Boom!! Boom!!
The flash illuminated the silent estate. Raindrops slid down the roof of the main house. At the entrance, a wooden sign suspended by chains – somewhat rusty – had the words carved into it; Sainte Marie.
The Sainte Marie clinic; this place is home to dozens of palliative children. Aiming to bring comfort to these little ones with an already determined fate, the main staff was composed of a specialized group of professionals in each area.
Palliative doctors, nurses, psychologists, the list was immense. Among this group, old Wallace – one of the oldest staff members – was responsible for the "entertainment" of certain patients.
Rustle! Rustle!
Seated on a chair beside the hospital bed, Wallace calmly flipped through the pages. The soft rustling of the pages was muffled only by the sound of the rain that still fell heavily on the roof.
"And so, we finish this volume!" he said softly, adjusting his glasses.
The young patient was one of many under Wallace's care. Due to the illness, from an early age he lost his sight and the movement of his legs; because of that, he was one of the few "favorites" among the multidisciplinary team.
The young man who had his opaque eyes fixed on the wooden ceiling of the room turned his attention to Wallace; "hm.. that was a good book!" His hoarse voice came out with difficulty, the result of the deterioration of his body.
"I'm glad you liked it"
Wallace forced a smile. Even though the young man could not see, it was a common agreement among the staff that everyone should always pass on a happy vibe to the patients.
Unfortunately, today it was extremely difficult to maintain the "happy" façade. This was due to the cruel news that Wallace received upon arriving at the clinic that morning.
The young man in the bed had only a few more hours to live!
This destroyed everyone's mood. This boy had been practically raised by the clinic staff since he was 6 years old. Abandoned by his family, all he knew was the affection of the staff.
Wallace stroked the young man's head with his wrinkled hands. "Now you should rest a little, okay?"
"Hm!"
With a soft murmur, the young man adjusted his head on the pillow. It was quite comfortable, because after only a few minutes, the boy's gentle breathing revealed that he had already fallen asleep.
Wallace looked at the boy with tenderness. Deep down, he knew that the young man in the bed would not wake up tomorrow. This left a bitter taste; his chest felt a pain as if a serrated knife were embedded in it.
"Goodbye, little Eddy!"
With that phrase, Wallace turned his back on the boy. With great difficulty, he walked toward the door of the room. When his hands were only a few centimeters away –
A soft murmur, almost like a whisper, sounded in his ears. Even at an advanced age, he could still hear perfectly.
"Goodbye... Grandpa Wallace..."
BEEEEEEEP!
Wallace's hands trembled violently. He did not want to accept it, but he knew what that sound meant. Taking his glasses off his face, he wiped the back of his hand across his eyes.
"Ugh.. damn rain...!" with that, he left the room. Leaving behind only the sound of the rain and the machines still connected.
....
Somewhere in the immensity of space, a great eye wandered seemingly without purpose. This eye – to be more precise; Chaos – is, in fact, a megastructure created by an already extinct civilization.
In every sense, a true interstellar ship, or rather; the ultramassive mothership for interstellar navigation purposes.
Created using the core of a star, its sole objective is: to find resources that allow the continuity of its creators. Even after their extinction, its program is still active.
Tearing through space like a comet, a sphere of light traveled at full speed toward Chaos. The ship, already accustomed to collisions with meteors and comets, simply ignored it.
It was not arrogance; with a size larger than a planet, this type of impact would cause no damage at all. Defying the ship's expectations, the strange comet that, within seconds, had already collided with its metallic surface simply passed through, as if it were a spirit.
[WARNING]
As if a switch had been turned on, the immense ship began to emit an increasingly dazzling light. Its mechanical voice, cold and emotionless, echoed in all directions.
[THREAT DETECTED!]
Chaos had never encountered a situation like this. As an extremely advanced AI, it could be considered a true form of sentient cuda.
The strange sphere gradually began to invade the operating system. Within a few minutes, it had already managed to take 0.99% of the central control.
[ACTIVATING CRITICAL MODE!]
A hum echoed through space; the sound wave was so strong that it pushed away some space rocks floating in the surroundings.
[EJECTION MODULE.... 10%.... 27%.... 40%.... 100%]
With another hum, a small hatch slowly opened. It could be small compared to Chaos's actual size. But the real size, in a simple comparison, could easily be larger than Earth's Moon.
[EJECTION ACTIVE!]
Like a torpedo, a luminous fragment was expelled from the hatch. The speed and force would be enough to explode a small star. This fragment advanced in a straight line, leaving a luminous trail and destruction wherever it passed.
After a few minutes, the fragment was no longer visible. As if nothing had happened, Chaos returned to its semi-inactive state, continuing its mission through the vast space in low-power mode.
....
That fragment that detached from Chaos continued traveling in a straight line. It was unknown how much time passed, but the previous scenery soon changed.
Ahead, a massive black sphere distorted the very fabric of space. The small asteroids that approached too closely were soon sucked toward the center.
The scene was somewhat comical; every object that entered a certain perimeter entered a state of "spaghettification". Like strands of pasta, they were slowly pulled in.
Any being that considers itself "intelligent" would know what this was; an event horizon. The thin line that surrounds a black hole.
The fragment was heading toward the massive sphere of zero gravity. But, unlike the asteroids, when the two collided –
BOOOOOM!!
First came an explosion similar to a supernova. Like a bucket of multicolored paint, the energy spread rapidly through space.
Soon after, similar to an implosion, the black star itself collapsed toward its center, taking everything around it along.
When everything calmed down, where the black hole once was, only cracks emerged in the fabric of space, resembling the roots of a tree.
....
In a white space, a luminous sphere floated like a volleyball in water. The surrounding space was pure, almost sacred, giving a touch of mysticism and divinity.
"Where am I?"
The mechanical and monotonous voice, similar to that of an AI, echoed through the void. Obviously, the owner of this voice was none other than the luminous sphere.
It was a little surprised to realize that this was its voice. As if trying to answer its questions, several neon-blue wires emerged from the white walls.
"Eh??" frightened, the sphere tried to move away, but, without giving it a chance, the wires connected with ease.
The sphere's concerns quickly ceased upon realizing that the wires were completely harmless. What followed was a true "injection of knowledge".
Arcs of electricity ran through the wires and entered the luminous sphere. In a short time, the process ended without problems. The sphere was still frozen in the air, trying to adapt.
"This is what Grandpa Wallace used to read to me... Reincarnation"
This sphere was, in fact, little Eddy. During his life – which was not very long – old Wallace always read books to him. As a child, he loved novels and light novels.
Even without being able to see, just listening allowed him to immerse his imagination in countless worlds. Thanks to this, his knowledge about "reincarnation", even if superficial, was still present.
"So I reincarnated as a..." this time he was confused. Without arms or legs, not even a nose or eyes. Even so, he could see himself from an omniscient perspective. "A sphere?"
Eddy was exasperated. He was not very demanding and was grateful for the second chance... But a sphere? Seriously?
As if responding to his complaints, another wire came out of the wall and hovered in front of him. Already accustomed to the procedure, he allowed the wire to transfer information to his mind once again.
"This!!"
If the sphere had eyes and a mouth, both would certainly be wide open. What he had just discovered now made his small mechanical "brain" almost short-circuit.
You did not hear wrong; the keyword really is "mechanical". Trying to answer his doubts, Eddy focused his consciousness on a single point. Like a stone that falls into water and creates ripples, he expanded his consciousness to the maximum he could and –
"Fuck?!" even being a polite and well-behaved child, he could not help but blurt out a swear word.
With his perception at its peak, seeing everything from a third-person point of view, an immense spaceship appeared in his vision.
Similar to a four-pointed star, at the center a golden sphere pulsed like a heart, sending radioactive bursts in all directions. The lower base, adorned with golden inscriptions, gave the image of something extremely sacred. Combined with the unknown white-colored metal, it further complemented the noble aura.
The connection Eddy felt was undeniable. That ship was, without a doubt, his new body: "I... I reincarnated as a spaceship?!"