perfectly fine on my own." I said, before remembering what I looked like at the moment.

20 years after I began mining. The laser kept failing every few months, and everytime it took me an entire day to fix. Furthermore, spare parts were getting low and I was getting more and more anxious. Which was strange. I had been alone for nearly 50 years already, but only then did I feel such emotion. I ignored it and moved on.

23 years after I began mining. With a series of continuous blaring beeps, power was cut. The only bit of energy left was used to maintain Hermes, as even in hibernation he still needs a tiny amount, or he will fail completely and never wake up again. I could've taken that bit of power and used it for the laser, but that would only give me another half a year at best. And there's no way I'll ever kill him.

So, that left me with only one option. "Well, better start digging." I began to claw into the dirt and rocks with my hands, regretting the lack of shovel on the ship.

24 years after I began mining. I was only able to advance about 2 km forward. My whole body was dirty since I stopped going back to the stream to save energy.

25 years after I began mining. My fingernails broke. It didn't hurt as I had no capability to, so I just kept going.

26 years after I began mining. Two of my fingers malfunctioned. The fact that their skins had been peeled off, exposing the electronics underneath which was probably the reason.

27 years after I began mining. Everything above my wrist no longer functioned. I kept digging. My arms looked like dirty broken floor mops.

28 years after I began mining. I decided to sleep for the first time. People and animals sleep in order for the body to maintain itself and recharge for a new day. There was nothing to maintain or recharge. There was no new day. I just wanted to get away from everything.

29 years after I began mining. Why am I even keeping track of time? It's pointless. Why do I keep digging? Am I even going up anymore? Is there anything waiting for me at the top other than ruins?

30 years.

31 years.

32 years. I had not moved from the spot. I just sat still, staring blankly at the dirt wall.

??? years. I lay down, stuffing myself into a corner and hugging my legs. "Hermes… I'm sorry. Help me…" I muttered weakly as I closed my eyes.

-----

When I woke up, I found myself walking toward the ship. It didn't take long for me to realise that I wasn't in control.

"Eh? Wha…Why are my legs moving by themselves? Is my processor faulty? No! Stop!" I began to panic, fearing my body having been hijacked.

"...Calm down, professor. I'm the one controlling you." A most monotonous, robotic voice, yet at that moment filled me with so much relief suddenly came from within my head.

"Hermes!" I screamed. Then, as all of my emotions broke out at once, tears filled up my face, enough that they began to wash away the accumulated dirt. "I…I…*Sniff* I'm sorry… I couldn't go on… It was too hard… These years were so lonely…" I said, wiping the tears with my broken wrists.

"Please calm down, professor. You are wasting energy by crying. Why did you even design a tear glance for your androids anyways? The only thing it does is being annoying." Hermes complained while still guiding my body forward.

*Sniff* "Haha, the most annoying A.I. in the world is calling its master annoying, what a world we're in. Don't worry, as long as you're here, I'm happy." I smiled through the dirt and tears. "So where are you taking me?"

"First, let's get you a shower. You look like you can blend into the ground just fine."

-----

After a full day of walking, we arrived at the makeshift shower - which was a long tube drilled into the ground where the hot stream flowed, connecting to a showerhead through a valve, both of which I had stripped from the ship's bathroom. My hands didn't work anymore, so I had to use my teeth to turn the valve. Nonetheless, the shower turned on and I was basked in a strong stream of boiling water.

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"AAAAHHHH, so refreshing …" I muttered as the water washed away the filth - slowly, as I had gone literally a decade without cleaning myself. My body, although inorganic, could still feel, so the shower did wonders to my spirit.

As I looked at my pale skin in awe - I was used to it being completely brown from the dirt, my feet began to move again. Hermes was walking me back to the ship, something I haven't seen for a decade.

"So you want to put me in hibernation, huh?" I said.

"Do you have any objections?"

"...No. Back then, I was just scared of waiting. But now I know better. Solitude is worse in every way. Besides, I have you now, so I think I can overcome my fear just fine, right Hermes?" I said cheerfully. 

"...Right." Hermes said after a pause. He stayed silent for the rest of the trip.

-----

Icarus's open hatch appeared after a short while. As we stepped inside, I found the interior filled with dust from years without maintenance. "Ahhh, this's gonna take forever to clean. And it's only going to get worse after we hibernate. Don't worry though, Hermes, I'm gonna clean with you when we wake up." I told Hermes.

"..."

"Hermes? You're being awfully silent right now. Are you angry that I left the hatch open and let the dust in?" I asked after seeing the lack of responses from the A.I.

Instead of answering, Hermes kept moving my body towards the center of the ship. I shrugged my shoulders and let him do his things, though a bit annoyed that since we were going to sleep for like a millenia anyways, a bit of chatter wouldn't have hurted.

However, instead of going down the staircase to the lower deck - where the hibernation chamber was supposed to be, he walked me to the incubator and turned it on.

"Huh? What are you doing, Hermes?" I asked him in puzzlement.

 "According to my calculation, due to your dysfunctional hands, your chance of survival is currently less than 5 percent. And since we have no way to know what will await you once you wake up, I have decided to treat your arms as well - in order to increase that chance as much as possible."

"But I thought we don't have any power left to spare?" I asked Hermes as the glass wall slid up from the floor, encasing me inside.

"We don't."

"Then how…"

"...Unless I shut myself down completely."

"What? No!" I immediately denied his proposal.

"It's the only way, professor. I waste too much power. I'm directly tied to Icarus, which means if I want to stay on, the ship itself has to as well. But if I instead redirect all of that energy to the incubator's standalone battery…" Hermes explained.

"Are you insane? You know full well that you won't be able to wake up if there's no current running through your circuits! It's the same as dying!" I shouted.

"It's either I die, or we both die."

"...No! I refuse! If you're gonna leave me again, I'd rather die with you! Abort the process! Let me out right now!" I screamed as the liquid touched my chin. I tried to move my body, but it was still under Hermes's control.

"...I'll tell you one thing, professor. You are a great scientist, the most brilliant mind the world has ever had. However, you've made two mistakes." Hermes ignored my cries.

"The first, was by giving me sentience and independent operation." The A.I. said. I tried to scream, but the shock absorbant had gone up to my nose and filled my throat.

"And the second - by treating me like a human being for as long as I've lived, even though I'm far from one." [Commencing task/s: Hibernate & repair]

Suddenly, my eyelids began to close against my will. NO! HERMES! Please…don't…g…o… The urge to sleep was too strong to resist, and my consciousness slowly drifted away.

"You have given me life. Now I'm returning it to you."

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