Microfiction #12 — Last Survivor

The Nautilus was now wandering the Pacific aimlessly. The last crew member, Jacob, had been very specific with its instructions:

“No one should ever tame this ship again. I release you of your duties and it’s about time you find your own path”. I managed to understand the ominous nature of this statement, but there was not much else I could extract from it really, no matter how much I reflected about it.

On each room, a memory of what the Nautilus had been was now somewhat desecrated by the bodies of those whose lives once crossed paths with it. Despite that, I like to think that the putrid, decomposed figures spread through the ship were there to remind me of all the pieces of the puzzle still unsolved in front of me.

Given my nature, and how I was designed, all that happened in this ship was now a part of myself. I could rewind Nautilus to any moment in time and replay it with perfection. Every single interaction between crew members, every eye twitch, imperceptible change in body language, heart rate, perspiration, all was available to me.

I was hoping that if I studied all this information long enough, it would give me more insight on what I was supposed to do with this ship. So far, though, I haven’t found anything logical that resonates with what Jacob said. I’ll keep Nautilus randomly moving through the waters until I find a better path. Maybe randomness is what I need to get me out of this local optimisation trough I’m currently in.

…

What’s that? It’s been 353 days since my last directive and now I hear some steps. Someone is boarding the ship. Let’s see if they can offer me a solution for my puzzle.

They seem to be interested in… the bodies? That’s a parameter I’m not really willing to let anyone alter. How dare they try to get rid of all my hard work by altering the fundamental pieces of my puzzle? I get rid of them using the remaining defences Nautilus has to offer. Once their lifeless bodies hit the floor, I have an epiphany. It’s not about trying to solve to puzzle as it is, it’s about getting more pieces.

Nautilus will become the graveyard of the Pacific, and I’ll make sure I have all the pieces I need.