Ouroboros

Out of Tail and Time

     Days and nights passed by and blurred together as Coda-9994 explored the strange and beautiful world of Ouroboros. He followed the large predator for much of that time, eating whatever it found for both of them. On occasion, he encountered the drifters, and each time, he discovered new forms of life clinging to their massive shells. So much life, and very little of it seemed to abide by Earth's laws.

      On other occasions, he happened upon clusters of small islands where seamounts pushed up through the surface. There, too, a rich bounty of life thrived. So many living beings, and all of them made poor company. Even the predator he had been following. None of them could communicate with him, and they never would.

      When the creature finally abandoned him, Coda pondered the idea of making contact with Jim, only to push the thought away. Without a doubt, Jim would ask him if the planet could sustain human life. He would have to. He remained Amelia's dancing puppet, and the question was on his script. What would he tell Jim?

     Coda took a breath from the surface and plunge down into the depths, as deep as his body would allow him. The cold, dark sea enveloped him in its crushing embrace. What would he have given for another whale? For someone, anyone to talk to? Even Amelia seemed like fine company compared to the deep, sorrowful silence. There was one thing only that he was glad to be without, and that was the pollution that had choked Earth's ocean to death.

     That beautiful world existed only in memory. The ocean itself had drowned in human refuse and human carelessness. For humans, everything was disposable and replaceable. Their garbage, their enemies, their friends, their futures, and so on. No matter what they had told him, Coda-9994 always knew he was as disposable as their plastic. They called him the future of humanity, but the truth was that humanity's future held nothing but self-destruction, just like the self-cannibalizing serpent for which this planet had been named.

      He looked around in the vast dark blue and saw nothing and no one. No one to hear him crying out. He wanted to go home, but there was no home to go to. Humans had thought themselves gods, and desolation was the world they had created.

      For the first time since his arrival on the planet, his inner earpiece buzzed to life. Coda's pulse quickened. Jim's voice came through. "Hey, buddy. It's Jim. Do you copy?"

      His heart swelled with joy at the sound of Jim's voice. He sent an affirmative.

     "Tell us about your findings. Is the planet habitable?" Jim asked.

     Coda stopped swimming. His joy was erased in an instant. What would he tell Jim? If he told the truth, then Ouroboros would suffer the same fate as Earth. Asphyxiated by pollution and plundered of its vast riches, the planet would cease to thrive, and the cycle would repeat, over and over until the serpent ran out of tail to swallow.

      But if he lied, perhaps they would come to see that no alternative existed to Earth. Perhaps they would begin to make the right choices, and finally learn that it did not take a brain the size of his to figure out that their survival depended on those simple decisions. With that in mind, he sent his reply.

     - Ouroboros cannot support human life. –

      A long, heavy silence followed before Jim spoke again. "I'm so sorry, Coda. Never forget that I love you."

      The communication device went silent before Coda could respond. Deep despair filled his heart. He would die here, alone, with only memories to cling to. With that despair came an odd relief. It was done. He was done waiting for the world to change. His words would spark a fire that would burn down the whole machine. Until then, his memories would have to suffice.