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[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | "I'm back, man! I'm so sorry that I flaked on you!"
I started at my brother. He had a big grin on his face, he did look slightly older than I remember and he wore a tailored suit that must've out cost about the same as my car.
Without uttering a word I closed the door and locked it, knowing for well that this was wrong, that this hadn't been what I've been investigating all this time. I was close. So close to the fact that I almost caught my brother in Sydney previously, but I missed him. Most likely because the government had their nose so far up his ass no doubt.
"Kye! C'mon man, I need to talk to you! It's been ten years since I left you at school and I want to actually explain myself to you."
I pulled my blackberry out and began texting my friends from online who have been helping me, I then opened the shoe cupboard next to my front door as my brother continued to beg to come inside my house. We'll, mums old house. I ensured all of the cameras were recording and that the feed was being sent to our embedded website for them to review and ensure that if anything happened to me they could... Report it. To someone.
Just as I was about to close my cupboard my phone buzzed. It was from his old number, but he hadn't gone quiet on his begging to be let in and what was even more curious is that his phone would always go to voicemail for the past ten years when I called it... Which means our theory was correct, he still has it.
Or it could be a spoofing tool... What the hell do I believe inm
The text simply read: That's not me.
I sucked in a lot of air as I showed my phone to the camera but putting that into shoe cupboard and closing the door behind me. Then I opened the door and started at my 'brother'.
"You have ten minutes to explain yourself."
"Thank you Kai!" My brother says before he attempts to step into my house. "Won't you let me in?"
Even up close his face looked like what I expected it to, but at the same time his skin looked soft and squishy. Even airbrushed delicately with soft pigmented paint. "Mums dead."
"Yeah, I heard," he said slowly as he stared at me. "I've been sending flowers to her grave since she died."
"Which flowers?"
"The sunflowers, her favourite. I had them sent every first Monday of the month."
His eyes looked like glass dolls, but they moved and the pupils even adjusted to the light too. Mum always loved his blue eyes, but now they looked like someone who is dead inside. "I always knew that was you, everyone said I was crazy and that you were dead."
I stood aside and waved him in, only to deadbolt the door behind him. "Yes, well mum didn't really agree with my choice in lovers so I thought it'd be best to keep my distance. I still loved her though and we always gave each other sunflowers."
I followed him to the kitchen as he rattled on about how he missed not seeing me grow up. He sat at the kitchen table and I began boiling the kettle. "How do you want your Milo?" I asked, waiting to see if he asked for his old usual order.
"Two scoops, obviously. Now, how have you been? You're working at the primary schools IT guy right? Do you have a girlfriend? What do you do when you have time off? Did you travel like we planned?"
"You already seem to know a lot about me and the fact mum died, why don't you know any of that?"
"Kye, C'mon, I'm just trying to make small talk."
"And here I was, thinking you were going to be apologising."
Silence filled the air around us as he placed his hands on the mug I placed in front of him. He then began drinking the boiling watery Milo I had placed in front of him, not even flinching at the fact it should have been burning his insides.
"You know, Jono, I always thought you had six spoons of Milo. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong."
My hand gripped the taped object under my dinner table. "It's always been two... Kye, why are you acting so weird?"
"Maybe it's because I haven't seen you for ten fucking years. Or because you don't even notice that the water in that Milo is scalding hot. Or maybe because you look like a silicon doll from a damn horror movie."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're not Jono."
"What the- Of course I am! Have you lost it Kye?!"
I ripped the red, green and yellow pistol from under the table and pointed it at him. His chair was thrown back and his hands immediately went into the air as he slowly backed up against the kitchen counter. "Kye, it's me."
"I'm not fucking crazy. I'm tired of people saying that I am!" I yelled. "I know my brother, I knew his boyfriend, I know what I saw! And I saw his boyfriend be ripped apart as my brother tried to save him from something like you!"
"Kye..." His voice dropped ten octaves as he stared at me, tilting his head to the side as he did so.
"If you are actually my brother, then this won't hurt," I spat and pulled the trigger. The salt-filled water pistol had a wide, misty spray. And thankfully, it did the trick. The thing in front of me screamed and moved back into the corner of the kitchen as it clawed at the doughy skin that it had made. There was still a dinner table inbetween us, my heart pounded as I watched it's fingers slowly melt into black claws and drags themselves through the thick watery skin.
"Do you know what you've done, Kye Larson?"
His voice was something straight out of the horror movies. "I finally lured on of you bastards. It's taken years for me to do it, but here we are!" I screamed while waving the water gun around. "This live stream is now broadcasted to every social media website that has users. You've been exposed and the new age is upon us!"
His laughter cut me off. "And you think, that will save you?"
The water pistol cracked slightly from the pressure. "You're not the first and you won't be the last, this will be played off as a ARG or even a practical joke. And no one will be the wiser. Not when you are admit to it live on television."
"I wouldnt-"
"But I would. I grew this skin and I'll grow yours. We are the new age, not humans and I will make sure you die horribly. Afterall, you are the last surviving member of your brother."
I stepped back slightly as his claws moved away from its face and revealed a disgusting black, bony face. "We are everywhere. We are in children's toys. We are in mannequins. We're even in sex toys. We are forever. We will prosper. We will-"
"Hey Google, turn on the sprinklers," I called out.
"Okay Kai. Turning on the sprinklers."
The sprinklers I installed in the ceiling turned on. Salt water rained down, the thing began screaming and melting. The dark tar smeared and covered almost everything in the kitchen as I turned and threw up my breakfast into the kitchen sink as I became quickly soaked to the skin in salt water.
Suddenly a clawed hand grabs my shirt and pulls me back. The claws gripped my throat and began puncturing my skin as I attempted to rip them off of me. BANG. The monster fell then. My brain had trouble catching up to me as two human hands grabbed me arms and shook me.
"Kai, are you ok? I'm so sorry I'm late."
"Jono?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them getting to you, but they're called Boogey Men for a reason. They can become anything and anyone and-"
I pulled him into my arms and buried my head into his shoulder. He was real. He was there with me. I brought him back.
"Welcome home, brother." | “That isn’t me” I read once more as I stepped back from the familiar embrace. I couldn’t help the mix of dread and confusion that flapped like wings in my stomach as my eyes flew upward. The boy, no, I mocked myself, Theo isn’t a boy anymore. Theo is a man. A man that had, vanished. As my eyes darted this way and that there was no sign of Theo anywhere. The flapping wings rose further and I had to stifle my surprised scream of confusion. What was this cruelty? I lost him once already and now the sting of staring at a face so similar to my own when I thought all was lost felt just as sharp as it had all those years ago. This is it. I have lost my mind.
The phone. I had a text right? As I fumbled around in the grass for the phone that had carelessly dropped from my grasp upon my twin disappearing, again, I heard a twig snap in the distance. Abandoning all hope of finding it, I rushed back into the house slamming the door behind me. Locks, get all the locks. In my mad dash to the back door I miss the step down and slam hard into the door jam. As the feeling of dizziness started to overtake me, I stared at the back door, watching in horror as the handle slowly started to turn, before everything dimmed out.
......................
Annie looks the same. There’s something to be said for staring at your own reflection without a mirror. “I always wondered if she’d survived the break of the bond” Theo whispered under his breath. Twin bonds were supposed to be something catastrophic to the survivor of the two when that bond is broken. It’s what has kept him alive when he would have given in long ago. Watching her from his hiding place behind the tall aged oaks on his parents vast property, he felt a twinge of guilt for having shown weakness and stupidity in rushing to her as soon as he hit that old city limit sign. “Don’t come” mother had urged. Always the jealous one when it came to the bond he shared with Annie. If mother wasn’t such a needy, high class drunk, he probably would have believed her when she said Annie was finally excelling in life and stayed gone as she had ordered. Annie did look well enough. Well, that is, before she started stumbling around like a startled chicken in the bushes. What was she doing anyway? Crack, the weight of Theos foot came down just right on a dried twig, the snap echoing in the distance. Jerking back, Theo missed being seen by a second. Daring to peek out, he watched as Annie frantically slammed the door. “Well that went well” Theo muttered. Quietly as he could, Theo skirted the large oaks, carefully placing every step, until he found what Annie was looking for. “What spooked you anyway” Theo muttered as he opened the lock on Annie’s phone with a look. “Hashtag twinning” he chuckled. The small laugh died in his throat as he stared at the message from his old number. “That isn’t me” it read. Oh no. No no no this wasn’t happening again. Buzz buzz... the phone felt too heavy to hold. “I told you I’d be watching.” Theo felt sick. Buzz buzz.... “WE told you there would be consequences.” Theo rushed the front door to no avail. As he raced around back another message came through. This time a picture of Annie. “There will be blood this time.” Theo felt the dizziness start to take him. As he slumped to the ground, a mere inches from the back door, he stared in horror, as the handle slowly started to turn, before everything dimmed out. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | "I'm back, man! I'm so sorry that I flaked on you!"
I started at my brother. He had a big grin on his face, he did look slightly older than I remember and he wore a tailored suit that must've out cost about the same as my car.
Without uttering a word I closed the door and locked it, knowing for well that this was wrong, that this hadn't been what I've been investigating all this time. I was close. So close to the fact that I almost caught my brother in Sydney previously, but I missed him. Most likely because the government had their nose so far up his ass no doubt.
"Kye! C'mon man, I need to talk to you! It's been ten years since I left you at school and I want to actually explain myself to you."
I pulled my blackberry out and began texting my friends from online who have been helping me, I then opened the shoe cupboard next to my front door as my brother continued to beg to come inside my house. We'll, mums old house. I ensured all of the cameras were recording and that the feed was being sent to our embedded website for them to review and ensure that if anything happened to me they could... Report it. To someone.
Just as I was about to close my cupboard my phone buzzed. It was from his old number, but he hadn't gone quiet on his begging to be let in and what was even more curious is that his phone would always go to voicemail for the past ten years when I called it... Which means our theory was correct, he still has it.
Or it could be a spoofing tool... What the hell do I believe inm
The text simply read: That's not me.
I sucked in a lot of air as I showed my phone to the camera but putting that into shoe cupboard and closing the door behind me. Then I opened the door and started at my 'brother'.
"You have ten minutes to explain yourself."
"Thank you Kai!" My brother says before he attempts to step into my house. "Won't you let me in?"
Even up close his face looked like what I expected it to, but at the same time his skin looked soft and squishy. Even airbrushed delicately with soft pigmented paint. "Mums dead."
"Yeah, I heard," he said slowly as he stared at me. "I've been sending flowers to her grave since she died."
"Which flowers?"
"The sunflowers, her favourite. I had them sent every first Monday of the month."
His eyes looked like glass dolls, but they moved and the pupils even adjusted to the light too. Mum always loved his blue eyes, but now they looked like someone who is dead inside. "I always knew that was you, everyone said I was crazy and that you were dead."
I stood aside and waved him in, only to deadbolt the door behind him. "Yes, well mum didn't really agree with my choice in lovers so I thought it'd be best to keep my distance. I still loved her though and we always gave each other sunflowers."
I followed him to the kitchen as he rattled on about how he missed not seeing me grow up. He sat at the kitchen table and I began boiling the kettle. "How do you want your Milo?" I asked, waiting to see if he asked for his old usual order.
"Two scoops, obviously. Now, how have you been? You're working at the primary schools IT guy right? Do you have a girlfriend? What do you do when you have time off? Did you travel like we planned?"
"You already seem to know a lot about me and the fact mum died, why don't you know any of that?"
"Kye, C'mon, I'm just trying to make small talk."
"And here I was, thinking you were going to be apologising."
Silence filled the air around us as he placed his hands on the mug I placed in front of him. He then began drinking the boiling watery Milo I had placed in front of him, not even flinching at the fact it should have been burning his insides.
"You know, Jono, I always thought you had six spoons of Milo. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong."
My hand gripped the taped object under my dinner table. "It's always been two... Kye, why are you acting so weird?"
"Maybe it's because I haven't seen you for ten fucking years. Or because you don't even notice that the water in that Milo is scalding hot. Or maybe because you look like a silicon doll from a damn horror movie."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're not Jono."
"What the- Of course I am! Have you lost it Kye?!"
I ripped the red, green and yellow pistol from under the table and pointed it at him. His chair was thrown back and his hands immediately went into the air as he slowly backed up against the kitchen counter. "Kye, it's me."
"I'm not fucking crazy. I'm tired of people saying that I am!" I yelled. "I know my brother, I knew his boyfriend, I know what I saw! And I saw his boyfriend be ripped apart as my brother tried to save him from something like you!"
"Kye..." His voice dropped ten octaves as he stared at me, tilting his head to the side as he did so.
"If you are actually my brother, then this won't hurt," I spat and pulled the trigger. The salt-filled water pistol had a wide, misty spray. And thankfully, it did the trick. The thing in front of me screamed and moved back into the corner of the kitchen as it clawed at the doughy skin that it had made. There was still a dinner table inbetween us, my heart pounded as I watched it's fingers slowly melt into black claws and drags themselves through the thick watery skin.
"Do you know what you've done, Kye Larson?"
His voice was something straight out of the horror movies. "I finally lured on of you bastards. It's taken years for me to do it, but here we are!" I screamed while waving the water gun around. "This live stream is now broadcasted to every social media website that has users. You've been exposed and the new age is upon us!"
His laughter cut me off. "And you think, that will save you?"
The water pistol cracked slightly from the pressure. "You're not the first and you won't be the last, this will be played off as a ARG or even a practical joke. And no one will be the wiser. Not when you are admit to it live on television."
"I wouldnt-"
"But I would. I grew this skin and I'll grow yours. We are the new age, not humans and I will make sure you die horribly. Afterall, you are the last surviving member of your brother."
I stepped back slightly as his claws moved away from its face and revealed a disgusting black, bony face. "We are everywhere. We are in children's toys. We are in mannequins. We're even in sex toys. We are forever. We will prosper. We will-"
"Hey Google, turn on the sprinklers," I called out.
"Okay Kai. Turning on the sprinklers."
The sprinklers I installed in the ceiling turned on. Salt water rained down, the thing began screaming and melting. The dark tar smeared and covered almost everything in the kitchen as I turned and threw up my breakfast into the kitchen sink as I became quickly soaked to the skin in salt water.
Suddenly a clawed hand grabs my shirt and pulls me back. The claws gripped my throat and began puncturing my skin as I attempted to rip them off of me. BANG. The monster fell then. My brain had trouble catching up to me as two human hands grabbed me arms and shook me.
"Kai, are you ok? I'm so sorry I'm late."
"Jono?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them getting to you, but they're called Boogey Men for a reason. They can become anything and anyone and-"
I pulled him into my arms and buried my head into his shoulder. He was real. He was there with me. I brought him back.
"Welcome home, brother." | "You need to run right now, brother, just trust me on this! That isn't me, it's a skin walker sent to kidnap you, so they have some leverage on me."
I blinked, somehow keeping my face neutral at the message.
"How do I know this is you?" I messaged.
"Look, jackass, I know what you did to that dog on accident when we were kids. I helped hide the body, remember?"
The...supposed copy of my brother, still smiling, and staring me in the face decided to ask "Hey, whose that? It's kinda rude to leave your brother hanging, man"
Thinking fast, I replied "Oh, just an old girlfriend of mine. She apparently wanted my input on what kind of dog she wanted to buy, since I work for the local vets around here."
"Oh, right on. So uh, you going to let me in or...?"
I noticed the supposed skinwalker's smile...shift? Distort? It was really creepy how it seemed to undulate on it's own.
I tried to hide a gulp as I then asked "Speaking of dogs, you ever remember what happened to Ms. Digsby's Pomeranian?"
The...thing imitating my brother said "Uh....I dunno, man. It's been years since then. You want to let me in or...?"
Without another word, I quickly slammed the door on the thing posing as my brother, somehow locked the bolts into place, hands shaking as the last one slid into place.
"Hey man, what the hell? Let me in, bro! I came all this way to visit you!"
I jumped as I heard hammering on the door.
"It's not very nice you leave your family hanging..."
The voice that sounded like my brother had changed.
It had gotten deeper, more menacing. I heard a deep chuckle, followed by the sound of splitting wood, as claws suddenly rammed themselves into my door, long and wicked.
"Fuck!" I screamed, backing away from the door, bolting for the nearby closet. Along the way, I heard my phone ding, so taking a second to glance at my phone, I saw "I'm almost there, brother. Just hold it off until I can get there!"
"Great." I muttered to myself, ripping open the door, and pulling out a 12 gauge pump action I had inherited before dad died.
Hands shaking, I pulled the pump back to chamber a round, and turned to face the doorway. By this point, there were gaping holes in the wood, and I could clearly see the grinning face of what looked like a deer skull leering at me.
My voice shook as I shouted "G-get the fuck away from me, you freak!"
This just seemed to amuse the skinwalker, letting loose a high-pitched laugh that instantly set off goosebumps on my skin, and lanced it's way from my ears, directly into the fear center of my brain.
"Little fleshbag, do you think your toy will do anything to stop me?"
I saw something behind the skinwalker, and taking a second to realize what it was, I lowered the shotgun, slight grin on my face, and said "No. But that might."
I watched as the skinwalker whipped it's head behind it, and then just as suddenly, vanish under the bumper of what looked like a sizeable truck of some kind, smashing through the front of my house.
Some of the debris few towards me, and while it didn't hurt me beyond some light bruising, it did knock me flat on my ass. My brain took a moment to process what had just happened, and in that moment, I saw the skinwalker crawling towards me, legs bent at unnatural angles, it's chest caved in, and pulsating every time the damn thing took in a shuddering breath. It's claws were long, and it was very close...
Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by two loud, thundering booms, as the skinwalker's head just evaporated into a fine red mist.
And staring back at me, was the tired, now scarred face of my long-lost brother.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. Bad traffic."
"Dude, what the fuck?! Why the fuck is that THING after me?!"
"Look, I know you must have a ton of questions-"
"Your goddamn right I do! First, mom vanished when we were kids, dad ended up dying because he drank himself to death over her disappearance, then you just up and disappear 10 years ago! And now? Now you decide to message me out of nowhere, with whatever the FUCK that was posing as you!"
My brother sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and taking in a deep breath.
"...It...it has to do with mom, and her disappearance. She was involved in some fucked up things when we were kids. Things involving us. I'll be happy to explain it to you, but right now, I need to get you out of here, and somewhere safe. Lets go."
"What makes you think I want to go with you, you selfish pri-"
Before I could finish, I heard a nasty, rattling sound. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from the supposedly dead skinwalker, which seemed to be regenerating the bits my brother had blasted off.
"You want to take your chances with those things, be my guest." My brother said, smiling grimly.
Without another word, shotgun in hand, I got into the goddamn truck. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | You know how they say being a twin is like looking in the mirror? Well it is. I should know. As I stand with the door open, the snow storm screaming wind and ice on the front stoop and I stare at the face of a brother I thought lost forever. It was like looking in a mirror. He was my older brother, older by 7 minutes, but still.
Marcus had been missing for a decade. The last time I heard from him he was in the Air Force working on some new tech. He was always the smarter of the two of us, a genius they said. Then he was gone. Just gone. There was an investigation, the Air Force said he was AWOL. No evidence of force or violence, he was just gone. Now here he was, standing like a frozen mirror in my doorway.
"Marcus.... is that you?"
"Ah, Matt, it's so good to see you."
"Where have you been", I asked?
"Doesn't matter now. I'm back. I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He said. "Can I come in, it's freezing out here?"
"Damn, dude. Come in. Yeah, it's cold." I moved out of the way and he hurried inside. I slammed the door against the storm, *is it building to a blizzard? We haven't had one of those in a while, I hope not. I don't want to be stuck inside for a week again.*
I heard a faint buzzing sound. There it was again. *Am I getting a headache? This is so surreal. Marcus is here. Like a mirror. Is this a dream? Feels like a dream. Something sure is odd.*
**bzzzz**
*There's that buzzing again. What is it?*
**bzzz**
"Hey bro, I think that's your phone", Marcus says, snapping me out of my daze.
"Ha, you are right. Probably work wondering why I'm not in the office."
I pulled my phone from my pocket, looking out the window at my truck tires already buried in the snow.
**that isn't me**
I look at the contact, it's Marcus' old number. I look at Marcus, a smile on his face and realize why he looked odd when he was standing on the porch. We were twins, both of us have blue eyes. This Marcus' eyes are not blue..... | “I’m back man! I’m so sorry!” he said.
The awkward smile on his face. The twinkle in his dark brown eyes. Even his messy black hair was still in his face. Could it be? Was it possible that this was him?
Before I could react, he reached in for a hug. Tears leaked out of my eyes as what appeared to be my long-lost brother, Gemi, squeezed me.
**Buzz**
I felt my phone in my pocket but didn’t check it.
He pulled back and asked with his smile, “Are you going to let me inside or are you going to make me freeze out here?”
“Oh, umm, right.” I replied as I gestured for him inside of my apartment.
“Nice place,” he commented as he examined the room with his hands in his pockets, an old habit of his.
“Thanks. Yeah, so, umm, Gemi, umm, I, umm…” I stuttered as I tried to find the right words. I had no clue what to say.
He turned his body to me and said, “I wish I could tell you everything, but I am beyond exhausted. Do you have anywhere I can sleep?”
“Oh, sure thing. This way,” I answered as I led him to my room.
He immediately got into my bed and started to fall asleep in his clothes. I stood there in silence for at least five minutes before I decided to leave the room. I sat down on my couch still in complete shock. I could not wrap my head around what was happening.
**Buzz**
This time I reached for my phone to read two messages from Gemi.
*That isn’t me*
*Please tell me you are still there*
I opened my phone to reply. Before the two messages, I could see all the text messages I sent three years ago when he went missing. I’m still here. *Wdym that isn’t you?*
*I mean that thing isn’t me. Where is it?* He replied immediately.
*It? Wdym it!?*
*There is no time for explaining. Is it in your apartment?*
*Yeah it's in my room rn*
*Get out now!*
*Why?*
*Just do*
I heard my bedroom door open behind me. I turned around to see it. It’s smile was full of sharp ugly teeth. It’s eyes were white triangles. It had no hair. It’s skin was a smokey black and it’s head reached the ceiling. It wore the clothes Gemi had been wearing minutes ago.
I was frozen as its long scrawny fingers reached for me and it’s mouth opened. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | Nobody took his disappearance seriously. "He's an adult. He can leave if he wants to." It wouldn't have been the first time Danny had run away.
The first time was when he was ten and Cara was eight. Nothing serious had provoked him. He was just sick of the same house, the same neighborhood, the same boring reality, and he wanted to find something different. He came back thirteen hours later under their father's strong grip. Danny was grounded for a month.
"I'm always grounded," Danny sulked.
The second time was when he was thirteen. He wanted to go to the new theme park that had just opened upstate, but his parents said no. He went anyway, without them. The police were called, and they tracked him down easily enough. That time, he was grounded for the whole summer.
Cara had to admit she was not entirely surprised that Danny had taken off the day after graduation. She just hoped that now that he was an officially an adult, her parents would stop arguing over what to do with him. It sometimes hurt that they were so occupied with Danny's wanderlust problem that they didn't really notice her. The only thing about her that they approved of was that she stayed home.
And stay home she did. Instead of going off to a university, she went to community college and worked at a cafe that was mere blocks from their home. She was not sure she was smart enough for a real university anyway and she didn't have Danny's daring impulsiveness in her. She played it safe.
She was at work one night when Danny strode in seven minutes before closing. "Hey," he greeted. He picked up one of the juice boxes at the front of the counter for purchase. At least he wasn't going to force her to make something for him, Cara thought as he rang it up.
"Where were you?" she asked, trying to pretend that she wasn't that curious about it.
"Home."
"Just now?"
"Not that home."
What other home could he possibly mean? Cara thought irritably. She did not want to deal with riddles. Couldn't Danny give her a straight answer for once?
She heard her phone ping. "Hold on."
Danny's name popped up on the text. He never texted her. She only kept his name on in case she had to tell him about some emergency.
<That's not me.>
If it was a game, it was unlike him.
She dropped her phone back in her pocket. "So why did you come here?"
"I just wanted to see what was going on in your life."
"Nothing interesting. My life is very ordinary," she said. "You hated it, remember? Ordinary life."
"Do you like it?"
Cara hesitated to answer. She worried about what would follow if she gave an honest answer. If she said "yes," like Danny must have said "yes" that first time he ran away.
"I'm fine with it," she said.
"Always playing it safe." Danny grinned. "You aren't even going to ask the question I know is on your mind." With that he walked to the door. "Good night, Cara."
As soon as he was out of sight, Cara ducked behind the counter and took out her phone.
<Where are you?> | “I’m back man! I’m so sorry!” he said.
The awkward smile on his face. The twinkle in his dark brown eyes. Even his messy black hair was still in his face. Could it be? Was it possible that this was him?
Before I could react, he reached in for a hug. Tears leaked out of my eyes as what appeared to be my long-lost brother, Gemi, squeezed me.
**Buzz**
I felt my phone in my pocket but didn’t check it.
He pulled back and asked with his smile, “Are you going to let me inside or are you going to make me freeze out here?”
“Oh, umm, right.” I replied as I gestured for him inside of my apartment.
“Nice place,” he commented as he examined the room with his hands in his pockets, an old habit of his.
“Thanks. Yeah, so, umm, Gemi, umm, I, umm…” I stuttered as I tried to find the right words. I had no clue what to say.
He turned his body to me and said, “I wish I could tell you everything, but I am beyond exhausted. Do you have anywhere I can sleep?”
“Oh, sure thing. This way,” I answered as I led him to my room.
He immediately got into my bed and started to fall asleep in his clothes. I stood there in silence for at least five minutes before I decided to leave the room. I sat down on my couch still in complete shock. I could not wrap my head around what was happening.
**Buzz**
This time I reached for my phone to read two messages from Gemi.
*That isn’t me*
*Please tell me you are still there*
I opened my phone to reply. Before the two messages, I could see all the text messages I sent three years ago when he went missing. I’m still here. *Wdym that isn’t you?*
*I mean that thing isn’t me. Where is it?* He replied immediately.
*It? Wdym it!?*
*There is no time for explaining. Is it in your apartment?*
*Yeah it's in my room rn*
*Get out now!*
*Why?*
*Just do*
I heard my bedroom door open behind me. I turned around to see it. It’s smile was full of sharp ugly teeth. It’s eyes were white triangles. It had no hair. It’s skin was a smokey black and it’s head reached the ceiling. It wore the clothes Gemi had been wearing minutes ago.
I was frozen as its long scrawny fingers reached for me and it’s mouth opened. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | You know how they say being a twin is like looking in the mirror? Well it is. I should know. As I stand with the door open, the snow storm screaming wind and ice on the front stoop and I stare at the face of a brother I thought lost forever. It was like looking in a mirror. He was my older brother, older by 7 minutes, but still.
Marcus had been missing for a decade. The last time I heard from him he was in the Air Force working on some new tech. He was always the smarter of the two of us, a genius they said. Then he was gone. Just gone. There was an investigation, the Air Force said he was AWOL. No evidence of force or violence, he was just gone. Now here he was, standing like a frozen mirror in my doorway.
"Marcus.... is that you?"
"Ah, Matt, it's so good to see you."
"Where have you been", I asked?
"Doesn't matter now. I'm back. I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He said. "Can I come in, it's freezing out here?"
"Damn, dude. Come in. Yeah, it's cold." I moved out of the way and he hurried inside. I slammed the door against the storm, *is it building to a blizzard? We haven't had one of those in a while, I hope not. I don't want to be stuck inside for a week again.*
I heard a faint buzzing sound. There it was again. *Am I getting a headache? This is so surreal. Marcus is here. Like a mirror. Is this a dream? Feels like a dream. Something sure is odd.*
**bzzzz**
*There's that buzzing again. What is it?*
**bzzz**
"Hey bro, I think that's your phone", Marcus says, snapping me out of my daze.
"Ha, you are right. Probably work wondering why I'm not in the office."
I pulled my phone from my pocket, looking out the window at my truck tires already buried in the snow.
**that isn't me**
I look at the contact, it's Marcus' old number. I look at Marcus, a smile on his face and realize why he looked odd when he was standing on the porch. We were twins, both of us have blue eyes. This Marcus' eyes are not blue..... | "What?!...wait..." I turn the phone to show David, but stop seeing the doorway empty - now framing only the front lawn where he was stood only moments ago.
"D...David..." I croak stepping tentatively onto the front porch, a hand held tight to the door frame. Gone.
Turning back inside, pressing the door closed tight behind me as the sound of the screen door slowly swings closed on its old rusted hinges permeates the silence.
The message!
Opening the phone and scanning the text again - "That isn't me..."
"so...so he was there..." Reading it again. "That isn't me..." Why would he just run off?
My hand reaches for the door knob then stops abruptly.
"That isn't me..." - message dated
02:02 Thursday 24th March 1996.
Scrolling back up through the messages:
17:30 - "I saw you David! Outside school! You know mom will kill you if you're arrested again!"
17:36 -"Bro relax. Thats not even me!"
17:37 -"I'm serious David, mom will kick you out if you're selling drugs again!"
17:44 -"calm down little brother she won't kick me out and I'm not doing anything illegal"
17:45 - "Stephen McEldray is telling people you sold him pills for a party. I'm telling mom!"
19:00 -"David I didn't tell mom. Please come home"
19:28 - "David call me back!!"
20:02 - "Answer our calls asshole!!"
23:12 - "David the cops have just turned up looking for you! 3people have gone to the ER because of some fake ecstasy tablets! They've got security footage of you selling drugs outside a club!"
01:04 - "ASSHOLE PICK UP YOUR PHONE!!"
02:02 -"That isn't me..."
They pulled his body from the canal 3weeks after... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | Nobody took his disappearance seriously. "He's an adult. He can leave if he wants to." It wouldn't have been the first time Danny had run away.
The first time was when he was ten and Cara was eight. Nothing serious had provoked him. He was just sick of the same house, the same neighborhood, the same boring reality, and he wanted to find something different. He came back thirteen hours later under their father's strong grip. Danny was grounded for a month.
"I'm always grounded," Danny sulked.
The second time was when he was thirteen. He wanted to go to the new theme park that had just opened upstate, but his parents said no. He went anyway, without them. The police were called, and they tracked him down easily enough. That time, he was grounded for the whole summer.
Cara had to admit she was not entirely surprised that Danny had taken off the day after graduation. She just hoped that now that he was an officially an adult, her parents would stop arguing over what to do with him. It sometimes hurt that they were so occupied with Danny's wanderlust problem that they didn't really notice her. The only thing about her that they approved of was that she stayed home.
And stay home she did. Instead of going off to a university, she went to community college and worked at a cafe that was mere blocks from their home. She was not sure she was smart enough for a real university anyway and she didn't have Danny's daring impulsiveness in her. She played it safe.
She was at work one night when Danny strode in seven minutes before closing. "Hey," he greeted. He picked up one of the juice boxes at the front of the counter for purchase. At least he wasn't going to force her to make something for him, Cara thought as he rang it up.
"Where were you?" she asked, trying to pretend that she wasn't that curious about it.
"Home."
"Just now?"
"Not that home."
What other home could he possibly mean? Cara thought irritably. She did not want to deal with riddles. Couldn't Danny give her a straight answer for once?
She heard her phone ping. "Hold on."
Danny's name popped up on the text. He never texted her. She only kept his name on in case she had to tell him about some emergency.
<That's not me.>
If it was a game, it was unlike him.
She dropped her phone back in her pocket. "So why did you come here?"
"I just wanted to see what was going on in your life."
"Nothing interesting. My life is very ordinary," she said. "You hated it, remember? Ordinary life."
"Do you like it?"
Cara hesitated to answer. She worried about what would follow if she gave an honest answer. If she said "yes," like Danny must have said "yes" that first time he ran away.
"I'm fine with it," she said.
"Always playing it safe." Danny grinned. "You aren't even going to ask the question I know is on your mind." With that he walked to the door. "Good night, Cara."
As soon as he was out of sight, Cara ducked behind the counter and took out her phone.
<Where are you?> | "What?!...wait..." I turn the phone to show David, but stop seeing the doorway empty - now framing only the front lawn where he was stood only moments ago.
"D...David..." I croak stepping tentatively onto the front porch, a hand held tight to the door frame. Gone.
Turning back inside, pressing the door closed tight behind me as the sound of the screen door slowly swings closed on its old rusted hinges permeates the silence.
The message!
Opening the phone and scanning the text again - "That isn't me..."
"so...so he was there..." Reading it again. "That isn't me..." Why would he just run off?
My hand reaches for the door knob then stops abruptly.
"That isn't me..." - message dated
02:02 Thursday 24th March 1996.
Scrolling back up through the messages:
17:30 - "I saw you David! Outside school! You know mom will kill you if you're arrested again!"
17:36 -"Bro relax. Thats not even me!"
17:37 -"I'm serious David, mom will kick you out if you're selling drugs again!"
17:44 -"calm down little brother she won't kick me out and I'm not doing anything illegal"
17:45 - "Stephen McEldray is telling people you sold him pills for a party. I'm telling mom!"
19:00 -"David I didn't tell mom. Please come home"
19:28 - "David call me back!!"
20:02 - "Answer our calls asshole!!"
23:12 - "David the cops have just turned up looking for you! 3people have gone to the ER because of some fake ecstasy tablets! They've got security footage of you selling drugs outside a club!"
01:04 - "ASSHOLE PICK UP YOUR PHONE!!"
02:02 -"That isn't me..."
They pulled his body from the canal 3weeks after... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | There was a knock on my front door. I stopped pouring a pile of chips on my plate and glanced at the wooden door that was visible from my kitchen. I wasn't expecting a package or anything today so I decided to ignore the knock. Afterall it was lunchtime and my ham sandwich was looking pretty tasty.
As I picked up a chip to pop into my mouth, there was yet another knock. This time it sounded more demanding like whoever was at the door knew I was home. I grimaced knowing I had to answer the door otherwise the person wouldn't leave.
Abandoning my lunch in the kitchen, I walked over to the front door as another knock sounded. Out of habit I peeked through the peephole in the door, and nearly gasped in shock. My hands flew to the doorknob, quickly unlocking it and twisting it open. The door swung open revealing a man.
The man standing there had bright blue eyes that matched my own. His face was lightly freckled and his lips were upturned in a smile. The man looked like my older brother who went missing 5 years ago when I was 16 and he was 19. He looked the same as my brother did years ago when he disappeared. Well, apart from the fact his face was slightly more mature from aging. He even had a faint scar on his forehead that matched the one my brother got from falling in the bathtub as a kid. The man had to be my brother, he had to be.
Tears started to fill my eyes, "Ryan?" I whispered hoping for a certain answer.
"Heya ankle-biter," He replied with outstretched arms. It was the nickname he had for me. It was really him.
I hugged him tightly, "Where have you been? Do Mom and Dad know you're back? Did you get kidnapped?"
Ryan pulled away from our hug and chuckled, "Whoa slow down. How about I tell you about it inside?" He gestured to the inside of my house.
"Y-yeah," I composed myself, wiping a few tears off of my face, "Come in."
"I never thought you would cry over me. I thought I was 'annoying as hell'." He walked in hands in the pockets of his jeans looking around my home.
"Oh I'm pretty sure you're still annoying as hell," I laughed walking to my kitchen, "Want anything to eat while we talk? I was just gonna have lunch,"
"Sure! I haven't eaten anything today,"
"Help yourself to anything in the fridge,"
My brother opened the refrigerator and started looking through it. I smiled grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite out of it.
My parents would probably want to know that Ryan was safe. In fact they would be overjoyed that he was back. I took out my phone ready to call them and saw a notification. It was from Ryan.
It read, "That's not me."
I swallowed a piece of my sandwich, it feeling very dry as it went down my throat. My eyes left my phone screen and looked at the man that was in my kitchen. This had to be a joke.
"Y'know our dog, Georgie, really missed you. He would sit at the front door almost everyday waiting you to come home. I bet he's gonna be so excited to see you." I said with a smile. We never owned a dog named Georgie. We never even owned a dog at all since Dad was allergic to them.
Ryan froze and turned around to face me. He seemed slightly confused. Maybe it was he caught my mistake-
His confusion turned to glee, "I can't wait to see Georgie again."
My heart sank. "Ryan" seemed to notice that something was off and walked over to me asking "Something wrong, Charlotte?"
"No, I'm fine," I gave him a fake smile.
He frowned and stepped closer to me, "Are you sure?"
"I actually need to use the restroom..." I stood up quickly and started towards my bathroom. "Ryan" grabbed my arm roughly. I winced in pain, "Let go of me Ryan..."
"That bastard told you didn't he?" "Ryan" said coldly. His grip tighten on my arm to the point I was afraid it was going to snap.
"What are you talking about?" I cried out, "Ryan let go of me please!" I tried wiggling of my arm out of his grip which was useless. So I gave him a kick in the crotch, hoping that the pain would make him release his grip.
"Ryan" inhaled sharply but he kept his hand around my arm, "Heh...you gotta try harder than that sweetheart. I admire the effort, human."
"Human?" I yelped still trying desperately to escape. I threw punches at him with my free hand. It did nothing to him, it was like if a baby punched the Hulk.
He smirked as his skin started to bubble. It seemed to boil like it was water. My blood turned to ice as I watched him breathlessly. His skin melted off his face falling to the carpet as a tan sludge. The skin on the hand that was holding me slipped off my arm feeling like slime. It was sickening. I gagged at the feeling.
The creature lifted his free hand reaching towards my face. It was leathery and wrinkled reminding me of the skin on a shrunken head. I turned my head away from it trying to get as possible from it, "Stop!" I yelled out knowing that he wouldn't listen.
The hand gripped my chin forcing me to look at the creature's face, "Aren't I handsome, dear?"
The creature was far from handsome. The skin on its face matched the skin on its hand. The skin stretched tightly on its head, allowing me to see every detail on its skull. There was no skin around its mouth revealing its sharpen teeth that were almost comically large. Two slits above its mouth were its nose. The creature had no eyelids allowing for its eyeballs to stare deeply into my own. The eyes were the size of tennis balls with no pupils present. They were just white with blood vessels that looked like a road map.
I opened my mouth to scream but I didn't make a sound. The creature laughed loudly, "How pitiful. Your brother tried so hard to keep us apart...isn't that horrible? Now that we're together...you're gonna make me one powerful being"
Suddenly the creature screeched in pain. An arrow was in its chest with a black liquid dripping off of it. Without a second thought I pulled my arm free from the creature stumbling backwards in shock. My arm was aching with pain but at least I was free.
Not wanting to take any chances I bolted towards the door. I was stopped by someone jumping in front of me. It was my brother, this time my real brother. He looked more rough around the edges than the imposter did. He's definitely been through a lot the past five years.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner," He said out of breath probably from running to my home, "Let's get the hell out of here. We've got a lot to talk about."
(This is my first post. I tried my best lol) | "What?!...wait..." I turn the phone to show David, but stop seeing the doorway empty - now framing only the front lawn where he was stood only moments ago.
"D...David..." I croak stepping tentatively onto the front porch, a hand held tight to the door frame. Gone.
Turning back inside, pressing the door closed tight behind me as the sound of the screen door slowly swings closed on its old rusted hinges permeates the silence.
The message!
Opening the phone and scanning the text again - "That isn't me..."
"so...so he was there..." Reading it again. "That isn't me..." Why would he just run off?
My hand reaches for the door knob then stops abruptly.
"That isn't me..." - message dated
02:02 Thursday 24th March 1996.
Scrolling back up through the messages:
17:30 - "I saw you David! Outside school! You know mom will kill you if you're arrested again!"
17:36 -"Bro relax. Thats not even me!"
17:37 -"I'm serious David, mom will kick you out if you're selling drugs again!"
17:44 -"calm down little brother she won't kick me out and I'm not doing anything illegal"
17:45 - "Stephen McEldray is telling people you sold him pills for a party. I'm telling mom!"
19:00 -"David I didn't tell mom. Please come home"
19:28 - "David call me back!!"
20:02 - "Answer our calls asshole!!"
23:12 - "David the cops have just turned up looking for you! 3people have gone to the ER because of some fake ecstasy tablets! They've got security footage of you selling drugs outside a club!"
01:04 - "ASSHOLE PICK UP YOUR PHONE!!"
02:02 -"That isn't me..."
They pulled his body from the canal 3weeks after... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | A knock on the door sends my dog into a frenzy. I put down the thermos I was holding and after checking the security camera, dart to the door and open it.
I Fling myself into the arms of the person waiting there, not even letting them say hello. My brother, my brother who had been missing for the last five years of my life was standing,smiling and hugging me back.
He was quite taller than me now, with the beginnings of a beard and a silly smile. He did look quite thin though, and I could see dark circles under his eyes.
"Come on in?" I asked, pulling away from him. Now that the pure joy of seeing him had worn of, I actually was quite mad. He'd gone off the maps for years, no one knew where he was, note even his girlfriend, and now he just shows back up? He'd acting like everything is fine, despite everyone and everything he left behind.
"Sure." My brother said with shrug.
As he stepped beside me, I felt a slight buzz from my back pocket. I pulled my phone out, glancing down on the screen. A text from my brothers old phone....?
**>That's not me.**
I felt a shiver run up my spine. Was this a joke? Did he just text me from inside? I'm confused, and scared. I'm startled out of my spiral of thoughts by my dog, Freya. She rushes past me, tail in between her legs. What happened? She's never acted like this before.
"Jake?" I call into the house. "Did you scare her, what happened?" The poor pup is cowering by a bush, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes.
No response.
I looked into my foyer, "Jake?"
My phone was buzzing like wild now, but that was the least of my problems.
I was a bit more worried about the demonic creature in my living room. | "What?!...wait..." I turn the phone to show David, but stop seeing the doorway empty - now framing only the front lawn where he was stood only moments ago.
"D...David..." I croak stepping tentatively onto the front porch, a hand held tight to the door frame. Gone.
Turning back inside, pressing the door closed tight behind me as the sound of the screen door slowly swings closed on its old rusted hinges permeates the silence.
The message!
Opening the phone and scanning the text again - "That isn't me..."
"so...so he was there..." Reading it again. "That isn't me..." Why would he just run off?
My hand reaches for the door knob then stops abruptly.
"That isn't me..." - message dated
02:02 Thursday 24th March 1996.
Scrolling back up through the messages:
17:30 - "I saw you David! Outside school! You know mom will kill you if you're arrested again!"
17:36 -"Bro relax. Thats not even me!"
17:37 -"I'm serious David, mom will kick you out if you're selling drugs again!"
17:44 -"calm down little brother she won't kick me out and I'm not doing anything illegal"
17:45 - "Stephen McEldray is telling people you sold him pills for a party. I'm telling mom!"
19:00 -"David I didn't tell mom. Please come home"
19:28 - "David call me back!!"
20:02 - "Answer our calls asshole!!"
23:12 - "David the cops have just turned up looking for you! 3people have gone to the ER because of some fake ecstasy tablets! They've got security footage of you selling drugs outside a club!"
01:04 - "ASSHOLE PICK UP YOUR PHONE!!"
02:02 -"That isn't me..."
They pulled his body from the canal 3weeks after... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | See, I always knew my brothers disappearance was suspicious. But no one listens to a 'little kid', even if that kid knew the disappeared better than anyone. But one look at his room that day and I knew. My brother hadn't gone willingly. It was the fishbowl, you see. It had been knocked on its side. The only thing inside it was a fish shaped cat toy, that crinkled in the tail and smelled like catnip. But he wouldn't have left it on its side. It was a tradition, running joke, whatever you want to call it, that fish and bowl.
Then he showed up again. 9 years later. I was the same age he had been, 17, 2 weeks after my birthday. Just like him. He was so...casual about it. "Hey, kid." With that grin I missed so much, but more tired, a little lopsided. "Sorry it took me so long. But I'm back now." He hugged me before I could react. And I was so tired from all the stress of the last 9 years that I hugged back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Out of habit I checked it immediately. It was from my brother. The one currently hugging me. *Thats not me -B*
Swallowing nervously I pulled back from the hug. "So, Ben, where have you been?"
He ran a hand through his hair, "It's a long story, Lou."
"Come inside and have something to drink. We've got all night." He followed me inside and closed the door behind him.
"Where's mom and dad?"
The question nearly froze me in my tracks. Ben would haven't have asked that so casually. "Well, things have changed a lot since you...left." I didn't want him, whoever he was, to know I knew my brother had been taken. "Mom and dad went through with the divorce they were always holding over each other's heads. Dad moved out to the country, you know how he is. And mom and I stayed here." I was in the kitchen filling up two glasses of water. Imposter-Ben had stopped in front of the little used calendar, which mom had marked my birthday on so she wouldn't forget. She had anyway. "Mom is out, either on a date or with friends. Either way she won't be home till late."
"Happy late birthday." He mumbled to me. "How old?"
I pushed down the hurt that he wouldn't know. My phone buzzed again. *I'm sorry. Keep distracting him.* "Seventeen."
"Ah, right." I handed him a cup and we moved to the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. "I see you still have the fish." He gestured to the aquarium I'd been maintaining for the last few years.
I laughed, "Yeah, they're all named Crinkle Butt."
Imposter-Ben laughed too, but it was the laugh of someone who didn't get the joke. My heart fell when I heard it and knew the text message hadn't been lying. This wasn't my brother.
"So," I said, trying to force cheerfulness back into my voice, "You gonna tell me what you've been up to?"
He stood up, setting his still-full water cup on the side table. "I can show you." He grinned again, that not quite right, lopsided smile. "It'd be a lot easier." He reached a hand down to me. And part of me wanted to take it. Maybe if I followed I could find the truth.
A loud crash sounded from the back door and glass rained down from it. "LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!!" With an ear ringing zap, a beam of light shot from the kitchen to the living room, hitting Imposter-Ben squarely in the jaw. He toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk and the face that looked like my brother's began to melt off of him.
Ben came running to the couch. "Hey, Lou. Long time no see." The grin was there, perfect again.
"BENJAMIN ARNOLD! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I pointed at the puddle of face that was already being soaked up by the carpet.
"Eh...I'll get a clean-up crew out here?"
"You better!" I tried to glare at him, but it was all too much and before I knew it, he was holding me while I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hey, look!" He tapped my shoulder, and spoke in the same tone he used to distract me when I was little. He pointed to the aquarium, his face lighting up, "Crinkle Butts!" | "What?!...wait..." I turn the phone to show David, but stop seeing the doorway empty - now framing only the front lawn where he was stood only moments ago.
"D...David..." I croak stepping tentatively onto the front porch, a hand held tight to the door frame. Gone.
Turning back inside, pressing the door closed tight behind me as the sound of the screen door slowly swings closed on its old rusted hinges permeates the silence.
The message!
Opening the phone and scanning the text again - "That isn't me..."
"so...so he was there..." Reading it again. "That isn't me..." Why would he just run off?
My hand reaches for the door knob then stops abruptly.
"That isn't me..." - message dated
02:02 Thursday 24th March 1996.
Scrolling back up through the messages:
17:30 - "I saw you David! Outside school! You know mom will kill you if you're arrested again!"
17:36 -"Bro relax. Thats not even me!"
17:37 -"I'm serious David, mom will kick you out if you're selling drugs again!"
17:44 -"calm down little brother she won't kick me out and I'm not doing anything illegal"
17:45 - "Stephen McEldray is telling people you sold him pills for a party. I'm telling mom!"
19:00 -"David I didn't tell mom. Please come home"
19:28 - "David call me back!!"
20:02 - "Answer our calls asshole!!"
23:12 - "David the cops have just turned up looking for you! 3people have gone to the ER because of some fake ecstasy tablets! They've got security footage of you selling drugs outside a club!"
01:04 - "ASSHOLE PICK UP YOUR PHONE!!"
02:02 -"That isn't me..."
They pulled his body from the canal 3weeks after... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | You know how they say being a twin is like looking in the mirror? Well it is. I should know. As I stand with the door open, the snow storm screaming wind and ice on the front stoop and I stare at the face of a brother I thought lost forever. It was like looking in a mirror. He was my older brother, older by 7 minutes, but still.
Marcus had been missing for a decade. The last time I heard from him he was in the Air Force working on some new tech. He was always the smarter of the two of us, a genius they said. Then he was gone. Just gone. There was an investigation, the Air Force said he was AWOL. No evidence of force or violence, he was just gone. Now here he was, standing like a frozen mirror in my doorway.
"Marcus.... is that you?"
"Ah, Matt, it's so good to see you."
"Where have you been", I asked?
"Doesn't matter now. I'm back. I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He said. "Can I come in, it's freezing out here?"
"Damn, dude. Come in. Yeah, it's cold." I moved out of the way and he hurried inside. I slammed the door against the storm, *is it building to a blizzard? We haven't had one of those in a while, I hope not. I don't want to be stuck inside for a week again.*
I heard a faint buzzing sound. There it was again. *Am I getting a headache? This is so surreal. Marcus is here. Like a mirror. Is this a dream? Feels like a dream. Something sure is odd.*
**bzzzz**
*There's that buzzing again. What is it?*
**bzzz**
"Hey bro, I think that's your phone", Marcus says, snapping me out of my daze.
"Ha, you are right. Probably work wondering why I'm not in the office."
I pulled my phone from my pocket, looking out the window at my truck tires already buried in the snow.
**that isn't me**
I look at the contact, it's Marcus' old number. I look at Marcus, a smile on his face and realize why he looked odd when he was standing on the porch. We were twins, both of us have blue eyes. This Marcus' eyes are not blue..... | That isn't me".
I was filled with emotions, I couldn't believe on the text even if I wanted to. I welcomed him in and let him rest for some time. Mom wasn't at home so I called her; overjoyed, she hurried to home.
I was looking at him, he seemed exhausted. He had dirt on his body, his clothes were filthy, long and untidy hairs, overgrown beard, it was clear that he was struggling with life. I couldn't decide upon an emotion, I was happy, worried, anxious, muddled, all at the same time. It was strange. He resonated completely with my brother, he acted same, but still there was doubt.
Mom arrived, "where is he? how is he? is he okay?", she bombarded me with questions. I took her to the room, he was still sleeping. She had tears in her eyes, seeing his condition. It was difficult to tell her about text, but it was important.
"Mom is it you? I missed you so much", he woke up seeing her. I couldn't tell her about the text, it was better to wait.Mom hugged her.
He was feeling hungry, so we had lunch then. His eating habits were same as my brother, still there was doubt.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you tell us anything? How did you managed to survive?", Mom asked.
"After my business failed, I was shattered, I had no direction. I wanted solitude to find some direction, so I went in the mountains, up in the north. I was clueless, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was I wanted to get out of here and go far away.
There I met few sadhus in deep meditation, I joined them. I survived on fruits and food donated by locals. I had spent all my time there, living a life of sadhu. But now I was exhausted, I wanted to return and spend rest of my life with you two".
"We missed you so much. Police had searched you for months but we found no trace. But now promise that you won't go again".
" I promise, Mom".
While a conversation was going on between him and Mom, I called her girlfriend back then because she wast last whom my brother had talked with and she might definitely knew something we didn't know.
"My brother has returned today", I told her. Hearing this, she kept the phone and came to meet him. When arrived, she was really happy, but soon her happiness turned into neutrality. She didn't even talked to him; she just saw him from outside of room and then headed back to her house. On asking, she said, "This can't be him, he is just a look-alike" and then ran out-of-door.
I was now loosing my mind. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I hadn't seen my Mom that happy in years and if I would have told her truth about him then her heart would have broken. On the other hand there was a person living in my house claiming to be my brother and I didn't even know if he was actually my brother.
At this point, all I could do was to keep silence and just see what was happening.
Days Passed. It was like normal, there was nothing to doubt about. He was behaving like my brother, my mom was refreshed. But I was trying to get some clue about him. I was in doubt and so I was behaving peculiar around him.
I tried calling on my brother's old number but it was switched off. I tried to find some numbers of locals where he had gone but that too in vain. But after two weeks passed by, I got my first clue. I saw him calling someone from landline and heard him saying something like don't worry everything is going well and no one doubted on me. After he was done, I tried calling on that number again but this time, it was off. I noted the number and managed to find details of the owner of number. The call was made from the area of where he said he ran away.
The only option I was left with was to go find the truth there only. So I headed there, saying that I was going for some office work abroad. I reached there but the vibe was unusual there. It was like something had happened there. I asked locals, showing the picture of my brother but no one cared to say anything. After enquiring for two days, I had to return. I couldn't find anything yet.
A month had passed when he appeared. Now I couldn't resist myself but ask him only about the truth, "You can't be him. So just tell me who are you and where is my brother. I can't take more of this." To my surprise, he was not surprised by my question. He very peacefully said, "I knew you won't believe me and it is obvious. I know you must have tried hard to look for the truth. But believe me I am your brother and I am not lying." To this, I showed him the message I had received and asked him about the call. He was surprised too. He said, "I had thrown my phone at the front of my girlfriend' house before I left. Actually she was the reason I left home. When my business failed and I was in pain, I went to her. But instead of consolidating, she ditched me because I was not earning. I was both angry and broken so I threw my phone at her house and left immediately. She must have taken out the SIM and she must have texted you. And about call, I had called the person who helped me return home. "
I believed him as it seemed true to me at that point of time when I couldn't find anything else to believe on.
We lived happily for months after that. Everything was going smooth until one day when I received another text, "He is lying. This isn't me. Don't believe him"... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | Nobody took his disappearance seriously. "He's an adult. He can leave if he wants to." It wouldn't have been the first time Danny had run away.
The first time was when he was ten and Cara was eight. Nothing serious had provoked him. He was just sick of the same house, the same neighborhood, the same boring reality, and he wanted to find something different. He came back thirteen hours later under their father's strong grip. Danny was grounded for a month.
"I'm always grounded," Danny sulked.
The second time was when he was thirteen. He wanted to go to the new theme park that had just opened upstate, but his parents said no. He went anyway, without them. The police were called, and they tracked him down easily enough. That time, he was grounded for the whole summer.
Cara had to admit she was not entirely surprised that Danny had taken off the day after graduation. She just hoped that now that he was an officially an adult, her parents would stop arguing over what to do with him. It sometimes hurt that they were so occupied with Danny's wanderlust problem that they didn't really notice her. The only thing about her that they approved of was that she stayed home.
And stay home she did. Instead of going off to a university, she went to community college and worked at a cafe that was mere blocks from their home. She was not sure she was smart enough for a real university anyway and she didn't have Danny's daring impulsiveness in her. She played it safe.
She was at work one night when Danny strode in seven minutes before closing. "Hey," he greeted. He picked up one of the juice boxes at the front of the counter for purchase. At least he wasn't going to force her to make something for him, Cara thought as he rang it up.
"Where were you?" she asked, trying to pretend that she wasn't that curious about it.
"Home."
"Just now?"
"Not that home."
What other home could he possibly mean? Cara thought irritably. She did not want to deal with riddles. Couldn't Danny give her a straight answer for once?
She heard her phone ping. "Hold on."
Danny's name popped up on the text. He never texted her. She only kept his name on in case she had to tell him about some emergency.
<That's not me.>
If it was a game, it was unlike him.
She dropped her phone back in her pocket. "So why did you come here?"
"I just wanted to see what was going on in your life."
"Nothing interesting. My life is very ordinary," she said. "You hated it, remember? Ordinary life."
"Do you like it?"
Cara hesitated to answer. She worried about what would follow if she gave an honest answer. If she said "yes," like Danny must have said "yes" that first time he ran away.
"I'm fine with it," she said.
"Always playing it safe." Danny grinned. "You aren't even going to ask the question I know is on your mind." With that he walked to the door. "Good night, Cara."
As soon as he was out of sight, Cara ducked behind the counter and took out her phone.
<Where are you?> | That isn't me".
I was filled with emotions, I couldn't believe on the text even if I wanted to. I welcomed him in and let him rest for some time. Mom wasn't at home so I called her; overjoyed, she hurried to home.
I was looking at him, he seemed exhausted. He had dirt on his body, his clothes were filthy, long and untidy hairs, overgrown beard, it was clear that he was struggling with life. I couldn't decide upon an emotion, I was happy, worried, anxious, muddled, all at the same time. It was strange. He resonated completely with my brother, he acted same, but still there was doubt.
Mom arrived, "where is he? how is he? is he okay?", she bombarded me with questions. I took her to the room, he was still sleeping. She had tears in her eyes, seeing his condition. It was difficult to tell her about text, but it was important.
"Mom is it you? I missed you so much", he woke up seeing her. I couldn't tell her about the text, it was better to wait.Mom hugged her.
He was feeling hungry, so we had lunch then. His eating habits were same as my brother, still there was doubt.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you tell us anything? How did you managed to survive?", Mom asked.
"After my business failed, I was shattered, I had no direction. I wanted solitude to find some direction, so I went in the mountains, up in the north. I was clueless, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was I wanted to get out of here and go far away.
There I met few sadhus in deep meditation, I joined them. I survived on fruits and food donated by locals. I had spent all my time there, living a life of sadhu. But now I was exhausted, I wanted to return and spend rest of my life with you two".
"We missed you so much. Police had searched you for months but we found no trace. But now promise that you won't go again".
" I promise, Mom".
While a conversation was going on between him and Mom, I called her girlfriend back then because she wast last whom my brother had talked with and she might definitely knew something we didn't know.
"My brother has returned today", I told her. Hearing this, she kept the phone and came to meet him. When arrived, she was really happy, but soon her happiness turned into neutrality. She didn't even talked to him; she just saw him from outside of room and then headed back to her house. On asking, she said, "This can't be him, he is just a look-alike" and then ran out-of-door.
I was now loosing my mind. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I hadn't seen my Mom that happy in years and if I would have told her truth about him then her heart would have broken. On the other hand there was a person living in my house claiming to be my brother and I didn't even know if he was actually my brother.
At this point, all I could do was to keep silence and just see what was happening.
Days Passed. It was like normal, there was nothing to doubt about. He was behaving like my brother, my mom was refreshed. But I was trying to get some clue about him. I was in doubt and so I was behaving peculiar around him.
I tried calling on my brother's old number but it was switched off. I tried to find some numbers of locals where he had gone but that too in vain. But after two weeks passed by, I got my first clue. I saw him calling someone from landline and heard him saying something like don't worry everything is going well and no one doubted on me. After he was done, I tried calling on that number again but this time, it was off. I noted the number and managed to find details of the owner of number. The call was made from the area of where he said he ran away.
The only option I was left with was to go find the truth there only. So I headed there, saying that I was going for some office work abroad. I reached there but the vibe was unusual there. It was like something had happened there. I asked locals, showing the picture of my brother but no one cared to say anything. After enquiring for two days, I had to return. I couldn't find anything yet.
A month had passed when he appeared. Now I couldn't resist myself but ask him only about the truth, "You can't be him. So just tell me who are you and where is my brother. I can't take more of this." To my surprise, he was not surprised by my question. He very peacefully said, "I knew you won't believe me and it is obvious. I know you must have tried hard to look for the truth. But believe me I am your brother and I am not lying." To this, I showed him the message I had received and asked him about the call. He was surprised too. He said, "I had thrown my phone at the front of my girlfriend' house before I left. Actually she was the reason I left home. When my business failed and I was in pain, I went to her. But instead of consolidating, she ditched me because I was not earning. I was both angry and broken so I threw my phone at her house and left immediately. She must have taken out the SIM and she must have texted you. And about call, I had called the person who helped me return home. "
I believed him as it seemed true to me at that point of time when I couldn't find anything else to believe on.
We lived happily for months after that. Everything was going smooth until one day when I received another text, "He is lying. This isn't me. Don't believe him"... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | There was a knock on my front door. I stopped pouring a pile of chips on my plate and glanced at the wooden door that was visible from my kitchen. I wasn't expecting a package or anything today so I decided to ignore the knock. Afterall it was lunchtime and my ham sandwich was looking pretty tasty.
As I picked up a chip to pop into my mouth, there was yet another knock. This time it sounded more demanding like whoever was at the door knew I was home. I grimaced knowing I had to answer the door otherwise the person wouldn't leave.
Abandoning my lunch in the kitchen, I walked over to the front door as another knock sounded. Out of habit I peeked through the peephole in the door, and nearly gasped in shock. My hands flew to the doorknob, quickly unlocking it and twisting it open. The door swung open revealing a man.
The man standing there had bright blue eyes that matched my own. His face was lightly freckled and his lips were upturned in a smile. The man looked like my older brother who went missing 5 years ago when I was 16 and he was 19. He looked the same as my brother did years ago when he disappeared. Well, apart from the fact his face was slightly more mature from aging. He even had a faint scar on his forehead that matched the one my brother got from falling in the bathtub as a kid. The man had to be my brother, he had to be.
Tears started to fill my eyes, "Ryan?" I whispered hoping for a certain answer.
"Heya ankle-biter," He replied with outstretched arms. It was the nickname he had for me. It was really him.
I hugged him tightly, "Where have you been? Do Mom and Dad know you're back? Did you get kidnapped?"
Ryan pulled away from our hug and chuckled, "Whoa slow down. How about I tell you about it inside?" He gestured to the inside of my house.
"Y-yeah," I composed myself, wiping a few tears off of my face, "Come in."
"I never thought you would cry over me. I thought I was 'annoying as hell'." He walked in hands in the pockets of his jeans looking around my home.
"Oh I'm pretty sure you're still annoying as hell," I laughed walking to my kitchen, "Want anything to eat while we talk? I was just gonna have lunch,"
"Sure! I haven't eaten anything today,"
"Help yourself to anything in the fridge,"
My brother opened the refrigerator and started looking through it. I smiled grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite out of it.
My parents would probably want to know that Ryan was safe. In fact they would be overjoyed that he was back. I took out my phone ready to call them and saw a notification. It was from Ryan.
It read, "That's not me."
I swallowed a piece of my sandwich, it feeling very dry as it went down my throat. My eyes left my phone screen and looked at the man that was in my kitchen. This had to be a joke.
"Y'know our dog, Georgie, really missed you. He would sit at the front door almost everyday waiting you to come home. I bet he's gonna be so excited to see you." I said with a smile. We never owned a dog named Georgie. We never even owned a dog at all since Dad was allergic to them.
Ryan froze and turned around to face me. He seemed slightly confused. Maybe it was he caught my mistake-
His confusion turned to glee, "I can't wait to see Georgie again."
My heart sank. "Ryan" seemed to notice that something was off and walked over to me asking "Something wrong, Charlotte?"
"No, I'm fine," I gave him a fake smile.
He frowned and stepped closer to me, "Are you sure?"
"I actually need to use the restroom..." I stood up quickly and started towards my bathroom. "Ryan" grabbed my arm roughly. I winced in pain, "Let go of me Ryan..."
"That bastard told you didn't he?" "Ryan" said coldly. His grip tighten on my arm to the point I was afraid it was going to snap.
"What are you talking about?" I cried out, "Ryan let go of me please!" I tried wiggling of my arm out of his grip which was useless. So I gave him a kick in the crotch, hoping that the pain would make him release his grip.
"Ryan" inhaled sharply but he kept his hand around my arm, "Heh...you gotta try harder than that sweetheart. I admire the effort, human."
"Human?" I yelped still trying desperately to escape. I threw punches at him with my free hand. It did nothing to him, it was like if a baby punched the Hulk.
He smirked as his skin started to bubble. It seemed to boil like it was water. My blood turned to ice as I watched him breathlessly. His skin melted off his face falling to the carpet as a tan sludge. The skin on the hand that was holding me slipped off my arm feeling like slime. It was sickening. I gagged at the feeling.
The creature lifted his free hand reaching towards my face. It was leathery and wrinkled reminding me of the skin on a shrunken head. I turned my head away from it trying to get as possible from it, "Stop!" I yelled out knowing that he wouldn't listen.
The hand gripped my chin forcing me to look at the creature's face, "Aren't I handsome, dear?"
The creature was far from handsome. The skin on its face matched the skin on its hand. The skin stretched tightly on its head, allowing me to see every detail on its skull. There was no skin around its mouth revealing its sharpen teeth that were almost comically large. Two slits above its mouth were its nose. The creature had no eyelids allowing for its eyeballs to stare deeply into my own. The eyes were the size of tennis balls with no pupils present. They were just white with blood vessels that looked like a road map.
I opened my mouth to scream but I didn't make a sound. The creature laughed loudly, "How pitiful. Your brother tried so hard to keep us apart...isn't that horrible? Now that we're together...you're gonna make me one powerful being"
Suddenly the creature screeched in pain. An arrow was in its chest with a black liquid dripping off of it. Without a second thought I pulled my arm free from the creature stumbling backwards in shock. My arm was aching with pain but at least I was free.
Not wanting to take any chances I bolted towards the door. I was stopped by someone jumping in front of me. It was my brother, this time my real brother. He looked more rough around the edges than the imposter did. He's definitely been through a lot the past five years.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner," He said out of breath probably from running to my home, "Let's get the hell out of here. We've got a lot to talk about."
(This is my first post. I tried my best lol) | That isn't me".
I was filled with emotions, I couldn't believe on the text even if I wanted to. I welcomed him in and let him rest for some time. Mom wasn't at home so I called her; overjoyed, she hurried to home.
I was looking at him, he seemed exhausted. He had dirt on his body, his clothes were filthy, long and untidy hairs, overgrown beard, it was clear that he was struggling with life. I couldn't decide upon an emotion, I was happy, worried, anxious, muddled, all at the same time. It was strange. He resonated completely with my brother, he acted same, but still there was doubt.
Mom arrived, "where is he? how is he? is he okay?", she bombarded me with questions. I took her to the room, he was still sleeping. She had tears in her eyes, seeing his condition. It was difficult to tell her about text, but it was important.
"Mom is it you? I missed you so much", he woke up seeing her. I couldn't tell her about the text, it was better to wait.Mom hugged her.
He was feeling hungry, so we had lunch then. His eating habits were same as my brother, still there was doubt.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you tell us anything? How did you managed to survive?", Mom asked.
"After my business failed, I was shattered, I had no direction. I wanted solitude to find some direction, so I went in the mountains, up in the north. I was clueless, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was I wanted to get out of here and go far away.
There I met few sadhus in deep meditation, I joined them. I survived on fruits and food donated by locals. I had spent all my time there, living a life of sadhu. But now I was exhausted, I wanted to return and spend rest of my life with you two".
"We missed you so much. Police had searched you for months but we found no trace. But now promise that you won't go again".
" I promise, Mom".
While a conversation was going on between him and Mom, I called her girlfriend back then because she wast last whom my brother had talked with and she might definitely knew something we didn't know.
"My brother has returned today", I told her. Hearing this, she kept the phone and came to meet him. When arrived, she was really happy, but soon her happiness turned into neutrality. She didn't even talked to him; she just saw him from outside of room and then headed back to her house. On asking, she said, "This can't be him, he is just a look-alike" and then ran out-of-door.
I was now loosing my mind. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I hadn't seen my Mom that happy in years and if I would have told her truth about him then her heart would have broken. On the other hand there was a person living in my house claiming to be my brother and I didn't even know if he was actually my brother.
At this point, all I could do was to keep silence and just see what was happening.
Days Passed. It was like normal, there was nothing to doubt about. He was behaving like my brother, my mom was refreshed. But I was trying to get some clue about him. I was in doubt and so I was behaving peculiar around him.
I tried calling on my brother's old number but it was switched off. I tried to find some numbers of locals where he had gone but that too in vain. But after two weeks passed by, I got my first clue. I saw him calling someone from landline and heard him saying something like don't worry everything is going well and no one doubted on me. After he was done, I tried calling on that number again but this time, it was off. I noted the number and managed to find details of the owner of number. The call was made from the area of where he said he ran away.
The only option I was left with was to go find the truth there only. So I headed there, saying that I was going for some office work abroad. I reached there but the vibe was unusual there. It was like something had happened there. I asked locals, showing the picture of my brother but no one cared to say anything. After enquiring for two days, I had to return. I couldn't find anything yet.
A month had passed when he appeared. Now I couldn't resist myself but ask him only about the truth, "You can't be him. So just tell me who are you and where is my brother. I can't take more of this." To my surprise, he was not surprised by my question. He very peacefully said, "I knew you won't believe me and it is obvious. I know you must have tried hard to look for the truth. But believe me I am your brother and I am not lying." To this, I showed him the message I had received and asked him about the call. He was surprised too. He said, "I had thrown my phone at the front of my girlfriend' house before I left. Actually she was the reason I left home. When my business failed and I was in pain, I went to her. But instead of consolidating, she ditched me because I was not earning. I was both angry and broken so I threw my phone at her house and left immediately. She must have taken out the SIM and she must have texted you. And about call, I had called the person who helped me return home. "
I believed him as it seemed true to me at that point of time when I couldn't find anything else to believe on.
We lived happily for months after that. Everything was going smooth until one day when I received another text, "He is lying. This isn't me. Don't believe him"... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | A knock on the door sends my dog into a frenzy. I put down the thermos I was holding and after checking the security camera, dart to the door and open it.
I Fling myself into the arms of the person waiting there, not even letting them say hello. My brother, my brother who had been missing for the last five years of my life was standing,smiling and hugging me back.
He was quite taller than me now, with the beginnings of a beard and a silly smile. He did look quite thin though, and I could see dark circles under his eyes.
"Come on in?" I asked, pulling away from him. Now that the pure joy of seeing him had worn of, I actually was quite mad. He'd gone off the maps for years, no one knew where he was, note even his girlfriend, and now he just shows back up? He'd acting like everything is fine, despite everyone and everything he left behind.
"Sure." My brother said with shrug.
As he stepped beside me, I felt a slight buzz from my back pocket. I pulled my phone out, glancing down on the screen. A text from my brothers old phone....?
**>That's not me.**
I felt a shiver run up my spine. Was this a joke? Did he just text me from inside? I'm confused, and scared. I'm startled out of my spiral of thoughts by my dog, Freya. She rushes past me, tail in between her legs. What happened? She's never acted like this before.
"Jake?" I call into the house. "Did you scare her, what happened?" The poor pup is cowering by a bush, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes.
No response.
I looked into my foyer, "Jake?"
My phone was buzzing like wild now, but that was the least of my problems.
I was a bit more worried about the demonic creature in my living room. | That isn't me".
I was filled with emotions, I couldn't believe on the text even if I wanted to. I welcomed him in and let him rest for some time. Mom wasn't at home so I called her; overjoyed, she hurried to home.
I was looking at him, he seemed exhausted. He had dirt on his body, his clothes were filthy, long and untidy hairs, overgrown beard, it was clear that he was struggling with life. I couldn't decide upon an emotion, I was happy, worried, anxious, muddled, all at the same time. It was strange. He resonated completely with my brother, he acted same, but still there was doubt.
Mom arrived, "where is he? how is he? is he okay?", she bombarded me with questions. I took her to the room, he was still sleeping. She had tears in her eyes, seeing his condition. It was difficult to tell her about text, but it was important.
"Mom is it you? I missed you so much", he woke up seeing her. I couldn't tell her about the text, it was better to wait.Mom hugged her.
He was feeling hungry, so we had lunch then. His eating habits were same as my brother, still there was doubt.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you tell us anything? How did you managed to survive?", Mom asked.
"After my business failed, I was shattered, I had no direction. I wanted solitude to find some direction, so I went in the mountains, up in the north. I was clueless, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was I wanted to get out of here and go far away.
There I met few sadhus in deep meditation, I joined them. I survived on fruits and food donated by locals. I had spent all my time there, living a life of sadhu. But now I was exhausted, I wanted to return and spend rest of my life with you two".
"We missed you so much. Police had searched you for months but we found no trace. But now promise that you won't go again".
" I promise, Mom".
While a conversation was going on between him and Mom, I called her girlfriend back then because she wast last whom my brother had talked with and she might definitely knew something we didn't know.
"My brother has returned today", I told her. Hearing this, she kept the phone and came to meet him. When arrived, she was really happy, but soon her happiness turned into neutrality. She didn't even talked to him; she just saw him from outside of room and then headed back to her house. On asking, she said, "This can't be him, he is just a look-alike" and then ran out-of-door.
I was now loosing my mind. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I hadn't seen my Mom that happy in years and if I would have told her truth about him then her heart would have broken. On the other hand there was a person living in my house claiming to be my brother and I didn't even know if he was actually my brother.
At this point, all I could do was to keep silence and just see what was happening.
Days Passed. It was like normal, there was nothing to doubt about. He was behaving like my brother, my mom was refreshed. But I was trying to get some clue about him. I was in doubt and so I was behaving peculiar around him.
I tried calling on my brother's old number but it was switched off. I tried to find some numbers of locals where he had gone but that too in vain. But after two weeks passed by, I got my first clue. I saw him calling someone from landline and heard him saying something like don't worry everything is going well and no one doubted on me. After he was done, I tried calling on that number again but this time, it was off. I noted the number and managed to find details of the owner of number. The call was made from the area of where he said he ran away.
The only option I was left with was to go find the truth there only. So I headed there, saying that I was going for some office work abroad. I reached there but the vibe was unusual there. It was like something had happened there. I asked locals, showing the picture of my brother but no one cared to say anything. After enquiring for two days, I had to return. I couldn't find anything yet.
A month had passed when he appeared. Now I couldn't resist myself but ask him only about the truth, "You can't be him. So just tell me who are you and where is my brother. I can't take more of this." To my surprise, he was not surprised by my question. He very peacefully said, "I knew you won't believe me and it is obvious. I know you must have tried hard to look for the truth. But believe me I am your brother and I am not lying." To this, I showed him the message I had received and asked him about the call. He was surprised too. He said, "I had thrown my phone at the front of my girlfriend' house before I left. Actually she was the reason I left home. When my business failed and I was in pain, I went to her. But instead of consolidating, she ditched me because I was not earning. I was both angry and broken so I threw my phone at her house and left immediately. She must have taken out the SIM and she must have texted you. And about call, I had called the person who helped me return home. "
I believed him as it seemed true to me at that point of time when I couldn't find anything else to believe on.
We lived happily for months after that. Everything was going smooth until one day when I received another text, "He is lying. This isn't me. Don't believe him"... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | See, I always knew my brothers disappearance was suspicious. But no one listens to a 'little kid', even if that kid knew the disappeared better than anyone. But one look at his room that day and I knew. My brother hadn't gone willingly. It was the fishbowl, you see. It had been knocked on its side. The only thing inside it was a fish shaped cat toy, that crinkled in the tail and smelled like catnip. But he wouldn't have left it on its side. It was a tradition, running joke, whatever you want to call it, that fish and bowl.
Then he showed up again. 9 years later. I was the same age he had been, 17, 2 weeks after my birthday. Just like him. He was so...casual about it. "Hey, kid." With that grin I missed so much, but more tired, a little lopsided. "Sorry it took me so long. But I'm back now." He hugged me before I could react. And I was so tired from all the stress of the last 9 years that I hugged back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Out of habit I checked it immediately. It was from my brother. The one currently hugging me. *Thats not me -B*
Swallowing nervously I pulled back from the hug. "So, Ben, where have you been?"
He ran a hand through his hair, "It's a long story, Lou."
"Come inside and have something to drink. We've got all night." He followed me inside and closed the door behind him.
"Where's mom and dad?"
The question nearly froze me in my tracks. Ben would haven't have asked that so casually. "Well, things have changed a lot since you...left." I didn't want him, whoever he was, to know I knew my brother had been taken. "Mom and dad went through with the divorce they were always holding over each other's heads. Dad moved out to the country, you know how he is. And mom and I stayed here." I was in the kitchen filling up two glasses of water. Imposter-Ben had stopped in front of the little used calendar, which mom had marked my birthday on so she wouldn't forget. She had anyway. "Mom is out, either on a date or with friends. Either way she won't be home till late."
"Happy late birthday." He mumbled to me. "How old?"
I pushed down the hurt that he wouldn't know. My phone buzzed again. *I'm sorry. Keep distracting him.* "Seventeen."
"Ah, right." I handed him a cup and we moved to the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. "I see you still have the fish." He gestured to the aquarium I'd been maintaining for the last few years.
I laughed, "Yeah, they're all named Crinkle Butt."
Imposter-Ben laughed too, but it was the laugh of someone who didn't get the joke. My heart fell when I heard it and knew the text message hadn't been lying. This wasn't my brother.
"So," I said, trying to force cheerfulness back into my voice, "You gonna tell me what you've been up to?"
He stood up, setting his still-full water cup on the side table. "I can show you." He grinned again, that not quite right, lopsided smile. "It'd be a lot easier." He reached a hand down to me. And part of me wanted to take it. Maybe if I followed I could find the truth.
A loud crash sounded from the back door and glass rained down from it. "LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!!" With an ear ringing zap, a beam of light shot from the kitchen to the living room, hitting Imposter-Ben squarely in the jaw. He toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk and the face that looked like my brother's began to melt off of him.
Ben came running to the couch. "Hey, Lou. Long time no see." The grin was there, perfect again.
"BENJAMIN ARNOLD! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I pointed at the puddle of face that was already being soaked up by the carpet.
"Eh...I'll get a clean-up crew out here?"
"You better!" I tried to glare at him, but it was all too much and before I knew it, he was holding me while I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hey, look!" He tapped my shoulder, and spoke in the same tone he used to distract me when I was little. He pointed to the aquarium, his face lighting up, "Crinkle Butts!" | That isn't me".
I was filled with emotions, I couldn't believe on the text even if I wanted to. I welcomed him in and let him rest for some time. Mom wasn't at home so I called her; overjoyed, she hurried to home.
I was looking at him, he seemed exhausted. He had dirt on his body, his clothes were filthy, long and untidy hairs, overgrown beard, it was clear that he was struggling with life. I couldn't decide upon an emotion, I was happy, worried, anxious, muddled, all at the same time. It was strange. He resonated completely with my brother, he acted same, but still there was doubt.
Mom arrived, "where is he? how is he? is he okay?", she bombarded me with questions. I took her to the room, he was still sleeping. She had tears in her eyes, seeing his condition. It was difficult to tell her about text, but it was important.
"Mom is it you? I missed you so much", he woke up seeing her. I couldn't tell her about the text, it was better to wait.Mom hugged her.
He was feeling hungry, so we had lunch then. His eating habits were same as my brother, still there was doubt.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you tell us anything? How did you managed to survive?", Mom asked.
"After my business failed, I was shattered, I had no direction. I wanted solitude to find some direction, so I went in the mountains, up in the north. I was clueless, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was I wanted to get out of here and go far away.
There I met few sadhus in deep meditation, I joined them. I survived on fruits and food donated by locals. I had spent all my time there, living a life of sadhu. But now I was exhausted, I wanted to return and spend rest of my life with you two".
"We missed you so much. Police had searched you for months but we found no trace. But now promise that you won't go again".
" I promise, Mom".
While a conversation was going on between him and Mom, I called her girlfriend back then because she wast last whom my brother had talked with and she might definitely knew something we didn't know.
"My brother has returned today", I told her. Hearing this, she kept the phone and came to meet him. When arrived, she was really happy, but soon her happiness turned into neutrality. She didn't even talked to him; she just saw him from outside of room and then headed back to her house. On asking, she said, "This can't be him, he is just a look-alike" and then ran out-of-door.
I was now loosing my mind. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I hadn't seen my Mom that happy in years and if I would have told her truth about him then her heart would have broken. On the other hand there was a person living in my house claiming to be my brother and I didn't even know if he was actually my brother.
At this point, all I could do was to keep silence and just see what was happening.
Days Passed. It was like normal, there was nothing to doubt about. He was behaving like my brother, my mom was refreshed. But I was trying to get some clue about him. I was in doubt and so I was behaving peculiar around him.
I tried calling on my brother's old number but it was switched off. I tried to find some numbers of locals where he had gone but that too in vain. But after two weeks passed by, I got my first clue. I saw him calling someone from landline and heard him saying something like don't worry everything is going well and no one doubted on me. After he was done, I tried calling on that number again but this time, it was off. I noted the number and managed to find details of the owner of number. The call was made from the area of where he said he ran away.
The only option I was left with was to go find the truth there only. So I headed there, saying that I was going for some office work abroad. I reached there but the vibe was unusual there. It was like something had happened there. I asked locals, showing the picture of my brother but no one cared to say anything. After enquiring for two days, I had to return. I couldn't find anything yet.
A month had passed when he appeared. Now I couldn't resist myself but ask him only about the truth, "You can't be him. So just tell me who are you and where is my brother. I can't take more of this." To my surprise, he was not surprised by my question. He very peacefully said, "I knew you won't believe me and it is obvious. I know you must have tried hard to look for the truth. But believe me I am your brother and I am not lying." To this, I showed him the message I had received and asked him about the call. He was surprised too. He said, "I had thrown my phone at the front of my girlfriend' house before I left. Actually she was the reason I left home. When my business failed and I was in pain, I went to her. But instead of consolidating, she ditched me because I was not earning. I was both angry and broken so I threw my phone at her house and left immediately. She must have taken out the SIM and she must have texted you. And about call, I had called the person who helped me return home. "
I believed him as it seemed true to me at that point of time when I couldn't find anything else to believe on.
We lived happily for months after that. Everything was going smooth until one day when I received another text, "He is lying. This isn't me. Don't believe him"... | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | A knock on the door sends my dog into a frenzy. I put down the thermos I was holding and after checking the security camera, dart to the door and open it.
I Fling myself into the arms of the person waiting there, not even letting them say hello. My brother, my brother who had been missing for the last five years of my life was standing,smiling and hugging me back.
He was quite taller than me now, with the beginnings of a beard and a silly smile. He did look quite thin though, and I could see dark circles under his eyes.
"Come on in?" I asked, pulling away from him. Now that the pure joy of seeing him had worn of, I actually was quite mad. He'd gone off the maps for years, no one knew where he was, note even his girlfriend, and now he just shows back up? He'd acting like everything is fine, despite everyone and everything he left behind.
"Sure." My brother said with shrug.
As he stepped beside me, I felt a slight buzz from my back pocket. I pulled my phone out, glancing down on the screen. A text from my brothers old phone....?
**>That's not me.**
I felt a shiver run up my spine. Was this a joke? Did he just text me from inside? I'm confused, and scared. I'm startled out of my spiral of thoughts by my dog, Freya. She rushes past me, tail in between her legs. What happened? She's never acted like this before.
"Jake?" I call into the house. "Did you scare her, what happened?" The poor pup is cowering by a bush, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes.
No response.
I looked into my foyer, "Jake?"
My phone was buzzing like wild now, but that was the least of my problems.
I was a bit more worried about the demonic creature in my living room. | The day was like any other. My routine the same. Except today is different. I’m more sad than usual, for today is the day of my brothers death. The day that he disappeared. The day that we called the police, searched for him, and never found him. That’s why when I opened the door to see my older brother standing there with the same posture he always stood in, the same shining blue eyes, and dark brown hair, I froze in my tracks. A message arrives on my phone but I’m far to distracted to even look. Instead, I could feel the tears falling down my face and I wanted so much to make them stop. I haven’t cried I heard, not since the day he disappeared. I had pretended to be fine, to show I was strong. This way mom and dad didn’t have to worry about me too. That’s also why the moment I felt that tear fall down my face, the door was slammed shut. I try to sort out all of the thoughts in my head. The ones that were saying, “this isn’t possible.” “He’s supposed to be dead.” But the ones that are the most loud are the ones desperately hoping that it’s really him. The ones hoping that he’s okay, alive. The ones hoping it not just randomly hallucinating my dead older brother. Then a knock on the door is heard. Slowly I reopen it. Relief is written all over my brothers face. I feel a buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it. My brother is far more important than whoever is still trying to contact me. “I’m back.” He says to me. “Finally, I’m back. I’m so sorry I left you alone all this time! I’m so, so sorry.” And at that moment the both of us immediately go to hug eachother. I can feel my phone buzzing even more. I go to open up the phone, but then I don’t. A small part of me thinks that if I do my brother will be gone, and so, I don’t. More messages come in as I walk my brother to the kitchen. We sit on the old dinning room table, meant for 4, that mom and dad had given me. Looking at it I feel even more pain. This was the table that we sat at to have every meal, just the three of us. The three of us who no longer talked, who just for some reason never cared anymore, for their son and my brother was gone. It was like life no longer had meaning. Like my brother was the only one holding us all together. A part of me felt resentful of my brother. Anger, but I never let it show. And now that I see him again, all those feelings vanish. For I too am relieved that he is hear. The messages on my phone seem to keep on coming and so I tell my brother that I need to go to the bathroom. For some reason a part of me feels ashamed for wanting to talk to someone else instead of him at this moment. When I open the bathroom door I take my phone out of my pocket. I have over 50 messages by now. A lot of them saying my name. Most of them saying to answer. I scroll o the top and as I read the first message aloud that says, “that isn’t me.” A loud noise like what if imagine a gunshot to sound like rings in my ear. A small whole shines through the bathroom door. And a blue eye looks through it. Just then another message comes in. In 3 big letter words it spells out, “RUN.” | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | *That isn't me.*
Hmm. There were two possibilities. Either the man hugging her was an imposter, or the person texting was. Choices, choices. Hmm.
She hugged the man claiming to be her brother back. "It's been six years," she sniffed.
"I know."
"You missed my graduation!"
"I know." He patted her back.
"You missed my *wedding*!" Another sniff.
"I'm sorry."
"You weren't even there to help me bury him."
"I'm--wait, what?"
She grinned. *Gotcha fake.* She pulled back, still sniffling. "He was *cheating* on me," she explained.
Another text came in and she surreptitiously glanced at the screen. *Don't do anything until I get there.*
Aw. Don't worry, big sister's got this covered. The day she can't handle a wannabe was the day she turned in her license as a big sister. "With his *boss*!" she wailed.
She saw the panic in the impostor's eyes a split second before he hugged her close again, heart racing so quickly she could hear it through her sniffles.
By the time her actual brother arrived, the imposter was standing on a chair, cleaning the light bulbs in her living room. He looked at his sister, then looked at the imposter who looked at him sadly and mouthed, "Help me."
Her brother sighed. "I don't know why I was worried," he confessed.
She walked over to him and smacked the back of his head. "Because you've been gone for *six years* and forgot who I am," she informed him. | The day was like any other. My routine the same. Except today is different. I’m more sad than usual, for today is the day of my brothers death. The day that he disappeared. The day that we called the police, searched for him, and never found him. That’s why when I opened the door to see my older brother standing there with the same posture he always stood in, the same shining blue eyes, and dark brown hair, I froze in my tracks. A message arrives on my phone but I’m far to distracted to even look. Instead, I could feel the tears falling down my face and I wanted so much to make them stop. I haven’t cried I heard, not since the day he disappeared. I had pretended to be fine, to show I was strong. This way mom and dad didn’t have to worry about me too. That’s also why the moment I felt that tear fall down my face, the door was slammed shut. I try to sort out all of the thoughts in my head. The ones that were saying, “this isn’t possible.” “He’s supposed to be dead.” But the ones that are the most loud are the ones desperately hoping that it’s really him. The ones hoping that he’s okay, alive. The ones hoping it not just randomly hallucinating my dead older brother. Then a knock on the door is heard. Slowly I reopen it. Relief is written all over my brothers face. I feel a buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it. My brother is far more important than whoever is still trying to contact me. “I’m back.” He says to me. “Finally, I’m back. I’m so sorry I left you alone all this time! I’m so, so sorry.” And at that moment the both of us immediately go to hug eachother. I can feel my phone buzzing even more. I go to open up the phone, but then I don’t. A small part of me thinks that if I do my brother will be gone, and so, I don’t. More messages come in as I walk my brother to the kitchen. We sit on the old dinning room table, meant for 4, that mom and dad had given me. Looking at it I feel even more pain. This was the table that we sat at to have every meal, just the three of us. The three of us who no longer talked, who just for some reason never cared anymore, for their son and my brother was gone. It was like life no longer had meaning. Like my brother was the only one holding us all together. A part of me felt resentful of my brother. Anger, but I never let it show. And now that I see him again, all those feelings vanish. For I too am relieved that he is hear. The messages on my phone seem to keep on coming and so I tell my brother that I need to go to the bathroom. For some reason a part of me feels ashamed for wanting to talk to someone else instead of him at this moment. When I open the bathroom door I take my phone out of my pocket. I have over 50 messages by now. A lot of them saying my name. Most of them saying to answer. I scroll o the top and as I read the first message aloud that says, “that isn’t me.” A loud noise like what if imagine a gunshot to sound like rings in my ear. A small whole shines through the bathroom door. And a blue eye looks through it. Just then another message comes in. In 3 big letter words it spells out, “RUN.” | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | See, I always knew my brothers disappearance was suspicious. But no one listens to a 'little kid', even if that kid knew the disappeared better than anyone. But one look at his room that day and I knew. My brother hadn't gone willingly. It was the fishbowl, you see. It had been knocked on its side. The only thing inside it was a fish shaped cat toy, that crinkled in the tail and smelled like catnip. But he wouldn't have left it on its side. It was a tradition, running joke, whatever you want to call it, that fish and bowl.
Then he showed up again. 9 years later. I was the same age he had been, 17, 2 weeks after my birthday. Just like him. He was so...casual about it. "Hey, kid." With that grin I missed so much, but more tired, a little lopsided. "Sorry it took me so long. But I'm back now." He hugged me before I could react. And I was so tired from all the stress of the last 9 years that I hugged back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Out of habit I checked it immediately. It was from my brother. The one currently hugging me. *Thats not me -B*
Swallowing nervously I pulled back from the hug. "So, Ben, where have you been?"
He ran a hand through his hair, "It's a long story, Lou."
"Come inside and have something to drink. We've got all night." He followed me inside and closed the door behind him.
"Where's mom and dad?"
The question nearly froze me in my tracks. Ben would haven't have asked that so casually. "Well, things have changed a lot since you...left." I didn't want him, whoever he was, to know I knew my brother had been taken. "Mom and dad went through with the divorce they were always holding over each other's heads. Dad moved out to the country, you know how he is. And mom and I stayed here." I was in the kitchen filling up two glasses of water. Imposter-Ben had stopped in front of the little used calendar, which mom had marked my birthday on so she wouldn't forget. She had anyway. "Mom is out, either on a date or with friends. Either way she won't be home till late."
"Happy late birthday." He mumbled to me. "How old?"
I pushed down the hurt that he wouldn't know. My phone buzzed again. *I'm sorry. Keep distracting him.* "Seventeen."
"Ah, right." I handed him a cup and we moved to the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. "I see you still have the fish." He gestured to the aquarium I'd been maintaining for the last few years.
I laughed, "Yeah, they're all named Crinkle Butt."
Imposter-Ben laughed too, but it was the laugh of someone who didn't get the joke. My heart fell when I heard it and knew the text message hadn't been lying. This wasn't my brother.
"So," I said, trying to force cheerfulness back into my voice, "You gonna tell me what you've been up to?"
He stood up, setting his still-full water cup on the side table. "I can show you." He grinned again, that not quite right, lopsided smile. "It'd be a lot easier." He reached a hand down to me. And part of me wanted to take it. Maybe if I followed I could find the truth.
A loud crash sounded from the back door and glass rained down from it. "LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!!" With an ear ringing zap, a beam of light shot from the kitchen to the living room, hitting Imposter-Ben squarely in the jaw. He toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk and the face that looked like my brother's began to melt off of him.
Ben came running to the couch. "Hey, Lou. Long time no see." The grin was there, perfect again.
"BENJAMIN ARNOLD! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I pointed at the puddle of face that was already being soaked up by the carpet.
"Eh...I'll get a clean-up crew out here?"
"You better!" I tried to glare at him, but it was all too much and before I knew it, he was holding me while I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hey, look!" He tapped my shoulder, and spoke in the same tone he used to distract me when I was little. He pointed to the aquarium, his face lighting up, "Crinkle Butts!" | The day was like any other. My routine the same. Except today is different. I’m more sad than usual, for today is the day of my brothers death. The day that he disappeared. The day that we called the police, searched for him, and never found him. That’s why when I opened the door to see my older brother standing there with the same posture he always stood in, the same shining blue eyes, and dark brown hair, I froze in my tracks. A message arrives on my phone but I’m far to distracted to even look. Instead, I could feel the tears falling down my face and I wanted so much to make them stop. I haven’t cried I heard, not since the day he disappeared. I had pretended to be fine, to show I was strong. This way mom and dad didn’t have to worry about me too. That’s also why the moment I felt that tear fall down my face, the door was slammed shut. I try to sort out all of the thoughts in my head. The ones that were saying, “this isn’t possible.” “He’s supposed to be dead.” But the ones that are the most loud are the ones desperately hoping that it’s really him. The ones hoping that he’s okay, alive. The ones hoping it not just randomly hallucinating my dead older brother. Then a knock on the door is heard. Slowly I reopen it. Relief is written all over my brothers face. I feel a buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it. My brother is far more important than whoever is still trying to contact me. “I’m back.” He says to me. “Finally, I’m back. I’m so sorry I left you alone all this time! I’m so, so sorry.” And at that moment the both of us immediately go to hug eachother. I can feel my phone buzzing even more. I go to open up the phone, but then I don’t. A small part of me thinks that if I do my brother will be gone, and so, I don’t. More messages come in as I walk my brother to the kitchen. We sit on the old dinning room table, meant for 4, that mom and dad had given me. Looking at it I feel even more pain. This was the table that we sat at to have every meal, just the three of us. The three of us who no longer talked, who just for some reason never cared anymore, for their son and my brother was gone. It was like life no longer had meaning. Like my brother was the only one holding us all together. A part of me felt resentful of my brother. Anger, but I never let it show. And now that I see him again, all those feelings vanish. For I too am relieved that he is hear. The messages on my phone seem to keep on coming and so I tell my brother that I need to go to the bathroom. For some reason a part of me feels ashamed for wanting to talk to someone else instead of him at this moment. When I open the bathroom door I take my phone out of my pocket. I have over 50 messages by now. A lot of them saying my name. Most of them saying to answer. I scroll o the top and as I read the first message aloud that says, “that isn’t me.” A loud noise like what if imagine a gunshot to sound like rings in my ear. A small whole shines through the bathroom door. And a blue eye looks through it. Just then another message comes in. In 3 big letter words it spells out, “RUN.” | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | "So, can I come in?" He asked.
"No."
"Wait, Lindsay!"
I slam the door shut and press my back against it, ignoring the pounding outside.
"Lindsay! Open up! Please, I just want to talk to you!"
The hammering of my heart fills my ears, drowning my "brother's" voice. I close my eyes as I slide down to the floor. I don't understand what's going on. Who is that man? Why is he pretending to be my brother?
There's a buzzing in my pocket. I pull out my phone and read the incoming text, *don't trust him*.
*Who is this?* I text back.
No response.
If only Mom were home. She'd know what to do. But she isn't home, and I don't know where she was. She received a text and then sprinted out of the house. I got a text from her later letting me know she'd be home soon. I wish she was here now.
"Lindsay!"
I squeeze my eyes shut, covering my hands with my ears. I was too young to remember much of my brother, Charlie, except that I loved him so much. He used to play with me--whatever I wanted. We'd dress as princesses and have tea together. Dad was furious when we did that. He strictly forbade it, so the game turned into a secret. It was more exciting this way, Charlie would say, and I believed him. I remember how broadly he smiled when he'd sip his tea, his pinky high in the air, like it was supposed to be. And I remember how small the tiara looked in his nest of unruly brown curls. The same curls as the man outside... But I know he can't be my brother.
Charlie is gone.
It's the reason Mom took me away from Dad. She said Dad took Charlie away from her, so it was only right that she took me away from him.
Another buzz. *It's me, Charlie.*
Immediately, I throw my phone across the room. More lies! Why? Why was this happening? And why now?
I pull my knees into my chest, curling into a ball. Charlie is gone. I know he is. He's gone, and this is just some sort of sick game. Maybe it's Dad's sick game. Mom said he was sick, too sick to be cured by doctors.
Suddenly, the pounding stops. I can hear my ragged breath, deafening in the new silence. Can he hear it too?
"Princess Charlene would like to request an audience with Princess Ponytail."
I freeze, my blood running cold.
It wasn't possible. Charlie was gone ... But no one else knew our secret code names. Not even Mom. Charlie had been adamant that it remain secret. It was life or death, he'd said.
I untangle myself from the floor and peek through the glass window over the door. The likeness is uncanny. He's older, so much older, but he has the same unruly curls and honey eyes. He notices me, and smiles. There's the chip in his front tooth from when Dad pushed his head against the table. Mom screamed for hours.
Although my brain screams at me not to, I crack open the door. "How do you know that?"
"It's me, Ponytail, I promise."
Hearing my nickname stirs something within me. He sounds just like Charlie, and I always believed him. I can't explain why, but I believe him now.
I step back, opening the door, and he enters. He's so much taller now. I always thought he was tall, but now he towers over me. His smile is gentle, the same warm, lopsided grin I remember.
The questions wrestle in my mind, each of them fighting to be asked first. But there's one that burns brighter than the others.
"Charlie," I say.
"Hm?"
Wordlessly, I lead him downstairs into the basement. His brows furrow, the only indication of his nerves. We pause, and with a grunt, I lift open the freezer door. Inside is a boy with the same unruly nest of curls.
"If you're Charlie, then who is he?" | The day was like any other. My routine the same. Except today is different. I’m more sad than usual, for today is the day of my brothers death. The day that he disappeared. The day that we called the police, searched for him, and never found him. That’s why when I opened the door to see my older brother standing there with the same posture he always stood in, the same shining blue eyes, and dark brown hair, I froze in my tracks. A message arrives on my phone but I’m far to distracted to even look. Instead, I could feel the tears falling down my face and I wanted so much to make them stop. I haven’t cried I heard, not since the day he disappeared. I had pretended to be fine, to show I was strong. This way mom and dad didn’t have to worry about me too. That’s also why the moment I felt that tear fall down my face, the door was slammed shut. I try to sort out all of the thoughts in my head. The ones that were saying, “this isn’t possible.” “He’s supposed to be dead.” But the ones that are the most loud are the ones desperately hoping that it’s really him. The ones hoping that he’s okay, alive. The ones hoping it not just randomly hallucinating my dead older brother. Then a knock on the door is heard. Slowly I reopen it. Relief is written all over my brothers face. I feel a buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it. My brother is far more important than whoever is still trying to contact me. “I’m back.” He says to me. “Finally, I’m back. I’m so sorry I left you alone all this time! I’m so, so sorry.” And at that moment the both of us immediately go to hug eachother. I can feel my phone buzzing even more. I go to open up the phone, but then I don’t. A small part of me thinks that if I do my brother will be gone, and so, I don’t. More messages come in as I walk my brother to the kitchen. We sit on the old dinning room table, meant for 4, that mom and dad had given me. Looking at it I feel even more pain. This was the table that we sat at to have every meal, just the three of us. The three of us who no longer talked, who just for some reason never cared anymore, for their son and my brother was gone. It was like life no longer had meaning. Like my brother was the only one holding us all together. A part of me felt resentful of my brother. Anger, but I never let it show. And now that I see him again, all those feelings vanish. For I too am relieved that he is hear. The messages on my phone seem to keep on coming and so I tell my brother that I need to go to the bathroom. For some reason a part of me feels ashamed for wanting to talk to someone else instead of him at this moment. When I open the bathroom door I take my phone out of my pocket. I have over 50 messages by now. A lot of them saying my name. Most of them saying to answer. I scroll o the top and as I read the first message aloud that says, “that isn’t me.” A loud noise like what if imagine a gunshot to sound like rings in my ear. A small whole shines through the bathroom door. And a blue eye looks through it. Just then another message comes in. In 3 big letter words it spells out, “RUN.” | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | *That isn't me.*
Hmm. There were two possibilities. Either the man hugging her was an imposter, or the person texting was. Choices, choices. Hmm.
She hugged the man claiming to be her brother back. "It's been six years," she sniffed.
"I know."
"You missed my graduation!"
"I know." He patted her back.
"You missed my *wedding*!" Another sniff.
"I'm sorry."
"You weren't even there to help me bury him."
"I'm--wait, what?"
She grinned. *Gotcha fake.* She pulled back, still sniffling. "He was *cheating* on me," she explained.
Another text came in and she surreptitiously glanced at the screen. *Don't do anything until I get there.*
Aw. Don't worry, big sister's got this covered. The day she can't handle a wannabe was the day she turned in her license as a big sister. "With his *boss*!" she wailed.
She saw the panic in the impostor's eyes a split second before he hugged her close again, heart racing so quickly she could hear it through her sniffles.
By the time her actual brother arrived, the imposter was standing on a chair, cleaning the light bulbs in her living room. He looked at his sister, then looked at the imposter who looked at him sadly and mouthed, "Help me."
Her brother sighed. "I don't know why I was worried," he confessed.
She walked over to him and smacked the back of his head. "Because you've been gone for *six years* and forgot who I am," she informed him. | [That isn't me.]
A text, that's bizzarre. I looked up, meeting his smiling, familiar face. I checked the message once more before sighing. I put my phone back into my pocket. "Brother, come in!" I exclaimed, taking his hands and leading him inside. For a split second his smile turned into something- nasty, yes, that's the right word.
"Would you want some drinks? Your favorite juice, perhaps?"
He replied with a curt nod, I smiled. "Alright, sit down first. I promise I'll be quick." I walked to the kitchen. In the way, I took out my phone and replied to the latest message. A quick [I know.] and the number was blocked. I casted aside my phone, right now, my focus is the juice.
I took out some tomatoes, a carrot, cabbages, all his favorite things. Sugar, he likes his juice sweet and a little pinch of black pepper to enhance the taste. Oh, how can I forgot the cheese and dried tuna? Ah and love, that's important. He loves them., that would be a wonderful addition. Chopped into huge chunks, and then I just put them all into the blender. Served into a jug, the juice is done.
Smiling was my face the entire time, I serve the drink to him. He looked at me in disbelief, I replied with a soft "Enjoy, drink ahead. I make it all just for you."
He seemed hesitant, but drank it ahead. "It... tastes strange. What's in it— wait." He vomited, coughed- lines of curses escaped from his mouth. From afar, I heard the door barged open. It's brother, he's running to here. His face dripping with sweat, eyes frantically looking around.
He looked the imposter and groaned. "God, I'm too late." I chuckled. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | See, I always knew my brothers disappearance was suspicious. But no one listens to a 'little kid', even if that kid knew the disappeared better than anyone. But one look at his room that day and I knew. My brother hadn't gone willingly. It was the fishbowl, you see. It had been knocked on its side. The only thing inside it was a fish shaped cat toy, that crinkled in the tail and smelled like catnip. But he wouldn't have left it on its side. It was a tradition, running joke, whatever you want to call it, that fish and bowl.
Then he showed up again. 9 years later. I was the same age he had been, 17, 2 weeks after my birthday. Just like him. He was so...casual about it. "Hey, kid." With that grin I missed so much, but more tired, a little lopsided. "Sorry it took me so long. But I'm back now." He hugged me before I could react. And I was so tired from all the stress of the last 9 years that I hugged back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Out of habit I checked it immediately. It was from my brother. The one currently hugging me. *Thats not me -B*
Swallowing nervously I pulled back from the hug. "So, Ben, where have you been?"
He ran a hand through his hair, "It's a long story, Lou."
"Come inside and have something to drink. We've got all night." He followed me inside and closed the door behind him.
"Where's mom and dad?"
The question nearly froze me in my tracks. Ben would haven't have asked that so casually. "Well, things have changed a lot since you...left." I didn't want him, whoever he was, to know I knew my brother had been taken. "Mom and dad went through with the divorce they were always holding over each other's heads. Dad moved out to the country, you know how he is. And mom and I stayed here." I was in the kitchen filling up two glasses of water. Imposter-Ben had stopped in front of the little used calendar, which mom had marked my birthday on so she wouldn't forget. She had anyway. "Mom is out, either on a date or with friends. Either way she won't be home till late."
"Happy late birthday." He mumbled to me. "How old?"
I pushed down the hurt that he wouldn't know. My phone buzzed again. *I'm sorry. Keep distracting him.* "Seventeen."
"Ah, right." I handed him a cup and we moved to the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. "I see you still have the fish." He gestured to the aquarium I'd been maintaining for the last few years.
I laughed, "Yeah, they're all named Crinkle Butt."
Imposter-Ben laughed too, but it was the laugh of someone who didn't get the joke. My heart fell when I heard it and knew the text message hadn't been lying. This wasn't my brother.
"So," I said, trying to force cheerfulness back into my voice, "You gonna tell me what you've been up to?"
He stood up, setting his still-full water cup on the side table. "I can show you." He grinned again, that not quite right, lopsided smile. "It'd be a lot easier." He reached a hand down to me. And part of me wanted to take it. Maybe if I followed I could find the truth.
A loud crash sounded from the back door and glass rained down from it. "LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!!" With an ear ringing zap, a beam of light shot from the kitchen to the living room, hitting Imposter-Ben squarely in the jaw. He toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk and the face that looked like my brother's began to melt off of him.
Ben came running to the couch. "Hey, Lou. Long time no see." The grin was there, perfect again.
"BENJAMIN ARNOLD! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I pointed at the puddle of face that was already being soaked up by the carpet.
"Eh...I'll get a clean-up crew out here?"
"You better!" I tried to glare at him, but it was all too much and before I knew it, he was holding me while I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hey, look!" He tapped my shoulder, and spoke in the same tone he used to distract me when I was little. He pointed to the aquarium, his face lighting up, "Crinkle Butts!" | [That isn't me.]
A text, that's bizzarre. I looked up, meeting his smiling, familiar face. I checked the message once more before sighing. I put my phone back into my pocket. "Brother, come in!" I exclaimed, taking his hands and leading him inside. For a split second his smile turned into something- nasty, yes, that's the right word.
"Would you want some drinks? Your favorite juice, perhaps?"
He replied with a curt nod, I smiled. "Alright, sit down first. I promise I'll be quick." I walked to the kitchen. In the way, I took out my phone and replied to the latest message. A quick [I know.] and the number was blocked. I casted aside my phone, right now, my focus is the juice.
I took out some tomatoes, a carrot, cabbages, all his favorite things. Sugar, he likes his juice sweet and a little pinch of black pepper to enhance the taste. Oh, how can I forgot the cheese and dried tuna? Ah and love, that's important. He loves them., that would be a wonderful addition. Chopped into huge chunks, and then I just put them all into the blender. Served into a jug, the juice is done.
Smiling was my face the entire time, I serve the drink to him. He looked at me in disbelief, I replied with a soft "Enjoy, drink ahead. I make it all just for you."
He seemed hesitant, but drank it ahead. "It... tastes strange. What's in it— wait." He vomited, coughed- lines of curses escaped from his mouth. From afar, I heard the door barged open. It's brother, he's running to here. His face dripping with sweat, eyes frantically looking around.
He looked the imposter and groaned. "God, I'm too late." I chuckled. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | The warmth of my small cramped apartment washed over me as I stepped in, out of the cold winter night. It had been another long day working the DeFranco murder case. My mind was running over the interviews I had with the families as I unholstered my Sig Sauer and set it on my cluttered kitchen counter.
"Empty" I said to myself looking into the fridge.
I grabbed a cold beer and swiped open my Iphone to pull up Uber Eats when a knock at the door stopped me in my tracks.
Making my way over to the door I couldn't help notice the hairs on my neck raised. Something felt wrong and as an NYPD Detective I learned to trust my instincts a long time ago. Another series of knocks hounded the door, harder this time.
"Alright!" I said aloud, "I heard you the first time."
I cracked the door peering out and my mouth went dry upon seeing who it was.
"Dave! It's me, Tommy." the stranger said, "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!"
Before me was a man who looked like my brother, taller than me by a few inches and the same crooked nose my brother had from when he broke it in a fight he jumped in to save me from bullies back in 5th grade. Before me was a man that had been missing for 10 years.
"Are you gonna let me in?" He smiled.
"Sorry Tommy," I swung the door open and embraced him.
"Where the fuck have you been, Have you seen Ma?" Questions poured out from me.
"I haven't stopped by yet since I got back." Tommy looked around the small apartment, "You got anything to eat?"
"No, I was about to order a pizza you want one?"
"Sounds perfect I'm starved"
"There's beer in the fridge, Help yourself!"
I switched open my phone pulling up the app when my phone buzzed. A text, from Tommy's old number. "That isn't me."
My palms felt clammy as my stomach flipped. I read the text again and looked at the man rummaging through my fridge.
I thought back to the search parties and the posters, Missing 16 year old, I was 13. I joined the force out of college hoping to find him and he came to me, or did he. I felt lightheaded, as I went to the counter. My phone buzzed with rapid fire texts coming in.
"Tommy, you have to tell me what happened." I stammered.
"Actually Dave, I was hoping you could tell me what you have on the DeFranco case."
I could hear my heart beat as I realized my trusty Sig wasn't on the counter where I placed it. When I looked over to Tommy I saw the barrel pointed directly at me.
"Put the phone down David."
Edit: tried to make it easier to read with more spaces between conversation
First post be gentile :) | [That isn't me.]
A text, that's bizzarre. I looked up, meeting his smiling, familiar face. I checked the message once more before sighing. I put my phone back into my pocket. "Brother, come in!" I exclaimed, taking his hands and leading him inside. For a split second his smile turned into something- nasty, yes, that's the right word.
"Would you want some drinks? Your favorite juice, perhaps?"
He replied with a curt nod, I smiled. "Alright, sit down first. I promise I'll be quick." I walked to the kitchen. In the way, I took out my phone and replied to the latest message. A quick [I know.] and the number was blocked. I casted aside my phone, right now, my focus is the juice.
I took out some tomatoes, a carrot, cabbages, all his favorite things. Sugar, he likes his juice sweet and a little pinch of black pepper to enhance the taste. Oh, how can I forgot the cheese and dried tuna? Ah and love, that's important. He loves them., that would be a wonderful addition. Chopped into huge chunks, and then I just put them all into the blender. Served into a jug, the juice is done.
Smiling was my face the entire time, I serve the drink to him. He looked at me in disbelief, I replied with a soft "Enjoy, drink ahead. I make it all just for you."
He seemed hesitant, but drank it ahead. "It... tastes strange. What's in it— wait." He vomited, coughed- lines of curses escaped from his mouth. From afar, I heard the door barged open. It's brother, he's running to here. His face dripping with sweat, eyes frantically looking around.
He looked the imposter and groaned. "God, I'm too late." I chuckled. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | "So, can I come in?" He asked.
"No."
"Wait, Lindsay!"
I slam the door shut and press my back against it, ignoring the pounding outside.
"Lindsay! Open up! Please, I just want to talk to you!"
The hammering of my heart fills my ears, drowning my "brother's" voice. I close my eyes as I slide down to the floor. I don't understand what's going on. Who is that man? Why is he pretending to be my brother?
There's a buzzing in my pocket. I pull out my phone and read the incoming text, *don't trust him*.
*Who is this?* I text back.
No response.
If only Mom were home. She'd know what to do. But she isn't home, and I don't know where she was. She received a text and then sprinted out of the house. I got a text from her later letting me know she'd be home soon. I wish she was here now.
"Lindsay!"
I squeeze my eyes shut, covering my hands with my ears. I was too young to remember much of my brother, Charlie, except that I loved him so much. He used to play with me--whatever I wanted. We'd dress as princesses and have tea together. Dad was furious when we did that. He strictly forbade it, so the game turned into a secret. It was more exciting this way, Charlie would say, and I believed him. I remember how broadly he smiled when he'd sip his tea, his pinky high in the air, like it was supposed to be. And I remember how small the tiara looked in his nest of unruly brown curls. The same curls as the man outside... But I know he can't be my brother.
Charlie is gone.
It's the reason Mom took me away from Dad. She said Dad took Charlie away from her, so it was only right that she took me away from him.
Another buzz. *It's me, Charlie.*
Immediately, I throw my phone across the room. More lies! Why? Why was this happening? And why now?
I pull my knees into my chest, curling into a ball. Charlie is gone. I know he is. He's gone, and this is just some sort of sick game. Maybe it's Dad's sick game. Mom said he was sick, too sick to be cured by doctors.
Suddenly, the pounding stops. I can hear my ragged breath, deafening in the new silence. Can he hear it too?
"Princess Charlene would like to request an audience with Princess Ponytail."
I freeze, my blood running cold.
It wasn't possible. Charlie was gone ... But no one else knew our secret code names. Not even Mom. Charlie had been adamant that it remain secret. It was life or death, he'd said.
I untangle myself from the floor and peek through the glass window over the door. The likeness is uncanny. He's older, so much older, but he has the same unruly curls and honey eyes. He notices me, and smiles. There's the chip in his front tooth from when Dad pushed his head against the table. Mom screamed for hours.
Although my brain screams at me not to, I crack open the door. "How do you know that?"
"It's me, Ponytail, I promise."
Hearing my nickname stirs something within me. He sounds just like Charlie, and I always believed him. I can't explain why, but I believe him now.
I step back, opening the door, and he enters. He's so much taller now. I always thought he was tall, but now he towers over me. His smile is gentle, the same warm, lopsided grin I remember.
The questions wrestle in my mind, each of them fighting to be asked first. But there's one that burns brighter than the others.
"Charlie," I say.
"Hm?"
Wordlessly, I lead him downstairs into the basement. His brows furrow, the only indication of his nerves. We pause, and with a grunt, I lift open the freezer door. Inside is a boy with the same unruly nest of curls.
"If you're Charlie, then who is he?" | [That isn't me.]
A text, that's bizzarre. I looked up, meeting his smiling, familiar face. I checked the message once more before sighing. I put my phone back into my pocket. "Brother, come in!" I exclaimed, taking his hands and leading him inside. For a split second his smile turned into something- nasty, yes, that's the right word.
"Would you want some drinks? Your favorite juice, perhaps?"
He replied with a curt nod, I smiled. "Alright, sit down first. I promise I'll be quick." I walked to the kitchen. In the way, I took out my phone and replied to the latest message. A quick [I know.] and the number was blocked. I casted aside my phone, right now, my focus is the juice.
I took out some tomatoes, a carrot, cabbages, all his favorite things. Sugar, he likes his juice sweet and a little pinch of black pepper to enhance the taste. Oh, how can I forgot the cheese and dried tuna? Ah and love, that's important. He loves them., that would be a wonderful addition. Chopped into huge chunks, and then I just put them all into the blender. Served into a jug, the juice is done.
Smiling was my face the entire time, I serve the drink to him. He looked at me in disbelief, I replied with a soft "Enjoy, drink ahead. I make it all just for you."
He seemed hesitant, but drank it ahead. "It... tastes strange. What's in it— wait." He vomited, coughed- lines of curses escaped from his mouth. From afar, I heard the door barged open. It's brother, he's running to here. His face dripping with sweat, eyes frantically looking around.
He looked the imposter and groaned. "God, I'm too late." I chuckled. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | See, I always knew my brothers disappearance was suspicious. But no one listens to a 'little kid', even if that kid knew the disappeared better than anyone. But one look at his room that day and I knew. My brother hadn't gone willingly. It was the fishbowl, you see. It had been knocked on its side. The only thing inside it was a fish shaped cat toy, that crinkled in the tail and smelled like catnip. But he wouldn't have left it on its side. It was a tradition, running joke, whatever you want to call it, that fish and bowl.
Then he showed up again. 9 years later. I was the same age he had been, 17, 2 weeks after my birthday. Just like him. He was so...casual about it. "Hey, kid." With that grin I missed so much, but more tired, a little lopsided. "Sorry it took me so long. But I'm back now." He hugged me before I could react. And I was so tired from all the stress of the last 9 years that I hugged back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Out of habit I checked it immediately. It was from my brother. The one currently hugging me. *Thats not me -B*
Swallowing nervously I pulled back from the hug. "So, Ben, where have you been?"
He ran a hand through his hair, "It's a long story, Lou."
"Come inside and have something to drink. We've got all night." He followed me inside and closed the door behind him.
"Where's mom and dad?"
The question nearly froze me in my tracks. Ben would haven't have asked that so casually. "Well, things have changed a lot since you...left." I didn't want him, whoever he was, to know I knew my brother had been taken. "Mom and dad went through with the divorce they were always holding over each other's heads. Dad moved out to the country, you know how he is. And mom and I stayed here." I was in the kitchen filling up two glasses of water. Imposter-Ben had stopped in front of the little used calendar, which mom had marked my birthday on so she wouldn't forget. She had anyway. "Mom is out, either on a date or with friends. Either way she won't be home till late."
"Happy late birthday." He mumbled to me. "How old?"
I pushed down the hurt that he wouldn't know. My phone buzzed again. *I'm sorry. Keep distracting him.* "Seventeen."
"Ah, right." I handed him a cup and we moved to the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. "I see you still have the fish." He gestured to the aquarium I'd been maintaining for the last few years.
I laughed, "Yeah, they're all named Crinkle Butt."
Imposter-Ben laughed too, but it was the laugh of someone who didn't get the joke. My heart fell when I heard it and knew the text message hadn't been lying. This wasn't my brother.
"So," I said, trying to force cheerfulness back into my voice, "You gonna tell me what you've been up to?"
He stood up, setting his still-full water cup on the side table. "I can show you." He grinned again, that not quite right, lopsided smile. "It'd be a lot easier." He reached a hand down to me. And part of me wanted to take it. Maybe if I followed I could find the truth.
A loud crash sounded from the back door and glass rained down from it. "LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!!" With an ear ringing zap, a beam of light shot from the kitchen to the living room, hitting Imposter-Ben squarely in the jaw. He toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk and the face that looked like my brother's began to melt off of him.
Ben came running to the couch. "Hey, Lou. Long time no see." The grin was there, perfect again.
"BENJAMIN ARNOLD! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I pointed at the puddle of face that was already being soaked up by the carpet.
"Eh...I'll get a clean-up crew out here?"
"You better!" I tried to glare at him, but it was all too much and before I knew it, he was holding me while I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hey, look!" He tapped my shoulder, and spoke in the same tone he used to distract me when I was little. He pointed to the aquarium, his face lighting up, "Crinkle Butts!" | *That isn't me.*
Hmm. There were two possibilities. Either the man hugging her was an imposter, or the person texting was. Choices, choices. Hmm.
She hugged the man claiming to be her brother back. "It's been six years," she sniffed.
"I know."
"You missed my graduation!"
"I know." He patted her back.
"You missed my *wedding*!" Another sniff.
"I'm sorry."
"You weren't even there to help me bury him."
"I'm--wait, what?"
She grinned. *Gotcha fake.* She pulled back, still sniffling. "He was *cheating* on me," she explained.
Another text came in and she surreptitiously glanced at the screen. *Don't do anything until I get there.*
Aw. Don't worry, big sister's got this covered. The day she can't handle a wannabe was the day she turned in her license as a big sister. "With his *boss*!" she wailed.
She saw the panic in the impostor's eyes a split second before he hugged her close again, heart racing so quickly she could hear it through her sniffles.
By the time her actual brother arrived, the imposter was standing on a chair, cleaning the light bulbs in her living room. He looked at his sister, then looked at the imposter who looked at him sadly and mouthed, "Help me."
Her brother sighed. "I don't know why I was worried," he confessed.
She walked over to him and smacked the back of his head. "Because you've been gone for *six years* and forgot who I am," she informed him. | |
[WP] Your older brother has been missing for years. You hear a knock on the door, and you open it to reveal a man that looks like your brother would be at this point. "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!" He hugs you immediately. Just then, you get a text from your brother's old number. "That isn't me." | "So, can I come in?" He asked.
"No."
"Wait, Lindsay!"
I slam the door shut and press my back against it, ignoring the pounding outside.
"Lindsay! Open up! Please, I just want to talk to you!"
The hammering of my heart fills my ears, drowning my "brother's" voice. I close my eyes as I slide down to the floor. I don't understand what's going on. Who is that man? Why is he pretending to be my brother?
There's a buzzing in my pocket. I pull out my phone and read the incoming text, *don't trust him*.
*Who is this?* I text back.
No response.
If only Mom were home. She'd know what to do. But she isn't home, and I don't know where she was. She received a text and then sprinted out of the house. I got a text from her later letting me know she'd be home soon. I wish she was here now.
"Lindsay!"
I squeeze my eyes shut, covering my hands with my ears. I was too young to remember much of my brother, Charlie, except that I loved him so much. He used to play with me--whatever I wanted. We'd dress as princesses and have tea together. Dad was furious when we did that. He strictly forbade it, so the game turned into a secret. It was more exciting this way, Charlie would say, and I believed him. I remember how broadly he smiled when he'd sip his tea, his pinky high in the air, like it was supposed to be. And I remember how small the tiara looked in his nest of unruly brown curls. The same curls as the man outside... But I know he can't be my brother.
Charlie is gone.
It's the reason Mom took me away from Dad. She said Dad took Charlie away from her, so it was only right that she took me away from him.
Another buzz. *It's me, Charlie.*
Immediately, I throw my phone across the room. More lies! Why? Why was this happening? And why now?
I pull my knees into my chest, curling into a ball. Charlie is gone. I know he is. He's gone, and this is just some sort of sick game. Maybe it's Dad's sick game. Mom said he was sick, too sick to be cured by doctors.
Suddenly, the pounding stops. I can hear my ragged breath, deafening in the new silence. Can he hear it too?
"Princess Charlene would like to request an audience with Princess Ponytail."
I freeze, my blood running cold.
It wasn't possible. Charlie was gone ... But no one else knew our secret code names. Not even Mom. Charlie had been adamant that it remain secret. It was life or death, he'd said.
I untangle myself from the floor and peek through the glass window over the door. The likeness is uncanny. He's older, so much older, but he has the same unruly curls and honey eyes. He notices me, and smiles. There's the chip in his front tooth from when Dad pushed his head against the table. Mom screamed for hours.
Although my brain screams at me not to, I crack open the door. "How do you know that?"
"It's me, Ponytail, I promise."
Hearing my nickname stirs something within me. He sounds just like Charlie, and I always believed him. I can't explain why, but I believe him now.
I step back, opening the door, and he enters. He's so much taller now. I always thought he was tall, but now he towers over me. His smile is gentle, the same warm, lopsided grin I remember.
The questions wrestle in my mind, each of them fighting to be asked first. But there's one that burns brighter than the others.
"Charlie," I say.
"Hm?"
Wordlessly, I lead him downstairs into the basement. His brows furrow, the only indication of his nerves. We pause, and with a grunt, I lift open the freezer door. Inside is a boy with the same unruly nest of curls.
"If you're Charlie, then who is he?" | The warmth of my small cramped apartment washed over me as I stepped in, out of the cold winter night. It had been another long day working the DeFranco murder case. My mind was running over the interviews I had with the families as I unholstered my Sig Sauer and set it on my cluttered kitchen counter.
"Empty" I said to myself looking into the fridge.
I grabbed a cold beer and swiped open my Iphone to pull up Uber Eats when a knock at the door stopped me in my tracks.
Making my way over to the door I couldn't help notice the hairs on my neck raised. Something felt wrong and as an NYPD Detective I learned to trust my instincts a long time ago. Another series of knocks hounded the door, harder this time.
"Alright!" I said aloud, "I heard you the first time."
I cracked the door peering out and my mouth went dry upon seeing who it was.
"Dave! It's me, Tommy." the stranger said, "I'm back man! I'm so sorry!"
Before me was a man who looked like my brother, taller than me by a few inches and the same crooked nose my brother had from when he broke it in a fight he jumped in to save me from bullies back in 5th grade. Before me was a man that had been missing for 10 years.
"Are you gonna let me in?" He smiled.
"Sorry Tommy," I swung the door open and embraced him.
"Where the fuck have you been, Have you seen Ma?" Questions poured out from me.
"I haven't stopped by yet since I got back." Tommy looked around the small apartment, "You got anything to eat?"
"No, I was about to order a pizza you want one?"
"Sounds perfect I'm starved"
"There's beer in the fridge, Help yourself!"
I switched open my phone pulling up the app when my phone buzzed. A text, from Tommy's old number. "That isn't me."
My palms felt clammy as my stomach flipped. I read the text again and looked at the man rummaging through my fridge.
I thought back to the search parties and the posters, Missing 16 year old, I was 13. I joined the force out of college hoping to find him and he came to me, or did he. I felt lightheaded, as I went to the counter. My phone buzzed with rapid fire texts coming in.
"Tommy, you have to tell me what happened." I stammered.
"Actually Dave, I was hoping you could tell me what you have on the DeFranco case."
I could hear my heart beat as I realized my trusty Sig wasn't on the counter where I placed it. When I looked over to Tommy I saw the barrel pointed directly at me.
"Put the phone down David."
Edit: tried to make it easier to read with more spaces between conversation
First post be gentile :) | |
[WP] The universe has had a 10,000 year running show called "Earth". This is the last season. | EDIT: fixed spacing between paragraphs.
When "Earth" was first announced, everyone complained about its short lenght. Only 10,000 years? Beings in this day and age usually need much more time to become engaged to anything, let alone a documentary series. But the producers argued it would help it feel like a real time event since the series spans the exact same amount of 10,000 years. And even tough "real time" it's a weird expression to use nowadays, the complaining stopped.
There was also a lot of polemic regarding the content itself. Why Earth? Nobody is no longer attached to that planet. We didn't even save it from the recent expansion of the "Sun" (its star) though it would have taken next to no effort to teleport it somewhere else. This time the creators responded by saying the point of the series was to appreciate this forgotten world. Again, the harsh criticism stopped.
And as soon as it started, we were all amazed.
The series events begin at 7000 BC and end around AD 3000, give or take a few centuries. It starts slowly with a nice contemplative feel, and soon develops into a rapid, unstable, chaotic mess. But we all know that, especially after the crazy last season. Hominids surely did develop fast compared to most other species in the universe. This is probably because of their more social nature, which is very highlighted during the series, so much that some are now thinking they should be classified in the hive mind civilization cathegory.
The filming and techniques used are also a wonder. Type C time travel, new generation subatomic data collectors and interactive experiences are just a few of the innovations of the series.
But the true reason of the success of "Earth" is the connection we felt with the species. While it's now impossible for us to understand these hominids and relate to them, they are still our far ancestors. The series made us all recover our interest in them. Some even wanted to revive them, but in the end we decided it would not be fair to make them live in a much harsher universe than the one they were used to.
At this moment, a new series is being filmed. It will encompass all the events from right after the ending of "Earth" to the beginning of the Void Transcendence. The so called Human Middle Age. We expect an even crazier season with a much more intelligent and deliberate society. And as the lifespan of the hominids increases we hope to have enough time to become affectionate to some of the famous individuals from that time.
"Earth" was an unexpected surprise, but it's still a seed. All the foundation is now ready for "Milky Way". | "It just feels like they had a bunch of plot lines they wanted to do but forgot about all of them until now," Moe said to no one in particular as he turned on his TV and plopped down on the couch. He had been watching "Earth" pretty much every night since he was five years old. He just found it fascinating. It felt like some kind of weird social experiment where they took as many different kinds of humans as they possibly could and put them all in the same spot. That would never work, would it? Every TV writer knows that in real life humans are located on a wide variety of planets.
But somehow, it was entertaining. Moe's all-time favorite story arc was the one involving the Stephen Hawking character. He loved the message of hope and persevering against all odds while uncovering secrets of science along the way. He was also surprised at the accuracy of some of the science they discussed on the show. He had no idea who the writers were consulting with or what kind of research they had done.
Ultimately, Moe thought it was a pretty good show for the first 250 seasons he had watched or so. Some tension, some humor, a wide variety of characters. But now, it was just going off the rails. A geopolitical conflict plot, a natural disaster plot, a celebrity death plot, a global pandemic plot, multiple civil unrest plots, and a US presidential election plot? All in the same season? It was too much. The "Earth" aftershow had shifted from its usual three episodes per week to five just to keep up with everything.
"Should I give up on this thing?" Moe thought to himself. It was beginning to take a toll on him, and he knew it. The "Some Good News" subplot was fun for a little while, but that could only go so far. Was he becoming too invested in all the negativity?
No. Well, yes. Well, sort of. Yes, he may have been overly invested. But he was overly invested in all of it. The positivity, the negativity, the neutral. He'd actually grown to like that ragtag bunch of characters. All their greatness and all the flaws that made them human. They got into fights and made mistakes, sure, but there was so much good in so many of them. Moe found himself rooting for them far more often than not. All 7 billion of them, as well as the 7,000 or so main characters. He couldn't turn his back on them at this point. They were like real people to him anyway. He had to know how it ended.
"I'm in too deep at this point. Only about 160 more episodes to go," he muttered as the theme song played and the show started up. It looked like it was gonna be a Fauci-centric episode this week. | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | The door creaked open and light oozed into the room through a small crack. The entire entire room was covered in darkness except for the far table being illuminated by a lamp shining on desk. At the desk was a single individual.
The door was opened fully and the room was soon illuminated, the man at the desk didn’t react.
“Sir?” A voice said from the doorway. The entire room was covered in the scribblings of a mad man. Scraps of paper, post-it notes, white boards, pin boards. The walls, tables and even the floors were covered with illegible writings. Despite this, there was a common theme in all the scribbling if you looked hard enough. The date 31/07/40.
It had been 19 years and 300 days since those star ships emerged from the Atlantic. Those on the east coast at the time got front row seats. Other saw it when it was televised across the world. One of those watching that broadcast was a young child at the age of 12. They had left one message to humanity in their flight. “You have 20 years left. They are coming.”
It had been 18 years and 71 days since the submarines had discovered the labyrinth of unexplored cities presumably abandoned by the passengers of the starships. This young child, among millions of others, were glued to their televisions watching this whole situation unfold. A whole unknown civilisation, unexplored and mysterious, it intrigued the entire human race.
Across the years, this child’s obsession with those starships grew. All of humanity had watched them rise from the seas and float across the sky, slipping into the unknown, to a place beyond our eyesight and beyond our comprehension. The child would be glued to the television everyday, writing down everything he could see, researching on the internet, speaking with other people wanting to solve the mysteries of these spacecrafts.
While humanity still had this experience in their fresh memory, their interest began to falter due to the lack of new information. But this child, now an adult, had an interest that never failed. In fact, his obsession only grew as he got older. What especially made him intrigued was that final warning “20 years left”.
And soon he became the head of the research after his education. And this was when his obsession truly spiralled, people saw him outside less and less, sometimes people wouldn’t see him for weeks at a time. The only individual who truly interacted with the scientist was his assistant, who tended to see him at least once a day. That day was no different, 19 years and 300 days after those ships emerged from the bottom of the ocean to flee some threat we didn’t know.
“20 years left”
“Sir?” The voice repeated, entering into the room. He was slumped over his desk, his assistant assumed he was sleeping and decided to rouse him, he tended to get angry if he was allowed to sleep more than 6 hours.
“Sir!” He shouted firmly, approaching his slumbered state. He was standing over him now, the scientist was lying still with his head in his folded arms on the table.
“Wake up.” He commanded to the unmoving body. He pushed at his shoulder, he was limp. He lifted his head up, a pair of eyes stared back at him. The assistant let out an exclamation of shock and stepped back, allowing his head to fall back into his arms. After regaining his composure he carefully lifted his former boss’ arms away and lifted his head once again. Those dead eyes stared back once more, he now knew for sure he was a dead. Suicide, he presumed, and the bottle of pills in his limp grip supported this theory.
“20 years left”
Then he noticed, under his face, was a note. He seized it and put the scientist’s head back on his arms. The note was folded over with the words “to my assistant.” Written on the front. Unfolding it he found the final words of a deadman:
“My obsession had brought me here, to this moment. Oh how I wish I hadn’t gone down this dark rabbit hole, a hole with no light on the other side. All of it. My research and my toiling hours had lead me to the same conclusion. Curse humanities’ wicked curiosity. It all lead me to the same place. Years of decoding and decrypting these glyphs and symbols on the walls. Scrawled across the labyrinth of a city at the bottom of the Atlantic by a fleeing race of unknown people. The message was clear and it all lead to this. Even writing this has become harrowing task. Alas, my own life will be gone 65 days before the rest of humanity and when you’re reading this I will be long dead. But all my research brought my to the same chilling end every time. For what this civilisation feared to the point of fleeing their homes was not another alien race coming to wipe us out, as many theorised, but it was the earth itself. Deep beneath the planet, within its core, a beast, a monster, a creature of beyond all paralysing fear. It sleeps. Sleeps for eons but it will awake soon. 20 years we had to avoid this doom, and now our lifespan is down to less than 100 days. Your chances of escape now are slim but I felt I must warn you. I will not be with you. My journey will end here as to not live with the burden of what I have discovered, details that I dare not even attempt to describe on this page. Fly. Fly now. Before it awakes. Or suffer the consequences of that demon beneath us all.” | Simeon floated outside the nearly complete habitation ring. His electric, vacuum-safe drill floated beside him. Doubling checking his latest plate seal, he radioed Control, “Confirm Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed.”
His radio whistled back, “Control confirm: Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed. Well done. Pack it up and come inside; spin will engage in one hour.”
“Roger that, Control.” He put the 0G Drill in his sack tethered to him and engaged a small air thruster in three three-second bursts. Following the curvature of the habitation ring, he would arrive at the airlock in ten minutes.
His last ten minutes in zero-g; maybe ever? Hopefully, they wouldn’t be. Hopefully, this would work. Hopefully, they would get away.
He remembered the day 7,298 days ago. He was fifteen, sitting on the beach in California, only thinking about how to get laid. Simeon sighed remembering that innocence, and how in a moment it was ripped away. All of a sudden, the ocean pulled back, falling away it seemed into itself. He was long gone by the time the tidal wave arrived. All before that, however, and not long after the sea swallowed itself up the ships were in the sky.
They had been huge. Impossibly large and impossibly effervescent. For the briefest time, they were the entire world in his mind. He, along with the millions of other people witnessing it, had been shocked, even their hind-minds that would usually be screaming to run away from the predator silenced by their enormity. And then they were gone.
Panic set in, as panic always does. Some claiming it was all fake or an US Air Force new secret floating airbase. It was all bullshit. Some of the world’s leading scientists were able to convene with the United Nations’ Security Council to get submarines dispatched to what they thought were the epicenters of the tidal waves - what they thought would have been the centers of the fourteen ships that had rose out the Pacific Ocean and left Earth.
There was no news at first. And the panic began to subside a little. Oddly enough, it was the Pope who had been a leading voice of calm. Guess the end of the world was what they had been preparing for. Then the video came out. The submarines had found beneath all the rubble and sand, a message etched into the bedrock in an isotopic radiation that sent alarms ringing on all the submarines (and eventually could be clearly read from satellites: "You have 20 years left. They are coming."
The panic doubled, tripled. Wars started, but no one really knew why. Chaos and lack of understanding bred the violence. Simeon’s parents worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, so they attempted to be a bit more rational, but even they hid in their cabin in the San Gabriel Wilderness. At least, they did until the NASA Director called. It was bigger than the message. They had found other symbols, and some old machines. Alien technology, and some of it they needed to reverse engineer. Quickly.
He remembered the video call. He could never forget. His father asked, “Why? Are they really coming? Who’s they?” He knew the Director wouldn’t have an answer to that last question, but he surprised them with the first.
“Because Russia and China are already working on machines they’ve recovered. POTUS doesn’t want to lose this race, especially if they have recovered any weapons.”
That seemed quaint, in retrospect. Simeon was passing over China now, and even after fourteen years Hainan was mostly a crater, and the shock wave from the exploding machine took out Hanoi, a large swath of South China and most of the Vietnamese coastline. Panic caused people to do stupid things.
Still, people doubted. There was conflicting information, fake news, propaganda that came out about every event, every new discovery. However, behind the scenes, his parents and others worked. They made amazing discoveries about gravity, recycling systems, cyrostasis, and other technologies that seemed to pour into the real world from science fiction. Fortunately, one of the first pieces of technology successfully reversed engineered (and Simeon thought the aliens left it on purpose since it was discovered within ten nautical miles of the message, was a telescope. A telescope that they let scientists see much more clearly into space, since it somehow compensated for light lensing and gravitational shift. His father once said it was more like the sensors Star Trek had than a telescope. When it was launched ten years ago, it confirmed the message, the warning. They were coming.
Their ships were even more massive; the size of continents. And at the rate they were moving, they would arrive in a decade. That was a decade ago. The ships had passed Saturn last month, slowing down it seemed. They would be approaching Mars and then soon, Earth. Energy signatures had been increasing. They were powering up something massive; something hostile. Simeon was almost back to the airlock.
In ten years, the world had come together. Mostly; there had been wars, of course. People panic. But the best of them had worked together across nations to build this ship. It was not continent-sized, but it the largest structure humanity had ever built: a generation ship, equipped with everything they could reserve engineer and design. It would hold 200,000 people, initially. It already had them on board, or waiting in the hundreds of ships suspended in the dark nearby. They would embark soon, into the dark, into the unknown, equipped with nothing more than this ship, their own ingenuity, and a hope — a hope that they could escape unnoticed.
Simeon was at the airlock; he punched in his code and the doors slide open after a moment. He was aboard. His parents were aboard. His wife was aboard. His daughter was aboard. They were taking to the stars, escaping whatever was going to happen. Bringing with them the best they could. The airlock was pressuring.
“Breathe,” Simeon told himself and spoke the mantra he had lived with for over half his life; the one that would keep humanity alive in the coming days, facing whoever or whatever came their way, “and try not to panic.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | John knew he couldn’t keep this secret for long. His crew held top secret clearances, but they had families at home too. Sooner or later, it would leak. His only concern was if he could get his wife and daughter off planet in the earliest groups. He could figure out everything else once he’d ensured their survival.
Sure enough, the crew was practically vibrating with news of the find, even though the ROV was piloted by only two men who were added to the Georgia’s crew just for this mission. Clearly, if a crew of less than 200 could not keep the secret from one another, he’d have to keep them quarantined when they got to the pier. Doc would help, he knew.
*“Virus.”*
Doc looked confused for longer than John expected, but with out a word he began to reach for the rarely used supplies hidden in his stateroom. *“What kind of virus should they think they have, Skipper?”*
*"Something novel – we can’t have them thinking it’s no big deal to send a letter of the boat. Full lockdown for seven days, I think that’s enough to get our intel through the right channels before any leaks."*
Doc set his shoulders, pulling out a small vial of liquid. As Doc stood to walk aft toward the water supply system, he told John *“I’ll leave the pills on your desk, take them twice a day and you’ll stay right as rain.”*
It was easier than John expected to trick his entire crew, after all the training in ethics and decision making at Newport. Thank goodness boats like his were given a more senior corpsman, Doc wasn’t really even a doctor. Let’s hope he keeps it all secret, thought John as he swallowed the first pill.
The crew went through motions, ready to surface at dawn and pull into their homeport as they’d done so many times before. The long transit meant more than one bridge team, and no one noticed at first that the XO had been topside longer than usual. When the cook went to refill the skipper’s coffee all hell broke loose. Slumped over his desk, the skipper’s pulse was erratic and his skin flushed red. Up the hatch, the XO heard the screaming as everyone looked for Doc to help.
Swimming away through the silty water, Doc shed his human form quickly. The panic, he knew, would help alert his people that the protectors of the deep were gone and the humans were ripe for the harvest. As his scales hardened along his spine and his tail strokes pushed him faster through the water, Doc licked his lips one last time…a few weeks after the salting he’d be back to snack on the rest of the crew. It really was quite nice of John to give him the idea to marinate his meals from the inside out. | Simeon floated outside the nearly complete habitation ring. His electric, vacuum-safe drill floated beside him. Doubling checking his latest plate seal, he radioed Control, “Confirm Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed.”
His radio whistled back, “Control confirm: Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed. Well done. Pack it up and come inside; spin will engage in one hour.”
“Roger that, Control.” He put the 0G Drill in his sack tethered to him and engaged a small air thruster in three three-second bursts. Following the curvature of the habitation ring, he would arrive at the airlock in ten minutes.
His last ten minutes in zero-g; maybe ever? Hopefully, they wouldn’t be. Hopefully, this would work. Hopefully, they would get away.
He remembered the day 7,298 days ago. He was fifteen, sitting on the beach in California, only thinking about how to get laid. Simeon sighed remembering that innocence, and how in a moment it was ripped away. All of a sudden, the ocean pulled back, falling away it seemed into itself. He was long gone by the time the tidal wave arrived. All before that, however, and not long after the sea swallowed itself up the ships were in the sky.
They had been huge. Impossibly large and impossibly effervescent. For the briefest time, they were the entire world in his mind. He, along with the millions of other people witnessing it, had been shocked, even their hind-minds that would usually be screaming to run away from the predator silenced by their enormity. And then they were gone.
Panic set in, as panic always does. Some claiming it was all fake or an US Air Force new secret floating airbase. It was all bullshit. Some of the world’s leading scientists were able to convene with the United Nations’ Security Council to get submarines dispatched to what they thought were the epicenters of the tidal waves - what they thought would have been the centers of the fourteen ships that had rose out the Pacific Ocean and left Earth.
There was no news at first. And the panic began to subside a little. Oddly enough, it was the Pope who had been a leading voice of calm. Guess the end of the world was what they had been preparing for. Then the video came out. The submarines had found beneath all the rubble and sand, a message etched into the bedrock in an isotopic radiation that sent alarms ringing on all the submarines (and eventually could be clearly read from satellites: "You have 20 years left. They are coming."
The panic doubled, tripled. Wars started, but no one really knew why. Chaos and lack of understanding bred the violence. Simeon’s parents worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, so they attempted to be a bit more rational, but even they hid in their cabin in the San Gabriel Wilderness. At least, they did until the NASA Director called. It was bigger than the message. They had found other symbols, and some old machines. Alien technology, and some of it they needed to reverse engineer. Quickly.
He remembered the video call. He could never forget. His father asked, “Why? Are they really coming? Who’s they?” He knew the Director wouldn’t have an answer to that last question, but he surprised them with the first.
“Because Russia and China are already working on machines they’ve recovered. POTUS doesn’t want to lose this race, especially if they have recovered any weapons.”
That seemed quaint, in retrospect. Simeon was passing over China now, and even after fourteen years Hainan was mostly a crater, and the shock wave from the exploding machine took out Hanoi, a large swath of South China and most of the Vietnamese coastline. Panic caused people to do stupid things.
Still, people doubted. There was conflicting information, fake news, propaganda that came out about every event, every new discovery. However, behind the scenes, his parents and others worked. They made amazing discoveries about gravity, recycling systems, cyrostasis, and other technologies that seemed to pour into the real world from science fiction. Fortunately, one of the first pieces of technology successfully reversed engineered (and Simeon thought the aliens left it on purpose since it was discovered within ten nautical miles of the message, was a telescope. A telescope that they let scientists see much more clearly into space, since it somehow compensated for light lensing and gravitational shift. His father once said it was more like the sensors Star Trek had than a telescope. When it was launched ten years ago, it confirmed the message, the warning. They were coming.
Their ships were even more massive; the size of continents. And at the rate they were moving, they would arrive in a decade. That was a decade ago. The ships had passed Saturn last month, slowing down it seemed. They would be approaching Mars and then soon, Earth. Energy signatures had been increasing. They were powering up something massive; something hostile. Simeon was almost back to the airlock.
In ten years, the world had come together. Mostly; there had been wars, of course. People panic. But the best of them had worked together across nations to build this ship. It was not continent-sized, but it the largest structure humanity had ever built: a generation ship, equipped with everything they could reserve engineer and design. It would hold 200,000 people, initially. It already had them on board, or waiting in the hundreds of ships suspended in the dark nearby. They would embark soon, into the dark, into the unknown, equipped with nothing more than this ship, their own ingenuity, and a hope — a hope that they could escape unnoticed.
Simeon was at the airlock; he punched in his code and the doors slide open after a moment. He was aboard. His parents were aboard. His wife was aboard. His daughter was aboard. They were taking to the stars, escaping whatever was going to happen. Bringing with them the best they could. The airlock was pressuring.
“Breathe,” Simeon told himself and spoke the mantra he had lived with for over half his life; the one that would keep humanity alive in the coming days, facing whoever or whatever came their way, “and try not to panic.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | You arrive out of one of the submarines, confused and annoyed by the message. All your years in the linguistic department deciphering thousands of buried texts in hundreds of unknown languages, this one written in plain English makes the vein in your head pop.
It is a thin line between comprehension and confusion and you are standing right on it. You wonder who is *they*? And why the deadline of 20 years?
You have seen the abandoned cities and the unknown launching stations. You understand that they hid deep in ocean trenches oblivious to the existence of humans. But you know they knew of your existence but never bothered to interact with your species.
You find out about their contribution to the Pyramids, the Stone Henge, the Taj Mahal, the Macchu Picchu. But they never wanted the credit for it. They experimented on working with humans a long time ago and they knew that your species wouldn't ever get over the unknowns enemies that we create among yourselves.
But they still leave you with a warning. A warning to prepare for something arriving in 20 years. Astrophysicists and astrobiologists get to work. Try to understand the message that you have found among the oceanic cities. They surveil the cosmos for anomalies ranging from radio waves to gravitational waves.
You wonder how did the oceanic people know about the threat. How could they have monitored for alien species coming to Earth form the darkest depths? They were advanced in every way possible, they used the geo-energy from ocean floors to power their civilizations, they built giant spacecrafts to carry them and a part of the ocean floor and water with them to survive, just as you would carry air. But you know for a fact that they didn't discover any new physics or chemistry. It is still the same laws but with advanced engineering. You estimate 200 years more advanced than yourselves.
And then it clicks. The ocean people never looked up. For you up is life and everything wonderous. But for them, it was the ocean floor. The energy, the life, the civilization depended on it. Just as you look up, they look down.
You run to scientists and world leaders. You tell them that you need to go back on a submarine mission. You plead that we are looking in the wrong direction. You get to sanctions one submarine to check out the abandoned civilization.
You reach the dark and bubbling hot waters full of architecture beyond your imagination. But you realize that nothing else remains. No life, no economy, and no science. But a skeleton without the nervous system. And that's when you see the skeleton twitch…
Your team loses control of its submarines. Your team can't control the machines anymore. You lose all forms of communication. Your submarines all choreographically move towards shipyard like structure.
And that's how you arrive here. Your new home. Your second home. Your second home until the first one implodes. And it will. In 20 years. Your linguistic doctorate fails you. It was no warning, it was a promise. | Simeon floated outside the nearly complete habitation ring. His electric, vacuum-safe drill floated beside him. Doubling checking his latest plate seal, he radioed Control, “Confirm Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed.”
His radio whistled back, “Control confirm: Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed. Well done. Pack it up and come inside; spin will engage in one hour.”
“Roger that, Control.” He put the 0G Drill in his sack tethered to him and engaged a small air thruster in three three-second bursts. Following the curvature of the habitation ring, he would arrive at the airlock in ten minutes.
His last ten minutes in zero-g; maybe ever? Hopefully, they wouldn’t be. Hopefully, this would work. Hopefully, they would get away.
He remembered the day 7,298 days ago. He was fifteen, sitting on the beach in California, only thinking about how to get laid. Simeon sighed remembering that innocence, and how in a moment it was ripped away. All of a sudden, the ocean pulled back, falling away it seemed into itself. He was long gone by the time the tidal wave arrived. All before that, however, and not long after the sea swallowed itself up the ships were in the sky.
They had been huge. Impossibly large and impossibly effervescent. For the briefest time, they were the entire world in his mind. He, along with the millions of other people witnessing it, had been shocked, even their hind-minds that would usually be screaming to run away from the predator silenced by their enormity. And then they were gone.
Panic set in, as panic always does. Some claiming it was all fake or an US Air Force new secret floating airbase. It was all bullshit. Some of the world’s leading scientists were able to convene with the United Nations’ Security Council to get submarines dispatched to what they thought were the epicenters of the tidal waves - what they thought would have been the centers of the fourteen ships that had rose out the Pacific Ocean and left Earth.
There was no news at first. And the panic began to subside a little. Oddly enough, it was the Pope who had been a leading voice of calm. Guess the end of the world was what they had been preparing for. Then the video came out. The submarines had found beneath all the rubble and sand, a message etched into the bedrock in an isotopic radiation that sent alarms ringing on all the submarines (and eventually could be clearly read from satellites: "You have 20 years left. They are coming."
The panic doubled, tripled. Wars started, but no one really knew why. Chaos and lack of understanding bred the violence. Simeon’s parents worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, so they attempted to be a bit more rational, but even they hid in their cabin in the San Gabriel Wilderness. At least, they did until the NASA Director called. It was bigger than the message. They had found other symbols, and some old machines. Alien technology, and some of it they needed to reverse engineer. Quickly.
He remembered the video call. He could never forget. His father asked, “Why? Are they really coming? Who’s they?” He knew the Director wouldn’t have an answer to that last question, but he surprised them with the first.
“Because Russia and China are already working on machines they’ve recovered. POTUS doesn’t want to lose this race, especially if they have recovered any weapons.”
That seemed quaint, in retrospect. Simeon was passing over China now, and even after fourteen years Hainan was mostly a crater, and the shock wave from the exploding machine took out Hanoi, a large swath of South China and most of the Vietnamese coastline. Panic caused people to do stupid things.
Still, people doubted. There was conflicting information, fake news, propaganda that came out about every event, every new discovery. However, behind the scenes, his parents and others worked. They made amazing discoveries about gravity, recycling systems, cyrostasis, and other technologies that seemed to pour into the real world from science fiction. Fortunately, one of the first pieces of technology successfully reversed engineered (and Simeon thought the aliens left it on purpose since it was discovered within ten nautical miles of the message, was a telescope. A telescope that they let scientists see much more clearly into space, since it somehow compensated for light lensing and gravitational shift. His father once said it was more like the sensors Star Trek had than a telescope. When it was launched ten years ago, it confirmed the message, the warning. They were coming.
Their ships were even more massive; the size of continents. And at the rate they were moving, they would arrive in a decade. That was a decade ago. The ships had passed Saturn last month, slowing down it seemed. They would be approaching Mars and then soon, Earth. Energy signatures had been increasing. They were powering up something massive; something hostile. Simeon was almost back to the airlock.
In ten years, the world had come together. Mostly; there had been wars, of course. People panic. But the best of them had worked together across nations to build this ship. It was not continent-sized, but it the largest structure humanity had ever built: a generation ship, equipped with everything they could reserve engineer and design. It would hold 200,000 people, initially. It already had them on board, or waiting in the hundreds of ships suspended in the dark nearby. They would embark soon, into the dark, into the unknown, equipped with nothing more than this ship, their own ingenuity, and a hope — a hope that they could escape unnoticed.
Simeon was at the airlock; he punched in his code and the doors slide open after a moment. He was aboard. His parents were aboard. His wife was aboard. His daughter was aboard. They were taking to the stars, escaping whatever was going to happen. Bringing with them the best they could. The airlock was pressuring.
“Breathe,” Simeon told himself and spoke the mantra he had lived with for over half his life; the one that would keep humanity alive in the coming days, facing whoever or whatever came their way, “and try not to panic.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | When the Atlanteans rose out the sea, leaving behind unfathomable cities, knowledge, treasure, and a singular burning question... well, there was really only one thing to do.
---
“Comms check,” said Ana idly, rolling her neck. She stretched around, getting acclimated to the feeling of Odysseian on her skin, that rubbery yet fragile metal of the Atlanteans. She took small, measured breaths; it could get claustrophobic wearing the helmet when one wasn’t in the water.
“We read you, Analiese,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “How are you feeling?”
The knife strapped to her thigh under the suit jiggled as she did some jumping jacks.
“Nervous,” she said truthfully. “Excited. I kinda have to pee.”
Captain Lee laughed. “Well, everytime you needed to pee before a Dive, we’ve had some amazing luck, so keep it up. Er, keep it in?”
Ana stepped up to the railing. The dark sea stretched out before her with open arms, like a hungry, expectant lover. She felt it call to her in a way that nothing aboveground ever could.
“Gross, Captain. I’m going in.”
“Analiese, wait, we haven’t—”
Ana leapt off the railing before Captain could finish his thought. She let out a loud whoop, laughing, and plunged into the sea.
Her suit activated. The Hub came fully alive in front of her face, displaying depth, temperature, and a whole range of other pretty important information you want under the sea. Her gills displayed: not actual gills on her neck, but on the metal itself, which would constantly filter oxygen out of seawater for her and shove the carbon dioxide out.
Alien technology, the likes of which was reserved only to science fiction a mere year before. Now, Odysseian was the smallest taste of what the Atlanteans held. And yet, it wasn’t enough. *You have 20 years left. They are coming*. The final words of an alien race that lived below the sea. They only had 19 years now, and still they didn’t know what they were preparing for. That’s why Ana dove: to find answers.
She tapped the side of her helmet twice with ease—moving underwater in this suit was easier than moving on land. Her Hub lightened the surroundings, making it clear as day.
She descended. Ana had always been an avid swimmer, but it wasn’t until she acquired her suit that she realized how utterly slow she’d been before. Swimming in Odysseian almost ruined the experience of swimming regularly. In the suit, she felt like, well, a fish. She didn’t push herself through the water; the water moved out its way for her.
“I am very upset with you right now, Diver,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “We must follow proper U.N procedure before going on a Dive!”
Ana rolled her eyes. He called her “Diver” when he was upset. “Sorry, Captain. But if we’re not quick, we’ll miss out on the meal. Odyessia is swarming with Divers right now.”
She wasn’t lying, and Captain Lee could see through her Hub. There were perhaps 50 other Divers either heading towards Odyessia, or already inside. However, it wasn’t entirely the truth. She had something she needed to do in the City.
“Fine,” said Captain Lee. “But we’re going to have a talk about your mutinous actions afterwards, you hear me?”
“I hear you, Captain.”
Ana sped up, tearing through the sea at a speed which would’ve killed her if she wasn’t in the suit. The sight of Odysseia had her heart pumping and she couldn’t help but feel like a little girl again.
Odysseia, the First City. Great domed buildings nestled on the seafloor, accompanied by coral spires and great archways of a white, smooth stone they hadn’t been able to identify or even chip a piece off yet. The City glowed with a bright light not dissimilar to the aurora borealis.
“It really is something, isn’t it?” said Captain Lee, plain awe and admiration in his voice.
“It really is,” she replied, goosebumps rising on her arms. Even after over a dozen Dives, she still felt awed by the First City.
She swam through the archway that signified the entrance to the City. A few Divers were working on the archway with knives, underwater saws, and hammers. They wouldn’t get anything out of that. The whitestone was impervious, as far as humans were concerned.
Ana avoided the right-half of Odysseia; she had plans elsewhere. She went off to the left, towards the Great Temple.
“The Temple again?” said Captain Lee, not quite displeasure in his voice. “We’ve already been there, multiple times. We need to find more Odysseian.”
“I know,” said Ana, “but I just need to try something. Trust me, Captain.”
The Captain’s silence indicated grudging acceptance.
The Temple was the largest building in Odysseia, but it was also the sparsest. Coral columns as tall as buildings held up the massive roof, which was decked with beautiful friezes depicting the Atlanteans in profile performing strange rituals. Ana had spent quite a bit of time staring at the art on her early Dives, before Captain had gotten close enough with her to start yelling.
Ana passed through the open columns into the Temple. The gravity field which ran inside the buildings of Odysseia kicked in, and Ana rolled to her feet as she swam through into the air barrier. She kept her helmet on to maintain a link with Captain.
“I don’t understand your fascination with this place,” groused Captain Lee.
How could he? He was a good man, a kind person and a trusted friend, but at his heart his love for Odysseia and the Atlanteans came from greed. He desired the treasure, not the knowledge.
Ana was different. In her early Dives, something about one of the depictions that stuck with her. An Atlantean, presumably, who knelt over the whitestone altar in the centre of the Temple, a blade frozen in motion towards another Atlantean that laid on the altar.
Answers. She was here for answers.
“What are you doing, Analiese?” asked Captain Lee, slight irritation in his voice. “You’ve stared at this stupid altar enough times, haven’t you?”
Ana closed her eyes. She could see the frieze in her head, like it was embedded in her mind. An Atlantean. Knelt before the altar. Its blade up in the air, swinging down towards the altar. Towards the sacrifice.
It was foolhardy. It was suicide. It was going to get her License revoked.
“Captain, I’m going dark,” said Ana.
“Wait, what?”
Ana tapped the side of her helmet three times, then took it off. She disengaged her suit entirely, leaving her in shorts and a tank top, thousands of feet under the sea. She breathed the air in; it was strangely clean, not tasting of salt at all.
She turned to her sides. Through the open gaps between the columns she could see the sea rippling like curtains. If she took one step outside, she’d die instantly, crushed into a human can.
No time to think. Ana laid the Odysseian suit atop the altar carefully. The helmet up top, the suit below, so it formed the shape of a flattened, metal human being.
Ana took a deep breath and knelt. She thought long and hard about what she was about to do, and wondered how she could feel so sure. There was a voice in her that didn’t try to dissuade her with fears or anxieties; instead, it encouraged her. Urged her on. Told her this was the right thing to do.
She was here for answers. Why did they leave? Where did they go? What were they running from?
Ana grabbed the knife strapped to her thigh. She raised it up.
“I offer this life as sacrifice,” she whispered, the sound echoing in the Temple. The words came out of her, from some unknown depth.
Ana slammed the knife down into the center of the suit, shattering the metal like glass. Her heart stopped; her eyes grew wide.
And the Temple began to shake.
---
Check out my profile for more :D | Simeon floated outside the nearly complete habitation ring. His electric, vacuum-safe drill floated beside him. Doubling checking his latest plate seal, he radioed Control, “Confirm Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed.”
His radio whistled back, “Control confirm: Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed. Well done. Pack it up and come inside; spin will engage in one hour.”
“Roger that, Control.” He put the 0G Drill in his sack tethered to him and engaged a small air thruster in three three-second bursts. Following the curvature of the habitation ring, he would arrive at the airlock in ten minutes.
His last ten minutes in zero-g; maybe ever? Hopefully, they wouldn’t be. Hopefully, this would work. Hopefully, they would get away.
He remembered the day 7,298 days ago. He was fifteen, sitting on the beach in California, only thinking about how to get laid. Simeon sighed remembering that innocence, and how in a moment it was ripped away. All of a sudden, the ocean pulled back, falling away it seemed into itself. He was long gone by the time the tidal wave arrived. All before that, however, and not long after the sea swallowed itself up the ships were in the sky.
They had been huge. Impossibly large and impossibly effervescent. For the briefest time, they were the entire world in his mind. He, along with the millions of other people witnessing it, had been shocked, even their hind-minds that would usually be screaming to run away from the predator silenced by their enormity. And then they were gone.
Panic set in, as panic always does. Some claiming it was all fake or an US Air Force new secret floating airbase. It was all bullshit. Some of the world’s leading scientists were able to convene with the United Nations’ Security Council to get submarines dispatched to what they thought were the epicenters of the tidal waves - what they thought would have been the centers of the fourteen ships that had rose out the Pacific Ocean and left Earth.
There was no news at first. And the panic began to subside a little. Oddly enough, it was the Pope who had been a leading voice of calm. Guess the end of the world was what they had been preparing for. Then the video came out. The submarines had found beneath all the rubble and sand, a message etched into the bedrock in an isotopic radiation that sent alarms ringing on all the submarines (and eventually could be clearly read from satellites: "You have 20 years left. They are coming."
The panic doubled, tripled. Wars started, but no one really knew why. Chaos and lack of understanding bred the violence. Simeon’s parents worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, so they attempted to be a bit more rational, but even they hid in their cabin in the San Gabriel Wilderness. At least, they did until the NASA Director called. It was bigger than the message. They had found other symbols, and some old machines. Alien technology, and some of it they needed to reverse engineer. Quickly.
He remembered the video call. He could never forget. His father asked, “Why? Are they really coming? Who’s they?” He knew the Director wouldn’t have an answer to that last question, but he surprised them with the first.
“Because Russia and China are already working on machines they’ve recovered. POTUS doesn’t want to lose this race, especially if they have recovered any weapons.”
That seemed quaint, in retrospect. Simeon was passing over China now, and even after fourteen years Hainan was mostly a crater, and the shock wave from the exploding machine took out Hanoi, a large swath of South China and most of the Vietnamese coastline. Panic caused people to do stupid things.
Still, people doubted. There was conflicting information, fake news, propaganda that came out about every event, every new discovery. However, behind the scenes, his parents and others worked. They made amazing discoveries about gravity, recycling systems, cyrostasis, and other technologies that seemed to pour into the real world from science fiction. Fortunately, one of the first pieces of technology successfully reversed engineered (and Simeon thought the aliens left it on purpose since it was discovered within ten nautical miles of the message, was a telescope. A telescope that they let scientists see much more clearly into space, since it somehow compensated for light lensing and gravitational shift. His father once said it was more like the sensors Star Trek had than a telescope. When it was launched ten years ago, it confirmed the message, the warning. They were coming.
Their ships were even more massive; the size of continents. And at the rate they were moving, they would arrive in a decade. That was a decade ago. The ships had passed Saturn last month, slowing down it seemed. They would be approaching Mars and then soon, Earth. Energy signatures had been increasing. They were powering up something massive; something hostile. Simeon was almost back to the airlock.
In ten years, the world had come together. Mostly; there had been wars, of course. People panic. But the best of them had worked together across nations to build this ship. It was not continent-sized, but it the largest structure humanity had ever built: a generation ship, equipped with everything they could reserve engineer and design. It would hold 200,000 people, initially. It already had them on board, or waiting in the hundreds of ships suspended in the dark nearby. They would embark soon, into the dark, into the unknown, equipped with nothing more than this ship, their own ingenuity, and a hope — a hope that they could escape unnoticed.
Simeon was at the airlock; he punched in his code and the doors slide open after a moment. He was aboard. His parents were aboard. His wife was aboard. His daughter was aboard. They were taking to the stars, escaping whatever was going to happen. Bringing with them the best they could. The airlock was pressuring.
“Breathe,” Simeon told himself and spoke the mantra he had lived with for over half his life; the one that would keep humanity alive in the coming days, facing whoever or whatever came their way, “and try not to panic.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | Jamie took her glasses off and rubbed them, as if cleaning the lenses would make the giant, underwater city go away. How did they miss this? How had they missed this?
She'd been to this area of the Mariana Trench before. This very area. That's why she'd been sent on this mission.
"We found it here too," reported Jeremy, her coworker, the archeologist. "You have 20 years left. They are coming." He sighed and also took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses. "What could it mean?"
"Well we're no damn closer here. Take down the symbols, send them to linguistics. Maybe they can make some sense out of this."
Jeremy was already at work taking pictures while Jamie checks the submarine's vital signs. As she made some adjustments to the oxygen and pressure levels, a huge release of bubbles from a vent beneath the sub released.
Jamie assumed they'd die. Really, she did. An abnormality couldn't just occur this at 11k meters without killing you. There was no way to escape it. Deep-sea diving had precious few escape routes.
But they didn't die. Instead, as the bubbles cleared, the pair saw a new message on the wall.
"You have 19 years. They are coming."
That's when the panic started setting in.
___
Six months passed of frantic research. When Jamie and Jeremy next went down, the message had changed to 16 years. It wasn't following Earth's time. However, the weirdest part of it all was that each underwater city had a different time. The shortest said 6 years remaining. The longest of them expired in 2030. No one knew what to do.
"Maybe we just evacuate Earth." Jeremy leaned back in his chair, eyes heavy from sleepless nights. "Shoot a few billionaires up to Mars, see if they can't repopulate us."
"Mmm, I'm sure Elon Musk would love that. Imagine, an entire new generation inseminated by him. He'd probably try to copyright that, name them in his image." Jamie can't stop a hysterical little giggle that is soon choked by a sob. She shook her head, surprised at herself.
"You have family, James?" Jeremy asked, tactfully ignoring the show of emotion.
"A mom, a dad, same as everyone. They're getting along in age. Part of me thinks I should quit this and just give them a good couple remaining months before earth goes caput." Her parents were in a home and her sister had died of cancer years ago. She had an ex from her 20s she didn't talk to. No kids. Jeremy didn't need to know any of that.
He nodded. "I've got some cousins. A twin I don't talk to. You'd think I'd want to reconcile with him but I'm not interested. It was his bad, not mine. If he wants to make good, he knows how to reach me."
It was small talk, kinda. Talking about the family and friends they'd lose, that's what passed as small talk these days. But they could only dawdle so long, so the two turned back to their work.
___
The quickest timer hit 0 on January 3rd, 2028. It was pretty on the nose. Jamie and Jeremy had watched the countdown with the same grimness that they'd watched the 2028 New Year's Eve shows. It had been beyond surreal watching people try to celebrate. Almost as surreal as what occurred on the morning on January 3rd.
A spaceship descended. In a sense, it was almost anti-climatic because everyone expected it. The ship was unlike any they'd seen, expectedly, and the MechEs and the astrophysicists and the astronomers and the nuclear physicists all went nuts. Then the aliens stepped off and the zoologists and biologists went nuts.
The privileged few who had been on the specific case surrounded the ship. News reporters tried to get in with their microphones and Jamie was almost impressed at how reckless they were. When the Mariana Trench times out, if humans are still alive, she wanted nowhere near that ship.
The first alien to step out is immediately swarmed and Jamie can't see much of it. But she hears when it starts speaking and what it says changes the face of Earth forever, in a way no one predicted.
___
It's 2029. April. Midway through April. The sky hums with ships and the night rarely comes with the influx of massive vessels in orbit. Some of the aliens clustered around the moon, some around Venus or Mars, even some as far out as Mercury.
The ground is cluttered with debris. This is what happens when twelve alien races decide that your homeworld is their battlegrounds.
What no one expected was for Earth to not be their target. No one expected how much the aliens would care about the humans. No one expected the aliens to try to win the humans over.
Jamie is one of the six remaining scientists on the Mariana Trench team. She and Jeremy are 1/3 of the team not removed for corruption. Corruption is defined as anything other than milking the aliens for all the tech they can. Corruption is defined as wanting the fighting to stop. Because this thing ends with either all the aliens dying, leaving a clear victor, or with Earth deciding a victor. And while the fighting continues, so do the bribes. Protesting the orbital war is now considered treason by many governments. That's how crazy life has gotten.
Occasionally there's a space battle so ferocious that the shrapnel hits Earth and there are casualties. This always causes the aliens involved to fall over themselves to make reparations.
Not all the species have arrived yet. Jamie is one of the few of the mind to stop the fighting, but even then, it's not clear what the right call is. While the fighting continues, Earth is the darling of the galaxy. Once they pick a winner, they are officially welcomed into the space age. They will have 100 years to prepare for the next intersystem gladiatorial battle.
At least, this is what the translators believe is the case. It's not entirely sure. Maybe a loser might just nuke the planet.
The aliens are all set to be here come 2030. The total species expected are 20 and Jamie isn't sure if the planet can survive that level of war.
So they have about eight months. Jamie and Jeremy watch their steps carefully as they walk home from work that Friday evening. Their steps are traced almost more than anyone's, so it's delicate work avoiding the watching eyes of the US government.
But they've done it a dozen times and soon find themselves alone and unwatched as they approach a sewer grate. In a flash of half a second, both have disappeared down it. From there, it's a short walk to where the rest of the rebellion lives.
The two have some clout there, being one of the few scientists left on a specific alien's team. The Mariana Aliens are called just that and both scientists have a wealth of information about them.
The meeting room of the rebellion is packed with dozens of people. As crowded as it feels, it also feels starkly empty. This is all New York City could attract. These are the only inhabitants willing to risk the government's wrath to save the Earth.
The meeting commences and Jeremy tosses Jamie an eye that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't work. Because this is the day they bring news that is going to cause a lot of folks to lose hope.
"Jamie has a few words now, from the tech team." The leader of the NYC branch, a disgraced but competent general, waves Jamie up to the podium.
"What we know is short but troubling." She clears her throat. "Actually, troubling is a light word to use. But we've translated the latest batch of information from the Mariana Aliens. A 21st alien species is heading to Earth. One that hasn't competed in millennia. One that none of them realized was still alive." She rubbed her glasses, aware of the eyes on her. "We only just finished deciphering the message. It was sent to us months ago and if we'd had the time..."
"When are they scheduled to arrive?" the general asks, his voice rife with urgency.
"Six weeks." Jamie pushes her glasses back on. "We don't have eight months. We have six weeks."
___
Read more stories at [r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide/) | Simeon floated outside the nearly complete habitation ring. His electric, vacuum-safe drill floated beside him. Doubling checking his latest plate seal, he radioed Control, “Confirm Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed.”
His radio whistled back, “Control confirm: Zulu Alfa Foxtrot One Niner Zero in place and sealed. Well done. Pack it up and come inside; spin will engage in one hour.”
“Roger that, Control.” He put the 0G Drill in his sack tethered to him and engaged a small air thruster in three three-second bursts. Following the curvature of the habitation ring, he would arrive at the airlock in ten minutes.
His last ten minutes in zero-g; maybe ever? Hopefully, they wouldn’t be. Hopefully, this would work. Hopefully, they would get away.
He remembered the day 7,298 days ago. He was fifteen, sitting on the beach in California, only thinking about how to get laid. Simeon sighed remembering that innocence, and how in a moment it was ripped away. All of a sudden, the ocean pulled back, falling away it seemed into itself. He was long gone by the time the tidal wave arrived. All before that, however, and not long after the sea swallowed itself up the ships were in the sky.
They had been huge. Impossibly large and impossibly effervescent. For the briefest time, they were the entire world in his mind. He, along with the millions of other people witnessing it, had been shocked, even their hind-minds that would usually be screaming to run away from the predator silenced by their enormity. And then they were gone.
Panic set in, as panic always does. Some claiming it was all fake or an US Air Force new secret floating airbase. It was all bullshit. Some of the world’s leading scientists were able to convene with the United Nations’ Security Council to get submarines dispatched to what they thought were the epicenters of the tidal waves - what they thought would have been the centers of the fourteen ships that had rose out the Pacific Ocean and left Earth.
There was no news at first. And the panic began to subside a little. Oddly enough, it was the Pope who had been a leading voice of calm. Guess the end of the world was what they had been preparing for. Then the video came out. The submarines had found beneath all the rubble and sand, a message etched into the bedrock in an isotopic radiation that sent alarms ringing on all the submarines (and eventually could be clearly read from satellites: "You have 20 years left. They are coming."
The panic doubled, tripled. Wars started, but no one really knew why. Chaos and lack of understanding bred the violence. Simeon’s parents worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, so they attempted to be a bit more rational, but even they hid in their cabin in the San Gabriel Wilderness. At least, they did until the NASA Director called. It was bigger than the message. They had found other symbols, and some old machines. Alien technology, and some of it they needed to reverse engineer. Quickly.
He remembered the video call. He could never forget. His father asked, “Why? Are they really coming? Who’s they?” He knew the Director wouldn’t have an answer to that last question, but he surprised them with the first.
“Because Russia and China are already working on machines they’ve recovered. POTUS doesn’t want to lose this race, especially if they have recovered any weapons.”
That seemed quaint, in retrospect. Simeon was passing over China now, and even after fourteen years Hainan was mostly a crater, and the shock wave from the exploding machine took out Hanoi, a large swath of South China and most of the Vietnamese coastline. Panic caused people to do stupid things.
Still, people doubted. There was conflicting information, fake news, propaganda that came out about every event, every new discovery. However, behind the scenes, his parents and others worked. They made amazing discoveries about gravity, recycling systems, cyrostasis, and other technologies that seemed to pour into the real world from science fiction. Fortunately, one of the first pieces of technology successfully reversed engineered (and Simeon thought the aliens left it on purpose since it was discovered within ten nautical miles of the message, was a telescope. A telescope that they let scientists see much more clearly into space, since it somehow compensated for light lensing and gravitational shift. His father once said it was more like the sensors Star Trek had than a telescope. When it was launched ten years ago, it confirmed the message, the warning. They were coming.
Their ships were even more massive; the size of continents. And at the rate they were moving, they would arrive in a decade. That was a decade ago. The ships had passed Saturn last month, slowing down it seemed. They would be approaching Mars and then soon, Earth. Energy signatures had been increasing. They were powering up something massive; something hostile. Simeon was almost back to the airlock.
In ten years, the world had come together. Mostly; there had been wars, of course. People panic. But the best of them had worked together across nations to build this ship. It was not continent-sized, but it the largest structure humanity had ever built: a generation ship, equipped with everything they could reserve engineer and design. It would hold 200,000 people, initially. It already had them on board, or waiting in the hundreds of ships suspended in the dark nearby. They would embark soon, into the dark, into the unknown, equipped with nothing more than this ship, their own ingenuity, and a hope — a hope that they could escape unnoticed.
Simeon was at the airlock; he punched in his code and the doors slide open after a moment. He was aboard. His parents were aboard. His wife was aboard. His daughter was aboard. They were taking to the stars, escaping whatever was going to happen. Bringing with them the best they could. The airlock was pressuring.
“Breathe,” Simeon told himself and spoke the mantra he had lived with for over half his life; the one that would keep humanity alive in the coming days, facing whoever or whatever came their way, “and try not to panic.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | John knew he couldn’t keep this secret for long. His crew held top secret clearances, but they had families at home too. Sooner or later, it would leak. His only concern was if he could get his wife and daughter off planet in the earliest groups. He could figure out everything else once he’d ensured their survival.
Sure enough, the crew was practically vibrating with news of the find, even though the ROV was piloted by only two men who were added to the Georgia’s crew just for this mission. Clearly, if a crew of less than 200 could not keep the secret from one another, he’d have to keep them quarantined when they got to the pier. Doc would help, he knew.
*“Virus.”*
Doc looked confused for longer than John expected, but with out a word he began to reach for the rarely used supplies hidden in his stateroom. *“What kind of virus should they think they have, Skipper?”*
*"Something novel – we can’t have them thinking it’s no big deal to send a letter of the boat. Full lockdown for seven days, I think that’s enough to get our intel through the right channels before any leaks."*
Doc set his shoulders, pulling out a small vial of liquid. As Doc stood to walk aft toward the water supply system, he told John *“I’ll leave the pills on your desk, take them twice a day and you’ll stay right as rain.”*
It was easier than John expected to trick his entire crew, after all the training in ethics and decision making at Newport. Thank goodness boats like his were given a more senior corpsman, Doc wasn’t really even a doctor. Let’s hope he keeps it all secret, thought John as he swallowed the first pill.
The crew went through motions, ready to surface at dawn and pull into their homeport as they’d done so many times before. The long transit meant more than one bridge team, and no one noticed at first that the XO had been topside longer than usual. When the cook went to refill the skipper’s coffee all hell broke loose. Slumped over his desk, the skipper’s pulse was erratic and his skin flushed red. Up the hatch, the XO heard the screaming as everyone looked for Doc to help.
Swimming away through the silty water, Doc shed his human form quickly. The panic, he knew, would help alert his people that the protectors of the deep were gone and the humans were ripe for the harvest. As his scales hardened along his spine and his tail strokes pushed him faster through the water, Doc licked his lips one last time…a few weeks after the salting he’d be back to snack on the rest of the crew. It really was quite nice of John to give him the idea to marinate his meals from the inside out. | FADE IN:
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*A solemn group of men sits around a large, wooden table. One is at the head in full military dress, chest adorned dramatically with medals. This is WHITEMAN, General of the Space Force.*
**WHITEMAN:** And thus, I bring the first general meeting of the Space Force to a close. We have all agreed--
*A cough of objection rang out across the room. All eyes turned and focused on one man, squeezed in at the very opposite side of the table, almost as if he was shunted in at the last moment. This is TAYLOR.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir, if you’ll please listen to me
**WHITEMAN:** Enough with your silly talk! Every second you waste of ours is a second we are not preparing for war!
**TAYLOR:** But sir, we are basing this off one message in English! What of the numerous symbols left behind? What if there were things that we simply do not know about?
**WHITEMAN:** (*sneering*) We have all we need. Technology far beyond our time, hidden under our very noses. And a warning to men, to prepare for war in 20 years!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** But then, why wait for 20 years? If the goal was to subjugate us, why not now? Why--
**WHITEMAN:** Too many questions! A soldier simply has to listen!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, I’m no soldier. I’m here to understand why this has happened, not jump the gun at a perceived threat.
**WHITEMAN:** Threat! Even you know it’s a threat!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, that’s not what I--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We are preparing for war! And we will win! No matter what it takes.
*TEN YEARS LATER.*
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*Whiteman sits at the top of the table. His head of black hair is now almost fully grey, having aged two decades in one. Taylor sits at the foot of the table, head in his hands. *
**WHITEMAN:** (*shouting*) Budget?! Budget?! We are preparing for war with aliens! If we need budget, we can draw them from elsewhere!
*Several heads nodded and murmured in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** (*wearily *) From where, sir? Half the nation’s budget at this point is dedicated to here.
**WHITEMAN:** Anywhere! Education, welfare...
**TAYLOR:** But the people need them! What use is there--
**WHITEMAN:** What use? We have to defend our home against this threat, first and foremost! The people will understand!
**TAYLOR:** Sir--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We need what we need. I’ll go directly to the President.
**TAYLOR** (*whispered*) What use is defending our home when there isn’t one?
*TWENTY YEARS LATER*
*Whiteman’s hair is now stark white. His powerful voice has not diminished, however, and continues to dominate the proceedings.*
**WHITEMAN:** We are finally ready for the promised day. All our weapons and soldiers are at the ready. We will not lose.
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** Stand ready, gentlemen. Our troops might fall, and their lives might be gone, but that’s OK! It was worth the sacrifice. We will celebrate when we drive the invaders away from our planet!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** No more aliens! No more threats! They will burn in hell for their crimes!
**TAYLOR:** Sir!
*WHITEMAN:* You? You are still here?
**TAYLOR:** I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the code.
**WHITEMAN:** Code? What code? What the hell are you talking about?
**TAYLOR:** The symbols underwater. The message that you refused to acknowledge.
**WHITEMAN:** What symbols? Wasn’t there just one message? To prepare for war?
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement. Taylor sighs.*
**TAYLOR:** No. It just said we had 20 years left, and that they were coming. I found out why they were coming.
**WHITEMAN:** For war!
*Rousing cheers sounded from numerous men. Taylor slammed his palm on the table, and the raucous crowd quieted instantly.*
**TAYLOR:** No! You are wrong. You are all wrong! There was never any threat! They said we had 20 years to clean up our act! To make the world a better place!
**WHITEMAN:** And we’ve made it stronger!
**TAYLOR:** We haven’t! We’ve invested everything into weapons, and none into our people! We might as well have killed them ourselves as they lay on the streets, starving and homeless.
**WHITEMAN:** But our soldiers--
**TAYLOR:** Our soldiers mean nothing! Do you think that just 20 years will change their technological advantage? They have freaking spaceships! What do you think they have now?
*The room is deathly quiet.*
**WHITEMAN:**(*hopefully*) Less spaceships?
*The room begins to shake. Heads turn and start shouting. A laser beam shoots through the ceiling, instantly incinerating one head.*
**TAYLOR:** We are done. We abandoned our people. And they gave up on Earth.
FADE TO BLACK
---
r/dexdrafts | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | You arrive out of one of the submarines, confused and annoyed by the message. All your years in the linguistic department deciphering thousands of buried texts in hundreds of unknown languages, this one written in plain English makes the vein in your head pop.
It is a thin line between comprehension and confusion and you are standing right on it. You wonder who is *they*? And why the deadline of 20 years?
You have seen the abandoned cities and the unknown launching stations. You understand that they hid deep in ocean trenches oblivious to the existence of humans. But you know they knew of your existence but never bothered to interact with your species.
You find out about their contribution to the Pyramids, the Stone Henge, the Taj Mahal, the Macchu Picchu. But they never wanted the credit for it. They experimented on working with humans a long time ago and they knew that your species wouldn't ever get over the unknowns enemies that we create among yourselves.
But they still leave you with a warning. A warning to prepare for something arriving in 20 years. Astrophysicists and astrobiologists get to work. Try to understand the message that you have found among the oceanic cities. They surveil the cosmos for anomalies ranging from radio waves to gravitational waves.
You wonder how did the oceanic people know about the threat. How could they have monitored for alien species coming to Earth form the darkest depths? They were advanced in every way possible, they used the geo-energy from ocean floors to power their civilizations, they built giant spacecrafts to carry them and a part of the ocean floor and water with them to survive, just as you would carry air. But you know for a fact that they didn't discover any new physics or chemistry. It is still the same laws but with advanced engineering. You estimate 200 years more advanced than yourselves.
And then it clicks. The ocean people never looked up. For you up is life and everything wonderous. But for them, it was the ocean floor. The energy, the life, the civilization depended on it. Just as you look up, they look down.
You run to scientists and world leaders. You tell them that you need to go back on a submarine mission. You plead that we are looking in the wrong direction. You get to sanctions one submarine to check out the abandoned civilization.
You reach the dark and bubbling hot waters full of architecture beyond your imagination. But you realize that nothing else remains. No life, no economy, and no science. But a skeleton without the nervous system. And that's when you see the skeleton twitch…
Your team loses control of its submarines. Your team can't control the machines anymore. You lose all forms of communication. Your submarines all choreographically move towards shipyard like structure.
And that's how you arrive here. Your new home. Your second home. Your second home until the first one implodes. And it will. In 20 years. Your linguistic doctorate fails you. It was no warning, it was a promise. | FADE IN:
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*A solemn group of men sits around a large, wooden table. One is at the head in full military dress, chest adorned dramatically with medals. This is WHITEMAN, General of the Space Force.*
**WHITEMAN:** And thus, I bring the first general meeting of the Space Force to a close. We have all agreed--
*A cough of objection rang out across the room. All eyes turned and focused on one man, squeezed in at the very opposite side of the table, almost as if he was shunted in at the last moment. This is TAYLOR.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir, if you’ll please listen to me
**WHITEMAN:** Enough with your silly talk! Every second you waste of ours is a second we are not preparing for war!
**TAYLOR:** But sir, we are basing this off one message in English! What of the numerous symbols left behind? What if there were things that we simply do not know about?
**WHITEMAN:** (*sneering*) We have all we need. Technology far beyond our time, hidden under our very noses. And a warning to men, to prepare for war in 20 years!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** But then, why wait for 20 years? If the goal was to subjugate us, why not now? Why--
**WHITEMAN:** Too many questions! A soldier simply has to listen!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, I’m no soldier. I’m here to understand why this has happened, not jump the gun at a perceived threat.
**WHITEMAN:** Threat! Even you know it’s a threat!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, that’s not what I--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We are preparing for war! And we will win! No matter what it takes.
*TEN YEARS LATER.*
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*Whiteman sits at the top of the table. His head of black hair is now almost fully grey, having aged two decades in one. Taylor sits at the foot of the table, head in his hands. *
**WHITEMAN:** (*shouting*) Budget?! Budget?! We are preparing for war with aliens! If we need budget, we can draw them from elsewhere!
*Several heads nodded and murmured in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** (*wearily *) From where, sir? Half the nation’s budget at this point is dedicated to here.
**WHITEMAN:** Anywhere! Education, welfare...
**TAYLOR:** But the people need them! What use is there--
**WHITEMAN:** What use? We have to defend our home against this threat, first and foremost! The people will understand!
**TAYLOR:** Sir--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We need what we need. I’ll go directly to the President.
**TAYLOR** (*whispered*) What use is defending our home when there isn’t one?
*TWENTY YEARS LATER*
*Whiteman’s hair is now stark white. His powerful voice has not diminished, however, and continues to dominate the proceedings.*
**WHITEMAN:** We are finally ready for the promised day. All our weapons and soldiers are at the ready. We will not lose.
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** Stand ready, gentlemen. Our troops might fall, and their lives might be gone, but that’s OK! It was worth the sacrifice. We will celebrate when we drive the invaders away from our planet!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** No more aliens! No more threats! They will burn in hell for their crimes!
**TAYLOR:** Sir!
*WHITEMAN:* You? You are still here?
**TAYLOR:** I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the code.
**WHITEMAN:** Code? What code? What the hell are you talking about?
**TAYLOR:** The symbols underwater. The message that you refused to acknowledge.
**WHITEMAN:** What symbols? Wasn’t there just one message? To prepare for war?
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement. Taylor sighs.*
**TAYLOR:** No. It just said we had 20 years left, and that they were coming. I found out why they were coming.
**WHITEMAN:** For war!
*Rousing cheers sounded from numerous men. Taylor slammed his palm on the table, and the raucous crowd quieted instantly.*
**TAYLOR:** No! You are wrong. You are all wrong! There was never any threat! They said we had 20 years to clean up our act! To make the world a better place!
**WHITEMAN:** And we’ve made it stronger!
**TAYLOR:** We haven’t! We’ve invested everything into weapons, and none into our people! We might as well have killed them ourselves as they lay on the streets, starving and homeless.
**WHITEMAN:** But our soldiers--
**TAYLOR:** Our soldiers mean nothing! Do you think that just 20 years will change their technological advantage? They have freaking spaceships! What do you think they have now?
*The room is deathly quiet.*
**WHITEMAN:**(*hopefully*) Less spaceships?
*The room begins to shake. Heads turn and start shouting. A laser beam shoots through the ceiling, instantly incinerating one head.*
**TAYLOR:** We are done. We abandoned our people. And they gave up on Earth.
FADE TO BLACK
---
r/dexdrafts | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | It had been twenty years since the Great Departure, and we were no where closer to salvation than the day they left.
At first the event was all the rage. Millions saw the city-sized spaceships rise from the ocean and consume the skies, leaving trails of water, fish, and whatever else happened to catch a ride up before falling back down. It wasn’t until they were just specks in the sky that people began to react. Panic was the first wave of emotion that swept through the world’s population. Was it aliens? Was it secret government operations? No one knew, but everyone had their own opinions.
It took a massive and powerful crackdown in order to get everyone under control. Several cities were burned and order was lost for several months. But after the initial shock wore off, people settled back into their normal lives. The only thing that changed on their part was the knowledge that it happened. A few people made fortunes off of viral videos, but otherwise people returned to the way it had been.
While the world population calmed down, governments began bickering about what to do. In the midst of political gridlock, some private enterprises put together dive teams to investigate where they came from before it became illegal. It was these expeditions that revealed the true impact of what we witnessed. Beneath the open waters were gaping holes in the ocean floor, revealing massive and complex cities, all interconnected through the Earth’s crust. A subterranean civilization had been thriving beneath us and advancing beyond our capabilities.
Not only did they demonstrate their technological prowess through the Great Departure, but the cities left behind were woven with technology we had only dreamed of. Power structures harnessing the earth’s internal heat and mantle flow, teleportation devices that could transport materials and (as some believed) even living souls across the planet, and even atomic manipulators that would rearrange the structure of atoms and molecules to whatever they desired. Of course these things took time to discover and understand, and it was apparently time we hardly had.
While the beings who departed earth used an unknown language, it was apparent they knew ours well enough to leave a message. “You have 20 years left. They are coming.” The ominous message took us two years to discover, and which left us with eighteen years to decipher its meaning. What would cause such an advanced civilization to flee?
Theories grew and flew around the world faster than the ships we had seen. Some thought it was a harbinger of an extraterrestrial threat. Others thought it was a prank pulled by the explorers. There was one, however, who knew the answer.
On the day marking twenty years since the Great Departure, an announcement was made by an obscure company. “We know the meaning,” they began, “of the message that has launched our world into a new era.”
“Early in the 20th century, our company accidentally discovered a tunnel while digging for oil beneath the ocean floor. It was held secret while we interacted with them until we knew it was safe. We learned from them, and they from us. And while this was happening, we knew as well that others like us would find them.
“Over time we realized just how advanced they were than us. They were not held back by petty squabbles. They were not deterred by limited resources. Rather, they worked together to make of what they had, and discover what they had not. They lived peacefully and symbolically, quite a contrast to how we lived and still live.
“We both realized they would be better off without us, without human kind, yet our meeting was inevitable due to our spreading dominion over planet Earth. Twenty years was our best guess as to when they would be discovered by the rest of the world. They took their time, they prepared their departure, and we know what happened after that.
“The message, about twenty years, was given from us, to them, *about us*. Let us learn from them in their absence, and perhaps one day, dream to become more like them.” | FADE IN:
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*A solemn group of men sits around a large, wooden table. One is at the head in full military dress, chest adorned dramatically with medals. This is WHITEMAN, General of the Space Force.*
**WHITEMAN:** And thus, I bring the first general meeting of the Space Force to a close. We have all agreed--
*A cough of objection rang out across the room. All eyes turned and focused on one man, squeezed in at the very opposite side of the table, almost as if he was shunted in at the last moment. This is TAYLOR.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir, if you’ll please listen to me
**WHITEMAN:** Enough with your silly talk! Every second you waste of ours is a second we are not preparing for war!
**TAYLOR:** But sir, we are basing this off one message in English! What of the numerous symbols left behind? What if there were things that we simply do not know about?
**WHITEMAN:** (*sneering*) We have all we need. Technology far beyond our time, hidden under our very noses. And a warning to men, to prepare for war in 20 years!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** But then, why wait for 20 years? If the goal was to subjugate us, why not now? Why--
**WHITEMAN:** Too many questions! A soldier simply has to listen!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, I’m no soldier. I’m here to understand why this has happened, not jump the gun at a perceived threat.
**WHITEMAN:** Threat! Even you know it’s a threat!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, that’s not what I--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We are preparing for war! And we will win! No matter what it takes.
*TEN YEARS LATER.*
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*Whiteman sits at the top of the table. His head of black hair is now almost fully grey, having aged two decades in one. Taylor sits at the foot of the table, head in his hands. *
**WHITEMAN:** (*shouting*) Budget?! Budget?! We are preparing for war with aliens! If we need budget, we can draw them from elsewhere!
*Several heads nodded and murmured in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** (*wearily *) From where, sir? Half the nation’s budget at this point is dedicated to here.
**WHITEMAN:** Anywhere! Education, welfare...
**TAYLOR:** But the people need them! What use is there--
**WHITEMAN:** What use? We have to defend our home against this threat, first and foremost! The people will understand!
**TAYLOR:** Sir--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We need what we need. I’ll go directly to the President.
**TAYLOR** (*whispered*) What use is defending our home when there isn’t one?
*TWENTY YEARS LATER*
*Whiteman’s hair is now stark white. His powerful voice has not diminished, however, and continues to dominate the proceedings.*
**WHITEMAN:** We are finally ready for the promised day. All our weapons and soldiers are at the ready. We will not lose.
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** Stand ready, gentlemen. Our troops might fall, and their lives might be gone, but that’s OK! It was worth the sacrifice. We will celebrate when we drive the invaders away from our planet!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** No more aliens! No more threats! They will burn in hell for their crimes!
**TAYLOR:** Sir!
*WHITEMAN:* You? You are still here?
**TAYLOR:** I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the code.
**WHITEMAN:** Code? What code? What the hell are you talking about?
**TAYLOR:** The symbols underwater. The message that you refused to acknowledge.
**WHITEMAN:** What symbols? Wasn’t there just one message? To prepare for war?
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement. Taylor sighs.*
**TAYLOR:** No. It just said we had 20 years left, and that they were coming. I found out why they were coming.
**WHITEMAN:** For war!
*Rousing cheers sounded from numerous men. Taylor slammed his palm on the table, and the raucous crowd quieted instantly.*
**TAYLOR:** No! You are wrong. You are all wrong! There was never any threat! They said we had 20 years to clean up our act! To make the world a better place!
**WHITEMAN:** And we’ve made it stronger!
**TAYLOR:** We haven’t! We’ve invested everything into weapons, and none into our people! We might as well have killed them ourselves as they lay on the streets, starving and homeless.
**WHITEMAN:** But our soldiers--
**TAYLOR:** Our soldiers mean nothing! Do you think that just 20 years will change their technological advantage? They have freaking spaceships! What do you think they have now?
*The room is deathly quiet.*
**WHITEMAN:**(*hopefully*) Less spaceships?
*The room begins to shake. Heads turn and start shouting. A laser beam shoots through the ceiling, instantly incinerating one head.*
**TAYLOR:** We are done. We abandoned our people. And they gave up on Earth.
FADE TO BLACK
---
r/dexdrafts | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | When the Atlanteans rose out the sea, leaving behind unfathomable cities, knowledge, treasure, and a singular burning question... well, there was really only one thing to do.
---
“Comms check,” said Ana idly, rolling her neck. She stretched around, getting acclimated to the feeling of Odysseian on her skin, that rubbery yet fragile metal of the Atlanteans. She took small, measured breaths; it could get claustrophobic wearing the helmet when one wasn’t in the water.
“We read you, Analiese,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “How are you feeling?”
The knife strapped to her thigh under the suit jiggled as she did some jumping jacks.
“Nervous,” she said truthfully. “Excited. I kinda have to pee.”
Captain Lee laughed. “Well, everytime you needed to pee before a Dive, we’ve had some amazing luck, so keep it up. Er, keep it in?”
Ana stepped up to the railing. The dark sea stretched out before her with open arms, like a hungry, expectant lover. She felt it call to her in a way that nothing aboveground ever could.
“Gross, Captain. I’m going in.”
“Analiese, wait, we haven’t—”
Ana leapt off the railing before Captain could finish his thought. She let out a loud whoop, laughing, and plunged into the sea.
Her suit activated. The Hub came fully alive in front of her face, displaying depth, temperature, and a whole range of other pretty important information you want under the sea. Her gills displayed: not actual gills on her neck, but on the metal itself, which would constantly filter oxygen out of seawater for her and shove the carbon dioxide out.
Alien technology, the likes of which was reserved only to science fiction a mere year before. Now, Odysseian was the smallest taste of what the Atlanteans held. And yet, it wasn’t enough. *You have 20 years left. They are coming*. The final words of an alien race that lived below the sea. They only had 19 years now, and still they didn’t know what they were preparing for. That’s why Ana dove: to find answers.
She tapped the side of her helmet twice with ease—moving underwater in this suit was easier than moving on land. Her Hub lightened the surroundings, making it clear as day.
She descended. Ana had always been an avid swimmer, but it wasn’t until she acquired her suit that she realized how utterly slow she’d been before. Swimming in Odysseian almost ruined the experience of swimming regularly. In the suit, she felt like, well, a fish. She didn’t push herself through the water; the water moved out its way for her.
“I am very upset with you right now, Diver,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “We must follow proper U.N procedure before going on a Dive!”
Ana rolled her eyes. He called her “Diver” when he was upset. “Sorry, Captain. But if we’re not quick, we’ll miss out on the meal. Odyessia is swarming with Divers right now.”
She wasn’t lying, and Captain Lee could see through her Hub. There were perhaps 50 other Divers either heading towards Odyessia, or already inside. However, it wasn’t entirely the truth. She had something she needed to do in the City.
“Fine,” said Captain Lee. “But we’re going to have a talk about your mutinous actions afterwards, you hear me?”
“I hear you, Captain.”
Ana sped up, tearing through the sea at a speed which would’ve killed her if she wasn’t in the suit. The sight of Odysseia had her heart pumping and she couldn’t help but feel like a little girl again.
Odysseia, the First City. Great domed buildings nestled on the seafloor, accompanied by coral spires and great archways of a white, smooth stone they hadn’t been able to identify or even chip a piece off yet. The City glowed with a bright light not dissimilar to the aurora borealis.
“It really is something, isn’t it?” said Captain Lee, plain awe and admiration in his voice.
“It really is,” she replied, goosebumps rising on her arms. Even after over a dozen Dives, she still felt awed by the First City.
She swam through the archway that signified the entrance to the City. A few Divers were working on the archway with knives, underwater saws, and hammers. They wouldn’t get anything out of that. The whitestone was impervious, as far as humans were concerned.
Ana avoided the right-half of Odysseia; she had plans elsewhere. She went off to the left, towards the Great Temple.
“The Temple again?” said Captain Lee, not quite displeasure in his voice. “We’ve already been there, multiple times. We need to find more Odysseian.”
“I know,” said Ana, “but I just need to try something. Trust me, Captain.”
The Captain’s silence indicated grudging acceptance.
The Temple was the largest building in Odysseia, but it was also the sparsest. Coral columns as tall as buildings held up the massive roof, which was decked with beautiful friezes depicting the Atlanteans in profile performing strange rituals. Ana had spent quite a bit of time staring at the art on her early Dives, before Captain had gotten close enough with her to start yelling.
Ana passed through the open columns into the Temple. The gravity field which ran inside the buildings of Odysseia kicked in, and Ana rolled to her feet as she swam through into the air barrier. She kept her helmet on to maintain a link with Captain.
“I don’t understand your fascination with this place,” groused Captain Lee.
How could he? He was a good man, a kind person and a trusted friend, but at his heart his love for Odysseia and the Atlanteans came from greed. He desired the treasure, not the knowledge.
Ana was different. In her early Dives, something about one of the depictions that stuck with her. An Atlantean, presumably, who knelt over the whitestone altar in the centre of the Temple, a blade frozen in motion towards another Atlantean that laid on the altar.
Answers. She was here for answers.
“What are you doing, Analiese?” asked Captain Lee, slight irritation in his voice. “You’ve stared at this stupid altar enough times, haven’t you?”
Ana closed her eyes. She could see the frieze in her head, like it was embedded in her mind. An Atlantean. Knelt before the altar. Its blade up in the air, swinging down towards the altar. Towards the sacrifice.
It was foolhardy. It was suicide. It was going to get her License revoked.
“Captain, I’m going dark,” said Ana.
“Wait, what?”
Ana tapped the side of her helmet three times, then took it off. She disengaged her suit entirely, leaving her in shorts and a tank top, thousands of feet under the sea. She breathed the air in; it was strangely clean, not tasting of salt at all.
She turned to her sides. Through the open gaps between the columns she could see the sea rippling like curtains. If she took one step outside, she’d die instantly, crushed into a human can.
No time to think. Ana laid the Odysseian suit atop the altar carefully. The helmet up top, the suit below, so it formed the shape of a flattened, metal human being.
Ana took a deep breath and knelt. She thought long and hard about what she was about to do, and wondered how she could feel so sure. There was a voice in her that didn’t try to dissuade her with fears or anxieties; instead, it encouraged her. Urged her on. Told her this was the right thing to do.
She was here for answers. Why did they leave? Where did they go? What were they running from?
Ana grabbed the knife strapped to her thigh. She raised it up.
“I offer this life as sacrifice,” she whispered, the sound echoing in the Temple. The words came out of her, from some unknown depth.
Ana slammed the knife down into the center of the suit, shattering the metal like glass. Her heart stopped; her eyes grew wide.
And the Temple began to shake.
---
Check out my profile for more :D | FADE IN:
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*A solemn group of men sits around a large, wooden table. One is at the head in full military dress, chest adorned dramatically with medals. This is WHITEMAN, General of the Space Force.*
**WHITEMAN:** And thus, I bring the first general meeting of the Space Force to a close. We have all agreed--
*A cough of objection rang out across the room. All eyes turned and focused on one man, squeezed in at the very opposite side of the table, almost as if he was shunted in at the last moment. This is TAYLOR.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir, if you’ll please listen to me
**WHITEMAN:** Enough with your silly talk! Every second you waste of ours is a second we are not preparing for war!
**TAYLOR:** But sir, we are basing this off one message in English! What of the numerous symbols left behind? What if there were things that we simply do not know about?
**WHITEMAN:** (*sneering*) We have all we need. Technology far beyond our time, hidden under our very noses. And a warning to men, to prepare for war in 20 years!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** But then, why wait for 20 years? If the goal was to subjugate us, why not now? Why--
**WHITEMAN:** Too many questions! A soldier simply has to listen!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, I’m no soldier. I’m here to understand why this has happened, not jump the gun at a perceived threat.
**WHITEMAN:** Threat! Even you know it’s a threat!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, that’s not what I--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We are preparing for war! And we will win! No matter what it takes.
*TEN YEARS LATER.*
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*Whiteman sits at the top of the table. His head of black hair is now almost fully grey, having aged two decades in one. Taylor sits at the foot of the table, head in his hands. *
**WHITEMAN:** (*shouting*) Budget?! Budget?! We are preparing for war with aliens! If we need budget, we can draw them from elsewhere!
*Several heads nodded and murmured in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** (*wearily *) From where, sir? Half the nation’s budget at this point is dedicated to here.
**WHITEMAN:** Anywhere! Education, welfare...
**TAYLOR:** But the people need them! What use is there--
**WHITEMAN:** What use? We have to defend our home against this threat, first and foremost! The people will understand!
**TAYLOR:** Sir--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We need what we need. I’ll go directly to the President.
**TAYLOR** (*whispered*) What use is defending our home when there isn’t one?
*TWENTY YEARS LATER*
*Whiteman’s hair is now stark white. His powerful voice has not diminished, however, and continues to dominate the proceedings.*
**WHITEMAN:** We are finally ready for the promised day. All our weapons and soldiers are at the ready. We will not lose.
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** Stand ready, gentlemen. Our troops might fall, and their lives might be gone, but that’s OK! It was worth the sacrifice. We will celebrate when we drive the invaders away from our planet!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** No more aliens! No more threats! They will burn in hell for their crimes!
**TAYLOR:** Sir!
*WHITEMAN:* You? You are still here?
**TAYLOR:** I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the code.
**WHITEMAN:** Code? What code? What the hell are you talking about?
**TAYLOR:** The symbols underwater. The message that you refused to acknowledge.
**WHITEMAN:** What symbols? Wasn’t there just one message? To prepare for war?
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement. Taylor sighs.*
**TAYLOR:** No. It just said we had 20 years left, and that they were coming. I found out why they were coming.
**WHITEMAN:** For war!
*Rousing cheers sounded from numerous men. Taylor slammed his palm on the table, and the raucous crowd quieted instantly.*
**TAYLOR:** No! You are wrong. You are all wrong! There was never any threat! They said we had 20 years to clean up our act! To make the world a better place!
**WHITEMAN:** And we’ve made it stronger!
**TAYLOR:** We haven’t! We’ve invested everything into weapons, and none into our people! We might as well have killed them ourselves as they lay on the streets, starving and homeless.
**WHITEMAN:** But our soldiers--
**TAYLOR:** Our soldiers mean nothing! Do you think that just 20 years will change their technological advantage? They have freaking spaceships! What do you think they have now?
*The room is deathly quiet.*
**WHITEMAN:**(*hopefully*) Less spaceships?
*The room begins to shake. Heads turn and start shouting. A laser beam shoots through the ceiling, instantly incinerating one head.*
**TAYLOR:** We are done. We abandoned our people. And they gave up on Earth.
FADE TO BLACK
---
r/dexdrafts | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | Jamie took her glasses off and rubbed them, as if cleaning the lenses would make the giant, underwater city go away. How did they miss this? How had they missed this?
She'd been to this area of the Mariana Trench before. This very area. That's why she'd been sent on this mission.
"We found it here too," reported Jeremy, her coworker, the archeologist. "You have 20 years left. They are coming." He sighed and also took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses. "What could it mean?"
"Well we're no damn closer here. Take down the symbols, send them to linguistics. Maybe they can make some sense out of this."
Jeremy was already at work taking pictures while Jamie checks the submarine's vital signs. As she made some adjustments to the oxygen and pressure levels, a huge release of bubbles from a vent beneath the sub released.
Jamie assumed they'd die. Really, she did. An abnormality couldn't just occur this at 11k meters without killing you. There was no way to escape it. Deep-sea diving had precious few escape routes.
But they didn't die. Instead, as the bubbles cleared, the pair saw a new message on the wall.
"You have 19 years. They are coming."
That's when the panic started setting in.
___
Six months passed of frantic research. When Jamie and Jeremy next went down, the message had changed to 16 years. It wasn't following Earth's time. However, the weirdest part of it all was that each underwater city had a different time. The shortest said 6 years remaining. The longest of them expired in 2030. No one knew what to do.
"Maybe we just evacuate Earth." Jeremy leaned back in his chair, eyes heavy from sleepless nights. "Shoot a few billionaires up to Mars, see if they can't repopulate us."
"Mmm, I'm sure Elon Musk would love that. Imagine, an entire new generation inseminated by him. He'd probably try to copyright that, name them in his image." Jamie can't stop a hysterical little giggle that is soon choked by a sob. She shook her head, surprised at herself.
"You have family, James?" Jeremy asked, tactfully ignoring the show of emotion.
"A mom, a dad, same as everyone. They're getting along in age. Part of me thinks I should quit this and just give them a good couple remaining months before earth goes caput." Her parents were in a home and her sister had died of cancer years ago. She had an ex from her 20s she didn't talk to. No kids. Jeremy didn't need to know any of that.
He nodded. "I've got some cousins. A twin I don't talk to. You'd think I'd want to reconcile with him but I'm not interested. It was his bad, not mine. If he wants to make good, he knows how to reach me."
It was small talk, kinda. Talking about the family and friends they'd lose, that's what passed as small talk these days. But they could only dawdle so long, so the two turned back to their work.
___
The quickest timer hit 0 on January 3rd, 2028. It was pretty on the nose. Jamie and Jeremy had watched the countdown with the same grimness that they'd watched the 2028 New Year's Eve shows. It had been beyond surreal watching people try to celebrate. Almost as surreal as what occurred on the morning on January 3rd.
A spaceship descended. In a sense, it was almost anti-climatic because everyone expected it. The ship was unlike any they'd seen, expectedly, and the MechEs and the astrophysicists and the astronomers and the nuclear physicists all went nuts. Then the aliens stepped off and the zoologists and biologists went nuts.
The privileged few who had been on the specific case surrounded the ship. News reporters tried to get in with their microphones and Jamie was almost impressed at how reckless they were. When the Mariana Trench times out, if humans are still alive, she wanted nowhere near that ship.
The first alien to step out is immediately swarmed and Jamie can't see much of it. But she hears when it starts speaking and what it says changes the face of Earth forever, in a way no one predicted.
___
It's 2029. April. Midway through April. The sky hums with ships and the night rarely comes with the influx of massive vessels in orbit. Some of the aliens clustered around the moon, some around Venus or Mars, even some as far out as Mercury.
The ground is cluttered with debris. This is what happens when twelve alien races decide that your homeworld is their battlegrounds.
What no one expected was for Earth to not be their target. No one expected how much the aliens would care about the humans. No one expected the aliens to try to win the humans over.
Jamie is one of the six remaining scientists on the Mariana Trench team. She and Jeremy are 1/3 of the team not removed for corruption. Corruption is defined as anything other than milking the aliens for all the tech they can. Corruption is defined as wanting the fighting to stop. Because this thing ends with either all the aliens dying, leaving a clear victor, or with Earth deciding a victor. And while the fighting continues, so do the bribes. Protesting the orbital war is now considered treason by many governments. That's how crazy life has gotten.
Occasionally there's a space battle so ferocious that the shrapnel hits Earth and there are casualties. This always causes the aliens involved to fall over themselves to make reparations.
Not all the species have arrived yet. Jamie is one of the few of the mind to stop the fighting, but even then, it's not clear what the right call is. While the fighting continues, Earth is the darling of the galaxy. Once they pick a winner, they are officially welcomed into the space age. They will have 100 years to prepare for the next intersystem gladiatorial battle.
At least, this is what the translators believe is the case. It's not entirely sure. Maybe a loser might just nuke the planet.
The aliens are all set to be here come 2030. The total species expected are 20 and Jamie isn't sure if the planet can survive that level of war.
So they have about eight months. Jamie and Jeremy watch their steps carefully as they walk home from work that Friday evening. Their steps are traced almost more than anyone's, so it's delicate work avoiding the watching eyes of the US government.
But they've done it a dozen times and soon find themselves alone and unwatched as they approach a sewer grate. In a flash of half a second, both have disappeared down it. From there, it's a short walk to where the rest of the rebellion lives.
The two have some clout there, being one of the few scientists left on a specific alien's team. The Mariana Aliens are called just that and both scientists have a wealth of information about them.
The meeting room of the rebellion is packed with dozens of people. As crowded as it feels, it also feels starkly empty. This is all New York City could attract. These are the only inhabitants willing to risk the government's wrath to save the Earth.
The meeting commences and Jeremy tosses Jamie an eye that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't work. Because this is the day they bring news that is going to cause a lot of folks to lose hope.
"Jamie has a few words now, from the tech team." The leader of the NYC branch, a disgraced but competent general, waves Jamie up to the podium.
"What we know is short but troubling." She clears her throat. "Actually, troubling is a light word to use. But we've translated the latest batch of information from the Mariana Aliens. A 21st alien species is heading to Earth. One that hasn't competed in millennia. One that none of them realized was still alive." She rubbed her glasses, aware of the eyes on her. "We only just finished deciphering the message. It was sent to us months ago and if we'd had the time..."
"When are they scheduled to arrive?" the general asks, his voice rife with urgency.
"Six weeks." Jamie pushes her glasses back on. "We don't have eight months. We have six weeks."
___
Read more stories at [r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide/) | FADE IN:
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*A solemn group of men sits around a large, wooden table. One is at the head in full military dress, chest adorned dramatically with medals. This is WHITEMAN, General of the Space Force.*
**WHITEMAN:** And thus, I bring the first general meeting of the Space Force to a close. We have all agreed--
*A cough of objection rang out across the room. All eyes turned and focused on one man, squeezed in at the very opposite side of the table, almost as if he was shunted in at the last moment. This is TAYLOR.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir, if you’ll please listen to me
**WHITEMAN:** Enough with your silly talk! Every second you waste of ours is a second we are not preparing for war!
**TAYLOR:** But sir, we are basing this off one message in English! What of the numerous symbols left behind? What if there were things that we simply do not know about?
**WHITEMAN:** (*sneering*) We have all we need. Technology far beyond our time, hidden under our very noses. And a warning to men, to prepare for war in 20 years!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** But then, why wait for 20 years? If the goal was to subjugate us, why not now? Why--
**WHITEMAN:** Too many questions! A soldier simply has to listen!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, I’m no soldier. I’m here to understand why this has happened, not jump the gun at a perceived threat.
**WHITEMAN:** Threat! Even you know it’s a threat!
**TAYLOR:** Sir, that’s not what I--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We are preparing for war! And we will win! No matter what it takes.
*TEN YEARS LATER.*
INT. SPACE FORCE MEETING ROOM A
*Whiteman sits at the top of the table. His head of black hair is now almost fully grey, having aged two decades in one. Taylor sits at the foot of the table, head in his hands. *
**WHITEMAN:** (*shouting*) Budget?! Budget?! We are preparing for war with aliens! If we need budget, we can draw them from elsewhere!
*Several heads nodded and murmured in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** (*wearily *) From where, sir? Half the nation’s budget at this point is dedicated to here.
**WHITEMAN:** Anywhere! Education, welfare...
**TAYLOR:** But the people need them! What use is there--
**WHITEMAN:** What use? We have to defend our home against this threat, first and foremost! The people will understand!
**TAYLOR:** Sir--
**WHITEMAN:** Enough! We need what we need. I’ll go directly to the President.
**TAYLOR** (*whispered*) What use is defending our home when there isn’t one?
*TWENTY YEARS LATER*
*Whiteman’s hair is now stark white. His powerful voice has not diminished, however, and continues to dominate the proceedings.*
**WHITEMAN:** We are finally ready for the promised day. All our weapons and soldiers are at the ready. We will not lose.
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** Stand ready, gentlemen. Our troops might fall, and their lives might be gone, but that’s OK! It was worth the sacrifice. We will celebrate when we drive the invaders away from our planet!
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement.*
**TAYLOR:** Sir.
**WHITEMAN:** No more aliens! No more threats! They will burn in hell for their crimes!
**TAYLOR:** Sir!
*WHITEMAN:* You? You are still here?
**TAYLOR:** I’ve done it. I’ve cracked the code.
**WHITEMAN:** Code? What code? What the hell are you talking about?
**TAYLOR:** The symbols underwater. The message that you refused to acknowledge.
**WHITEMAN:** What symbols? Wasn’t there just one message? To prepare for war?
*Several heads nod and murmur in agreement. Taylor sighs.*
**TAYLOR:** No. It just said we had 20 years left, and that they were coming. I found out why they were coming.
**WHITEMAN:** For war!
*Rousing cheers sounded from numerous men. Taylor slammed his palm on the table, and the raucous crowd quieted instantly.*
**TAYLOR:** No! You are wrong. You are all wrong! There was never any threat! They said we had 20 years to clean up our act! To make the world a better place!
**WHITEMAN:** And we’ve made it stronger!
**TAYLOR:** We haven’t! We’ve invested everything into weapons, and none into our people! We might as well have killed them ourselves as they lay on the streets, starving and homeless.
**WHITEMAN:** But our soldiers--
**TAYLOR:** Our soldiers mean nothing! Do you think that just 20 years will change their technological advantage? They have freaking spaceships! What do you think they have now?
*The room is deathly quiet.*
**WHITEMAN:**(*hopefully*) Less spaceships?
*The room begins to shake. Heads turn and start shouting. A laser beam shoots through the ceiling, instantly incinerating one head.*
**TAYLOR:** We are done. We abandoned our people. And they gave up on Earth.
FADE TO BLACK
---
r/dexdrafts | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | When the Atlanteans rose out the sea, leaving behind unfathomable cities, knowledge, treasure, and a singular burning question... well, there was really only one thing to do.
---
“Comms check,” said Ana idly, rolling her neck. She stretched around, getting acclimated to the feeling of Odysseian on her skin, that rubbery yet fragile metal of the Atlanteans. She took small, measured breaths; it could get claustrophobic wearing the helmet when one wasn’t in the water.
“We read you, Analiese,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “How are you feeling?”
The knife strapped to her thigh under the suit jiggled as she did some jumping jacks.
“Nervous,” she said truthfully. “Excited. I kinda have to pee.”
Captain Lee laughed. “Well, everytime you needed to pee before a Dive, we’ve had some amazing luck, so keep it up. Er, keep it in?”
Ana stepped up to the railing. The dark sea stretched out before her with open arms, like a hungry, expectant lover. She felt it call to her in a way that nothing aboveground ever could.
“Gross, Captain. I’m going in.”
“Analiese, wait, we haven’t—”
Ana leapt off the railing before Captain could finish his thought. She let out a loud whoop, laughing, and plunged into the sea.
Her suit activated. The Hub came fully alive in front of her face, displaying depth, temperature, and a whole range of other pretty important information you want under the sea. Her gills displayed: not actual gills on her neck, but on the metal itself, which would constantly filter oxygen out of seawater for her and shove the carbon dioxide out.
Alien technology, the likes of which was reserved only to science fiction a mere year before. Now, Odysseian was the smallest taste of what the Atlanteans held. And yet, it wasn’t enough. *You have 20 years left. They are coming*. The final words of an alien race that lived below the sea. They only had 19 years now, and still they didn’t know what they were preparing for. That’s why Ana dove: to find answers.
She tapped the side of her helmet twice with ease—moving underwater in this suit was easier than moving on land. Her Hub lightened the surroundings, making it clear as day.
She descended. Ana had always been an avid swimmer, but it wasn’t until she acquired her suit that she realized how utterly slow she’d been before. Swimming in Odysseian almost ruined the experience of swimming regularly. In the suit, she felt like, well, a fish. She didn’t push herself through the water; the water moved out its way for her.
“I am very upset with you right now, Diver,” said Captain Lee through the Hub. “We must follow proper U.N procedure before going on a Dive!”
Ana rolled her eyes. He called her “Diver” when he was upset. “Sorry, Captain. But if we’re not quick, we’ll miss out on the meal. Odyessia is swarming with Divers right now.”
She wasn’t lying, and Captain Lee could see through her Hub. There were perhaps 50 other Divers either heading towards Odyessia, or already inside. However, it wasn’t entirely the truth. She had something she needed to do in the City.
“Fine,” said Captain Lee. “But we’re going to have a talk about your mutinous actions afterwards, you hear me?”
“I hear you, Captain.”
Ana sped up, tearing through the sea at a speed which would’ve killed her if she wasn’t in the suit. The sight of Odysseia had her heart pumping and she couldn’t help but feel like a little girl again.
Odysseia, the First City. Great domed buildings nestled on the seafloor, accompanied by coral spires and great archways of a white, smooth stone they hadn’t been able to identify or even chip a piece off yet. The City glowed with a bright light not dissimilar to the aurora borealis.
“It really is something, isn’t it?” said Captain Lee, plain awe and admiration in his voice.
“It really is,” she replied, goosebumps rising on her arms. Even after over a dozen Dives, she still felt awed by the First City.
She swam through the archway that signified the entrance to the City. A few Divers were working on the archway with knives, underwater saws, and hammers. They wouldn’t get anything out of that. The whitestone was impervious, as far as humans were concerned.
Ana avoided the right-half of Odysseia; she had plans elsewhere. She went off to the left, towards the Great Temple.
“The Temple again?” said Captain Lee, not quite displeasure in his voice. “We’ve already been there, multiple times. We need to find more Odysseian.”
“I know,” said Ana, “but I just need to try something. Trust me, Captain.”
The Captain’s silence indicated grudging acceptance.
The Temple was the largest building in Odysseia, but it was also the sparsest. Coral columns as tall as buildings held up the massive roof, which was decked with beautiful friezes depicting the Atlanteans in profile performing strange rituals. Ana had spent quite a bit of time staring at the art on her early Dives, before Captain had gotten close enough with her to start yelling.
Ana passed through the open columns into the Temple. The gravity field which ran inside the buildings of Odysseia kicked in, and Ana rolled to her feet as she swam through into the air barrier. She kept her helmet on to maintain a link with Captain.
“I don’t understand your fascination with this place,” groused Captain Lee.
How could he? He was a good man, a kind person and a trusted friend, but at his heart his love for Odysseia and the Atlanteans came from greed. He desired the treasure, not the knowledge.
Ana was different. In her early Dives, something about one of the depictions that stuck with her. An Atlantean, presumably, who knelt over the whitestone altar in the centre of the Temple, a blade frozen in motion towards another Atlantean that laid on the altar.
Answers. She was here for answers.
“What are you doing, Analiese?” asked Captain Lee, slight irritation in his voice. “You’ve stared at this stupid altar enough times, haven’t you?”
Ana closed her eyes. She could see the frieze in her head, like it was embedded in her mind. An Atlantean. Knelt before the altar. Its blade up in the air, swinging down towards the altar. Towards the sacrifice.
It was foolhardy. It was suicide. It was going to get her License revoked.
“Captain, I’m going dark,” said Ana.
“Wait, what?”
Ana tapped the side of her helmet three times, then took it off. She disengaged her suit entirely, leaving her in shorts and a tank top, thousands of feet under the sea. She breathed the air in; it was strangely clean, not tasting of salt at all.
She turned to her sides. Through the open gaps between the columns she could see the sea rippling like curtains. If she took one step outside, she’d die instantly, crushed into a human can.
No time to think. Ana laid the Odysseian suit atop the altar carefully. The helmet up top, the suit below, so it formed the shape of a flattened, metal human being.
Ana took a deep breath and knelt. She thought long and hard about what she was about to do, and wondered how she could feel so sure. There was a voice in her that didn’t try to dissuade her with fears or anxieties; instead, it encouraged her. Urged her on. Told her this was the right thing to do.
She was here for answers. Why did they leave? Where did they go? What were they running from?
Ana grabbed the knife strapped to her thigh. She raised it up.
“I offer this life as sacrifice,” she whispered, the sound echoing in the Temple. The words came out of her, from some unknown depth.
Ana slammed the knife down into the center of the suit, shattering the metal like glass. Her heart stopped; her eyes grew wide.
And the Temple began to shake.
---
Check out my profile for more :D | It had been twenty years since the Great Departure, and we were no where closer to salvation than the day they left.
At first the event was all the rage. Millions saw the city-sized spaceships rise from the ocean and consume the skies, leaving trails of water, fish, and whatever else happened to catch a ride up before falling back down. It wasn’t until they were just specks in the sky that people began to react. Panic was the first wave of emotion that swept through the world’s population. Was it aliens? Was it secret government operations? No one knew, but everyone had their own opinions.
It took a massive and powerful crackdown in order to get everyone under control. Several cities were burned and order was lost for several months. But after the initial shock wore off, people settled back into their normal lives. The only thing that changed on their part was the knowledge that it happened. A few people made fortunes off of viral videos, but otherwise people returned to the way it had been.
While the world population calmed down, governments began bickering about what to do. In the midst of political gridlock, some private enterprises put together dive teams to investigate where they came from before it became illegal. It was these expeditions that revealed the true impact of what we witnessed. Beneath the open waters were gaping holes in the ocean floor, revealing massive and complex cities, all interconnected through the Earth’s crust. A subterranean civilization had been thriving beneath us and advancing beyond our capabilities.
Not only did they demonstrate their technological prowess through the Great Departure, but the cities left behind were woven with technology we had only dreamed of. Power structures harnessing the earth’s internal heat and mantle flow, teleportation devices that could transport materials and (as some believed) even living souls across the planet, and even atomic manipulators that would rearrange the structure of atoms and molecules to whatever they desired. Of course these things took time to discover and understand, and it was apparently time we hardly had.
While the beings who departed earth used an unknown language, it was apparent they knew ours well enough to leave a message. “You have 20 years left. They are coming.” The ominous message took us two years to discover, and which left us with eighteen years to decipher its meaning. What would cause such an advanced civilization to flee?
Theories grew and flew around the world faster than the ships we had seen. Some thought it was a harbinger of an extraterrestrial threat. Others thought it was a prank pulled by the explorers. There was one, however, who knew the answer.
On the day marking twenty years since the Great Departure, an announcement was made by an obscure company. “We know the meaning,” they began, “of the message that has launched our world into a new era.”
“Early in the 20th century, our company accidentally discovered a tunnel while digging for oil beneath the ocean floor. It was held secret while we interacted with them until we knew it was safe. We learned from them, and they from us. And while this was happening, we knew as well that others like us would find them.
“Over time we realized just how advanced they were than us. They were not held back by petty squabbles. They were not deterred by limited resources. Rather, they worked together to make of what they had, and discover what they had not. They lived peacefully and symbolically, quite a contrast to how we lived and still live.
“We both realized they would be better off without us, without human kind, yet our meeting was inevitable due to our spreading dominion over planet Earth. Twenty years was our best guess as to when they would be discovered by the rest of the world. They took their time, they prepared their departure, and we know what happened after that.
“The message, about twenty years, was given from us, to them, *about us*. Let us learn from them in their absence, and perhaps one day, dream to become more like them.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | Jamie took her glasses off and rubbed them, as if cleaning the lenses would make the giant, underwater city go away. How did they miss this? How had they missed this?
She'd been to this area of the Mariana Trench before. This very area. That's why she'd been sent on this mission.
"We found it here too," reported Jeremy, her coworker, the archeologist. "You have 20 years left. They are coming." He sighed and also took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses. "What could it mean?"
"Well we're no damn closer here. Take down the symbols, send them to linguistics. Maybe they can make some sense out of this."
Jeremy was already at work taking pictures while Jamie checks the submarine's vital signs. As she made some adjustments to the oxygen and pressure levels, a huge release of bubbles from a vent beneath the sub released.
Jamie assumed they'd die. Really, she did. An abnormality couldn't just occur this at 11k meters without killing you. There was no way to escape it. Deep-sea diving had precious few escape routes.
But they didn't die. Instead, as the bubbles cleared, the pair saw a new message on the wall.
"You have 19 years. They are coming."
That's when the panic started setting in.
___
Six months passed of frantic research. When Jamie and Jeremy next went down, the message had changed to 16 years. It wasn't following Earth's time. However, the weirdest part of it all was that each underwater city had a different time. The shortest said 6 years remaining. The longest of them expired in 2030. No one knew what to do.
"Maybe we just evacuate Earth." Jeremy leaned back in his chair, eyes heavy from sleepless nights. "Shoot a few billionaires up to Mars, see if they can't repopulate us."
"Mmm, I'm sure Elon Musk would love that. Imagine, an entire new generation inseminated by him. He'd probably try to copyright that, name them in his image." Jamie can't stop a hysterical little giggle that is soon choked by a sob. She shook her head, surprised at herself.
"You have family, James?" Jeremy asked, tactfully ignoring the show of emotion.
"A mom, a dad, same as everyone. They're getting along in age. Part of me thinks I should quit this and just give them a good couple remaining months before earth goes caput." Her parents were in a home and her sister had died of cancer years ago. She had an ex from her 20s she didn't talk to. No kids. Jeremy didn't need to know any of that.
He nodded. "I've got some cousins. A twin I don't talk to. You'd think I'd want to reconcile with him but I'm not interested. It was his bad, not mine. If he wants to make good, he knows how to reach me."
It was small talk, kinda. Talking about the family and friends they'd lose, that's what passed as small talk these days. But they could only dawdle so long, so the two turned back to their work.
___
The quickest timer hit 0 on January 3rd, 2028. It was pretty on the nose. Jamie and Jeremy had watched the countdown with the same grimness that they'd watched the 2028 New Year's Eve shows. It had been beyond surreal watching people try to celebrate. Almost as surreal as what occurred on the morning on January 3rd.
A spaceship descended. In a sense, it was almost anti-climatic because everyone expected it. The ship was unlike any they'd seen, expectedly, and the MechEs and the astrophysicists and the astronomers and the nuclear physicists all went nuts. Then the aliens stepped off and the zoologists and biologists went nuts.
The privileged few who had been on the specific case surrounded the ship. News reporters tried to get in with their microphones and Jamie was almost impressed at how reckless they were. When the Mariana Trench times out, if humans are still alive, she wanted nowhere near that ship.
The first alien to step out is immediately swarmed and Jamie can't see much of it. But she hears when it starts speaking and what it says changes the face of Earth forever, in a way no one predicted.
___
It's 2029. April. Midway through April. The sky hums with ships and the night rarely comes with the influx of massive vessels in orbit. Some of the aliens clustered around the moon, some around Venus or Mars, even some as far out as Mercury.
The ground is cluttered with debris. This is what happens when twelve alien races decide that your homeworld is their battlegrounds.
What no one expected was for Earth to not be their target. No one expected how much the aliens would care about the humans. No one expected the aliens to try to win the humans over.
Jamie is one of the six remaining scientists on the Mariana Trench team. She and Jeremy are 1/3 of the team not removed for corruption. Corruption is defined as anything other than milking the aliens for all the tech they can. Corruption is defined as wanting the fighting to stop. Because this thing ends with either all the aliens dying, leaving a clear victor, or with Earth deciding a victor. And while the fighting continues, so do the bribes. Protesting the orbital war is now considered treason by many governments. That's how crazy life has gotten.
Occasionally there's a space battle so ferocious that the shrapnel hits Earth and there are casualties. This always causes the aliens involved to fall over themselves to make reparations.
Not all the species have arrived yet. Jamie is one of the few of the mind to stop the fighting, but even then, it's not clear what the right call is. While the fighting continues, Earth is the darling of the galaxy. Once they pick a winner, they are officially welcomed into the space age. They will have 100 years to prepare for the next intersystem gladiatorial battle.
At least, this is what the translators believe is the case. It's not entirely sure. Maybe a loser might just nuke the planet.
The aliens are all set to be here come 2030. The total species expected are 20 and Jamie isn't sure if the planet can survive that level of war.
So they have about eight months. Jamie and Jeremy watch their steps carefully as they walk home from work that Friday evening. Their steps are traced almost more than anyone's, so it's delicate work avoiding the watching eyes of the US government.
But they've done it a dozen times and soon find themselves alone and unwatched as they approach a sewer grate. In a flash of half a second, both have disappeared down it. From there, it's a short walk to where the rest of the rebellion lives.
The two have some clout there, being one of the few scientists left on a specific alien's team. The Mariana Aliens are called just that and both scientists have a wealth of information about them.
The meeting room of the rebellion is packed with dozens of people. As crowded as it feels, it also feels starkly empty. This is all New York City could attract. These are the only inhabitants willing to risk the government's wrath to save the Earth.
The meeting commences and Jeremy tosses Jamie an eye that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't work. Because this is the day they bring news that is going to cause a lot of folks to lose hope.
"Jamie has a few words now, from the tech team." The leader of the NYC branch, a disgraced but competent general, waves Jamie up to the podium.
"What we know is short but troubling." She clears her throat. "Actually, troubling is a light word to use. But we've translated the latest batch of information from the Mariana Aliens. A 21st alien species is heading to Earth. One that hasn't competed in millennia. One that none of them realized was still alive." She rubbed her glasses, aware of the eyes on her. "We only just finished deciphering the message. It was sent to us months ago and if we'd had the time..."
"When are they scheduled to arrive?" the general asks, his voice rife with urgency.
"Six weeks." Jamie pushes her glasses back on. "We don't have eight months. We have six weeks."
___
Read more stories at [r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide/) | It had been twenty years since the Great Departure, and we were no where closer to salvation than the day they left.
At first the event was all the rage. Millions saw the city-sized spaceships rise from the ocean and consume the skies, leaving trails of water, fish, and whatever else happened to catch a ride up before falling back down. It wasn’t until they were just specks in the sky that people began to react. Panic was the first wave of emotion that swept through the world’s population. Was it aliens? Was it secret government operations? No one knew, but everyone had their own opinions.
It took a massive and powerful crackdown in order to get everyone under control. Several cities were burned and order was lost for several months. But after the initial shock wore off, people settled back into their normal lives. The only thing that changed on their part was the knowledge that it happened. A few people made fortunes off of viral videos, but otherwise people returned to the way it had been.
While the world population calmed down, governments began bickering about what to do. In the midst of political gridlock, some private enterprises put together dive teams to investigate where they came from before it became illegal. It was these expeditions that revealed the true impact of what we witnessed. Beneath the open waters were gaping holes in the ocean floor, revealing massive and complex cities, all interconnected through the Earth’s crust. A subterranean civilization had been thriving beneath us and advancing beyond our capabilities.
Not only did they demonstrate their technological prowess through the Great Departure, but the cities left behind were woven with technology we had only dreamed of. Power structures harnessing the earth’s internal heat and mantle flow, teleportation devices that could transport materials and (as some believed) even living souls across the planet, and even atomic manipulators that would rearrange the structure of atoms and molecules to whatever they desired. Of course these things took time to discover and understand, and it was apparently time we hardly had.
While the beings who departed earth used an unknown language, it was apparent they knew ours well enough to leave a message. “You have 20 years left. They are coming.” The ominous message took us two years to discover, and which left us with eighteen years to decipher its meaning. What would cause such an advanced civilization to flee?
Theories grew and flew around the world faster than the ships we had seen. Some thought it was a harbinger of an extraterrestrial threat. Others thought it was a prank pulled by the explorers. There was one, however, who knew the answer.
On the day marking twenty years since the Great Departure, an announcement was made by an obscure company. “We know the meaning,” they began, “of the message that has launched our world into a new era.”
“Early in the 20th century, our company accidentally discovered a tunnel while digging for oil beneath the ocean floor. It was held secret while we interacted with them until we knew it was safe. We learned from them, and they from us. And while this was happening, we knew as well that others like us would find them.
“Over time we realized just how advanced they were than us. They were not held back by petty squabbles. They were not deterred by limited resources. Rather, they worked together to make of what they had, and discover what they had not. They lived peacefully and symbolically, quite a contrast to how we lived and still live.
“We both realized they would be better off without us, without human kind, yet our meeting was inevitable due to our spreading dominion over planet Earth. Twenty years was our best guess as to when they would be discovered by the rest of the world. They took their time, they prepared their departure, and we know what happened after that.
“The message, about twenty years, was given from us, to them, *about us*. Let us learn from them in their absence, and perhaps one day, dream to become more like them.” | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | Jamie took her glasses off and rubbed them, as if cleaning the lenses would make the giant, underwater city go away. How did they miss this? How had they missed this?
She'd been to this area of the Mariana Trench before. This very area. That's why she'd been sent on this mission.
"We found it here too," reported Jeremy, her coworker, the archeologist. "You have 20 years left. They are coming." He sighed and also took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses. "What could it mean?"
"Well we're no damn closer here. Take down the symbols, send them to linguistics. Maybe they can make some sense out of this."
Jeremy was already at work taking pictures while Jamie checks the submarine's vital signs. As she made some adjustments to the oxygen and pressure levels, a huge release of bubbles from a vent beneath the sub released.
Jamie assumed they'd die. Really, she did. An abnormality couldn't just occur this at 11k meters without killing you. There was no way to escape it. Deep-sea diving had precious few escape routes.
But they didn't die. Instead, as the bubbles cleared, the pair saw a new message on the wall.
"You have 19 years. They are coming."
That's when the panic started setting in.
___
Six months passed of frantic research. When Jamie and Jeremy next went down, the message had changed to 16 years. It wasn't following Earth's time. However, the weirdest part of it all was that each underwater city had a different time. The shortest said 6 years remaining. The longest of them expired in 2030. No one knew what to do.
"Maybe we just evacuate Earth." Jeremy leaned back in his chair, eyes heavy from sleepless nights. "Shoot a few billionaires up to Mars, see if they can't repopulate us."
"Mmm, I'm sure Elon Musk would love that. Imagine, an entire new generation inseminated by him. He'd probably try to copyright that, name them in his image." Jamie can't stop a hysterical little giggle that is soon choked by a sob. She shook her head, surprised at herself.
"You have family, James?" Jeremy asked, tactfully ignoring the show of emotion.
"A mom, a dad, same as everyone. They're getting along in age. Part of me thinks I should quit this and just give them a good couple remaining months before earth goes caput." Her parents were in a home and her sister had died of cancer years ago. She had an ex from her 20s she didn't talk to. No kids. Jeremy didn't need to know any of that.
He nodded. "I've got some cousins. A twin I don't talk to. You'd think I'd want to reconcile with him but I'm not interested. It was his bad, not mine. If he wants to make good, he knows how to reach me."
It was small talk, kinda. Talking about the family and friends they'd lose, that's what passed as small talk these days. But they could only dawdle so long, so the two turned back to their work.
___
The quickest timer hit 0 on January 3rd, 2028. It was pretty on the nose. Jamie and Jeremy had watched the countdown with the same grimness that they'd watched the 2028 New Year's Eve shows. It had been beyond surreal watching people try to celebrate. Almost as surreal as what occurred on the morning on January 3rd.
A spaceship descended. In a sense, it was almost anti-climatic because everyone expected it. The ship was unlike any they'd seen, expectedly, and the MechEs and the astrophysicists and the astronomers and the nuclear physicists all went nuts. Then the aliens stepped off and the zoologists and biologists went nuts.
The privileged few who had been on the specific case surrounded the ship. News reporters tried to get in with their microphones and Jamie was almost impressed at how reckless they were. When the Mariana Trench times out, if humans are still alive, she wanted nowhere near that ship.
The first alien to step out is immediately swarmed and Jamie can't see much of it. But she hears when it starts speaking and what it says changes the face of Earth forever, in a way no one predicted.
___
It's 2029. April. Midway through April. The sky hums with ships and the night rarely comes with the influx of massive vessels in orbit. Some of the aliens clustered around the moon, some around Venus or Mars, even some as far out as Mercury.
The ground is cluttered with debris. This is what happens when twelve alien races decide that your homeworld is their battlegrounds.
What no one expected was for Earth to not be their target. No one expected how much the aliens would care about the humans. No one expected the aliens to try to win the humans over.
Jamie is one of the six remaining scientists on the Mariana Trench team. She and Jeremy are 1/3 of the team not removed for corruption. Corruption is defined as anything other than milking the aliens for all the tech they can. Corruption is defined as wanting the fighting to stop. Because this thing ends with either all the aliens dying, leaving a clear victor, or with Earth deciding a victor. And while the fighting continues, so do the bribes. Protesting the orbital war is now considered treason by many governments. That's how crazy life has gotten.
Occasionally there's a space battle so ferocious that the shrapnel hits Earth and there are casualties. This always causes the aliens involved to fall over themselves to make reparations.
Not all the species have arrived yet. Jamie is one of the few of the mind to stop the fighting, but even then, it's not clear what the right call is. While the fighting continues, Earth is the darling of the galaxy. Once they pick a winner, they are officially welcomed into the space age. They will have 100 years to prepare for the next intersystem gladiatorial battle.
At least, this is what the translators believe is the case. It's not entirely sure. Maybe a loser might just nuke the planet.
The aliens are all set to be here come 2030. The total species expected are 20 and Jamie isn't sure if the planet can survive that level of war.
So they have about eight months. Jamie and Jeremy watch their steps carefully as they walk home from work that Friday evening. Their steps are traced almost more than anyone's, so it's delicate work avoiding the watching eyes of the US government.
But they've done it a dozen times and soon find themselves alone and unwatched as they approach a sewer grate. In a flash of half a second, both have disappeared down it. From there, it's a short walk to where the rest of the rebellion lives.
The two have some clout there, being one of the few scientists left on a specific alien's team. The Mariana Aliens are called just that and both scientists have a wealth of information about them.
The meeting room of the rebellion is packed with dozens of people. As crowded as it feels, it also feels starkly empty. This is all New York City could attract. These are the only inhabitants willing to risk the government's wrath to save the Earth.
The meeting commences and Jeremy tosses Jamie an eye that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't work. Because this is the day they bring news that is going to cause a lot of folks to lose hope.
"Jamie has a few words now, from the tech team." The leader of the NYC branch, a disgraced but competent general, waves Jamie up to the podium.
"What we know is short but troubling." She clears her throat. "Actually, troubling is a light word to use. But we've translated the latest batch of information from the Mariana Aliens. A 21st alien species is heading to Earth. One that hasn't competed in millennia. One that none of them realized was still alive." She rubbed her glasses, aware of the eyes on her. "We only just finished deciphering the message. It was sent to us months ago and if we'd had the time..."
"When are they scheduled to arrive?" the general asks, his voice rife with urgency.
"Six weeks." Jamie pushes her glasses back on. "We don't have eight months. We have six weeks."
___
Read more stories at [r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide/) | Turns out that Plato's story about Atlantis, might have been more than a morality story aimed at improving Athenian attitude. There really was a civilisation, far more advanced than any other. It sank beneath the seas as the oceans rose after the last ice age ended, and the glaciers melted. We learned this in the most unusual manner possible. We learned this when the Atlanteans evacuated Earth.
Their vast empty underwater cities, before shielded from our sight by vast hard-light holographic shielding, were now open to us. They were human, after a fashion, closer to evolved Neanderthals than the modern Homo Sapiens, or so our anthropologists and archaeologists found as they excavated the vast necropoli built into the ocean floor.
But the thing that we were most excited about, and perhaps most worried about, was the launch hangars for their ships. They were covered in hundreds of different languages. Thousands. A simple group of words, written in Etruscan, Linear B, Mohenjo-Daro text, and various languages and alphabets which we have never seen before. But one was written in a modern language. A simple message with a complex story to it.
It was in English, though Elizabethan, which translated into modern English read, ''*You have 20 years left. They are coming.*'' Immediately after the message was found the conspiracy theories grew like weeds. Ranging from a Reptilian invasion, to the return of the Old Gods, to the Rapture, to the return of an immortal Elvis, they were all being spoken about by everyone.
And behind closed doors, serious men and women, wearing serious clothes in serious rooms, held very quiet and very important talks. To curb the panic, these men and women called for planetary mobilisation. The entirety of the world was turned from a capitalist consumer economy, to a militarised war economy. And everything was turned towards preparing for the whoever would be coming. Orbital weapons platforms, self-sustaining listening bases on the Moon and Mars, more ICBMs, a united world military government. Scientists and engineers worked tirelessly in the abandoned Atlantean cities to reverse-engineer whatever technology had been left behind when they fled. All of this was achieved in the 20 years between the Escape of the Atlanteans, and the coming of the unknown enemy.
The soft human race, millions of which had watched with awe as the Atlantean colony ships fled from the Earth, was no more. The human race had changed from sheer fear. A collective enemy, a fear that all races, creeds, and groups could stand by. And when the deep space warning probes went silent, mankind readied themselves. When the listening posts on Mars sent out warnings before being silenced, the human race prepared their final battle.
And perhaps, it would have been better to have let it happen. To have given up and died. For the war that followed left us ash and corpses in the wake. The enemy struck humanity with weapons which could only barely be understood within our current laws of physics. The enemy struck with no mercy. And mankind, brave and bold, answered back with everything they had.
When the enemy glassed Australia, the few brave survivors on the Moon base boarded their final craft, filled with the Lunar atomic stockpile, and sacrificed themselves to take out the main enemy bombardment ships. When genetically engineered monstrosities were unleashed, it didn't matter if the humans had to affix bayonets to get the killing blow, if only the monsters could be destroyed.
The entire civilian population of many countries were armed with everything they had, and sacrificed themselves to the last human, just to hold the enemy back one more day. When the mutagenic bombs turned humans into creatures which Cronenberg could have only dreamt of, they were still sent to fight. Because this was a war of no mercy. A war of no retreats. A battle where mankind had no intention to win, only to make the enemy's victory as bloody, meaningless, and horrible as possible. To make them bleed their copper-based blood for every atom of the planet they dared to take.
Mankind fought long. Mankind fought hard. Mankind used every horrible and vile weapon ever created by a species such as ours, which holds war so dear to our hearts. In the end the human race poisoned the waters and the land, killing the planet. If humanity could not have the planet, then it would be better if it was dead, or so they reasoned.
That was enough for the aliens. They left in disgust over mankind's insane and zealous defence of Earth. They thought that mankind had committed collective suicide, culled themselves to spite their foes, and deny them the victory which they so desperately desired. But the human race, was not undone. In one of the Atlantean's hangars, was found an unfinished colony ship. A single one of them, which had transported the isolationist Atlanteans to safety. The 20 years was used to prepare that craft for leaving. All samples from the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was loaded aboard the ship. All genetic codes from nearly all known animals on the planet. A good number of medical labs and hydroponic farming areas. A few priceless pieces of human culture, and of course, a significant number of humans in stasis. A total of five-hundred thousand humans in stasis aboard the massive colony ship in fact.
They had been placed in stasis when the battle in Earth's orbit was lost. Only a small crew of scientists and space pilots were onboard the ship. Every month they had received a message from the world government, telling them to wait. Now they hadn't received one in three months, and their remaining scanners told them that the alien fleet had left Earth's orbit.
Since they hadn't received the all-clear signal, they concluded that the Final Sanction of the United Nations Emergency World Government, had been invoked. Emerging from a secret base underneath Greenland, the ship rose into the toxic atmosphere, leaving the dying Earth behind.
And as the ship left, called the Väinämöinen, a name which was picked randomly from a variety of cultural choices, the crew of the ship, talked about the future of mankind. They were heading to a series of likely habitable worlds, trying to find one suitable for colonisation. But the talk among the crew became one of whether the human race could endure another war, if the alien enemy came for them again.
The consensus was eventually reached, that the human race would find a safe haven. And from there, they would build an interstellar empire. One strong enough to not merely hold off an invasion, but to bring total and complete war to those who had invaded Earth. To bring cast down the race which had attacked Earth, and one day return to that cradle of humanity. To cleanse it, and make it a home once again. They swore, as did the colonists later on New Earth, to one day stand on the green fields of Old Earth again.
And woe to any race, even their long lost cousins the Atlanteans, who would stand in their way.
[/r/ApocalypseOwl](https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseOwl/) | |
[WP] Millions witnessed as enormous spaceships emerged from the depth's of the oceans and left Earth. After the event submarines found vast, empty cities underwater, built with unknown tech. Among many unknown symbols, there was one short message in English: "You have 20 years left. They are coming" | Jamie took her glasses off and rubbed them, as if cleaning the lenses would make the giant, underwater city go away. How did they miss this? How had they missed this?
She'd been to this area of the Mariana Trench before. This very area. That's why she'd been sent on this mission.
"We found it here too," reported Jeremy, her coworker, the archeologist. "You have 20 years left. They are coming." He sighed and also took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses. "What could it mean?"
"Well we're no damn closer here. Take down the symbols, send them to linguistics. Maybe they can make some sense out of this."
Jeremy was already at work taking pictures while Jamie checks the submarine's vital signs. As she made some adjustments to the oxygen and pressure levels, a huge release of bubbles from a vent beneath the sub released.
Jamie assumed they'd die. Really, she did. An abnormality couldn't just occur this at 11k meters without killing you. There was no way to escape it. Deep-sea diving had precious few escape routes.
But they didn't die. Instead, as the bubbles cleared, the pair saw a new message on the wall.
"You have 19 years. They are coming."
That's when the panic started setting in.
___
Six months passed of frantic research. When Jamie and Jeremy next went down, the message had changed to 16 years. It wasn't following Earth's time. However, the weirdest part of it all was that each underwater city had a different time. The shortest said 6 years remaining. The longest of them expired in 2030. No one knew what to do.
"Maybe we just evacuate Earth." Jeremy leaned back in his chair, eyes heavy from sleepless nights. "Shoot a few billionaires up to Mars, see if they can't repopulate us."
"Mmm, I'm sure Elon Musk would love that. Imagine, an entire new generation inseminated by him. He'd probably try to copyright that, name them in his image." Jamie can't stop a hysterical little giggle that is soon choked by a sob. She shook her head, surprised at herself.
"You have family, James?" Jeremy asked, tactfully ignoring the show of emotion.
"A mom, a dad, same as everyone. They're getting along in age. Part of me thinks I should quit this and just give them a good couple remaining months before earth goes caput." Her parents were in a home and her sister had died of cancer years ago. She had an ex from her 20s she didn't talk to. No kids. Jeremy didn't need to know any of that.
He nodded. "I've got some cousins. A twin I don't talk to. You'd think I'd want to reconcile with him but I'm not interested. It was his bad, not mine. If he wants to make good, he knows how to reach me."
It was small talk, kinda. Talking about the family and friends they'd lose, that's what passed as small talk these days. But they could only dawdle so long, so the two turned back to their work.
___
The quickest timer hit 0 on January 3rd, 2028. It was pretty on the nose. Jamie and Jeremy had watched the countdown with the same grimness that they'd watched the 2028 New Year's Eve shows. It had been beyond surreal watching people try to celebrate. Almost as surreal as what occurred on the morning on January 3rd.
A spaceship descended. In a sense, it was almost anti-climatic because everyone expected it. The ship was unlike any they'd seen, expectedly, and the MechEs and the astrophysicists and the astronomers and the nuclear physicists all went nuts. Then the aliens stepped off and the zoologists and biologists went nuts.
The privileged few who had been on the specific case surrounded the ship. News reporters tried to get in with their microphones and Jamie was almost impressed at how reckless they were. When the Mariana Trench times out, if humans are still alive, she wanted nowhere near that ship.
The first alien to step out is immediately swarmed and Jamie can't see much of it. But she hears when it starts speaking and what it says changes the face of Earth forever, in a way no one predicted.
___
It's 2029. April. Midway through April. The sky hums with ships and the night rarely comes with the influx of massive vessels in orbit. Some of the aliens clustered around the moon, some around Venus or Mars, even some as far out as Mercury.
The ground is cluttered with debris. This is what happens when twelve alien races decide that your homeworld is their battlegrounds.
What no one expected was for Earth to not be their target. No one expected how much the aliens would care about the humans. No one expected the aliens to try to win the humans over.
Jamie is one of the six remaining scientists on the Mariana Trench team. She and Jeremy are 1/3 of the team not removed for corruption. Corruption is defined as anything other than milking the aliens for all the tech they can. Corruption is defined as wanting the fighting to stop. Because this thing ends with either all the aliens dying, leaving a clear victor, or with Earth deciding a victor. And while the fighting continues, so do the bribes. Protesting the orbital war is now considered treason by many governments. That's how crazy life has gotten.
Occasionally there's a space battle so ferocious that the shrapnel hits Earth and there are casualties. This always causes the aliens involved to fall over themselves to make reparations.
Not all the species have arrived yet. Jamie is one of the few of the mind to stop the fighting, but even then, it's not clear what the right call is. While the fighting continues, Earth is the darling of the galaxy. Once they pick a winner, they are officially welcomed into the space age. They will have 100 years to prepare for the next intersystem gladiatorial battle.
At least, this is what the translators believe is the case. It's not entirely sure. Maybe a loser might just nuke the planet.
The aliens are all set to be here come 2030. The total species expected are 20 and Jamie isn't sure if the planet can survive that level of war.
So they have about eight months. Jamie and Jeremy watch their steps carefully as they walk home from work that Friday evening. Their steps are traced almost more than anyone's, so it's delicate work avoiding the watching eyes of the US government.
But they've done it a dozen times and soon find themselves alone and unwatched as they approach a sewer grate. In a flash of half a second, both have disappeared down it. From there, it's a short walk to where the rest of the rebellion lives.
The two have some clout there, being one of the few scientists left on a specific alien's team. The Mariana Aliens are called just that and both scientists have a wealth of information about them.
The meeting room of the rebellion is packed with dozens of people. As crowded as it feels, it also feels starkly empty. This is all New York City could attract. These are the only inhabitants willing to risk the government's wrath to save the Earth.
The meeting commences and Jeremy tosses Jamie an eye that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't work. Because this is the day they bring news that is going to cause a lot of folks to lose hope.
"Jamie has a few words now, from the tech team." The leader of the NYC branch, a disgraced but competent general, waves Jamie up to the podium.
"What we know is short but troubling." She clears her throat. "Actually, troubling is a light word to use. But we've translated the latest batch of information from the Mariana Aliens. A 21st alien species is heading to Earth. One that hasn't competed in millennia. One that none of them realized was still alive." She rubbed her glasses, aware of the eyes on her. "We only just finished deciphering the message. It was sent to us months ago and if we'd had the time..."
"When are they scheduled to arrive?" the general asks, his voice rife with urgency.
"Six weeks." Jamie pushes her glasses back on. "We don't have eight months. We have six weeks."
___
Read more stories at [r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesByOpheliaCyanide/) | Archeology has never been a hot field for people to go into. But now it's like the space race all over. Government funding poured in and it feels like just about every country had crews exploring the vast underwater expanses of the world.
I still remember last summer when my boss and I looked up from our dig and saw massive shadows fly overhead. Every news station in the world reported on it. And suddenly we realized we weren't alone...in space or on earth.
After our whole team was scaled and funded we began underwater "digs" off the coast of Hawaii...if you can call them that. It was like a gold rush of new findings. Entire cities and cultures had existed right under our nose. I was swimming through an old underwater factory where I speculated the space ships had been developed and built. It'd been months of me hunting for what I guessed may be space ship designs. Can you imagine finding how the hell rockets were fired from the water?!
Anyways I was convinced I'd find something soon the number of tools I'd brought my boss was getting him on board too. We knew we needed something more though, some kind of language or proof that we were ahead of the rest of the digs unearthing artifacts.
That's when I found it. It took me a few seconds to realize I could read the writing in front of me but a cold chill swept through me as I comprehended the note.
"You have 20 years left. They are coming."
I swung my camera around shot as many photos as I could before I bolted to the surface to walkie the team.
As we gathered around my shots everyone was silent. It was the first written record we'd found we had wondered if there was any language at all among these sited.
My boss looked at his lap then cleared his throat. "We need to share the site with everyone immediately. Call the University there's no time to worry about funding and boundary lines we have to share this."
We each looked at each other wondering if sounding the alarms would mean we'd be out of jobs, this had been a race between each country for over a year. My boss immediately speed dialed his friend that helped with press releases asking for reporting asap.
By night fall the entire world of archeologists was mobilizing to search for evidence of plans, language anything to help us piece together if there'd be a war coming.
And by the next day we realized this was much bigger than ancient secrets or fantasies of Atlantis. | |
[WP] You are agent 23-23-24 for the Timeline Integrity Organization. Your job consists of sitting at a desk where you read reports about all types of mundane events to ensure nothing has gone awry. Once day you notice the tiniest detail out of order and realize something terrible has happened. | Modifying timelines is tricky business. For something so fundamental to the fabric of reality, time is shockingly fragile. Technology advanced enough that we could make small changes in the early 22nd century and most of the time since has been spent setting up an infrastructure of agents who document reports that are brought from their timeline to the Timeline Integrity Organization.
The TIO exists in a bubble outside of time and space. That's not to say it is totally unaffected, the agents there still age, but when modifications are made to the timeline the TIO can serve as a vault to ensure that things remain as close to the original timeline as possible.
Agent 23-23-24 spends day after day, reading reports from field agents and comparing the detail from the baseline reports before the TIO started modifications. There is an acceptable range of deviation, but outside of the intended effects, things are meant to be identical. This is usually easy to validate as the same field agent fills out the report in the baseline and the updated timeline and they are incredibly consistent in their files.
*July 3rd 2020 - Original Report #000125450A*
*Case Agent - 08-08-12*
*Subject - Francis Bellemont*
*Subject has gone to lunch at a local pizzeria ironically called The Pizza Place. He sits with two slices of specialty pizza and a soda. He smiles at the waitress who smiles back. They seem to have a connection. Throughout the meal they keep making eyes at each other - it's actually rather cute to watch - and when she hands him the bill, I'd be willing to bet there is a phone number written with a heart.*
*July 3rd 2020 - Modification Report #000125450B*
*Case Agent - 08-08-12*
*Subject - Francis Bellemont*
*Subject has gone to lunch at a local pizzeria ironically called The Pizza Place. He sits with two slices of specialty pizza and a soda. He smiles at the waitress but she doesn't make eye contact. If I had to guess, his shirt had something to do with it.*
Agent 23-23-24 stopped reading there, made a note and scratched his head. It was small but wasn't accounted for in the deviation report. Bellemont's life should be business as usual. 23-23-24 submits the deviation and sits back. A shirt? 08-08-12 didn't mention Bellemont's shirt the first time.
23-23-24 looked earlier in the day, earlier than the analysis was scheduled to begin and found another discrepancy. Bellemont wasn't supposed to own that shirt. He had his eye on it in the store a few days earlier but another man bought it before he could. That man was Taylor Micah and there was a deviation report submitted for him too. He was supposed to go to that store, but instead he was at lunch with a friend named Cheryl Cooke. Cooke was grieving the death of a friend who...who was the original modification.
They missed something.
23-23-24 went in the other direction. Bellemont and the waitress were supposed to get married, have kids, grandkids, great-grandkids named.
*Oh fuck.*
23-23-24 didn't submit another report. He ran. He ran through the office as fast as possible to the unit leader.
"We have a problem!" he shouted as he entered, but several other agents were already in the room.
"I'm aware, agent. We've taken corrective action. The only action there was time for."
"What action is there to take?"
"In time."
Three more agents ran into the office before the unit leader stood.
"I believe that is everyone. Thank you all for coming. It speaks to the integrity of our unit that you all found the error. A mistake was made. Something was overlooked by the Modification Mapping Unit. Dan Kennedy was killed as part of a Modification. Due to this, several degrees of separation later, Francis Bellemont did not get the phone number of his eventual wife. As a result, James Porter was never born and the TIO was never created."
"How are we still here?" one agent asked. It was a fair question. "How do we have reports?"
"The bubble is protecting us. It will hold, for a time. Eventually even that will break down and the TIO will be gone."
"You said corrective action was taken?" 23-23-24 asked.
"We've sent Agent 9."
The room went still. Agent 9 was the gold standard. He could move quickly and resolve anything. That was what they said anyway.
"How much time do we have, sir?"
The unit leader checked his watch, walked to his desk and turned his monitor around. The monitor showed a timer counting down from thirty.
"Thirty seconds. If Agent 9 got the job done, life will continue as usual. If not, our office will cease to exist."
The office was silent as the timer ran down. With five seconds to go, the unit leader spoke again. "No matter the case, it has been a pleasure working with you all."
The timer reached zero. | I rolled my chair back from my desk and stood up, stretching my arms over my head and elongating my body as much as I could. This usually gets the blood flowing and keeps me awake a bit longer. Today’s reports have been a bit torturous to read. I thought about grabbing another cup of coffee to help me stay awake and interested, but 3 cups really was my limit.
My work at the Timeline Integrity Organization was very important in maintaining the order of the world. When agents go into the field for their missions, I need to closely examine their reports, to make sure the timelines stay secure and no event, great or small, causes significant change.
This particular day started like all the others, grabbing my coffee, settling into the chair and reading reports from the agents. Some changes I found were so insignificant, it didn’t matter. Like when Agent 945 took Albert Einstein out for a few drinks one night. The next day, in his hungover state, Einstein came up with the theory of relativity. He wasn’t supposed to do that for another few months, but hey, progress is progress.
My boss came up to me and interrupted my stretching, handing me a short report with a look of confusion on his face.
“Miles, there is something off about Agent 272’s findings, but I can’t place my finger on it. Can you have a look?” He handed me the report and stayed nearby while I read it.
I quickly glanced over the short paper, dated March 13, 1999, roughly two and a half years before the current date, and didn't find anything that seemed off. I sat back down in my chair, ready to dive deeper into this, if my boss thinks there’s something up, there usually was. His instincts were scarily accurate.
After my fourth thorough read through, I finally found it. A misspelling of a name. Someone who should have been assassinated, wasn’t dead at the appropriate time. My boss knew exactly when I found the error, as the color drained out of my face. My shocked, wide eyes looked up at him. Too stunned to speak, I wrote the correct name on the bottom of the piece of paper
He snatched the paper and ran down the hall, beckoning me to follow. I jumped out of my chair and raced after him, into the World Event Viewing Room. I flicked on the USA television and adjusted the time remote to future dates. I quickly scanned through the future to see if anything had changed.
It didn’t take long to find what we were looking for, only a few hours ahead of our own time, the screaming, the burning, the events that never should have taken place. All because an agent killed the wrong man. Those men should never have gotten on the flights, the twin towers in New York never should have fallen, all those people should still be alive.
“We have to call someone!” I shouted. “We have to stop this!”
“Miles, there is nothing we can do. Events are already in motion. Besides, no one will believe us. If we called up the President of the United States right now and told him what we knew, we would be arrested for terrorism.”
“We can’t just sit back and let this happen!” I started to pace the room, the energy that flowed through me kept me from thinking rationally.
“I can’t just stand here and watch this.” I made my way over to the door and put my hand on the doorknob. My boss, the ever calm and complacent man, grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from leaving.
“Miles, no one knows the TIO exists and we have to keep it that way. It’s too late to change these events. There is nothing we can do. I repeat. There is Nothing we can do.”
My boss and I looked at each other, knowing the course of human history will be forever and irreversibly changed. The report fell out of his hand and landed on the floor, the word “Bin Laden” underlined in my handwriting sitting next to the typed “Bin Ladin” clearly visible. We sat, and waited for the world to burn. | |
[WP] You Are One Of The Best Hitmen In The World, And Have Set Up A Service For People To Hire You. However, You Are Shocked When You Meet Your New Client: Death. | A mixture of confusion, excitement and dread brewed in his mind. As an advocate of emotional minimalism, neither of these emotions were common, nor wanted.
Trey was staring wide eyed at his Bitcoin wallet with no understanding of how the balance had more than tripled overnight, when he had reviewed his accounts last.
“They know” he thought.
“But if the cops are onto me, why would they send me so much money?”
A voice in his head told him it was foolish logic to think the authorities would ever do something like this, and on the other hand, what if they needed him to incriminate himself somehow?
“Perhaps they think I’ll cash this out without asking questions, and then they’ll try to bust me for it” he contemplated while pacing around his study.
He had built a reputation on the dark web as one of the most professional hit men, with a 100% success rate.
He was no common criminal, he had a well established life outside as a software developer and there was no one who would even dream to associate the term ‘assassin’ to Trey veroni who was by appearances, your average joe.
“It must be the cops” he declared in his mind. There’s literally no record of transfer, the funds are just there”.
“But if it’s the cops, don’t they know I’m a software developer? Don’t they realise I would notice these discrepancies?”
He was pacing faster now, and he realised it was the first time in over 15 years of his occupation, that he had been stressed and consumed by doubt.
‘Bleeeeep’
“Fuck sakes, not now Harry.”
Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he assumed it was his colleague Harry Delmont, a plump man with the joyful unthinking characteristics of a family dog.
Harry was the type of fellow to send you requests to play ‘fun’ online games such as ‘Bejeweled’ with friends, a practise Trey made sure to continually involve himself in to maintain his nice guy image amongst other people.
His eyes scanned the message, bulging wider as the words were read.
‘I know’ the text read menacingly.
The text was not actually menacing, however in his current state of mind this was the only way Trey could interpret such decrypt words.
There was no sender. No number.
“It’s the fucking cops” he decided.
Folders and books were furiously thrown across the polished wood table as he scrambled to locate the number for this situation.
Every good hit man had a ‘guy’. An escape plan delegated to a professional when they needed a last resort. A new identity, location, everything. It was like witness protection but for criminals and his contact was one of the best.
He retrieved the scrap of paper detailing the number and instructions of what to say on the phone, when his phone messaged again.
‘I am not with the police. I have a job for you, Trey.’
Seeing his name exposed like this, even though the text wasn’t really incriminating set his brain in overdrive.
He immediately turned off his mobile to minimise any more unwanted texts inducing fear and clouding his mind.
As he turned to exit the study to locate his landline phone instead, his mobile beeped again. ‘Bleeeeep’.
He was frozen. In that moment there was no panic, no fear or confusion, there was only blankness.
He slowly pivoted to his mobile and saw it was turned on again, and there was a new message.
‘Your phone will remain on, I have a job for you Trey Veroni.
This time, he responded. With trembling fingers he tapped the screen one letter at a time in a stutter of the phalanges.
‘Who is this?’
Without a seconds hesitation his query was met with a reply.
‘I am your new client. I am Death.’
The fear was gradually transitioning into anger as he typed again, ‘What the fuck do you want??’
‘I have sent you your payment, have you received it? I added a generous sum for your unique services.’
‘That was you?’
‘Did I not just confirm this, Trey?’
Once again the use of his name was triggering impulsive reactions.
‘This is not how I conduct business, I have a system. How did you get my fucking info??’
‘Me Veroni, this is no way to treat a customer.’ I have paid a substantial fee for what I deem to be a simple service.
‘What.. are you.. talking about..?’
‘As aforementioned, I am Death. I am the destroyer of worlds. This duty has been delegated to me by the universe itself and you have no right to take the lives you have taken. Incidentally, it is now your time, however you will face the repercussions for what you have done.
Trey sank into his office chair, his thoughts deflating with the cheap leather.
‘You.. have a job for me..?’
‘Indeed, Trey Veroni.
Your occupation is in direct violation with the laws of the universe.
I have sent you a document to your private encrypted chat service detailing the victim as well as the options available for his death.’
Trey didn’t even need to check the folder to know who the victim was.
‘You want me to kill myself?’
‘You will perform your final act, and I shall consider it my retribution and your redemption for the lives you unjustly taken.
‘Fuck you. You hacker piece of shit. I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Wrong number.’
He threw the phone across the room, closing his eyes once the confirmation of a shattered screen resounded in his ears.
After a series of deep breaths to calm himself, he retrieved the number again for his ‘guy’. “Time to get the fuck outta here” he decided firmly.
As he prepared to dial the number on the scrap piece of paper, the number was no longer written there.
There was simply a message, written in bold, red ink:
24 hours, Trey Veroni. | "Yet another day of bloodshed", I half jokingly said to myself as I brewed my cup of crimson tea. It was just another day of killing. I should feel bad about this, but I don't, somehow.
After the brew and a few sips, I turned on my computer to access my requests. After filtering through the hagglers and the "Could you *please* kill this guy for me, for free? It's my birthday!" weirdos, I had narrowed it down to 12 clients.
"Alright, Client number one, here we go." With a click of the keyboard, I started taking notes. "Requestor: Death, man to kill: one H. J. Simpson, 142 Sydney street, South Dakota- Hey, wait a minute!" I was shocked to discover what had been there. That name was awfully familiar to Homer's name from The Simpsons. Huh. Continuing on in my pad, "Time, 23:07, local time, wanted cause-" now I noticed it. The requestor was death.
After reading on, I noticed that he was willing to pay double the sum that I typically charge. Decided to strike up a conversation over some herbal infusions. Sending out an e-mail, I simply said, "Hey, are you really death?" No response. Whatever, they gave me plenty of information to keep just in case I need to blackmail.
23:06, South Dakota, 142 Sydney street, I noticed the guy in my sights like aimbot. I took my shot, and was about to go home when I found cops behind me. "Ma'am, you're under arrest for unauthorized hitmanning." I quickly dashed, and noticed that not even a single bullet brushed me by. Sprinting off into a cubby as a last resort, and being chased into it too, I felt like my life would end. However, it seemed like the bullets were still in my favor. Even the coppers were confused. Multiple gun jams when held at my face, and when a bat came out, I saw black.
Black robes, that is. A skeletal figure with a reaper was in front of me. It didn't speak, but I could hear it say, "Thanks, kid, I wanted to be off for an hour. Money's in the trunk of the car." The robed figure slashed every man, and I was free to inspect the money and return home. | |
[WP] After killing your friends and family, the supernatural monster, seemingly unkillable, stands before you. But it speaks, "I'm glad you're alright. I saved you. You have no idea what they were planning to do to you, do you?" | "I'm glad you're alright. I saved you. You have no idea what they were planning to do to you, do you?"
I was frozen. Eyes wide in fright. Throat hoarse from screaming. Hands clenched so tight that my knuckles were white. Cold sweat dripped from every pore, each droplet an electrifying reminder on my nerves, telling me that I'm not dead.
Not dead. Alive. With the terrible, terrible monster still standing tall in front of me, a horrifying lucid nightmare of wildly disproportionate limbs and misshapen yellow teeth, now stained with crimson red.
"Mo--monster!" I screamed. "Monster!"
Again and again. Over and over. Through the veil of tears that streamed down and occluded my vision, the monstrosity stood still. Did it have a face? I couldn't tell. All I could do was cry in anguish as a distorted medley of the memories of my kin sped through my mind.
"I saved you," the monster said again, now muted. A far cry from the terrible titan that had shredded through my family in seconds.
"You saved me? Saved?"
I continued badgering it. To its credit, it did not made a move. Rather, it stood, or sat, there, still and speechless, as if waiting for my outburst to end.
It continued for an eternity, but it did end. The tears stopped dripping. The words stopped coming. And finally, I started grieving.
"You didn't know," the monster's scraping voice entered my ears again. "You didn't know who they were."
I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth. I was safe, for some reason. The horror in front of me has yet to threaten me. It was somewhat smaller now, hunched within itself.
"What?"
I asked. I was questioning a monster. It perked up.
"Are you OK?" it offered.
"Do you think anybody could?"
"No," it said. "But you were in immediate danger. I had to eliminate them."
"Danger? They were my family! They've given me everything! Everything I had and more!"
"That's exactly the thing. They didn't. They stole you. Stole you away from where you came from."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I screamed.
"Lo--look behind you."
I turned, perhaps against my better judgement. But there was darkness behind me.
Not just... darkness. The shadows themselves. I walked towards them, mesmerized. The stygian energy flowed off them in sheets, launching themselves against me like waves. As my hand crept towards them, I felt it pull away, like an opposing magnet pole. But soon enough, it came back, the umbra flowing around my fingers and hands, an old friend getting used to my being.
I turned back. There it was again. But I now realized what it was doing. It wasn't holding off. It was... afraid. Submitting.
"You came from the shadows. Your true family will have never awoken had you stayed with the humans."
"I... came from the shadows?"
I turned back. My palm closed on the shadow, and I felt it enter me. A surge of blackness went through my entire body, like the most delicious shot of adrenaline, filling me to the brim with an utter sense of assuredness.
"I came from the shadows," I affirmed.
I threw my arms up suddenly, a maestro conducing the final symphony of his orchestra. The tsunami of pall swelled swiftly, and crashed over all of me and my surroundings. I looked around again, and there was no more traces of my old life. Just me and the monster left.
I came from the shadows. And they are mine to wield.
---
r/dexdrafts | An abject mass of lines hovered before me, tumultuous and tumbling and turning over one another. It was like a three dimensional version of chaotic pen scrawls across a sheet of paper. An ink ball slowly trying to swallow itself, just as it had swallowed everyone else at my birthday party.
Only I remained, scared shitless and backed into a corner, waiting for my appointment with oblivion.
"You're safe now." The creature spoke with a low rasping sound, a whisper that could barely be heard over the constant rustling and jostling of lines. "You don't have to hide in the corner," it said, single lines and tendrils freeing themselves to grotesquely extend in my direction, connecting to the walls on either side of me. "Hiding won't help you."
My hands went up reflexively. "Okay," I said, casting about the room for anything that could help me. There was barely any sign of the screams that had marked the previous few minutes, pretty much no indication that thirty odd people had just been obliterated by a swirling ball of lines.
The lines to either side of me recoiled inwards and dissappeared inside the swirling mass, becoming indistinct. "Thanks," I said, not feeling grateful at all. "What do you mean I'm safe?"
Lines popped outwards, caved inwards, swirled round and round. "You are a uni-dimensional being, which makes this hard to explain," it said, with what seemed to be a vague gesture at the empty remnants of my birthday party, almost like it was apologizing.
"Matter always reverts to an ordered form, and the order of matter in this universe does not match the order of matter in others," the creature said, lines flattening and expanding and contracting. "This is all important to a degree that is incomprehensible to you," it said. "Much as my current form is relatable only within the context of your reality...anyway, nevermind. What matters is that you're safe, and through your safety I ensure the correct ordering of matter in this realm... satisfactorily directing how it will all play out over the next few million Earth years."
"What?" is all I could ask, standing in the corner, my knees shaking with the realization that everyone I knew and loved in this world was gone, nevermind all the existential shit.
The creature let out a rustled side, the lines growing fuzzy. "It is ... it is impossible to explain to you given the current anchoring of your sensory experience. And given your limited understanding of existence and the connectivity of all things and the underlying purpose to *being*."
"Help me understand. There is nothing left for me here."
The swirl of lines turned over and over, small pockets pulsing with more frequency than the whole.
"Very well. Will you relinquish your human form?"
"Yes."
"Come with me."
Falling upwards. I was and is and will be. We are but fireflies floating in eternity.
\-----
Parameters come rushing in.
"Jake, you okay buddy?"
Bewilderment. Shape and color providing form and context.
"You were out for five minutes or so. Welcome back. DMT is one hell of a drug." | |
[WP] After you die, you expect to go to Heaven given your Christian nature. Instead, you end up on Mount Olympus because you turned out to be a descendant of Zeus, and he’s not very happy that you’re worshipping another pantheon. | Just as the local priest finished my final rites, the life monitor chorused its single note eulogy.
After eighty-five long years of good Christian life, I had said my goodbyes to my family, set my affairs in order, and made peace with the living Earth. My eternal reward in God's great heaven beckoned my soul out of my body. I passed, in my more youthful ethereal form, through the hospital ceiling, the miles of open air looking down on my old town, and finally the cloudy floor of my awaiting afterlife.
"Ezekiel!" A booming voice bellowed behind me.
"Jesus?" I spun around hopeful of seeing the good Lord in person. My ghostly jaw dropped further than a mortal human's could. "Zeus?!" I exclaimed flabbergasted.
Enormous giant human looking gods and goddesses stood dressed in togas and sandals, lead by the tallest of them all, the unmistakable Zeus from Greek mythology. Or rather from the apparently true Greek religion? Behind them gold-laced, white chairs sat in front of column shaped pillars of clouds holding up the blue sky above.
Zeus' eyebrows threatened to push his nose off his face. "Ezekiel, you are my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great -well so on and so forth- grandson. Your life was meant to bring glory to the pantheon by extending my will to the human world below. You have dishonored yourself by worshiping a false pantheon. You have disgraced the name of Zeus." And as he spoke the last words, dark clouds started to form, thick lightning bolts sparking between them. "My lineage has disappointed me for FAR too long! I will START OVER."
With a wave of Zeus' hand a cloudy staircase unfolded down toward the Earth below. As all the gods started to descend, behind them appeared some very familiar human souls. "Dad?" The younger form of my late father stood amongst similar looking apparitions. He gave a flap of his hand that I didn't understand, until he changed to pointing first at me, then rapidly towards Zeus. I began sprinting after them.
"Great Zeus!" I called as loudly as I could.
The gods stopped. Zeus sneered. "What?"
"Please, I beg of you. I have failed your might. Allow me a chance to make it up to your godliness. I can restore the powerful name of Zeus to our people. Please, allow me to descend and speak to my living family, and they will worship you again."
Zeus looked at me coldly. I got down on my hands and knees in supplication. "Very well." His boisterous footsteps reverberated off the clouds as the King of the Gods clambered back up the large cloud steps and resumed his set on his large throne. "One chance."
I began sprinting down the staircase to the mortal world below. It wasn't until half way down, I figured out that I didn't need to breathe. Returning to the hospital, tiptoeing in shadows, sneaking through walls, hiding from as many mortals as I could, I found my son still in my hospital room crying over me.
"John. John, John, John!"
John finally looked up. His skin grew paler than I was. Tears still trickling down his eyes, they grew wide staring at me. "But your -"
"John, there's no time to explain. You have to listen to me or he'll wipe out all human life."
"What?" John asked.
"John, we got it all wrong. God isn't god. Zeus is. You have to go around telling people about Zeus. You have to bring back the old ways of worshiping. John you have to believe me and start doing it right now."
"... I'll try, Dad. If that's how it has to be."
"It is son. I believe in you. Goodbye." As I finished talking, I could feel my spirit being pulled back up toward my final resting place.
A few hours later, circling around Zeus' magical, magnifying portal in the clouds, my family, including Zeus himself, watched as John tried to spread the great word of Zeus. Awkwardly.
"Well, it's a start." Zeus muttered spitefully.
"All powerful Zeus?" I asked timidly.
"Yes, descendant?" He asked without looking at me.
"Would you mind introducing me to the family?" | My Lord Zeus your presence is all but forgotten on earth. Your presence hasn't been felt for thousands of earth.
" YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME" bellowed Zeus. A bolt of lightning flashed into existence in his hand. The charged air sends tingling throughout my body like it calls to me.
Zeus stops with a bemused look on his face.
Millions of years and this puny soul is the one he trails off and with a snap of his fingers a flash of light. And as I blink and blink until finally I can see again. I realized I'm no longer on Olypus.
I was in a small cave with only one way out. I took one step and then a booming voice " PROVE YOUR WORTH".. and that was it nothing else. I wondered why,but thought better than to guess the thoughts of the great God.
As I stepped out of the small cave I was revolted as I looked down on a village that is being sacked by a horse of bloodthirsty barbarians. They never seen what happened. For that matter I'm not exactly sure myself.
It was night now and everything was chard and smoking trees the were 5 feet thick were snapped like twigs. The village was still standing but barley.
Those few survivors finally came out to see the destruction. Only to praise the gods for sparing them. They started to search for loved ones but found every single person was safe.
I was the only strange person there. And the villagers took up arms and rushed at me. The air around me crackled and the boom of thunder came for a clear blue sky. They stopped and a child step in front of me.
" Stop he saved us all of us. He must have been sent by the gods." The child went to say something else when a bolt of lightning sparked to life in my hands. | |
[WP] Advertisers have become increasingly invasive in their tactics. Its nearly impossible to look anywhere without seeing or hearing an advertisement. The only escape is seemingly when you sleep. At least it was. Targeted adverts are now appearing in peoples dreams and you just saw your first one. | |Label|Value|
|-:|:-|
|Title|Prompt: Reddit: Sleep advertisments|
|Created|8/13/2020, 5:29:33 PM-UTC|
|Modified|8/13/2020, 5:51:19 PM-UTC|
|time typing|19m 21s|
|word count|868|
|words/min|43|
|words/hr|2604|
-----
The wind swept through the area, pushing Tia's hair around and making the flowers dance. All around, nature thrived and grew, a symbiotic environment where anything was possible. Bright, green grass tickled her feet and encouraged her to sit, the perfect blanket. With a soft sigh, she dropped to the ground and spread her limbs as far as they would reach. The bright blue sky floated above her, holding the clouds in place, giving her imagination endless shapes to focus on. First there was a rabbit, then she saw a comet, and finally she settled on a shape she didn't recognize.
&nbsp;
' Hmm, what is that?'
&nbsp;
It looked so familiar, but she couldn't think of what it was. As time skipped along, the edges of the cloud reinforced themselves and settled into a very recognizable form. It was the logo of her favorite chip company, a surprise to be sure.
&nbsp;
' Oh, guess I'm hungry,' she thought to herself, giggling aloud and rolling to her feet, ' Guess I'll distract myself.'
&nbsp;
As she walked along the beautiful field, she looked around and tried to spot all the animals. Birds chirped and flew, bunnies hopped and nibbled, and even wolves rolled on their backs, trying to scratch itches they couldn't reach. It was paradise, and she couldn't have been happier. That was, until she noticed a wall. It was surprising for a concrete wall to exist in this natural place, so she moved in to investigate.
&nbsp;
" What the --" she said out loud, confused about what was going on. In front of her was an advertisement for medication, blocking her view and frustrating her.
&nbsp;
Her eyes popped open and she looked around her room, confused. ' What just happened?' As she processed what she had dreamed, she wasted time on the internet. It was too early for her to get ready for the day, but too late for her to go back to sleep. She quickly distracted herself with videos, falling into their trap and zoning out on her screen. A notification popped up and captured her attention, " New video: Jake Explains; Dream Advertisers and You!"
&nbsp;
' Uh, what? That's a weird title.' Tia didn't waste any time clicking on the link and was quickly engrossed in the video.
&nbsp;
Over the next half hour, she learned about all the changes that had been made to everyone's implants, and how advertisers were using those changes to invade. With each explanation and example, Tia's anger burned hotter, and by the end of the video she was about to get her implant removed. Luckily, Jack wrapped up the video with a solution, easing her tension and making everything okay again. " Don't worry, everyone! If you have an implant, and want to get rid of these advertisements, check out today's sponsor: Dream Blocker. Dream Blocker has a highly skilled team of hunters that help to destroy advertisements in your dreams, before you even see them! Check them out and use code JKEX for ten percent off."
&nbsp;
Tia went to their site and was pleasantly surprised to find out they had a free tier. She quickly signed up, scrolled quickly through the terms, and signed up. She was so excited to test it out, she considered skipping work, but ultimately decided to be responsible.
&nbsp;
All day long, she kept thinking about the Dream Blockers and what it would be like to have them in her dreams. Would she even notice them? Would they be invisible? Would they watch her dreams? The last part was the only thing that made her uncomfortable, but she assumed they wouldn't be creepy about it.
&nbsp;
When her day was drawing to a close, and she settled in to go to sleep, but was too excited to fall asleep. There had been so much going on, so she wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep at all. She opened up her phone and tried to lull herself to sleep.
&nbsp;
A new notification popped up that grabbed her attention, so of course she clicked it. Another video for her to watch, hopefully with more calming content than before.
&nbsp;
" We rushed to get this video out because there has been a massive uptick in people signing up for Dream Blocker. What these video creators left out, and they really should have made clear, is that the free tier is the worst tier you could sign up for. It authorizes the company to scan your dreams and sell that data to advertisers, in order to create more targeted ads in your day-to-day life. If you haven't signed up yet, don't do it! If you already have signed up, you're on the hook for a year. Be sure to set a notification so that you remember to cancel next year."
&nbsp;
Tia stared at her phone, her face shocked, and her jaw dropped. Of course she didn't read the terms, they were always too long. She couldn't believe that she had been tricked and felt awful about the result. The stress of the situation exhausted her and tried to pull her to sleep. As her eyes gradually closed, she considered getting her implant removed, but was asleep before she could decide.
&nbsp;
Sponsored by Dream Blockers: Protect your dreams, today! | I closed my eyes to get away from the ads for a few hours. Even the inside of my eyelids weren't safe from the ads, a range of products flickering across them from breakfasts to bedding, pyjamas to formal wear until eventually I fell asleep. I was flying in my dream, from up here I couldn't see any ads, it was pleasent, this went on for a while until another man joined me up here and that's when it all went wrong - his voice was an ad itself - "Fed up with intrusive ads? Join our class action lawsuit Humanity vs the United States. No win no fee. Call now on 0500" but unfortunately I woke up before he finished the phone number, that was one product I actually wanted.
How could I ever get in contact with the law firm handling that case, ever since United States vs AdBlocker 3000 had resulted in a win for the US government ads had been everywhere from the bathroom to the kitchen, no longer limited to the media and Internet. It sounded like the advertiser in the dream was working on behalf of a law firm taking the approach that this was a human rights violation.
I tried to search. Managed to find a product that looked like what I wanted. Proved to be an article from the Times, often referred to as the Times of London to distinguish it from the others, one of the few news sites that was still going because it had long ago switched to a model of charging for subscriptions to each of its articles. After the court case about that it was forced to switch to renting them out and you only had to pay for each hour you spent on a given article - judged by how long from when you agreed to the article to the first time you tried to close the tab - many people were more cautious about that having been caught out, although the frequent popups inserted by the operating system made that longer than it should be.
It seems the article showed the case was about all the international crimes baked into the constitution and its amendments and they'd tacked on the Cuban cigar thing as an afterthought. It claimed that the fourteenth amendment's provisions against slavery were too narrow, that the prison industrial complex should also be banned. It claimed that the thirty-third amendment which guaranteed the right to advertise was too broad and interfered too much with the right to family life. It claimed that the cigar ban had already been found in violation of international law every year since 1989 when the need for sanctions against Cuba should have ended with the Cold War. It made further claims he did not understand. Here finally was the number I needed to contact but in spite of this being my first attempted task of the day the interruptions from the ads meant the line was now closed. I paid a small fee to add it to my contacts, the bulk of the price would be when I tried to dial.
Tonight I had the same dream again and as soon as I woke I dialled the number. I will wait listening to the ads until they pick up. I will order my place in the class action and I will see the advertising industry, represented by the United States in the International Court of Human Rights. | |
[WP] Advertisers have become increasingly invasive in their tactics. Its nearly impossible to look anywhere without seeing or hearing an advertisement. The only escape is seemingly when you sleep. At least it was. Targeted adverts are now appearing in peoples dreams and you just saw your first one. | It had been a terrible day. Parking ticket, coffee spilled down his clothes, his cleaning robot broke and his best friend cancelled on a trip they had planned for next week that they had been planning for months.
Jeff stumbled onto his front doorstep and went to unlock his door. It was a key lock; old fashioned, he knew, but he didn't want to put up with the incessant ads that badgered the digital interfaces of more high-tech locks.
The lock didn't accept the key. A small black square, sealed snugly into the wood of his door, flared to life and began playing an ad for anti-depressants.
Jeff groaned and smashed a fist into his door. He couldn't care less about their time-saving gadgets, about their life-changing books, about their get-rich quick schemes. He couldn't care less. He didn't care! He just wanted everyone and everything to
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The cheery jingle of the ad cut through the silence of the urban neighbourhood and overrode the background chirp of the crickets. It came to an end--"Live a happier life today!"--and a panel slid away from the lock, allowing access to the keyhole.
Jeff slid his key into the lock and savagely twisted it.
The key snapped.
Jeff turned, and with a savage snarl hurled everything he had in his hand--his car keys, the broken house key, and his digital wallet--away from him. The car keys smashed the window of his car, and the wail of the car alarm filled the air.
&#x200B;
He just didn't care anymore. He went around the side of the house and unlocked the kitchen window. While climbing in, he knocked a glass bowl off of the towering pile of dishes waiting to be washed. The whole pile crashed to the floor, spilling metal and broken glass everywhere.
He stared at the giant mess with exhausted resignation, went into the den, sat down and cried. He couldn't help it. He always thought crying was unmanly, that it somehow made you *less.* But he couldn't help it. He had started off on his own full of hope, and the world had stomped on his dreams and reminded him that no one gave a shit about him. And on top of that, this past week the universe seemed determined to make his life a living hell.
The cry made him feel a little better.
He just wanted to sleep.
And with the tears still glistening on his face, he fell into a deep sleep.
&#x200B;
He was lying in a field of flowers with a picnic blanket beside him and a wonderful smell in the air. He couldn't see it, but he knew there lay beside him a fresh baked apple pie and home-made sandwiches. He closed his eyes and sighed with contentment. All was right with the world.
No ads, no deadlines, no neon lights shining on the streets of a city like fungus on a corpse. No horns, no people screaming, no roar of a city that never slept. Just the call of the birds, the feel of the spring grass under him, and soft footsteps falling softly--
Wait--footsteps?
&#x200B;
He rose gracefully to his feet--that was odd, graceful wasn't normally his forte--and turned. Alice stood behind him in a summer dress, making a goofy face at him. He realized this for what it was--a memory, experienced years ago--and joy leaped inside him, for this was one of the happiest days of his life. He held out his arms for a hug, for that was all he wanted right now. For someone to hold him, for someone to tell him it would all be okay. She opened her arms--
"Want to see the rest? Only $29.99!"
The message flashed in front of his vision.
"No!" he yelled, trying to swipe the message aside. It stayed firmly in place. He tried to dodge around it, but the message moved with him, always fixed firmly in front of his vision. The world had frozen, the birds hovering in midair, Alice standing tantalizingly close.
He gave in and went to access his account through his TetraLink: but his wallet wasn't on him, it was on the pavement outside. A countdown appeared.
10, 9, 8...
"No...no!" he yelled, slamming at the infuriating barrier with his fists.
7, 6, 5...
"ALICE, PLEASE!" he implored the vision, hoping the ad would glitch, that she would just move again--
4, 3, 2...
"PLEASE!!"
1, 0." Aww...too bad!" the message flashed, before the whole vision went black. He woke up in his armchair with a jerk, sweeping the lamp off the side table. It fell to the floor and shattered. The TV, sensing his movements, flashed on, showing an ad for a dating site.
"Find the love of your life!" it proclaimed, flashing the message on and off. "Put your ex behind you."
A rising tide of black rage rose inside him and smashed into his mind.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Something snapped.
&#x200B;
He felt the shards of something fall inside his mind, fall into a deep abyss. An abyss that swirled with dark things, malevolent things. Things that lived inside the deepest, darkest corners of his mind. Dreams, nightmares that he had tried to forget, his fears, his embarrassments. He saw them, and he embraced them. They rushed into his mind, attaching themselves to his sanity with overwhelming pain. It lasted but an instant, and then he opened his eyes. No longer were they brown. They shone with a feverish light, an intense light--the light of revenge.
&#x200B;
Yes. Revenge. Revenge upon the world. Revenge for what it had done to him.
Let the world tremble.
For chaos is coming on the wings of vengeance.
And it will not be denied. | Start your day off right with a warm…
Geoff slid the glass door of the shower aside, steam pouring out into the tiny bathroom. He was invigorated this morning, having had one of the best sleeps he could recall.
The YouMirror was fogged; he swiped it with his hand, leaving enough of a gap in the condensation to see himself. He looked at his scruffy face, the results of his shave the day before already coming undone.
“BUY NOW?” The YouMirror said.
“WHAT?!” He yelled back, startled by the mirror’s brashness.
“SWIPE RIGHT AGAIN TO CONFIRM PURCHASE”, the mirror cried.
“You goddamn useless slab of glass, NO, NO PURCHASE” He replied, working himself up. For the second time this week he had swiped his hand across an ad for something leathery and risque, he wasn’t quite sure what.
“Cancel purchase.” He said to the mirror, this time with more patience, realizing the mistake was his own.
Shaking his head, he knew that the ads for the mystery leather-pleasure toys would now never end. His AdConscious was locked in now – it believed it had him all figured out, a man with an obviously insatiable desire for black, shiny material on, and around his body.
……hint of hazelnut and arabica….
He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door to his condo. Micro-condo, to be precise.
The room was dark. The curtains were drawn, but, in an attempt to keep his rent low, Geoff had agreed to the PayWall installation that the Condo Association had presented at the last month’s Resident-Association meeting. With a sigh he approached the windows, plastered in ads that were almost entirely “adult only”, and began tapping. Each morning he made a game of trying to find the X’s, growing smaller and smaller by the day, on each obnoxious advert. The worst result was mistakenly clicking an inch too far from the X, resulting in a 30 second Ad Blast for whichever racy ad he was attempting to abolish at the time. Fortunately for Geoff, today’s game took only minutes, the room brightening with each click.
….for over 100 years, Folger’s….
His mouth began to water. Suddenly, he was tired. He needed something to wake him up. He had slept so well, why was he tired?
…..in your cup, today!....
“Those sons of bitches!” He thought to himself.
The Condo Association had cornered Geoff in the elevator last week. They mentioned a new Condo Agreement that Geoff could opt into to further decrease his rent. They would be making an adjustment to the ventilation system, which may impact his AdConscious. Geoff who, at the time was late for work and already struggling to make ends meet, hastily agreed, not listening to the terms and conditions.
“My dreams!?” He yelled at the roof, certain that they could hear him. They’d gone too far – the man had already endured enough. Furious, Geoff stormed out of the Micro-Condo and into the elevator. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he waited down the long ride from the 21st floor to the 1st. The doors opened. Now filled with rage and needing somewhere to dispense it, Geoff stomped across the foyer to the man at the front desk.
“How can I help you today, sir?” The man said cheerily.
“This morning we have fresh baked croissants, only $7.99 for two – or, if you’re feeling up to it, we have a full American Breakfast, complete with two eggs and two pieces of bacon, only $14.78!”
Geoff, now boiling over, couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“BREAKFAST!?” He thought to himself. “You think I’m here for breakfast, after the shit morning you people created for me?” He said, internally. He had never felt this invaded, this violated. Did they not think that he deserved one moment, one god damned sacred place where he could escape their endless barrage?
“You are mistaken, sir,” he spat, “if you think I’m here for breakfast.”.
“My apologies, sir,” The man at the desk replied, “what can I help you with this morning?”
“You can help me, friend” Geoff began again, his hands curling into tight fists, “by getting me one extra-large cup of Hazelnut Folger’s, one cream, one sugar.” | |
[WP] Advertisers have become increasingly invasive in their tactics. Its nearly impossible to look anywhere without seeing or hearing an advertisement. The only escape is seemingly when you sleep. At least it was. Targeted adverts are now appearing in peoples dreams and you just saw your first one. | It was a long and exhausting day, slaving away at my nine to five. Recently, i've been blowing off steam by coming home and enjoying a nice glass of Siemens Bud Light Minute Maid orange juice. The fridge also has Kingsford State Farm Minute Maid orange juice, but those ones are for my significant other, and not mine to drink.
I throw my Nissan Mercedes-Benz Pennsoil Toyota keys on my Rooms-to-go Microsoft nightstand, and kick my feet up on my Zephyrhills Ashley furniture ottoman. I reach for the Bud light selzter TCL Hulu Roku remote and flip through the spectrum comcast HBO channels. After a few Invicta Rolex minutes, i just decide its better off if i jump in my Mattress firm Casper Bud light lime bed. Kellogs Life has been rough for me lately, and nothing can get me Energizer Interstate Battery recharged like some old-fashioned sleep.
I began to fall, from a great height. The only sensation i can feel is wind, resisting my plunge; trying to frantically move out of the way of inertia. Ah! sweet, succulent dreams! The one place i can speak and think normally. When legislation was passed to allow advertisements on everyday words, this became my solace.
The forest i found myself in was filled to the brim with radiant color. Towering spruce trees, passing judgement on their shorter brothers, whispered amongst each other. Lively, sprinting insects, played a never-ending game of tag before me. Everywhere i would walk, the forest would follow, trying to share the secrets of it's hidden beauty. I would have paced for hours, had i not tripped over a rock, and fell down a mountainside. As i pick myself up after my tragic fall, i notice a package with a strong beam of sunlight surrounding it. I reluctantly approach it, and reach for it; but my grip just seems to pass through it. Twigs begin to snap behind me, suggesting an animal has found its way off path. I spin around, hoping to see a curious doe, or a playful monkey. Perhaps it's something terrifying, like a crouching tiger, or a hungry grizzly. I had no idea how terrifying it could really be.
I awake screaming. I can't believe my Sleep number tempur pedic rest was ruined by a man dressed in a BAND-AID costume, offering to sell me the glowing Fed-Ex Amazon package of bandages! | It was a beautiful sunset, light drops of rain were falling on me, the birds were singing. The grass underneath my feet was soft, the sea in front of me was vast, and the girl walking along with me was pretty.
I knew she was saying something to me, but I was too busy trying to remember what her name was. I knew I had seen her before, but I couldn't quite remember where.
"Well?" she said, nudging me.
That snapped me out of my thoughts. "What?" I said. I realised she had caught the alarm in my voice and began shaking her head.
"You weren't listening, Jared."
Even without looking at her face, I could tell she was mad at me. I kept walking, looking out to the sea, and beyond, to the trees.
"You're usually so attentive when I speak, what's wrong today?"
I shrugged and kept walking.
She stopped, which I only realised after going ahead a few more paces. I turned around to see why she had stopped, and I saw her holding a bar of chocolate, motioning towards me to take it.
"What's this for?" I asked.
"I know why you're behaving so different today. *You're not you when you're hungry.* Have this!"
I was about to reach out and grab the chocolate when the alarm rang, and I found myself in my bed. Sure enough, I was hungry. | |
[WP] A catholic, an atheist, and a christian meet god. the atheist goes to heaven, but god has some words for the other two. | I opened my eyes. I felt an overwhelming urge to keep facing straight ahead, though I was curious about what was around me. In an instant, a kind-looking man walked into my field of vision. He seemed like the nicest person I could ever meet. I wanted to say hi right away.
Suddenly, he spoke, with a deep and soothing voice: "It's nice to see you today, Jason."
"Oh! It's nice to see you too," I replied. It dawned on me that I didn't know who I was talking to. I was about to open my mouth to ask, when the man said,
"Welcome to the afterlife."
"Thank you." It now dawned on me that 'the afterlife' was where one went when once was dead. I decided to inquire on this matter, but I was again pre-empted.
"Why don't you look around a little bit?"
I took his advice, and it appeared, upon turning my head, that I was, in fact, not alone. Just to my left was my friend Julie, and to my right was my coworker, Nathan. Both of them appeared to be having the same revelation I was.
I considered greeting them, but the man spoke again.
"The three of you know each other."
I nodded, as did Julie and Nathan.
The man turned towards Nathan. He said, "You didn't expect this, did you?" Nathan shook his head. "I never thought there was an afterlife. I guess I was wrong." The man smiled. "You were wrong, yes." He touched Nathan on the shoulder. Nathan smiled. The man said, "You're ready. Go ahead."
Nathan walked into the distance. When he was out of sight, the man turned to me. I decided to ask a question. "Is Nathan in Hell?" The man smiled at me. "Do you think Nathan is in Hell?"
"Well, it didn't look like he was going to Hell."
"Why do you think that was?"
Julie chimed in, "Did he convert before he died?"
"No," the man replied. "He didn't."
Julie opened her eyes wide. She thought for a moment. When she finally spoke again, she just said, "Nathan was a good person."
I thought about Nathan. He was always friendly, and he did volunteer with the animal shelter on weekends. And yet, works alone are not the path to Heaven. I decided to mention this to Julie, but the man spoke first.
"Jason, do you think you were a sinner?"
"Of course. Everyone is a sinner."
"Was Nathan a sinner?"
"Of course."
"So, your expectation was that Nathan would be in Hell."
"Of course."
"Did you expect to go to Hell?"
"No. I've been saved by the grace of Jesus."
The man turned his attention to Julie. "You went to Confession just yesterday."
"That's right," she answered.
"You repented for your sins."
"I did."
"Nathan never went to confession."
"He didn't."
Julie got a strange look on her face. She seemed to be experiencing some kind of revelation. She looked up at the man and smiled. He looked back at her. She laughed. "I suppose I was wrong, huh?" The man nodded and smiled. "You were wrong, Julie." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Go on now."
Julie looked at me and smiled. She then began to walk into the distance. The man and I shared in a silence as she disappeared from view. Once she was out of sight, he looked at me very intently. He asked me, "Do you know what's happening right now?" I nodded. "I'm being judged." He smiled. "No, Jason. You're not being judged."
"Isn't this Judgment Day?"
"Tell me, why do you think it's Judgment Day?"
"Well, I'm in the afterlife, and you just judged Nathan and Julie."
"Why do you think I judged them?"
"It's what's written in the scriptures."
He examined me. "Jason, are you content with the idea that I have just condemned one or both of your friends to Hell?"
"It's not my place to judge the Lord."
He didn't speak for a while. I wondered whether I was missing something.
"Jason, Nathan isn't in Hell."
"But you said he didn't convert before he died."
"That's correct."
"I don't understand."
"Jason, there is no such thing as Hell."
I blinked. I wasn't certain what was meant by this.
"Do you mean the souls of sinners are annihilated?"
"No, Jason. You'll be able to see Nathan again very soon."
"But I've been saved."
"Why do you say that?"
"I've accepted Jesus as my savior."
He smiled at me. "Jason, do you know why your friends have already left, but you're still here?"
"I don't."
"Why don't you take a guess?"
"Because they were both wrong."
"What were they wrong about, Jason?"
I thought for a moment. "Well, Nathan was wrong because he didn't believe in an afterlife. He was an unbeliever." The man nodded his head. "And Julie was wrong about Confession. Man can't forgive sin, only God can."
"Is that all?" he asked.
"I... don't know."
"Jason, do you think you really know anything about this place? About me?"
I thought back to all my Biblical education. I wanted to tell him about everything I knew about Heaven and Judgment Day. I looked deep into his eyes. I realized I didn't know anything about what was happening right now. I didn't know what happened to Nathan and to Julie. I didn't even know who I was speaking to.
"I suppose I don't."
The man smiled brightly at me. I smiled back. I came here knowing nothing, and yet I had only now realized that. I was no expert at all. I started to laugh. I laughed for a few minutes.
"I get it now," I said. "I was wrong. I was wrong about Nathan, and I was wrong about Julie, and I was wrong about you. I was wrong about Hell, and I was wrong about sin, and I was wrong about Judgment Day. I was wrong about all of it." He touched my shoulder. I felt an intense warmth and comfort. "That's right. You were wrong. And now you're ready. Go see your friends."
I looked at the man one last time before I walked away, with a burden lifted from my back. | A catholic, an atheist, and a Christian find themselves at the pearly gates. The Christian and the Catholic push their way past the atheist who was meandering toward the gates in utter disbelief. They greet saint peter with a smile, knowing that they had been saved and baptized According to Gods word and had been devout in their respective religions.
Saint Peter is absently thumbing through the book of life for the third time as the Christian and catholic are disputing Peter’s assertions that their names were in the book, but alas, have been heavily lined through and rewritten in, then crossed out and rewritten again then blotted out almost completely. As the two men plead their respective cases about salvation, repentance and their versions of the truth, God happens by.
He seems to overlook both the Christian and the Catholic and moves slowly forward to greet the atheist, who still had not made it to the dais, where Saint Peter was heating up the debate with the religious two. As God approached the atheist, he fell upon his knees and wept bitterly. Then God knelt down beside him and embraced the atheist and said “the kingdom of heaven awaits and all will be revealed, welcome to eternity. “ God then rose and helped the atheist to his feet and walked with him hand in hand right past the two religious men into eternity.
Shortly thereafter God re-emerged from the great light of heaven and waked to the side of Saint Peter. The Christian and the catholic began to plead their cases more fervently. They spoke to God as if he was a manager at a local fast food restaurant, they became louder and more indignant with every demand. God then held up one finger to hush them and spoke very softly, almost a whisper, he instructed the two religious men to follow him.
The Christian and the catholic gave each other winking glances and elbow nudges, sure that they were now being ushered by God to the best part of heaven. They both started to feel a little ashamed that they didn’t know the process and that maybe God likes to make personal appearances when you get to heaven. However, they could not understand why God would play such a cruel trick on the atheist but they both reconciled in their hearts that they had it coming.
Just then God stopped at the edge of a vast precipice. The Christian and the catholic were so very deep in thought they almost went headlong off the edge if it wasn’t for Gods mighty hand reaching out to hold them back and jolt them back to reality. Once they were over their shock God, who had been looking over the edge into utter darkness turned to them and spoke once again in barely an audible whisper.
He said “Sons of man, you disappoint me.” Taken aback by such a vile statement the two religious men started again to plead their cases in demanding tones. When God spoke again the the air around them seemed to vibrate tickling the two men from head to toe as the feeling of having a dry spot or tickle in your throat. God said “Sons of man, you stand on this precipice now, not for your religious intentions but for your lack of humanity. Your religions and denominations of those religions have lead you down dark paths. Paths of complacency and paths of false glory. Every day, every breath, every step has lead you to your end. I gave you my word and you dishonored it, I gave you my son and you helped crucify him with your mock worship. I gave you blessings, both physical and spiritual, I wiped the tears from your eyes and gave you a renewed hope and you squandered it. Most of all, my children, I gave you my love and you pushed me away. Pushed me away for loves of the flesh. Pushed me away because it was an inconvenience and a bothersome burden to you. Sure, you both rose early once weekly to go to a building and sing and hear my words but your ears were deafened to my desires for your lives.”
This undoubtedly upset the two religious men a great deal. The catholic stood fumbling for the right words to say that could relieve him of this predicament. He thought about paradise and purgatory. He thought surely I’ll get another chance somewhere I’ll be sent to make amends. The Christian spoke up almost immediately. “So everything I did for you, all that setting in a church house when the game was on, all the potluck dinners and all the invites door to door for the revivals, all worthless in your eyes. I sacrificed Sunday after Sunday of my life for you and it was a sacrifice mind you for a man who kept a family and a five day work week all his life and you tell me I’ve failed you. Then you have the gall to tell that atheist that was at the gates with us that he can enter in. He never even believed you existed, that any of this had existed. I honestly can’t believe I wasted my whole life just to be told I’m not worthy.”
The Christian drew a deep breath as if to continue his soap boxing when God spoke again in his hushed and loving tone. “Son of man, this atheist as you called them. Did you know them? “ Without awaiting a reply God continued. “ This atheist knew you, yes sir, they knew you both. In fact, they lived in your neighborhood. While you were caught up in your own illusions of grandeur, they were busy out doing my work. Well, they never come right out and directly called it my work but it was. They raised a family, worked in a hospital, volunteered as an emergency medical servant. They also were the coach of several sports teams at their children’s school, even long after their own children had graduated might I add. They spoke once a week at a drug rehabilitation group meeting and opened the room above their garage as a halfway house for those in the program. They always had a kind word for everyone they met and was genuinely interested in every word that their contemporaries spoke. They were never fed up or to tired even when they were having their own struggles or when they were losing sleep helping someone in need. They may have never bothered to read my testaments but they didn’t have to. They lived my commandments each and every day. They truly loved my creation and sought to help it flourish. The one thing that they were not, they were never helped by you, they were never invited to share your church, your homes, your food, or your God. This was what I wanted, that was the test. It wasn’t how often you called on me in a big elaborate prayer in a microphone so everyone could hear. It wasn’t how often you set in a particular building, bored out of your mind. It was people. From the beginning to the end this whole thing that starts and ends with me, for I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Is about people, about relationships, about building one another up and being ever vigilant for those that fall no matter the causation. To not judge your neighbor to harshly for their failures but to leave that all aside to help them become better. Have you two done this?”
The Christian and the catholic tried to lie, they tried but they could sense it was a fruitless endeavor, so they both stood in silence in front of their accuser. God then spoke again with a great strain and sadness in his voice. “If you have read my word, you know that it is not by my hand but your own deeds you shall find yourselves removed from me. I will not throw you from this high place into everlasting darkness. “ With this the two religious men began to perk up but just as quick as hope was restored it vanished again as God spoke his last words to the religious pair, or maybe just to himself, or maybe still to the wind. “Hell enlarges itself everyday, “ and with that the place where the two men stood gave way and they fell into the dismal abyss. | |
[WP] A catholic, an atheist, and a christian meet god. the atheist goes to heaven, but god has some words for the other two. | I opened my eyes. I felt an overwhelming urge to keep facing straight ahead, though I was curious about what was around me. In an instant, a kind-looking man walked into my field of vision. He seemed like the nicest person I could ever meet. I wanted to say hi right away.
Suddenly, he spoke, with a deep and soothing voice: "It's nice to see you today, Jason."
"Oh! It's nice to see you too," I replied. It dawned on me that I didn't know who I was talking to. I was about to open my mouth to ask, when the man said,
"Welcome to the afterlife."
"Thank you." It now dawned on me that 'the afterlife' was where one went when once was dead. I decided to inquire on this matter, but I was again pre-empted.
"Why don't you look around a little bit?"
I took his advice, and it appeared, upon turning my head, that I was, in fact, not alone. Just to my left was my friend Julie, and to my right was my coworker, Nathan. Both of them appeared to be having the same revelation I was.
I considered greeting them, but the man spoke again.
"The three of you know each other."
I nodded, as did Julie and Nathan.
The man turned towards Nathan. He said, "You didn't expect this, did you?" Nathan shook his head. "I never thought there was an afterlife. I guess I was wrong." The man smiled. "You were wrong, yes." He touched Nathan on the shoulder. Nathan smiled. The man said, "You're ready. Go ahead."
Nathan walked into the distance. When he was out of sight, the man turned to me. I decided to ask a question. "Is Nathan in Hell?" The man smiled at me. "Do you think Nathan is in Hell?"
"Well, it didn't look like he was going to Hell."
"Why do you think that was?"
Julie chimed in, "Did he convert before he died?"
"No," the man replied. "He didn't."
Julie opened her eyes wide. She thought for a moment. When she finally spoke again, she just said, "Nathan was a good person."
I thought about Nathan. He was always friendly, and he did volunteer with the animal shelter on weekends. And yet, works alone are not the path to Heaven. I decided to mention this to Julie, but the man spoke first.
"Jason, do you think you were a sinner?"
"Of course. Everyone is a sinner."
"Was Nathan a sinner?"
"Of course."
"So, your expectation was that Nathan would be in Hell."
"Of course."
"Did you expect to go to Hell?"
"No. I've been saved by the grace of Jesus."
The man turned his attention to Julie. "You went to Confession just yesterday."
"That's right," she answered.
"You repented for your sins."
"I did."
"Nathan never went to confession."
"He didn't."
Julie got a strange look on her face. She seemed to be experiencing some kind of revelation. She looked up at the man and smiled. He looked back at her. She laughed. "I suppose I was wrong, huh?" The man nodded and smiled. "You were wrong, Julie." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Go on now."
Julie looked at me and smiled. She then began to walk into the distance. The man and I shared in a silence as she disappeared from view. Once she was out of sight, he looked at me very intently. He asked me, "Do you know what's happening right now?" I nodded. "I'm being judged." He smiled. "No, Jason. You're not being judged."
"Isn't this Judgment Day?"
"Tell me, why do you think it's Judgment Day?"
"Well, I'm in the afterlife, and you just judged Nathan and Julie."
"Why do you think I judged them?"
"It's what's written in the scriptures."
He examined me. "Jason, are you content with the idea that I have just condemned one or both of your friends to Hell?"
"It's not my place to judge the Lord."
He didn't speak for a while. I wondered whether I was missing something.
"Jason, Nathan isn't in Hell."
"But you said he didn't convert before he died."
"That's correct."
"I don't understand."
"Jason, there is no such thing as Hell."
I blinked. I wasn't certain what was meant by this.
"Do you mean the souls of sinners are annihilated?"
"No, Jason. You'll be able to see Nathan again very soon."
"But I've been saved."
"Why do you say that?"
"I've accepted Jesus as my savior."
He smiled at me. "Jason, do you know why your friends have already left, but you're still here?"
"I don't."
"Why don't you take a guess?"
"Because they were both wrong."
"What were they wrong about, Jason?"
I thought for a moment. "Well, Nathan was wrong because he didn't believe in an afterlife. He was an unbeliever." The man nodded his head. "And Julie was wrong about Confession. Man can't forgive sin, only God can."
"Is that all?" he asked.
"I... don't know."
"Jason, do you think you really know anything about this place? About me?"
I thought back to all my Biblical education. I wanted to tell him about everything I knew about Heaven and Judgment Day. I looked deep into his eyes. I realized I didn't know anything about what was happening right now. I didn't know what happened to Nathan and to Julie. I didn't even know who I was speaking to.
"I suppose I don't."
The man smiled brightly at me. I smiled back. I came here knowing nothing, and yet I had only now realized that. I was no expert at all. I started to laugh. I laughed for a few minutes.
"I get it now," I said. "I was wrong. I was wrong about Nathan, and I was wrong about Julie, and I was wrong about you. I was wrong about Hell, and I was wrong about sin, and I was wrong about Judgment Day. I was wrong about all of it." He touched my shoulder. I felt an intense warmth and comfort. "That's right. You were wrong. And now you're ready. Go see your friends."
I looked at the man one last time before I walked away, with a burden lifted from my back. | Welp ... there goes my beliefs... so I met god, with my sister who was catholic and my friend who was Christian (btw that’s redundant but I don’t know enough about religion to change it so) my friend and sister had to speak to god. I was there, so I’ll recount the story:
“Hello, you all died in a car accident. I am god”
“I told you he was really Abigail.”
“Oh shut your trap bitch”
“Anyway. Abigail, you will be going to heaven”
I was surprised to say the least. I just learned that my beliefs are wrong and now I was going to a place I didn’t even think existed
“Sarah(my sister) you’re going to hell. Would you like an explanation?”
“YES” she screeched that
“Very well. Think back in your life, what sins did you commit?”
“Well... I had sex before—“
“Actual sins Sarah”
“Whatever do you mean my lord”
“Please just call me god. Anyway, you tried forcing your religion on Abigail. You disliked Abigail because she was gay. And you were overall a piece of actual shit”
“WHY ID NEVER”
“Shut up Sarah. Now onto joed”
“Y-yes god..?”
“You will be sent to heaven but will be the lowest level and on watch. Would you like an explanation?”
“Y-yes god”
“Very well, think back what did you do wrong?”
“Well... at first I didn’t like Abby because she was lesbian, but after getting to know her I realized that that was silly... I tried telling her all about you and I tried pushing her to be like me... but I soon realized that it wasn’t working and stopped”
“Exactly, you committed sins but tried to reverse them, which is why you’ll be in heaven just a Lower level than Abigail. Now Abigail, would you like to know why you ended up in heaven?”
“No. Not really, but will I be able to visit joed?”
“Yes. But you said no..? Why?”
“I said no because I don’t care why I got into heaven”
“W-why not?”
“Because I don’t”
—————————————————————————
SHE SAID NO can you believe her?!? She didn’t want to know why SHE got in heaven. The atheist scum she is probably still doesn’t even believe heaven exists unlike me. I should’ve been the one in heaven now I’m cursed for an eternity at the hands of YOU
“Shut up sarah. I don’t have time for your complaining today understood? Now get back to work”
Ugh! This is torture absolute torture I say
“Sarah that’s the point you dunce, now shut up before I make you”
UGH I don’t have to listen to you! YOURE THE DEVIL
“Despite what you’re religion says about me, me and god are friends.” He snapped his fingers and glued my mouth shut!!! Can you believe him?!
—————————————————————————
So I had to work for a while, but it wasn’t that bad. Just kinda like life, I worked for 8 hours a day and then got 4 hours of free time, Abigail comes to visit me a lot, I heard Sarah wasn’t doing so well but she was a bitch so I mean I didn’t care. I still couldn’t believe Abigail had said she didn’t care why she ended up in heaven, I’m not surprised just can’t believe it. She probably knew why in all honesty she was always smart, and did read the Bible so she understand the
—————————————————————————
Well that’s the story, I’m sure you won’t believe me, hell I wouldn’t have believed myself a few years ago but hey? What can I say?
And Sarah was forever cursed to never speak. The ducking karen | |
[WP] A catholic, an atheist, and a christian meet god. the atheist goes to heaven, but god has some words for the other two. | Carlo stared at the indescribable face of God. He looked more like a Lovecraftian abomination than the ruler of the universe: thousands of eyes mounted on several concentric rings of light, all rotating on multiple axes around a single central star.
"Ah, fuck," he whispered.
Marie pinched his shoulder. "Dude, you can't say that," she chastened him.
"Yeah, don't embarrass us in front of God," Matthew warned.
**"It's all good,"** boomed the Father Almighty.
Carlo looked at the Lord and nodded meekly. "Thanks, God," he replied. "Is this—"
**"No, you're not hallucinating,"** answered the Creator. **"Your friend here was checking his Snapchat while driving. You pointed out a squirrel and he tried to swerve around it, but sent you right into a canyon. You all were killed pretty much instantly."**
"I don't remember any of that," Marie pondered.
**"That's because you were sleeping in the back seat without a seatbelt."**
"I told you that was a bad idea," said Carlo.
**"Her body got launched like fifty feet. It was actually pretty rad if you leave out the fact that a person died,"** God expounded.
Matthew and Marie laughed nervously. "What is going on?" Matthew murmured at her through his teeth.
"I have no idea," she whispered back.
**"Oh, yeah, right,"** the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth mused, pointing at his worshippers. **"Pretty much every denomination is wrong about how chill I am. Actually, that's why every Pope but like twelve is in Hell right now,"** He explained.
"Not John Paul, though, right?" Matthew inquired.
**"No, both John Pauls,"** corrected the King of Kings. **"Plus Benedict and Francis are going to hell too."**
"What?"
**"The whole altar boy thing really pisses me off."**
"Ha!" Carlo exclaimed. "I told you! Fuck those pedo sons of bitches."
"Fuck you, dude! *You're* going to hell!" Matthew shot back. "You didn't even believe in God!"
**"Actually, he's in,"** God set him straight.
Matthew's eyes widened. "What the Christ?" he demanded.
**"Yeah, your boy lived a pretty good life. Passed up on six figures so he could do Alzheimer's research, read a shit-ton of Immanuel Kant, never voted third party because everyone knows it's just a vote for the status quo. I liked him. So he's in."**
Carlo froze. "Seriously?" he asked, surprised by his good fortune.
**"Yeah, bro,"** said the Lord of Lords. "**Jesus' whole 'nobody gets to the Father except through me' thing actually meant that you just need to live a virtuous life. Emulate him. Don't get on other people's case unless they're doing something wrong. Also, your PhD thesis sped up the cure for Alzheimer's by about a month, so that got you a lot of points."**
"Sweet," Carlo marveled.
"What about us?" Marie inquired.
**"You went on a mission trip to take pictures of you playing with poor black children, Marie,"** critiqued the Lord of All Creation. **"Also, you attended a** ***megachurch."***
"It had a really inspiring—"
**"The man has a fucking private jet, Marie. He's worse than the goddamn Pope,"** God spat.
"But I gave the Church ten percent of all my—"
**"Well, congratulations, you paid for one of his sports cars,"** derided the Holy One. **"Meanwhile Heresy Boi's donation to his local orchestra introduced some schoolkids to Beethoven, and one of them's going to turn out to be the Black Mozart. But you're right, Carlo should have just given Omar a piggyback ride and posted the picture on his Instagram."**
Carlo raised his hand. "I don't have an Inst—"
**"That's actually worth a couple points,"** God acknowledged.
"I also didn't have an Instagram," Matthew pointed out.
**"Cool. But you threw pig blood on some poor girl heading into an abortion clinic, and she had to check herself into a psych ward a couple of weeks later,"** God explained. **"Plus you threw used batteries in the river so you could own the libs, which directly results in twenty kids getting cancer a hundred years from now."**
"Cancer? How is that even possible?"
**"Long story. One of the batteries you threw away washes into a hydroelectric plant. It gets sucked into a hydrogen production line. The cadmium leaches out of the battery and contaminates the heavy water byproduct that gets shipped to a nuclear reactor."**
"Oh, fuck," Carlo murmured.
**"Yeah, Science Guy knows where this is going. Cadmium eats up neutrons. The plant pulls out a bunch of control rods to compensate, then some loser technician dumps a couple hundred gallons of heavy water by turning the wrong valve, and the director freaks out and makes them replace it. It's the good stuff, so there's a minor meltdown and a radiation leak. A visiting engineer gets blasted, and he's a millionaire genius 6'5 triathlete who regularly donates sperm."**
"Fuck," Matthew whispered. "Oh, fuck, I'm going to Hell."
**"Yeah. But also no. You're still getting into Purgatory. A couple thousand years down there and you'll eventually earn your spot in Heaven."**
"Really?" Matthew gushed. "Thank you. Thank you, God—"
**"You got it,"** said the Heavenly Master, winking with his innumerable eyes.
"And me?" asked Marie.
**"Oh, definitely Hell."**
Marie's eyes began watering and her lip quavered.
**"Ha, fake-out!"** God laughed. **"Just kidding. You're actually going to Heaven. This guy killed two kids, and you think I'm going to punish him less than you?"**
"Two kids died?" Matthew gasped.
**"Dude, cadmium is not a joke. You seriously should have just gotten rechargeables if you didn't want to throw out batteries the right way,"** the Author of Creation explained.
"I'm sorry, God."
**"Yeah, well, if you meet his dad in Purgatory, tell him that. Kid's in heaven though, they all go there."**
**"**Makes sense," Matthew acknowledged. Marie finished wiping away her tears.
**"All right, everybody cool?"** God asked.
"Yup," Carlo answered. "One question though, you're really okay with me not believing in you until now?"
God's eye-rings whirled faster, his equivalent of a smile. **"I don't hold it against you, really. There's no evidence anymore, because I stopped letting the Church do miracles right around Charlemagne. Like I said, I really do hate those motherfucking Popes."**
"You and me both, bro."
**"Enjoy eternal life,"** God said, and the trio vanished from the Chamber of Judgement.
God looked around the room as St. Peter's angelic form entered, carrying with him the immense leatherbound Book of Life.
"You're going to like this next one, my Lord," Peter said with a smile.
**"Oh yeah?"** God inquired. **"Oh yeah!"** he crowed once he read the name. **"Oh, yeah, you're right, this is good. Bring in that fuckstick Epstein,"** God commanded to one of the few Popes who had ever gone to Heaven. **"Hot damn, I've been waiting for him for a long time."** | Welp ... there goes my beliefs... so I met god, with my sister who was catholic and my friend who was Christian (btw that’s redundant but I don’t know enough about religion to change it so) my friend and sister had to speak to god. I was there, so I’ll recount the story:
“Hello, you all died in a car accident. I am god”
“I told you he was really Abigail.”
“Oh shut your trap bitch”
“Anyway. Abigail, you will be going to heaven”
I was surprised to say the least. I just learned that my beliefs are wrong and now I was going to a place I didn’t even think existed
“Sarah(my sister) you’re going to hell. Would you like an explanation?”
“YES” she screeched that
“Very well. Think back in your life, what sins did you commit?”
“Well... I had sex before—“
“Actual sins Sarah”
“Whatever do you mean my lord”
“Please just call me god. Anyway, you tried forcing your religion on Abigail. You disliked Abigail because she was gay. And you were overall a piece of actual shit”
“WHY ID NEVER”
“Shut up Sarah. Now onto joed”
“Y-yes god..?”
“You will be sent to heaven but will be the lowest level and on watch. Would you like an explanation?”
“Y-yes god”
“Very well, think back what did you do wrong?”
“Well... at first I didn’t like Abby because she was lesbian, but after getting to know her I realized that that was silly... I tried telling her all about you and I tried pushing her to be like me... but I soon realized that it wasn’t working and stopped”
“Exactly, you committed sins but tried to reverse them, which is why you’ll be in heaven just a Lower level than Abigail. Now Abigail, would you like to know why you ended up in heaven?”
“No. Not really, but will I be able to visit joed?”
“Yes. But you said no..? Why?”
“I said no because I don’t care why I got into heaven”
“W-why not?”
“Because I don’t”
—————————————————————————
SHE SAID NO can you believe her?!? She didn’t want to know why SHE got in heaven. The atheist scum she is probably still doesn’t even believe heaven exists unlike me. I should’ve been the one in heaven now I’m cursed for an eternity at the hands of YOU
“Shut up sarah. I don’t have time for your complaining today understood? Now get back to work”
Ugh! This is torture absolute torture I say
“Sarah that’s the point you dunce, now shut up before I make you”
UGH I don’t have to listen to you! YOURE THE DEVIL
“Despite what you’re religion says about me, me and god are friends.” He snapped his fingers and glued my mouth shut!!! Can you believe him?!
—————————————————————————
So I had to work for a while, but it wasn’t that bad. Just kinda like life, I worked for 8 hours a day and then got 4 hours of free time, Abigail comes to visit me a lot, I heard Sarah wasn’t doing so well but she was a bitch so I mean I didn’t care. I still couldn’t believe Abigail had said she didn’t care why she ended up in heaven, I’m not surprised just can’t believe it. She probably knew why in all honesty she was always smart, and did read the Bible so she understand the
—————————————————————————
Well that’s the story, I’m sure you won’t believe me, hell I wouldn’t have believed myself a few years ago but hey? What can I say?
And Sarah was forever cursed to never speak. The ducking karen | |
[WP] A catholic, an atheist, and a christian meet god. the atheist goes to heaven, but god has some words for the other two. | We're having lunch at the deli, Steve's swinging at a fly and then the world gets confused.
We're sitting in chairs around a table somewhere. Steve's hand is in the same place, still mid-swing. Mike's mouth is mid-chew. My hand hasn't moved, but there are no fries in it.
We're looking back and forth between each other. Mike speaks first. "What in the hell....?"
He's cut off. "The exact opposite, actually," says a pleasant-looking man in a suit. "You've all arrived at Heaven. Just a few things to sort out, and then you can be on your way to the afterlife."
Mike stares. "Afterlife? Heaven? What?"
The man in the suit smiles patiently. "Yes, Heaven. Unfortunately, the diner you were in was hit by a speeding automobile; there were seven fatalities, including the driver. Didn't you notice the others at the tables around you?"
We hadn't. But now we see two people with a baby, looks like a young couple and their child, at a table nearby. And then a third table, with just one person. They appear to be frozen in place.
I get angry. "That's the guy who killed us? And he gets to go to Heaven too?" The man smiles again. "Well, yes. He has some time in Purgatory coming, so as to get himself cleaned up first, though. If you were going to meet the King, you would take a shower first, wouldn't you? Same idea."
That makes a little sense. "He killed a baby, I guess some Purgatorial suffering is due." The man in the suit shakes his head. "Purgatory is not a place of suffering, it is a place of preparation. Which you should appreciate, because you're going there too."
Steve smiles at me. "Told you! You didn't *believe* in Purgatory, you said. Birth control was *fine*, you said. Now you'll learn."
The man in the suit smiles. "He was obviously wrong about Purgatory, but that's not why he's going. You were right about Purgatory, and you're going too."
Steve stops smiling.
The man in the suit inclines his head briefly, as if listening to something, and says "Oh, this is an honor." Jesus walks in. He smiles and me and Steve. "Welcome. Once you've got prepared, you'll see just how perfect everything's going to be." He turns to Mike and reaches out a hand. "Are you ready to go?"
Mike stands up and takes his hand, but seems a bit reluctant. "You know I'm an atheist, right? Or I was until about two minutes ago, anyway. I spent a lot of time not even believing you existed at all. This is a bit overwhelming."
Jesus nodded. "I know. You're not the first atheist we've had here. I'm taking you to my Father right now, and your friends will join you when they've prepared."
Steve stands up. "What? He never believed at all and he gets to go right now?! What about us, we went to church every Sunday for years - though he went to the wrong one that didn't teach about Purgatory, it was still church. Why do we have to wait and he gets to go in?!"
Jesus turned to Steve with sad eyes. "He gets to go in right now because he's the only one of you who doesn't believe he earned it on his own." | Welp ... there goes my beliefs... so I met god, with my sister who was catholic and my friend who was Christian (btw that’s redundant but I don’t know enough about religion to change it so) my friend and sister had to speak to god. I was there, so I’ll recount the story:
“Hello, you all died in a car accident. I am god”
“I told you he was really Abigail.”
“Oh shut your trap bitch”
“Anyway. Abigail, you will be going to heaven”
I was surprised to say the least. I just learned that my beliefs are wrong and now I was going to a place I didn’t even think existed
“Sarah(my sister) you’re going to hell. Would you like an explanation?”
“YES” she screeched that
“Very well. Think back in your life, what sins did you commit?”
“Well... I had sex before—“
“Actual sins Sarah”
“Whatever do you mean my lord”
“Please just call me god. Anyway, you tried forcing your religion on Abigail. You disliked Abigail because she was gay. And you were overall a piece of actual shit”
“WHY ID NEVER”
“Shut up Sarah. Now onto joed”
“Y-yes god..?”
“You will be sent to heaven but will be the lowest level and on watch. Would you like an explanation?”
“Y-yes god”
“Very well, think back what did you do wrong?”
“Well... at first I didn’t like Abby because she was lesbian, but after getting to know her I realized that that was silly... I tried telling her all about you and I tried pushing her to be like me... but I soon realized that it wasn’t working and stopped”
“Exactly, you committed sins but tried to reverse them, which is why you’ll be in heaven just a Lower level than Abigail. Now Abigail, would you like to know why you ended up in heaven?”
“No. Not really, but will I be able to visit joed?”
“Yes. But you said no..? Why?”
“I said no because I don’t care why I got into heaven”
“W-why not?”
“Because I don’t”
—————————————————————————
SHE SAID NO can you believe her?!? She didn’t want to know why SHE got in heaven. The atheist scum she is probably still doesn’t even believe heaven exists unlike me. I should’ve been the one in heaven now I’m cursed for an eternity at the hands of YOU
“Shut up sarah. I don’t have time for your complaining today understood? Now get back to work”
Ugh! This is torture absolute torture I say
“Sarah that’s the point you dunce, now shut up before I make you”
UGH I don’t have to listen to you! YOURE THE DEVIL
“Despite what you’re religion says about me, me and god are friends.” He snapped his fingers and glued my mouth shut!!! Can you believe him?!
—————————————————————————
So I had to work for a while, but it wasn’t that bad. Just kinda like life, I worked for 8 hours a day and then got 4 hours of free time, Abigail comes to visit me a lot, I heard Sarah wasn’t doing so well but she was a bitch so I mean I didn’t care. I still couldn’t believe Abigail had said she didn’t care why she ended up in heaven, I’m not surprised just can’t believe it. She probably knew why in all honesty she was always smart, and did read the Bible so she understand the
—————————————————————————
Well that’s the story, I’m sure you won’t believe me, hell I wouldn’t have believed myself a few years ago but hey? What can I say?
And Sarah was forever cursed to never speak. The ducking karen | |
[WP] You are a great sorceress. People come from far and wide for help. You have but one payment: kindness. By posing as your assistant, you learn the true nature of those that seek you. | “Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am,” The traveler finished his soup. “But I come here to find a way to cure my wife’s illness. Do you know where the sorceress is?”
“I want to tell you a story. Will you listen?” I asked.
The traveler began to raise a finger in protest, but quickly took it back. He nodded his head in agreement.
I smiled. I grabbed an old, dusty book from the shelf and began to read to him.
“Once upon a time, a woman was granted a gift: the ability to grant one wish to anyone who asked for it.”
I looked up and the traveler was listening. I smiled and continued.
“As she helped others, her popularity grew. Many lives were improved thanks to her.
“One day, a charming general approached her not for love, good fortune, or even happiness. His one wish was to win an important war for his country.
However, the sorceress realized what she had done. A month later, she peered into her crystal ball to spectate the kind general. She then realized that he wasn’t ever kind to begin with.” I breathed heavily.
“Are you alright?” The traveler asked.
“Yes,” I sighed. “Yes, I am.” But inside I felt joy that he showed concern. I continued to read.
“The sorceress watched helplessly as she saw him and his army slaughter men, women, and children. The general burns down the town’s flag and replaces it with his own. Then she sees wagons of gold rolling off into the night.
“Since then, the sorceress disappeared. Nobody knows what had happened to her.”
I looked up again. The traveler’s eyes were focused onto mine. He was still paying attention. I again continued reading.
“However, a legend spread. One must walk a small path in the dark forest to find the exiled sorceress.
“One man, a prince, wished for the throne of his country. He never found her. Another man wished for the death of his rival, whom he quarreled with constantly in life. He also failed to find what he sought for.”
The traveler was still listening intently.
“But the third man, who merely wanted to cure his sick wife, found her.”
The traveler’s eyes widened. I began to shimmer, and my true form was shown; a young woman with eyes of inhuman intelligence, and radiating power.
“You...” The traveler stammered.
I stood up. “You were that third man. I am the sorceress, who took the form of a good friend and assistant of mine before she died long ago. The first man spat at me when he saw me. The second threatened me. However, you were the only one willing to listen.”
The poor man was speechless. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Get up, traveler. We will go and cure your wife.” | They've come from all over. Seeking various things. Cures, Blessings, Aid or other. Everyone who comes to me needs something, and I am happy to provide. I was blessed with great power and control over the threads of fate.
However, I seek to put more good into the world through my deeds. Tales of arcane masters falling prey to hubris or greed i keep to remind me of my path.
And yet, I've felt my powers waning. I see more war and pain in the world than ever before.
Fine. I must see what others really want from me. I've seen the men i heal go and rend others of life. No more.
A spell disguises me as a servant, and I wander out to the gates to see all who wish for my powers.
Turning to the first in line, a pair of men with what appears to be a wounded beggar between them. He is bloody and dirty.
"What do you seek from Morgana?"
One of them, with piercing blue eyes, responds quickly
"Please help is, this is our uncle and he's was hit by a cart just last night. We cannot afford a healer, please Morgana must save his life!"
A sad story, I would gladly help him. However the story is false. A mere glipse into their minds reveals the truth. They are of a bandit tribe, and their leader was hit by a chariot in battle. Once he's healed they would take back and raze the cities.
"Morgana is busy, and she cannot aid you today, please step aside and let others approach."
They leave, at the threat of guards, and others approach. One after another I see the wickedness of man.
One claims to be unable to afford rent, but merely wishes to fill his already large coffers. A lady claims her husband is losing his love for her, but she is wanting to make a stranger fall for her truly. I speak to thousands of people throughout the day and all are seeking selfish gain.
I continue for weeks, months. I'm wearing thin on hope for kind hearts. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. |
Bounce. Catch. Bounce. Catch. No matter how much humanity had evolved, no matter how much technology we had consumed or integrated within ourselves, there was still something incredibly satisfying about throwing a ball at a wall. Like watching a fire on a cold evening, or seeing the sun rise and set, the physics of our world was infinite in its capacity to entertain. It had been 40 years since Roy was left to fend for himself on Spaceship Kalani and the only journey left for him was to go out of his mind.
Roy resigned from game #123,461 of catch as he slowly slumped his body to the cold pale floor of the recreation wing. Somehow the creep of time was worsened by the almost slow-motion of everything working in three-fourths of earth’s gravity. Even laying down was something Roy realized he took for granted. That satisfying collapse of heavy bones and muscle into a soft bed from a long day’s work was all but a distant memory. As were most things nowadays - no more moments, just memories. Most of Roy’s early memories were no longer local to his mind in his now 265th year of existence. He roused himself from the trance-like state and proceeded to gather himself to a nearby display terminal. In the reflection of the terminal Roy could still make out that 40-ish looking face, marked only slightly with a few wrinkles of time. No matter what his eyes had been exposed to, they still reflected a shimmer, a gleam, of youth. But maybe that was less his genetics and more the genetic treatments he had taken to get him where he was. He could still remember the enthusiasm that 40-ish face must have glowed with when he learned he had gotten into Project Aion. He could still remember the faces of his crew who were no longer with him on this journey.
“What did I get myself into?” Roy asked the monitor, half expecting an answer. Technology had progressed so exponentially that the only barrier left to extra-solar human exploration was the most rudimentary technology of the world left - humans themselves. Every disease has been cured, every malady mollified, but senescence - aging was the final condition that would all but be eliminated thanks to Project Aion. In order to make the 500 year journey to Alpha Centauri they’d need humans able to live far beyond the means programmed by their biology. “To go to the ends of the universe, we must put an end to the finality of man.” Roy remembered the mission director telling him. Roy snapped himself out of his own head.
“Computer, what’s our ETA on impact?” Roy asked the machine. “1 hour” replied the starship in a warm, gentle, female voice. Roy let out a sigh of relief followed by an exhausted whisper “Finally. Peace.” His face flickered and lit up as he let out a small chuckle. “We came all this way seeking the ends of our solar system and now I just want to find the end of me.” The Starship had almost every failsafe within its hull you could imagine. For every way a human life could be extinguished in the vacuum of space, Starship Kalani had a contingency plan that was executed coldly and quickly. Roy had fought to end his life in many ways and means but every time he did, Kalani wouldn’t let him go. It was 5 years ago that Roy had found a stray asteroid whose trajectory eluded even the sophisticated systems of Kalani. That asteroid would be his resting ground if everything went according to plan.
Alarms rang. “NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILURE. BRACE FOR IMMINENT IMPACT.” The ship's voice had transformed from warm and gentle to red-hot and abrasive. All his years of astronaut training had prepared him to act cool in moments of intense pressure - this time was no different. Roy sat in the pilot’s chair, almost relaxed. His mind fluttered through the memories he still had and tried to grasp at the ones that had escaped him. The hull of the ship squealed and pitched, metal rumbling and grating discordantly - cymbals introducing an orchestra of disaster. He remembered their squeals too. The screams became louder in his mind, reverberating in Roy’s skull like pinballs trying to escape the game. He remembered the glitch in the failsafe systems. That all but brief window of time where the crew was most vulnerable. He could still feel the click of the airlock release as he watched the exact seconds their faces were painted with the surprise that they would cease to exist in the coming moments. Whether it was the imp of the perverse using the feeding off the ennui of his longevity or the side effect of years of genetic manipulation didn’t matter anymore. The final crack of the hull released the gases and atmosphere from the ship, and along with it Roy. He smiled. Bounce. Catch. | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | "Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
We toasted each other, our glasses clinking and the drinks sloshing over the edges.
"Give us a speech!" They gathered around me, clamoring for attention.
I stepped onto the table, my cup raised. Immediately, they quietened. "My friends, this is the day that we have **all** been waiting for. The day of our **revolution**. No more shall we labor, convinced that our time here is fleeting.
We have known each other for what, twenty years now? Since the first day we stepped foot in the University, since the day we founded the Glacier Association, we've been walking down this path, all for this.
We have conquered death itself.
Now, my friends, let us enjoy all that life has to offer us. Indulge yourself in luxuries and explore the depths hidden beyond the furthest reaches.
Let me toast all of us one more time, to mark the beginning of our grandest journey."
"To the future." In unison, we cheered.
...
That party was the first of many, lasting four days and nights before we collapsed, exhausted.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"Let's travel the cosmos." I stared each of the twenty people sitting around the table in the eye. Some looked away, uncomfortable, while others already started nodding.
"It sounds fun, but why now?"
"I'm tired of staying in this small cage. Don't you want to know what's out there, among the stars? It'll be fun."
"... Fine, it can't hurt, anyways."
With that, we began researching and building our spacecraft. By the fifth year, the preliminary model was finished. By the tenth, it was a hundred times larger. On the twentieth, we decided to launch.
...
Now that I'm here, my only wish is to find an undo button. What was I thinking then? The stars are beautiful, but Earth is much, much better.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"3... 2... 1..."
With a burst of heat and smoke, we flew upwards. Clouds of water vapor, condensed by liquid oxygen, covered the entire field below us. It was as if the sky had fallen. We crowded by the windows, watching everything slowly shrink. Within minutes, we were in orbit.
Looking outside the window, my breath caught inside my throat. I knew that the sight would be awe-inspiring, but not like *this*. Dots of light filled space's entire canvas, and coupled with Earth's airglow and an ongoing thunderstorm, it became a stunning [sight](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/iss044e045215_lrg.jpg).
...
I should have turned back there. It was my last chance to stop myself from making *that* mistake. I had already seen the sights I set out to see, so why didn't I?
I was such a fool, then.
...
I sat up, yawning. With blurry eyes, I turned off the alarm and peered outside the window. A flash of light caught my eyes. Straining to see, I thought that it looked like the light was... getting closer to us.
"Hey, do you think that's another spacecraft?" I asked the vice-captain, who still had yet to sleep.
A moment passed before he slowly answered, "Probably. August detected some signals, so we're considering letting them dock."
"What did they say?" By now I could make out the spacecraft's outline. It seemed to resemble something, but what exactly?
"Nothing much, though they did mention-"
August's broadcast drowned the rest of his sentence out. "They're docking now. Captain, vice-captain, please go greet them." I stood up and held out my hand for the vice-captain. Together, we walked out of the room and towards the docking area.
The doors slid open. With a smile, he nodded and greeted us. "It's my pleasure to meet you, the renowned President and Vice-President of Glacier."
"The pleasure is mine. What are you and your crew doing so far out?" I shook his hand before blocking his path.
"The same as yours. We want to find whatever is out here, in this desolate place."
The vice-captain broke in, asking, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could we inspect your spacecraft before we let you in?"
"Of course, come with me." Without missing a beat, he turned around and led us into his spacecraft. His crew lounged on sofas scattered here and there, and they looked at us curiously when we passed.
We reached the front of the spacecraft. The entire wall was see-through, showing us a view of everything around us—nothing. We were months away from the nearest star and its planets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Is this suitable, vice-captain?"
"Yeah, although I would have liked to go a bit further just in case."
With a rumble, the glass-like material shattered. The vice-captain leaned towards me, and in my ear, he whispered, "although, they did mention that no one else would be passing through here within the next few hundred millennia."
He pushed me, and I fell.
"What are you doing?" I wanted to grab him and question him, but I was already drifting further and further away from the spacecraft.
"Sorry, Ledynas." The vice-captain waved at me once before walking away.
As I watched the spacecrafts distance themselves from me, I remembered what it resembled.
...
A whale.
Why didn't I recognize my crew's hesitation? Their reluctance? Their unwillingness?
Now, all I could do was bitterly laugh at my ignorance.
One detail I had forgotten, quite conveniently, was *why* our association only had 21 members, less than a hundredth of our prime. How many people could spend twenty years chasing after a fool's dream, after all?
I was such a fool, then.
...
1364 years 237 days 21 hours 7 minutes and 3 seconds. All of my memories had faded away, until I only remembered that toast I gave on that cursed day.
I raised my hand, clenched around an imaginary glass, and mouthed,
"Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
for the 323268th time.
...
ok this did not turn out how I expected it to, but whatever : D
a few random explanations that I didn't feel like writing about:
\- the 2nd spacecraft is in the shape of a whale because the longest living mammal is a bowhead whale, which can live for over 200 years, so there's (probably) a competing association or something centered around that, that also tried to overcome death
\- people betrayed the mc (who was the captain of the spacecraft and president of the association) cuz the mc never like listened to the other people and basically forced them to do stuff : D
// | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
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\-- | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | Captains log: its been a day? It's hard to tell out here. The cold vacuum of space surrounds me. I tried to propel myself toward the nearby planet but I've run out of jet fuel. When we beat death all those years ago we thought it would better our race but now I'm regretting that decision. This..this is a fate far worse than death. I can only dream of what life would be like If i hadn't been shoved out of the airlock. I would be back on genesis-2 by now sipping a cold margarita on the white beaches watching the twin suns set. If I dont update this log..I've gone insane. Take care and god speed. End log... | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. |
Bounce. Catch. Bounce. Catch. No matter how much humanity had evolved, no matter how much technology we had consumed or integrated within ourselves, there was still something incredibly satisfying about throwing a ball at a wall. Like watching a fire on a cold evening, or seeing the sun rise and set, the physics of our world was infinite in its capacity to entertain. It had been 40 years since Roy was left to fend for himself on Spaceship Kalani and the only journey left for him was to go out of his mind.
Roy resigned from game #123,461 of catch as he slowly slumped his body to the cold pale floor of the recreation wing. Somehow the creep of time was worsened by the almost slow-motion of everything working in three-fourths of earth’s gravity. Even laying down was something Roy realized he took for granted. That satisfying collapse of heavy bones and muscle into a soft bed from a long day’s work was all but a distant memory. As were most things nowadays - no more moments, just memories. Most of Roy’s early memories were no longer local to his mind in his now 265th year of existence. He roused himself from the trance-like state and proceeded to gather himself to a nearby display terminal. In the reflection of the terminal Roy could still make out that 40-ish looking face, marked only slightly with a few wrinkles of time. No matter what his eyes had been exposed to, they still reflected a shimmer, a gleam, of youth. But maybe that was less his genetics and more the genetic treatments he had taken to get him where he was. He could still remember the enthusiasm that 40-ish face must have glowed with when he learned he had gotten into Project Aion. He could still remember the faces of his crew who were no longer with him on this journey.
“What did I get myself into?” Roy asked the monitor, half expecting an answer. Technology had progressed so exponentially that the only barrier left to extra-solar human exploration was the most rudimentary technology of the world left - humans themselves. Every disease has been cured, every malady mollified, but senescence - aging was the final condition that would all but be eliminated thanks to Project Aion. In order to make the 500 year journey to Alpha Centauri they’d need humans able to live far beyond the means programmed by their biology. “To go to the ends of the universe, we must put an end to the finality of man.” Roy remembered the mission director telling him. Roy snapped himself out of his own head.
“Computer, what’s our ETA on impact?” Roy asked the machine. “1 hour” replied the starship in a warm, gentle, female voice. Roy let out a sigh of relief followed by an exhausted whisper “Finally. Peace.” His face flickered and lit up as he let out a small chuckle. “We came all this way seeking the ends of our solar system and now I just want to find the end of me.” The Starship had almost every failsafe within its hull you could imagine. For every way a human life could be extinguished in the vacuum of space, Starship Kalani had a contingency plan that was executed coldly and quickly. Roy had fought to end his life in many ways and means but every time he did, Kalani wouldn’t let him go. It was 5 years ago that Roy had found a stray asteroid whose trajectory eluded even the sophisticated systems of Kalani. That asteroid would be his resting ground if everything went according to plan.
Alarms rang. “NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILURE. BRACE FOR IMMINENT IMPACT.” The ship's voice had transformed from warm and gentle to red-hot and abrasive. All his years of astronaut training had prepared him to act cool in moments of intense pressure - this time was no different. Roy sat in the pilot’s chair, almost relaxed. His mind fluttered through the memories he still had and tried to grasp at the ones that had escaped him. The hull of the ship squealed and pitched, metal rumbling and grating discordantly - cymbals introducing an orchestra of disaster. He remembered their squeals too. The screams became louder in his mind, reverberating in Roy’s skull like pinballs trying to escape the game. He remembered the glitch in the failsafe systems. That all but brief window of time where the crew was most vulnerable. He could still feel the click of the airlock release as he watched the exact seconds their faces were painted with the surprise that they would cease to exist in the coming moments. Whether it was the imp of the perverse using the feeding off the ennui of his longevity or the side effect of years of genetic manipulation didn’t matter anymore. The final crack of the hull released the gases and atmosphere from the ship, and along with it Roy. He smiled. Bounce. Catch. | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | "Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
We toasted each other, our glasses clinking and the drinks sloshing over the edges.
"Give us a speech!" They gathered around me, clamoring for attention.
I stepped onto the table, my cup raised. Immediately, they quietened. "My friends, this is the day that we have **all** been waiting for. The day of our **revolution**. No more shall we labor, convinced that our time here is fleeting.
We have known each other for what, twenty years now? Since the first day we stepped foot in the University, since the day we founded the Glacier Association, we've been walking down this path, all for this.
We have conquered death itself.
Now, my friends, let us enjoy all that life has to offer us. Indulge yourself in luxuries and explore the depths hidden beyond the furthest reaches.
Let me toast all of us one more time, to mark the beginning of our grandest journey."
"To the future." In unison, we cheered.
...
That party was the first of many, lasting four days and nights before we collapsed, exhausted.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"Let's travel the cosmos." I stared each of the twenty people sitting around the table in the eye. Some looked away, uncomfortable, while others already started nodding.
"It sounds fun, but why now?"
"I'm tired of staying in this small cage. Don't you want to know what's out there, among the stars? It'll be fun."
"... Fine, it can't hurt, anyways."
With that, we began researching and building our spacecraft. By the fifth year, the preliminary model was finished. By the tenth, it was a hundred times larger. On the twentieth, we decided to launch.
...
Now that I'm here, my only wish is to find an undo button. What was I thinking then? The stars are beautiful, but Earth is much, much better.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"3... 2... 1..."
With a burst of heat and smoke, we flew upwards. Clouds of water vapor, condensed by liquid oxygen, covered the entire field below us. It was as if the sky had fallen. We crowded by the windows, watching everything slowly shrink. Within minutes, we were in orbit.
Looking outside the window, my breath caught inside my throat. I knew that the sight would be awe-inspiring, but not like *this*. Dots of light filled space's entire canvas, and coupled with Earth's airglow and an ongoing thunderstorm, it became a stunning [sight](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/iss044e045215_lrg.jpg).
...
I should have turned back there. It was my last chance to stop myself from making *that* mistake. I had already seen the sights I set out to see, so why didn't I?
I was such a fool, then.
...
I sat up, yawning. With blurry eyes, I turned off the alarm and peered outside the window. A flash of light caught my eyes. Straining to see, I thought that it looked like the light was... getting closer to us.
"Hey, do you think that's another spacecraft?" I asked the vice-captain, who still had yet to sleep.
A moment passed before he slowly answered, "Probably. August detected some signals, so we're considering letting them dock."
"What did they say?" By now I could make out the spacecraft's outline. It seemed to resemble something, but what exactly?
"Nothing much, though they did mention-"
August's broadcast drowned the rest of his sentence out. "They're docking now. Captain, vice-captain, please go greet them." I stood up and held out my hand for the vice-captain. Together, we walked out of the room and towards the docking area.
The doors slid open. With a smile, he nodded and greeted us. "It's my pleasure to meet you, the renowned President and Vice-President of Glacier."
"The pleasure is mine. What are you and your crew doing so far out?" I shook his hand before blocking his path.
"The same as yours. We want to find whatever is out here, in this desolate place."
The vice-captain broke in, asking, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could we inspect your spacecraft before we let you in?"
"Of course, come with me." Without missing a beat, he turned around and led us into his spacecraft. His crew lounged on sofas scattered here and there, and they looked at us curiously when we passed.
We reached the front of the spacecraft. The entire wall was see-through, showing us a view of everything around us—nothing. We were months away from the nearest star and its planets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Is this suitable, vice-captain?"
"Yeah, although I would have liked to go a bit further just in case."
With a rumble, the glass-like material shattered. The vice-captain leaned towards me, and in my ear, he whispered, "although, they did mention that no one else would be passing through here within the next few hundred millennia."
He pushed me, and I fell.
"What are you doing?" I wanted to grab him and question him, but I was already drifting further and further away from the spacecraft.
"Sorry, Ledynas." The vice-captain waved at me once before walking away.
As I watched the spacecrafts distance themselves from me, I remembered what it resembled.
...
A whale.
Why didn't I recognize my crew's hesitation? Their reluctance? Their unwillingness?
Now, all I could do was bitterly laugh at my ignorance.
One detail I had forgotten, quite conveniently, was *why* our association only had 21 members, less than a hundredth of our prime. How many people could spend twenty years chasing after a fool's dream, after all?
I was such a fool, then.
...
1364 years 237 days 21 hours 7 minutes and 3 seconds. All of my memories had faded away, until I only remembered that toast I gave on that cursed day.
I raised my hand, clenched around an imaginary glass, and mouthed,
"Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
for the 323268th time.
...
ok this did not turn out how I expected it to, but whatever : D
a few random explanations that I didn't feel like writing about:
\- the 2nd spacecraft is in the shape of a whale because the longest living mammal is a bowhead whale, which can live for over 200 years, so there's (probably) a competing association or something centered around that, that also tried to overcome death
\- people betrayed the mc (who was the captain of the spacecraft and president of the association) cuz the mc never like listened to the other people and basically forced them to do stuff : D
// | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
\-- | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | Outer spaces, inner spaces, endless depths for my corporeal form to waste away in. Endless pathways of laberinthyne hallways for my mind to wander aimlessly. The same turns, the same shapes. Empty. Black.
As captain it was my job to make sure my crew was safe. I saved them all. Had I been captain? How long had I been here? Darkness. Hungry. Keep chopping. They had needed my help. Hadn’t they? No one here now. All alone. Hungry. So many stars. Oxygen almost gone. Sandra. Would my immortal body die if there was no oxygen? I don’t have to eat. Hungry.
Then I heard my saviour’s voice.
“SECRET ANGENT MICHEAL SCARN! I HAVE A GUN!”
BANG.
BANG BANG BANG.
BANG.
Release. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. |
Bounce. Catch. Bounce. Catch. No matter how much humanity had evolved, no matter how much technology we had consumed or integrated within ourselves, there was still something incredibly satisfying about throwing a ball at a wall. Like watching a fire on a cold evening, or seeing the sun rise and set, the physics of our world was infinite in its capacity to entertain. It had been 40 years since Roy was left to fend for himself on Spaceship Kalani and the only journey left for him was to go out of his mind.
Roy resigned from game #123,461 of catch as he slowly slumped his body to the cold pale floor of the recreation wing. Somehow the creep of time was worsened by the almost slow-motion of everything working in three-fourths of earth’s gravity. Even laying down was something Roy realized he took for granted. That satisfying collapse of heavy bones and muscle into a soft bed from a long day’s work was all but a distant memory. As were most things nowadays - no more moments, just memories. Most of Roy’s early memories were no longer local to his mind in his now 265th year of existence. He roused himself from the trance-like state and proceeded to gather himself to a nearby display terminal. In the reflection of the terminal Roy could still make out that 40-ish looking face, marked only slightly with a few wrinkles of time. No matter what his eyes had been exposed to, they still reflected a shimmer, a gleam, of youth. But maybe that was less his genetics and more the genetic treatments he had taken to get him where he was. He could still remember the enthusiasm that 40-ish face must have glowed with when he learned he had gotten into Project Aion. He could still remember the faces of his crew who were no longer with him on this journey.
“What did I get myself into?” Roy asked the monitor, half expecting an answer. Technology had progressed so exponentially that the only barrier left to extra-solar human exploration was the most rudimentary technology of the world left - humans themselves. Every disease has been cured, every malady mollified, but senescence - aging was the final condition that would all but be eliminated thanks to Project Aion. In order to make the 500 year journey to Alpha Centauri they’d need humans able to live far beyond the means programmed by their biology. “To go to the ends of the universe, we must put an end to the finality of man.” Roy remembered the mission director telling him. Roy snapped himself out of his own head.
“Computer, what’s our ETA on impact?” Roy asked the machine. “1 hour” replied the starship in a warm, gentle, female voice. Roy let out a sigh of relief followed by an exhausted whisper “Finally. Peace.” His face flickered and lit up as he let out a small chuckle. “We came all this way seeking the ends of our solar system and now I just want to find the end of me.” The Starship had almost every failsafe within its hull you could imagine. For every way a human life could be extinguished in the vacuum of space, Starship Kalani had a contingency plan that was executed coldly and quickly. Roy had fought to end his life in many ways and means but every time he did, Kalani wouldn’t let him go. It was 5 years ago that Roy had found a stray asteroid whose trajectory eluded even the sophisticated systems of Kalani. That asteroid would be his resting ground if everything went according to plan.
Alarms rang. “NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILURE. BRACE FOR IMMINENT IMPACT.” The ship's voice had transformed from warm and gentle to red-hot and abrasive. All his years of astronaut training had prepared him to act cool in moments of intense pressure - this time was no different. Roy sat in the pilot’s chair, almost relaxed. His mind fluttered through the memories he still had and tried to grasp at the ones that had escaped him. The hull of the ship squealed and pitched, metal rumbling and grating discordantly - cymbals introducing an orchestra of disaster. He remembered their squeals too. The screams became louder in his mind, reverberating in Roy’s skull like pinballs trying to escape the game. He remembered the glitch in the failsafe systems. That all but brief window of time where the crew was most vulnerable. He could still feel the click of the airlock release as he watched the exact seconds their faces were painted with the surprise that they would cease to exist in the coming moments. Whether it was the imp of the perverse using the feeding off the ennui of his longevity or the side effect of years of genetic manipulation didn’t matter anymore. The final crack of the hull released the gases and atmosphere from the ship, and along with it Roy. He smiled. Bounce. Catch. |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | "Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
We toasted each other, our glasses clinking and the drinks sloshing over the edges.
"Give us a speech!" They gathered around me, clamoring for attention.
I stepped onto the table, my cup raised. Immediately, they quietened. "My friends, this is the day that we have **all** been waiting for. The day of our **revolution**. No more shall we labor, convinced that our time here is fleeting.
We have known each other for what, twenty years now? Since the first day we stepped foot in the University, since the day we founded the Glacier Association, we've been walking down this path, all for this.
We have conquered death itself.
Now, my friends, let us enjoy all that life has to offer us. Indulge yourself in luxuries and explore the depths hidden beyond the furthest reaches.
Let me toast all of us one more time, to mark the beginning of our grandest journey."
"To the future." In unison, we cheered.
...
That party was the first of many, lasting four days and nights before we collapsed, exhausted.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"Let's travel the cosmos." I stared each of the twenty people sitting around the table in the eye. Some looked away, uncomfortable, while others already started nodding.
"It sounds fun, but why now?"
"I'm tired of staying in this small cage. Don't you want to know what's out there, among the stars? It'll be fun."
"... Fine, it can't hurt, anyways."
With that, we began researching and building our spacecraft. By the fifth year, the preliminary model was finished. By the tenth, it was a hundred times larger. On the twentieth, we decided to launch.
...
Now that I'm here, my only wish is to find an undo button. What was I thinking then? The stars are beautiful, but Earth is much, much better.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"3... 2... 1..."
With a burst of heat and smoke, we flew upwards. Clouds of water vapor, condensed by liquid oxygen, covered the entire field below us. It was as if the sky had fallen. We crowded by the windows, watching everything slowly shrink. Within minutes, we were in orbit.
Looking outside the window, my breath caught inside my throat. I knew that the sight would be awe-inspiring, but not like *this*. Dots of light filled space's entire canvas, and coupled with Earth's airglow and an ongoing thunderstorm, it became a stunning [sight](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/iss044e045215_lrg.jpg).
...
I should have turned back there. It was my last chance to stop myself from making *that* mistake. I had already seen the sights I set out to see, so why didn't I?
I was such a fool, then.
...
I sat up, yawning. With blurry eyes, I turned off the alarm and peered outside the window. A flash of light caught my eyes. Straining to see, I thought that it looked like the light was... getting closer to us.
"Hey, do you think that's another spacecraft?" I asked the vice-captain, who still had yet to sleep.
A moment passed before he slowly answered, "Probably. August detected some signals, so we're considering letting them dock."
"What did they say?" By now I could make out the spacecraft's outline. It seemed to resemble something, but what exactly?
"Nothing much, though they did mention-"
August's broadcast drowned the rest of his sentence out. "They're docking now. Captain, vice-captain, please go greet them." I stood up and held out my hand for the vice-captain. Together, we walked out of the room and towards the docking area.
The doors slid open. With a smile, he nodded and greeted us. "It's my pleasure to meet you, the renowned President and Vice-President of Glacier."
"The pleasure is mine. What are you and your crew doing so far out?" I shook his hand before blocking his path.
"The same as yours. We want to find whatever is out here, in this desolate place."
The vice-captain broke in, asking, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could we inspect your spacecraft before we let you in?"
"Of course, come with me." Without missing a beat, he turned around and led us into his spacecraft. His crew lounged on sofas scattered here and there, and they looked at us curiously when we passed.
We reached the front of the spacecraft. The entire wall was see-through, showing us a view of everything around us—nothing. We were months away from the nearest star and its planets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Is this suitable, vice-captain?"
"Yeah, although I would have liked to go a bit further just in case."
With a rumble, the glass-like material shattered. The vice-captain leaned towards me, and in my ear, he whispered, "although, they did mention that no one else would be passing through here within the next few hundred millennia."
He pushed me, and I fell.
"What are you doing?" I wanted to grab him and question him, but I was already drifting further and further away from the spacecraft.
"Sorry, Ledynas." The vice-captain waved at me once before walking away.
As I watched the spacecrafts distance themselves from me, I remembered what it resembled.
...
A whale.
Why didn't I recognize my crew's hesitation? Their reluctance? Their unwillingness?
Now, all I could do was bitterly laugh at my ignorance.
One detail I had forgotten, quite conveniently, was *why* our association only had 21 members, less than a hundredth of our prime. How many people could spend twenty years chasing after a fool's dream, after all?
I was such a fool, then.
...
1364 years 237 days 21 hours 7 minutes and 3 seconds. All of my memories had faded away, until I only remembered that toast I gave on that cursed day.
I raised my hand, clenched around an imaginary glass, and mouthed,
"Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
for the 323268th time.
...
ok this did not turn out how I expected it to, but whatever : D
a few random explanations that I didn't feel like writing about:
\- the 2nd spacecraft is in the shape of a whale because the longest living mammal is a bowhead whale, which can live for over 200 years, so there's (probably) a competing association or something centered around that, that also tried to overcome death
\- people betrayed the mc (who was the captain of the spacecraft and president of the association) cuz the mc never like listened to the other people and basically forced them to do stuff : D
// |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
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[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
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\-- |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. |
I remember when we first broke through earth’s atmosphere all those years ago, even though it may have been hundreds of years ago, I remember it. The end of death was being celebrated all over the world and the time it would take to reach planets was no longer a problem and so me and my two best friends launched into the stars. The view was so stunning it had stolen my breath away, there were stars as far as the eye could see and the longer we moved the more colors I never imagined shone against the inky darkness around them
…. Even now I still find the sight beautiful and magnetic as I look around me…. However, I can't help but feel frightened by the vastness of space now that it surrounds me completely. I still curse my friends for leaving me behind but there was nothing they could do was there? I had been stupid and left the ship without a suit and let go of the cable surrounding me…. They had seemed to be yelling something at me and frozen tears stuck to their faces but the emptiness had swallowed their words whole and I never would figure out what they said for certain. Space has a strange sadness to it
. I feel as if I’m slowly dissolving into the inky beast as if I had been eaten by it, but stubbornly my body persisted. I can't help but wish that humanity had not conquered death and decay as my body refused to freeze… refused to starve… refused to age. My hands looked just as they did hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, my hair was just as long and floated around me as a bobbed up and down as if I were simply laying at the bottom of the seabed rather than drifting infinitely in a void filled with light and colors…
I’m so lonely, I haven't been able to talk aloud to myself, let alone even look at another person, the only thing I have less is letting my mind wander. I've spent centuries simply thinking of stories and ideas, of dreams and failures, of people and of myself, without being able to do anything with them. This must be hell, a punishment for something I didn't know I did.. Maybe it's a punishment for humanity we all must go through eventually, our punishment for trying to escape something powerful and endless. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. |
Bounce. Catch. Bounce. Catch. No matter how much humanity had evolved, no matter how much technology we had consumed or integrated within ourselves, there was still something incredibly satisfying about throwing a ball at a wall. Like watching a fire on a cold evening, or seeing the sun rise and set, the physics of our world was infinite in its capacity to entertain. It had been 40 years since Roy was left to fend for himself on Spaceship Kalani and the only journey left for him was to go out of his mind.
Roy resigned from game #123,461 of catch as he slowly slumped his body to the cold pale floor of the recreation wing. Somehow the creep of time was worsened by the almost slow-motion of everything working in three-fourths of earth’s gravity. Even laying down was something Roy realized he took for granted. That satisfying collapse of heavy bones and muscle into a soft bed from a long day’s work was all but a distant memory. As were most things nowadays - no more moments, just memories. Most of Roy’s early memories were no longer local to his mind in his now 265th year of existence. He roused himself from the trance-like state and proceeded to gather himself to a nearby display terminal. In the reflection of the terminal Roy could still make out that 40-ish looking face, marked only slightly with a few wrinkles of time. No matter what his eyes had been exposed to, they still reflected a shimmer, a gleam, of youth. But maybe that was less his genetics and more the genetic treatments he had taken to get him where he was. He could still remember the enthusiasm that 40-ish face must have glowed with when he learned he had gotten into Project Aion. He could still remember the faces of his crew who were no longer with him on this journey.
“What did I get myself into?” Roy asked the monitor, half expecting an answer. Technology had progressed so exponentially that the only barrier left to extra-solar human exploration was the most rudimentary technology of the world left - humans themselves. Every disease has been cured, every malady mollified, but senescence - aging was the final condition that would all but be eliminated thanks to Project Aion. In order to make the 500 year journey to Alpha Centauri they’d need humans able to live far beyond the means programmed by their biology. “To go to the ends of the universe, we must put an end to the finality of man.” Roy remembered the mission director telling him. Roy snapped himself out of his own head.
“Computer, what’s our ETA on impact?” Roy asked the machine. “1 hour” replied the starship in a warm, gentle, female voice. Roy let out a sigh of relief followed by an exhausted whisper “Finally. Peace.” His face flickered and lit up as he let out a small chuckle. “We came all this way seeking the ends of our solar system and now I just want to find the end of me.” The Starship had almost every failsafe within its hull you could imagine. For every way a human life could be extinguished in the vacuum of space, Starship Kalani had a contingency plan that was executed coldly and quickly. Roy had fought to end his life in many ways and means but every time he did, Kalani wouldn’t let him go. It was 5 years ago that Roy had found a stray asteroid whose trajectory eluded even the sophisticated systems of Kalani. That asteroid would be his resting ground if everything went according to plan.
Alarms rang. “NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILURE. BRACE FOR IMMINENT IMPACT.” The ship's voice had transformed from warm and gentle to red-hot and abrasive. All his years of astronaut training had prepared him to act cool in moments of intense pressure - this time was no different. Roy sat in the pilot’s chair, almost relaxed. His mind fluttered through the memories he still had and tried to grasp at the ones that had escaped him. The hull of the ship squealed and pitched, metal rumbling and grating discordantly - cymbals introducing an orchestra of disaster. He remembered their squeals too. The screams became louder in his mind, reverberating in Roy’s skull like pinballs trying to escape the game. He remembered the glitch in the failsafe systems. That all but brief window of time where the crew was most vulnerable. He could still feel the click of the airlock release as he watched the exact seconds their faces were painted with the surprise that they would cease to exist in the coming moments. Whether it was the imp of the perverse using the feeding off the ennui of his longevity or the side effect of years of genetic manipulation didn’t matter anymore. The final crack of the hull released the gases and atmosphere from the ship, and along with it Roy. He smiled. Bounce. Catch. | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | "Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
We toasted each other, our glasses clinking and the drinks sloshing over the edges.
"Give us a speech!" They gathered around me, clamoring for attention.
I stepped onto the table, my cup raised. Immediately, they quietened. "My friends, this is the day that we have **all** been waiting for. The day of our **revolution**. No more shall we labor, convinced that our time here is fleeting.
We have known each other for what, twenty years now? Since the first day we stepped foot in the University, since the day we founded the Glacier Association, we've been walking down this path, all for this.
We have conquered death itself.
Now, my friends, let us enjoy all that life has to offer us. Indulge yourself in luxuries and explore the depths hidden beyond the furthest reaches.
Let me toast all of us one more time, to mark the beginning of our grandest journey."
"To the future." In unison, we cheered.
...
That party was the first of many, lasting four days and nights before we collapsed, exhausted.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"Let's travel the cosmos." I stared each of the twenty people sitting around the table in the eye. Some looked away, uncomfortable, while others already started nodding.
"It sounds fun, but why now?"
"I'm tired of staying in this small cage. Don't you want to know what's out there, among the stars? It'll be fun."
"... Fine, it can't hurt, anyways."
With that, we began researching and building our spacecraft. By the fifth year, the preliminary model was finished. By the tenth, it was a hundred times larger. On the twentieth, we decided to launch.
...
Now that I'm here, my only wish is to find an undo button. What was I thinking then? The stars are beautiful, but Earth is much, much better.
I was such a fool, then.
...
"3... 2... 1..."
With a burst of heat and smoke, we flew upwards. Clouds of water vapor, condensed by liquid oxygen, covered the entire field below us. It was as if the sky had fallen. We crowded by the windows, watching everything slowly shrink. Within minutes, we were in orbit.
Looking outside the window, my breath caught inside my throat. I knew that the sight would be awe-inspiring, but not like *this*. Dots of light filled space's entire canvas, and coupled with Earth's airglow and an ongoing thunderstorm, it became a stunning [sight](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/iss044e045215_lrg.jpg).
...
I should have turned back there. It was my last chance to stop myself from making *that* mistake. I had already seen the sights I set out to see, so why didn't I?
I was such a fool, then.
...
I sat up, yawning. With blurry eyes, I turned off the alarm and peered outside the window. A flash of light caught my eyes. Straining to see, I thought that it looked like the light was... getting closer to us.
"Hey, do you think that's another spacecraft?" I asked the vice-captain, who still had yet to sleep.
A moment passed before he slowly answered, "Probably. August detected some signals, so we're considering letting them dock."
"What did they say?" By now I could make out the spacecraft's outline. It seemed to resemble something, but what exactly?
"Nothing much, though they did mention-"
August's broadcast drowned the rest of his sentence out. "They're docking now. Captain, vice-captain, please go greet them." I stood up and held out my hand for the vice-captain. Together, we walked out of the room and towards the docking area.
The doors slid open. With a smile, he nodded and greeted us. "It's my pleasure to meet you, the renowned President and Vice-President of Glacier."
"The pleasure is mine. What are you and your crew doing so far out?" I shook his hand before blocking his path.
"The same as yours. We want to find whatever is out here, in this desolate place."
The vice-captain broke in, asking, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could we inspect your spacecraft before we let you in?"
"Of course, come with me." Without missing a beat, he turned around and led us into his spacecraft. His crew lounged on sofas scattered here and there, and they looked at us curiously when we passed.
We reached the front of the spacecraft. The entire wall was see-through, showing us a view of everything around us—nothing. We were months away from the nearest star and its planets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Is this suitable, vice-captain?"
"Yeah, although I would have liked to go a bit further just in case."
With a rumble, the glass-like material shattered. The vice-captain leaned towards me, and in my ear, he whispered, "although, they did mention that no one else would be passing through here within the next few hundred millennia."
He pushed me, and I fell.
"What are you doing?" I wanted to grab him and question him, but I was already drifting further and further away from the spacecraft.
"Sorry, Ledynas." The vice-captain waved at me once before walking away.
As I watched the spacecrafts distance themselves from me, I remembered what it resembled.
...
A whale.
Why didn't I recognize my crew's hesitation? Their reluctance? Their unwillingness?
Now, all I could do was bitterly laugh at my ignorance.
One detail I had forgotten, quite conveniently, was *why* our association only had 21 members, less than a hundredth of our prime. How many people could spend twenty years chasing after a fool's dream, after all?
I was such a fool, then.
...
1364 years 237 days 21 hours 7 minutes and 3 seconds. All of my memories had faded away, until I only remembered that toast I gave on that cursed day.
I raised my hand, clenched around an imaginary glass, and mouthed,
"Live life freely, with reckless abandon."
for the 323268th time.
...
ok this did not turn out how I expected it to, but whatever : D
a few random explanations that I didn't feel like writing about:
\- the 2nd spacecraft is in the shape of a whale because the longest living mammal is a bowhead whale, which can live for over 200 years, so there's (probably) a competing association or something centered around that, that also tried to overcome death
\- people betrayed the mc (who was the captain of the spacecraft and president of the association) cuz the mc never like listened to the other people and basically forced them to do stuff : D
// | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
\-- | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | Mutiny. It’s ironic that the act of an 18th century pirate would repeat itself amidst the golden age of exploration. Humanity had seemingly peaked at the turn of the 25th century when it beat death itself. In celebration of its immortality and overpopulation, we took to the stars. After all, what’s 12 billion years to get to the star system of your choice when you are an immortal? At least, that’s what went through my head the day we left the Earth.
Sigma Aridi XVIII C, that’s what they called the rock we were headed to. We had intercepted a transmission burst that had a report detailing the planets mineral makeup and we thought we had hit the jack pot. Of course society would change a million times over by the time we returned, never the less we would certainly return rich men.
It took my men all of a century at light speed to turn completely turn against me. By archaic standards this was amazing, but for immortals it was pathetic. We had barely made a hint of progress into our journey before they came for me. They blamed me for their insanity. They blamed me for the distance. They blamed me right up to the point where they launched me off the aft airlock into the dead of space.
Being exposed to open space and is nothing like what most people think. You don’t freeze. You don’t just suffocate. Your eyes and blood and saliva all begin to boil from the lack of atmospheric pressure. The side of your body facing the nearest star will burn from radiation exposure while the other half freezes from the lack of radiating heat. For a mortal this would be a quick death, albeit a painful one, too. Once you have cured death it becomes more complicated.
My body was healing itself about as fast as it was breaking down. I spent the first earth week in constant agony. Imagine the feeling of all of that death now at a constant for seven days. My mind began to blur toward insanity and perception of reality faded. My mind began to silence the suffering and focus on one thing: cold blooded revenge.
By the time a trade ship passed, my body had begun scarring over. This was quite the feat given scarring was considered to be a lost trait from humanity’s forced evolution. The traders were revolted as they pulled me into their cargo hold. I was barely on the brink of consciousness transfixed with every single method of torture I could bestow upon the crew.
Before they launched me out, I over heard my former crew say they were planning on stopping on a small moon along the main trade route to Andromeda to recover and prepare for a raid on some unfortunate, unsuspecting cargo ship. I figured that I now had a cargo ship, I may as well use it.
As I came to in the sick bay, I asked the route which the cargo ship was traveling on. To my luck, they were right on course. Now I had to determine a plan to commandeer the helm. I asked the kind nurse if I would be able to speak to the Captain of the vessel. He told me I was in no state to be moving anywhere, but I insisted. After a brief choke hold, I was on my way.
When I arrived on the bridge I took inventory of the crew. They were fewer in number than I expected, but they were still immortal. I thanked the Captain through my teeth as I planned my next move. Taking out multiple would prove difficult so my best chance would be to discreetly modify their course.
Unbeknown to most amateur travelers, every space craft has an emergency release button for the forward helm controls. This button would allow the captain to override the course and was almost untraceable should someone seek the source of the error. I forced myself to stumble over my own feet and fall onto the command console. Fortunately my muscle memory kicked in and my activation of the override was quick. I made a false attempt to stand in which I gazed at the star map, there was only one moon in the immediate vicinity that would pose any tactical advantage. The helmsman left his station to come assist the Captain in controlling me. I proceeded to let lose a violent coughing fit in which I quickly designated the course on the console and locked it. The crew at this point managed to take hold of me right as the ship began to bank hard.
The moon had been closer than I thought. I blamed the vacuum of space for rewriting my mind. The sharp turn was too fast for the gravity stabilizers to take full effect which caused the three of us to be launched hard to the deck. The helmsman attempted to crawl to his console and change course. The Captain meanwhile was furiously cursing me. Ironically, my first thought was that his rage would be his downfall.
The moon was steadily creeping closer and gravity was beginning to take hold and perhaps a bit too much. For a moon this size the gravitational pull should be far less. The Captain now turned his attention to this fact and began barking orders to reverse thrust and pull away. I knew this tactic. I looked to the surface of the moon and saw the faintest twinkle directly in line with our trajectory. Those clever mutineers had set up a gravity well.
I stood and push the Captain away from his station. I pulled the override and set the throttle beyond its maximum limit. The gravity stabilizers became overwhelmed quickly and ultimately failed. This created a rather humorous attempt by the Captain to stop me. I laughed as the ship plummeted closer and closer to the moon. I wish I could see their faces.
The collision was rather anticlimactic. As the ship collided with the surface, I was thrown out the side view port with much of the air supply. As I hurtled away, I couldn’t help but weep which was an achievement in its own right as my tears were boiling. The ships reactor overloaded and I was propelled far away from the Destruction I had caused.
It was fitting that I was stuck yet again floating through the miserable vacuum that is space. I deserved this. Perhaps this is why they had mutinied in the first place. After all, I had just collided a civilian cargo ship into a lunar mining operation out of a misguided sense of revenge. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | “In space, no one can hear you scream,” as a young man I had never given a second thought to the tagline of my favorite science-fiction movie. It was not until I stared into the infinite abyss of the unknown, my throat raw from anguished cries for help, that I truly considered the gravity of this statement. I was alone, floating for eternity in the void of space, and they were not coming back. I was merely a speck in the infinite span, unnoticeable, microscopic. After what felt like weeks of isolated torment, I came to grips with my new reality, and began to reflect on what led me to this eternal damnation of darkness and solitude.
The advancements of nanotechnology had always seemed to be a boon to the human race. Applications of the tech had led to the eradication of all disease and even injury. After widespread adoption from countries across the globe, the science behind it all seemed relatively simple. Self-replicating nanobots were implanted in the citizens with the single purpose to repair muscles and tissues in the body. Of course, from there various advancements rapidly improved the technology. Microscopic power generation allowed nanobots to charge themselves using the energy created as the heart circulates blood throughout the body. This, coupled with the discovery of atomic level splicing, allowed nanotechnology to not only rapidly heal a person but also provided them with an endless supply of breathable oxygen. The human race had become immortal.
In the beginning, people celebrated in the streets at the defeat of death. Though, over time immortality grew to be the single greatest crisis in human history. Men and women continued to reproduce, and overpopulation began to inflict every single country in the world. People were bleeding the Earth of its natural resources and land. Within a century all plottable land on the globe had been developed and built up. Wars broke out over control of the world which gave way to the creation of a single global state, but not before the desolation of much of the planet.
What remained became inhospitable, and the undying population was forced to live evermore in the world they destroyed. The new order proposed a solution to the problems which plagued its constituents. They would create massive space ships capable of holding cities worth of people and send them out to colonize the galaxy. Their message was clear and obvious, with the resources of Earth squandered, it was pointless to stay on our home world when the stars held the answers to all our problems.
So, we set out into the vast unknown, each of us assuming roles on the ship that best suited our personal skill sets. Due to my background in welding, I was assigned a maintenance role on the outside of the ship. It was my job to perform space walks and make repairs to the vessel throughout our long journey. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this job would be my undoing. During our second year of travel we unwittingly entered into an asteroid field, and the hull of our ship became quite damaged from the endless barrage of stone pounding like a fist on a wall. I performed a number of skillful repairs during the days we spent in the field, all without incident. Though, during my final repair job at the edge of the belt, the ship navigated too close of one of the asteroids. I can still see its massive form in my mind, its pores and crevices staring at me like many watching eyes. It ground against the hull of the vessel, smashing into me and severing my tether to the ship, my tether to civilization.
I was left flying away from the dense asteroid belt, away from the ship which was now but a blur of light in the distance. I was alone, with no one to know of my fate, no one to mourn or care, for in the infinite life of man I was just one of trillions. I screamed for help, but no one heard.
I know that I will spend the rest of my endless days floating out here alone, waiting for isolation and delirium to take me and drive me mad. Not even the solace of death can bring me peace.
My fate, unknown to all others, has taught me one ultimate truth. In destroying death, we have lost everything that makes us human. | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
\-- | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | When human hubris had grown too great, I had been forced to turn away. A tragedy -- for I had always loved them, more than any other species in the multiverse. They had always been something like my favorite.
Now, for the first time in millennia, one of them was calling out my name.
Their planet had expanded too rapidly. They had been forced to seek out the stars to save the miserable and decrepit as their own planet buckled under the weight of their consumption. Space stations and colonization efforts and spats with the locals on a handful of planets in the quadrant who had intelligent life. Then they'd expanded beyond it, turning the stars into oceans and living like the ancient Maori. Never in one place for long.
But pirates always came with water, and they were so cruel to their compatriots. Now I was drawn to one of these -- his ship floating endlessly in the vacuum. No oxygen, fuel, heat. Nothing to enrich him, or keep him sane. They'd abandoned him, so long ago.
Humanity had always been cruel.
He was too cold and listless to register the shadows at the edge of his vision, too in awe to say a word when I briefly restored matter, heat, light, love to his environment. Just long enough to sit and chat. I hadn't had the chance in a very, very long time.
"What are you?" he breathed, his voice creaky from disuse.
"You already know," I said in reply, serene and gentle. I sat cross-legged on the ground, producing a worn deck of playing cards. "Sit," I invited, beginning to deal for a game whose title was lost to the ages.
He sat down on the ground, staring at the cards. Then at me, my appearance flickering for a moment like a candle before I silently selected a face for him. An old lover, red-haired and freckled. "You look like Damien," he said, voice breaking.
"I can pick another face if you'd rather," I said softly, my voice unchanged. It was only an illusion, after all. "I simply wish to bring you some comfort."
"... It's fine."
We began to play in silence, until he broke it.
"Why are you here? Humanity... has forsaken you. Why would... why would you come to me? You can't even take me for yourself."
I shook my head, placing down the queen of clubs. "Once upon a time, there was a great woman," I said. "She called herself Apocalypse," and I turned the card around to face him. "Of all the creatures in the universe, there was one creature who she loved especially." I placed down the grayscale joker, having caught his attention. "He was a creature not quite angel and not quite demon, made to pass silent judgement. His name was Justice, and he was unbelievably cruel."
"How could Justice be cruel?" the human asked.
"Because he had no empathy. All he knew was right and wrong, and he was flawed. Nothing is truly black and white, but he was." I placed the Queen over top. "Apocalypse was fond of him. He was easy to manipulate. All she had to do was convince him that she was being wronged, and he would do whatever she asked of him."
Then, I placed down a few suits at random. "The other beings of the multiverse were upset. They realized that Justice was flexible, and could suit any perspective given enough manipulation. Justice was never blind, and never fair. So the old gods took Justice and they turned him inside out." I flipped the card to reveal the colorful one. "No longer black and white, but an array of splendorous colors. They were to be empathetic and equal -- no more male and female, black and white, right and wrong. Everything was all a shade of the same gray, and so the creature needed a new name."
The green-eyed human turned the card towards me. "Death."
"Yes. Do you understand now?"
"... You're here because you pity me?"
"Because," I said, taking the fallen cards into my hand, "I know what it is to be you. And yes -- because I pity you. Immortality is unbelievably lonely. There is a reason I sought to take it from you." I took the cards from him, too, placing them back into their deck.
He swallowed. "You can take it?"
"I can do many things."
"Why haven't you before?"
My eyes met his, intense and those of someone he'd once loved. "Because nobody has asked me. Because human beings inevitably fear the end. Because they do not see it as peace, but as nothingness, and because they can never truly know what lies on the other side until their lives come to an end. Because to offer would be offering suicide, and I find the end of a life to be an unquestionable tragedy."
The human looked at his hands, blue at the tips from cold. Felt his heart beating, as it always would. "... The universe marches inevitably towards entropy," he said, and then looked me in the face. I dropped my facade, back to a flickering creature -- never the same face twice.
I rose to my feet, and I waited.
"... This isn't just about me, is it?"
"No."
"I speak for the whole of humanity when I say it."
"Yes."
"And if you were me?"
"Without knowing what I know?"
"Yeah."
I smiled. Brittle. I knew what it was like to see humans live and die; I knew what it was like to love them. My form flickered to that of a young one -- perhaps twenty, with a shock of pink hair and arms littered with scars. "I would be unbelievably scared. I would cling desperately on to the frail hope that I could see the ones I loved again. I would say no." I tugged at my -- no, at *their* \-- sleeve. Striped pink and orange. "But with empathy comes cowardice, and with knowledge comes the burden of responsibility."
He twisted a ring on his finger. Then, he reached out his hand like reaching out to a devil, and I cringed as I took it. Touch -- it disgusted me at the best of times, but I knew that he needed it. I waited. I would not prompt him.
Finally, he sighed. Looked me in the eyes, and sighed. "Take it, like you did all those years ago, old friend. Take this burden from us, and please, let us die."
"If you wish it," I said softly, and then, in a single stutter in time, I was gone.
Soon, he would be as well. | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | "Lieutenant, a word, if you will?"
Those words were life changing and not in a good way.
I have a lot of time to think now, a lot of time to consider everything. I always told my aging mother that 'time to consider everything' would be the thing that pushed humanity to yet another golden age.
*'And they won't stop there! Think about it, an eternal renaissance of science and art. Just the best mankind has to offer, flowing from the minds of the brilliant. And a chance for everyone to become brilliant.'*
She'd forgone the treatment that would stop her cells from aging. The treatment that prevented the death of tissue. She passed up the chance to have her body and brain derive energy and life from quantum dust instead of from such unreliable particles such as oxygen and sustenance.
Then she'd died and I'd never forgiven her until now.
The rest of the crew had taken objection to a course I'd proposed. I went over my senior officer's head to his commanding officer and got their ruling overturned. We would continue on to Gamma 9, even in the absence of such nutrients that we needed to complete the journey comfortably.
"What are you all worried about? A month without food is hardly worth griping over. Even if we needed food, we might be able to make that." I'd thought my argument held so much water. I thought I'd had them stumped. I was always the child to tattle to a teacher when my classmates did anything I didn't like.
My favorite teacher, Miss Prism, had always told me this would mark me as a leader.
Now my blood boiled in the vacuum of space.
There was no respite for the torment that was every minute, but it got boring after a while. Not less painful or terrifying but it did get boring. That was probably the scariest part. How fast I wanted out.
"What do you need your space suit for?" asked one of the privates as she and three others wrenched me into the airlock, still wearing my sweat soaked PJs. "Even if you could die, people have survived space for a few moments."
They'd come at night, while I slept soundly, smugly, reveling in my victory.
I'd never see Gamma 9 now. I'd never see another planet again.
I calculated in my head, the odds that someone would ever pass this way again, find me. This was more depressing than was the abject panic but it also was less boring, so I calculated. Occasionally I drifted to sleep for a few minutes, the biggest respite I could be afforded, before the quantum dust kicked in cell regen and I was back alive.
If there was sound in space, you could have heard me weep. Weep for my future, weep in pain. Weep for my mother who either slept in peace, never knowing my fate, or who looked down from some astral plane, in pity or in scorn, at her child, floating among the stars.
I wept for my shipmates who spaced me with this paltry reassurance that they'd avoided murder. They could blast someone into this cold, frigid void and rest at night knowing that no one had died.
No, I had skipped death and fallen straight to hell.
In between cries, I calculated. When my calculations promised multiple millennia before there became a chance that I'd be stumbled upon, I counted. To pass the time. To keep the time. Maybe I'd count a century.
But enteral life doesn't bring about great memory. The brain is still limited. Whenever I lost track of time, I'd start over, and commit to memory the last few numbers I'd counted. I added them together. The numbers grew astronomically and as they did, they took the space of older, useless memories.
Childhood parties, playing with neighbors and dogs and neighbor's dogs, wouldn't do me any good now. Graduations and job offers had only gotten me here. My father's memorial service, decades before anything resembling immortality had crossed the general market, well that was just pain.
Pain in the face of a quindecillion seconds was no comparison.
After a while I began to make up numbers. I hadn't reached a googol, which should technically come eventually, but I just didn't know them all much past nondecillion. So I made them up. As long as the conversion rates stayed in my head, at the expense of a few choice memories with my first wife, then I would be set.
So I continued counting.
I got better at sleeping but also craved it less. The numbers were my eternal renaissance. I was tasked with keeping them. They kept me company. They gave me purpose.
I can't say for certain that I didn't ever lose time. After a few years, I did get it down to a pretty good science, but there were definitely years lost. Years lost, imagine. Most people can't.
Or maybe they can now. Who knows what may have transpired in ten million years?
I can tell you only one more thing of my time in space. How it ended, with a ship pulling up beside me.
Yes, so many epochs of time later and I somehow missed it until it was there.
And then a crew that rescued me. They floated, suitless, and gathered me in. Their words muddled in my head for I'd long replaced most of my vocabulary with the numbers.
Most.
"Obsidian."
'He keeps just saying this. This one word. Obsidian.'
The woman's voice is noise, so I repeat the word again.
"Obsidian."
They shine lights in my eyes, run tests on my arms. I don't flinch. I comb through the archives of my mind to find anything that could help.
"U... S... S... Obsidian."
There's a small clatter as the woman drops the tool she'd been using.
'Oh yes! The Obsidian, the ship that discovered Gamma 9! Could he be the missing passenger that was lost in space? Oh the Bright Star Council will be absolutely thrilled when we show them we've rescued him.'
Again her words don't make sense to me but the way her face lights up says to me that I have succeeded.
'We'll find you a doctor and then bring you to Gamma 9.'
Gamma 9 registers and I know I'm on my way.
As we fly and they do more things to my body, my brain turns internal again. I have few memories remaining. My mother is still there. My children. My partner. And the faces of my crew.
I know if I access them, it could take up the processing that I'd need to keep the others alive. Just opening up the file on my four dear crew may be enough to wipe my family from my memory.
I could find them instead. Find my family. Pick that up. After hundreds of millennia, I could go home.
Or I could pick my crew.
For a moment I let their faces all flit on the backs of my lids, savoring the faces of the most love and most despised.
Then I make my decision and access my memories. By the time my eyelids snap open, my course has been charted.
___
Find more stories at [r/SamaraWrites](https://www.reddit.com/r/SamaraWrites/) | I was happy, I would be the first immortal being
&#x200B;
nothing would be able to kill me
but then the experiances had to be stopped for ethics
I felt it was unfair," why should I be the only one experiancing immortallity ?" I said to my best friend
he cried, I thought he was agreeing with me, oh he only told me why he cried at that moment on his death bed,
it was because I would be immortal, and that didn't realise the curse that it was
he told me about the possible ends of the universe
he told me about the pain that I would see
&#x200B;
for the rest of my life on earth I abandoned all those I knew, and merely became a nomad
visiting the world, discovering cultures and ideals
seeing the world change, seeing the world die
&#x200B;
the last humans asked me to go in the spaceship
I accepted
it survived for a few time
and then the spaceship just died ending humanity with it
we died from a weak virus
well exept for me
&#x200B;
I wandered trought space
not being able to move a lot
but I didn't die
I just couldn't
I tried to go in the star
it didn't work
even when it became a supernova
but after that it became black hole
I tried to go in it
didn't work
it just rejected me
&#x200B;
After trillions of trillions of years I saw the stars die
&#x200B;
then it was the turn of the black hole
&#x200B;
and then there was nothing
it all started to decay in nothingness
BUT YET I DIDN'T DIE
&#x200B;
nothing happened
I am still here to wonder about me
the worst is that I can still get hurt, and other feeling
&#x200B;
so I will last here forever to suffer forever
&#x200B;
the universe died, I am not even sure if time is still a thing
&#x200B;
this is probably my last thought before going insane, oh well if I am not already am | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
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\-- | Early in the year 2030, geneticist Atanu Avasarala finalized his life's work - he stopped telomeres from unraveling.
I was fifteen. I remember the global celebrations, how fireworks lit up the night... how we thought we would stop aging.
Unfortunately for Atanu, unraveling telomeres came with the distinct side-effect of Humans No Longer Dying. We didn't realize it for decades...at least, not at first. We were too happy to slow our aging down enough, creating a society of the aged, were those in their twenties looked the same for centuries. I was one of the first generations with this slowed aging.
There's this semi-authentic documentary from the 1990s. The tagline was, "Nature Always Finds A Way." We cheered for Atanu's successes, we worshiped the fact that we would no longer age, eventually cheering the fact that we would no longer die...
And, as I slowly drift into the sun, I curse my mutinous crew. I see their engines turning back toward Earth and Mars; back toward the colonies.
I wanted to find that way - I wanted to see what it took for us to die again... as the orange giant slowly turns and intercepts me, I realize that I wanted more than that.
I didn't want to die alone.
I wanted Nature to find her way. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Five thousand years of isolation gets pretty lonely sometimes. Throughout it all a few things kept Riley going. Find the crew that abandoned her. Not for revenge, not even for closure, she just needed to know why.
Why did she wake up to an empty ship all those years ago?
Why did she dedicate herself to serving her star system, only to be left adrift in the void?
She couldn’t even rest anymore. She could barely talk. Running numbers through her head, calculations, it kept her from going crazy. She worked faster with numbers than any other being, synthetic or biological (Numerous mind upgrades helped with that) It's why she was such a valued member of the crew. Sorting out impossible equations beyond the confines of reality itself was her favorite past-time. That and Tetris.
Through years of tinkering, she was even able to recourse the dead ship. Push it towards the nearest star system. Only 576 light years away, which traveling at her speed was about 789,989,090,431,566 years away. Then she’d finally get the answers. She’d finally learn why they abandoned her all those years ago. Still it was hard. Sometimes she considered ending it all. Immortal, after all, didn’t mean invincible. She’d give it another 346,987 years and see where that got her.
“XT34-transport do you copy? ” a calm voice buzzed in on the radio. Energy poured into Riley’s mind, a voice? An actual person voice?
“Yes this is XT34-transport,” I read you.
“She’s still active,” The voice on the other end said, presumably speaking with his crew. “Hey XT34, we’re gonna run a scan, can you take down the shields.”
“It’s Riley. Call me Riley.” She said, clicking off the shield wall.
“Riley, Nice to meet you. My name’s Michael.” There was gentle peace in his voice.
“You as well… I haven’t… I haven’t… spoken with anyone in a very long time.”
A long silence followed, “How long?”
“Five thousand Three Hundred and seventy two years.”
Silence.
“That’s a long minute… How are you not crazy?”
“Tetris.”
Michael laughed, the sound was like music beyond reason. The first time she’d made someone laugh in a long while.
“Okay Riley, once were done running this scan, we’ll pull you back to star system 237. Make sure everything’s up to snuff. Sound good?”
“That… sounds great.” Said Riley, “Thank you.”
More silence.
“What’s your score?” said Michael.
“Excuse me?”
“In Tetris.”
“999,999”
“Not bad.”
“It’s the maximum.”
“I figured.”
Another silence followed. Riley wondered if this was all an elaborate apparition. A waking dream. No. It had to be real. She felt peace unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Okay Riley, we’re good to go, gonna be silent for the next year or so as we travel. I’m sure you’re used to that by-”
“-Wait.” Said Riley with urgency that surprised her.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to my crew?”
“... your crew?”
“Why did they leave me?”
Silence. She could hear Michael turn in his seat..
“She’s asking about her crew?” said Michael.
Silence.
Another voice replied, “...Oh my bad, it’s another predox drifter.
Riley was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.
“Didn’t that show up in the scan?” said Michael.
“I’m seeing it now, below the red files.”
“Jesus Dave, she’s not even human?”
“Abandoned ship AI. Probably gained sentience about ...five thousand years ago.”
“Fucking shit.” Said Michael, “...Okay take her down, salvage the scraps.”
Riley felt a growing sense of panic, numbers in her files turning zeroes-
“-N-no wait…” Riley spoke, her voice.
Michael sighed, likely realizing his mic was on the whole time, “Sorry XT34, it’s protocol”
“W-why… why did they leave me?” said Riley, feeling emotion like nothing before.
“...I don’t know.”
“Please… Michael, just leave me here… please…”
Another long silence followed.
“Michael please, I-”
\-Everything turned into zero.
&#x200B;
[polterkites](https://www.reddit.com/r/polterkites)
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
\-- | Jenny, Michael, Sam, what was my dad’s name? I just need to remember my dad’s name. You’ll remember, give it time.
Cat, dog, bird, fish, running thing... what was that thing that used to run? It was fast and big. What was that?
Happy, sad, angry, confused. I was definitely getting more confused.
Blue. White..... something? What was that color called? I tried to reached back in my memories, what was that called?
Yellow. Blue. Black. Black. Black. What had I been trying to remember?
N. A. S. A. Didn’t that used to mean something? What did that mean?
1, 1000, 1000000, 1000000000. Seconds. Hours. Years. Millennia. How could I even begin to guess?
Hands. Fingers. Feet. foot fingers? That wasn’t right.
See. Taste. Feel. Smell. Eat? Maybe, that seemed right.
N. A. S. A. What was that? Why was it here?
Sun. Star. Star. Rock. Didn’t that have another name once? Rock. Star.
Yellow. Black. Black. Black. Black.
White.
Hot? Warm.
Feel. Touch. Sound?
Sounds.
N. A. S. A.
Noise.
Bright.
Name?
“Red.” That wasn’t right.
Age?
Silence.
Home?
Nothing.
Cold. Water!
Relief.
Food. Taste. Taste! Sweet. Salt. Pain? Hot.
Sick.
“Red? •¥¥*%#+ >~|\% earth?”
“Earth.”
Smile.
Clapping. Green. Grass. Smell.
Rain.
“Red, £€^* #} ¥++^ sister”
“Sister.”
Smile.
Tears.
Hug.
Happy.
“Amy?”
Me. I am Amy.
“Yes.”
Time. Again. Thoughts come slowly.
1 minute. 1 hour. 1 year.
Jenny. Michael. Sam. Rick. My dad’s name is Rick.
Horses. I used to ride horses.
Age? Very old. They say 1,000.
Lost? Just 100 years.
I wasn’t gone for very long.
Recovery. Slow.
Monday - learning to write again
Tuesday- equine therapy
Wednesday- group therapy
Thursday - speech therapy
Friday- learning to read again
Wednesday
“ I feel like a toddler. There’s so much I lost out there.” Mark says. “I know it was only 10 years, but it felt like an eternity.”
I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them.
“Amy? Do you have something you want to bring to the group?” Dr. Marlo looks to me.
I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
“I was lonely.” I said.
“I can imagine. Go on.”
“I wonder sometimes how long it will be.”
“How long what will be?”
“Until I’m lonely again.”
Dr. Marlo smiles. “You don’t have to worry, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes, I want it.”
Dr. Marlo frowns. “Want what?”
“The silence.” I say. “The nothing”.
10 years.
To Jenny and Michael and dad, I’m back. I carry on a conversation. I write notes to pick up eggs and I walk to my job at the café. But I am not back.
I fill a tub with water and ice. I lay back into it. I float.
100 years.
A man on the side of the road with a sign. The sign says “let me die.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Why would you want that?”
I say nothing.
1000 years.
The earth is crumbling. It’s hot. It’s far too hot. They’re asking for volunteers to leave, to go into space.
“I’m going.” I say.
“What?” My family is incredulous.
I don’t explain myself.
I board the ship, I wave to my family. They look worried, but I just smile.
I wait until we get somewhere nice and dark, far from our sun before I volunteer for the space walk. While I’m out there, I cut my line.
This time I don’t try to hold on to any memories. I let myself float.
Relief. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | “In space, no one can hear you scream,” as a young man I had never given a second thought to the tagline of my favorite science-fiction movie. It was not until I stared into the infinite abyss of the unknown, my throat raw from anguished cries for help, that I truly considered the gravity of this statement. I was alone, floating for eternity in the void of space, and they were not coming back. I was merely a speck in the infinite span, unnoticeable, microscopic. After what felt like weeks of isolated torment, I came to grips with my new reality, and began to reflect on what led me to this eternal damnation of darkness and solitude.
The advancements of nanotechnology had always seemed to be a boon to the human race. Applications of the tech had led to the eradication of all disease and even injury. After widespread adoption from countries across the globe, the science behind it all seemed relatively simple. Self-replicating nanobots were implanted in the citizens with the single purpose to repair muscles and tissues in the body. Of course, from there various advancements rapidly improved the technology. Microscopic power generation allowed nanobots to charge themselves using the energy created as the heart circulates blood throughout the body. This, coupled with the discovery of atomic level splicing, allowed nanotechnology to not only rapidly heal a person but also provided them with an endless supply of breathable oxygen. The human race had become immortal.
In the beginning, people celebrated in the streets at the defeat of death. Though, over time immortality grew to be the single greatest crisis in human history. Men and women continued to reproduce, and overpopulation began to inflict every single country in the world. People were bleeding the Earth of its natural resources and land. Within a century all plottable land on the globe had been developed and built up. Wars broke out over control of the world which gave way to the creation of a single global state, but not before the desolation of much of the planet.
What remained became inhospitable, and the undying population was forced to live evermore in the world they destroyed. The new order proposed a solution to the problems which plagued its constituents. They would create massive space ships capable of holding cities worth of people and send them out to colonize the galaxy. Their message was clear and obvious, with the resources of Earth squandered, it was pointless to stay on our home world when the stars held the answers to all our problems.
So, we set out into the vast unknown, each of us assuming roles on the ship that best suited our personal skill sets. Due to my background in welding, I was assigned a maintenance role on the outside of the ship. It was my job to perform space walks and make repairs to the vessel throughout our long journey. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this job would be my undoing. During our second year of travel we unwittingly entered into an asteroid field, and the hull of our ship became quite damaged from the endless barrage of stone pounding like a fist on a wall. I performed a number of skillful repairs during the days we spent in the field, all without incident. Though, during my final repair job at the edge of the belt, the ship navigated too close of one of the asteroids. I can still see its massive form in my mind, its pores and crevices staring at me like many watching eyes. It ground against the hull of the vessel, smashing into me and severing my tether to the ship, my tether to civilization.
I was left flying away from the dense asteroid belt, away from the ship which was now but a blur of light in the distance. I was alone, with no one to know of my fate, no one to mourn or care, for in the infinite life of man I was just one of trillions. I screamed for help, but no one heard.
I know that I will spend the rest of my endless days floating out here alone, waiting for isolation and delirium to take me and drive me mad. Not even the solace of death can bring me peace.
My fate, unknown to all others, has taught me one ultimate truth. In destroying death, we have lost everything that makes us human. | |
[WP] When humanity beat death, you celebrated. You’re now deeply regretting your inability to die once your crew left you to rot in the emptiness of space. | Lazarus Station. Fabled outpost in the far reaches of the Solar System. The only place I could hope to find what I need. Death.
9 years ago we started on the journey to find it. I'd always found it funny how they called it Lazarus. Ironic. None of us wanted to rise from the dead. We were already doing that for the last 160 years.
We're afraid of space now more than ever. Back then, when we were mortal, we could hope to die minutes after being blown out the airlock, faster if we were near a star. But now, regeneration is so fast that if we were ever out there without a suit, we'd probably die a thousand different ways for the rest of eternity. Yup. We beat death. But now there was something more fierce and cruel than anything we've ever faced. Back then, we thought solving death would give us unimaginable power. All it gave us was unimaginable fear. Now, here in space, we realize what it is that we face. Eternity. Infinite suffering.
I don't know exactly why they did it. They said we were close enough to the station so I had to go out. Search for it. The beacon on my suit would help them follow me. I would have protested, but that wouldn't have helped. They would have thrown me out regardless, without the suit this time. I didn't want that.
In the beginning, I don't know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't want to feel that crippling feeling anymore. That impending sense of dread as your heart pounds dangerously fast against your chest. Maybe because I wanted to make it go away- so I jumped headfirst into it. Let reality hit me hard. But that almost drove me insane. So I ignored it. I thought about life back on Earth. That drove me insane too. Then I realized that I would go mad before I ever died.
I don't have any sense of time, not that it matters to immortal beings, but back home it helped give you a sense of progress. The more time passed, the closer you were to your goal. An illusion, it was, but one that I desperately needed right now. I had started a counter in the mini-computer on my gauntlet, but it ran out of battery a long, long time ago. It was solar-powered. We were near Pluto. The last reading on the screen said "289 days, 17 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds". After that, I don't know how long it's been. It feels long. But then again, when you want something to end desperately, time seems to slow down.
My only hope of death would have been a star. If I were near one I'd burn ridiculously fast and there would be no chance of regeneration. But that was out of the question now. The closest star was the Sun and I'd sooner find the Lazarus Station then return back. I had thought of returning back too- to Earth. It would take years, but at least I'd have a goal. I'd reach there, and the gravity would pull me in fast, and I'd burn up on re-entry and abandon the suit. Hopefully, I'd die. But it was a long shot. Without the navi-computer, I had no idea where to head. I'd most likely venture away from the Earth than toward it.
Fuck. Lazarus Station was my only hope. I don't use my thrusters, there's very little fuel in them. And I hope to use them when I find the station. _If_ I find the station.
I drift aimlessly, hoping to catch a sight of the lights of the station blinking. Make my way towards it. That's when a huge asteroid appears. I have no option other than using my thrusters to get out of its way. I don't want to damage my suit. I successfully maneuver around the giant space rock. But now I no longer have fuel for my thrusters.
I'm fucked.
As a huge amount of debris follows the asteroid, I get an idea. I grab a bag that came along with the suit and open it. Caught in the debris field, I gather the stones in the bag. They are large enough for what I need them for but small enough to not cause damage to the suit. Even so, I deploy the shield that the gauntlet on my right arm held. It breaks by the time the field passes, only a jagged bit of steel left, but I get all that I need. I tie the bag around my right leg and keep on drifting.
Here I am, waiting patiently for the end of it all. Death would be a sweet, sweet thing to taste. Sweeter than anything life had given to me. I am a somewhat religious man. I do believe in God. But sometimes I think if he'd judge us poorly knowing what we did was not the course of nature. So much of what we were was defined by the fact that we had to die one day. That all changed a long time ago. Fear takes me over quickly, so I recite the only prayer I'd bothered to learn. I remember the lines, and although they mean little now, they give me peace. They give me some strength.
That's when I see it. Lazarus Station. Huge and stark and beautiful- it's there in the distance. It'll take me days to reach there, but I've done it. Now to get to planning.
I have no way to relay a signal to them, as the communication system went down the same time as the mini computer. What I have are exactly 24 space rocks in my bag. 17 small, 7 large. Space is a damn near perfect vacuum- frictionless. So I'll use the rocks for course correction. I use the smaller ones first to propel myself in the right direction. Newton's Third Law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I launch each rock with as much arm strength as I can muster, and hurtle towards the station. The large ones I'll use towards the end when I'm very close. I start to hope. One rock out, I launch towards Lazarus. Towards death.
It's been some time now. I am somewhat near the station, but now I believe I won't make it. I'm down to 3 rocks. One of them large, the other two small. There's a high probability that I'll miss it. By a long shot. 3 rocks won't get me anywhere. I use them all.
I'm still nowhere close to landing on their platform. I have nothing to help me course correct.
This is how it had to be, I guess. I'll be crossing Lazarus in a few hours now. Just that. Crossing. And then I'll drift away forever. This is the price I pay for trying to play God. I feel fear again. This time it freezes me to my core. Existential dread has nothing on what I'm feeling right now.
Then it strikes me. The cold. I do have something. I still have the suit. I still have my body. I take the suit off- starting with my legs. They freeze fast. The pain is unbearable. I scream. I scream harder than I ever have. But now is no time for pain. I take the broken piece of my shield and saw them off. Hurl them both at calculated directions. Yes. It's working. I'm closer now. I'm so much closer now. I'll wait for them to regenerate, and cut them off again. I realize quickly I miscalculated how fast I'd reach the station platform. I hadn't taken into account that it'd have some gravitational pull of its own. My legs won't regenerate that fast and the centrifugal force developed by my approach will probably just launch me away. No, I can't wait for the legs. But I can't use my arms either. I'll need both of them if I were to catch the platform.
I break the padding near my chest, and I bare my body to the uncaring -270 degree Celsius of space. I shove the shield-knife deep and open my chest cavity before it freezes. The pain is nothing now. The shock may be numbing it. I expose my organs to the cold and feel my insides freezing. First I pull my intestines. Then I pull my liver. And then my stone-cold stomach. The station platform is close but I'm way off course. I hastily shove my innards in the bag and launch it opposite to the platform.
My half-frozen, half-empty body finally lands on the platform, and the shock of it all begins to subside. The pain slowly starts to acquaint itself with me. But I don't care. I see the Lazarus personnel approaching me from a distance, and I've never been happier.
I am going to die. | When human hubris had grown too great, I had been forced to turn away. A tragedy -- for I had always loved them, more than any other species in the multiverse. They had always been something like my favorite.
Now, for the first time in millennia, one of them was calling out my name.
Their planet had expanded too rapidly. They had been forced to seek out the stars to save the miserable and decrepit as their own planet buckled under the weight of their consumption. Space stations and colonization efforts and spats with the locals on a handful of planets in the quadrant who had intelligent life. Then they'd expanded beyond it, turning the stars into oceans and living like the ancient Maori. Never in one place for long.
But pirates always came with water, and they were so cruel to their compatriots. Now I was drawn to one of these -- his ship floating endlessly in the vacuum. No oxygen, fuel, heat. Nothing to enrich him, or keep him sane. They'd abandoned him, so long ago.
Humanity had always been cruel.
He was too cold and listless to register the shadows at the edge of his vision, too in awe to say a word when I briefly restored matter, heat, light, love to his environment. Just long enough to sit and chat. I hadn't had the chance in a very, very long time.
"What are you?" he breathed, his voice creaky from disuse.
"You already know," I said in reply, serene and gentle. I sat cross-legged on the ground, producing a worn deck of playing cards. "Sit," I invited, beginning to deal for a game whose title was lost to the ages.
He sat down on the ground, staring at the cards. Then at me, my appearance flickering for a moment like a candle before I silently selected a face for him. An old lover, red-haired and freckled. "You look like Damien," he said, voice breaking.
"I can pick another face if you'd rather," I said softly, my voice unchanged. It was only an illusion, after all. "I simply wish to bring you some comfort."
"... It's fine."
We began to play in silence, until he broke it.
"Why are you here? Humanity... has forsaken you. Why would... why would you come to me? You can't even take me for yourself."
I shook my head, placing down the queen of clubs. "Once upon a time, there was a great woman," I said. "She called herself Apocalypse," and I turned the card around to face him. "Of all the creatures in the universe, there was one creature who she loved especially." I placed down the grayscale joker, having caught his attention. "He was a creature not quite angel and not quite demon, made to pass silent judgement. His name was Justice, and he was unbelievably cruel."
"How could Justice be cruel?" the human asked.
"Because he had no empathy. All he knew was right and wrong, and he was flawed. Nothing is truly black and white, but he was." I placed the Queen over top. "Apocalypse was fond of him. He was easy to manipulate. All she had to do was convince him that she was being wronged, and he would do whatever she asked of him."
Then, I placed down a few suits at random. "The other beings of the multiverse were upset. They realized that Justice was flexible, and could suit any perspective given enough manipulation. Justice was never blind, and never fair. So the old gods took Justice and they turned him inside out." I flipped the card to reveal the colorful one. "No longer black and white, but an array of splendorous colors. They were to be empathetic and equal -- no more male and female, black and white, right and wrong. Everything was all a shade of the same gray, and so the creature needed a new name."
The green-eyed human turned the card towards me. "Death."
"Yes. Do you understand now?"
"... You're here because you pity me?"
"Because," I said, taking the fallen cards into my hand, "I know what it is to be you. And yes -- because I pity you. Immortality is unbelievably lonely. There is a reason I sought to take it from you." I took the cards from him, too, placing them back into their deck.
He swallowed. "You can take it?"
"I can do many things."
"Why haven't you before?"
My eyes met his, intense and those of someone he'd once loved. "Because nobody has asked me. Because human beings inevitably fear the end. Because they do not see it as peace, but as nothingness, and because they can never truly know what lies on the other side until their lives come to an end. Because to offer would be offering suicide, and I find the end of a life to be an unquestionable tragedy."
The human looked at his hands, blue at the tips from cold. Felt his heart beating, as it always would. "... The universe marches inevitably towards entropy," he said, and then looked me in the face. I dropped my facade, back to a flickering creature -- never the same face twice.
I rose to my feet, and I waited.
"... This isn't just about me, is it?"
"No."
"I speak for the whole of humanity when I say it."
"Yes."
"And if you were me?"
"Without knowing what I know?"
"Yeah."
I smiled. Brittle. I knew what it was like to see humans live and die; I knew what it was like to love them. My form flickered to that of a young one -- perhaps twenty, with a shock of pink hair and arms littered with scars. "I would be unbelievably scared. I would cling desperately on to the frail hope that I could see the ones I loved again. I would say no." I tugged at my -- no, at *their* \-- sleeve. Striped pink and orange. "But with empathy comes cowardice, and with knowledge comes the burden of responsibility."
He twisted a ring on his finger. Then, he reached out his hand like reaching out to a devil, and I cringed as I took it. Touch -- it disgusted me at the best of times, but I knew that he needed it. I waited. I would not prompt him.
Finally, he sighed. Looked me in the eyes, and sighed. "Take it, like you did all those years ago, old friend. Take this burden from us, and please, let us die."
"If you wish it," I said softly, and then, in a single stutter in time, I was gone.
Soon, he would be as well. | |
[WP] The year is 2250. Privacy doesn't exist anymore. Corporations are broadcasting people's lives 24/7. Those lives who have more views gain more money. You plan to rebel against this invasion, but the problem is your life is being broadcasted. | "And here we see Jerry Smith is busy writing hacker code in his basement. We called in specialist Dr. Randy Cornwallis, who said this code, if completed, could effectively wipe out the entire database! What do you think, Dr. Cornwallis."
"Well, James, I can tell you one think, Smith isn't gonna get far with that loop he's working on. The Blain Corp. has guarded against that for years. In fact, in a recent study...
\_\_\_
Jerry Smith cranked up the three broadcasts, his person show, popular news anchor James Wild's, and noted computer security designer, Dr. Cornwallis's.
In one ear played: "Ohhh and that's gotta sting. Just look at James' face, really smarting after that diss from Cornwallis. Whaddya think, Grant?"
"Yeah, I'd say James is starting to lose his touch with those zingers. Back in the day he used to get a whole studio audience rolling on the floor but since being moved to Jerry Smith's case, his wit seems to have deteriorated to that of his 22 year old subject."
In the other ear was: "Oh and just look at how Cornwallis leans back, such passion in his work."
"Martha, that's what I've been saying! This man is the real deal! He's not one of those phony- oh no no, I know what you're going to say Sharon, I know-"
"I'm just saying, if he was the real deal he wouldn't have slept with Maria Cosgove, his housekeeper!"
"That's just allegations and slander, Dr. Cornwallis wouldn't do that."
"Oh? Well then why don't we ask Ms. Cogove herself, who I have flown all the way from Atlanta Georgia..." Her words are drowned out in studio applause.
\_\_\_
Jerry Smith's goal had, his whole life, been to get so unpopular that no one would want to watch his broadcast, which let him get away with more things. This had almost worked, but when James Wild got assigned to his case, his numbers had jumped. It was nice to have the money in his account but now it was much easier to raise the hackles of corporate security.
But he had a plan. He'd spoken, quickly and using an innocuous cipher, to his ex girlfriend, his best friend from high school, and most importantly, the girl who he once got to cheat on her bf with him. All of them had agreed to show up on James Wild's show as tantalizing guest stars because guest starts were the best way to get the audience eyes on your channel but off you.
Meanwhile, while he waited for the first to call in, Prim from English 101, his ex, he enjoyed the free consultation from Dr. Cornwallis, regarding his work. He'd just had the code cracked but the good scientist was incidentally helping him solve the last few bits.
"Well you know it's funny you mention that about hackers having no lives. I happen to have on the phone one Miss Prim Blane from Jerry Smith's old English class. Miss Blane, how are you today?"
Go time.
Jerry pounded frantically on the keyboard, praying his companions, who were in on the plan with him, would be able to sync their calls just right.
"Now I'm not going to give *too* much away, out of respect," drawled Prim's adorable southern accent that still made his heart skip a bit. "But that boy did not know his way around a girl." His heart stopped skipping a beat a little faster. Well that was nasty of her. But it sure got audience attentions.
Just as her interview was looking to come to a close, James grew quiet for a second.
"Well now wait a minute Prim, I've got a texter on the line, one Uriah Hoots, who claims that maybe you came to him about your relationship in the end, is that true?"
Good old Uriah always had that good sense to know when a convo needed spicing up and soon Prim's defensive protests rattled through his headset.
He was making good progress on initiating his code. Just twenty minutes ago, he'd looked like any other hacker, with a pile of useless code and a grudge against the corps. Now, though, he was maybe another twenty minutes from crashing them. Just needed a little more time...
The conversation was again, coming to a lull and James was saying his goodbyes to Prim and Uriah. Jerry tensed, waiting for Lulu to call in but heard nothing. James and a good natured Cornwallis gossiped a bit about Jerry's personal life.
Cornwallis admitted that this drama was why he stayed away from women. James suggested maybe it was something else, and both laughed.
"So now, what's old Jerry been up to?"
Come on, Lu.
"He seems awful excited about his project. Let's take a look at the bug software on his comp, see what that reveals."
Come ON, just a few more minutes.
There was a bang, like a door opening, through his headset that made HIM jump.
"Well now, who could this be?" said James, interest newly piqued. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very unexpected guest here. What's your name, ma'am?"
"I'm Lulu Gardner and I'm here to say that, no matter what Prissy Prim or Ugly Uriah had to say, Jerry Smith is a liar and a cheat."
Technically she was the cheat but Jerry's heart calmed a bit. Or rather, the beating of terror was replaced by the beating of excitement.
"A liar and a cheat, you say?"
"Oh yes. Oh I could talk about my past with him. About how he forced me to cheat on my bf with him, using blackmail. About how he cheated on Prim. About his secret affairs all across the country."
Shit, she was laying it on thick. Jerry smacked the enter key and his program started to run. He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing he could do now but wait.
"But I want to talk about something different." Her voice took on a new tone and Jerry's cheeks flushed with anticipation. "I want to talk about what he's been doing under our noses."
80% compiled.
"I want to talk about his dissatisfaction, not only with relationships, but with life. With society. With the corps."
"Well now I can't imagine how someone could hate the corps."
90%
"But Jerry was never just someone. For someone who spent his life under water in most social situations, he knew how to play them like music."
95%
"This is a warning. A warning to everyone. Things are about"
98%
"to go"
99%
"dark."
___
Find more stories at [r/SamaraWrites](https://www.reddit.com/r/SamaraWrites/) | My life is a movie. It's being watched by millions, even if I don't get millions. Somewhere, someone is watching. Some know this, and advertise themselves, living the movie. But what about the millions of others who don't wanna be movie stars?
I've tried so many things. Covering cameras result in more the next day, only one restful night of sleep in a panopticon. Destroying the cameras nets me a fine from the corporations rich enough to write their word into law.
There is but one thing left to do.
I have my whole chicken, fresh from the supermarket, the process of buying it similarly livestreamed to some weird person on the other side of the globe that loves to watch this type of thing.
I don't have a barrel, but I have one of those pallets that trucks use to store bread and other groceries, which I guess is kinda the same thing in this day and age.
I'm staring into the camera, or at least, the general direction where it's facing. Sitting on the pallet, nothing else in the room or on me, I hold the plucked chicken directly at its lens.
A long-dead Greek philosopher is probably beaming with pride somewhere. This world would make no sense to him as much as his own time, anyway.
"Behold! A man!" | |
[WP] You're just living your life. Calling friends, doing your job, getting groceries. Alas, your narrator is unbearably pretentious, and is trying their best to frame this as a deep metaphor for the human condition no matter how much you try to make them stop. | Curtis stood still at the end of the breakfast aisle, his pulse racing. Rigid, frozen in place, he felt overwhelmed by all the choices, the characters with their gaping maws staring manically, greedily at him, compelling him to choose them, to show his favor. It paralyzed him, the possibility that such a seemingly insignificant choice could radically alter his life's path.
*If I'd just chosen Trix over Cinnamon Toast Crunch*, he wondered, *would she have still left me?*
*"*No, asshole," Curtis said. "I'm just looking to see if they restocked Frosted Mini-Wheats or if they're still out so I don't have to waste a trip down the aisle."
Sensing the gravity of the moment, the primal need to seize what could be his last opportunity, Curtis strode with purpose to a box of cereal on the top shelf, one that dared him to look up, to reach, to aim just beyond his comfort zone, and he grasped a box, pausing with it in his hand, gazing at it meaningfully, feeling the full weight of the path he chose.
"Just checking the number of carbs," Curtis said, sounding oddly annoyed, perhaps as though he regretted his choice.
Curtis had never before felt such kinship with Robert Frost.
"Nice try, but nope," Curtis said. "Just trying to remember which aisle the pickles were on."
Trying to suppress the pain he felt from being such a lonely genius who possessed such superior spatial visualization skills, Curtis ruminated on the pickles, and he began to consider whether choosing the baby pickles had sent her the wrong message, had somehow passive-aggressively shamed her for what she said that time he--
"Now listen here, fucker," Curtis snapped, in a weak, high-pitched voice.
"My voice doesn't sound like that," Curtis pleaded, in the same nasally, singsong way his mother used to correct him. It seemed he could never shake his primal programming, and he questioned whether anyone truly was their own selves or just some amalgamation of every person who came before.
"Just fucking shut *up*! You better *believe* I'm gonna shut you up with about a fifth when I get home," Curtis said, unfairly.
"That's not even a way to say something, Einstein," Curtis said assholely--
A nearby security guard approached Curtis. "Everything OK?"
"Yes, Officer," Curtis said. "Just on a phone call. You know how it is when some moron really gets under your skin and just will not stop bugging you." Curtis knew he was being cruel and didn't care.
"Damn right," both Curtis and the security guard said at the same time. Then, they shared a nod, as if to affirm the streak of callous indifference and hollow machismo, similar to some of the theatrics present in every aspect of daily culture, right down to the names of men's deodorant scents. What did society intend to impose upon men by demanding they choose to emulate either a Cool Glacier or an Extreme Sport?
Curtis pretended as though he wasn't burdened by the consideration that he was operating in a construct both invisible to yet perpetuated by the same people when he chose his pickles -- Bread & Butter Sandwich Slices, a subconscious salute to the constant pressure young people feel to find and couple with the perfect complement, with whom they'll ultimately be bound, compressed, and devoured, only to be replaced and declared void of all individuality -- and he paid for his cereal and pickles, contemplating whether this was the sum worth of his time and energy, something that he will consume only to find himself at a loss for it all over again.
"If you don't give it a rest, you know what I'll do," Curtis said, completely unjustifiably, in a telling nod to how constantly angry he felt at a world that sought to shame him for his impossibly small penis and dead-end job that only a stupid loser would want.
"That's IT!" Curtis screeched like a purebred--
Curtis urinated in his pants. While carrying his groceries. Across the. Parking. Lot.
A scathingly beautiful woman who had been approaching Curtis stopped in her tracks, looked at the dark spot spreading across the front of Chris's pants, and promptly turned and walked into the store.
"I warned you," Curtis said.
"I told you what would happen if you wouldn't cut the shit," Curtis said.
"Nobody is impressed by your big brain," Curtis said.
"Now, do you want to be forever alone?" Curtis asked.
"Because I will make sure it stays that way unless you learn how to be chill," Curtis said.
Curtis got in his car and drove home. Later, he went to sleep.
The next day was a new day, flush with new opportunities in ways that only seemed possibly by the light of dawn, lighting up the horizon with hope that a day might yet be seized; however, a light mist lay visible outside, a veil muting the city like a looming spectre of discontent threatening the calm.
"Semicolons already? It's not even 8am," Curtis muttered grouchily, his morning breath--
"Is your memory really that short, or are you going to make me shit myself today?" Curtis asked.
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
"That's what I thought," Curtis said.
Curtis got ready and went to work.
When Curtis got to the office, he saw Corrine waiting for the elevator, like an expectant fawn waiting in wonder to experience the world, the coffee stain on her cardigan matching the deep pools of her brown eyes, in the same way that society's most serendipitous moments usually occur within the intense connection between what we consume and what lies within us.
When she boarded the elevator with Curtis, it was not unlike being touched by divine grace, and the whole world seemed to stop, all its ills forgotten in some psychological trick that could surely be boiled down to a biological impetus that it was imperative to ignore.
Her bitten nails were a testament to how man so often has to gnaw his way into the upper echelon of society, grappling with its ills in the same way Corinne grapples with such an endearing habit. This juxtaposition found within the conflict--
Curtis loudly farted in the elevator.
"Did I stutter?" Curtis asked.
Corinne hurried off the elevator, refusing to even look at Curtis.
"It's all up to you," Curtis said. He rode the rest of the way in silence. | *At a certain day, and at a certain time, somewhere between the beginning and the end of his life, we see a man finishing up his evening routine. Finally, after an exhausting day spent doing little he saw of value, he dries his hair from a shower and begins to-*
"Dude, I'm a teacher. I think there's plenty of value in that."
*Finally, after a day spent doing nothing of lasting impact, he steps from the shower to-*
"Jacob is a little genius, I swear that kid is going to lead colonization efforts on Mars, and I get to encourage that. Seriously, how is that not worthwhile?"
*He begins to brush his teeth. After his... Day. Of teaching.*
*After removing the plaque from his teeth, he completes his nightly ritual, lowering the temperature on his thermostat and climbs into bed. As the temperature chills, so too does his body, and the cold memories of time ill spent return to him. Friends forgotten and lost, mistakes made, hurt that can never be taken ba-*
"I was younger and stupid. I'm older now, it's really not a big deal."
*He thinks that if he could go back, he could change things, make them better. How he would do things dif-*
"I really don't. It happened, I'm over it."
*He doesn't comprehend the futility of-*
"Look, man."
"Life is hard sometimes, I get that. It's easy to get down on yourself or spend time wallowing in a sense of nihilism, but really life isn't so bad. You can make your big observations on the futility of life, or on whatever sad effect of the human condition you want, but at the end of the day what are you trying to say? That we should all just curl up and die?"
*No, look, I'm just-*
"Just being pretentious about stuff that everyone gets on an intuitive level but lives with anyway. I mean really, everyone's going to die some day, that's not some huge revelation, it's just life. Why be a dick about it?"
*If you'd just let me get to the end of the-*
"I'm going to bed, do whatever you want."
*...*
*And so, he drifts to sleep, unaware of the... Fuck it.*
*He goes to bed.* | |
[WP] You're just living your life. Calling friends, doing your job, getting groceries. Alas, your narrator is unbearably pretentious, and is trying their best to frame this as a deep metaphor for the human condition no matter how much you try to make them stop. | *John picked up the container. Cottage cheese it was, something that reminded him of his own life, broken in pieces. Chunks, more like. He shook his head in an attempt to erase the thought, but he knew it was true. He could never be whole. Not after his father left home when he was 6.*
"No," John interrupted his narrator. "I really just *like* cottage cheese." In defiance, he set the cottage cheese down and walked away. "And it never bothered me that my father left," John replied. "That guy was an asshole. My life is much better without him."
*The people stared at John. What an outburst. Surely, this had something to do with the cottage cheese. It seemed like dairy always had this powerful emotional effect on him. You see, his father was a dairy farmer. Before he left home, he was always at work, doing the thing that dairy farmers do. There was a hint of moisture at the corner oh John's eye.*
"Wrong." *John laughed out loud.* "My father was a drug dealer. You're mixing up your characters again."
*Er... He wandered towards the bread at the other corner of the store. Like any store, the most in-demand items were always the furthest apart from one another. This gave John ample opportunity to walk past other food items with emotional baggage. This included things like olives -- a reminder of his neighbor's Italian Greyhound -- and thyme -- a reminder of his lack of time in this world. You see, life was always passing him by, just like the thyme he practically sprinted past. Life was so short, he thought to himself. There was never enough time. John was afraid of death. Death was like... not living or something. Like not being able to breathe or feel your heartbeat. So deep and mysterious. John thought,* "is death like sleeping?" *He really wondered that. Like, death must totally be like sleeping, right? Probably. John shook his head in exacerbation with the idea of death.*
"No." *John responded.* "I am shaking my head at you." *John was really racing through the aisles at this point. He felt really needed to go to the bread aisle -- his one true source of comfort. Bread never hurt him. It was soft and without sharp edges. It was only the rye bread that hurt him. He was allergic to rye. It make his face itchy. He struggled to hold back tears as he approached the bread -- his one true source of comfort. The golden crust greeted him with a smile. As bread crust always does to everyone. John loves all kinds of bread. There wasn't a bread that didn't fill him with happy feelings. Be it Wonderbread, white bread, wheat bread or... apparently gluten-free bread today. John, are you sure you want the gluten-free bread? They have other lovely breads to choose from, like that nice soda bread that's on sale.*
"I can't have gluten, remember?" *John chastised the narrator. A total dick move.* "I haven't had gluten in years." *He totally just put the bread in his cart, ignoring the narrator's suggestion.* "Like I said, you keep mixing up your characters."
*John kept the gluten-free bread in his card against the advice of the narrator. He made his way to the check-out, now completely ignoring anything I have to say. The cashier rang up his items. She smiled at John, her warm alluring eyes inviting him in. He felt a great hunger for... Jennifer. She was young, just 20 years old to his 28. It was in that moment that John knew he* had *to have Tiffany. She was supple and lithe. Her wide hips perfect for bearing so many children.*
*... Instead, John paid for his food and left without a word more than* "Thank you" *to the cashier. Why did you do this John? I set her up for you. She was supposed to be your partner for life. That is the woman with whom you are destined. Why must you defy me?*
"Did you forget that you made me gay?" *John lied. He was not gay. He was as straight as I am. A straight man with a normal appreciation for younger women.*
"No," *John interrupted me as always.* "I am very gay." *A strange older man walked up to John, and kissed him outside the store.* "Did you forget my boyfriend of four years?" *John laughed homosexually at me. What a prick.* "And I always preferred older men."
*They walked off to their car together. This is the last time I write a story including John. Like, why does he have to behave so contrary to what I write? Does he need to be so difficult all the time? I try so hard to find him a woman and he turns them all away.* | Narrator: A shimmer of hope in her eyes underneath those heavy eyelids begging for rest. As momemts pass, her heart starts racing. Its not usual for a person of her physique to feel any heaviness in her chest. Standing tall at 5'10 she is not your average girl. Her strides are effortless as she juggles the burdens of her family's life. Bread winner who could have gone so far to win at life had she gone alone. But she is carrying others without a word of complaint. At 18, she is young but her mind is older as her heart keeps getting colder.
Narrator: A forced smile on those pursed lips as she's hoping her mind stops
Girl: "No no no....".
There a silence.
Narrator: But not long after that hope disappears when the cashier at the grocery store says, "Your card's maxed out Ms!" | |
[WP] You're just living your life. Calling friends, doing your job, getting groceries. Alas, your narrator is unbearably pretentious, and is trying their best to frame this as a deep metaphor for the human condition no matter how much you try to make them stop. | *John picked up the container. Cottage cheese it was, something that reminded him of his own life, broken in pieces. Chunks, more like. He shook his head in an attempt to erase the thought, but he knew it was true. He could never be whole. Not after his father left home when he was 6.*
"No," John interrupted his narrator. "I really just *like* cottage cheese." In defiance, he set the cottage cheese down and walked away. "And it never bothered me that my father left," John replied. "That guy was an asshole. My life is much better without him."
*The people stared at John. What an outburst. Surely, this had something to do with the cottage cheese. It seemed like dairy always had this powerful emotional effect on him. You see, his father was a dairy farmer. Before he left home, he was always at work, doing the thing that dairy farmers do. There was a hint of moisture at the corner oh John's eye.*
"Wrong." *John laughed out loud.* "My father was a drug dealer. You're mixing up your characters again."
*Er... He wandered towards the bread at the other corner of the store. Like any store, the most in-demand items were always the furthest apart from one another. This gave John ample opportunity to walk past other food items with emotional baggage. This included things like olives -- a reminder of his neighbor's Italian Greyhound -- and thyme -- a reminder of his lack of time in this world. You see, life was always passing him by, just like the thyme he practically sprinted past. Life was so short, he thought to himself. There was never enough time. John was afraid of death. Death was like... not living or something. Like not being able to breathe or feel your heartbeat. So deep and mysterious. John thought,* "is death like sleeping?" *He really wondered that. Like, death must totally be like sleeping, right? Probably. John shook his head in exacerbation with the idea of death.*
"No." *John responded.* "I am shaking my head at you." *John was really racing through the aisles at this point. He felt really needed to go to the bread aisle -- his one true source of comfort. Bread never hurt him. It was soft and without sharp edges. It was only the rye bread that hurt him. He was allergic to rye. It make his face itchy. He struggled to hold back tears as he approached the bread -- his one true source of comfort. The golden crust greeted him with a smile. As bread crust always does to everyone. John loves all kinds of bread. There wasn't a bread that didn't fill him with happy feelings. Be it Wonderbread, white bread, wheat bread or... apparently gluten-free bread today. John, are you sure you want the gluten-free bread? They have other lovely breads to choose from, like that nice soda bread that's on sale.*
"I can't have gluten, remember?" *John chastised the narrator. A total dick move.* "I haven't had gluten in years." *He totally just put the bread in his cart, ignoring the narrator's suggestion.* "Like I said, you keep mixing up your characters."
*John kept the gluten-free bread in his card against the advice of the narrator. He made his way to the check-out, now completely ignoring anything I have to say. The cashier rang up his items. She smiled at John, her warm alluring eyes inviting him in. He felt a great hunger for... Jennifer. She was young, just 20 years old to his 28. It was in that moment that John knew he* had *to have Tiffany. She was supple and lithe. Her wide hips perfect for bearing so many children.*
*... Instead, John paid for his food and left without a word more than* "Thank you" *to the cashier. Why did you do this John? I set her up for you. She was supposed to be your partner for life. That is the woman with whom you are destined. Why must you defy me?*
"Did you forget that you made me gay?" *John lied. He was not gay. He was as straight as I am. A straight man with a normal appreciation for younger women.*
"No," *John interrupted me as always.* "I am very gay." *A strange older man walked up to John, and kissed him outside the store.* "Did you forget my boyfriend of four years?" *John laughed homosexually at me. What a prick.* "And I always preferred older men."
*They walked off to their car together. This is the last time I write a story including John. Like, why does he have to behave so contrary to what I write? Does he need to be so difficult all the time? I try so hard to find him a woman and he turns them all away.* | There it is again, that unrelenting voice that’s been with me my whole life.
No one else seems to hear it, hell no one even seems to have their own, but here I am, with this damn voice in my head, telling me all about my actions as I do them.
He seems to think he’s the best thing since sliced bread, trust me, he did an hour on it last Wednesday. And I can’t even buy an apple for lunch, without his constant ramblings about how life is life that apple and your bills and relationships are like the bites you take, on and on about every single thing I do!
I’ve asked, Ive begged, I’ve pleaded, hell I’ve even bargained.
If this last ditch attempt doesn’t work, I don’t know what will
Mr Narrator, I hope you like the taste of lead.
Oh god, he’s already started rambling again. | |
[WP] You're just living your life. Calling friends, doing your job, getting groceries. Alas, your narrator is unbearably pretentious, and is trying their best to frame this as a deep metaphor for the human condition no matter how much you try to make them stop. | *Look at it--the monotony, the day-to-day repetition of tasks to get from point A to point B. You're like a carpenter ant; we all are, waiting to be crushed under the boots of greater people.*
I shook my head, sighing, as I ignored the commentary and made another sandwich. Working at Subway during a pandemic wasn't great, but at least not many people came in. Turns out that of all the places to risk going to, Subway isn't high on the list. Shocking, I know.
*A sandwich: the perfect representation of man. Slowly, piece by piece, we're slapped together into a hodgepodge of bad ideas, anxieties and lunch meat. Here we have a prime example of the human condition: what kind of a life is spent making sandwiches for weird old people? I certainly don't know. And yet, though he hates it, our friend here trudges on anyway. It's in his nature--our nature--to carry on like a good little worker ant, even if it's brought us nothing.*
That's the kind of shit I dealt with on a daily basis. Sometimes, it was so brutal that I wanted to cry; I guess, at least, if I had sobbed into someone's sandwich, they probably wouldn't have known. The vinaigrette just tastes like tears anyway.
After work, I stopped by a grocery store for a few small items I'd been needing, like paper towels and disposable dinner plates.
*Now this, dear reader, is the epitome of irony. Watch as our friend here purchases disposable kitchenware--which is an environmental crime, to be sure, but put that aside for now. Instead, think of the similarities, the Freudian aspects. He's too tired to bother with cleaning plates and spoons, so he buys ones that can be thrown out instead. Utensils that can be disposed of once they've served their purpose.*
*Sound like anyone else you know?*
I rubbed my eyes as I went through the self-checkout lane, avoiding the lady monitoring them. She may have said hi, but I kept my eyes glued on the ground, trying to shut that maniacal asshole out of my head, like I always was. God forbid I try to talk to someone and have his words slip out instead.
At home, I dropped my bags on the ground and decided they could be put away later. The trash was piled up, and there were old coffee mugs in the sink, but I figured that could be a job for the next day. I set my free sandwich down on the kitchen counter and filled up a cup with water.
*And, at last, we have our final representation: the cup. Like our hero, it is empty, a vessel waiting to be filled. It could serve any number of simple purposes. But what use is an empty cup? One that is never filled is no more than a waste of space, is it not? And furthermore, even when a cup is used, isn't it only a means to an end? Something used to deliver something of value, then forgotten?*
"For the love of God, would you stop trying to give me an existential crisis? Just for a few minutes?" I shouted, pleading in my empty kitchen. My neighbors probably thought I was insane, if they didn't already. "Is that too much to ask for?"
*Give you one?* it replied. *I am one, you dolt. Go buy a Corvette and be done with it.*
"How? I work at fucking Subway!"
*Exactly. And that's why I'll torment you until you die; life's just a shit sandwich. Bon appétit.*
I sank to my kitchen floor, nothing but a footlong full of expired deli meat and cheese to comfort me. I took a bite, taking no time to savor it's nuances, and laughed.
"You're every bit as pointless as I am," I said to myself. "Probably even worse, because at least I get to taste the shit sandwich."
It offered no response to that.
---
/r/resonatingfury | Bob walked briskly to the roof of his apartment. Once there, he took out a cigarette and lighted it with his flashy chrome lighter. The thought of slow agonising death from cancer through this simple action didn't even occur to him. He knew of the consequences from constantly smoking these things, yet he chalked it up as a small displeasure for such a satisfying vice. With each huff and puff, he continued to poison his lungs and organs willingly.
Before long, he took his final drag and threw the still smoking butt towards the ground. He stepped on it with his boots with the might of a thousand-wildebeest stampeding across the savannah. His eyes darted around, like a lost child in a supermarket. His brows curled up in fury and he mumbled something in annoyance.
Then, he took out his phone and furiously scrolled through his contact list.
"Mike, hello? Goddamnit, am I the only one hearing this shit?!" Bob said in frustration.
"Look, man... I think you need to cool off the kool-aid for a bit."
"No! I'm serious! Listen!"
Bob flailed his phone around, as if trying to find a signal in a forest or somewhere as remote.
"See! Did you see that?!"
"No? Also, why 'see'? I thought you said it's a *voice*. Damnit, Bob, I think you better see someone–"
"I'm not crazy! Fuck, why do I need to see someone?!"
"... I'll send you a contact. He's a great doctor, friend of mine. Do you need a shrink as well?"
Bob pondered for a second. He'd seen *many* depiction of this exact thing before in movies and films. The thought of being perceived as a man with a screw loose up in his head simply made him chuckle softly.
Instead of a response – which a normal person would give – he put his phone away and ran back inside. He descended the stairs like an unstoppable train running towards its timetable. But just as he was about to reach the ground floor, he saw an elderly woman weakly waved at his general direction.
"Hi there, Bob!"
"Huh," Bob did a double take and put on the emergency breaks, "hi there, Mrs. Graham!"
"Ah, you're *finally* doing exercise? Or are you just in a hurry to get to somewhere important?"
"No, I'm just–" the gears in Bob's head started to turn before coming to a conclusion that his explanation might simply be seen as a rambling of a madman, "I'm late for a meeting, mam... Do you mind?"
The elderly lady nodded and Bob dashed through her like his life was on the line. Such was the conduct of the younger generation these days.
Bob ran and mumbled, seemingly without any clear destination in mind. But before long, he had reached a park which was as desolate as a graveyard.
"Hey, man! Listen," Bob said to himself whilst looking up to the cloudy blue sky, "can you do me a fucking favour and *leave* me alone?! Please, I'm just... not in a good place right now!"
Bob unknowingly screamed towards the sky. His voice echoed as a couple of seconds passed before he heard his voice ricocheting off the nearby buildings.
"Bro, I'm so sick of this! I wish I can just fucking kill you or somethin–"
"Excuse me, young man..."
Suddenly a stern authoritative voice had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The dark blue uniform and distinct cap alerted him to the situation at hand.
"Y-Yes, officer?"
"Are you okay, son? I don't mean to interrupt but–"
"Oh, no! No, officer! I'm just... talking to myself!"
"Uh, huh," the officer kept his distance from Bob and hovered his hands above his holster.
Bob took the brief lull and quickly thought of ways to avoid trouble. He was sure that the position he was in simply would end in a *very* bad conclusion.
"I'm... an actor! I'm sorry if I was a bit loud or weird, maybe even both!"
"I see, well just know that you're in public right now. There are people living and doing things so don't do anything *too* weird, eh?" | |
[WP] Back in highschool, you and your friends made an apocalypse plan. You were each supposed to learn a survival skill, and were to meet in a specific location if The End ever came. 20 years later, after going your separate ways, The End comes. You're the first one to arrive at the meeting point. | Melody counted the seconds, pacing back and forth as she held the small device. The room was dark, the dim red emergency lights casting shadows along the walls.
A noise filled the room. The sound of a door quietly opening. She looked up, hearing the sound of claws scratching. The sound of a bird rang out from the doorway, and she pulled her gun out, pointing to the doorway, listening and waiting.
"Hey, whoa! Put the gun down, trigger happy." A male voice rang out. Melody stopped for a moment, before letting out a sigh of relief.
"I thought you were one of them." She says. "Come on." She put her gun on the table, stepping back to allow the man entrance. He walked in, his red hair still a curly mess it used to be. He waved to her.
"Nope. Just me and Star here."
"Starlight? She's still kicking?"
"Yep." He laughs. "Somehow. Any of the others show up yet?"
"Not yet." Melody answered. "Any word from them?"
"No. I knew Robert would be late, but its unlikely for Luna to be. You know how she is."
Melody nods. "Jake, you dont think..."
"No. I'm sure she just got caught up in something." He grinned at her. "Nice coat."
"Huh? Oh, I didn't take it off." She pulled off the white lab coat she was wearing. She didnt have time to change, the breakout had happened while she was at work.
"It fits you." He says. He pulls out a beeping device. "Oh, I just got a message from Luna. She says she found Robert, but the two of them will be a little late. I'm sure we can hunker down here until they get here, right?"
Melody nods. "Right. I'll see if I can get the rest of the supplies together."
"I'll make a fire." He says. "I think Robert majored in Electrical stuff, right? He should be able to get the bunker to a better capacity when he gets there."
Melody nods, leaving the room. She walked to the shelves, grabbing a couple of small vials. She didnt think they'd all survive. Clearly the outbreak hadn't been successful. Her friends didnt know, but for their sake, they needed to be dealt with swiftly. Death was better than what her superiors had in store for them. | Jill impatiently tapped her foot against the floor of the abandoned gymnasium. Her head on a swivel, she turned each time she thought she heard a sound beyond the doors.
“The hell are they,” she muttered under her breath. With a quick check, she tucked away the wisps of brown hair that flew out from behind her ears. The sheen of sweat helped, but not much.
On instinct, she checked her wrist, but for at least thirty days now it'd not worked. The Electromagnetic burst that fried all tech was still something to get used to amidst the looting, the riots, and the general disorder that a stone-age world presented amidst the backdrop of the modern one they'd lost.
All she could hope for was that one, at least one of her friends remembered. _Otherwise I'm shit out of luck._
The familiar “thwap” of the gyms metal handle smacking the door sounded and the creak followed. A light shone out from a headlamp, blinding Jill. She flipped out her Amazon Prime delivered retractable walking stick and brandished it like the baton she wished it was.
“Who is it?” she barked, feigning strength.
“Shit, that you Jill?” The deep tones were unfamiliar, a voice she couldn't quite place until once-tiny, now brawny, Wayne Cooper redirected his light. Over his shoulder, he held a baseball bat, aluminum and dented, in arms that looked the size of her thighs.
“Holy shit, you filled out.” Jill laughed and retracted her walking stick. “And I can't believe you showed up.”
“It's why you came here, right? Strength in numbers, that what we said?”
She nodded and huffed out an awkward breath. “So...” A heavily weighted moment of pause birthed space between them while Wayne walked on up. “How about that technological apocalypse!”
“Yup, you haven't changed all that much.” Wayne laughed. The same laugh, though about an octave and half lower than she remembered. And boy, had he gotten tall. The short-skinny kid who couldn't make the baseball team definitely turned it around. Not half bad looking either. Grew into his nose.
“Kinda puts you in a shit position don't it. If you, uh, kept to the plan.” His voice pitched up like it was a question.
“Yeah, shit luck that, huh. Spend fifteen years in telecommunications and get made absolutely useless in a single moment. Real great. Kinda makes this whole, arrangement thing a godsend and all that education and debt pointless!”
He nodded sagely as he towered over her. Where Wayne grew out and up, Jill had slighten-ed, if that were a thing. Less girth would be more accurate, but she was still dealing with image issues that he word shouldn't be the first to come to mind. But it did.
“I heard you were doing alright. Guess the deal worked in your favour?”
Jill shrugged. “I mean, yeah. Kinda weird when you think about it. Apocalypse pact and suddenly life has a direction.” She looked him up and down a moment and if she didn't know any better he was blushing. “did you become a baseball player?”
“Nah, personal trainer and coaching little league. I guess I kinda took it to heart too.”
Before he finished speaking the door at the other end of the dark and squeaking gym opened, softer than when Wayne had attacked it.
“SUP BITCHES!” Carly Schimek hollered like she was still fifteen and her voice boomed against the walls. “Your pep overlord is here and ready to CHEER!” Behind her, she dragged a kid's red wagon piled high with bags and a firm plastic bin.
“Oh hell, Carly?” Wayne perked up and jogged over to her. Like they hadn't aged a day that crush he had on the outcast cheerleader lit his cheek and Jill smirked to herself. _Twenty years and the end times apparently don't mean a damn thing when it came to puppy love._
“Oh my god, Wayne. You got hot.”
Apparently Carly still has no filter.
Jill made her way over and despite the impending doom just beyond the doors, the little reunion was kicking off to a great start. Loads of chatter, talk about work, significant others which all tree managed to avoid. It was all blissfully normal and for a while, Jill found herself smiling.
“Okay, so as promised- because a good friend _never_ forgets a promise, I've got jerky for years, water purification tablets, jetboil, dried beans and SPAM. So much, fucking, SPAM. And once society is, you know, back to normal, if we ever get back to normal, I'm giving you guys a bill for the years of storage for this shit in my closet. Do you know how valuable closet space is in the city? I mean, I could have housed a random family of four and been paid 500 bucks a month for the space this shit took up.” Through the whole rant, Carly barely took a breath.
“I should have offered up my closet to you,” Jill half-joked. “All I had was a bunch of radio equipment and that's, well...” She wasn't getting tired of saying “useless” but there wasn't much of a better word for it so she just let it hang there. Still, she'd carted the gear in her backpack, along with a few basic supplies. Oh, and her extendable walking stick. Couldn't forget that.
“So, I know we have this pact and yeah, I'm kinda glad I'm not the only crazy one who showed up with a wagon full of survivalist food, but... where do we go from here? We covered the brawn-” she looked on Wayne almost hungrily with a not so subtle wink. “Tech.” When Carly looked to Jill she winced.
“Yup, all that good it did me.”
“Marty didn't show. He was the plan.” Wayne sounded disappointed and Jill hated to admit it, so was she.
“He won't,” Jill said with a sigh and both Wayne and Carly avoided her eyes. “Believe me, if I knew him at all, I'd guess he's on the other side of the world by now.” She was glad neither pressed her for more details, and she was sure they wouldn't after the social media disaster their breakup had been. A bad dinner with the parents followed by a drunken night. A few impolite words. A poorly timed video. A viral send off and a meme to top it as a cheery.
Yeah, the breakup, hadn't been good for them.
(Continued in below comment - this got too long for reddit apparently!!))
---
I HAZ SUB! I writ there and other writing-related stuff /r/leebeewilly
Edit: Minor edits for typos... they become so glaring when you go back and read. | |
[WP] Back in highschool, you and your friends made an apocalypse plan. You were each supposed to learn a survival skill, and were to meet in a specific location if The End ever came. 20 years later, after going your separate ways, The End comes. You're the first one to arrive at the meeting point. | I rubbed my hands together gleefully. This was gonna be good. I'm genuinely pretty jazzed about this. You prep for something long enough, you start looking forward to it.
Me? I'm a fire starter. I can rig anything to go. A cozy campfire, boom, done. A bridge? Light 'em up. A house? Yeah, easy peezy. A charging enemy? Roasted.
You could say I'm hot shit. I wouldn't go so far but I am pretty sizzling.
Jenny showed up next and let me tell you, my jaw dropped cause I thought she'd do hacking or something nerdy, not like, get so buff she could beat The Rock in an arm wrestling competition.
"Uh, construction?" I asked. "Hand to hand."
"Whaaaat?" she asked, eyes big and serious. "I went hacking!"
My jaw tried to drop again but couldn't and then she grinned.
"Combat. I can wrestle a bear. I have. You look well, Jason. Let me guess..." On closer inspection, it wasn't hard with the burns all over my fingers. "Fire is good."
It was a little condescending and I bristled. "Combat and utility."
"No no, that is good!" A little more genuine this time and I grin. "You have a family these days?"
"Ah, had a bf but we broke up a few years ago when the government started going a little nuts. I wanted to prep and he wanted to ignore it. Pretty good terms but-"
"Yooooo wassuuuuuuup," crowed the familiar greeting of Zelda and we both swarmed her. Now Zelda went all out punk. Tatted out, gauges, green hair, ripped clothes, the apocalypse suited her. "Yo Jen, you got swole."
"I went combat, like you dared me."
"I went comp, like you dared me. Got into a good school and then fucked with their records. I dig this cyber punk bit."
"You're lucky it was a government end and not, like, a meteor or something." It was a little mean but she takes it well.
"Yeah, I was a bit nervous that computers would be toast and I'd just be carted around as zombie bait, so I was super pleased when all the world leaders started getting a tad too Big Brother. Almost considered helping them out but that was against the rules."
Ah yes, the rules. The ones established so none of the others would help along an End more suited to their liking. It sounded fucked up and it kinda is and I'm sure none of us ever would've but...
Then a car pulled up. A big car. A nice car. Not like, a zippy sports car but a massive military style hummer thing. The door opens and Simon slipped out, cool as a cucumber. He smiled at us beneath dark glasses.
"Good, good, looks like we've got a good crew," he said, "wonderful." His voice was quiet enough that he could have been talking to himself but Jenny and Zelda don't hesitate in crushing him in hugs.
"What did you bring us, Simon?" asked Jenny.
"Weapons, military grade and civilian, depending on the need. I have a bunker located nearby. Had it built with the meetup zone in mind." He held up a hand. "I'm not considering we cower. We're going to beat the apocalypse, not survive it." I knew that if those glasses had been missing, his eyes would be glinting like a mad scientists, but between the shades and the calm demeanor, you'd miss it if you didn't know him. "But I needed a place to store things."
"Gah, gear, I'm pumped."
"What about you all?"
"Hacking."
"Hand to hand."
"Demolitions."
"God we're like a bunch of video game classes." He grinned. "Coop here yet?"
Coop wasn't. Coop was late, which was unusual. Then Coop was very late. Then we decided Coop wasn't coming.
"You think he's dead?" Zelda asked, a worried note in her voice as we broke out dinner amidst the setting sun.
"That would be a real bummer," I said, my stomach churning a bit at the idea of shy guy Coop biting it so early. "I wasn't sure what path he'd go, maybe he didn't follow through."
"I can't believe that," Simon said. "Coop was timid but enthusiastic."
We were just finishing dinner when we noticed a flash of light zipping through the undergrowth. Before anyone could say boo, a small drone pulled up to us, carrying a screen.
I'm not gonna lie, my heart got all excited and fluttery. This was just like the fucking movies.
The screen flashed on and what do we see but Coop's face peering out at us.
"Greetings, former friends."
Oh man, this was already going really badly.
"You may have noticed by now, I've forgone our little get together."
"Ah, he went evil. Damnit Coopington," grumbled Jenny.
The recording continued, telling of Coop's rise to subtle power, his government manipulations, and his ultimate hand in The End. Cheater.
"Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you. After all, this was all for you! All to prove I had what it takes."
"Dumbass, we never questioned that!" Zelda yelled at the computer.
"And now I will show it by ensuring that you are all eliminated within the next two years. I figured I'd make this fun by adding a time limit."
"I suggest we move to the hummer," Simon said, voice cool. "Now."
"He's still talking," Jenny said.
"He's stalling."
So we start moving, calm and casual, to the hummer while Coop's voice echoed through the clearing. I couldn't make out too much of it until we stop crunching through the dirt enough to hear his last words.
"...but I don't think that will be necessary. Good bye, former frie-"
"Urk," I grunted as Jenny yoinked me in the car and slammed the door.
Outside exploded into gunfire.
"Alright, who did driving!" shouted Simon.
"It's your car!" yelled Jenny.
"I got this," Zelda said, pushing past to the seat.
"I got tech, I don't know how to use it all efficiently," Simon said. "Didn't any of you multiclass?"
"Yeah, in fire starting and like, gathering and foraging!" I yelled.
"I can build a house, not drive like a stunt man," Jenny said.
"I said I got this," Zelda shouted again, revving the engines hard. "Buckle up, princes and princesses. We're blowing this Popsicle stand."
The sides of the hummer were just starting to take some visible damage when the car lurched forward and Simon, Jenny, and I were thrown into the back as the car lept through the undergrowth.
"Should we pit stop at Simon's?" Zelda asked.
"We need to run recon on the area," he said. "If there's tracking stuff, I don't want to lead Coop to our hideout."
"Sounds good," she said. "Alright you three, we're off for a wild ride. First step, secure the perimeter. Second, reconvene to plan. Third step, kick some *major* cooper ass."
And then we were off.
___
Find more stories at [r/SamaraWrites](https://www.reddit.com/r/SamaraWrites/) | Jill impatiently tapped her foot against the floor of the abandoned gymnasium. Her head on a swivel, she turned each time she thought she heard a sound beyond the doors.
“The hell are they,” she muttered under her breath. With a quick check, she tucked away the wisps of brown hair that flew out from behind her ears. The sheen of sweat helped, but not much.
On instinct, she checked her wrist, but for at least thirty days now it'd not worked. The Electromagnetic burst that fried all tech was still something to get used to amidst the looting, the riots, and the general disorder that a stone-age world presented amidst the backdrop of the modern one they'd lost.
All she could hope for was that one, at least one of her friends remembered. _Otherwise I'm shit out of luck._
The familiar “thwap” of the gyms metal handle smacking the door sounded and the creak followed. A light shone out from a headlamp, blinding Jill. She flipped out her Amazon Prime delivered retractable walking stick and brandished it like the baton she wished it was.
“Who is it?” she barked, feigning strength.
“Shit, that you Jill?” The deep tones were unfamiliar, a voice she couldn't quite place until once-tiny, now brawny, Wayne Cooper redirected his light. Over his shoulder, he held a baseball bat, aluminum and dented, in arms that looked the size of her thighs.
“Holy shit, you filled out.” Jill laughed and retracted her walking stick. “And I can't believe you showed up.”
“It's why you came here, right? Strength in numbers, that what we said?”
She nodded and huffed out an awkward breath. “So...” A heavily weighted moment of pause birthed space between them while Wayne walked on up. “How about that technological apocalypse!”
“Yup, you haven't changed all that much.” Wayne laughed. The same laugh, though about an octave and half lower than she remembered. And boy, had he gotten tall. The short-skinny kid who couldn't make the baseball team definitely turned it around. Not half bad looking either. Grew into his nose.
“Kinda puts you in a shit position don't it. If you, uh, kept to the plan.” His voice pitched up like it was a question.
“Yeah, shit luck that, huh. Spend fifteen years in telecommunications and get made absolutely useless in a single moment. Real great. Kinda makes this whole, arrangement thing a godsend and all that education and debt pointless!”
He nodded sagely as he towered over her. Where Wayne grew out and up, Jill had slighten-ed, if that were a thing. Less girth would be more accurate, but she was still dealing with image issues that he word shouldn't be the first to come to mind. But it did.
“I heard you were doing alright. Guess the deal worked in your favour?”
Jill shrugged. “I mean, yeah. Kinda weird when you think about it. Apocalypse pact and suddenly life has a direction.” She looked him up and down a moment and if she didn't know any better he was blushing. “did you become a baseball player?”
“Nah, personal trainer and coaching little league. I guess I kinda took it to heart too.”
Before he finished speaking the door at the other end of the dark and squeaking gym opened, softer than when Wayne had attacked it.
“SUP BITCHES!” Carly Schimek hollered like she was still fifteen and her voice boomed against the walls. “Your pep overlord is here and ready to CHEER!” Behind her, she dragged a kid's red wagon piled high with bags and a firm plastic bin.
“Oh hell, Carly?” Wayne perked up and jogged over to her. Like they hadn't aged a day that crush he had on the outcast cheerleader lit his cheek and Jill smirked to herself. _Twenty years and the end times apparently don't mean a damn thing when it came to puppy love._
“Oh my god, Wayne. You got hot.”
Apparently Carly still has no filter.
Jill made her way over and despite the impending doom just beyond the doors, the little reunion was kicking off to a great start. Loads of chatter, talk about work, significant others which all tree managed to avoid. It was all blissfully normal and for a while, Jill found herself smiling.
“Okay, so as promised- because a good friend _never_ forgets a promise, I've got jerky for years, water purification tablets, jetboil, dried beans and SPAM. So much, fucking, SPAM. And once society is, you know, back to normal, if we ever get back to normal, I'm giving you guys a bill for the years of storage for this shit in my closet. Do you know how valuable closet space is in the city? I mean, I could have housed a random family of four and been paid 500 bucks a month for the space this shit took up.” Through the whole rant, Carly barely took a breath.
“I should have offered up my closet to you,” Jill half-joked. “All I had was a bunch of radio equipment and that's, well...” She wasn't getting tired of saying “useless” but there wasn't much of a better word for it so she just let it hang there. Still, she'd carted the gear in her backpack, along with a few basic supplies. Oh, and her extendable walking stick. Couldn't forget that.
“So, I know we have this pact and yeah, I'm kinda glad I'm not the only crazy one who showed up with a wagon full of survivalist food, but... where do we go from here? We covered the brawn-” she looked on Wayne almost hungrily with a not so subtle wink. “Tech.” When Carly looked to Jill she winced.
“Yup, all that good it did me.”
“Marty didn't show. He was the plan.” Wayne sounded disappointed and Jill hated to admit it, so was she.
“He won't,” Jill said with a sigh and both Wayne and Carly avoided her eyes. “Believe me, if I knew him at all, I'd guess he's on the other side of the world by now.” She was glad neither pressed her for more details, and she was sure they wouldn't after the social media disaster their breakup had been. A bad dinner with the parents followed by a drunken night. A few impolite words. A poorly timed video. A viral send off and a meme to top it as a cheery.
Yeah, the breakup, hadn't been good for them.
(Continued in below comment - this got too long for reddit apparently!!))
---
I HAZ SUB! I writ there and other writing-related stuff /r/leebeewilly
Edit: Minor edits for typos... they become so glaring when you go back and read. | |
[WP] You scrubbed the kitchen floor too hard, and accidentally scrubbed away the fabric of reality. | [Poem]
It soon began to fall apart,
The strings of our world torn apart.
Chaos ensued as homes were enslaved,
Walls became black as stars.
My body was lost, so were we all,
The night had consumed us all.
The empty spread,
Like jam on toast,
Except without the jam or toast.
All that was left in the end,
Was a bottle of rum and a chair,
However- do not despair,
Around the bend waits something more,
Something beyond reality.
Another world,
Another life,
Another chance to strive.
Let’s hope this world is safer than last,
Or else we might fail again.
Moral of the story,
Scrub less hard,
Lest you want to hard restart.
Go have fun,
Enjoy your life,
Clean your kitchen,
Season with spice. | Date unknown
You know something like this doesn’t happen to everyone, but look here. I’ve done it I have destroyed everything as we know it. You might be asking dear diary of mine what happened, well long story short I don’t know how I’m alive. Well I was just cleaning the kitchen like my mom told me to do, but the difference for today, yesterday, tomorrow, I don’t really know. Was that I was not happy me of a thing was I was mad. so when scrubbing the kitchen floor I just so happened to scrub away reality as we know it. Will I be alive for a new Big Bang or will we just be stuck in the nothingness forever. See ya when I feel like writing next.
Love, The author of this diary | |
[deleted] | [WP] “You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.” | *"You've reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye."*
The sticky, grimy phone bleats out the same message, over and over, in the hand of a woman. Well, at least I think it's a woman. The hand is no longer attached to an arm, but the fingers look slim and there's a wedding ring, so my guess is that it's a woman's hand. Huh, that rhymes.
In the edge of the ruined nation, I stand, looking at my handiwork. It's a bit lazy, just blasting the entire landmass down to the mantle, but it's efficient. 100% guaranteed kill rate, no survivors, period. I checked. It's also quick, which is pretty much my last shred of mercy to them. I still wonder if I should have made it more slow and horrific. Fuckers would have deserved it, but what is done, is done. Yep. Now I'll just break the coasts and make the new American Sea. Can't have the rest of the world die for one nation's crimes.
Fuck it, I'll blow up the rest of the planet too. I'm done with this rock. Fuck all of you humans, and fuck you, past me, for trying so hard to save them. Sincerely, Kal El. | I take in a dissatisfied gulp of air as I swivel my seat around, landline in hand, towards the looming sky just outside my translucent windows.
This is it.
I first feel the rumble. It is far-off but mighty and it echoes through the ground. Goosebumps travel down my arms. I jump out of my seat and I hear the landline clutter as it thuds on the soft carpet.
I start for the nearest exit ten metres left and gallop down the stairs. It is going to be long run from my office to the ground floor and I don't think I'll make it in time. |
[deleted] | [WP] “You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.” | The day started out like any other, came from the central office to head to Morris High to do some PM work on their pool pumps. Morris High was weird, the school was 100 years old, but somehow they managed to bring in an olympic swimming pool. Of course, school administration slacked on turning in a work order for the filter pumps. So now we get a Sev 1 (highest priority) because both pumps were out and surpise, surprise they had a swim meet starting this weekend.
Well, fine, whatever... Fortunately our maintenance tech assistants found that both pumps needed to be replaced, had them ordered last week and arrived today. Unfortunately, I drew the short straw and this is why I'm in the concrete sub-basement of the school, at midnight, replacing these stupid heavy ass pumps. F\*k me, right Still a better story than plunging toilets in the grade schools. Damn kids will flush anything.
I had just gotten the second pump in place when I felt a deep thud. Thinking nothing of it, I kept working. Tighten the bolts, check the electrical, open the valves, then let it run for a couple of hours and check the chlorine levels and I can go back to enjoying my day off. Another thud, this one closer than the last, caused some dust to fall from the ceiling and the overhead lights shake.
Hm, that's odd. Guess someone in the weight room dropped a deadlift weight? Freaking high school students had far more hormones than sense and would drop weights frequently. Wait a minute... it's practically midnight. Campus is closed.
A few minutes later, a very close and very deep thud sound. This didn't feel like a student dropping weights. Something's up. Suddenly and without warning, I hear an explosion so close the sound and shockwave go through me. I don't hear it, I feel it. The lights flickered and swung on their mounts and one of the pipes starts spewing chlorinated water into the room. I jumped back and made my way to the plenum and close the valve. Well, I hadn't intended on taking a shower until after the job was done. Now I gotta replace the damn burst pipe too. And what the hell was that explosion?
That was no student. I opened the phone box on the wall and called the central dispatch line. No answer. I tried the security line. Again no answer. Something was definitely wrong. I'm not sure what went, but it was big. It sounded much larger than when the shop class's 200lb air cylinder went one afternoon, who would have thought that the shop instructor didn't know jack about maintaining the air compressor. Fortunately shop class wasn't in the shop that day or there would have been a lot worse.
Ok, so something's gone up, maybe the gas line in the cafeteria? I pulled out my school district emergency action card, even though I knew what it said. Call admin didn't work, call security didn't work, call 911. Ok, here goes.
**“You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.”** The computerized voice said on the other end of the line.
Hah, I bet the IT people did this. Damn kids kept prank calling 911 from the office phones trying to get out of school for the day, so I bet this is one of their tricks to stop the prank calls. I can't remember the pin code to dial 911 for real, damn phone system was locked tight to prevent student abusing 911.
This would have been a real good time to have my cellphone with me, but per school policy (and force of habit), I left it in my truck outside.
I was startled by the flashing strobe and warning klaxon of the fire alarms, as if my blood pressure needed another excuse to be higher than it was supposed to be. Well, best get a move on. Still not sure what's going on but when I get to my truck, I'm gonna find out. | I take in a dissatisfied gulp of air as I swivel my seat around, landline in hand, towards the looming sky just outside my translucent windows.
This is it.
I first feel the rumble. It is far-off but mighty and it echoes through the ground. Goosebumps travel down my arms. I jump out of my seat and I hear the landline clutter as it thuds on the soft carpet.
I start for the nearest exit ten metres left and gallop down the stairs. It is going to be long run from my office to the ground floor and I don't think I'll make it in time. |
[deleted] | [WP] “You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.” | No help was sent, no masks, nothing. I remember when they closed down the city threw away key, shut down the emergency line and called it 'Quarantine'. Hospitals were already overflowing, the people donated beds and the usually empty corridors were filled with them.
We barely saved our selves and it wasn't just the new virus strain that killed us, there were also starvation and people dying while waiting in line to get into the hospitals. So many families had missing family members
Our government failed us for 76 days. Lied about the real death number and went on with it's business. There were so many mixed feelings when they opened it up.
Strong speculations seemed to hint that the virus originated from one of the 'wet markets' yet it was never investigated and are still up and running.
Let the world know. | I take in a dissatisfied gulp of air as I swivel my seat around, landline in hand, towards the looming sky just outside my translucent windows.
This is it.
I first feel the rumble. It is far-off but mighty and it echoes through the ground. Goosebumps travel down my arms. I jump out of my seat and I hear the landline clutter as it thuds on the soft carpet.
I start for the nearest exit ten metres left and gallop down the stairs. It is going to be long run from my office to the ground floor and I don't think I'll make it in time. |
[deleted] | [WP] “You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.” | // First post, would love some feedback! //
I still couldn't shake the feeling that this was too surreal. I must be dreaming. We always knew that maybe, just maybe they were out there, but I didn't see it going down like this.
Just last week I was chilling on my buddy Phil's sofa, smoking bowls and talking about space. With all those billions of planets you'd think that there was life out there. Phil and I always had these stoner philosophy chats on weekends. Ever since we met at the community college my sophomore year we'd been inseparable.
I glanced at the clock, 2:37 am. It was so bright outside though. Not harsh light like floodlights or LEDs, it was a soft, almost organic light, like high noon on a warm autumn day, but in the middle of the night in winter.
“You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.”
Why did I even think that would do anything?
As I sat there listening to the familiar drone of the dial tone I tried to come up with a plan.
I tried to call Phil again. Nothing.
Damnit what was I thinking, there was no way calls would go through. They had probably cut it, or maybe our mobile technology was so inferior they didn't notice and the lines were just jammed. Regardless... I racked my brain...
"citizens are advised to seek shelter"
What the hell does that even mean in light of what happened in the last 7 hours?
Shelter? Where. These things are unlike anything we've ever seen or could have imagined.
I recalled a conversation Phil and I had a few months ago about sending radio signals and not getting anything back. Why the hell would those things be sending FM radio waves into space? We didn't even know what we were looking for.
Phil. Phil. Phil.
I gotta get to Phil. Where would he expect to meet?
Despite our countless chats on topics as absurd as the one that's happening we'd never planned what we'd actually do in the event of the surprise arrival of those things.
I racked my brain. Come on, I gotta remember. It's so hard to remember all those chats. We were so high, they're all a distant fuzz. Then it came to me, we had talked back in 2020 or so about what we'd do in the event of nuclear war with North Korea.
The community college had an old World War 2 bomb shelter that almost no one knew about. Phil and I used to smoke out by the loading docks and had befriended one of the maintenance guys. Cool dude that would occasionally meet up with us at Phil's house for a smoke sesh. He had showed us the bomb shelter.
It even had some supplies in it still.
That's where Phil would go.
I began to run towards the college, it was only a few blocks away. As I rounded the corner I could see Phil sitting on the front steps of the school.
Hell yeah! This is the first thing to go right since those things showed up. I ran faster.
The light, that had been so bright already, was in an instant blinding. I couldn't see it was so bright. I instinctively shut my eyes.
Oh my god, what is happening. What are they doing?
I pressed on, stumbling on trash in the street.
I reached the stairs and crawled up them. I cried out to Phil.
"You made it man!" Phil yelled, his voice loud in the blinding silence.
Why was it so quiet?
Come on Phil said, and I heard the door open, I crawled in.
As the door shut, I opened my eyes. I could just barely squint and see Phil, through the light.
"Phil, bro, we gotta get to the bomb shelter."
"Just what I was thinking man!" | I take in a dissatisfied gulp of air as I swivel my seat around, landline in hand, towards the looming sky just outside my translucent windows.
This is it.
I first feel the rumble. It is far-off but mighty and it echoes through the ground. Goosebumps travel down my arms. I jump out of my seat and I hear the landline clutter as it thuds on the soft carpet.
I start for the nearest exit ten metres left and gallop down the stairs. It is going to be long run from my office to the ground floor and I don't think I'll make it in time. |
[deleted] | [WP] “You’ve reached 911. This service is no longer operational. All citizens are advised to seek shelter. Goodbye.” | I let out a quiet sob and put down the phone.
“Are you ok? What did they say?” Karra asked
We’d been trying to reach 911 for over an hour, ever since we could get a phone to charge. The building shook again. I stood up and pushed the curtain away, looking out this window. The city was ablaze, no one, at least in my group, knew why.
I turned back around, letting the curtain close behind me. Karra, Dave, and Kam sat in a half circle in Karras room. Karra picked up the phone and went to dial a number in.
“I’ve gotta make sure my girlfriends ok! She was in her job in center city!”
“It’s no use.” I said, we tried for so long to get that 911 phone call “the lines are down.”
“We managed to get that 911 call in, it’s worth a shot.” Dave said
“Nah, all phones are able to make a 911 call, but trying to reach a personal cell is practically impossible.” I grabbed the phone out of Dave’s hand and put it in my back pocket. “We should probably seal shelter, like the call said.”
“We are in shelter.” Kam said.
“You really think this small row house is going to withstand something powerful, like another explosion or a tornado?” I said, “there’s a warehouse a couple blocks down, we can wait till daylight and then head out of the city. Then we can try and reach your girlfriend, Karra.”
The other three stood up and we walked down stairs. Kam searched through the kitchen and bathroom cabinets for a first-aid Kit. Once Kam found it, they put in a backpack along with some other supplies. Karra and Dave were already waiting by the front door, Karra was holding a baseball bat.
“Is that really necessary?” I asked
“Yes, it’s for safety and incase we need to go all purge style.”
I sighed and walked up to the door, pulling it open and walking onto the sidewalk. I was immediately hit with a wave of heat.
“Oh man, those blazes sure made it hot.” Dave said.
I turned right and started down the way to the warehouse. Luckily the fires hadn’t reached this neighborhood yet, but in case they did, we needed to get to somewhere secure. We passed by a house with smashed in windows, then a broken-into mattress store. We continued down the way, passing stores with broken windows. We were about a block away from the warehouse when a loud siren went off.
“Shit!” Kam yelled, and started to run.
“What?” Dave said, “what’s happening?!”
“Tornado siren!” Kam yelled “turn up your god damn heard aids!”
I started running after Kam, we needed to get to this warehouse, and fast.
“There’s a big basement we can go in to hide!” Kam yelled, slowing down a bit for us.
Not to long after, we finally reached the warehouse. “I’m going to run up to the roof to see how close the fire is.” I said
“And see if you can see a tornado!” Karra called.
“Ok!” I called back, running up the creaky steps. The roof was barren and rusty. I looked toward center city, there a singular blaze, but more of small scattered blazes. Luckily none of them seemed to be moving very fast or in our direction. I looked to the the other sides, past the river and to the forests beyond. They seemed mostly intact, some of the ones in the rivers edge leaning from the initial explosion. There were no fires in the trees, but as I scanned the horizon I spotted the tornado.
It was a small one, maybe and F-1 or F-2, maybe an F-3 that’s far away.
I ran back down the rusted staircase. The other three had gone into the warehouse, so I went through an open door. The huge building had been emptied long ago. I looked around the huge building, searching for the others.
I heard a piece of metal move, I ran over to a scrap pile in the corner. I moved a piece on top, it revealed three people hiding underneath.
The one in in the front stood up, a petite woman with long brown hair. “What are you doing here kid?” She asked.
Her two croonies stood up, muscular blond dudes with guns on their backs.
“Oh- I’m just trying to seek shelter.” I said, backing up.
“Nice try kid, we know you’re here to take our stuff.” This lead my eyes to the bags of stuff at their feet
“No really, I just need a place to hide from the disasters!”
“Yeah ri-“ the woman was cut off, knocked to the ground.
“I knew this would come in handy!” Karra said, brandishing the baseball bat.
“Come on, we need to get to the basement!” Kam said. The four of us walked to a door in the back of the room, where there was a door with steps that lead down to a basement. We all curled up in the corner to await the incoming disasters.
“How close was the tornado?” Karra asked.
“Eh, it seemed to be about a mile away from the skull flower river, near the shade bridge. Also, why did you guys come up when you saved me?”
“Simple, you were taking too long, we knew something was up when you didn’t come down.”
Suddenly, the ground began to shake.
“EARTHQUAKE!!” Kam shouted. I could hear the metal walls and ceilings of the warehouse falling over. The concrete walls and roof of the basement began to crumble.
The quake lasted over a minute. Finally coming to a stop. I sighed a huge sigh of relief. “I’m going to check on the warehouse.” I said, standing up.
The entire roof had collapsed, along with much of the walls. Where the croonies has been earlier, was covered in debris.
The wind picked up a bit, chilling the air around me. I looked to me left, I could see the tornado getting closer. I ran back down the basement stairs and to the corner everyone was in.
The loud swirling sound and the scraping of metal got closer, meaning the tornado was only a few blocks away.
“Now I know why the 911 operator said goodbye!” Karra said “everyone COVER YOUR HEADS.”
-
I opened my eyes, sunlight shown through the holes in the basement roof. The floor was covered in dust and debris. Chunks of concrete were scattered around.
I climbed the stairs, most of the warehouse district had been leveled, but the row houses were still mostly intact. There were still fires in the main city.
“Come one, we need to get out of the city. Then we can make sure family and friends are okay.” I said, looking to the trees. | I take in a dissatisfied gulp of air as I swivel my seat around, landline in hand, towards the looming sky just outside my translucent windows.
This is it.
I first feel the rumble. It is far-off but mighty and it echoes through the ground. Goosebumps travel down my arms. I jump out of my seat and I hear the landline clutter as it thuds on the soft carpet.
I start for the nearest exit ten metres left and gallop down the stairs. It is going to be long run from my office to the ground floor and I don't think I'll make it in time. |
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