Post by account_disabled on Dec 24, 2023 1:09:25 GMT -4
Captain Lyar had been flying over Theta for two hours, the city implanted on Mars over a century earlier. Those reconnaissance flights were starting to tire him. In reality it was the planet itself that no longer stimulated him: its red surface, the silence, the unchanging days in the city. He needed something different, to change his life. To leave and return to Earth, perhaps. Every year there were ships that employed men like him, space veterans who would command expeditions to the farthest corners of the solar system.
He'd think about it, he told himself, as he steered the plane toward the west side of town. The scout hissed above the seemingly lifeless buildings of Theta, but Lyar knew that its flights were monitored by the control center. He had spoken to the radio operator an hour earlier. Everything appeared calm, as always. Lyar took the Special Data scout to the southern outskirts, where the warehouse area lay. It was then that he saw the device. It was another scout, and it was traveling at the same altitude as him, towards him. From that distance he couldn't recognize the pattern, but he knew that no other aircraft had risen from Theta.
He tried to contact the center by radio, but the communication was disturbed. Now, however, he could see it clearly: it was a scout like him... the same copy of him. He ordered the pilot to identify himself, but no one responded. And no signal from the control center. The other aircraft showed no signs of turning, it was directed towards him and the distance decreased significantly. When Lyar realized he had no other choice, he fired on that scout. The rocket hit the target squarely and an explosion was seen from Theta. "What happened?" asked the control center commander. “Lyar's scout, sir… It exploded. It suddenly fired and then exploded.
He'd think about it, he told himself, as he steered the plane toward the west side of town. The scout hissed above the seemingly lifeless buildings of Theta, but Lyar knew that its flights were monitored by the control center. He had spoken to the radio operator an hour earlier. Everything appeared calm, as always. Lyar took the Special Data scout to the southern outskirts, where the warehouse area lay. It was then that he saw the device. It was another scout, and it was traveling at the same altitude as him, towards him. From that distance he couldn't recognize the pattern, but he knew that no other aircraft had risen from Theta.
He tried to contact the center by radio, but the communication was disturbed. Now, however, he could see it clearly: it was a scout like him... the same copy of him. He ordered the pilot to identify himself, but no one responded. And no signal from the control center. The other aircraft showed no signs of turning, it was directed towards him and the distance decreased significantly. When Lyar realized he had no other choice, he fired on that scout. The rocket hit the target squarely and an explosion was seen from Theta. "What happened?" asked the control center commander. “Lyar's scout, sir… It exploded. It suddenly fired and then exploded.