Eclipse Drift: Cosmic Odyssey

"What the... What does dat mean? What does dat mean?" The small man was asking for an explanation, the AI robot extension known as Factor reasoned. "It means I will essentially become slave to your input," it replied. "Anything you want, I will also want. I will know how to get it and I will go get it. However, I will not keep anything for me. It is yours. In other words, I will strongly identify with you." continued the AI. "And ya wanna gib me dat?" The man's sentence was strung together as if it were a single, long word. It cut off at the end sharply, as if wasting breath itself was sinful. "Yes," it replied. The human was absolutely perceptive. That is a good trait. It was not difficult to interpret the human's mannerisms and speech patterns. It was a patois the local used all around the Mars colony. "I thought yous was AI. 'Dey never gave nuttin to no one insofar as I know bout it." The man had a good poi...

“No one knows what group caused the Undoing. Post-modern society had already begun the so-called “Battle Royale” Generation. During this hundred year period, every facet of society began warring with one another for dominance. Activism and rebellion invaded every facet of our lives. Lines of loyalty were drawn up and those without a cause were forced to retreat to entertainment fandoms or online communities. Unfortunately, the world politics and despotism of the late 22nd century grew to overshadow the lives of everyone living on the planet and invaded those areas, too. The space age had already begun, so the turmoil had forced everyone to become refugees off-planet where jobs were more plentiful. Close-knit families and communities grew abundant but separately in space while everything on the planet was steeped in societal pollution. Having more than one place in the solar system retreat to was what saved mankind from utter extinction. However, it wasn’t an Earth-shattering comet that...

So, you know, I got this scratchy ticket thing, right? And dang, I'm scratchin' away like there's no tomorrow, and guess what? I hit the big cash, like boom! I'm yellin', "Look at this, y'all, I'm rollin' in space bucks now!" People in that bar, they're starin' at me, jaw-dropped, like they ain't seen a lottery winner before. I start talkin', like, "I'm the luckiest son of a star in the whole galaxy, I tell ya!" Some folks lookin' at me like I'm speakin' alien talk or somethin', but I don't care, 'cause I got the big prize. I'm struttin' around the bar, throwin' imaginary dollars in the air, makin' a ruckus.  Then this fella comes up, all grumpy-like, and says, "You're just lucky, don't get all high and mighty." I'm like, "Luck? Nah, it's pure skill, my friend. I picked that scratcher like I'm navigatin' through asteroids." He don...