The Setting: In a universe where immortality has made interstellar travel possible, Graecus, a nearly 2000-year-old human, embarks on a 400-year journey aboard his self-designed spaceship, Vritra. Unlike his peers who master single fields, Graecus desires to know a bit of everything the universe holds. The spacecraft is equipped with all his needs, from books to a basketball court, where he often plays against his android companion, Bardock. Despite his countless pursuits and temporary skills in various fields, Graecus’s thirst for knowledge and self-discovery drives him forward, even as he grapples with moments of isolation and the playful rivalry with Bardock. The endless expanse of space and time becomes both his canvas and his laboratory.
The Story:
The means of interstellar travel were discovered many millennia ago, but actual space travel has become possible only after the secrets of immortality were unlocked. The meaning of civilization has changed, and many secrets hidden in the deepest reaches of the universe have been unlocked. But, the universe is infinite. Our imagination cannot fathom the size of the universe. Many more truths are still hidden somewhere there, in all the infinity and darkness. All that is discovered is nothing compared to what is still unknown.
That is what drives Graecus. With endless time on his hands and the thirst to know (not necessarily understand) everything the universe could offer, he had set out in his spaceship Vritra. Without a destination in mind and only with the aim to find something new he had left on this journey almost 400 years back. He had designed Vritra himself to suit him and his needs on his very long journey. Almost 2000 years old, Graecus was still not amongst the elders of his race. Humanity had experts in all fields and with them being immortal their expertise was permanent, controlling all information flow. Graecus on the other hand did not want to become an expert in a single field but someone who knew about everything the universe contained. He had previously tried his hands on everything which could be done. Music, art, science, politics, sports, philosophy, engineering, sociology, and all the things documented were something he had tried and achieved proficiency in. Never striving to become the expert of a single field, he always moved on to something new after achieving a certain level of skill. His elders had always criticised his lack of effort, from their point of view, to become the single known authority in any of the things he tried. Graecus certainly loved some things more than others but according to him it did not mean that he should make them the sole purpose of his life. He had to know about everything. That is why he had set out with no destination in mind. With all the time to do whatever he wanted and nobody to question his thoughts it was a journey of self-discovery as much as a quest for knowledge.
Vritra was befitted to serve all Graecus’s needs and wants. It had all the musical instruments he played, a more than sufficient stock of books he had to read (enough to last another lifetime of his), all the games he wanted to play, but his favourite spaces were the ship deck and the basketball court. You could see him on the deck relaxed and uncaring. He could sit there for hours without moving staring at the stars and the blips of light, not moving at all lost in thought. For him it was always a sight to behold and contemplate your existence vs. the expanse of the universe. The number of stars compared to the number of things Graecus wanted to do, but the one true love of his life was basketball. But, he was not so eager to play a game now.
Bardock had challenged him to another one on one game that day. All the silence and loneliness aboard the ship was more troubling for him than Graecus. Bardock’s superior intelligence was always at a disadvantage on this and only so much entertainment could be provided on Vritra. Defeating Graecus always cheered him up, and Graecus’s bad mood which followed was just the cherry on top.
The basketball court aboard Vritra was a half-court affair. A board, a ring with a surrounding wooden floor. The floor area also acted as the badminton and squash court. Most of the sports area on Vritra had been designed for multi-purpose use. After all, Graecus did want to play everything.
Bardock was tall and muscular as compared to Graecus’s small and slim stature. This was not necessarily a disadvantage as he was faster and more agile than Bardock. In all the 400 years aboard Vritra Graecus had never been able to defeat Bardock. Today he decided would be the last day he let him win. He had to show Bardock his true skill, if he felt bad later, it didn’t matter.
Graecus entered the court wearing his long hair in a ponytail. The court was one place he did mind his hair coming over his eyes. He was a shooter after all. Bardock spoke out the rules, and like always Graecus was not listening, he was already planning how to win. They decided on shooter’s start and Graecus sunk the free throw. Starting behind the three-point line he faked a jump shot, then faked a drive, Bardock stumbled and seeing his chance Graecus drilled a three pointer. Getting the ball again he did not even give Bardock a chance to get his feet settled and swished another three. 6-0 in Graecus’s favour. Seems that he will win after all. It looked like he is in the zone. Another three-point attempt, but this one hit the rim and the rebound was collected by Bardock. What followed later was a demolition. Layups after layups, Bardock used his size and post up moves to bring the score to 6-10. Graecus tried to steal the ball many times but Bardock had the necessary ball handling skills. Graecus had just trained him to well. To finish Bardock just repeated Graecus’s first move to the expressions, fake, fake and a three to finish the game. Graecus’s face showed his misery for just a moment, which was missed by Bardock. The expression was resolved.
Graecus knew that Bardock would do a replay of the entire match over dinner. He did not look forward to that. He went to the deck, resuming his star gazing. He would have a shower before dinner. It was so revenge pondering time. Why did he even make the stupid android bot? He could just turn him off. All the trajectory calculations had already been completed and everything was already fed into the systems. He decided today he would turn him off, better yet he would just paralyse him, that bugger would know who’s the master then.
After dinner Bardock went for a charge. It would take him some time to go in standby, and then Graecus decided he would cripple that oversized bot. The stars were still wonderful and Graecus lost track of time. Waking up suddenly he had almost forgotten his revenge plans. The star background had not changed in a while, he would have to do a manoeuvre change in some days. He would need Bardock for that. Thinking calmly about it even if the third missed three pointer was a fluke, he would get it right the next time. He will practise tonight and finish the game with three points tomorrow. He could shut him down and do the calculations himself too. But then who would do the dishes? Do the dishes and cook the food too. Not the best plan for the next century or so.