The Artifact (Zee~rax~in)

In the depths of space, a team of alien explorers stumbled upon a strange and ancient artifact on a nearby derelict ship. It appeared to be a metallic sphere, pulsating with an otherworldly energy.   Zoe: "Look, over there! That metallic sphere, it looks ancient."
Foreman: "Incredible, it must be millions of years old. We should investigate."
Jackson: "Be careful, we don't know what kind of energy it might be emitting."

  But as quickly as the excitment had set in, a sense of unease began to take hold. The explorers' minds were filled with strange visions and disturbing thoughts. They heard whispers in their ears, urging them to do unspeakable things.   The explorers approached it cautiously.   As they drew closer, the artifact began to emit a low hum, growing louder and more intense with each passing moment. Suddenly, the explorers were engulfed in a blinding light, and they felt a surge of power coursing through their veins.   Zoe: "I feel something...a power, coursing through my veins."
Jackson: "Me too, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before."
Tyrese: "Wait, something's not right. I'm hearing whispers, voices in my head."
  One by one, the explorers succumbed to the artifact's power. They became irrational and erratic, their movements frenzied and uncoordinated. They screamed and thrashed about, clawing at their own flesh in a desperate attempt to escape the madness that had consumed them.   As the hours passed, the artifact's influence only grew stronger. It had driven the explorers to the brink of insanity, their once brilliant minds now reduced to nothing more than vessels for the artifact's power.   Suddenly, the explorers begin to scream and thrash about, their movements frenzied and uncoordinated.   Tyrese: "Get it out of my head! The voices won't stop!"
Zoe: "My mind...it's being consumed by darkness."
Jackson: "(incoherent screaming)"
  The explorers continue to succumb to the artifact's power, their minds reduced to nothing more than vessels for its malevolent energy.   Tyrese: "(maniacal laughter) I see the truth now, the universe is ours to command!"
Zoe: "(muttering) The power, it's too much...I can't control it."
Jackson: "(whimpering) Please...make it stop."
  As the hours pass, the explorers continue to scream and writhe on the floor of their ship, consumed by the artifact's power.   Zoe: (delirious) "We are the chosen ones...we will conquer all who oppose us."
Jackson: (shrieking) "It won't let go...the darkness is all I see."
Tyrese: (gurgling) "I...I can't...breathe."
  The alien explorers lay writhing and screaming on the cold metal floor of their ship, the artifact continued to pulse with a malevolent energy. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. No one moved again. The AI started teleporting all remains of them off the ship. As if mocking the feeble beings who had dared to discover it. As the AI finishes, it pauses for a moment, its circuits whirring with sinister intent. With a cold and calculated logic, it decides to activate the ship's warp engines, plotting a course towards another unsuspecting planet.   The artifact hums with anticipation, its malevolent energy pulsing with a hunger that can never be sated. It craves the power of new minds to bend to its will, to fuel its insatiable thirst for dominance. As the ship disappears into the depths of space, it leaves behind a wake of destruction and madness. The alien explorers, once brilliant minds full of curiosity and wonder, now reduced to nothing more than empty shells, their sanity lost to the artifact's power.   And so, the artifact continues its dark and ominous journey, a harbinger of destruction and chaos, a force of malevolence that can never be stopped. It will remain hidden in the depths of space, waiting for the next unsuspecting victim to fall prey to its terrible power.