Indispensable

Nighttime on the Axiom's Lido deck dome was always a welcome sight. While the artificial daytime sky brought lots of passengers to the poolside, the night brought a sense of a calm. Perhaps it was because the sky within the ship matched its external celestial surroundings so well, and so everything seemed to be a little bit more synchronized. For Captain McCrea, night meant the end of his daily duties of announcements and the chance to finally get some sleep. He had to admit that the newfound quiet upon the ship along with consistent darkness was relaxing, even if it was the same thing every evening. Tonight, a last-minute system check was in order.

"Computer? Confirm that power generators A and B on... uh... whatever deck it was are repaired."

Without an ounce of delay, the computer spoke.

"Confirmed. All systems are set."

McCrea smiled sleepily.

"Good. I guess that's it, then. Auto?"

He glided over to the other side of the bridge where the autopilot quietly watched the passengers leave the poolside. When the last one passed through the doors to the residential areas, Auto jolted forward and hit a button. The transportation lanes instantly dimmed, creating an even softer, more soothing glow across the entire deck. Finally, Auto whirled to face the captain, his eye glowing a bit brighter as his faceplate split to engage speaking mode.

Sir.

McCrea stared at him for a few moments, tapping his chin before remembering what he meant to say.

"Auto, I need to show you something. Come to my room for a sec, will you?"

Aye aye, sir.

Both man and machine, via an opening in the ceiling and an ultra efficient hoverchair, respectively made their way to the captain's quarters just below. McCrea meandered to the holoscreen where Auto waited. He always waited there by default if he was needed.

"Computer? Open the message from today."

Auto turned to face the screen, which was now cycling through pages and pages of announcements. Finally, with a few brief flickers of static, it landed on the message of the day. The subject line, which stated "Read me" blinked repeatedly. The message opened and McCrea paused to re-read it, squinting slightly.

"Attention... Axiom captain... eh... not important, not important... oh, here we go! Auto, listen to this. It says 'we will be passing by you so be sure to wave to us... regards, Captain... Drennings of the... Pha...lanx. Phalanx.'"

McCrea turned his chair to face his helmsman.

"Auto, do you know what this means? There are other ships out there!"

He pointed at the windows briskly, and Auto turned to face them for a few moments.

You are correct, sir. Information from other autopilots shows at least twenty other starliners are in the relative vicinity.

McCrea's eyes widened at the news.

"Auto! Why didn't you tell me?!"

You never asked, Captain.

McCrea sighed, whirling his chair around to face the windows. A comet bolted by as he spent some time taking in the new information. Technically, Auto was right; he never did ask the autopilot if there were others. However, this was a big, big deal. It meant that there must be many other thousands of people doing exactly the same thing everyone on the Axiom was doing for hundreds of years! Without facing him, McCrea spoke, his voice finally toned down.

"Auto... do you think they're all like us? I mean..."

The captain glanced over at an empty mashed-potatoes-and-gravy-in-a-cup container on the mini bar's counter. His voice turned to a whisper.

"Do they also eat stuff in a cup...?"

Auto's processor strips swirled as he computed the questions. The captain was awfully inquisitive tonight, and the autopilot preferred him to be blissfully ignorant. It let him focus on his job just a little bit more. After all, there were still things to shut down.

I am uncertain. I also do not understand the importance of these questions, Captain.

"Well, it's just that... one time I saw these clips on the holoscreen of people eating stuff on... you know, round things. Plates? It's just kinda weird how things changed."

Auto said nothing, and the captain continued.

"I mean, isn't it? It's like... we're all going to be doing this forever."

Auto acknowledged him with a vague nod.

Sir, I think that you worry too much. This is the way things were and how they will be. Now...

He zoomed over to the empty food-in-a-cup container and tossed it down the trash chute with one swift motion of his claw.

It is time for you to sleep. Please comply, sir.

McCrea yawned, blinking several times. Auto didn't need much more proof that he was right.

"Yeah... sleep sounds nice."

He glanced once more out the window. A deep red nebula was just fading from view and a purple one seemed to be approaching. The captain wondered if the sister ship would be passing by soon. Maybe they were wondering the same thing.

"I guess things aren't really all that bad after all, huh, Auto? It's repetitive, but we're all in this one together."

As Auto followed him, the captain laughed slightly as he made his way over to the other side of the room.

"And these chairs are really comfortable. I sort of want to try something not in a cup, though..."

Auto disengaged himself from the captain's ramblings and stayed on his side of the room. He watched some robots pop out of their hiding places to tuck the captain in, a process ending in providing him with a thick BnL blanket. Then, he remembered something. Without another word, he darted out of view and above to the bridge. McCrea noticed a moment too late.

"Hey! Auto, you didn't turn off the l--"

He tapped his chair's PA system.

"Auto. Lights, please?"

No response. That is, not until a ceiling hole opened up again and the autopilot returned holding a cup in his claw.

Sir. You requested Buy-N-Large's new Sleep-Eaze herbal tea to be delivered to you nightly starting three days ago.

He extended his claw quickly, and yet nothing spilled. The captain gingerly took the cup, blowing on it once and looking up at Auto.

Your inquiry regarding the other ship's communication caused a delay.

McCrea blinked, looking down into the steaming, cranberry-scented liquid. There was a delay in the night's protocol indeed, and yet Auto still remembered to bother with this tiny task. It's not that McCrea needed the tea; it just tasted good.

He smiled again, reaching up with one hand.

"Come 'ere."

Auto inched closer, processor whirring quizzically. When he was close enough, the captain's hand met his faceplate, which was patted several times.

"Thanks, Auto. What would I do without you?"

The announcements, Captain.

McCrea laughed, almost a little too loudly. Somehow, the tea still didn't spill.

"Not literally! Anyway..."

He took a sip. Not too hot, not too cold. Sleep-in-a-cup, BnL claimed. He yawned again, so perhaps it was working already.

"Good night, Auto."

Good night, Sir.

Up and down went the autopilot to the other side of the room. A button was pressed and the room went dark except for the captains' portraits and the soft glow of the minibar and bookshelf. Auto's eye darkened and he removed himself from the room. Silence, finally.

McCrea yawned once more, smiling weakly as he shuffled the cup between his hands. A look to the windows revealed the purple nebula growing larger and more lustrous as the ship tilted slightly to face it. A final thought entered the captain's mind.

Whether it was bringing tea or tilting a colossal starliner, that wheel really was indispensable.