Nest Among The Stars

Nest Among The Stars Video - Alone?

Three chairs sat on the platform, slender metal desks encircling each. Holographic screens embedded into the surfaces of the desks displayed all the information deemed to be essential. Suspended without attachments over this small island in a hard flat sea was a single dominant globe shaped light. Two back-lit steps provided the only means of access.

Ascending the steps, Michael chose to sit in the middle chair of the three for no other reason than that it felt like the right thing to do. There had been no specific instructions given in this regard and, even if there were, he would probably have ignored them by now. Instructions, or more correctly the purposes underlying them, just did not seem as relevant as they once had. Even so, out of habit and a latent desire to maintain some discipline in his life, he wore his uniform; dark blue pants with red leg piping, a like colored tunic adorned with two rows of service ribbons, and black knee high leather boots, meticulously polished.

It was early in the morning — although this could not be known by observation, there being no windows in the control room through which to see the world outside — and Michael had not yet shaken off the dullness of an unsettled night's rest. Contrasting with the crispness of his uniform, he was unshaven and unkempt. Solitude was encouraging a breakdown in mental discipline and each day he fought less against the urge to let go of those things no longer observed by others. That morning he had found it particularly difficult to care. It was a strange feeling for him, a feeling alien to his years of training, and one which gnawed at his soul.

"It's too soon for me to be feeling this way," he thought while trying without real effort to concentrate on the wearisome technical data displayed by the screens before him, information of the highest importance that each day slipped further into irrelevance. There was nothing of worth to be gleaned from anything he saw. Each day he sat in place, doing nothing but watching as information on the various screens continued to change. The functioning of the planet, workings both natural and those arising from human planning, were tracked, recorded, and processed through the control room. A staggering outpouring of data which he stared at blankly, lost in indifference.

As on all the days previous to this one, curiosity drew him to take note of the census figures for Earth and the ones displayed for the colonies. Population numbers increasing daily for the other planets as arriving ships disembarked their human cargoes, while the home world held steady at 'one'. Of everything shown only this information held any importance to him, and that only for the pain it presented.

If there was an awareness of anything else it was not apparent from Michael's demeanor. Behind an unfocused gaze he calmly looked towards the screens, concealing within himself memories of the recent past.

Tormented by the cold reality placed in front of him each day, he sought solace in what had been, in memories of what he had known. Thoughts intended to provide comfort dominated his mind and were carelessly spoken without deliberation or awareness into the empty room.

"Everywhere I stand, I'm where someone wants to be."

The words softly echoed through the darkness as if intending to mock their own meaning. Before they had fully dissipated into the surrounding nothingness, another voice spoke from within the empty room, the tone calm, unmistakably human, but clearly lacking understanding for what really had been said.

"You are not standing at present Michael. Also, your statement concerning any others like yourself is not an immediate possibility. Is it one of your reflections?"

Michael answered immediately, surprised at how he welcomed the opportunity to converse, "Yes, it's a reflection ... a past complaint ... a present regret."

"Are you doing damage to yourself, Michael?" the ethereal voice queried, sounding simplistic, like that of a young child asking innocently about a subject unknown to them.