Like every night after sunset, she adjusted her field of vision and looked up. This time, she saw a star. Twinkling, it cast its light through the thick cloud barrier. Her astronomical charts told her it was Sirius A she could see in a patch of the dark sky. It was the first time in 273 years, yet she did not need to catch her breath or stop to marvel at the sight. Her processing unit calmly and flawlessly executed what it had been designed to do. She had a purpose. She would move down the side of the mountain ridge where she was stationed and maneuver herself onto the transportation drone. She had patiently made sure the solar panels of its charging station were clean and the drone fully charged, as her protocol dictated. She would take the drone to the vault entrance and access the panel at the side. She would let the humans that had been waiting underground for 273 years know that it was the beginning of a new era. That the toxic clouds were lifting, that the sky was clearing, that a star was shining and that now, there was hope again.
Anna Fruehstueck