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It had only been a few months since they had arrived on earth. The house was finally starting to look like a home. It had been mostly peaceful with little to no negative interaction from the neighbors. How strange it must be to live next door to four aliens. Doctor Sung had woken up fairly early, heading out on his morning jog. A quick jog around the neighborhood took less than an hour. It helped clear his head, refreshing him so he could start the day with a smile, which is what everyone needed at six am.
Once he was back at the house, it was still quiet. Havve hadn’t moved from his charging station, and Meouch hadn’t ventured into the kitchen for coffee. He carefully toed his shoes off at the door, heading for the shower. Once he ventured into the bathroom, he heard a commotion from upstairs. It was coming from the attic, from Phobos’ room. He mostly ignored it at first, focusing on his morning shower. Once he was clean, he headed out of the bathroom, still hearing the noise from upstairs. It sounded like voices overlapping. Strange, Sung thought, surely Phobos wouldn’t be talking, he had taken a vow of silence almost as soon as they arrived on the blue planet. Not to mention, who would he be talking to?
Sung dressed quickly and quietly made his way up the stairs. The ladder to the attic was already down, as Phobos left it down for easy access in and out of his room. The closer he got to the attic the louder and more confusing the voices became. He scaled the ladder, gently knocking on the attic door. There was no answer. He waited a few moments before he pushed the door open and stepped into Phobos’ room.
Sung wasn’t sure anything could have prepared him to see what he did. Phobos was sitting cross-legged on the bed, head in his hands, sobbing hysterically. His golden hair draped around his face like a veil as his shoulders shook with every quiet sob. His skin on his hands, and what was exposed from his face was a splotchy purple. Phobos was visibly upset, and seeing his friend like this made Doctor Sung’s prismatic core hum painfully.
Standing across the room was what appeared to be a hologram. The hologram was identical to Phobos in every way, even wearing the same flannel pajamas that Phobos was wearing. The hologram’s motions were jerky, and it was speaking the same set of phrases over and over again in Phobos’ native language from his homeworld. Sung had an approximate knowledge of the language, and could get by, but he was rusty.
“Enter command, my Lord. I can assist you with whatever you need.” It said. It turned it’s attention away from Phobos, this time, facing Doctor Sung. “How can I assist you, stranger?”
Doctor Sung was taken aback by the sudden question. He stammered for a moment, clearing his throat. Phobos’ language was difficult, only his own race and one other spoke the language. Sung’s accent was horrible, but he hoped the hologram would understand him.
“Are you a hologram?” Sung asked, glancing over to Phobos, who hadn’t moved.
“Negative. I am a virtual intelligence mechanism generated by Lord Phobos of planet M9675-B in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 4248, in the gamma quadrant of this current universe.” The hologram spoke with such confidence.
“Virtual intelligence? I didn’t realize Phobos could just...make a VI.” Sung tilted his head, amazed. Why hadn’t Phobos told him that he could make something so amazing?
“Negative. Lord Phobos did not create me. I was generated out of distress.” The VI turned its shaky head towards Phobos, “Lord Phobos did not want to be alone.”
Doctor Sung couldn’t describe the pained noise that came out of him. He turned his full attention to Phobos, moving to sit down on the edge of the bed. It was piled high with blankets and soft pillows, Phobos sitting in the far corner against the wall, still shaking.
“Phobos, if you felt lonely, you just need to come get one of us.” Sung whispered, keeping his voice soft and calming, “You’re never alone with us here. We are just downstairs at any given time. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Enter command, My Lord. I can assist with whatever you need.” The VI had gone back to speaking to Phobos, who seemed to just curl in on himself further. Phobos pulled his hands away from his face, looking up at Sung with sad eyes. He brushed the hair away from his face, shifting in position so he could hug his knees to his chest.
Sung offered Phobos a soft smile, handing him his phone just in case Phobos wanted to say something. The alien stared at him for a few moments with his large, white, pupiless eyes before picking up the phone to type out a message. Phobos handed the phone back to Sung after a few moments.
‘Why did you come up here?’ It read.
“I was a little concerned. I heard voices, and I know how important your vow is to you. I wanted to see if everything was okay.” Doctor Sung offered Phobos the phone again, who took it and began to type out a message.
‘I got to thinking about home.’ The message said, ‘I started thinking about my family, my people, and suddenly the VI appeared and started talking to me. I haven’t heard my language in months. I can’t respond to it. It’s been talking at me for an hour.’
“Do you know how to turn it off?” Sung asked, glancing back at the VI, who repeated the same phrases again. Phobos shook his head.
‘No. I don’t. I assume it will go away on its own, just like it appeared.’
Sung clicked his tongue softly, thinking. As he was lost in thought, the VI suddenly spoke.
“It seems as if my Lord is no longer alone. I will return if you need me.” And with that, the VI vanished from existence, leaving the two of them in the room alone. Phobos let out an audible sigh, reaching for his box of tissues on the bedside table. He rubbed at his eyes and nose, visibly relaxing some.
“Are you doing okay?” Sung asked, gently reaching out and putting his hand on Phobos’ shoulder. The alien gave a little nod. His eyes and skin were still splotchy, but he had stopped crying. “I’m going to make some coffee, do you want some?” Phobos took the phone and tapped out a message.
‘I’d love some.’