CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One: The Last Living Ship ∞ 1: A New Mission

23 ∞ Fruit and Schemes

Day 00004 Mission Nilex

The Captain was observing her, waiting for a reaction, she realized. But she didn't know how to respond—her emotions were too caught up. He gave the Tree a pat and strode to the picnic table to sit down. She followed, and as she sat across from him, he took out the two unfamiliar fruits from his pocket. He broke one of the fruits in half and handed one half to her, holding the other one up for her to see.

"Cherimoya. You eat the inside. The seeds you spit out." He put it to his mouth, biting at the white segments of flesh. As he chewed, he reached into his pocket. He cupped the white handkerchief he drew out in his hand and spat the seeds into it.

Ayla watched, then did the same herself. Her eyes widened as the flavor exploded on her tongue. She swallowed, spat out the black seeds onto his offered handkerchief, then exclaimed, "This is wonderful—I've never tasted the like! I must have samples, seeds, and data on raising this fruit."

He smiled at her as he tied the ends of the kerchief to make a pouch. "Perhaps, we shall see. This is one of my favorites. I don't just hand it out to anyone."

His smile spoke of mischief she saw, and she returned the smile.

"I'll do everything I can for your Tree, Captain. May I examine the rest of this Garden as well? There's so much here I want to look at!"

His face became neutral as he leaned back to look up at the branches reaching above them. "Yes, see what can be done. My fear is that it simply has a genetically shorter lifespan. Or maybe it's had just too much radiation exposure. Even with all of Canaisis protection, there's always some that get through. Especially during the Long Years."

"Long Years?" Ayla echoed.

He returned his gaze to her, "Sorry, I forget you don't know Our terminology. 'Long Years' is what We call the time between the stars at Faster Than Light. You see, I'll be asleep, and even though time dilation slows down the time that passes onboard, it's a long time for Canaisis to be alone. She has almost instantaneous thought, and yet she must sail for years. For her, they're the Long Years, and she must remain vigilant the whole time."

"Oh. I hadn't really ever thought of it that way, Captain."

"Do you know the reason why your society lose ships to FTL?"

"I know it happens, but it's not my field of expertise."

"Besides the sheer power demands of traveling at FTL, there's another factor that limits traveling any faster than twice the speed of light. Autopilot computing systems cannot respond fast enough. Time dilation slows you down, and the Universe is coming at you faster than light. Energy shifts up to entirely higher levels by several factors, and impacting a single atom can spell disaster. This is why so many ships never make it to their destination.

"Canaisis was originally limited to two times FTL, but she found a way to use the energy of the Universe, and now we achieve seven times the speed of light. We never knew that was possible when she was built. Her ability to process information and think intuitively is the only reason we can do what we do. It's a strain on any thinking entity to stand vigilant and alone for the many years between the stars."

There was sadness in his eyes as he looked back at her, talking in a quiet voice. Sadness for Canaisis.

"I hadn't realized." Impulsively, Ayla reached over and touched his hand. "I'm thankful for what you and she both do for us, Captain. Please let her know my people are grateful as well."

A small smile grew upon his lips as gratitude flickered in his eyes. "She knows it now, Ayla."

Ayla felt her cheeks heating up. She'd forgotten Canaisis heard everything. She looked up at the ceiling. "Thank you, Canaisis, for all that you do."