Beyond the Universe
Terran Year 7344 AD
Re-Life Insurance Agency Branch 82-Z63
Hnossa Space Station, currently orbiting the yellow dwarf star Hnossa-038
1300 Hours
"...Downloading genetic sequence and bodily dimensions." The technician expounded in a bored tone of voice. He lounged in his chair with his feet propped on the edge of the computer terminal, watching the little 'loading' bars fill on his screen. "Thirty-three percent. Forty-nine percent. Frack, looks like a whole mess of them. I guess a ship must have exploded or something. Seventy-two percent. Eighty-one..."
"P-clk-lease be si-clk-lent, Tiberious." chittered the ten-legged arthropod manning the terminal next to him. "We are receiving prob-clk-lematic variations in the neura-clk-l patterns."
"Sorry Joe." the human responded, pulling his feet down and leaning over to look at his companion's light screen. In the darkened room the floating displays had an ethereal glow. Between them the holograph of their interrupted ultra-chess game flickered patiently on the table.
"Well that is weird. What are those blank spots? Have they got no brains or something?"
Since he absorbed oxygen through his exoskeleton, it was not within Joe's ability to sigh heavily with exasperation. He settled for a loud, long-suffering CLK. "They 'got no' memories, imbeci-clk-le"
