Year 2157, Planet Aridia
The sky had not been blue in years. A thin layer of ash hung heavy, drifting lazily across the cracked streets, coating the skeletons of buildings like gray snow. Daniel adjusted the cracked goggles over his eyes, trying to shield them from the stinging dust. Each step on the broken pavement echoed in the emptiness, a sound that reminded him just how alone the city had become.
He paused at the corner of a collapsed overpass, noticing the faint shimmer of light bouncing off a half-buried street sign. Rusted vehicles lay scattered like forgotten toys, their metal frames twisted and hollow. The wind whispered through the hollow shells of buildings, carrying the faint scent of smoke and dust, a reminder of the chaos that had swallowed the world.
Daniel's fingers brushed over the cracked wall as he walked, tracing the faded symbols and peeling paint. Memories of the city before… laughter, voices, the hum of life… seemed almost foreign now. He shook his head, pushing them aside. Survival left little room for nostalgia.
Then the scanner on his belt beeped, sharp and sudden. His heart skipped. The signal… there shouldn't be power anywhere, not anymore. Yet the device pulsed, a steady rhythm calling him forward.
Cautiously, he followed the signal, stepping over debris, listening to the wind and the silence. Ahead, partially hidden under the rubble, he saw it: a steel hatch. Cold, solid, untouched. Daniel crouched before it, his fingers trembling. Something waited inside. Hope? Danger? He didn't know. But he couldn't turn back now.
The hatch groaned under his fingers, protesting each millimeter it moved. A thin wisp of stale air escaped, carrying the faint scent of metal and something… electric. Daniel froze, inhaling cautiously.
A faint glow shimmered from inside, soft and pulsing like a heartbeat. Shadows danced along the walls, stretching and shrinking as the hatch creaked wider.
Daniel's pulse quickened. He wanted to step back, wanted to run, but his curiosity anchored him in place. Every fiber of his body screamed that this moment could be the turning point—the moment life might change, either for the better… or the worse.
The glow grew brighter, revealing shapes beneath the dust: smooth surfaces, panels etched with symbols, and the faint hum of machinery. The sound wasn't loud, but it resonated in his chest, as if the hatch itself was breathing.
He leaned forward, trying to see more, but the light was maddening—too bright to focus on, yet too strange to ignore. His hand brushed against something smooth and cold inside. A pulse of energy vibrated through it, sending a shiver up his arm.
Then, just as he thought he could endure no more, a voice—soft, mechanical, but undeniably present—spoke.
"Restoration protocol activated. Human detected."