Night had fallen over the endless ocean. The ship hovered silently, almost like it was floating in a void. There were no waves, no currents , just stillness. The moon hung high, casting silver light across the water, making it shimmer like scattered crystals.
On deck, Rim sat alone, his wheels quietly brushing against the smooth metal floor. Everyone else was asleep below. He rolled slowly to the edge and stared at the moon. A soft, mechanical sigh escaped him, a faint metallic sound blending with the silence.
"Be careful… don't fall," a calm voice said.
Rim's head turned slowly, following the sound.
Morin was there, steering the ship with the quiet focus only he seemed to possess.
Rim stared. Silence filled the space between them.
"Morin… aren't you going to sleep?" Rim asked finally.
"Well," Morin said without looking away from the moonlit horizon, "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to steer the ship."
Rim's optics narrowed. "You're lying."
Morin chuckled softly, a low sound that mingled with the night air. Without another word, he left the wheel and descended toward the deck.
"Well," Morin began, his voice calm, "to be honest… every time I sleep, I just remember my time in Dorothy's lab."
Rim looked at him, curious. "What happened in Dorothy's lab?"
Morin paused, eyes fixed on the sparkling sea below. "Lots of things. I was given strange things. Injected with even stranger things." His gaze lingered on the silver water as if tracing some memory in its reflections.
"By the way i just realized that you know everything about us," Morin said quietly, "but none of us know anything about you."
Rim began to zone out and his mind began to drift , images of humans fighting robots, screams echoing through metal halls, the smell of fear and metal. My existence… offers no meaning, Rim whispered, almost to himself.
Morin smiled faintly. He reached out, helping Rim onto the edge of the ship. Rim's wheels balanced smoothly on the cold metal, and together they leaned over the moonlit water.
"The sea looks nice," Rim said after a long pause. His voice softened, almost childlike.
"Do you know there are more than three million species in the sea?" Rim said.
"No…i dont know," Morin admitted, following Rim's gaze over the shimmering surface.
"Living there are the Grulks… the Derohins…" Rim continued, his voice carrying a mix of wonder and solemnity
Morin listened silently, letting the words flow over him. He chuckled occasionally, a soft laugh, light and warm, harmonizing with the rhythmic hum of the ship.
Rim kept speaking, describing creatures he had only read about or imagined, his voice carrying over the still night.
Morin didn't interrupt. He just listened. Absorbing. Laughing. Watching. Learning.
And for a moment, the ship, the sea, and the moonlight were all that existed , the vast unknown outside, the warmth of shared silence, and two souls, so different, quietly connected.
End of chapter 87