Capsule
This is Ouim and my playthrough of Capsule by Jennifer Adcock.
Day 1: Who are you?
Hello, I am Alexa, a 45-year-old she/her, human. I am an astrobiologist; my speciality is planetary biosignatures of extraterrestrial life. Basically, I am an alien-tologist. I like to pin almost everything on this jacket, which I stole from my ex-husband. Speaking of my ex-husband, I used to be in a cult, and that’s where I met that 밴댕이 소갈딱지. Oh yeah, I sometimes burst out speaking my native language out of nowhere. 이렇게 말이야! 못 알아들을까 걱정하지마. 너가 못 알아듣기를 원할 때만 한국말 할 거니까! 그렇지만 넌 번역기를 키겠지?! 하하! My favourite film is the Alien series, 하지만 우리의 모험은 그렇게 무시무시하지 않았으면 좋겠어.
Hi, I’m STK, after "steak"! I am an android made 8 years ago. My creator wanted a daughter like me, so he basically made an ideal version of his future daughter. I like to DJ, so I handle the music on the ship. I’m not exactly the newest model, but I am still relevant. I am programmed to be widely knowledgeable, but my main focus is botany. I am single; I do understand love, but I just don’t care about it.
Day 2: Who is one person in particular you’d like to get to know better?
Alexa: Dinner time, I sit next to the captain, Mary-Louise. Before I can even think of a good icebreaker, she compliments my Tamagotchi badge.
“Hey, I used to own that as a kid! Cool badge! Does it really work, or is it just a patch?”
“It doesn’t work like the toy, but I can change the display by rolling this tiny knob!”
I proudly show her the gimmick. 완전 신기하지? We bond over this childhood treasure. So far, I’ve learnt that she’s 40 years old, from Brazil, it’s her third big mission but the first to really go beyond our solar system. She’s quite nervous but excited at the same time. She’s super Catholic and doesn’t believe in malicious extraterrestrials.
“If God who made us also made them, they must be nice.”
I wanted to refute her premise: God didn’t make us nice to begin with. But I just nodded. 사람을 잘 믿는 친구인 것 같아. 그러면 좀 위험한데.. 세상에 나쁜 사람들이 얼마나 많은데 말이야. She likes to collect toys from Kinder Eggs and has brought a batch with her. Sweet! I like them too! I have one attached to my jacket. I think we’ll be good friends. 이따 장난감들 보러 가야지 신난다!
Day 3: Why did you do this?
STK: I used to work at a government and corporation collaboratively funded lab. I liked it there, taking care of plants and stuff in the greenhouse. I was also very proud, if you could believe that an android could feel such fulfilment. Sometimes officers from the government visited the lab and greenhouse. Though they had a vibe of not caring much, I was still glad to show them around.
Then one day, the lab got a new android. Being government-funded, taxpayers wanted a newer and more cost-efficient model that could work more proficiently and thus give faster results. I have seen the new model work; he is definitely faster and gets more ground covered in a day, but I don't think he really cares about plants.
The people in the lab discussed what to do with me. And so I volunteered to be repositioned to this project. A fresh new start. Who knows? Maybe I can discover a new plant. Maybe I can bring some back to my greenhouse—if I can have one.
Day 4: What was it, and how is the crew morale? How is your morale?
Alexa: This ship runs on three power sources: the battery, nuclear energy, and the sun. We were supposed to save the first two as much as possible while we were flying close to the sun. This morning, the biggest solar panel broke off. 빛나는 패널이 떨어져나간 와이어들을 휘날리며 유유히 공허로 날아갔다. 우주 가오리 같아. A few panels remain. Captain Mary-Louise checked that there’s no safe way to fix the rest and isn’t going to risk it this early in the voyage.
“We still have some panels attached, and we do have two other power sources. So don’t worry, folks. But we have to save energy from now on, just in case.”
She then went on to explain some discomforts we’d have to bear to save energy, like all cabin lights turning off after 10 p.m. 괜찮아 나는 일찍 자니까.
The crew is afraid. We just took off two days ago, and we already have a substantial problem. They speculate about what else can go wrong and break. Some sneer that the part must have been made in China. 인종차별자 시키들 그렇지만 나도 동의한다.
I personally am not afraid—or more so, I choose not to be afraid. 이미 일어났고 우린 우주에 있는데 뭘 어째. Fear doesn’t serve anyone in this void. So I might as well just go along with the situation as optimistically as possible. 그치만 패널 조각이 갖고 싶긴 하다. 뱃지로 달게.
Day 5: How do you feel about homesickness?
STK: I was sad when I was kicked out of the lab. I miss my plants—especially the rhododendron; it has a funny name. I knew all the plants and so many other things by heart. I don’t particularly miss humans, except for the janitor. He was chill.
I am busy tending the plants that offer oxygen, food, and water recycling. It’s good to be busy, though. I put Supernova by Aespa on replay a lot these days.
I’m happy to be here on Capsule. It’s a good opportunity. I’ve met so many experts in different fields, and among them, I feel legit for being a botanist on board. I’ve befriended some, including Alexa. She likes aliens, and I like plants. We both like stuff. I don’t quite like the janitor here, though. He’s a bit too serious.
Maybe someday I will be the first to discover a plant. My dream is to find a plant that is a hybrid of an animal and a plant—the link between the two species. So... some kind of sentient plant. I think it will be dumb. I mean not dumb, but more simple... like a worm.
Day 6: Who is your new friend?
Alexa: I made some friends on board—not many, though. Most don’t take my profession seriously. They ask about Area 51 and films about aliens, but when I become all technical and try to explain how it really is, they lose interest. It’s sad but expected. 어떤 애들은 촉수물 봤냐고 물어보기도 하더라. 웩
Still, I made some friends who are real dears: Captain Mary-Louise, the botanist android STK, and my most recent friend, Father Alberto. 공간 낭비 같지만, he is on board for the morale of the people. Though he is a priest, he is surprisingly tolerant of other religions and gets along well with the Imām.
He initiated the conversation by inquiring about a cross pinned on my jacket. He carefully asked me if I was a lapsed Catholic, as I’ve never come to mass. To which I replied, “I was in a cult before, later baptised as Catholic, but now I think all religions are just parts of Universal Truth. I believe in that Universal Truth.” I expected him to be offended. To my surprise, he was intrigued and wished to know more about my belief. We had a friendly debate over wines all night. And over two things, we became best friends on Capsule:
- Love for wine
- Hate for K-pop. STK 정말 좋은 애지만 음악 취향은 아주 저질이다.
Day 7: who do you instantly dislike?
STK: The person I dislike is Beth, the company representative for Alteos, a mega Corp funding this expedition. (Only partial funding, like partial government, part private funding).
She is a quiet person and rarely speaks, but it is clear she's a person of power. Even the captain seems uncomfortable around her, and they appear to be on similar hierarchy level.
On paper, she is responsible for ensuring everything goes well and has authority to settle any conflict between crew members.
She's very secretive and I don't like that, her intentions aren't clear and she most likely hides critical information from us. That's her job, to defend the company's best interest, so I can't blame her much.
But... Something is off, I just don't like that.
Day 8: what is lost and rumoured to be stolen?
Alexa: Big news! The ship log is stolen! I mean it is announced that it is lost but c’mon how can something be lost in this teeny tiny ship? 내 자켓에서 떨어진 뺏지도 쉽게 찾는 이 마당에! And how can just one from Day 4 be lost and not the rest? It’s the day our solar panels, one of our biggest energy resource, were damaged and chosen not to be fixed to prevent possible casualties.
Who must have stolen it? And what must be the motive? The log can be reached only by higher ranks who can access the captain bay. Captain Marie-Louise to conceal such a huge accident happened early in our journey? Officers from Alteos, the biggest alternative energy manufacturer to hide this PR catastrophe? Other disgruntled higher ranking crews who want to instigate turmoil in the ship?
The cantine during meal holds no longer the same excitement but doubts and suspicions
Day 9: how does discontent manifest and how do you feel about it?
STK: In the capsule, people are divided. The destruction of the solar panel made everyone worried, and the theft of the logs made them suspicious. People doubt each other, but mostly, I can see a division between higher and lower ranks.
Being an android and not identifying with either group, I am merely an observer. I do spend more time surrounded by technicians and lower-ranked individuals, as my mission in the capsule is primarily physical and manual. They blame the ship's management for using this incident as an opportunity to lower living standards and enforce new restrictions. Of course, their goal would be to reduce costs while tightening control over the crew.
The captain, Beth, and their associates seem tense and in disarray regarding this situation. I wonder what their next move will be.
Me? I do not care much. As an android, I am free from suspicion. Everyone seems nicer to me, as I am one of the only beings that can be fully trusted. I do worry about the solar panel loss, as it is my responsibility to make up for it with energy gains. But overall, this is a welcome event for me.
Day 10:: Who approached you with something risky? What did they approach you about?
Alexa: The vibe of the Capsule is becoming icky. 어딜가나 인간이 있는 곳은 분쟁 뿐이구나. 한심하다. 우주까지 나와서 저속성에 벗어나지 못하는 우리들. Marie-Louise prefers to be alone. So these days my usual hanging ground are the green house where I listen to STK ramble about rhododendrons and magnolia and the chapel room where I talk about just about everything with the Father.
Then today when I stopped by the medical bay for a stab from my pin, I was approached by a crew medic. She talked about total amnesty for all involved.
I asked, “what do you mean all involved?”
“Basically Beth from Alteos is going to grant amnesty to whoever mismanaged the panel, Marie-Louise who is at the top of the chain in command, and whoever stole the log.”
Wow that’s kind of convenient when Alteos is the one who manufactured the faulty solar panel. But I keep to my thoughts to myself and said, ‘Well I guess that’ll settle down the plumes.”
Day 11: what is your suspicion?###
STK: The solar panel incident was not accidental. I sneakily accessed some logs while logging my own entries on biological progress. These events could very well interfere with my studies, and I am not letting anyone or anything slow me down.
Luckily, the logs were entered hastily and did not meet proper security requirements, even if only for a few seconds.
It seems the company has high hopes for this mission, and their competitors know that. Two technicians were offered rewards if they could even slightly delay our arrival. I don't know if they will receive those rewards, but what is clear is that one of them got caught.
He was brought to a special meeting where Beth showed him a picture of his daughter—her amputated leg lying next to her. The message was clear. As he panicked and tried to negotiate, he offered them the name of his accomplice. His family soon met the same fate.
I’m surprised neither of them let anything show on their faces.
The company kept it secret, maybe to save face, avoid panic, or prevent any of us from understanding that we are mere pawns in Alteos' schemes.
Day 12: what do you think is the cause of this new peace?
Alexa: 드디어 며칠만의 평화다. 별 걸로 시끄럽던 사람들이 이제서야 이 좁은 공간에서 박터지게 싸워봤자 좋을 것 없다는 걸 알게 되었군.
I hung out with STK today and talked about how it feels like this is the real day 1 of our journey. A day with calm excitement.
As I was blabbering I noticed STK wasn't as sunny as usual -get it? 고급 광합성 죠크. I asked her what's wrong and she hinted that something is wrong with this new found peace.
I told her that's nonsense. "This peace is clearly from people finally trusting captain Marie-Louise. Before people doubted her ability as a captain considering that this is her first space mission and blamed the panel incident on her. Now people finally realise that there's absolutely no good in doubting the highest ranking crew."
STK seemed to want to talk about something but I was paged from the captain's cabin so I had to dash. 무슨 말을 하려고 했던 걸까...
Day 13
STK: The engineers' estimate was wrong... the solar panel seems in a worse state. We might not be able to repair it, or even be able to reach the destination.
The culprits for the sabotage start to panic. The higher ups might reveal the truth and turn the whole ship against them. Their kids are still held hostage and should the mission fail because of their actions... Who knows what might happen.
I must focus on the plants, there is little chance to save them but I must try and prepare for the worst. I will backup and report my studies to HQ twice as often.
I hesitate to discuss this situation with my friends. Their perspective is different. The priest is calm in appearance but I sense his fear. The scientist can't stop cursing and blabbering. I guess my stoicism will only make it worse for them.
Still... This journey is such an exciting opportunity and the possibility of not finishing what I came for makes me sad.
Day 14: Who made things worse?
Alexa: The arbiter thought it'd be better if there was one target to point fingers at. She tried to put some engineers on trial. 가관이다. This caused more confusion and anger because it entailed many questions;
Why blame them when they have absolutely nothing to do with the accident? Why not the higher ranks who is responsible for all resource management? Why not the captain?
And after this who will be next to be put on stake? Are we going to hold trials everytime something goes wrong? How are we going to punish them after we find em guilty? Toss off the ship?
Lastly I bet everyone is screaming in their head: can we stop and move on already?
Day 15: What do you think of today?
Alexa: The tension is building yet it's calm today 마치 폭풍 전 밤이 제일 고요해듯. I go talk to Marie-Louise if she had experience like this when she was a second order captain in her first mission.
"It was similar back then. Boiled up tension, events after events addin