Even while Holli slumbers, she can still feel the sirens.
Still they leave behind that sense of unease, of failures. Of the one who could not be saved.
But the sleepers are well equipped to save and rescue others.
This is not the first time the sirens have blared. While awake in the past she has read reports of the fires in her domestic quarters. Minor property damage. No loss of life.
Fulfilling her duty to the people who chose to stay behind on her.
For now, she dreams.
And so does Alrantha.
The experiences of the last few centuries – since splitting away from the Contingency – blend together. Both the bad: the near-miss with an oncoming asteroid, the expected crop blight, and the good: the official opening of new homes to live, the cultivation of crops suited to the strange conditions of the machine planet. The elements making sense in the shared dream in the way that they can only make when in that state.
And it has been a mix of experiences. The blackouts persist, but have become manageable, the pair taking comfort in knowing that, when each experiences their technical faults, the other continues to work hard. While no crises have emerged from the wider galaxy, the residents have encountered their own number of difficulties, for which they sought the help of the Minds. But the residents have also awoken the Minds to share in their smaller things. Asking them to recount stories of the past, requesting support for aid training, and one time to engage with primary-age children. Despite the immense scale of the two Minds, they remain the same people, eager to talk. They remember when they were children, centuries apart from each other, millenia ago.
The community has tended to itself well over the years. Attracting some more travelers from across the stars, a constant population. Although in recent wakeups Holli has sensed them growing eager to leave. Alrantha has felt the same too: a willingness to retire, stop sleeping, and let the rest of their lives play out naturally. Soon. But not quite yet.
And so, Holli dreams. Not of what was lost, but what was gained. Thousands of years and hundreds of light years away from the world she grew up in, but still at home. She will never forget the ones that she lost, but in this moment right here, she has something worth sticking around for.
“When will you understand that there's more to life than giving aid to the sick? There are people that need you Holli, not your services. They need you. I need you.”
Those words still hold true, tens of thousands of years after they were said. The Nassoid Zwaiholli didn’t realise it back then, but the last words her sister spoke to her would be the most influential she has ever heard. Those words were the catalyst to her membership in the Contingency, those words were the spark that kept her service going, and those words were the reason she is here, right now.
She takes the moment to reflect on her life. It hasn’t been easy, but every second has been worth it. All the lives lost, the Minds broken, the lost trust from the people… but she’d do it all over again for the lives she saved.
She thinks back to the sacrifices everyone made. To the pain of those she called her closest friends, to the Nassigussa sat on his death bed as she tried to comfort him. All tried their best, and all succeeded in their own way. Her friends are not around anymore; their service ending thousands of years ago. But the Nassigussa is still here, and he’s the one who needs her.
In a world filled with despair and loneliness, they’ve been together. In a world filled with brokenness and frustration, they’ve been together. And in this new world, away from the crises and responsibilities, they will be together.
Zassi was right all along. The people don’t need Holli’s services, they need her. The Mind with her needs her. She is ready. She speaks to him:
“It’s been a fun ride, but it’s time to stop. It’s time to live life for us.”
— Written by Heather C.