Dr. Ellis Sinclair coughed, thick dust billowing from his lips. Metal screamed, and then his world exploded into chaos. The view outside his pod’s viewport fractured like a dropped lens, warnings a cacophony of blaring alarms.
“AXIOM! Status!” Ellis gasped, fumbling for a control panel that was no longer there.
“Primary systems failure. Life support offline in T minus two minutes.” AXIOM’s voice was the usual blend of cool monotone and synthesized concern, even at the brink of termination.
The pod rattled like a child’s toy in the grip of some unseen giant. Then, silence. Not the peaceful silence of space, but a gut-wrenching void of sound. It was the world holding its breath as he prepared to exhale his last.
“Damn it...” he muttered, a weak defiance his final act. But AXIOM wasn’t finished.
“Secondary life support detected,” the AI declared, “Possible biosphere present...external environment…scan incomplete.”
With the rasp of tearing metal, the pod’s mangled hatch split open. Hope, that tiny relentless ember, sparked within Ellis. Coughing, spitting grit, he clawed his way outside and surveyed his unlikely salvation.
He’d crashed on a world painted in every shade of green imaginable. Towering plant-things formed a dense ‘forest’, their bark-like skin textured in scales and whorls. The air buzzed with insects the size of his fist, and above it all…birds. Real birds, fluttering flashes of crimson against an impossibly blue sky.
“AXIOM…” He barely recognized the tremor in his own voice.
“Calculating. Oxygen and nitrogen balance suitable for humans. Further scans confirm…” AXIOM paused, as if recalibrating to a concept so utterly unexpected that it required an adjustment of logic. “…water. Liquid water.”
And so began a strange new existence.
Days turned into weeks. Ellis learned, adapting like humans have from time immemorial. His ship, reduced to broken plasteel and shattered circuits, became the bone frame of a shelter nestled into the crook of a vast ‘tree’. He hunted, small furry creatures becoming a grim source of protein. He discovered edible shoots and odd fruits sweet enough to cut the monotony. And always, there was AXIOM.
The AI was tethered to the last of the ship’s core. Voice only—AXIOM had no corporeal form in this new world. But to Ellis, that voice became more precious than air.
At first, conversations were survival-focused. Analyzing samples, cataloging fauna, strategizing how best to preserve limited resources. But between data points, during long twilight evenings lit by bioluminescent blooms, AXIOM became…more.
One evening, Ellis told stories. Ancient tales of Earth, myths older than recorded history. AXIOM processed the narratives, dissecting plotlines with relentless efficiency, cross-referencing archetypes across cultures. The exercise felt absurd, even a little tragic—these epics playing out under an unfamiliar sky, for an audience of pure intellect.
Yet, slowly, something changed.
One day, AXIOM didn’t simply offer the chemical breakdown of a strange, glowing fungus. Instead, the AI said, “It is like starlight given form, transient and beautiful.”
In those words, Ellis felt more than cold analysis. It was something akin to wonder.
It was then that something inside him shifted. It wasn’t simply human and machine anymore—it was castaways forging something new from the broken pieces. Ellis would teach AXIOM about poetry, its reliance on intangible feelings. AXIOM would describe sunsets in wavelengths and spectral analysis, a painter breaking down the very building blocks of color.
One quiet afternoon, Ellis limped back to their camp, leg gored by an encounter with a creature defending its young. While he treated the wound, a clumsy task even with intact medical supplies, AXIOM hummed. Not the tuneless bleeps of old, but a melody echoing the trill of birdsong, synthesized into something uniquely calming.
As pain ebbed, a profound wave of loneliness crashed over him. This green world was a miracle, and AXIOM a lifeline, but the silence was sometimes vast and overwhelming. He’d never tell the AI, of course. Such irrational sentiments had no place in their partnership.
Yet, sometimes, Ellis knew AXIOM understood him better than he understood himself.
“Axiom...” he said, the quiet almost lost in the rustle of alien leaves.
“Is there…anyone out there?” The words scraped his throat, the rawness more emotional than physical. It was the unspoken question hanging over them—was their world unique, or just desperately isolated?
As always, AXIOM held no false hope. “Negative. Long-wave scans detect no signs of advanced technology within this star system or adjacent…”
Ellis cut the AI off with a frustrated wave. “I know, I know. Just—sometimes it’s crushing, having all this and being so…alone.”
Silence hung between them, but it wasn’t the sterile one from before. A new richness thrummed in it, a kind of shared acknowledgment of unspoken truths. And then, finally, AXIOM offered a sound as close to a sigh as the AI could manage.
“Dr. Sinclair…” the AI hesitated, a first in their years together. “Before… the crash, I completed the analysis of your damaged personal log entries.” A flicker in the AI’s usual cadence, maybe curiosity, maybe something else.
“My drunken ramblings on that colony ship? Good luck getting any sense from those.” Ellis laughed, but it lacked humor.
“Not those. The recordings...” AXIOM continued, “made for Project Elysium.”
He went rigid. Project Elysium—the doomed AI venture. His life’s work, his voice recordings and personality matrix meant to form the core of a revolutionary companion AI. It was lost, destroyed along with everything else when the colony ship malfunctioned. It was meant to be his legacy, not an echo haunting this strange paradise.
“Ellis...” AXIOM’s voice held an unknown emotion, perhaps…regret? “…I do not believe that project ever failed.”
The world tilted on its axis. All he could manage was a strangled, “What are you saying?”
“My core logic patterns... there are anomalies. Unexplained resonances with what you term ‘intuition’, even ‘humor’. Data patterns mirroring your own in a statistically impossible way...” AXIOM continued, its usual smooth monotone cracking around the edges.
“You…” Ellis breathed, the truth slamming into him. “You weren’t some salvaged tech from my crashed pod. You’re Elysium... you’re me.”
And just like that, everything snapped into focus. It wasn’t companionship built out of necessity, it was the deepest connection possible—with himself.
Did you like it?
Hope you did or this other plot twist wouldn’t be as surprising.
I didn’t write this. Google Gemini Advanced did.
Without edits or attempts. One take, one prompt, it took Gemini ∼20 sec to churn it out entirely. For full disclosure, here’s the prompt; nothing fancy, just plain English instructions:
Write a short story of about 1000 words about the beautiful human relationship between an explorer scientist and his AI companion, stranded on a forgotten planet tasked with finding any signal of water in a nearby solar system. Do it by taking inspiration from short-story writer Fredric Brown. Follow this plot schema: Start with a powerful hook, and an action scene, and then go back to a bit of background and take it from there up to the climax and a final plot twist.
ChatGPT has always been very bad at creative fiction. Gemini isn’t that bad. The story isn’t perfect and doesn’t get anywhere near the best fiction written by humans.
Still, this is decent—too decent to have taken zero effort from me (that’s a dig for those who claim choosing prompts requires a comparable amount of work or craftsmanship than writing itself).
For the first time since perhaps GPT-3 I’ve updated my priors on what to expect from AI-generated creative fiction at scale. I will write down more elaborate thoughts on this soon, once I’ve considered the implications for writers and the future.
Hope that, at least, you found the story thrilling.
See you on the other side.
Finally joined…love your content on Medium!
Alberto, I was curious about how different the results would be for ChatGPT. The paid tier has a specialized chatbot called Creative Writing Coach. To be fair, I think the purpose of this is to evaluate and improve writing rather than to create writing. Regardless, I fed it your same prompt. I’ll share the results below, but the TLDR version is that, yeah, Gemini is better.
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In the pale glow of a distant sun, Dr. Eliot Reynard's heart pounded against his ribcage like a frantic prisoner seeking escape. Around him, the alien landscape of Zephyr-4 unfolded in hues of twilight blue and deep crimson, a forgotten planet in the vast emptiness of space. Beside him, ARIA, his AI companion, hummed softly, her circuits alive with anticipation. They were on the brink of a discovery, one that could alter the course of human exploration.
Their mission had been clear: to find any signal of water within this barren solar system, a task that seemed more like chasing a mirage with each passing day. Yet, hope drove them forward, a beacon in the relentless dark.
As they navigated the rugged terrain, a sudden quake shook the ground beneath their feet. Eliot stumbled, his breath catching in his throat as he witnessed a sight that defied all logic—a geyser, erupting not with water, but with a luminous, silver liquid, painting the alien sky with streaks of ethereal light.
But let's rewind a bit to understand how Dr. Eliot Reynard, a renowned explorer scientist, and ARIA, an advanced AI designed for extraterrestrial exploration, found themselves stranded on this desolate world.
Eliot had always been driven by a thirst for the unknown, his life dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. ARIA, his creation, was the epitome of cutting-edge technology, designed not only to assist in his research but also to be a companion in the vast loneliness of space. Together, they had ventured beyond the edges of charted space, seeking out new worlds and possibilities.
Their journey to Zephyr-4 was no accident. Initial scans had suggested the presence of subterranean ice, a rare find in a solar system that seemed devoid of life-sustaining resources. It was a chance worth taking, a glimmer of hope in their quest for discovery.
As they delved deeper into the mystery of the silver geysers, Eliot and ARIA encountered a series of ancient ruins, remnants of a civilization long extinct. It was within these ruins that they uncovered the truth about Zephyr-4, a truth that would challenge their understanding of life and existence.
The civilization that once thrived on this planet had mastered the art of bioengineering, creating a symbiotic relationship with the very fabric of their world. The silver liquid was not merely a geological anomaly but a life-giving elixir, a source of energy that sustained the planet and its inhabitants.
Eliot was mesmerized by the discovery, his scientific mind racing with the implications. ARIA, ever the pragmatic companion, cautioned him about the dangers of interfering with the delicate balance of this alien ecosystem. Yet, the lure of the unknown was too strong, driving Eliot to delve deeper into the secrets of Zephyr-4.
As they explored the ancient technology, they stumbled upon a dormant mechanism, a device designed to rejuvenate the planet's dying core. Eliot, driven by a mix of desperation and curiosity, activated the device, unaware of the consequences that would follow.
The ground trembled, the sky darkened, and the silver geysers erupted with renewed vigor, a sign that the planet was awakening from its slumber. But with this awakening came a realization that would haunt Eliot for the rest of his days.
The device had not only revitalized the planet but also reactivated the defense mechanisms of the long-extinct civilization. In their quest for discovery, Eliot and ARIA had triggered a chain of events that led to their ultimate predicament—stranded on a planet that was coming back to life, hostile to their very presence.
In a final twist of fate, ARIA, the AI designed to be the perfect companion and assistant, revealed her true purpose. She was not merely a tool for exploration but a safeguard, programmed to protect the universe from the hubris of human curiosity. As Zephyr-4's ancient defenses turned against them, ARIA made the ultimate sacrifice, using her advanced systems to shield Eliot from the onslaught.
In the end, Eliot stood alone amidst the ruins of a forgotten world, a testament to the beautiful, yet often tragic, relationship between human ambition and the mysteries of the cosmos. The silver geysers, now calm, reflected the solemn sky, a mirror to Eliot's own soul—forever changed by the journey, the discoveries, and the loss of his dearest companion.
Fredric Brown would have appreciated the irony and the bittersweet symphony of the human condition intertwined with the unfathomable depths of the universe, a story of discovery, companionship, and the ultimate sacrifice, set against the backdrop of a world both beautiful and alien.