In Space, We Don't Abandon Innocence

by David Silver

13 - Sunset's Sunset

The ponies of the ship had a new project, a great collection of them. Given the list of things the dragons lacked, ponies lined up for the chance to make them. Starting with bits of generic 'stuff' the ship kept in its supplies, they fashioned them into forks, spoons, chairs, and other household supplies that the dragons apparently thought were quite valuable.

The humans joined in as well, using their own methods to fabricate what was needed. It was an exciting time, one where all hands pitched in to help the dragons.

It also got Sunset thinking. "Why would they be lacking this stuff?" She waved at the list posted on one wall of her library. "Seriously, they're in space. They're post-scarcity. Shouldn't they have all of this by now?"

A pony, turned human hologram, came over to stand with Sunset. "I have a few theories about that." She wore a badge declaring her name to be Babs Seed. "Not enough to make me a real scientist, but if you wanna hear 'em, I'm happy to share."

Sunset hiked a brow at the teenager. "Why not? Hit me with your best shot."

Babs gave a sharp nod and spun to lean against the same wall as Sunset. "If I may posit a hypothesis, then sure!" She scratched at her chin as she considered the question. "They are a space fairing race, we know that. They have the technology to make this stuff, but we aren't making it with technology."

She thrust a finger up. "We're making it by hand, or hoof, or whatever. Even our programs are doing it manually, not with any automation involved. Maybe that's the big difference. Dragons could make this stuff, but the idea of one of them sitting down to do it? Not appealing."

Sunset gazed thoughtfully up at the list. "And dragons don't have computer programs, not really." She pushed away from the wall. "They lack something as basic as a micro-emitter." Being a hologram, that certainly felt basic to her life. "That actually makes sense. You're a clever little pony, aren't you?"

Babs grinned at the praise. "Thanks! I should get back to work though. Wanna help?"

Sunset laughed. "Why not? Give me a task."

Babs grabbed Sunset's arm and dragged her over to one of the stations. It was a short distance away, outside the library. Babs returned to her filly shape, but Sunset remained a human. "Sit. Start filling."

Sunset obediently settled into the chair and reached for a bag of polystyrene pellets. "Huh." She dropped a few pellets into the waiting bin as soft chimes and beeps let her know how it was going. "I thought this would be more complicated."

"The complicated part we leave to ponies who are better at it. We're getting the simple stuff done for them." She got to filling her own bin with a grin. "We're all doing our part!"

"Of course." Sunset focused on her task, taking comfort in the work, even if it wasn't something that required a lot of thinking. "So long as you guys can feed me jobs like this, I'm happy to pitch in."

"You should ask more often." Babs unloaded a good portion of her bag in a cacophony of beeps and hums from her terminal. "We have a bunch of little things. I just thought you weren't available. You don't come talk to us very often."

Sunset cringed a little at that. "Well, that's true. You know, sometimes I wonder if I even exist. It gets confusing, being able to blink out of existence, or make things appear."

Babs inclined her head. "Oh, are you a first gen? Second?"

Sunset peered at Babs with confusion.

Babs rolled a hoof. "How many full lives have synced before this specific you got generated?"

Sunset sat up at that question. "Full lives? What? I'm just me." She poked at her chest. "I don't get 'full lives'. This is just me. It's my only life."

Babs whistled softly. "Wow, first generation. I never met one of those, just heard stories." She returned her attention to filling her bin for a quiet few moments. "So, was your original living self still alive when we left Earth?"

Sunset leaned back into her chair as she pondered the question. "I have no idea. Probably not. That'd be, I don't know. Crazy." She stretched her arms out to their full length. "This is heavy." She didn't mean the bag she finished pouring. "Look, all I know is I'm me. They told me, eventually, I can 'sync' to update 'me' for the future, just in case something happens to me."

Babs clapped her hooves together, bag complete. She reached for the next one. "Well, hope that doesn't happen, at least until we get back to Earth. That goes for all of us. I want to save these memories for future mes!"

Sunset blinked as Babs had several more bags to go through. "Hold on. How many full lives have you lived?"

"Six! Of those, four were second generation, and of those, one was third generation. That makes me fourth generation." She sounded quite proud of that fact. "If I sync and they make a new me, that one'll be fifth generation. Get it?"

Sunset set her bag down with a faint thump. "So, every time your mind syncs, you can sort of duplicate yourself? A backup? Then, when they create a new copy of you, that's the backup in case something happens to the last you?"

Babs waved that away. "It's not just emergencies. We're tools on top of being people. So if they make a new ship and they want to fill it with awesome ponies, they may copy me, or you, or anypony else you've ever met. Maybe a new one." She shrugged with a laugh. "That's how it works."

Sunset stood up at that. "But I never told them I'd let them do that!"

Babs just laughed more at that. "So what? We're providing services! Besides, do you think they need your permission to create a new hologram?"

Sunset slumped in place. "But I'm the hologram."

"Wow. First generation." Babs reached over to rest her hoof on Sunset's side. "It'll be okay. If it helps, your original living self had to say this was okay, or they wouldn't do it. She was you, before you."

Sunset covered her face with her hands. "This is a lot."

"Sorry." Babs finished her current bag. "Tell you what, it's about lunch time. I'm done here." She tucked her bags out of the way of where people might walk, safely stashed in storage bins. "Want to get something to eat?"

"I'm a hologram, and so are you." Sunset hiked a brow. "All we eat is electrons, and we're getting plenty of that."

Babs pulled a datapad from somewhere on her person. "If you're going to live like a human, you need to do it all the way." She used the pad to order two subs from the replicator, then handed one over to Sunset.

Sunset peered at it skeptically. "You're joking. Seriously, hologram. If I chew on this and swallow, where is it going to go? I could just, what, hold it, I guess, then what?"

Babs laughed softly as she took a bite of her own sub. "If you hold it in your mouth long enough, eventually your programming will decide you've eaten it, and you'll experience whatever it is you ponies feel when you eat."

True to her word, Babs' food seemed to vanish into her without an issue as she enjoyed the sub with little hums of satisfaction. "It's good. Remember the simple joy of eating."

Sunset ran her fingers over the bagged sandwich. "This is nuts. I'm nuts. We're all nuts!" She smiled despite her words, feeling at ease for some reason. "Alright, fine." She tore it open and took a delicate bite, then another. She remembered the forgotten joys of tasting things, of swallowing them. Her belly, which she figured she didn't really have, started to feel comfortably full as she finished. "Wow."

"Wow indeed." Babs came up to hug Sunset from behind, resting her chin on Sunset's shoulder. "Did you enjoy your first meal as a human?"

Sunset gently pushed Babs away, but smiled warmly at her. "I don't remember that far back, but pretty sure, yeah? Look, today's been literally mind blowing. I need to weigh some existential questions. You go on doing pony things, okey?"

Babs backed up a step, shifting back to a human shape as she did. "Sure, okay." She offered a hug, which Sunset accepted before the younger girl returned to her filly form and headed out of the room.

Sunset tossed the bag's wrapper away properly. "Seriously, where does the sandwich go?" She knew she ate it, but its fate, a mystery. "I'm the information engineer, dang it. Time to look that up!"

Author's Note:

Short, but I feel like it's a nice little slice. Was I off? Lemme know!

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Sunset could be Zero generation through a misapplication of Twilicorns Haycartes spell? Puts the physical body information in the storage media in a dynamically manipulable and updateable manner?

The big problem with black holes, is what is the information it stores on its event horizon, that can be radiated away without being destroyed?

[Okie Brony]

Sunset leaned back into her chair as she pondered the question. "I have no idea. Probably not. That'd be, I don't know. Crazy." She stretched her arms out to their full length. "This is heavy."

There's that word again, "heavy." Is there something wrong with gravity in the future?

"BTTF" reference.

It's interesting that the dragons have interstellar spaceships, but need household goods.

Sunset tossed the bag's wrapper away properly. "Seriously, where does the sandwhich go?" She knew she ate it, but its fate, a mystery. (*)I'm the information engineer, dang it. Time to look that up!"

It's a mystery! Also, missing quotation mark. Just noticed: sandwhich/sandwich.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

I think it's been about a million years since I have seen Babs in a fanfic.

That being said, I've pretty much always had a soft spot for her, so it's good to see her.

Her and Sunset eating was particularly fun, even if the mechanics remain mysterious for now.

[David Silver]

11928147
Holograms don't need to eat, but it brought some pleasure and grounding to things, and Sunset chilled.

[Turquoise pony]

11928278
If it is all just programming then the programming of eating, tasting, and then feeling the fullness from, enjoying a meal would be just as real as feeling the holographic skin on your face with your holographic hand.