Eighteen clicks. One by one, the seals fall.
The ship's alarms blare. Atmospheric contamination. Unauthorized biological spread. But I’m breathing fine. Better than fine. I feel the way I did as a child, before I learned that the universe was cold and indifferent. g+ ark
The fruit speaks without sound: "Eat. And the Ark becomes you. You become the Ark. You will carry us to every dead world. You will teach the dying stars to bloom." Eighteen clicks
Behind me, the crew stirs. Their footsteps in the corridor sound like rain. Eighteen clicks. One by one
I should close the container. I should flood it with plasma. Instead, I reach for the fruit.
