Shattered Stars

Droned

There was darkness and nothing else.

After an indefinite amount of time, all my memories burst forth from my disembodied mind like a firework exploding in the night sky. They halted an unseen distance away.

The cocoon of memories slowly expanded, each of the them getting farther apart from one another. Soon, each one was an independent entity, with no apparent relation to any of the others. From the ever-growing spaces in between the memories, something else lurked. It seeped through the memories in every direction and gravitated toward me.

Panic arose in my mind as the unknown entity continued contracting in on me. My memories grew ever distant from me, becoming less of my own and more of someone else's. I attempted to will the threat away, to get it to expand away from me, but nothing happened. I tried to think, but the presence was smothering all my thoughts before they could fully form.

The closer it got, the less I knew what was happening. Even my rising fear gave way to the presence as it absorbed my emotions. Then there was no reason to resist. The malevolent force latched onto me with vigor.

But it wasn't malevolent. As the presence filled the void in my mind, it gave my life a new purpose, a purpose I wasn't aware of until now. It was good. As the benevolent presence expanded throughout my consciousness, I committed myself to the fulfillment of this purpose to the exclusion of all else, thankful the presence was part of me now.

No. I was the presence.

I extended my awareness outward and examined the surrounding entities. They were memories of some other being who was of little importance. I commanded them into a single-file line in chronological order and stored them in my vast memory reserves.

My consciousness filled the entirety of the void. Brushing against the edge of the subconscious, I took hold of the controls to the physical body housing my mind.

I opened my eyes. I lay sprawled on the floor of an assembly chamber, looking down my black muzzle at the closed entrance doors. After a few moments, they hissed open. Standing in the doorway was a familiar figure with his hands held behind his back. There He was.

I sprung onto all fours and bowed my head. "Master."

"Status report," came the command.

It was my duty to serve Him. "Memory quarantine complete and cognitive processes successfully supplanted. Fully compliant and awaiting orders, Master."

"Rise."

I rose my head to meet His eyes. He looked back at me blankly. He was my owner, and that was good.

He turned and started down the hallway. "Follow."

"Yes."

The hallway eventually widened into the main atrium, where soft white light illuminated the floors of the lower, middle, and upper levels. Interconnected walkways joined opposing balconies of the middle and upper levels. We approached the command bridge, which rested in the central dividing wall of the main atrium.

After the bridge entrance scanned His DNA, Master and I entered. The bridge comprised four quadrants, each quadrant being a depression in the floor. The room was circular, and the walls curved inward the higher they went, forming a domed ceiling.

The chairs scattered throughout the bridge were vacant, with the exception of a couple. At the far end, a fur-covered individual sat hunched over the desk, sobbing with his face buried in his arms. Closer to where we entered, an individual of Master's race stood beside a projection of Earth.