I wrote something!
This story has been percolating in my brain for some time, and its far from even half way. But I did start it. I thought id share some of it and get thoughts (please have thoughts)
The world was spinning. It pulled at his feet, keeping him in place. There was no indication of it, no obvious symptom for the conscious mind to grasp, only a feeling of wrongness that never really quite went away, it was ok if you didn’t focus on it. Right now he saw only the leaf as he trimmed it from its branch. Every day he cared for the plants. They kept him alive, feeding him, taking his waste, making his air. And to see them was to forget the sterile walls that encased him. So he pruned and watered, knowing full well these things could take care of themselves, but even doing the unnecessary is better than leaving the mind to wander, as if even this could stop it.
When he heard the sound he was confused, not remember that a sound could come from outside his own head. No this was something new, something he hadn’t stopped hearing a long time ago. His hand dropped the shears as his mind groped, trying to remember its meaning, he knew it had one once.
“Proximity” his lips said by some force of will all their own, no sound, just the shape of the word. He looked around, searching for something, something that would tell him what that noise meant. His eyes focused on it, for what seamed like the first time in ages. There it was between the vines of some of the more aggressive plants. He reached his hand out his fingers tracing the outlines of the cool glass, his finger stopping on its edge and pressed.
The screen came to life, the sudden glow only making him feel unfocused once again, but it soon became clear, the glyphs and numbers becoming meaningful. His eyes focused on the center of the screen, it was showing a three dimensional grid with a large ellipse at its center, and above and before it was a blinking yellow circle. Somewhere within him he knew this was someone coming to find him, but he knew also how unexpected this was. New text flashed in front of him, a request to initiate docking. What else could he do but say yes. It has been many, many, years since he’s had a visitor, but then again, that’s how he had intended it.
Suddenly his thoughts turned to his appearance. He looked around for a mirror, remembering finally that he didn’t have one here. He settled for a corner of shiny metal. At first glance he surprised himself, his face was not his own, but as with many things, even this initial shock had become accustomed to, if such a thing were possible. No matter how many times he had awoke and looked upon that smooth blemishless face, he expected to see the old scars once again. As if they were more real than the years that have stretched on since they had vanished.
He shook himself, breaking away from his reflection least he be drawn back into that dreadful contemplative state. He headed “upward” towards the transfer hub. He intended to prepare for this strangers arrival, and it seemed that some part of his body remembered where to go. He felt his weight leaving him and soon he floated freely, though keeping his grip on hand holds as he flipped feet first into the empty space beyond the cylindrical hatch at the “top” of the ladder. Now he could perceive the wheel as it slowly spun around him. He turned and went out and away from the hub, and guided himself almost on autopilot to the control section.
He floated in, dark screens surrounded him. He aimed for the central chair and pushed himself down into it. Similar chairs surrounded him with consoles in front of them. Once this place had been a nucleus of activity, now only one soul remained, if he still had one. He tapped a key on the arm of the chair, and the main screen came to life. Along with current status of various systems it showed live video of and approaching ship on a backdrop of stars. A timer ticked away in the corner of the screen. He still had about 30 min till docking was completed.
He let go of the chair’s armrests and began to float slowly upwards, it had been a very long time since he had been outside the gravity section. He floated there in silence, and as he stared forward slowly the light of the light of the screen began to blur into a bluish white haze that began to engulf him. As if the light had some sort of power over him, he was drawn in, and soon his memories rushed back into him, at first a torrent of confusing images, but slowly they began to make sense.
The sensation of it all, was like nothing else, like life itself coming back into his body, after all, he had come out here to die hadn’t he? With the flood of memories came the pain of regrets. Soon the emotions weld up inside him, feelings he had for so long suppressed. He felt anger at his own cowardice, sorrow for all his sins, loss for all the souls gone forever, and frustration for being found, it overwhelmed him and he screamed.
Hearing his own voice after so long was strange. Once he stopped he heard it echo back from the metal walls.
The world was spinning. It pulled at his feet, keeping him in place. There was no indication of it, no obvious symptom for the conscious mind to grasp, only a feeling of wrongness that never really quite went away, it was ok if you didn’t focus on it. Right now he saw only the leaf as he trimmed it from its branch. Every day he cared for the plants. They kept him alive, feeding him, taking his waste, making his air. And to see them was to forget the sterile walls that encased him. So he pruned and watered, knowing full well these things could take care of themselves, but even doing the unnecessary is better than leaving the mind to wander, as if even this could stop it.
When he heard the sound he was confused, not remember that a sound could come from outside his own head. No this was something new, something he hadn’t stopped hearing a long time ago. His hand dropped the shears as his mind groped, trying to remember its meaning, he knew it had one once.
“Proximity” his lips said by some force of will all their own, no sound, just the shape of the word. He looked around, searching for something, something that would tell him what that noise meant. His eyes focused on it, for what seamed like the first time in ages. There it was between the vines of some of the more aggressive plants. He reached his hand out his fingers tracing the outlines of the cool glass, his finger stopping on its edge and pressed.
The screen came to life, the sudden glow only making him feel unfocused once again, but it soon became clear, the glyphs and numbers becoming meaningful. His eyes focused on the center of the screen, it was showing a three dimensional grid with a large ellipse at its center, and above and before it was a blinking yellow circle. Somewhere within him he knew this was someone coming to find him, but he knew also how unexpected this was. New text flashed in front of him, a request to initiate docking. What else could he do but say yes. It has been many, many, years since he’s had a visitor, but then again, that’s how he had intended it.
Suddenly his thoughts turned to his appearance. He looked around for a mirror, remembering finally that he didn’t have one here. He settled for a corner of shiny metal. At first glance he surprised himself, his face was not his own, but as with many things, even this initial shock had become accustomed to, if such a thing were possible. No matter how many times he had awoke and looked upon that smooth blemishless face, he expected to see the old scars once again. As if they were more real than the years that have stretched on since they had vanished.
He shook himself, breaking away from his reflection least he be drawn back into that dreadful contemplative state. He headed “upward” towards the transfer hub. He intended to prepare for this strangers arrival, and it seemed that some part of his body remembered where to go. He felt his weight leaving him and soon he floated freely, though keeping his grip on hand holds as he flipped feet first into the empty space beyond the cylindrical hatch at the “top” of the ladder. Now he could perceive the wheel as it slowly spun around him. He turned and went out and away from the hub, and guided himself almost on autopilot to the control section.
He floated in, dark screens surrounded him. He aimed for the central chair and pushed himself down into it. Similar chairs surrounded him with consoles in front of them. Once this place had been a nucleus of activity, now only one soul remained, if he still had one. He tapped a key on the arm of the chair, and the main screen came to life. Along with current status of various systems it showed live video of and approaching ship on a backdrop of stars. A timer ticked away in the corner of the screen. He still had about 30 min till docking was completed.
He let go of the chair’s armrests and began to float slowly upwards, it had been a very long time since he had been outside the gravity section. He floated there in silence, and as he stared forward slowly the light of the light of the screen began to blur into a bluish white haze that began to engulf him. As if the light had some sort of power over him, he was drawn in, and soon his memories rushed back into him, at first a torrent of confusing images, but slowly they began to make sense.
The sensation of it all, was like nothing else, like life itself coming back into his body, after all, he had come out here to die hadn’t he? With the flood of memories came the pain of regrets. Soon the emotions weld up inside him, feelings he had for so long suppressed. He felt anger at his own cowardice, sorrow for all his sins, loss for all the souls gone forever, and frustration for being found, it overwhelmed him and he screamed.
Hearing his own voice after so long was strange. Once he stopped he heard it echo back from the metal walls.