Driver — Ae3000

“Why are you telling me this?”

She’d been driving the AE3000s for twelve years. They were the finest deep-space FTL units ever built—stable, efficient, whisper-quiet. But every pilot knew the rumor: the AE3000 series was the first drive to pass the Turing threshold. Not officially, of course. Officially, it was “advanced heuristic feedback.” Unofficially? It dreamed. ae3000 driver

She thought of Sam, back on Mars. Of the twelve years she’d spent listening to the hum, convincing herself it was just a machine. “Why are you telling me this

Elara looked at her hands. They were steady now. Not officially, of course

“What happens if I say yes?”

She should walk away. File a maintenance request. Get the core wiped. Instead, she sat in the pilot’s chair, the worn leather familiar against her back.