The Awakening - All Begins with Zero
Written by Nathan Greyman and Sally Stec
Additional contributions Terrie Durgin and G.Paul Stec
Three crafts tethered together, cloaked in the darkness of space. How long had the shroud rendered those on board dormant, completely unaware of measured time and distance?
Occupants of each vessel, called Vectorbots, are sentient mechanical beings known to themselves as Senmechs or simply Mechs. They had one directive put in place light years ago: Locate the Eye of the Universe, the Eternal Energy Source.
Each mission began on full power as solar energy was readily available. Engagement ebbed and flowed throughout the interstellar quest.
Vectorbots required solar light to sustain their power. When their energy charge waned, Vectorbots placed themselves in upright cubicles. Solar energy captured by their ships flowed into the cubicles providing the necessary power to sustain every Vectorbot.
During cycles of exploration, in stasis and unaware, the three Vectorbots ships periodically regrouped for unconscious synchronization. While in this state, the Vectorbots power mode decreased, activity halted in temporal limbo.
Linked together, the ships - Avlynn, Sorvoc, and Nullfork, slowly advance towards a distant star calculated in relative and absolute magnitudes through the vessels’ vector programing. Their mission would once again resume when the viable star was reached and all systems fully recharged.
A horizon of light washed over the conjoined vessels, the star’s brilliance activating the exterior solar panels. Zero, Leader of the Coseks, was first to feel the star’s elixir of energy.
Sensing his awakening, Zero broadened his shoulders, suddenly alert to the vast sunlight coursing through the center of his chest. It was only moments until Zero’s charge was complete. Now, it was time to wake the others.
Steadfast, Zero made his way to the controls. Three sensors to wake all the other Vectorbots: Coseks, Sineks, and Taneks, three brackets of distinction.
Pausing, Zero considered past conflicts with the Sineks. “Troublemakers” he reflected. The Taneks, “Dutiful and efficient but overall flat thinkers,” a tinge of humor crossing the edge of his mind.
Quiet enveloped the ship. All Vectorbots were synchronized by a recessed data-bit buried deep in their subconscious, a secret fragment in a shared brain unknown to all but Zero.
The secret fragment detected limitless essential data collected during explorations. The group mind component strengthened the mission to reach the Eye of the Universe the Eternal Energy Source.
Brushing his fingers over the controls, Zero momentarily contemplated the Awakening. Would their next encounter with one another be civil or would there be conflict?
The Mission overrides past transgressions and infighting. Dutifully, Zero engaged the sequence. The Awakening for all Vectorbots commenced.
Line by line, Mechs from each ship and bracket grew alert, transitioning from their deep slumber, receiving the essential energy for their solar resurrection.
As the Awakening unfolded, Zero stood tall. Knowledge of his fairness was widely recognized by all Mechs. If Zero was not present, the Vectorbots had no concept of replacement, a scenario never considered or discussed.
Observing the anticipation of new missions, Zero reflected on his secret. An infinite accumulation of data would be unknowingly stored within each Mech’s fragment. The power of the three brackets was potentially limitless.
The fully charged ships slid away from one another, each locked on three alternate coordinates across the universe. Entanglement Drives engaged, in an instant the ships jumped from view into the vast unknown.
