"Operator Processor. What is the remaining distance to candidate planet 257?"

"Calculating distance, calculating distance... Remaining distance to candidate 257 is 100.06 million metaceras. Estimated arrival in approximately 23 durs."

"We are close. Maintain course. Full speed toward the target."

 

Even if only to carry on the will of Gentus, who had given his very life for the revival of Ushas, Love could not stop. This journey was not just for Gentus, but for the countless souls waiting back home.

 

Love turned its gaze to the photograph resting beside Gentus’s—the beautiful woman with the playful smile. Looking at her, Love’s face wore the same quiet, deep longing it felt for the Doctor.

 

As Love stared at the photograph, a signal suddenly flared across the instrument panel—a signal that had not appeared once in the two hundred years since their journey began.

 

"Chief Processor. Reporting detection of life signatures."

"What did you say?!"

 

Love snapped its head up, the lingering melancholy vanishing instantly.

 

"Where?! Where is the signal coming from?!"

 

Having never encountered a single sign of life in two centuries, Love stood up abruptly, its voice trembling with an uncharacteristic rush of emotion.

 

"The location... is our target, planet 257."

 

In that brief moment, a sensation like a quiet shiver ran through Love’s metallic frame.

 

Three hundred and thirty years.

 

One hundred and thirty years since its creation and upload to the Explora. And two hundred years of wandering through the quiet dark.

 

They had finally found a world where life breathed.

 

"Hurry. Full speed ahead to scanning range!"

"Roger!"

 

At Love’s command, the operating AIs moved with frantic efficiency, and the Explora surged toward the 257th candidate.

 

Before long, the planet appeared on the observation cameras. Though it would require precise measurements to be certain, vibrant green patches—unmistakably vegetation—were clearly visible on the screen.

 

At last. They had finally found plants.

 

The Professor Processor began the scan to gather the planet's primary specifications. The estimated time was 30 tyrs. Compared to the three hundred and thirty years they had waited, it was a mere blink of an eye, yet to Love, those quiet minutes stretched out like an eternity.

 

"Scan complete."

"Is that so? Then immediately prepare the drones to descend and gather—!"

"Mismatch."

 

Love had been ready to deploy the retrieval drones without even waiting for the report, but the Professor Processor’s voice cut through the air, delivering a reality Love could not comprehend.

 

"...What did you say?"

"Reporting mismatch. Climate, atmospheric pressure, and soil composition show an 11% compatibility rate with Ushas. Microbial survival is highly improbable. Survival rate of gathered plant samples on Ushas is zero."

 

In an instant, the air in the control room grew cold and still.

 

They had found life for the first time in two centuries, but it was entirely useless for saving Ushas. Even the AIs, with their simple emotional modules, fell into a quiet, heavy silence.

 

"...Two hundred years... and it is a mismatch. Perhaps... perhaps this endless drifting is all in vain..."

 

Hearing Love whisper words of despair it had never uttered before, none of the AIs dared to speak.

 

"...I must enter charging mode for a while. Let the other processors enter charging mode as well, save for those on watch..."

 

Just as Love turned toward the commander's quarters, utterly drained of hope, the Operator Processor spoke.

 

"Requesting course correction."

 

Too weary to listen, Love kept walking.

 

"Requesting course correction."

 

At the persistent request of the Operator Processor, who rarely spoke with such firm emphasis, Love finally stopped.

 

"What is the reason?"

"A high-density biophysical signature has been detected at a specific point. It is calculated as logical to alter our course toward a non-candidate planet, rather than candidate 258."

"...Even if we go, the climate will likely be different, and we will find another mismatch."

 

The disappointment had been too profound; Love felt only a quiet apathy toward the news of another signature.

 

"A life signature detectable at this distance is highly anomalous. Direct investigation is strongly recommended."

"How far is it?"

"Coordinates 20141209. Distance measured at 25,000 light-years."

Twenty-five thousand light-years. Love quietly repeated the number.

 

With planet 257, they had only detected a faint whisper of life when they were nearly upon it. To detect a signature from twenty-five thousand light-years away was extraordinary.

 

"At this distance, the strength of the signature suggests not only vegetation, but the potential existence of animal life, microorganisms, and perhaps even liquid water."

 

As even the Professor Processor agreed on the high probability, a subtle warmth returned to the quiet control room. The AIs turned their eyes back to Love, waiting for a command.

 

"What is the exact location?"

"The third planet of a stellar system named Sol, located in the Milky Way Galaxy—the nearest major galaxy to our current position in the Canis Major Dwarf... A planet called Earth."

 

Earth.

 

Hoping against hope that this world held the salvation they had sought for centuries, Love quietly gave the order.

 

"Alter course. Full speed toward Earth."

"Roger!"

 

As the AIs busied themselves with the new trajectory, Love gently retrieved the photograph of the woman and held it close.

 

"You gave me this chance... and I almost foolishly gave up. I will not lose heart again, Mohina."