After the brief exchange of formal greetings, the robot guy rose to his feet and slowly walked toward the conference table positioned at the center of the room. He pressed a control embedded in its surface, and the lights flickered on, revealing a strikingly handsome face framed by neatly trimmed blond hair. Thick eyebrows, a high-bridged nose, and a stern, composed gaze gave off a first impression of someone distant – perhaps even rigid, almost textbook in demeanor.
Tuan only knew the man was a robot because Valentina had told him so. Otherwise, he doubted he would have been able to figure it out on his own. At first, he had imagined a machine driven by artificial intelligence – stiff movements, an inflexible appearance, and a crackling, mechanical voice. Instead, what stood before him was a bio-mechanical being: a real human consciousness housed within a body that had been entirely replaced by machinery – not a soulless metal construct shaped like a man.
Over his IVA suit, he wore a green vest paired with a yellow tie, making him look no different from an ordinary human at a glance. The only feature that truly gave him away was his eyes – constantly emitting a faint amber glow, even behind the dark sunglasses he wore to dull their intensity.
After a few deft gestures across the floating interface, he opened a holographic file above the table. Then he turned to face them and began his introduction.
“Welcome, two of you. This should be the first time the three of us are formally meeting, so I believe a brief introduction is in order. I am Buran 1. My real name is Arnaldo Méndez. I am the sole test subject of Project BURAN, whose primary objective was the mechanization of the human body. At present, I have been assigned by L.A.B to serve as commander of spacecraft ELE-SP006. My main duty is to ensure the vessel operates smoothly and efficiently. Secondary to that is identifying the cause behind the catastrophic event we have just survived.”
“Yeah, hello.” Tuan replied. “My name is Ph?m Tuan. The girl behind me is Valentina Tereshkova. We abandoned our identification codes long ago, so we’d appreciate it if you could call us by these names instead. It’s an honor to meet you.”
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Tuan did his best to behave as politely as he had been taught. The two of them then stepped closer to the conference table to better observe the holographic display hovering above it. Before them floated a three-dimensional model of the ELE-SP006. Tuan studied the ship’s cross-sectional structure with intense focus – each compartment rendered with near-perfect detail. Meanwhile, Valentina quietly shrank behind Tuan. Her fear of adults made her body stiffen, her mind struggling to maintain even basic control over her actions.
Arnaldo’s deep, steady voice broke the silence.
“I’ll move straight to the briefing. What you see before you is a structural simulation of spacecraft ELE-SP006. At present, two of the ship’s four rocket engines have been completely depleted following the last acceleration maneuver. That leaves us with only two engines capable of interplanetary travel. I will initiate another travel shortly, and we are expected to enter Titan’s orbit by early tomorrow morning.
“According to the data I’ve gathered, the United Nations once launched an unmanned interstellar vessel to Saturn’s moon Titan to construct an observation station at L.A.B’s request. That will be our destination. We will transfer to a new ship there and abandon this one. Upon landing, I will enter the station to back up all observational data for use in our upcoming journey. I will need the two of you to transport supplies and all usable equipment from this ship to the other, so we can make full use of what remains. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir. Understood.” Tuan replied, nodding.
“On another note,” Arnaldo turned toward Tuan, his tone suddenly heavy, “I must strongly reprimand your actions earlier, Tuan. Did you not realize that what you did endangered not only yourself, but everyone else aboard this ship? You could have caused a catastrophic failure by repeatedly striking the rear hatch like that. Look at the control room door – it’s no longer intact, is it? Fortunately, the situation was contained, and you survived. But both of you must remember this: you were created with the mission of saving Earth. We carry the hopes of all humanity on our shoulders. That is both a duty and a responsibility entrusted to us. Do not squander your life so recklessly ever again.”
