Digital Galaxies

In the end we were able to get everything off the Turshen in time, save for stuff that was bolted down. Hell, even the entertainment systems made it over. Watching our old ship slide off into the black was a slightly depressing sight, made all the more worrying by the way it quickly imploded.

It happened in the blink of an eye, one moment our poor damaged ship was receding into the dark of space, the next, it had crumpled into a bunch of perfect spheres. Each ball of the smashed ship was centered around where there used to be a gravity plate.

I guess the others thought it was boring because everyone wandered off to get started with getting set up. The space within the new ship was considerably more than our old ship, but it seemed that the original owners hadn’t used it to spread out. Instead, the bedrooms were all bunkbed affairs, four aliens to a room. There was still a reasonable amount of space though, since the aliens had been huge.

When we were sure that everything would keep until at least the morning, we all headed for our new rooms.

That was how I found myself huddled in the corner of one massive alien-sized bed, just staring out at a room that was far too big for my tiny self.

The room was huge. Back on Earth it would have been big enough to demand status as a master bedroom in a modest family home.

Rectangular shaped, the door was at one end of the room where it opened into an empty area of floor. Cupboards and drawers lined the walls there. It was probably where the aliens had kept their clothes, I guess.

Then came the bunk beds, a pair of them set into both walls. Following that, another open area that had a set of four desks, each recessed into its own nook. The desks were way too high up to be comfortable for me. I guess I'd have to fix that. Tomorrow of course, I was tired now. Tired and yet very much unable to sleep. I did not like this room.

It's not that I was completely agoraphobic, it's just that I couldn't feel truly comfortable or safe in a space like this. I mean, for one thing the ceiling was almost five meters up!

I pulled the blankets around myself and turned to face the wall, hoping that it would be enough, but no. No, I could still feel the yawning chasm that was my new bedroom. I could feel its cold, lidless eye staring at me.

Did I just log out instead? Retreat to my private virtual environment?

A knock at the door caused me to yelp in fright, which in turn caused the knocker to open the door.

Cerri peered in, asking, "Are you okay? Why are you all huddled into the corner?"

"You just scared me," I mumbled. "The room is too big. It doesn't feel right."

"Ah. Sorry! Actually uh, I came to offer your blankets and stuff back," she said, slipping in and closing the door. "Since you have your own room again and stuff. I figured… well, that you'd want them back."

I gave a silent nod, unable to reply verbally because I wanted something more from her.

"Cool, I'll just pop them here then," she said, placing the pile onto the opposite bottom bunk. All the way across the massive room.

Please stay.

The message slipped out of me without me meaning it to. A testament to how comfortable I'd gotten with my virtual existence, I guess.

When she saw it, she paused halfway to the door and turned to look at me. "Stay?"

I nodded again and slipped a hand out of my nest to point at the spot next to me on the bed.

She stayed standing in place, considering me for several long, nerve wracking seconds. Then she turned her eyes to the floor, smiling bashfully. "Okay. I can do that."

When she sat down on the bed, I quickly abandoned my nest and crawled over to her. Her eyes went wide with surprise when I cuddled in up against her side without any preamble whatsoever.

"Hey there," she murmured, putting her arms around me after only a tiny bit of hesitation.

I made a funny humming sound and wrapped my arms around her waist. I think I was just running on some sort of tired animalistic autopilot because normally I needed some sort of excuse to get this close to her.

"Stressful day, huh?" she giggled.

I nodded, using my cheek pressed to her shoulder as a pivot point. "The room felt all big and weird, but you make it feel nice and full."

"Are you calling me fat?" she gasped, frowning down at me.

"What?" I squeaked. "No!"

I was about ready to freak out completely when she added quickly, "I'm teasing you, it's okay. Goodness, someone really is tired."

My lips formed into a pout and I gazed up at her imploringly. No messing with me while I'm tired and anxious.

"Okay, okay," she said gently, relaxing into the cuddle. "Should we lay down, or will I be leaving once you feel better?"

"Staying," I said, quietly but forcefully. "If that's okay."

"Let's lay down then," she replied, gesturing lengthways down the massive alien bed.

It took us a few moments to shift, along with her kicking off her slacks, but when we were done it was perfect. She was on her back, while I was on my side and pressed up against her. My head rested on her bicep, the rest of the arm draped casually around my small form.

It felt weird to just lay there with my legs straight down, so tentatively I wrapped both my legs around one of hers. Staring up into her eyes as I did so, I saw her eyes soften and a smile tug at her lips. She didn't say anything, but I could sort of tell that she was thinking fluffy thoughts about me.

I've never wanted to kiss anyone as much as I wanted to kiss her in that moment.

She'd just… just come in and agreed to sleep in bed with me, no questions asked. She knew that I was anxious and that was that.

"Thank you," I whispered, instead of pressing forward.

"Anytime," she smiled.

I still needed a tactile way to let my affection out though. Emotion was bubbling up from within my heart, setting me ablaze with feelings of adoration for this incredible girl.

Before I lost my mind to that sweet madness, I snuggled my face into her shoulder and just slightly kissed her there. She wouldn't be able to tell, but it did the job of releasing some of the pressure inside me.

"This isn't something friends normally do with each other," she said after a minute or two. My first instinct upon hearing her words was to freeze and try not to move. Her tone was idle though, more thoughtful and curious than accusatory.

No… most friendships are pretty contact-free. I replied, not at all trusting my mouth to behave right then.

Her hand landed gently on my head, fingers beginning to play through my hair with gentle strokes. "I like this though."

Me too. Where was this going?

"You're so amazing," she said, voice lowered to barely above a whisper. "So different. Interesting and unique. You make no sense by all the normal ways of the world. You run by your own rules instead. Like… it's like everyone is running the big mainstream operating system, but not you. You've got your own ingenious little homebrew OS. It has its eccentricities and quirks, and it might suck at some day to day tasks… but god is it good at some other stuff."

"That's a very charitable way of saying I'm crazy," I grumbled, feeling my verbal restrictions lift for a moment.

"No, not crazy," she told me firmly. "Never crazy."

I wasn't convinced, so I stayed silent. It was the story of my life. My parents had tried to fix me, and when all their efforts failed… I could remember the exact moment they gave up on me.

"Alia," Cerri mumbled, sounding very sleepy. "You're my favorite person."

My heart melted in an instant and my toes lit up with a crazy tingling sensation. I really liked her, and hearing her say that just… it exploded inside my brain like… um… I don't know. A bomb made of hundreds and thousands? Colourful and sugary. Yeah, it fit. All that I needed was some fluffy white bread and marge.

"Sorry…" she said, barely audible now. She was drifting off, half dreaming now. "Sorry… sorry I'm not ready yet…"

"I can wait," I whispered, but it was too late. She was out, exhaustion and a cozy cuddle working together to overcome her.

Regardless, I felt light and happy. It was obvious what she'd meant. Sort of. I think. Okay it had been obvious when she said it but now I was like hardcore doubting my own judgement. Maybe it was just dreamland speak?

How did you even tell what any of this meant when it was coming from someone so removed from social norms? She'd basically grown up as a piece of sentient lab equipment. That wasn't exactly a good environment to be learning social cues and customs. Hell, I'd grown up through the structured and rules-rigid upper class of aussie society and I still had no fucking idea how anything worked.

Plus… there was the fact that… the fact… that… buns.

I fell asleep.