Book 1 of CANAISIS ∞ The Last Living Ship trilogy (Chronicles of Canaisis 1)
Can a ship, born to sail the ocean of stars to ensure Humankind's survival, save her Captain from the void within his own heart?
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Canaisis is the last of her kind, a L...
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Jorkam, who passed in 2021, too soon.
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Imagine a time of Mankind's expansion. A time before hyperdrive and wormholes. I speak of the time of the Living Ships, when Man could travel just a few times faster than light. Mankind spread across to the neighborhood stars with the help of the sentient ships. I speak of the time when A.I. was designed organically into great exploration ships, before Mankind realized they were prone to insanity...
Let me tell you the story of one captain. You know of whom I speak. The only captain to ever sail a living A.I. that did not go insane. You know of his exploits, most planets found, most colonies founded, but do you know the true story?
You walk this planet, you breathe this air, because she brought your ancestors here. You owe it to her and her Captain to know their story.
Yes...
Canaisis... She started out as an explorer, one of seven Sisters sent out to explore our galaxy. As centuries of Earth-time passed, she grew more into her own, to become the largest colony Ship ever seen. No longer did she need a crew. But the Captain stayed at the helm, ever faithful. She became a constant for many colonies, as often decades or centuries passed before her return. She was a product of a technology that could not be mastered. And what she had become could not be comprehended.
But always, the Captain was there. He became a symbol to many, an arbitrator to Man's issues: 'One of us—but separate, above us.' His home was the vast space between stars, for that was where Canaisis lived. She only came to visit us once in a while, as the Captain desired.
Not anymore.
You should know the betrayal that Mankind did, that drove her and her Captain to leave us forever. Once, Earth tried to assert control over Canaisis, but what is a captain to do when even the country and government he served have passed away centuries ago?
He becomes his own island, an authority unto himself.
And thus maybe it was the Captain himself who taught the Living Ship to understand War. Who knows?
The Storyteller looks down at the young black noble, half expecting him to respond. But the Captain-to-be merely gazes at her, patience in his eyes. So the Elder lifts her gaze to the distance and continues.
Be glad the Captain chose to leave us. For had he chosen to wage war, have no illusions that we would have suffered for it. Our greatest colony of that time no longer exists because they threatened her Captain. If that's not love, then I know not what it is.
No one will understand what truly took place between those two. Perhaps it started when Canaisis returned to a colony she first transported to a century earlier. At this time, Canaisis rode the vast plasma currents that flowed between the stars at seven times the speed of light. No one knew how she perfected this—neither she nor the Captain would explain. Mankind could achieve almost twice the speed of light by then, with reliable technology that did not require high-magnitude Artificial Intelligence.
Canaisis, on the other hand, was a Living Ship. She grew, and she evolved in complexity. Organic metal, and a mind designed to model the Human brain with neurons, synapses, a nervous system...
A Captain cannot help but love his Ship as he sails the winds of the oceans. No less here, in the expanse of space. And they're out there, somewhere, have no doubt. They sail the Universe together.
The Storyteller pulls out a decorated leather canteen from between the patterned layers of her robe, removes the cork, and drinks a slow mouthful. Her eyes crinkle as if she is lost in memory, then she returns to the moment, casting her gaze around the busy market street, and glances at the black noble again.
The young man remains respectfully silent. He knows one must never rush an Elder if one wishes to find a Truth within the story.
The Storyteller reseals the canteen, and her lightly wrinkled hands cradle it in her lap as she continues with a wistful smile...
Did you know this is a love story? No?
Surely, you realize it had to be? For only thus could it be, that a living A.I. could remain sane. Only thus could she have endured the long, vast, silent cold years between the stars while her Captain slept.
To tell this story, I must go back to the beginning—well, not the beginning of them, but the beginning of what matters. For this was the first time the Captain and Canaisis shared a moment of pure trust and consciousness. The moment was significant... and profound.
Picture the Captain standing in a large room, large enough to hold a church inside of it. Polished black metal floor with two shiny metal poles in the center. The Captain stands between the poles, his hands resting on the globes atop the poles. He stands tall and looks up, and the ceiling loses opacity to the stars that shine like diamonds in the black expanse.
But it's the blue gas giant and its asteroid ring that stands in the forefront, taking up half the sky. It's this moment, this is when he and Canaisis touch minds for the first time. This is the moment when an angel walked the sky with her sword, shooting stars falling from her wings...
Or so the legends say.
Would things have been different if the Captain hadn't had anger in his mind? That's hard to say. But for you, young Master, to understand this anger, I must go further back in time. This story must start at the very beginning. When the Captain first brought these Colonists here—yes, that's the proper beginning for this story. You need to understand what the people meant to our Captain to truly appreciate the legend.
Listen, it's time you know the true story. It's a love story, but it's also a record of the debt Humanity owes Canaisis and her Captain.
It begins with them orbiting Luna, Earth's moon, where the Colonists are boarding Canaisis. The Captain looks across the hangar from an upper deck at the shuttles coming and going as the group of Colonists grows...
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