10 June 2012
This is my first attempt at a short story, so don't laugh...but please feel free to criticise with honesty. I've written it in 3 short chapters rather than in separate posts.
Chapter 1.
Howard Jones was not the kind of man who panicked easily. He was a well respected trauma surgeon who had saved many lives by keeping his cool under pressure - but he did not feel cool now, no sir - far from it. The strange looking host who sat opposite him had been talking for the last 10 minutes, calmly explaining the situation that Howard found himself in. For the first time since this surreal adventure began Howard found his voice, "H-how did I get here?" he asked quietly - almost to himself. The host stopped talking and stared at him for a moment," I thought I'd explained that, - you were selected by..." "No, No, " Howard interrupted. " I mean how is it possible? If what you say is true then how the fuck did I travel 2 billion light years in a matter of minutes !!?"
Chapter 2
"I am a scholar Mr. Jones not an engineer" the host sighed, " I have spent my entire adult life training to communicate with aliens - learning their languages and customs, and lending a helping hand when and where required, but if you insist I CAN explain the basics of our space travel technology. However, first I must tell you a little of our history". The host stood up and started pacing the room. "Around 4 billion years ago,when we were not much more advanced than you are now, we had a problem - a big problem. Our sun was in the initial stages of becoming a red giant, temperatures were rising and we knew we had to escape our solar system within the next 100,000 years or face extinction. Fortunately one of our scientists, an expert in what you call quantum electrodynamics made a miraculous breakthrough. I'm sure that you're aware that more than 99.99% of an atom is made up of empty space. Well, this scientist discovered a way to increase that space even more, in fact infinitely more and yet still retain the atoms' stability. Within a few years other scientists had perfected the technology and had implemented it in our spacecraft so that at the touch of a button the craft could expand to fill the whole universe - instantly. Everything in the universe would then, in effect, be inside the craft, and to anyone in the craft it would appear miniscule. Any desired destination could then be manoeuvred to a central position where it would be lined up with a set of crosshairs which were positioned in the exact centre of the craft. Another touch of a button and the craft would then shrink back to its original size. leaving it at or very close to its selected destination. Through this breakthrough in technology we discovered the planet which we now inhabit - similar in size to our original home and well within what I believe you call the " Goldilocks Zone." Howards' heart was beating frantically. He was finding it difficult to take all this in but he managed to hold his composure and asked in a steady voice "You said "aliens" - just how many aliens are there?" "We have 37 planets inhabited with lifeforms - 6 of which we class as "intelligent" - that is to say capable of communicating with us." answered the host. Howard folded his arms across his chest in a subconscious effort to hide his beating heart and slowly shook his head. "I have always believed that the creation of life was a.... singular, unique event..." he whispered. "Indeed it was" said the host with a smile ," Only on our planet, not yours..."
Chapter 3
"So what are you saying?" demanded Howard with an edge to his voice he could not disguise. "I'm saying, Mr. Jones, that after we secured our own future we searched the universe for other lifeforms " answered the host, "... and found none, so we decided to conduct a little experiment and introduce basic lifeforms to other worlds to see what evolution would come up with." "In other words you played God !" exclaimed Howard angrily. "Ah, God !" chuckled the host," A unique human concept - and so many of them ! Zeus, Apollo, Thor, Yahweh, Krishna ... 2870 I believe at the last count. Try as we may we cannot understand your need to worship an imaginary being!" The hosts' demeanor suddenly turned solemn. " Unfortunately there is another unique human trait which we find quite disturbing. It's an emotion that is not found anywhere else in the entire universe. I'm talking about anger Mr. Jones, or in its more virulent forms - rage, fury....hate ! It's the sole reason why we have not made ourselves known to you. We are fascinated by it but we are also fearful of it..very fearful. The host stared at Howard for a brief moment, then took a deep breath before slowly exhaling as he walked back to his chair and sat down. " Your scientific knowledge is increasing at such a rate that we believe it will be sooner rather than later that you discover the secret of interstellar travel " he said " and with your hunger for fighting and killing, well, that would be disastrous for the rest of us. We simply can't allow it." There was a long silence before Howard, sensing that the host was waiting for a reaction from him, offered "So......?" "So, Mr. Jones, it has been decided to terminate all human life on Earth and start afresh, " said the host "but not to worry, you personally will be re-located and we will continue to examine you in the hope of finding and eliminating the "Anger " gene. It may take some time but we're confident that we will succeed. Just you wait and see - everything will be just fine - in the end." Howard stared blankly straight ahead and could only manage a feeble "....the end..."
The End.
The End. • Opuss № I