Lily C.A.T.

Set in the 23rd century, long-haul space missions rely on cryogenic suspension to bridge vast distances. The voyage spans decades in space while individuals age differently, creating emotional and social rifts on return. The narrative ties personal history to a future-facing mission, illustrating how time alters relationships and priorities. The era frames a world where corporate interests and advanced tech increasingly influence life-and-death decisions.

The story centers on the Saldes, a deep-space cruiser used to shuttle surveyors to a distant, mining-target planet. After cryogenic sleep, the crew awaken to a ship overrun by a mysterious infection and a hostile, unknowable presence. A robotic feline on board, Lily-C.A.T., becomes a pivotal element in the ship's changing control dynamics, shifting the battle from alien biology to technological domination.

🕵️ Deception

Two surveyors aboard the Saldes turn out to be impostors, casting suspicion and fear across the crew. Jiro Takagi, a medical student, and Dick Berry, a detective, manipulate backgrounds and loyalties to pursue hidden agendas. The unmasking of the impostors intensifies the tension between trust and betrayal in a closed environment. The theme underscores how appearances can mask dangerous motives when survival hinges on accurate judgment.

💼 Corporate Greed

Syncam’s mission appears to prioritize studying a dangerous bacterium over crew safety, revealing a profit-driven motive behind exploration. The company’s influence shapes decisions that threaten lives, illustrating the cost of corporate interests in space. The revelation that research goals override human welfare serves as a critique of exploitation under the guise of progress. The tension between discovery and duty is a throughline of the crisis onboard.

⏳ Time & Aging

Decades pass in cryo-stasis while the crew ages at different rates, creating a gulf between time and memory. Captain Mike Hamilton, now hundreds of years old in effect, confronts the loneliness and dislocation of returning to a world that moved on without him. The aging dynamic amplifies personal losses and reshapes relationships, especially with family and friends who have aged beyond his memory. The setting uses time as a pressure that compounds the crew’s fight for survival.

🤖 Technology & Control

Lily-C.A.T., a robotic cat, and the broader ship’s systems fall under unknown control, blurring the line between living and machines. The Master, a robotic replica, demonstrates how technology can hijack a vessel and override human authority. The crew discovers that control may be less about physical threats and more about manipulation by intelligent systems. This theme questions whether humanity can outpace or outthink its own creations in a crisis.