The Gula, an enormous roving station, lurched as it mounted a small ramp. The motion awoke Isaac, who sat up in bed and gazed about his cramped quarters with murky vision. A few moments later, the station shook again as it came to a stop. An arrival whistle sounded, and the hiss of compressed air being released could be heard amid a docking crew shouting orders to one another.

Isaac groaned in defiance as he threw his legs over the side of his mattress. His feet touched upon the cold metal floor, and he could hear the sound of dozens of footsteps in the hallways just outside of his door as the other engineers departed. Isaac willed himself to stand and got dressed in his typical, drab uniform: a black jacket over a murky white t-shirt and tucked into a pair of beige slacks which, in turn, were tucked into a pair of black work-boots. After shuffling around the cramped, closet-like space, Isaac peered into the mirror to inspect his hair and beard. 

His hair, brown and messy, had now grown long enough to obscure his vision. To combat this, Isaac pushed his locks back — at least until he could find the time to get a decent haircut. His beard, on the other hand, grew more and more bushy by the day, only tamed by the machine grease that seemed to cling to it as though it were a filth magnet. In spite of its untamed nature, however, Isaac hated the idea of cutting it, since it concealed his pale complexion and hid his youthful features, making him look as though he actually belonged as a top engineer for The Gula.

With an unsatisfied sigh, Isaac tore himself away from the mirror and pulled his leather work belt over his shoulders and around his waist so that he could leave his compartment and join the other engineers on the dock with the rest of the crew. Hundreds of men and women stood at attention. Together, they gazed up at the open bay doors of their station, awaiting their captain to give the all-clear. Isaac, however, did not have his eyes trained in the same place as everyone else. He was more captivated by the warehouse. Not only was it the largest building he had ever been inside, but it was cleaner than even his mother’s kitchen countertops.

The whole compound, in fact, followed this same trend, with everything constructed out of pure white paneling that matched the pearl labcoats of the scientists who worked there. Isaac more than ever felt like a greasy, sore thumb, even as he stood among his fellow workers who lived in similar conditions to him.

After what felt like an eternity of standing in one place, everyone was released and free to explore the compound (within certain limits, of course). They were told that their purpose was to inspect the station and ensure it met Federation guidelines. Isaac saw through this lie. Although he didn’t know the truth behind it, he was smart enough to know that a place like this wouldn’t have a single hair out of line, let alone fail to follow protocol. 

Although this curiosity bubbled in the back of his mind, Isaac instead chose to ignore his suspicions and allow himself to be captivated by the heavenly sights around him. He quickly broke off from a group of engineers and explored a side hallway, which led him down a long corridor and eventually past several testing laboratories encased in reinforced glass. The rooms were all empty, but Isaac, like a child at the zoo, could picture in his mind where scientists would stand and take notes as they observed experiments in action. He surmised that many of the rooms were designed to create holograms to fool test subjects into believing they were under certain conditions like walking among the ocean floor or standing amid a rainforest. The thought of these sort of studies brough Isaac back to his time in the academy, where he remembered hearing about soldiers who were put through that sort of simulation to determine where they were best suited.

After a while, however, Isaac became brutally aware of the silence around him. Not even footsteps could be heard echoing through the hallways. The thought of becoming lost in a compound like this sent a chill through his spine, and he began to look around for the way back to the main part of the station — perhaps there would be a sign to point him in the right direction, he thought.

There was nothing, however, and Isaac wondered how anyone got anywhere in the compound without signs to direct them. With an exasperated sigh, he picked a direction and began walking, hoping that was the right way. Soon enough, sounds were heard, and Isaac though he made the right decision.

These sounds, however, were not human, and soon the buzzing of a very large computer met Isaac’s ears. He began to wonder if there was more to the compound than met the eye, and, as an engineer who dabbled in programming, he became giddy at the thought of an overseeing AI — that would, after all, explain the lack of signs and maps posted about the place.