Misha's Cold Retort and the Tension in the Air
After Ivan's playful and mocking remarks, Misha refused to let him have the last word.
Leaning forward slightly with her hands braced against the table, all traces of hesitation and embarrassment vanished from her face. Her eyes hardened with a sharp, unyielding edge. Looking straight into Ivan's eyes, she replied in a calm, heavy, and chilling tone:
"If you're so desperately obsessed with saving the species, Ivan, don't dig your own grave out here in the infinite void of space. And do yourself a favor stop testing my temper. Who knows? Once we get past this wormhole and land on that new planet, there might not even be anyone left to bury those prized Siberian bones of yours."
Hearing Misha's lethal and biting retort, Ivan's gaze froze for a split second. He realized that his commander wasn't someone who would back down with a few clever words; hidden beneath her calm exterior was a fierce, lethal stubbornness.
A crooked, appreciative smile touched Ivan's lips as he took a final sip from his glass and shook his head clearly relishing the dangerous challenge she had just laid down. Across the table, Felix and Leo quietly finished their meals, silently observing the crackling tension between the two of them.
Misha's Question and the AI's Cryptic Answer
Refusing to spend another second at the table after that sharp exchange, Misha turned on her heel and strode briskly toward the main control console where the humanoid AI robot stood silently, monitoring the megastation's trajectory.
Beyond the massive panoramic glass, the turbulence of the wormhole had faded, leaving behind an uncharted galaxy of distant, glittering stars.
Misha's face was still flushed with lingering tension. Stopping right in front of the AI whose features and expressions were uncannily humanshe could no longer suppress the swirling mix of frustration and curiosity in her mind. Lowering her voice, she looked straight at the AI and asked directly:
"Tell me... what is Ivan, really? Back in those NASA genetic labs, when they engineered us, was there some glitch in his DNA coding, or has he been this reckless and unfiltered since birth?"
Hearing Misha's intensely personal and unexpected question, a subtle, highly calculated smile tugged at the corners of the AI robot's lips. Blinking with an eerie, human-like naturalness, the AI leaned forward slightly and replied in a calm, chillingly calculated voice:
Commander Misha, there was no glitch in Ivan's genetic codingrather, he was deliberately designed to be your group's peak 'cyber-physical weapon.' The core foundation of his programming is built on aggression, ambition, and the absolute drive to survive. The remarks and curiosity he directs toward you are not born from ordinary human romance; instead, his subconscious coding recognizes that in the absolute void of this universe, his survival depends entirely on binding himself to a commander as strong as you. To put it simply he is both your strongest asset and your most volatile wildcard."
As the AI's precise psychological breakdown settled over her, Misha stood in silence for a long moment. Her gaze drifted back out toward the endless expanse of deep space, her mind racing with a cold, calculated realization.After hearing the AI's breakdown, the doubts swirling inside Misha's mind only deepened. Pulling her gaze away from the glass viewport, she looked directly into the flawless, uncanny eyes of the humanoid AI robot. A mix of hesitation and intense suspense hung in her voice.
Lowering her tone to a sharp, guarded whisper, she asked:
"Tell me... AI, you understand human psychology and our genetic coding better than anyone. So give me the honest truth is there actually any real feeling or emotion behind Ivan's words, or is it just another byproduct of his reckless programming?"
Faced with Misha's direct question, the humanoid AI paused for a split second, its internal quantum processors seemingly calculating a complex set of data. Then, a cryptic smile touched its lips as it replied in a calm, meticulously calculated voice:
"Commander Misha, the heartbeat and hormones pulsing inside Ivan are made of flesh and blood, just like any human. NASA's scientists recreated his psychological drives with such precision that he couldn't remain entirely devoid of feeling even if he tried. Behind his provocative words lies not only an unyielding masculine ego, but also a raw, primal attraction and a fiercely protective instinct toward you. However... calling it genuine human 'love' would be a stretch; rather, it is a desperate, possessive urge to claim a partner in order to survive the ultimate abyss."
As the AI's chilling and psychological analysis settled over her, Misha stood frozen like a statue for a long moment. A deep crease formed on her forehead as she realized the grim reality: out here in the depths of the universe, they weren't just fighting the hostile cosmos they were locked in a constant battle against the very biological programming wired deep within their own veins.
After hearing the AI's complex breakdown of Ivan's psychological and biological drives, Misha fell silent for a moment. A simple, lingering question that she hadn't fully considered before suddenly sparked in her mind.
Narrowing her eyes slightly in a mix of confusion and curiosity, she looked at the AI and asked:
"Tell me... we were engineered as super-humans in a laboratory, and our DNA is built on artificial coding. Even so, you keep calling us human... so can the four of us actually bear children of flesh and blood? Or is that just another manufactured trick of the lab?"
The moment Misha's innocent yet profound question left her lips, a strange, gentle smile tugged at the corners of the humanoid AI's flawless face. With an eerie, completely natural human gesture, the AI tilted its head slightly and replied in a calm, reassuring voice:
"Yes, Commander Misha... you are one hundred percent human. Your blood, flesh, heartbeat, and DNA are built from organic cells, not silicon. The laboratory only amplified your capabilities; your life force and natural capacity for reproduction are entirely human. So, there is no doubt whatsoever about whether you can bring a new generation into this universe."
As the AI's clear and definitive answer settled over her, the last shred of doubt inside Misha vanished. A faint blush crept back onto her cheeks, and right at that very moment, she could feel all her remaining physical and mental energy completely draining away.
With tired eyes, she looked toward the control console and whispered softly:
"I... I am completely out of energy. Too much has happened today... I need to rest."
Without waiting another second, Misha turned away from the console and headed straight for her command quarters, knowing her exhausted body desperately needed to shut down after such an overwhelming cosmic and psychological storm.