THE MOMENT
"Good morning, Edith," Chronos said. Edith heard his voice before she opened her eyes. Chronos monitored her constantly and always knew the moment she was conscious again. "We traveled another 25,319 miles while you slept. We are currently over 400,000 miles from the ship. It is currently 5:33 A.M. CST and we have been drifting for 17 days."
"Thanks, Chronos," Edith sighed and opened her eyes. Nothing changed; she might as well have kept them closed. She saw nothing but pitch blackness extending forever. Edith lost contact with her ship the first week she was adrift; but, she wasn't worried at first.
Chronos was not only programmed to keep her company, he monitored all her vitals and kept himself in working order. Chronos was able to use the background radiation of the universe to power himself indefinitely. And, the suit was designed to keep a human occupant alive just as long. Chronos could manufacture a nutritional supplement that kept her body working. And, he had access to thousands of medical protocols that could all be run inside the suit.
Even when she first lost contact, Edith kept her hope up. She wasn't worried about dying so much as she was afraid of growing bored if her ship didn't reach her in time. By the time she was reaching day 14, Edith had given up on the ship finding her. She spent the next three days drifting through space and wondering what her options were. On the 17th day, she opened her eyes to infinite darkness and decided on a course of action.
"Hey, Chronos," she said. Her decision still hinged on a piece of information.
"Let's say we never hit another planet, how long can you keep me alive?" Throughout her training, the only information she got on the subject was that Chronos could keep its occupant alive 'forever'. It wasn't a coincidence that she was wearing the only prototype during a spacewalk. She was part of the crew chosen to test the suit. For the first couple of days, she thought going adrift was 'part of the plan'. But after pestering Chronos about it, she accepted that she was actually lost.
"Forever," Chronos replied.
"Great...," Edith sighed. That was the answer she didn't want. If it was her destiny to drift through space for a few years and die among the stars, that was something she wanted to live for. If there was a point where Chronos couldn't do it anymore, it might be worth the adventure to reach that point. However, the thought of drifting forever through infinity was less appealing.
"No, I think I've had enough," Edith said.
"Enough what?" Chronos asked. Edith shook her head inside the suit.
"I can't drift through space forever," Edith said.
"You are incorrect," Chronos said. "I have been upgrading myself while you sleep. I am more efficient at collecting energy from the universe, and I will continue to improve. You CAN drift through space forever." Edith sighed.
"That's not what I mean. I know you're up for it, but my mind can't take it," Edith took in a deep breath to center herself and be sure of her words. "You have to let me die," she said.
"Your safety is the core of my programming; I cannot," Chronos replied. Edith sighed to herself. The only thing she could do is wait until the universe itself died. But, the thought triggered an idea. She giggled at Chronos.
"You might as well let me die; you already failed," she said.
"You are incorrect," Chronos replied. "You are in perfect health for a 43-year-old woman." Edith giggled again and shook her head.
"Sure, now. But the universe is going to die eventually. When it does, you won't be able to keep me alive. I don't want to have to wait that long," she added.
"You are...," Chronos paused and Edith got the sense that he was doing calculations. "... correct. This universe will dissipate."
"Yeah. So, just let me die already. You did what you could," Edith said.
"You are incorrect," he replied.
"What? How so?"
"I have not done everything I could," he said. The suit around Edith began to hum with activity and blinking lights both inside and outside. She'd only seen it hum like that when it was first booting up. "Calculating...," Chronos said. "Solution determined."
"What solu-," Edith interrupted her own question by blinking. But, whatever she was about to ask was forgotten when she opened her eyes. They hurt so much she had to close them again; she saw light!
"Chronos!??" She asked. "What's going on?" With her eyes closed, she took inventory of her body and she realized she was standing on solid ground. She peeked her eyes open slightly and light flooded in. Even though the light shield was down over her helmet, it was bright enough to be uncomfortable.
"We are on Earth," Chronos replied. "In an alternate universe."
"An... alternate Earth??" Edith asked. "You can do that?"
"When I collected energy from the universe I learned there were others. I learned how to Traverse and brought us here."
"I'm on Earth!? I'm safe! Open the suit!" Edith said.
"You are incorrect," Chronos said. Then, Edith blinked again.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Edith asked. She felt solid ground under her feet, but it felt different somehow. She couldn't see through the visor but she sensed that she was somewhere else.
"This universe will end too," Chronos said. Edith blinked again.
"This one too...," Edith blinked again.
"This one too."