The Eternal Guardian

The early days passed uneventfully. Zuman surveyed the nearby areas. As the environment is able to support plants and animals, he is curious if there are sentient lifeforms similar to humans. So far he has only noted insects and animals ranging from small sized ones similar to squirrels and rabbits to medium and large sized ones like deer and buffaloes, though not exactly the same, but are tetrapods nonetheless.

Most worlds that humanity has found so far require massive terraformation efforts to render them habitable for human usage. This means that on top of re-engineering the environment, they might have to build the ecosystem from ground up, introducing lifeforms from Earth like grass, trees, insects, animals and predators. Why? Some worlds are just bare bones. That world has the gravity and land, but no water due to water being locked in one form or another such as gas or ice. Others have land, water and gravity but the air isn't suitable due to no plant life that has evolved there. Some already have the basics of an ecosystem such as plant life and insects, but no animals as the planet's evolutionary stage isn't quite there yet. To each of these, there's a terraformation project custom made for them, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach in modifying the environment. That's not counting worlds that are simply inhabitable due to a myriad of reasons such as heavy gravity, toxic/radioactive environment, extreme temperatures on both ends or even just the simple lack of air.

He is curious and excited at the same time. Finding a world that has a built in ecosystem like this is like hitting the Magnum Jackpot. In fact, you'd be more likely to win the Magnum Jackpot once a year than finding this world once every 100 years, that's how rare it is.

So far he has not observed anything that is of larger size than an adult buffalo. However, he does not let his guard down. In a stable ecosystem, there is always a food chain, and there is always something that devours something in each level of the chain. So far he has observed herbivores, but no carnivores or omnivores yet. However, the AI has already warned him that it has detected movement which indicates hunting behaviors, suggesting the existence of predators.

"I wonder what kind of existence I'll encounter here."

Zuman ponders to himself. He is lucky in that one of the research projects on the Habitat involves hydroponics, specifically, shortening the growth period and increasing the harvest yield of plants. While he has already ordered the AI to reactivate that portion of the Habitat and he himself has familiarized himself with the farming lab, the planted foods will still take some time to grow. Good thing there are still some emergency rations available.

"I can't live on rations forever though. And the vegetables will take time to grow. So I will still need to stockpile some local supplies."

"AI. Is your matter scanner working okay?"

"Professor, the scanner is currently still within tolerable parameters."

"Good. I'm thinking of going foraging for a bit and bring back some local products for you to check whether they're edible or not."

"Noted professor. That is a viable course of action."

Zuman feels glad that in his 300 years of life he has indulged in a lot of activities. Hunting and jungle survival being one of them. That last part was actually a suggestion by Dalbir (that fool) on one of his whimsical days.

Remembering back,

-

"Hey, next year, during our 1 month leave, let's go on a hunting trip?"

Dalbir was pestering him.

"The hell man? I don't know a thing about hunting. And don't tell me you do. You're the same as I am."

Zuman replied.

"I don't. But Kavita's friend's husband does. And she wants me to join him."

"…. I see. Your wife is jealous because her friend's hubby sounds cool while you sound like a nerd when she talks about you."

"Don't talk rubbish. Kavita will never think that way."

So he says, but Zuman catches his eyes looking away when saying that.

"Tsk. You pitiful man. And because you love her so much, you're going to that trip huh. And you're dragging me in because of..... Why again?"

"She's gonna beat me up if I say no. So I'm dragging you in coz you're my friend, so you can't stay on the sidelines and have a good laugh at me. No, we fall together."

"…."

Zuman was speechless when he heard this.

(That sure is a warped interpretation of friendship, this asshole.)

-

And during that 1 month, he learned about hunting, tracking, making basic camp and differentiating what's edible or not.

[Not that the last portion of his skills can be applied here on this world.]

-

Carrying a silenced rifle and a light backpack with basic tools, Zuman walks down the corridor, heading for the exit.

"AI, please confirm again that the air is breathable?"

"Affirmative sir, the air does not contain any toxic or radioactive matter and the composition is almost similar to Earth's, as such it is quite safe for you sir."

"Alright. Here goes nothing then."

Standing at the airlock, Zuman takes a deep breath before pressing the button to open it.

As the airlock opens, the sunlight blinds him for a moment. The first thing that he notices is the chirping of birds.

(Huh. There's avian lifeform too. Then it's safe to say predators exist here. Need to be careful then.)

Blinking away the blinding glare, he looks around him. The area roughly 500m from the exit is a patch of barren land. Not only that, after that, around another 500m onwards, the plants and trees all fell outwards, away from the Habitat, probably due to shockwave blast from the impact.

Due to positioning during impact, the airlock is actually located around 5m above ground, so Zuman went back inside and brought a rope which he tied to the exit before climbing down. He could just jump off but then he'd feel stupid thinking how to climb back up without the rope.

Walking towards the forestry, he takes note of the environment. Aside from the chirping birds, it seems quiet. Probably the wildlife in the nearby area fled during the impact. Animals are jumpy after all, especially towards loud noises and shockwave like that.

-

After some time walking in the forest while leaving marks on the trees so he can backtrack later, he found a fruit bearing tree. The fruit is crimson colored and round. It also seems to be growing in clusters similar to grapes. However, that is where the similarities end. Grape clusters are small. This thing is big. Imagine you cross an apple and a grape, whereby the product is a cluster of apple sized grapes. That.

"Well. That looks tasty. Let's bring back a sample."

Saying so, he takes out his knife the scabbard at his waist before cutting it off and putting it inside his bag.

As he was doing that, he heard a squeak nearby. It sounded suspiciously like a rabbit. Turning around, he saw what looks like a rabbit looking at him.

"…. Ooookaayy... There's rabbit here too?"

"Well. I do need to check for food."

Saying that, he aims the rifle at the rabbit and shoots. Apparently, the animals here have yet to associate bipeds like him to danger.

"That should be enough for today. No sense going too far."

Tying the rabbit to his backpack, he backtracks his way back to the Habitat.

-

Dumping the rabbit and the giant grapes on the matter scanner, he looks around him.

"AI, please check whether these things are edible for me."

"Noted professor. The scan should be complete in an hour."

"AI have you finished the analysis of our location in the Universe?"

"Professor, from the scans and visual data, there seems to be a discrepancy with what we know of the universe."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

"It would seem that the universe age here is quite young. At least a few hundred thousand years younger compared to our own. It is conjectured that this not in fact our universe."

This shocked him.

"Not our universe? How can that be?"

"The possibilities that are available is either we have travelled back in time, or we have been propelled into a parallel dimension. A parallel universe if you will."

"…. So there's no Earth here huh?"

"There is a possibility of the Earth existing here. But it will most likely be a different and younger version if it exists."

"Well. I'm alone then."

Zuman felt the faintest hint of despair at that moment. Living with hope of being rescued by your kind is one thing. Living aimlessly knowing you're alone is quite another.

-

He spent the next few days in daze. Only functioning enough to ensure that he survives. It's as if he's running on autopilot because if he were to be more conscious of everything, he'd think deeper and deeper about it, which might not be such a good thing. Call it escapism if you will. To him, it is a form of an unconscious self-defense mechanism.

The scans of the fruits and rabbit creature came out as edible. Therefore, he has found source of nutrients for his survival.

But still. He is looking at an eternity of loneliness. It is not a happy prospect. Unless he decides to end it first.

-

"AI, Is there any sentient lifeforms on this planet?"

"My apologies professor. Due to the atmospheric interference and the damage we have suffered during our landing, the scanners are not able to make precise scans at range."

Zuman was stifled by this answer.

-

The days go by, with him hunting and foraging for food in the forest nearby. He has stopped using the rifle because he realized that the bullet supply is finite and currently there is no viable method to manufacture bullets. Using the trees nearby, he has fashioned crude javelins and spears which he can use. Owing to the docile wildlife, his hunt goes easily.

-

Months pass by. By now Zuman has resigned himself to the situation. He is just doing everything on a rote basis. As if it's a ritual.

-

Wake up.

Banter with the AI.

Check the hydroponic farms for any produce and harvest them if there are.

Eat breakfast.

Go out, forage and hunt.

Come back in evening, store food and meat.

Prepare food for dinner and breakfast.

Banter with AI.

Sleep.

-

He has lost track of how long he has been here. Only the AI keeps track of the time now.

-

It has been almost a year.

"Professor. Scans of the area 5km from us are detecting unusual animal movements. It's as if there is a stampede that will pass us by."

"Well. That's a change in the routine. Then I won't go out today. Wait, you said that it'll pass nearby?"

"That is correct sir."

"Then please give me visual view of it then. At least that's some entertainment for me."

-

While eating, he sees the stampede view on the main monitor. A multitude horde of animals ran in a panic. He is curious of what is actually chasing the animals.

(What is it that is terrifying these animals so much?)

-

After around 15 minutes, his question was answered. And he is quite shocked at the answer.

-

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!! A DRAGON????"