Chapter Text
I think the only reason I haven’t collapsed into rubble by now is because Eridians are big on self-care and taking breaks from things.
No I [one] really wants to have to be the one to tell me to stop working on this or that, but they do it anyway. If it's not I [one] of the other specialists, it’s Rocky or Adrian. They have to remind me to eat and sleep. If it weren’t for the pebbles, I’d probably be sleeping in the corner of a lab or workshop, since both my mates are involved in the project.
So I work. Take breaks for my health. I go home for the pebble’s sleep cycles when possible.
I lead thrums.
So many thrums. Even though I am not an engineer or pilot, I’m in the general engineering thrum. I already was I [one] of the leaders of the more specialized astronautics thrum, but now I’m the ultimate expert, having been the only individual on the planet to have traveled between three different star systems. The physics, bromatology, astronomy, computing, and behavioral science thrums all have me as a co-lead. In the +VI [157] years since Rocky and I had arrived, Erid’s space program has exploded in size and popularity. With the data and research contained within the human laptops, Eridians have developed satellites and probes. Prior to the “Let’s Visit Earth” project, there was a team working on modifying and building an Eridian version of the JWST. Another team had been working on a piloted mission to visit Threeworld to study it.
Now, everybody was entirely focused on the Earth mission. The other projects weren’t pushed aside; in fact, many of the team members had gotten excited about the technology they’d worked on being utilized for the new ship. And we were coming up with things that were going to make their projects run smoother or more efficiently.
Then there were the thrums that I only occasionally had time to join. Specifically the ones relating to humans and Earth. They wanted to start preparations for establishing contact now, so that they could ensure that the ship would contain everything needed for it. That means technology, data, and language. Almost every Eridian knew at least two human languages by now, thanks to the collection of all of humanity’s knowledge and creativity up to the time of the launch. After the computing and engineering thrums developed hardware that could survive Erid’s atmosphere, and after a whole bunch of thrums had spent nearly a Vℓ [dozen] years going through and selecting what would be made publicly available, interest in learning human languages had skyrocketed. People were very excited about having new material to study. I imagined there would be linguists and language preservationists who would be ecstatic to find out that Eridians wanted to learn more languages.
I can’t imagine that doing all of this work without my Eridian form would have gone nearly as smoothly as it is right now. If I was limited by a human’s hearing range and inability to properly speak Eridian, there’s no way that information could be exchanged as quickly as it is. I definitely wouldn’t be able to get as much work done with a human sleep cycle.
So we work.
The decision is made, after approval from myself, to incorporate the Hail Mary into the new Eridian ship.
She’s been in orbit, docked with the space elevator. There are several Eridians whose entire job is to study and maintain her. That means running system checks, inspections, and doing repairs when needed. Years ago, shortly after I’d arrived, I’d used an EVA suit and installed a whole series of rails for hull robots to run on. Even with the xenonite suits that Rocky’d developed, not a single Eridian was willing to do a spacewalk.
With the hull robots, they’ve reinforced her hull. Some technology has been removed, and now resides in the Earth-atmosphere dome on the surface. But the main things are still there – life support, everything in the cockpit, and some of the scientific instruments that the Eridians had left in place. We use it to store a lot of the human items that couldn’t handle the surface. A lot of my old clothes are folded into storage cubes, I think.
The Hail Mary is a long way past her expiration date. It takes λ [three] separate thrums consisting of multiple different teams to determine the safest way to incorporate her into our current design.
Once the design is finalized, construction begins.
Materials are hauled up the space elevator and into workshops specially built for this purpose. I go up a few times to check it out, but Rocky’s the engineer, so they’re up there way more. There’s different teams assembling different parts of the ship. I [one] group is building the engines. There are V [two] different teams working specifically on radiation protection.
All the leaders of the project are present when the final inspection of the new ship is completed.
I slump in relief. We did it.
Of course we did, says Rocky, amused. We have two planets’ worth of knowledge. I’d be concerned if we didn’t do it right.
We all laugh, exhausted but pleased. Compared to how long it typically takes humans to design a space ship from scratch, we speedran the whole process. But that’s the advantage of such advanced materials science and a species who could work for literal days before needing to rest.
The Eridian who was to be the ship’s primary pilot hums. Saving-Grace, it is common in human cultures to name their ships, yes? Their double-tap against the floor draws my attention.
Yeah, I answer, humans like to name things. Spaceships, satellites, probes, watercrafts. Some humans name their personal vehicles, or the machines they have in their homes. With a chuckle, I chirp. I [One] of my classes named all of the class laptops and gave them nametags.
You should give this ship a name.
I go silent. Next to me, Rocky shifts, carefully angling themself to better hear what I was doing. The rest of the room leans closer, clearly excited.
Finally, I sing, but I am not really human anymore. And I am not the only I [one] to work on it. It should be a group decision.
Another Eridian speaks up. You are both. You are the reason this mission is even possible. I think you have more right than any other to pick a name. They incline their carapace knowingly; they’re one of the human technology experts.
Rocky hums softly, reassuring me without words.
I click for a moment before exhaling through my vents. Alright.
Everyone straightens up as I think.
This ship will be called “The Songbird”, I decide, singing its name into the quiet room. Both Earth and Erid have songs. Music is a foundational part of society no matter where you are. And birds have lots of meanings in different cultures. There are many kinds of songbirds, but they’re often said to symbolize joy, light, and freedom. Some songbirds are thought to be messengers.
The whole room erupts into celebratory song. Rocky laughs beside me as I reel from the multiple overlapping songs of approval. You are very bad at names, they tell me, but you have your moments.
The Songbird is ready for its crew, announces the pilot. We must begin selecting them.
For some reason, after VV+ℓ∀ [3,173] days, those chords no longer send me into a spiral.
I shove the thought away and head for the elevator with everyone else. Below, there is a celebration that will begin after we arrive. Adrian is waiting.