The bridge is a large circular dome made of glass through which I can see the hull of the ship, curved like the nose of an orca whale. Glowing navigation telemetry and data visualizations cast a pale light in the middle of the room, where a bonsai tree floats in midair and glitters against the field of stars beyond.
In the dim atmosphere, the overview effect is strong. I feel a mixture of awe and wonder but also a sense of calm. As if the vacuum of space itself has enveloped me in its vast all-encompassing embrace.
“Where is he?” Sarah murmurs as she propels herself into the room with the help of leather-wrapped handles strategically placed along the walls.
“Must be late,” I say twisting in behind her.
“I can’t believe we’ve been on this ship for three days, and we haven’t seen this captain Ahab once.”
She laughs at her own joke.
As we enter the dome, the lights on the tree glitter in different colors.
“Thank you for joining me,” says a disembodied male voice.
“Who said that?” Sarah says looking around.
“Welcome to the bridge. I’m Captain Daigo, but Ahab has a nice ring to it too.”
Sarah and I look at each other.
“Well, I can’t see where you are,” says Sarah.
“Right in front of you,” replies the enigmatic voice.
We look at the bonsai tree floating in the middle of the room, nested on a bed of translucent fiberoptic roots.
“A tree? You’re a tree?” Sarah floats around it with a surprise face.
“Technically, I’m a synthetic neuro-quantum lifeform, but tree will do.”
“Wow!” exclaims Sarah. “We’ve been on this ship for three days, and we had no idea.”
“I hope you’re finding the voyage to your liking.”
“What’s not to like. It’s luxurious. Free food, free drinks, and android massages.”
“Our benefactor does enjoy her creature comforts.”
I clear my throat.
“We appreciate your hospitality, Captain,” I say in what I hope is a formal-sounding tone. “You called for us.”
“Ah yes! To let you know that I recalculated our trajectory, and we’ll be arriving at the O-ring port within a day’s time.”
“That’s fantastic news!” Sarah says.
“Indeed. It’s always exciting to reach a new port. Soon, you’ll be off to a new adventure.”
“I bet you’ve been to many exciting places in the system.”
“I’ve seen the dunes across Mars, heard the murmurs of cryo-volcanoes on Europa, and flown through the geysers of Enceladus. Yet it’s never enough. In the gridded spaces of our galaxy, pulsars beckon in the distance, and even though I can never reach them, I always dream of new ports.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
The tree shimmers, and I get the impression it is laughing.
“What stops us all, child. Time! The nearest habitable planet is thirty-five light years away. If I had a vessel that could travel at the speed of light for thirty-five continuous years, then my dream would come true.”
Its canopy glows and dims.
“I am a long-lived specimen, but even I cannot outrace the winds of time. Navigate. Pilot my own ship. That is all I can do, and yet...”
“And yet…?” Sarah says.
“I always dream of new ports in the distance. If only I had more time! You must complete this foolish quest of yours and find the ones you seek. There may yet be a way to stretch the filaments of time.”
The Bonsai stops shimmering and glowing. The lights wink out one by one.
Our audience over, we exit the room in silence.
Animation: The Captain
Creator: @litguru
NFT: If you collect NFTs and are interested in the tokenized version of this animation, please visit my NFT Showroom gallery
Read other parts
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13