Common Experiment #911
LadyEver since she'd came into existence, Universes had wished to travel the galaxies. It was mystifying, the need she felt for exploration - a strange gravitational pull, an unstoppable force that kept her going - this was the best way she could explain the need to discover new planets and solar systems. The vast mystery of space was the majestic sun that Universes revolved around, and as long as this mystery existed, she too would always be moving forward, always hurtling towards the unknown.
Solar flares in the dark loneliness of space, an explosion of color and heat amidst the dead stars and rocky wastelands, galaxies teeming with new life forms, planets with multiple suns as cold as a snowstorm - these were only a handful of things she'd seen on her journeys. Universes had been traveling since the beginning of time itself, but she'd yet to see everything the cosmos had to offer.
One day, she would see it all, record every finding and every adventure for those who came after her.
This would be her life's work, her purpose and her legacy.
Volumes and volumes of books detailing her ventures past constellations, passages and drawings detailing the stories of the stars - of Andromeda the Princess, Aries the Ram, Pegasus the Winged Horse, and more.
Universes had spoken to the constellations before and had heard their very own tales spill from their mouths like beloved secrets.
Andromeda's story was her favorite - a tale of jealousy, heroism, and love. And when the star herself whispered her tale in Universes' ears Andromeda's voice broke into a static-like sputter.
"My own mother left me for dead, chained me to a blasted rock so Cestus could destroy me."
It was not a happy tale. The cosmos was painful and beautiful all at once. Universes heard more stories from people from strange planets and far away asteroids. She was always cautious of them at first, always wary when she approached them. Plenty of them were often alarmed by her presence, but some welcomed her with warmth and hospitality, and she gathered tales from those she could and filled her books with the stories of the cosmos.
She met cat-like creatures who told her stories about the galactic railroad, about the fleeting train of stardust and light that carried those who'd passed away to another plane of existence. Whenever the train passed, a flash of lighting would envelope the sky above their tiny planet. She met a Little Prince who spoke of roses with fervor and longing.
Universes saw many things on her journey through space, and as she drifted from one planet to the next in a small steel pod, she gazed out at the multitude of stars before her. Perhaps she would never get to see it all, never record what the edge of space looked like or if it even existed... back then, the thought of not seeing everything the cosmos had to offer would have upset her, but right now, she realized she no longer minded. The stories she'd gathered, the tales she'd heard, it was enough.
As the steel pod she was in drifted towards a small planet of violent hues, Universes counted the asteroids that flew past.
She was finally content.
