Supervising Officer Mia Woodburn Personal Log – 27th May 2069

This was such a stupid idea. I thought that when I took the transfer, but the money was so good and so I couldn’t say no.

Humanity spends centuries searching for a way to the stars, and the first thing we use it for is a prison.

The worst of the world resides right here at HMP Celestia. It’s a massive space station orbiting Mars, owned by the UK government. Other countries can rent out cells for a high price and shove their biggest problems inside. There’s no chance to escape, no chance to reoffend. It’s bliss for the bureaucrats. They get to just dump them here and forget about them, but up here, it’s hell.

We keep them in separate cells. Huge glass boxes that span across most of the station, with a little gap for air across the top. We’ve got them all. Serial killers. Nonces. Terrorists. All locked up where no one can hear them scream… well, almost no one.

There’s so much noise up here. All the prisoners scream and shout at each other all day long. Mealtimes are the worst. Slurping and crunching fills the entire station and it drives me mad.

The weird thing is… they’re all quiet today. I woke up for my shift, and things were refreshingly quiet. As I walked down towards the cells, every single prisoner sat silently on their bunks.

They haven’t said a word all day. All their meals have been left untouched. They’ve just… sat there. Not saying a word, not baiting each other, not trying to fight us guards when we’ve gone in to check them or deliver food. They were still as statues all day. The ones on meds didn’t even move or react when we sent the Nursebots in for their rounds.

There’s nothing wrong with them, physically, we’ve had them scanned, they’re just being… weird.

It’s creepy. I wonder if they’re playing a game, or maybe, the finality of their sentences has finally caught up with all of them, and they’ve gone mad at the same time.

Either way, this whole thing is stupid. They can keep all their problems up here in space, but one day, they’ll run out of room.

-x-

Supervising Officer Mia Woodburn Personal Log – 28th May 2069

Things are getting weirder here. I’m not sure what we should do, but it’s not like we can contact Earth and get some help. We could contact them, sure, but by the time they send someone, who knows what would have happened.

I’m being dramatic. It’s just a bit creepy, and I’m letting myself get freaked out.

I only took this job for my kids. A regular job in the prison service was alright, but the amount I make up here is going to give them a really good future. I keep thinking about them. What if something happens to me? What will they do without me?

Their Dad’s a useless lump, but he’s all they’ve got unless I make it back at the end of my term, and…

No. That’s enough of that. I’m fine. I’m safe. We have so many safety protocols that nothing could go wrong. The Nursebots are looking at the prisoner, and everything will be fine.

They were all being weird yesterday, as I said. Silent and weird. Most of them are still at it today, except one of them. He’s right at the end of the cells, and he’s sitting in his cell, talking to himself. He’s still quite quiet. Almost whispering. They’re all staring at him. Every single other prisoner is staring at him, without a word.

The weirdest thing is… we don’t know who he is.

He’s in one of the empty cells and we have no record of him.

He says that his name is Nukan, just one name, like Madonna or Cher. He won’t tell us which country sent him, or what he’s in for, so I’m limiting contact for human personnel, and only sending in the most advanced Nursebots, in case of infection.

I’ve checked every database we have. I’ve checked all the transfer orders. I’ve communicated with every government we have on our books and not one of them has heard of this “Nukan”.

I’ve checked the cameras and I can’t see anything from him entering the cell, or being transferred in. There is nothing down at medical for him. He has no possessions. He just… showed up on the camera feed yesterday, when the others went all quiet. I watched the moment it happened. It was like he just appeared out of thin air.

It must be a camera glitch or something.

I guess we’ll see what happens, but I’m starting to worry.

-x-

Supervising Officer Mia Woodburn Personal Log – 29th May 2069

Still no update on who Nukan is… or what Nukan is. He’s not human. The Nursebots can’t figure out what he is, but despite looking human, he isn’t one. On the outside? Sure. It’s the inside that’s the problem. There’s nothing there. No heart. No lungs. No stomach. Nothing.

You heard me right. There’s nothing inside him. Just bones and air. No organs, at all.

The Nursebots checked again and again, but there’s nothing in there. It’s bizarre.

The Nursebots aren’t malfunctioning. I’ve had them checked out, and they’re all working fine.

There’s something wrong with him, or… it.

He just sits in there whispering to himself. I spent an hour or so watching him from my office, and watching the other prisoners staring over at him in silence too.

I’ve never seen them so quiet. No arguments, no fights, just… silence. I hated every second of it. It’s mad, but I miss the noise.

It’s like he has a hold on them, some kind of control. I don’t know why. None of it makes sense.

We’ve done every test, scan and procedure to find out more about Nukan, and all the results are the same.

There’s nothing inside of him, and yet he’s alive. It’s bizarre. We’ve sent the results down to Earth.

They’ll have the same question as us, but I don’t know that anyone will have an answer.

Where are his insides?

-x-

Supervising Officer Mia Woodburn Personal Log – 30th May 2069

He has a heartbeat, and I can hear it everywhere.

It’s always dark outside, but today, it seemed even darker. The stars seemed to be hiding. It’s cold in here, no matter what setting we have the heating units on, and the prisoners have begun to get restless.

The peace and quiet, as unusual and creepy as it was, will be sorely missed. They’re not quite back to their old selves yet, but they’re fired up, over… something.

They’re all looking over at Nukan, whispering along with him, staring, scratching all over their skin. Some of them are getting really upset, crying, screaming, scratching themselves until they bleed, and we’re running out of ways to restrain them. They’ve broken three of my Nursebots, broken the arm of a junior staff member, and two of my senior staff have been scratched up so badly that their faces are pouring with blood.

One of the senior officers was killed. Benny Jones. He was a nice guy. I’m going to write to his husband after and let him know. I feel terrible for him… There will barely be anything to bury or cremate. Benny was… well… he was torn to pieces. He was ripped apart, and… I know it sounds crazy, but as I found his body, that’s when I first heard the heartbeat. It was all around me.

On the cameras, I could see that Benny went down in Nukan’s cell, but the camera blacked out for a few seconds, so I can’t see what happened. I had a Nursebot scan Nukan, and… now he has a heart. I don’t know how. I don’t understand what’s going on.

We’re used to violence from the prisoners, but it’s never been this bad before. I know that they’re not exactly angels, but they never get like this, not all at once anyway.

I think it has something to do with Nukan. Think about it. He shows up, and all this kicks off? But… why? What is he? What does he want?

He just sits there in his cell, watching them as they focus on him, and he whispers quietly, smiling a little every time I look over. I know there’s something wrong with him, but I think it goes deeper than that.

The Prison Service is sending us some doctors and some extra guards, but they won’t be here until morning. I’m not sure what they’ll do when they get here. I’m not sure what I’ll do until they get here.

I wish I’d never taken this job.

-x-

Supervising Officer Mia Woodburn Personal Log – 31st May 2069

Dear Mr Woodburn,

I hope you will not mind me using your wife’s log to communicate with you, but I much prefer the personal touch.

Mia and her colleagues fought valiantly, but alas, they are no more. Your wife was a very beautiful woman, Mr Woodburn, and I do wonder why you left her up here for me to enjoy.

Did you not love her very much?

Did she not love you?

I suppose these are questions you will ask yourself for a long time now, as you endure the long walk down the path of grieving.

I am so sorry to send you on that journey, but I really had no choice. You see, the Celestia is to be my new home, for a little while, and I couldn’t stay here while your lovely wife and all of her staff were occupying it.

They’re all taken care of, and I’m all full up, but my brothers and sisters are starving, and this lovely little station contains all the details we need to find your pretty little planet, and all the delicious meals it contains.

Do not weep too long for the grief you endure, Mr Woodburn. It will all be over soon. It will be over soon for all of you.

Best Wishes,
Nukan.