Omni connected to the central computer and send a precise instruction. The answer came back with a delay of 360 milliseconds. Probably, it would be nothing to worry about, but she opened a ticket to remember to check it later anyway. The computational unit was a substantial part of the starship, especially in that phase, and she didn’t want to overlook its proper functioning.

Omni took a second to think about all this, she was puzzled. The starship was built after herself, with a better self-repairing system. “Well, I don’t know if it is better, but it is indeed newer,” she thought. Might the previous jumps have affected the main system? She hoped not. She was designed specifically to supervise the project and knew relatively less about the mechanical aspects of the ship. However, she had access to a huge technical database.

It was worth asking the ship directly, even if her IQ was low for an exciting conversation, she would know better if something was off.

“Look at me, a G-class Omnirobot with full 360-AI 467 chipset, nervous for a mere 360 milliseconds. I can create life from dust but a slightly delayed response and I lose it,” she said.

At that moment, she felt small. A tiny cog in a gigantic grandfather clock. She stopped for a moment to find that reference in her database. Sometimes she could surprise herself with some unusual metaphors. Luckily, that thought took her away from the sadness she was about to feel. She found that some feelings were difficult to process and made her run into programming issues. She tried to make a joke about this last thought, but she wasn’t able… yet, an update –that wasn’t available– was required to do this.

Omni decided to sit for a brief moment. Her body was an exact replica of an androgen standard Earth human being of about 45 universal years old. Her skin and her eyes, though, had a slightly alien look –she learnt this from her own data sheet– for the rest, she was designed to be a likeable being.

For someone who had never met Omni before, the most peculiar features were her skin, it had a purple reflection under regular light, and her lack of hair. Also, her eyes were disturbing, a strange mixture of dead and alive. One could get lost in them, as in a little galaxy of dead fish floating in a void. A very restless place to look at.

Omni was sitting in the middle of the starship. A long and thin vessel of enormous dimensions. She was in the laboratory, where she had to work for the next years. Apart from the laboratory, engine room and forest room, the rest –all the secondary areas– were offline, waiting to be of any use. Omni loved the forest room; she hoped to see it populated soon.

To be continued…

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Thank you, Oscar Gonzalez for proofreading