Submission (#186) Approved

Journey to the Center of the Solar System.

As it stands, Lufi is at a precipice. He knows he might be the only one of his kind in the universe, but he wants to try and find other creatures like him too. It can’t be that he is the only miracle in the vast emptiness of space. Other intelligent organisms and proof of them exist around him, literally, orbiting around him in a carefree fashion. But they are decidedly made of matter and distinctly different from beings like himself. IBM is open to the idea. He says that he can observe the other aspects of the solar system too, as well as document if there are any other lifeforms similar to Lufi. He was rather used to seeing Lucifer’s glow every day after all, and desired new data points and experiences.

So it was decided: Lufi would take IBM along with him on his journey to the center of the Solar System.

Even though space is wide and distances far, Lufi makes travel quite easy. A nifty little thing called spacetime distortion leads to near-instantaneous travel, once he got the hang of the technique. There is to be no barrier between discovery and any celestial bodies that the two might be keen on checking out. Because it was easily spotted from where they were, even if it was further from the center, they made their way to Saturn first. It was still a mottled yellow color with a gaseous surface that swirled much like Jupiters. IBM remarks that millions of years ago it had a grandiose halo around it. It has since dissipated into space, leaving behind only a thin ring of still floating debris. It was a sad thing, they both agreed.

It was very enjoyable, hopping around from planet to planet to experience their unique atmosphere. Even more so with IBM's fun facts and commentary. They have finally reached Mercury, taking a rest to look at where the sun had once been. According to IBM, it had died long before Lufi was born. As he was so far away, he couldn't discern its state at the time of its death, but he judged it to be a regular supernova after it turned into a red giant. Although… he had some qualms about this theory, seeing as the scientists on Earth had predicted that it would turn into a white dwarf instead. And he trusts the predictions of science fully. Lufi too, is confounded by the mystery.

He thinks. Maybe…

He asks IBM to perform an analysis on the signals passing by in space. To both of their surprise, the findings lead to only one conclusion: there was another creature like Luficer in this area. Lufi says that it must be possible that the sun IBM says was also reborn as a Luminite. It goes against all logic, but so does Lufi's existence and Lucifer's as well. And just as they both realize that this must be the explanation, Lufi feels a presence looking at him from afar. He turns his head around and is met by another Luminite, gazing at him with a cold stare. This Luminite is much smaller, but Lufi could feel an overwhelming presence emanating from the harsh yellow glow of his embedded circuits.

"I AM SUM. COGITO ERGO SUM. SPEAK."

(not included in word count: grhhahhh i had to cut it because i didnt work on the prompts beforehand byeee i had so many ideas.. whoever reads this... i have learned my lesson......)