Rewrite:
Houston stares for a very long time in darkness. The last thing he remembers is the explosion of a machine he was working on.
*I think I might have put too much power on that thing,* Houston thought as he stared into the darkness, reviewing his mistakes. *I really shouldn't have been so ambitious — just after I graduated, and I already exploded myself. So after death really is just darkness, huh.*
Flicker.
Suddenly a blue light flickered, and a few words appeared.
**Status: Online**
**Battery: 18%**
**Integrity: 71%**
"Huh, what was that?" Houston exclaimed as he registered the words — before a blinding light cut him off as he woke.
"Is that the sun? It looks smaller than normal, and quite red." He stared up at the hanging sun in the sky as he lay there, but he quickly noticed something. "Am I in a junkyard? And wait — why is my arm metal?" He looked around. As far as he could see, scrap filled his vision — wrecks, debris, ruin — and he noticed his own metal arm.
"Wait, am I in a robot body?" Houston looked down at his rugged, robotic frame. "How did I become like this? And why am I so calm?" He observed his body and realized he was definitely feeling a lot more composed than the situation warranted.
"Hmm. Let's look around — I'll worry about being a robot later. First, let's find out where the hell I am." Houston said, starting to move, and immediately feeling how heavy everything was. "This body moves like an old man, huh. And my right arm barely responds." He murmured as he shifted and looked around — and then he spotted a small, offline robot that looked similar to him, and moved closer to inspect it.
"This guy's right arm looks better than what I've got. Shame I don't know how to remove and replace it." He studied the thing curiously, before spotting what looked like a wrecked ship in the distance.
"Is that a ship? I guess I really might not be on Earth anymore, huh. Well, the star in the sky being different was already a sign anyway." He thought carefully, moving toward the wreck out of curiosity.
After a few minutes of walking, Houston arrived at the crashed ship. Its front was heavily destroyed, and the other half was barely holding together.
"This thing looks hella sci-fi." Houston mused, stepping into the remaining half of the ship. The first things he saw were piles of rubbish, a half-destroyed strange box in the corner, and what looked like a safe in the far corner.
Houston moved closer to the strange box. There seemed to be words written on it — in English. "Huh. Guess English might still be the universal language, whichever world this is." He read the label on its side: *T1 Model Light 3D Printer. Model Number: 1777889922.*
"Whoa, this thing is a 3D printer? It's huge, and it looks pretty advanced. Might be repairable, though — although I don't know why I think so." Houston moved past it toward the safe in the far corner.
"Phew, looks like the lock's already broken. Hopefully there's something valuable in here." Houston mused, opening the safe easily since the lock offered no resistance. Inside were six books.
Houston read the titles aloud: "*Ship Maintenance 101. Basics of Robotics 1. Guide to Space Travel. T1 Printer Handbook. Rugged Machines 1. Ugart Star Map.*" Looked like whoever owned this safe had been an engineer.
What caught Houston's eye most were *Basics of Robotics 1* and *Rugged Machines 1* — both apparently from the same author. Houston opened *Rugged Machines 1* and read its description: details on making makeshift machinery and tools from scrap.
"These two are exactly what I need right now." Houston said with a smile, reading further. "The robotics book could help me with my body. And the Rugged Machines book could help me build tools — maybe even find a way off this scrapyard, someday."
He also flipped through the *Ugart Star Map* — a chart detailing the star group called Ugart. One system caught his attention: the Kael System, home to five planets — two rocky, two ice giants, and one gas giant. One of the rocky planets was named *Scrap's Grave*.
"This system might be where I am." Houston said, tracing the chart. "Based on this map, about five jumps away is a small outskirts space station — somewhere far-off explorers usually stop to rest, refuel, and trade." He smiled, already sensing how useful this map would be.
Then he spotted an ID card, its photo showing a slightly Asian-looking man: *David Hanswell, AC Tech Mechanic.* "Looks like this guy was the owner of this safe. Thanks for the help, David — although you're probably long dead." Houston thought back to the skeletons he'd seen outside the crash earlier.
Houston picked up the robotics book and began reading. It laid out the basics of robotics — how to build simple robots, how to repair them — and, crucially, gave him a working understanding of how to repair his own body. "Is it just me, or am I understanding this insanely fast?" By the time he finished, he realized he could recall the entire 180-page book, seemingly perfectly. He looked outside and saw the sun setting. "Guess I lost that much track of time, huh."
Houston decided to get moving. He left the crash site and made his way back to where he'd found the offline robot earlier, bringing with him a few tools he'd scavenged from the wreck — an advanced-looking multi-purpose screwdriver, and a multi-tool that seemed to double as both a hammer and a set of pliers.
He knelt beside the offline robot and began dismantling its right arm, recalling the procedure from the book. Carefully, he removed his own arm, then used the tools to attach the replacement. "This thing works way better than my old one." Houston mused happily, swinging it through the air a few times.
Then he started back toward the crash site, since it was getting dark and he didn't want to be caught outdoors. But his eyes seemed to be adjusting — giving him something like night vision. "Guess being a robot really does have its perks, huh." He thought as he walked, surprised by how clearly he could still see despite the fading light.
He reached the crash site and settled down near the safe, then picked up *Rugged Machines 1* and began to read. "Being a robot really is good — normally, in this light, I wouldn't be able to read at all." He thought, opening the book. He planned to repair the printer tomorrow, so tonight he intended to get through the rest of the books, hoping to find anything that might help. And strange as it was, he found the process of learning this fast genuinely enjoyable.