In Space

          This is a short story I started in class three or so years ago that I'll probably never finish.... Well, here you go.

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          Space Commander Dunham awoke from hyper-sleep to see two round pixel eyes staring down at him through five inches of chipped glass. His helmet slowly lowered onto his head and the robot took two heavy steps backwards, letting the Commander’s sleep module open in a cloud of steam. The robot extended a tube of coffee to the yawning space traveler. The Commander sleepily tried to put it to his open mouth and it hit the glass of his helmet.

            Drowsily, he said, “Eugene 3.1, what happened to my sleep module? It’s all chipped. If that glass broke, why, I could have asphyxiated!”

            “I was so lonely,” said the robot, who was awake the whole time. “Hold me.”

            Eugene 3.1 sought comfort in the folds of the Commander’s space suit.

            “But… where’s the rest of the crew?” said the Commander, looking around at the empty, cracked sleep modules. “Are they outside? What planet are we on?”

            Eugene 3.1 stepped to the side to block him from the spacecraft portal. “Yes, what is left of the crew is outside, Commander. We crash landed on Ziploc 5 two months ago. Only Clipper, Garbler, and Quiche survived the landing. However, there was something wrong with the colonists of Ziploc 5. It was discovered to be a space virus. Don’t go outside. I beg you.”

            The heedless Commander pressed a button and the portal opened to the planet outside.

            “My God, I’ve never seen anything like this, Eugene 3.1. What happened…”

            He could find no words. The entire planet was swarming with adorable puppies.

Image Credit: The People Magazine pet section and a preschool education website.