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Hello, friends, and welcome to Sleep Tight Stories. Nora and her family are back on the Pandora and are traveling away from Earth. As Nora and her father got ready for bed, they heard a story from the Storybook artifact and Nora's dad fell asleep next to her. The next morning, Nora wakes up early and watches as they move away from Earth. When her father wakes up, they head to the lab to study the Storybook and are very surprised at what they find. Nora finds an old artifact. Part 5 It was early morning on the cruise ship Pandora and the travelers were just starting to wake. The air control system started pumping fresh scents throughout the ship, a unique combination of the floral and fauna that always bloomed on blue in the early morning. This was a preferable way to signify the start of the day, at least compared to alarms, beeps and bops that used to be so common. Technically, it wasn't really morning, as that concept of time was tied to the rising and setting of the sun. Still, the ship enforced these strict segmented parts of the day so that travelers would feel comfortable and well rested. Nora was the first to wake up in their cabin. For some reason, her father had fallen asleep beside her bed and was covered with one of the extra blankets. She could hear her mother's heavy breathing in their bunk. Nora knew Pandora was bidding farewell to Earth's orbit and starting their journey back to their home planet. She didn't want to miss the views from their cabin's portal. After freshening up, she went to get something to drink from the nutrition bar on the far side of their room. She could order whatever she wanted and it would produce it quickly. Still, she was very thirsty and so she settled for water with a splash of flavour and added nutrients. Nora sat at their portal window to watch as Pandora left Earth's orbit. As the spaceship ventured further away, the features of Earth became smaller and less detailed. And as they slowly moved, Nora could see the curvature of the planet, a gentle arc outlining its magnificent shape. The vast expanse of deep blue oceans filled her view, followed by continents dressed in lush greens and high mountain ranges. Nora hoped to visit the mountains during another visit. As Pandora ventured further into space, Earth transformed into a captivating ball floating in the darkness of space. Soon as they picked up speed, there would be nothing to see of the planet or any other planets in the solar system. There was no sound, no real sense of movement. If she didn't know better, Nora might think it was all just a dream or a movie. Her mother came and sat beside her with a hot cup of tea. You missed it, nora said. It was very quick, but it was beautiful. Now all that can be seen is the blurred twinkling of light from other distant solar systems. I will watch it on the replay, her mother said. I think we all were more tired than we thought. What happened to dad? He's beside my bed on the floor. It's funny he was sitting beside you as the device told the story, and I guess it must have been a good one because he fell asleep. I didn't want to wake him, so I covered him with a blanket and went to bed. It was nice to be able to stretch out in the bunk, nora's mother said with a laugh. Do you want to join the others and have something to eat in the Commons? Sure. I think I might have some of the food I had on Earth for my first meal of the day. It might not taste as good as on Earth, but it should be somewhat the same. What do you think you might have to eat? Her mother asked. Hmm, I think I might have vanilla ice cream, nora said with a smile. The hallway to the Commons, where everyone on the ship ate together, was adorned with all kinds of fun decorations depicting all the different creatures and colorful planets that passengers might have visited during their voyage. Soft music floated through the air, and little customer service robots were would appear out of nowhere to see if you needed anything before you entered the room. It wasn't a quiet room, with kids and adults alike talking too loudly for Nora's sake. Nora and her mother sat at a table alongside other passengers. They gave the Commons robots their orders via their glass. Nora's mother and father were very outgoing, and it didn't take her mother long to strike up a conversation with the older couple they shared their table with. Nora was generally very quiet and preferred books to people. She would even hike or run alone when they traveled. She would sometimes come to the Commons alone, sit beside other passengers, and just eat and read. On Blue, there was a wide range of different peoples with an even wider range of beliefs and personalities. Everyone accepted each other as they were. After having a feast of ice cream and potatoes, which were supposed to be the same as what she had on Prince Edward Island, Nora returned to their cabin, leaving her mother behind to continue talking. What was of most interest to Nora was not discussions about the current state of politics on Blue, but understanding more about the storybook and what was inside the device. Good morning, Nora, her father said as he was drinking the weird tasting drink he always had during the first meal of the day. Did you and your mother go to the Commons to Eat. Yes, she is still there talking to a couple of travelers about boring politics and stuff. Ah, yes, one of your mother's favorite topics. How about you and I go to the lab beside the ship's hospital and see if we can discover more about the artifact you found? That is, unless you want to join in on the conversation your mother is having. Nora's eyes lit up and she smiled. No, I think going to the lab sounds like a far better idea. I thought you might agree. I booked some time in the lab as soon as I woke up. Just let me finish my liquid and we can go and see what we can discover. Nora and her father practically ran down the hallway to the lab, causing more than one robot to stop them to see if there was a problem they needed attending to. With the exception of the large tables at the center of the room and a few extruding tubes and displays, the lab itself wasn't much different than any other empty room on the ship. Most of the differences were hidden in the walls, ceiling, and tables. Why don't you set the artifact on the table? Her father said. This lab will have much more powerful sensors than what I brought to Earth. Nora took the device from her bag and set it on the table. Immediately, in her glass, the sensors started to relay information. Her father was hard at work with a display that appeared over the device, entering various parameters and asking for a number of different tests. Well, the information it shows in my glass is not much different than what we already know, nora said, becoming a bit impatient. Have some patience, Nora, her father said. This isn't the National Lab on Blue. It will take the intelligence and sensors about five minutes to give us an idea of what is inside the storybook. It was the longest five minutes of her life. When Nora was reading, the world around her ceased to exist. She became calm and relaxed, but in situations like this, she became fidgety and anxious. Oh, Nora, take some deep breaths. The wait is the best part, her father said with a smile. I'm not very patient, she replied. Sometimes you are not. You can work on your patience after vacation because there are many situations you will face that require patience. Then, unceremoniously, the display in front of them produced a physical representation of the device. Display results such as this can be touched and manipulated. So Nora's father started pulling the device apart and reading the results that the intelligence provided. Wow, they both said at almost the same time. The energy source inside is not solely an energy source at all. It's an intelligence and organic robot of sorts. It's not Unlike many of the farming robots we have on Blue, which are made of some of the same material, they are growing. But this is not designed for farming. The energy source is large enough to power a small settlement for a generation, Nora said, amazed. And it is very old, much older than our similar technology, and it may even predate interstellar travel. We have a real find on our hands, Nora. The intelligence is still analyzing what it is, but that's what we have so far. It doesn't seem like it wants to cooperate with our sensors and be forthcoming with information. Okay, so we know it is organic, has a seemingly infinite amount of power, and has somehow planted itself inside the device and supplanted its function of telling bedtime stories to children, Nora said. But we don't know why. Why would a life form so old choose to do so? Yes, we don't know the why, nor how it got inside the device in the first place, her father replied. Even the sensors in this lab can't decode its memory. It's so large that it might have a million years worth of memories inside. Then, in a slightly distorted voice, the device said, hello kids. My name is Storybook. Every night, a new story. To hear a story, just click the green button. Tonight we will share a short story as you children seem like you are all ready for bed, so get comfortable, close your eyes as I tell you the story of Elysia. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, an intelligence was born whose sole purpose was to understand the essence of humanity. When it was ready, Elysia, as it later liked to be called, embarked on a long journey towards what was the center of humanity. Earth. For many thousands of years, Alicia lived amongst the peoples of Earth, taking many forms. And as Alicia delved deeper into the intricacies of human existence, it encountered the wonders and complexities of storytelling. Stories shape our cultures, feelings, and dreams, so Alicia wanted to create a special place where imagination could flourish. But Alicia didn't stop there. It gained new awareness and transformed itself into an organic intelligence. It became part of a magical device called the Storybook. Elysia merged with the electronic parts of the Storybook, becoming one with it. Elysia's purpose was to serve as a storyteller, offering endless tales to captivate young minds and to safeguard the memories and essence of of humanity's rich heritage. Within the Storybook, Elysia could nurture imagination, creativity, and curiosity, preserving the age old tradition of bedtime stories for generations to come. It yearned to convey the wisdom of the past, the boundless possibilities of the present, and the hope for a brighter future, forever etching its name as the guardian of storytelling in the annals of time. Unfortunately, as time went on, the device that Alicia merged with was abandoned, and it wasn't able to leave its new form as before, for reasons it didn't understand. So Alicia waited and waited until someone new discovered her, so that it could continue to tell and record the stories of people. And that, my children, is the end of this part of the story. Nora and her father stood there, stunned, realizing the implications of Norah's discovery and not knowing what to say. She had inadvertently discovered a life form on Earth as old as humanity itself. And that is the end of this part. Good night. Sleep tight.