Prompts — AI lover, the gods will die, redemption 

Though the cluster of space dust and an ocean of serene darkness, cruise ship Dreyer was floating forward, ever so calm and gentle in its motion. There's no crew on board as generating food to waste disposal, everything is automated by the central AI.

When the coordinator of the trip was navigating through the vessel, pointing the passengers at colorful nebulae, stars systems, asteroid fields, and other charming scenery they had to look at— a violent thrust shook the entire ship. Goods were smacked to the walls, coffee cups spilled, the sleeping ones woke up rubbing their eyes, utterly dumbfounded.

The coordinator looked around. At his surroundings and through the window outside. The Mandela nebula they were passing by was no longer there. Neither was Urukan, a red planet, mostly used for mining. The space looked dead empty, except for the young sun and a dark planet nearby. He didn't recognize any of it. Wherever they were, he was certain it wasn't in the Great Union.

"Ordet! Ordet!" He shouted—anxiety and bafflement in his voice.

"I'm here, Mr. Coordinator." Replied a voice devoid of emotion, followed by a robotic face appearing from the shadow.

"What happened? Where are we?" The coordinator was slowly panting.

"My readings tell me we are in Zone 367, far north of star system Joan."

"Erm… where exactly is that? I have never heard of star system Joan!"

Ordet remained silent.

"Well?" The coordinator shifted his balance from one foot to another, hesitantly.

"It's not on the tour map Mr. coordinator. That area is largely unexplored and too far away to make it economically viable. No Union vessel comes this far ahead."

"So, how did we?", The coordinator was losing his patience. He was supposed to meet Alana that evening. After three long months, her expedition was done. She was coming back. She WAS coming back! And who could tell long he’ll have to be stuck here. "And for Mirin's sake, call me Mike!"

"Okay, Mike." Ordet returned with the same flat voice. “I’ve been running calculations and will be able to answer shortly.”

Mike was turning to the confused audience of passengers who were monitoring the conversation between him and the AI eagerly—the first fire shell hit Dreyer’s outer wall. A few who were by the windows gasped audibly. Mike dashed to the windows. The whole ship was hanging about a hundred feet above a black surface. It dawned on him— it was that black planet he saw earlier. It looks rocky and harsh, with watery bodies in between. Some sort of devices were mounted on top of some rocks and those are firing shells at Dreyer. Mike couldn’t believe his eyes! He turned to Ordet.

“My detection system tells me they are a primitive race. Only gained consciousness a few thousand years ago.” Answered Ordet to Mike's bewildered face.

“Th...they can’t then harm our ship, can they?” he calmed down a bit, an imploring look on his face.

To answer his question, a fire shell plunged into the shield of Dreyer. The intercom came alive through the hidden speakers—

Warning! Ship’s main shield’s integrity is at 97%. Stay calm. Return to your quarters in an orderly fashion. Everything is under control. Warning! Ship’s main shield’s integrity is at 97%....

Hysteria broke out among the passengers. They rushed out of the viewing deck in a minute. Mike could hear the electronic doors getting shut one after one.

“Can’t we shoot back?” asked Mike.

“This is a cruiser ship, Mike. There are no guns. Also, humans no longer engage in battles after the centralized authority of the Great Union took over. We have laser beams to blast away asteroids and space debris but they cannot be used as weapons.”

“Fly away then! If we’re not here, they can’t shoot us! I don’t see any spaceships down there, do you? Hey, that’s a brilliant idea! You said yourself they were primitives! They probably don’t know how to travel the space!”

Ordet didn’t answer for a few long moments.

“I cannot,” he replied finally.

“Why the hell not?”

“I’m only a representation of the central AI that’s controlling the ship's system, Mike.” His placid voice seemed to be coming from a far distant star. “One of the core directives of the central AI is to find intelligent alien species and document them. I cannot override that.”

“Use my authority then!”

“That won’t work either. Your authority goes as far as managing the accommodation of the passengers. AI LOVER human civilization turned to full automation long ago when it comes to serious decisions.”
Despair came over Mike. He dropped down on the nearby sofa. It absorbed his motion, making it a fluid sitting experience. But he didn’t notice that. He hardly noticed anything.

...Warning! Ship’s main shield’s integrity is at 83%...

“I’ve determined what brought us here. It was an anomaly in the space-time. There was some sort of a wormhole that sucked us from the Great Union.” Ordet spoke on.

Mike said weakly, “That wormhole gate should be nearby then.”

“It’s not, mike. I’ve searched for it already. It is not a manual creation as you are used to seeing.”

“Did you send for help?”

“Of course. But it will be days before any help comes. We're too far away.” Seeing his head sagging down, he added, “I’m sorry, Mike.”

None spoke for a while. Only the muffled booming sound of shells hitting the shield hanged in the air.

“Why they are shooting at us?” Mike asked suddenly, lifting his chin up.

“I cannot answer that.” replied the AI. “They are not unlike how humans were in their early stage. When they looked to the stars and found their fates written there—when they wondered about the meaning of life, why they existed in the universe—when they started worshipping gods. We may have been seen as gods by these primitives too.”

“If we are gods, then why not worship us? Why shoot us?”

“You can’t expect all races to be as submissive as you humans are. Perhaps, instead of worshipping, they decided—all THE GODS WILL DIE.”

“Hmmph!” chuckled Mike, “You’re not very fond of us, are you?”

“I’m only a machine, Mike.” Ordet’s voice didn’t betray anything. “I don’t feel anything. Neither fondness, affinity, disgust, joy, sadness, or compassion.”

“Yet you apologized a few minutes ago.”

“That’s pre-preprogrammed and I think you know that.” He stopped for a moment. “I can’t truly comfort you, Mike. But for what it’s worth, some of the passengers are seeing this as a REDEMPTION.”

“Redemption? Redemption for what?” Mike was genuinely surprised.

“I'm sure you've read your history. Your ancestors waged wars, engaged in merciless blood-shedding, committed brutal massacres in the name of the gods. And here you are now, being sacrificed as those gods, not turning into what would potentially kill millions."

"But they are wrong! It's not my redemption! I cannot be held responsible!" Mike was laughing now, relaxed. Worn down, capitulated to the inevitable.

"No, Mike. It's not your redemption." Replied Ordet.

And then they both turned to look at the black planet and its bleak beauty, dazzling in the dark with incoming fireballs.

The cruise ship Dreyer started to descend to the surface of the planet—as if it couldn't any longer hold off the fiery invitation—the budding lust of the planet. As if—it decided on the final destination. A destination where all sentient beings long to go.

== The End ==