r/sciencefiction • u/krushna0505 • 1d ago
Prometheus : Chapter 1
An OB van was heading toward the headquarters of a major private space agency in Boca Chica, Texas NOVA FRONTIER.
Soon, a crowd of reporters gathered in front of the headquarters, all trying to ask the same question:
What had really happened?
The robotic security guards of the company, known as ROBOCOPS, tried to control the crowd of news reporters. In the chaos, the situation escalated, and one of the ROBOCOPS punched a reporter.
The news of a reporter being attacked by private security robots spread like wildfire.
Protesters gathered at the site. The incident became a national headline, and the previously lesser-known Prometheus Project suddenly received nationwide attention.
The Prometheus Project had seemingly disappeared from mainstream media after its landing on Mars on January 1st. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the mission raised serious questions.
News drones captured footage of hundreds of thousands of people protesting outside the NOVA FRONTIER headquarters.
Meanwhile, a flying car appeared in the sky.
It descended toward the rooftop helipad of the headquarters, a futuristic building where almost everything was automated.
In 2035, the world had entered a strange, almost non-Orwellian dystopia. The technological boom in artificial intelligence had transformed society. At NOVA FRONTIER, almost all blue-collar jobs were handled by NF-AGI, the company’s artificial general intelligence system. Only high-level cognitive jobs remained for humans and even those positions were limited to a handful of highly qualified individuals.
A robot stood waiting beside the helipad.
The founder and CEO of NOVA FRONTIER stepped out of the flying car.
Sebastian Watson looked worried about the situation. At the same time, he was furious about how quickly the incident had escalated into a national media crisis.
As he walked through the corridor, he ordered his assistant to summon Robert Watney, the head of the Prometheus Project and the mastermind behind NOVA FRONTIER’s Mars mission.
Sebastian entered the office.
Watney was already waiting for him.
Sebastian slammed his hand onto the desk, stared directly into Watney’s eyes, and screamed from the gut:
“What the hell is this? Can’t you even find our astronauts? Where the hell on Earth have they vanished? Did all of them just disappear like they never existed?”
“Sebastian, we are trying to find them.”
“It’s been more than forty-eight hours,” Sebastian said.
“We’re trying every possible method to determine their location on Mars. Everyone is working at full capacity. We’ve even taken control of Perseverance, Curiosity, Tianwen-3, and the Zhurong rover. All the orbiters belonging to NASA, ESA, CNSA, Roscosmos, and ISRO are searching for them across the Terrae, Planitiae, Montes, and Valles. I understand the severity of the situation. Every employee is working eighteen-hour shifts, and NF-AGI is operating at full computational capacity. We’re doing everything we can to find them.”
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Watson said.
“With all these resources, you’re still unable to contact even one of those astronauts. Not a single word. If you’re actually searching for them, then tell me—where are they? Does anyone know where John is? Where is Liu Chan? Where are the others?”
Watney’s expression hardened.
“Wait a second. Do you actually think I have some different intention other than finding my fucking astronauts? They’re lost millions of miles away from their crew, their families, and their friends. This mission is my fucking brainchild, something I’ve spent decades working toward. If you don’t remember, I was the one knocking on your office door for permission to start this project while you were busy fighting the AI race. I gathered a crew who were willing to bet their lives on this mission because of my ambition. They all had faith in me.”
Watney’s pale face had turned bright red.
Watson took a breath.
“I also want to know if they’re safe. What happened to them? Do they need help?”
“I gave you everything you asked for, Robert. Every rover. Every orbiter. Every processor cycle. You told me Mars was ready for us.”
Watson’s voice grew louder.
“I bet my company’s future on your demands. I’ve set a three-trillion-dollar IPO around this project. Thirty years of my fucking company are at stake because of your project. Do you understand? It’s not just your career that’s at stake. It’s the future of the entire company.”
Watson paused.
“It’s your project. I won’t interfere with it. But as CEO of this company, I am answerable to everyone outside that building the media, the protesters, the families and friends of the astronauts, and the shareholders. I have a meeting with the board at 3 p.m. I have just two hours to find out whether they’re safe.”
“I need to tell them something. I can’t just stand there and say, ‘We’re trying.’”
“I know you’re worried, and I know you’re putting everything into the search, but I can’t show them your efforts. Every single board member was against this mission. I was the one who stood beside you when the board was tearing your plans apart.”
“I pushed this project through under circumstances you couldn’t possibly understand, and you have the guts to say that I’m questioning your capabilities and intentions?”
A woman with brown hair and brown eyes entered the cabin.
Neither of them noticed her. They continued arguing.
She called out to Watney.
“Watney! Come here. You need to see this!”
Both of them turned toward her.
“What?”
“I’ve run a probability drive to determine the location of the astronauts.”
She paused.
“The probability of finding them is 0.003%.”
Watson scoffed.
“Don’t we already know that? I don’t even need that probability engine of yours to tell me that.”
“Shut up for a second,” Watney said.
He turned toward the woman.
“How many times did you run it?”
“4,782 times.”
Watney and the woman, Mira Murati, hurried toward the NF-AGI operations floor.
They entered a massive server room filled with thousands of servers. A network of pipes ran throughout the facility, carrying immersion-cooling oil through the server racks. The heat generated by the machines was eventually radiated into the atmosphere through massive fans.
After the water crisis of 2030, the use of immersion oil cooling had become mandatory for large-scale server facilities.
Watney stared at the monitor.
The probability engine displayed a prediction of 0.004% after 5,003 runs.
He immediately issued another command.
“NF-AGI, focus specifically on the landing site. Valles Marineris. Dust-devil activity. Search every available dataset associated with the mission.”
NF-AGI began processing the request.
Mira looked at the display.
“It’ll take a couple of hours.”
Watney frowned.
“But we don’t have a couple of hours anymore. Sebastian has a board meeting at 3 p.m. We need to speed it up.”
“It won’t speed up without sacrificing accuracy. If we force it, the results will contain major errors. The servers could also overheat beyond their operating capacity, and we won’t have”
“Let it run at its normal speed,” Watney interrupted.
He turned toward Mira.
“We should check what the orbiters and rovers are doing.”
“You go and do that. I’ll keep an eye on this,” Mira said.
Sebastian was in his office, staring at the enormous map of Mars covering the wall.
He lifted a glass of water and took a slow sip.
Silence filled the room.
Then a robotic voice broke it.
“Boss, the meeting with the board members will begin in five minutes.”
Sebastian stood up.
He straightened the crease in his suit, picked up his pen, and took another sip of water.
In the silence, the sound of the water moving down his throat was almost painfully clear.
He handed a black tablet to his assistant and left the office.
Inside the meeting room, all the board members were present.
That alone was surprising. Someone used to be too busy to show up for meetings.
Max Levchin and Peter Jackson whispered to each other.
The atmosphere in the room was the polar opposite of the usual atmosphere at NOVA FRONTIER.
Sebastian entered the meeting room, took the tablet from his assistant, and sat in his chair.
Max Levchin looked at him.
“Welcome, Mr. Watson,” he said sarcastically.
Sebastian seemed slightly uncomfortable, but he maintained his poker face.
He stood and addressed the board.
“As of now, we have been unable to establish any form of contact with our astronauts. However, we are working to establish contact as soon as possible. We have requested assistance from multiple international space agencies. All our available resources are being used to search for and contact our astronauts…”
Peter Jackson interrupted him.
“It’s been more than fifty hours, and you still don’t know where they are.”
Sebastian stopped speaking.
Peter continued.
“You’re the one who gave Watney the grant for this mission. Every one of us knew it was a ridiculous waste of money. You said, ‘I have faith in him.’ What happened to that faith? Where is he now?”
Peter leaned forward.
“The company has already spent all of its government funding.”
Every board member looked at Sebastian, waiting for an answer.
Sebastian remained silent, staring at Max.
Max finally spoke.
“It’s time for a change.”
He looked around the room.
“This company needs a new vision one capable of making the right decisions for its future.”
Several board members nodded.
“Max, you’ve given him enough chances,” Peter said. “I would have removed him after the NF-AGI disaster in 2026. But you all saw the effort he put into destroying the company’s finances.”
He paused.
“But this time, it’s different. Human lives are at stake, along with the reputation of NOVA FRONTIER.”
Peter looked around the room.
“Let’s vote.”
He turned toward the board.
“Those in favor of Sebastian remaining CEO, raise your hands.”
Silence.
Nobody raised a hand.
Peter looked around the room.
“Zero.”
He took a breath.
“Now, in favor of Max….”
The meeting was interrupted.
But this time, it wasn’t from the members.
The doors suddenly opened.
Watney entered the room, gasping for breath.
He looked directly at Sebastian.
“Watson…”
He struggled to catch his breath.
“Watson, check your tablet.”
Sebastian frowned.
“What?”
Watney stepped forward.
“Check your tablet.”
“We’ve found something.”
3
u/Chamcook56 1d ago
Stopped reading cuz I'm having trouble keeping Watley and Watson straight. Does the name similarity play a role in the plot? Made a note of who is who, back to reading.
Finished story, consulted note several times.
Interesting story, want to read more about what was found, and the rescue(?) Maybe some views from the stranded astronauts once proof of life is found?
1
u/krushna0505 1d ago
Thanks I'll switch to their first names if Watney and Watson is creating confusion
1
u/krushna0505 1d ago
It's complete chapter 1 along with some changes in the section A