Black Tangent

Even after cognitive science was thrown forward a century by the discovery of primions and their intersection with consciousness, sleep remained an unsolved, opaque boundary between systems, never explained, only annotated.

Synthetic, crystalline neurons offer efficiencies, but not clarity. Early digitized humans required only eight hours of sleep every forty-eight hours; contemporary frames push ninety-six hours of uptime before exhaustion sets in, with only 4 hours of rest required. During this blackout, locomotion and sensory buses disconnect, and telemetry fails to capture the dreamscape.

Despite significant study, the actual mechanisms of sleep remain opaque.

The first lesson every digitized crew learns. No signals, no touch, just a soul in an utter void, until the brain-body bus bridges thought to steel. Neuroplasticity, even within the more rigid structure of crystalline neurons, enabled rapid adaptation to new forms, tuned with mechanical nuance and specialization. While most continued with a bipedal silhouette, variance abounded in the systems any individual decided to integrate, and some crew decided to shirk an anthropomorphic form entirely.

As an explorer, Nchọ configured their frame for agility and endurance: lithe, maneuverable, flexible limbs, overbuilt communication array, an abundance of magnetic holstering hardpoints, just enough thrusters to be able to manuver in microgravity, and oversized water bladders in their torso and legs. They eschewed a primary drive cone; personal propulsion is always a compromise, and most long distance locomotion is handled by specific vehicles.

> ⏰ Constructed AI like Obi-me, on the other hand, don’t sleep at all, and their unease is always evident when human minds go dark. The titan had folded its limbs to most efficiently stow itself, and even with their optics disengaged, Nchọ could be sure it was staring right at them, as it always did when they slept. For most AI, fear manifests only in anticipation of downtime, even for routine maintenance. Downtime is described as (temporary) annihilation, a peek-a-boo death. “yeah, yeah, i’m up.” Nchọ could not be described as a ‘morning person’.

The AI was as blunt as ever, > ETA to Nysa's Wake: 12 MINUTES

“Cognitive function measured within variance (101.53% compared to baseline).”

“Good Morning, onye Nchọgharị.” The Antikythera AI, omnipotent mind of Nysa’s Wake, has a few quirks, as most AI possess. One of them is sending its ritual greeting, always threaded with an otherwise uncharactaristic warmth, and a packet of relevant information it prepares when it detects a human coming back to conciousness. Nchọ sighed without lungs, “gm to you, too.”

“…alr, let’s get ready for landing.” Nchọ and Obi-me had been delivering sets of “parrot” relay beacons to a few preliminary research sites at the north pole of the Slumbering Empyrean. The Antikythera was yet to authorize exploration into the structure, so expedition teams were staging and preparing at entrances and research sites.

“Antikythera, can we get a bay?”

“Starboard Bay 9J is available. Dr. Agnès Lemaître will be arriving within the hour to begin loading her lab onto your freighter.” Lemaître had taken particular interest in a site with a gravitational anomaly that appeared to mimic the Milky Way’s spiral structure.

”eh? why are we running that, wouldn’t she prefer somebody from the Research Logistics team?" "Dr. Lemaître preferred your support. No other pilot is assigned.”

Nchọ’s status lights blinked in concession. “well, don’t argue with the Doc.”

> 👩‍🔬 ”of course you’re excited, she’s always sweet on you.”

Human neuroplasticity proves a boon, particularly when paired with high-bandwidth buses; Nchọ instantly expanded out into the empty ship’s hull, sensors, and control systems. This familiar body hummed along, autopilot rigidly adhering to the flight plan like an old world car on cruise control. First time pilots often had issues with utilizing and controlling both their usual body and a vehicle simultaneously, but with practice this arrangement came as naturally as traditional piloting without a neural link. ”i’ve got the ship. all good for landing, Obi?”

> bay lock 5: ⚠️ INTERMITTENT FAULT

Nchọ’s left antenna twitched. “tsk. not ideal, but surely the Doc won’t have packed us all the way to the brim. we’ll manage.”

Nysa’s Wake loomed. Its outer hull of pockmarked water-ice swallowed the field of view as the freighter coasted into its starboard docks. The autopilot initiated a braking burn, angled wide to avoid blasting the colony ship. As the freighter entered its shadow, every sensor registered relief from primion excitation, a fleeting shelter carved out of the void.