20 November 2012
Normally, I just stick to writing poetry or poetic stories, but I've been trying to write a decent fiction story for a while now and this was the best I've come up with. Please let me know what you think of this beginning and whether or not I should continue along these lines (any advice would be extremely helpful).
The last sentient creatures in the universe sat around a fire, which burned brightly in the darkness that surrounded them...the darkness of unending and unfathomable space. The fire burned upon the cold metal decks of the starship "Timshel", the last mostly-working ship in the universe. All around the "Timshel" were the cracked, shattered, and utterly dead corpses of ships that had once been home to millions of living organisms but were now empty and silent. Those ships, floating aimlessly in space, had no warmth, no light, and no life. But inside the "Timshel"; inside there was hope given the form of a small fire, bravely holding off the encroaching darkness. The last living creatures in the universe clustered around this small symbol, waiting for the nothingness of space to sap away the remaining heat. They numbered fifteen; five who had lived healthy, good, rich lives, four who had lived sick, twisted, evil lives, three who had seen too many days, two who had seen too few, and one who had not yet tasted that sweet draught known as life.
The five were siblings, two brothers and three sisters who were family in both blood and temperament. Their thoughts and actions revolved around a simple belief; that to live is to love. This philosophy had sculpted their every action since the first day the set out into the universe to the day when all life stopped. Even so, they still had others to whom they could give their love, and thus life went on.
The four were cell-mates, three men and one woman, all thieves. The oldest of the four was a thief of wealth. He had started with stealing paltry sums from the pockets of poor men, but throughout his life was forced to seek out wealthier and more lucrative targets. Thus he was condemned. The second was a thief of truth. She was born a lie, raised as a liar, and lived her life accordingly. Thus she was condemned. The third was a thief of time. All of his life was dedicated to disrupting the lives of others, not to hurt but to hinder, not to slay but to slow, to make them fret away their lives on fixing his problems. Thus he was condemned. The youngest was a thief of life. Death did not follow him; they walked side-by-side and hand-in-hand, relishing in the last breaths of those they slew. Thus he was condemned.
The three were unknown to each other and themselves. Lost in the past, they were unable to see the present. However, as life goes on, events that occur now are little different than those that occurred in the long-forgotten ages of the past. Thus what once was will be again, and when the past equals the present, then they will once again find themselves.
The two were twins, one male and one female. They came into the world together, but then went their separate ways, each traveling a different path. The boy had pursued the path of the mind, choosing to develop his mental capabilities at the expense of his body. His life, short though it had been, was dedicated to understanding that which was unknown, seeing that which was invisible, touching that which could not be reached, and hearing the whisper at the edge of the universe. The girl had taken the path of the body, honing and focusing her muscles and reflexes till every action was as easily thought as done. Her time and efforts had focused solely on improving herself, perfecting every movement and exercising every technique until her body flowed like water and struck like a hammer.
The one was an enigma. Not yet known to the group, the one's entire existence depended on the life of the host. But the one was not yet known.
These are the last fifteen creatures left in the universe.
And these are the tales they told as they sat around the fire, waiting for the universe to end...
Attempt at a story • Opuss № I