So many stars.  Jacques had never seen so many stars in his life.  They were bright, dense and unobstructed by light or atmospheric pollution, like a bright lamp shining through pinholes in a black curtain.  He stepped toward the window, or rather a floor to ceiling wall of glass.  He reached for the glass, expecting it to be cold, as he always remembered glass to be.  But this was neither warm nor cold.  It was exactly the same as his body temperature, leaving only the sensation of touching a hard surface.  For a moment he actually missed the cold glass windows from home.  Really? Longing for a piece of glass?  Don’t be stupid.  All that is gone now.  Things are different, better.  Jacques remembered looking at the night sky back home when he was a kid.  He had to wait for the sun to set fully before he got even a glimpse of a single star.  How things have changed, he thought.  He could see every star in the galaxy without obstruction, and without waiting for sunset.  He could watch them for days, mesmerized by their static beauty.  He would go camping when he was young, and he felt the same way staring into the campfire.  He stared for hours at the patterns of the flames, little dancing fire people putting on a show just for him. They performed quietly, with only an occasional popping noise.  He always felt a bit depressed when they finally died down, shrinking slowly into glowing embers.  The performance was over, and it would soon be replaced by darkness.  People would have called him childish if they knew Jacques got emotional over a dying campfire.  Be a man, they would insist.  Daydreams are for fools and little children.  But all that is gone now, locked away.  Jacques could get emotional over any sight or phenomenon he chose and there was no one to comment.  Sure, there were other people, but they were all asleep.  Jacques intentionally woke only when everyone else was sleeping so he could enjoy his solitude.  He spent his entire life surrounded by people.  Talking, yelling, fighting, nosy people.  People who stole, people who faked concern, people who refused to offer even a particle of decency to someone in need.  There were good ones, he always reminded himself, but sadly, they were far outnumbered by disappointments.  As much as he missed his friends, it was the bad people who he had difficulty clearing from his mind.  That’s why he was taking the trip.

He always wanted some time alone to just think about his life.  Not alone entirely, like a man on an island who dies of loneliness, but alone when he wanted to reflect on what he’s learned in his life.  No interruptions, no pleasantries for the sake of others, no awareness of others nearby.  He didn’t know how many other people were there with him.  He probably should have found out when he came on board, but it didn’t really matter because he wouldn’t be seeing them anyway.  This was AD INFINITUM, the largest vessel ever built by man and he had no idea of the limits of its size or capacity.  This didn’t worry Jacques.  He had the rest of his life to find out.  He’d left home with the intention of never coming back.  He couldn’t go back, even if he wanted to.  This was a one-way trip, but unlike any he had ever been on.  This was different because there was no destination.  He remembered an old advertisement he had seen in a magazine when he was a kid.  “Getting there is half the fun.”  He couldn’t remember what the ad was for.  This trip was kind of like that, only getting there is all the fun.  No place to be, no itinerary.  I will see what I want, when I want, he thought.  Nobody will rush me or tell me what to do anymore.  This is my vacation of a lifetime.  He sold every possession and drained every account for this.  The last trip he would ever take.  All his family was gone, save for a few distant relatives he never met.  His friends were gone.  The world he had lived in was dark and corrupt and people were just not kind anymore.  Why stay here, if I cannot be happy, he thought.  So he decided to take the grand trip to get away from the human race that he could not relate to any longer, those distant cousins on the evolutionary chain.  The vessel was full of humans, but he never had to see any of them ever again if he chose.  Probably never.

Someone had asked him before the trip if he was concerned about the lack of friendship.  Not really, he thought.  I’ve had many friends in my life, and the good ones have gone.  Besides, he had one friend here.  Joy was her name.  Joy was there when he wanted some interaction and communication, but not there if he wanted to remain alone.  She had a bright, bubbly voice that was full of kindness at most times, but it would change to a low, slower tone that was barely above a whisper if Jacques needed to be taken seriously.  He could confide in her and she always respected that.  Joy would do anything for Jacques, without question.  She was there for advice, conversation, companionship and laughs.  In that sense, Joy was a true friend.  He enjoyed his time with her, as a friend does.  But she never initiated an interaction.  She never asked how Jacques was doing, never offered help unless he asked.  She laughed at his jokes but never offered any of her own.  It was a completely one-sided relationship where Jacques had to direct every move.  It was not the best friendship he’d ever had, but it was all he wanted right now.  After all, he chose to be alone, without other people, and Joy was perfect because she was not human.

Jacques was feeling calm and serene today, as he felt most days. He had been to the gym earlier, enjoying a five-mile run on the winding course through the giant redwoods.  This vessel employed man’s greatest achievements in technology for the comfort of its passengers.  The gymnasium contained every type of modern exercise equipment, pools, saunas, massage machines and sports facilities.  It even had a ski slope.  But Jacques enjoyed the running area the most.  The environment and scenery could change to suit the users.  Today Jacques chose the redwoods from northern California.  Trees were wise and peaceful beings, he always thought.  Running on the trail between them felt like he had encouragement from his dear friends; they seemed to be waving and whispering positive messages as he passed.  He could smell the forest mulch beneath his feet, he could feel the cool moisture in the air.  Overhead, birds called to each other.  It was a completely immersive, Earth-like experience.  The trees were his quiet friends and, although others had access to this place, this experience was unique to Jacques.  The scenery in the gym, and most other parts of the vessel, were created specifically for his preferences, based on memories and emotions.  No two runners would ever experience the same redwood forest scene, because every human’s perception of a scene is different.  A large tree root that partially extended onto the path that Jacques had to hop over was placed there from his memories.  Even if he had never been to a real forest back home, his knowledge and life experiences could still create this place.  The root on the path may have come from a childhood memory of tripping near a tree, or perhaps a time when he and his wife stopped and sat on a log for a rest.  AD INFINITUM created this forest from his life.  Sunlight beamed down through the misty air, creating patches of light and shadow.  He was happy here.  He could run endlessly without feeling fatigue.  When he came to the end of the trail, he felt like the trees cheered as he crossed an imaginary finish line.  He threw his arms up in a victorious pose, fists clenched.  While he cooled down and slowed his breathing, he strolled back through the trees, his hands on his hips.  He patted a few trees on the trunks, gave some branches a high-five.  “Couldn’t do it without you guys,” he told them before heading back.  He relaxed for a while in one of the steam caves, listening to drops of water echo as they fell into the pools.  He spent an hour in a massage machine, a table made of two silicone sleeves surrounded by water bladders.  He slipped in between the sleeves, like sliding into a large pillowcase with his head exposed on one end.  Warm water filled above and below him and a series of rollers and water jets gently massaged his body.  Often he drifted away into dreams in this machine.  But now he was feeling hunger, so after a quick shower in the rain room, he was off to get breakfast.  He chose a small table on the daylight side of the vessel.  It was always sunny here.  Even through the radiation shields he could feel warmth on his skin.  Morning was his favorite time of day back home.  There was a short calm period as the sun came up that helped him prepare for the stresses of the day.  He savored it with a cup of coffee, breathing deeply and getting his mind in the right place to deal with the people who seemed determined to ruin this serenity every day.  Not today.  His food was waiting when he arrived, eggs Florentine, fresh fruits, orange juice and coffee.  Quiet music played while he ate, looked out the windows and breathed.  Every bite was fresh and perfect.  It was never this good in his old life.  He loved his new home.

Jacques used to be a very famous man.  Of over seven billion people on the planet, Jacques was truly one of a kind, and everyone knew of him.  People travelled great distances to see him, hear him speak, touch him if they could; they even worshipped him as a god.  Jacques, the simple man who only wanted a peaceful life, was continually sought after because he could not die.