âHey Mr. Brain, I really need to talk to you for a minute.â
Brain looked up from his screen, and gave the man standing in his doorway a stern glare. It took a moment for Brain to recognize him. Not his name of course, but the green dot on his badge indicated he was from the Support Crew.
âLook-â Brain fumbled for a name for a beat before quickly deciding it wasnât worth it. âIâm not sure what you need but Iâm positive it can be handled via email.â
âI did send you an email sir. Several actually.â
Brain was getting frustrated. âWell I didnât get it then.â
âYou did sir.â The visitor was getting more forceful. âYou said you would handle it. It hasnât been handled yet, so Iâm here to, once again, offer my support.â
Brain sighed loud enough to let this intruder know he wasnât welcome. âRemind me what your email said.â
âThe survivors, sir. The ship we sent out towards the 208 Munius Supercluster that was declared lost-â
âThat trip happened nearly 8 years ago. No one survived. It was a great tragedy. Now, go back to work.â Brain turned back to his screen, positive in his dismissal.
Except the unwelcome man stepped further into the office. âMr. Brain, I am here to tell you they lived! They sent the appropriate signal. As far as I can tell, the signal was first sent almost two years ago! They need our help.â
Brain sighed, but less dramatically this time. Maybe this was worth looking into.
âI assume you have proof of this?â Brain asked.
Relieved, the guest held out a drive. âItâs all here sir.â
âMr. Addams. Fine. I will check into this and see what we can do for them.â
âWould it be too much to ask for updates sir? Iâd like to see them returned safely.â
âFine. I will update you as necessary.â
Addams left, feeling hopeful. Movement was finally happening for those survivors. Maybe, just maybe, they could finally come home.
Brain did in fact speak to his boss, who made it very clear that the trip had ended in critical failure and any âsurvivorsâ wouldnât be worth the cost of retrieving. Brain was instructed to shut down any and all remaining life support systems they could access, because any money Brain could save would be his during the year ends bonus.
Brain didnât think it would take much. He killed the most expensive system first, the heating. If anything was still alive, freezing to death would be painless at least.
The next day, he saw the signals still strong. So he deactivated the oxygen. âAt least it will be quick,â he reasoned.
The next week, the signal returned. Brain found he was annoyed that his kindness was rejected. They didnât want his kindness? Fine. He shut down the engine failsafes and dumped fuel. They could blow up or starve for all he cared.
Only three days later before the signal reactivated. Brain was getting frustrated now. He tried affecting the steering, the air lock, anything. He found he was locked out of all of it.
Brain needed a way to end this, quickly. Before those nuisances found their way to a civilized system.
Addams was excited to finally be called to help. He knew his emails were only getting automated responses, but this summons proved Mr. Brain was reading them. Which was a relief to Addam, because heâd been noticing several glitches that were nearly killing the survivors. If Addams hadnât of put the security block on their own system, he wasnât sure what else might have happened.
Addams entered the office to find Brain visibly upset. The office worker looked ready to hit something.
âAddams, good. Iâm having some trouble with the system. I need your help to access it.â
Addams nodded, moving over. âOf course sir. Iâm glad to know you saw the malfunctions too.â
Brain looked at Addams. âWhat malfunctions?â
Addams paused, and took a step back. âThe survivorsâ ship, its been malfunctioning, right sir? Iâve been sending you emails.â
Addams didnât like how Brain seemed to be considering his words. He didnât seem frustrated anymore. No, to Addams, it looked like Mr. Brain was mad.
âYouâve been watching these malfunctions then? And doing nothing to stop it?â Brain demanded.
Addams felt relief. âOf course not sir. I recognized the malfunctions were coming from our own system, likely because the ship is 7 years out of date and not processing the commands right. I uploaded a firewall to protect the newer commands from confusing the older software on the ship.â
Brain nodded and hit a few keys on his keyboard. âYou did? Thatâs, good.â
Addams nodded. âI didnât know how else to remotely update their software so the glitches stopped. I figured they made it this far without our help, so long as we donât hinder them, theyâll make it on their own.â
The door opened behind Addams. He turned to see three security officers behind him.
âThank you men for getting here so quickly,â Brain addressed the security personnel. âPlease escort Mr. Addams out of the building and wipe his work station. He is fired for tampering with company property.â
Addams felt sick as hands grabbed his arms. Realization settled and sickened him as he struggled.
âYou said we were SAVING THEM!â Addams accused.
The third guard pulled out a stun baton. âIf you donât stop fighting us, we will use force.â
Addams was incensed and unwilling to bend. His whole life was being destroyed, and at least seven others were being deliberately murdered and for what?
âTell me why!â Addams suddenly needed the answer. âWhy would you do this?!â
âMr. Addams, itâs in the best interest of the company to cut off bad investments before we lose money. And the mission to 208 Munius Supercluster is nothing more than a bad investment,â Brain explained easily.
Addams feet slipped backwards as he lost his resolve. He felt like a fool, trusting a company to do the right thing. He felt like a fool trusting Mr. Brain to care. Addams was shuffled backwards towards the hall.
âGoodbye Mr. Addams. And, donât ask us for a reference in your future endeavors,â Brain warned.
Addams wanted to hit the man. As if he cared about a reference right now when peopleâs lives were at stake.
Addams had taken no more than a step forward when the stun baton touched his back. His body spasmed uncontrollably, and gravity kicked him in the face.
Within a few hours, Brain successfully reported the 208 Munius Supercluster mission closed. Now that the pest was gone, Brain was free to set the vessel to self destruct.
With that done, Brain closed the annoying task and went back to his normal workload. With the added, pleasant distraction of thinking about his bonus this year.