post_text
stringlengths 0
10k
| post_title
stringlengths 8
313
| chosen
stringlengths 1
39.5k
| rejected
stringlengths 1
13.8k
|
|---|---|---|---|
[WP] The human stood, eyes pleading for everyone to listen. "Members of the Galactic Senate, please, trust me when I say this: war has no winners."
|
\[PART 1\]
“The first representative from the Sol system has the floor. Navir Holden, please rise,” a booming robotic voice said. It’s voice reverberated through the cool blue metallic amphitheater. The various alien diplomats hushed as the first human representative took the floor.
The only sound that reverberated in the amphitheater Navir’s crisp, clear footsteps. Navir stopped in front of a metallic blue podium in the center of the amphitheater.
Navir pulled in the artificial air and looked out to the hundreds upon hundreds of species that surrounded him in this round amphitheater. Out of all of the races, Navir was only one of two species that wore white.
It was the color of a war-borne species. Everyone else wore light gray with an ascent of their species designated color.
Navir’s glistening white two-piece suit with the green trim border held everyone’s attention.
“Hello, everyone,” Navir started with. His voice was soft and rich with texture. It didn’t hint at the brutal and horrible backstory of humanity.
Silence answered Navir.
Navir sucked on his teeth. He figured this would happen, however, he needed everyone to understand the horrors of war. Even if humanity was hated, they would be the heralds of peace.
“As you all know, among the four hundred and sixty-two sentient species within this council, only two have ever waged war. Of those two species, both come from the Sol system. The first being humans. The second being the Cortex. The AI created by humans.” Navir waved a hand towards the physical robotic simulacrum of a human next to an empty seat.
It stood up and bowed to the rest of the assembly.
Navir nodded at the display of honor from the child of humanity.
Then Navir looked at the other members.
“As you know, of all the species here, the Sol bound species have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to warfare. Far more than any other species alive. Well, except possibly the Weli. The only other war-borne species that sits outside of this council.”
Mutterings came from the room.
“Which is why, of all the species here, both myself and my colleague from the Cortex race demand that the galactic senate stands down. Do not bring this evil into your homes. Do not wage war against the Weli. If their flames of war burned as bright as the Sol species, then lives will be lost, homes will be destroyed, planets *will* die. No one here will win.”
An explosion of sound took over the amphitheater. Navir couldn’t catch everything, but he heard enough.
“To think the *humans* would try to play peacekeeper. They’re still slaughtering themselves and they act like they should tell us what to do.”
“Imagine thinking we could be as terrible as a *human.*”
“If you ask me, *humans* made another sentient race, *hypocrisy.* It seems to show up every time a human speaks.”
Then a booming robotic voice came in again. “Order, order. There will be order here.”
Silence took over again.
Navir looked up at the massive floating television screen.
“Thank you, House Leader,” Navir said.
An acknowledging thrum came from floating House Leader.
Navir surveyed the amphitheater again. He took in all the alien faces.
“While there are some of you out there that believe humanity should not have a seat here because of our… history, do know that now you speak of doing something that humanity is an expert in. Because of that, I beg you to listen to us. Do not be like us from the Sol system. Do not be the killers that humans are. How many of you would need to die before you realize your mistakes?”
“Enough of my kind have died,” a heavy voice from the outskirts of the amphitheater yelled back.
“Order,” the robotic voice came in again.
Navir waved his hand at the House Leader. “Please, let the representative of Liin continue.”
Before the House Leader could do anything, a hulking orange beast rose up from its seat. It looked like the top of a gorilla had fused with the bottom of a tiger. The gray and black trimmed cloth hung on them like a second skin, revealing the corded slabs of muscle.
The massive representative stalked their way up to the podium where Navir stood.
The creature loomed with Navir, looking down at the human. “I said, enough of my people have died already.”
Navir’s lips tensed into a flat line.
“I know, that of all the species here, the Liin know firsthand the treachery of my kind.”
The Liin representative roared at this.
“Ten years. It was ten years ago this day that you *humans* discovered the wormhole that brought your *filthy* ships to my solar system. We hailed out to *your* ships, saying that refuge could be had. A single day later and humanity had destroyed ten Liin ships. Hundreds of my kin were lost that day.”
The Liin representative lowered and looked the human in the eye. “Your species should be glassed for their past.”
Navir gave the alien representative a sad, hurt look. “I absolutely agree with you. But, right now humanity could do far better than evil. Please, listen to us when we say that war has no winners.”
The Liin representative shook his head and sneered at Navir. “No. Not again.”
It looked out to the assembly. "We will not have another humanity again. We must destroy the Weli."
With that, it headed back to its seat.
Navir’s gaze lingered as he watched the representative sit down. It was that kind of anger that destroyed Mars.
He took in the room again, looking at all the naïve species. They thought that war would be something quick and easy. Hit a button and missiles would do the rest. They had no clue the suffering that would come from this.
“I say this, with honesty. If you allow war into your hearts as humanity did, then you will experience the pain and hate the Liin know far too well.”
“It’s just *one* rogue species,” another heckler threw up.
Navir didn’t know where it came from, but he had to respond.
“I say this now, if you do go to war with the Weli, it will be the end of you or of them. War is not about who wins. It’s about who loses. If any of them survive, they will come back with hate in their hearts and destroy us all.”
Of the four hundred and sixty-three members of the Senate floor, four hundred and sixty-two of them burst into laughter.
“Do you think one species could go against all of us?” Navir didn't even bother with an answer.
Navir looked again at the only other species that was no laughing. The Cortext representative held Navir’s gaze.
“Yes,” the Cortex representative said to the heckled question. Its voice was so close to human, but the grinding sounds of servos gave away its synthetic nature.
Everyone grew quiet.
Of the species gathered there, only two species had survived an intraspecies war. The humans and the Cortex.
All the representatives looked at the robotic human that wore the only other white dress. It was like the two piece suit that Navir wore, but their trim was red.
The synthetic human voice began again. “You will be shocked at what desperation will do to a species.”
Navir nodded at the words the Cortex representative said.
Desperation was the reason why Earth was destroyed. The cradle of Sol was gone forever because hotheads prevailed.
“We will not make your mistake,” someone else said.
Navir knew they wouldn’t listen now. They sounded far too much like zealous humans. “For your sake, I hope you don’t.”
With that, Navir and the Cortex representative staggered their departure from the galactic senate.
They had already spilled enough blood and oil to know how this would end.
|
WIP
None. Not the victorious, their hearts broken by the blood that drenches their hands. Not the survivors of the vanquished, crippled and vowing their revenge. Not even those who chose to abstain, haunted by the evil they allowed and good deeds never done.
I've seen the craters left behind, when revenge goes too far. I've seen lives lost in numbers beyond measurement. I've seen hanged those who preached restraint, paying for evils their inaction allowed. And that is why I stand before you tonight....today....heh.... still not used to interstellar travel.... I guess its neither time here isn't it? Fitting I suppose, since if you go forward from this spot, along the road upon which you are headed....then you will suffer the same fate as my people... war.
Oh like your illustrious selves they had many nobel sounding reasons at first. The same they always had: resources, faith, preservation of life as they knew it, defense from that all frightening other. And then the big guns go off... planets are shattered....trillions burn and die in an instant... entire civilizations.....except....not.... the whole civilization. Right? Cause someone has to survive to tell the tale...and they do...to anyone who will listen. But no one listens. So they fight back. Revenge spawns Revenge spawns revenge. Until all the fancy ideals and reasons are gone and there nothing left but hate and war. But it doesn't stop there does it? No..heheh. Nah... they just keep on warring. Building better tools to kill more and leave less. And they just go on killing and waring until you think: "Surely now that graveyards are all full, and the murderers have all found their own graves. Now the waring must end?"
No...no... cause some ignorant archeologist absent mindedly decided to recreate an entire colony of the deadliest creatures to ever evolve around its cruel star.
And then you stood open mouthed and ashamed at what you had unleashed. Atleast I hope ot was shame that lead you to me...
More? Comments welcome..
|
|
[WP] The human stood, eyes pleading for everyone to listen. "Members of the Galactic Senate, please, trust me when I say this: war has no winners."
|
\[PART 1\]
“The first representative from the Sol system has the floor. Navir Holden, please rise,” a booming robotic voice said. It’s voice reverberated through the cool blue metallic amphitheater. The various alien diplomats hushed as the first human representative took the floor.
The only sound that reverberated in the amphitheater Navir’s crisp, clear footsteps. Navir stopped in front of a metallic blue podium in the center of the amphitheater.
Navir pulled in the artificial air and looked out to the hundreds upon hundreds of species that surrounded him in this round amphitheater. Out of all of the races, Navir was only one of two species that wore white.
It was the color of a war-borne species. Everyone else wore light gray with an ascent of their species designated color.
Navir’s glistening white two-piece suit with the green trim border held everyone’s attention.
“Hello, everyone,” Navir started with. His voice was soft and rich with texture. It didn’t hint at the brutal and horrible backstory of humanity.
Silence answered Navir.
Navir sucked on his teeth. He figured this would happen, however, he needed everyone to understand the horrors of war. Even if humanity was hated, they would be the heralds of peace.
“As you all know, among the four hundred and sixty-two sentient species within this council, only two have ever waged war. Of those two species, both come from the Sol system. The first being humans. The second being the Cortex. The AI created by humans.” Navir waved a hand towards the physical robotic simulacrum of a human next to an empty seat.
It stood up and bowed to the rest of the assembly.
Navir nodded at the display of honor from the child of humanity.
Then Navir looked at the other members.
“As you know, of all the species here, the Sol bound species have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to warfare. Far more than any other species alive. Well, except possibly the Weli. The only other war-borne species that sits outside of this council.”
Mutterings came from the room.
“Which is why, of all the species here, both myself and my colleague from the Cortex race demand that the galactic senate stands down. Do not bring this evil into your homes. Do not wage war against the Weli. If their flames of war burned as bright as the Sol species, then lives will be lost, homes will be destroyed, planets *will* die. No one here will win.”
An explosion of sound took over the amphitheater. Navir couldn’t catch everything, but he heard enough.
“To think the *humans* would try to play peacekeeper. They’re still slaughtering themselves and they act like they should tell us what to do.”
“Imagine thinking we could be as terrible as a *human.*”
“If you ask me, *humans* made another sentient race, *hypocrisy.* It seems to show up every time a human speaks.”
Then a booming robotic voice came in again. “Order, order. There will be order here.”
Silence took over again.
Navir looked up at the massive floating television screen.
“Thank you, House Leader,” Navir said.
An acknowledging thrum came from floating House Leader.
Navir surveyed the amphitheater again. He took in all the alien faces.
“While there are some of you out there that believe humanity should not have a seat here because of our… history, do know that now you speak of doing something that humanity is an expert in. Because of that, I beg you to listen to us. Do not be like us from the Sol system. Do not be the killers that humans are. How many of you would need to die before you realize your mistakes?”
“Enough of my kind have died,” a heavy voice from the outskirts of the amphitheater yelled back.
“Order,” the robotic voice came in again.
Navir waved his hand at the House Leader. “Please, let the representative of Liin continue.”
Before the House Leader could do anything, a hulking orange beast rose up from its seat. It looked like the top of a gorilla had fused with the bottom of a tiger. The gray and black trimmed cloth hung on them like a second skin, revealing the corded slabs of muscle.
The massive representative stalked their way up to the podium where Navir stood.
The creature loomed with Navir, looking down at the human. “I said, enough of my people have died already.”
Navir’s lips tensed into a flat line.
“I know, that of all the species here, the Liin know firsthand the treachery of my kind.”
The Liin representative roared at this.
“Ten years. It was ten years ago this day that you *humans* discovered the wormhole that brought your *filthy* ships to my solar system. We hailed out to *your* ships, saying that refuge could be had. A single day later and humanity had destroyed ten Liin ships. Hundreds of my kin were lost that day.”
The Liin representative lowered and looked the human in the eye. “Your species should be glassed for their past.”
Navir gave the alien representative a sad, hurt look. “I absolutely agree with you. But, right now humanity could do far better than evil. Please, listen to us when we say that war has no winners.”
The Liin representative shook his head and sneered at Navir. “No. Not again.”
It looked out to the assembly. "We will not have another humanity again. We must destroy the Weli."
With that, it headed back to its seat.
Navir’s gaze lingered as he watched the representative sit down. It was that kind of anger that destroyed Mars.
He took in the room again, looking at all the naïve species. They thought that war would be something quick and easy. Hit a button and missiles would do the rest. They had no clue the suffering that would come from this.
“I say this, with honesty. If you allow war into your hearts as humanity did, then you will experience the pain and hate the Liin know far too well.”
“It’s just *one* rogue species,” another heckler threw up.
Navir didn’t know where it came from, but he had to respond.
“I say this now, if you do go to war with the Weli, it will be the end of you or of them. War is not about who wins. It’s about who loses. If any of them survive, they will come back with hate in their hearts and destroy us all.”
Of the four hundred and sixty-three members of the Senate floor, four hundred and sixty-two of them burst into laughter.
“Do you think one species could go against all of us?” Navir didn't even bother with an answer.
Navir looked again at the only other species that was no laughing. The Cortext representative held Navir’s gaze.
“Yes,” the Cortex representative said to the heckled question. Its voice was so close to human, but the grinding sounds of servos gave away its synthetic nature.
Everyone grew quiet.
Of the species gathered there, only two species had survived an intraspecies war. The humans and the Cortex.
All the representatives looked at the robotic human that wore the only other white dress. It was like the two piece suit that Navir wore, but their trim was red.
The synthetic human voice began again. “You will be shocked at what desperation will do to a species.”
Navir nodded at the words the Cortex representative said.
Desperation was the reason why Earth was destroyed. The cradle of Sol was gone forever because hotheads prevailed.
“We will not make your mistake,” someone else said.
Navir knew they wouldn’t listen now. They sounded far too much like zealous humans. “For your sake, I hope you don’t.”
With that, Navir and the Cortex representative staggered their departure from the galactic senate.
They had already spilled enough blood and oil to know how this would end.
|
He eloquently spoke about the human trafficking that was happening "under" the Senate's noses.
They refused to listen, as it was an unofficial tradition and welcome for any new member species.
He pleaded and begged for their intervention, as they didn't want a full-blown war.
They had him literally thrown out of the building.
Dusting himself off, he recalled his limo and sent their response, and as it took him back to Earth, he stopped and watched through tears as a multitude of warships and soldiers swarmed a shocked Capitol Planet in space and on land, ruthlessly destroying all resistance and kick starting the First Galactic War.
And, just like his descendant hundreds of years later, he flipped open his communicator.
"Buzz Lightyear, Mission Log..."
|
|
[WP] The human stood, eyes pleading for everyone to listen. "Members of the Galactic Senate, please, trust me when I say this: war has no winners."
|
\[PART 1\]
“The first representative from the Sol system has the floor. Navir Holden, please rise,” a booming robotic voice said. It’s voice reverberated through the cool blue metallic amphitheater. The various alien diplomats hushed as the first human representative took the floor.
The only sound that reverberated in the amphitheater Navir’s crisp, clear footsteps. Navir stopped in front of a metallic blue podium in the center of the amphitheater.
Navir pulled in the artificial air and looked out to the hundreds upon hundreds of species that surrounded him in this round amphitheater. Out of all of the races, Navir was only one of two species that wore white.
It was the color of a war-borne species. Everyone else wore light gray with an ascent of their species designated color.
Navir’s glistening white two-piece suit with the green trim border held everyone’s attention.
“Hello, everyone,” Navir started with. His voice was soft and rich with texture. It didn’t hint at the brutal and horrible backstory of humanity.
Silence answered Navir.
Navir sucked on his teeth. He figured this would happen, however, he needed everyone to understand the horrors of war. Even if humanity was hated, they would be the heralds of peace.
“As you all know, among the four hundred and sixty-two sentient species within this council, only two have ever waged war. Of those two species, both come from the Sol system. The first being humans. The second being the Cortex. The AI created by humans.” Navir waved a hand towards the physical robotic simulacrum of a human next to an empty seat.
It stood up and bowed to the rest of the assembly.
Navir nodded at the display of honor from the child of humanity.
Then Navir looked at the other members.
“As you know, of all the species here, the Sol bound species have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to warfare. Far more than any other species alive. Well, except possibly the Weli. The only other war-borne species that sits outside of this council.”
Mutterings came from the room.
“Which is why, of all the species here, both myself and my colleague from the Cortex race demand that the galactic senate stands down. Do not bring this evil into your homes. Do not wage war against the Weli. If their flames of war burned as bright as the Sol species, then lives will be lost, homes will be destroyed, planets *will* die. No one here will win.”
An explosion of sound took over the amphitheater. Navir couldn’t catch everything, but he heard enough.
“To think the *humans* would try to play peacekeeper. They’re still slaughtering themselves and they act like they should tell us what to do.”
“Imagine thinking we could be as terrible as a *human.*”
“If you ask me, *humans* made another sentient race, *hypocrisy.* It seems to show up every time a human speaks.”
Then a booming robotic voice came in again. “Order, order. There will be order here.”
Silence took over again.
Navir looked up at the massive floating television screen.
“Thank you, House Leader,” Navir said.
An acknowledging thrum came from floating House Leader.
Navir surveyed the amphitheater again. He took in all the alien faces.
“While there are some of you out there that believe humanity should not have a seat here because of our… history, do know that now you speak of doing something that humanity is an expert in. Because of that, I beg you to listen to us. Do not be like us from the Sol system. Do not be the killers that humans are. How many of you would need to die before you realize your mistakes?”
“Enough of my kind have died,” a heavy voice from the outskirts of the amphitheater yelled back.
“Order,” the robotic voice came in again.
Navir waved his hand at the House Leader. “Please, let the representative of Liin continue.”
Before the House Leader could do anything, a hulking orange beast rose up from its seat. It looked like the top of a gorilla had fused with the bottom of a tiger. The gray and black trimmed cloth hung on them like a second skin, revealing the corded slabs of muscle.
The massive representative stalked their way up to the podium where Navir stood.
The creature loomed with Navir, looking down at the human. “I said, enough of my people have died already.”
Navir’s lips tensed into a flat line.
“I know, that of all the species here, the Liin know firsthand the treachery of my kind.”
The Liin representative roared at this.
“Ten years. It was ten years ago this day that you *humans* discovered the wormhole that brought your *filthy* ships to my solar system. We hailed out to *your* ships, saying that refuge could be had. A single day later and humanity had destroyed ten Liin ships. Hundreds of my kin were lost that day.”
The Liin representative lowered and looked the human in the eye. “Your species should be glassed for their past.”
Navir gave the alien representative a sad, hurt look. “I absolutely agree with you. But, right now humanity could do far better than evil. Please, listen to us when we say that war has no winners.”
The Liin representative shook his head and sneered at Navir. “No. Not again.”
It looked out to the assembly. "We will not have another humanity again. We must destroy the Weli."
With that, it headed back to its seat.
Navir’s gaze lingered as he watched the representative sit down. It was that kind of anger that destroyed Mars.
He took in the room again, looking at all the naïve species. They thought that war would be something quick and easy. Hit a button and missiles would do the rest. They had no clue the suffering that would come from this.
“I say this, with honesty. If you allow war into your hearts as humanity did, then you will experience the pain and hate the Liin know far too well.”
“It’s just *one* rogue species,” another heckler threw up.
Navir didn’t know where it came from, but he had to respond.
“I say this now, if you do go to war with the Weli, it will be the end of you or of them. War is not about who wins. It’s about who loses. If any of them survive, they will come back with hate in their hearts and destroy us all.”
Of the four hundred and sixty-three members of the Senate floor, four hundred and sixty-two of them burst into laughter.
“Do you think one species could go against all of us?” Navir didn't even bother with an answer.
Navir looked again at the only other species that was no laughing. The Cortext representative held Navir’s gaze.
“Yes,” the Cortex representative said to the heckled question. Its voice was so close to human, but the grinding sounds of servos gave away its synthetic nature.
Everyone grew quiet.
Of the species gathered there, only two species had survived an intraspecies war. The humans and the Cortex.
All the representatives looked at the robotic human that wore the only other white dress. It was like the two piece suit that Navir wore, but their trim was red.
The synthetic human voice began again. “You will be shocked at what desperation will do to a species.”
Navir nodded at the words the Cortex representative said.
Desperation was the reason why Earth was destroyed. The cradle of Sol was gone forever because hotheads prevailed.
“We will not make your mistake,” someone else said.
Navir knew they wouldn’t listen now. They sounded far too much like zealous humans. “For your sake, I hope you don’t.”
With that, Navir and the Cortex representative staggered their departure from the galactic senate.
They had already spilled enough blood and oil to know how this would end.
|
*Title: WHYYYYYYYYYYY I can't believe they think* ***war*** *is a good idea!!!*
~~Dear spec~~
To the **members** of the Galactic senate
~~Peace is~~ Our goal since ~~the beginning~~ our founding has been peace.
What the gentle~~man~~ **Member** from planet bijoux is the ~~opposite~~ Antithesis! of what we stand for. They propose violence for a situation ~~because they are an idiot~~ because they do not understand the cost of war. War kills. War destoys. War **decimates***. is this the best order?*
~~War is useless~~ War is not needed here.
What is happening on that planet is ~~scary~~ **concerning** to say the least. But I repeat: war is ~~hel~~ not needed. What the situation calls for is not a show of force, but an effort on our part to ~~show compassion~~ keep the peace. *write a transition!!!*
You see, with a few notable exceptions, your civilizations have been mostly peaceful. ~~Humans don't have that~~ Humanity has not. We have overcome our animosity towards each other, but our history shows a long record of roughly equal forces colliding in war. And the ~~affects~~ effects are devastating.
Families torn apart. cities burned to the ground. Communities killed completely. Civilizations destroyed, devestated, ripped from the pages of history for a long time. These and others happened to both sides of a violent conflict. ~~it's really bad~~ It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen to our families.
Members of the Galactic Senate, please, trust me when I say this: war has no winners. Don't go running into something you don't understand the consequences of. War always has unforseen consequences.
It's up to you to ~~keep the~~ have peace. It's up to you to do the right thing. Join me, in doing the right thing.
Thank you.
*Goodness, this sucks. But I have to give this speech.*
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
We are losing. We are one of the most combat adapted species in the galaxy. Tough hides, sharp claws, venomous teeth and blood that is poisonous to most other species, but we are still losing.
Every other species that has established themselves beyond their own home system has some form of adaptation to fight more effectively than anything else on their home planet. Most have strength, speed or both. Many have venom or some other toxic offense. A scant few have even more arcane and specialized adaptations.
Humans seemed to have none of them. Poor strength, average speed, and no biological weapons meant that in simulation, they should have been an easy conquest. Taking their first colony was. After that things started to get weird. It started with the colony. Our forces would attain a foothold and almost immediately the attacks began. Never head on, never for long, but never too far apart. Any one who was separated was chased relentlessly, herded away from the group, and harried until even the strongest fell. Eventually, the foothold would collapse and we would have to start over elsewhere.
We are actually one of the more endurance capable species in the galaxy. We can fight for dozens of minutes at a time. A human might not be able to kill you easily, but if you can’t kill it in the traditional ten minutes, unless you can get a full platoon to help, you are already dead. Every time you try to rest, they will be there. Every time you try to eat, they will interrupt. Every time you try to sleep, that is when they will attack most fiercely. Finally, when your arms are limp, your eyes are bleary, and your legs so sore and weak that you can’t even stand, only then can you expect the mercy of death.
Then subjugation ships were attacked. Their hyperdrives were damaged and they had to fight constant running battles as the humans just kept going. Fleeting strikes that would peel away before weapons could be brought to bear, each would be made as the crew just thought that they could begin repairs. The shimmering golden sheets of what they called solar sails letting the humans keep pace even as our vessels tried to escape on sub-lights.
First they exhausted our troops. Next they exhausted our ships. Now they exhaust our empire. Through bastardized tech from across the galaxy, they have isolated us, no ships in or out. Not even messages can pass. Now they harass us. No vessel is safe. No transmission is secure. Our own weapons have been turned against us and planet after planet has to be abandoned. Soon we will be nomads in our own home, rushing from system to system, trying to stay ahead long enough to rest, even though we know we never will be.
I hope that this message successfully escapes the containment. This is our warning. Do not provoke the humans. If you must, kill them quickly and give them no chance fight back. Never fight alone. Against these foes, expect no glory, for there is none to be had.
(From the Museum of Humanity’s Triumphs on Alpha Centauri. The satellite was captured by Private Owen Miller in the early days of Operation Noose during the first of the Grand Wars of Conquest.)
|
Many people have forgotten that we live in a "Jungle". While we think we are sophisticated and have evolved to something above the life of millions of years ago, we really haven't. Jungle rules are still in play, but have been subdued by those that know and play by the rules, but do not let on that they know the rules to keep the current populace sedated. Survival of the fittest is still a live today, and those that don't understand this will fail in their life's journey. Dog eat dog is here, and is in every aspect of life. While we have leaders that sympathize with the weak and poor, they live like kings and give nothing back. The leaders are really only trying to be the "Top Dog", and know that many are ready to take them down. They know about the parable "Sword of Damocles". And my friends, this is why we humans, the ones in the know, are hard to deal with. We live in a jungle, have been in wars for millennia, and maintain our inherited jungle propensity to fight back.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
"John Fitzgerald of Earth, the council finds you guilty of instigating a rebellion against all our kinds, terrorism on an international scale, and crimes against the galaxy. How do you plead?" The honourable judge Cirrek-2 of T'ah asked.
"My people wanted to live free. I made them free. If that's what you are accusing me of, I won't deny it." The man in his forties had replied, his hands calmly folded behind his back. "Then, for your crimes, you will be imprisoned until death, or until your rebellion has ceased." The Hanari system of law involved punishment until the wrong had been righted, and while many less-civilized were hesitant, it had become the most-used system of law in the entire galaxy. The sentencing of John Fitzgerald of Earth was expected to be routine, as far as intergalactic terrorism went. The conflicts of Earth with the rest of the galactic federation would lessen over the course of a few months, and after two, maybe three years, they would surrender.
That was two centuries ago.
"General Tsu of the Flametip Mountains, Eraqian, Chief commander on the occupation of Earth" The AI announced, as the towering, saurian creatures walked into the council's chamber. Tsu was dressed in his military uniform, covered in decorations, signets, and medals; signs of the many victories he had achieved in his long campaign on earth. He looked like he was dying. His gait was careful and timid, the spines on his neck stood up, in a state of constant attention.
"I request for more military support." Tsu said to the council. A series of snickers were heard from various species.
"How many military bases have been built upon Earth thus far?" Asked one member.
"Nineteen, plus two aquatic platforms, three orbit-based occupation fleets, and a war-city." Tsu responded. There was a quiver in his voice.
"Don't you think that would be enough to keep a small collection of humans under control?" "I do think that," Tsu replied. "But it's not enough."
"Why not? Don't you have them outgunned?"
"We had them outgunned back when we had four bases," Tsu responded, averting his gaze. "It's not enough."
"What is it you truly want?" One council member asked. The veins on his forehead were glowing, indicating telepathy. "You did not come here to request military support, did you, general?"
"I... I came to request for us to surrender." Tsu replied, while every fiber of his frame tensed up. Eraqians were a species purpose-bred for warfare. Requesting surrender for them was like attempting suicide to them. The council responded with a stunned silence.
“You want us to surrender.” One member replied, as if to make sure he heard it properly.
“I do. I no longer wish to engage the humans of Earth.” Tsu replied.
“Aren’t your kind bred for warfare?”
“Yes. But this isn’t war,” Tsu replied, clenching his eyes closed to stop tears from coming out. His warrior-spirit stopped him from admitting weakness. “This is a hunt.”
“Could you explain?” The telepath asked.
“In war, one sees the enemy, one hears the enemy. There is battle. When facing these humans, it’s nothing but waiting. They strike when our guards are down, when we exhaust ourselves, when we sleep. I have never encountered a human face-to face, but they’re always there. Out of the corners of my senses I know they’re there.” The spines on his neck flexed again, he believed that there were still humans around. Even in the middle of the council chamber, he could not lower his guard.
“I… I cannot fight them. It’s like trying to fight a poisonous fog.” Tsu continued. “I… I wish to fight them, but I can’t. I can’t. I keep seeing them, even when I dream.”
The creature broke down in front of them. Most of the council were shocked. A few laughed nervously, but even their laughter stopped quickly.
“In addition. As I am no longer fit to lead this occupation, I wish to announce that I am retiring. Starting now.” Tsu added, before ripping the various medals from his uniform and dropping them onto the floor in front of him. The broken Eraqian turned around, not even hearing the mumblings of the council behind him as he walked out of the chamber, his claws hanging limply, uselessly by his side.
The council was too proud to ever admit defeat. They had never lost a battle, and they wouldn’t lose one today, but the defeat of general Tsu did bring a new problem; no one wished to replace him. Earth had defeated a highly decorated Eraqian general, a creature who had survived the time-filter wars of Mensis-II. But the council would not admit defeat, but they also knew they could not stay there.
Earth was, much like its inhabitants, nothing spectacular. Moderate climate, neutral atmosphere, no extreme volcanic activity, no intense weather conditions, no strong radioactivity, no strange cosmic interference, no dangerous megafauna. A perfectly hospitable world. However, after the ordeal with general Tsu, Earth became the first (and so far, only) planet that was given the status of Death World, based purely on the people that lived there. When the soldiers stationed on earth read this declaration, it also said that there was no need for the galactic council to waste energy occupying a place that inhospitable, so they would recall all troops on Earth. The soldiers were happy to leave, but many jokes were told about the horrific grasslands and terrifying pleasant forests of Death World Earth.
The judge Cirrek-2, now crystalizing in his age, was brought to the cell on space-prison Jubilant. When the guards opened the cell, the mummified remains of Fitzgerald stared at them with its dried out skeleton-grin.
“Mister Fitzgerald,” Cirrek said, going over the procedure to the letter, “The council has declared your planet a Death World, and therefor the ongoing warfare with your people has ceased. You will be freed and brought back to your home planet.”
Dead Fitzgerald did not replied, and just kept grinning.
Cirrek left the prison quickly, remembering the smirk of the mummy he had left behind. He chuckled to himself. Of course he was made to uphold the law, but even an old man like him had a bit of a rebellious spirit in him. It wasn’t every day you saw the galactic council get defeated by a corpse.
|
Many people have forgotten that we live in a "Jungle". While we think we are sophisticated and have evolved to something above the life of millions of years ago, we really haven't. Jungle rules are still in play, but have been subdued by those that know and play by the rules, but do not let on that they know the rules to keep the current populace sedated. Survival of the fittest is still a live today, and those that don't understand this will fail in their life's journey. Dog eat dog is here, and is in every aspect of life. While we have leaders that sympathize with the weak and poor, they live like kings and give nothing back. The leaders are really only trying to be the "Top Dog", and know that many are ready to take them down. They know about the parable "Sword of Damocles". And my friends, this is why we humans, the ones in the know, are hard to deal with. We live in a jungle, have been in wars for millennia, and maintain our inherited jungle propensity to fight back.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
I Didnt write this
It is by Tumblr user impalalord
They have many other stories like this I think I worth a read
Our civilization had finally reached its peak; our domain stretched nearly the entire length of the galaxy. Hundreds of civilizations pledged allegiance to our rule, and for that were pampered with our love and resources. Some did not comply, and they were punished for being unruly upstarts in our domain, and once we had shown them the error of their ways they accepted our ways and were loved and pampered as the rest.
It was toward the last part of the cycle of 420^M51, our scouts had found an irregularly large solar system. Only one planet had life upon it and what we found disturbed us greatly. It was a planet of evolved sapient apes, naked as they were, wrapped themselves in the skins and fabrics of the other life around them. They were suicidal, destructive, aggressive, deceitful; everything we were not. I had never known another species to kill one of it’s own, or even to take it’s own life, but these creatures did it all willingly. I learned a work while monitoring their world beyond what they called the Kuiper belt, Genocide.
It had taken me many glanns to properly give the word a definition that I could comprehend, and when I did I wish I hadn’t. The utter annihilation of a group that was not your own,every adult, child, every bit of it’s culture, is what it meant. To do so not only confounded me morally but even through an ecological standpoint would it not greatly change the environment and cause more species to go extinct? Truly no creature would be capable of such an act, but as I continued to monitor them, the more I realized they would not only willfully, but willingly, fanatically, dogmatically. I fear we have stumbled upon a species that fully deserved punishment for it’s ways.
I reported my findings back to the Council and they deliberated the fate of this race. This civilization so prone to civil war, our strategists assumed that we would be able to silently pick off many of their factions while the rest were at war with the others. It was simple, but we felt it should work. I had failed to gather how fast they were able to adapt and engineer,for by the time our ships arrived, they had not only gone to the moon and back, but they had learned to split the atom, and had already colonized the fourth planet and many of the moons of the fifth and sixth planets all within five of their generations!
Fortunately, all of their society was splintered, the planets had demanded their own sovereignty like the “nations” they had left back on earth, so there was not a single united group among them besides alliances different groups had against others. Our ships descended upon the moon of what they called Titan. Our delegates landed and forced the inhabitants to submit or else we would employ force to make them do so. Our translator caught a single word from the moon’s military leader; it simply said “Nuts.” We did not know what it meant, so another warning was sent. We intercepted an outgoing distress signal to the other colonies around it. I found it amusing, as the moon’s around Titan weren’t even in a non-aggression pact, no one would come to their aide.
Our sensors indicated that they were picking up multiple signals off our starboard side. Many signals indeed, hundreds of the colonial attack craft had been summoned from all across the system. The instant unification had our commander flabbergasted, we all had assumed their independence was one out of inherent genetics, not of circumstance. How horribly wrong we were. We found more communication flaring to and from all of the planets in their solar system, more warnings, more information, more united resolve. We began to calculate the total miniature empires and alliances they had, coupled with all of their individual armies and the technological might of each one. We soon realized we needed more ships.
What we thought was a simple policing action on a broken and faulted race such as these turned into an outright war against an entire solar system consisting of tens of billions of souls, all of whom would die before submitting to our divine rights as rulers of the galaxy. Our efforts soon shifted from social progress to keeping this tiny system at bay, they had already forced us out multiple times, and had taken many more of our systems around them. Their empire was growing, unknowingly, we had united them. All of their millennia of war and strife had trained them and bred them to this moment in history when all of their accumulated data would finally be taken out on some ignorant outsider, something they could completely focus their hate and resolve on. We did not realize what kind of mistake we had truly made until we received the last transmission we would ever get from them, “We know where your home is. No survivors, no prisoners, no mercy.” We were finished, because though their diplomatic branch had withered and fell; their martial branch never showed us respite.
Again this is by tumblr user impalalord
|
Many people have forgotten that we live in a "Jungle". While we think we are sophisticated and have evolved to something above the life of millions of years ago, we really haven't. Jungle rules are still in play, but have been subdued by those that know and play by the rules, but do not let on that they know the rules to keep the current populace sedated. Survival of the fittest is still a live today, and those that don't understand this will fail in their life's journey. Dog eat dog is here, and is in every aspect of life. While we have leaders that sympathize with the weak and poor, they live like kings and give nothing back. The leaders are really only trying to be the "Top Dog", and know that many are ready to take them down. They know about the parable "Sword of Damocles". And my friends, this is why we humans, the ones in the know, are hard to deal with. We live in a jungle, have been in wars for millennia, and maintain our inherited jungle propensity to fight back.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
"Sir! Sir!" Morgor's assistant burst into the room, it's cilia gone violet with distress. "Sir!"
"Now calm down," Morgor said reassuringly. "We're a finance company, whatever it is can't possibly be that terrible. Why don't you take a moment to compose yourself?"
As he spoke, Morgor slithered across the office and pulled a bottle out of a cupboard.
"Here, have a whiff of ammonia." He said. "It'll steady your nerves."
The assistant, not yet old enough to have a name of its own, goggled at him but complied. As the ammonia gas wafted through its spiracles its color steadied into a much healthier looking shade of ecru.
"Now tell me, what has you so flustered?"
The assistant blinked each eye in turn and then flattened its cilia.
"It's about the audit sir. I have some very bad news."
The audit was the drama of the month as far as Morgor was concerned. Would-be political powers stirring up sediment in hopes of finding prey in the murk. They wouldn't find anything, they never did. But the assistant was too young to have seen this tide run before.
"I'm sure it's nothing as bad as all that." Morgor said. "We're a very stable company and our board includes some of the biggest swimmers in the sphere."
"But sir," the assistant said, beginning to go violet again. "They've called in off planet auditors. Humans!"
"They what!" Morgor was appalled. "Who? How? Oh, never mind that! Get me the files! All the files! Humans never stop till they catch their prey, no matter how long it takes. If there is any irregularity, any at all... They'll find it."
The assistant slithered hastily toward the door, while Morgor sank down into a morose blob. *What kind of maniac would sic humans on us?* he wondered. *Someone must want us utterly destroyed.* Absentmindedly he took a waft of ammonia, and then another. A soothing tingle spread through his organs. *What can we do to stop this?*
Then inspiration struck. Morgor's cilia went green with pleasure. *Whoever they are, why ever they want us gone... there is a way to find out! If we know what their goal is, we have some hope of making them abandon their attack on our company. And I know just who can find out!*
Morgor slapped at the summoning button, and a moment later the assistant returned. There were file tabs stuck all over its thorax.
"Call an emergency board meeting." Morgor said. "Tell them we may need to release some emergency funding. We're going to fight this the only way we can. We'll hire humans of our own!"
|
Many people have forgotten that we live in a "Jungle". While we think we are sophisticated and have evolved to something above the life of millions of years ago, we really haven't. Jungle rules are still in play, but have been subdued by those that know and play by the rules, but do not let on that they know the rules to keep the current populace sedated. Survival of the fittest is still a live today, and those that don't understand this will fail in their life's journey. Dog eat dog is here, and is in every aspect of life. While we have leaders that sympathize with the weak and poor, they live like kings and give nothing back. The leaders are really only trying to be the "Top Dog", and know that many are ready to take them down. They know about the parable "Sword of Damocles". And my friends, this is why we humans, the ones in the know, are hard to deal with. We live in a jungle, have been in wars for millennia, and maintain our inherited jungle propensity to fight back.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
\[INTERSPECIES COUNCIL LOG 6842, CYCLE 5790, CHAMBER 8: LAXIAN SECTOR COUNCIL\]
"...and yet, even with our species' proud heritage as warriors and conquerors, you were still defeated at the hand of these... *humans*, do they call them?"
"Yes."
"They have zero specifically defined traits that would classify them as the apex species of their planet aside from sentience and minor technological advancement, correct?"
"Yes, but-"
"Silence! We sent you to their home planet, and they were unaware of any attacks. All communication logs from species on the council have been reviewed with no sign of treason. You were a thousand ship strong armada and *you*, Admiral, failed the council. It shall be a badge of shame in your record, despite being perfect, and all shall see how you have fallen from gra-"
"High Chairman Uklyn, I would like you to hear an account from one of our first, and only, surviving ground troops."
"You dare to interrupt me, you insolent brat!"
*The lesser council members mutter amongst themselves, before the one next to the High Chairman whispers something to him. The anger subsides.*
"Very well. Proceed."
*A badly injured Mox is helped into the chamber by medical staff, and is seated in front of the council. He begins his testimony at the nod of the High Chairman's head.*
"We were sent in by the books. Quietly, during what these demons would call 'night' in the wilderness of Terran-058. Our recon squads got back to our FOB and reported that no troops had been sent in retaliation; that we were alone. Within the coming hours we had started to mobilize on one of their cities. One that was small enough to not raise too much alarm and act as a good spot for troop deployment and resupply. We cleared it out; no survivors or casualties. We had every advantage over them in reaction time, intelligence, armor; and we were unstoppable. At least, that's what we thought."
*He pauses, coughs, and takes a raspy breath.*
"We had these spots set up across Terran-058, ready for a full scale multi-point invasion. But that's when they hit us the hardest. First came the human's military, with primitive chemical based weaponry. These could hardly penetrate our hide, but it was when one got up close that we had to worry. Their primitive steel weaponry couldn't do anything until they found the secret: Fire."
*Small gasps and murmurs could be heard amongst the council. The High Chairman kept an icy gaze on the Mox soldier, prodding him on with a single nod.*
"Alone, fire would hurt and weaken our hide, but not kill us, yes. But they would douse their blades with this poison they enjoyed consuming... alcohol, I think is what our intel came up with. And this substance mixed with fire would continue to burn. Mix that with primitive steel weaponry, and one small slip up could lead to your heart being carved out. One tiny ambush. I lost two of my squad to one of these."
*The High Chairman's glare intensified.*
"And as for the other 27 of your squad?"
"Gone. We started a retreat to the FOB once the Humans adapted to guerilla tactics in this urban environment. They knew these structures well, where as we did not. It took us a light-cycle and a half to make it to their city from our FOB despite being a few lockens away because of the dense wilderness and our inability to go without proper rest. But these... these *things* never rest. They hunted us down one by one, picking off the ones that fell behind or collapsed on our trek back."
*The soldier's 3 eyes widened a bit.*
"They tore us apart the whole way. Not once were we safe from them closing the gap. Even after we started to return to our craft, we were getting reports of entire battalions being wiped out."
"And as for the loss of the bigger portion of your invading armada?"
"They followed us to the edge of Kadari Sector, and through every jump reset they just continued, picking us off..."
\[END OF TRANSCRIPTION\]
\*\*\*
"So class, what you just read is the reason why the Intergalactic Council has withdrawn all colonies and native council-bearing species from Laxian sector as a whole. It contains one of the most fearsome species we know: The humans. Their apex status doesn't stem from their physical attributes, as most do, but rather from their mental fortitude. Now if you would turn to page 893 of *Intergalactic History*..."
​
///
​
Hey y'all, to any who read this, I know it was a bit long and not the best. It was my first try at this, so please feel free to leave any criticism and let me know how you enjoyed it!
|
Many people have forgotten that we live in a "Jungle". While we think we are sophisticated and have evolved to something above the life of millions of years ago, we really haven't. Jungle rules are still in play, but have been subdued by those that know and play by the rules, but do not let on that they know the rules to keep the current populace sedated. Survival of the fittest is still a live today, and those that don't understand this will fail in their life's journey. Dog eat dog is here, and is in every aspect of life. While we have leaders that sympathize with the weak and poor, they live like kings and give nothing back. The leaders are really only trying to be the "Top Dog", and know that many are ready to take them down. They know about the parable "Sword of Damocles". And my friends, this is why we humans, the ones in the know, are hard to deal with. We live in a jungle, have been in wars for millennia, and maintain our inherited jungle propensity to fight back.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
"Sir! Sir!" Morgor's assistant burst into the room, it's cilia gone violet with distress. "Sir!"
"Now calm down," Morgor said reassuringly. "We're a finance company, whatever it is can't possibly be that terrible. Why don't you take a moment to compose yourself?"
As he spoke, Morgor slithered across the office and pulled a bottle out of a cupboard.
"Here, have a whiff of ammonia." He said. "It'll steady your nerves."
The assistant, not yet old enough to have a name of its own, goggled at him but complied. As the ammonia gas wafted through its spiracles its color steadied into a much healthier looking shade of ecru.
"Now tell me, what has you so flustered?"
The assistant blinked each eye in turn and then flattened its cilia.
"It's about the audit sir. I have some very bad news."
The audit was the drama of the month as far as Morgor was concerned. Would-be political powers stirring up sediment in hopes of finding prey in the murk. They wouldn't find anything, they never did. But the assistant was too young to have seen this tide run before.
"I'm sure it's nothing as bad as all that." Morgor said. "We're a very stable company and our board includes some of the biggest swimmers in the sphere."
"But sir," the assistant said, beginning to go violet again. "They've called in off planet auditors. Humans!"
"They what!" Morgor was appalled. "Who? How? Oh, never mind that! Get me the files! All the files! Humans never stop till they catch their prey, no matter how long it takes. If there is any irregularity, any at all... They'll find it."
The assistant slithered hastily toward the door, while Morgor sank down into a morose blob. *What kind of maniac would sic humans on us?* he wondered. *Someone must want us utterly destroyed.* Absentmindedly he took a waft of ammonia, and then another. A soothing tingle spread through his organs. *What can we do to stop this?*
Then inspiration struck. Morgor's cilia went green with pleasure. *Whoever they are, why ever they want us gone... there is a way to find out! If we know what their goal is, we have some hope of making them abandon their attack on our company. And I know just who can find out!*
Morgor slapped at the summoning button, and a moment later the assistant returned. There were file tabs stuck all over its thorax.
"Call an emergency board meeting." Morgor said. "Tell them we may need to release some emergency funding. We're going to fight this the only way we can. We'll hire humans of our own!"
|
I Didnt write this
It is by Tumblr user impalalord
They have many other stories like this I think I worth a read
Our civilization had finally reached its peak; our domain stretched nearly the entire length of the galaxy. Hundreds of civilizations pledged allegiance to our rule, and for that were pampered with our love and resources. Some did not comply, and they were punished for being unruly upstarts in our domain, and once we had shown them the error of their ways they accepted our ways and were loved and pampered as the rest.
It was toward the last part of the cycle of 420^M51, our scouts had found an irregularly large solar system. Only one planet had life upon it and what we found disturbed us greatly. It was a planet of evolved sapient apes, naked as they were, wrapped themselves in the skins and fabrics of the other life around them. They were suicidal, destructive, aggressive, deceitful; everything we were not. I had never known another species to kill one of it’s own, or even to take it’s own life, but these creatures did it all willingly. I learned a work while monitoring their world beyond what they called the Kuiper belt, Genocide.
It had taken me many glanns to properly give the word a definition that I could comprehend, and when I did I wish I hadn’t. The utter annihilation of a group that was not your own,every adult, child, every bit of it’s culture, is what it meant. To do so not only confounded me morally but even through an ecological standpoint would it not greatly change the environment and cause more species to go extinct? Truly no creature would be capable of such an act, but as I continued to monitor them, the more I realized they would not only willfully, but willingly, fanatically, dogmatically. I fear we have stumbled upon a species that fully deserved punishment for it’s ways.
I reported my findings back to the Council and they deliberated the fate of this race. This civilization so prone to civil war, our strategists assumed that we would be able to silently pick off many of their factions while the rest were at war with the others. It was simple, but we felt it should work. I had failed to gather how fast they were able to adapt and engineer,for by the time our ships arrived, they had not only gone to the moon and back, but they had learned to split the atom, and had already colonized the fourth planet and many of the moons of the fifth and sixth planets all within five of their generations!
Fortunately, all of their society was splintered, the planets had demanded their own sovereignty like the “nations” they had left back on earth, so there was not a single united group among them besides alliances different groups had against others. Our ships descended upon the moon of what they called Titan. Our delegates landed and forced the inhabitants to submit or else we would employ force to make them do so. Our translator caught a single word from the moon’s military leader; it simply said “Nuts.” We did not know what it meant, so another warning was sent. We intercepted an outgoing distress signal to the other colonies around it. I found it amusing, as the moon’s around Titan weren’t even in a non-aggression pact, no one would come to their aide.
Our sensors indicated that they were picking up multiple signals off our starboard side. Many signals indeed, hundreds of the colonial attack craft had been summoned from all across the system. The instant unification had our commander flabbergasted, we all had assumed their independence was one out of inherent genetics, not of circumstance. How horribly wrong we were. We found more communication flaring to and from all of the planets in their solar system, more warnings, more information, more united resolve. We began to calculate the total miniature empires and alliances they had, coupled with all of their individual armies and the technological might of each one. We soon realized we needed more ships.
What we thought was a simple policing action on a broken and faulted race such as these turned into an outright war against an entire solar system consisting of tens of billions of souls, all of whom would die before submitting to our divine rights as rulers of the galaxy. Our efforts soon shifted from social progress to keeping this tiny system at bay, they had already forced us out multiple times, and had taken many more of our systems around them. Their empire was growing, unknowingly, we had united them. All of their millennia of war and strife had trained them and bred them to this moment in history when all of their accumulated data would finally be taken out on some ignorant outsider, something they could completely focus their hate and resolve on. We did not realize what kind of mistake we had truly made until we received the last transmission we would ever get from them, “We know where your home is. No survivors, no prisoners, no mercy.” We were finished, because though their diplomatic branch had withered and fell; their martial branch never showed us respite.
Again this is by tumblr user impalalord
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
\[INTERSPECIES COUNCIL LOG 6842, CYCLE 5790, CHAMBER 8: LAXIAN SECTOR COUNCIL\]
"...and yet, even with our species' proud heritage as warriors and conquerors, you were still defeated at the hand of these... *humans*, do they call them?"
"Yes."
"They have zero specifically defined traits that would classify them as the apex species of their planet aside from sentience and minor technological advancement, correct?"
"Yes, but-"
"Silence! We sent you to their home planet, and they were unaware of any attacks. All communication logs from species on the council have been reviewed with no sign of treason. You were a thousand ship strong armada and *you*, Admiral, failed the council. It shall be a badge of shame in your record, despite being perfect, and all shall see how you have fallen from gra-"
"High Chairman Uklyn, I would like you to hear an account from one of our first, and only, surviving ground troops."
"You dare to interrupt me, you insolent brat!"
*The lesser council members mutter amongst themselves, before the one next to the High Chairman whispers something to him. The anger subsides.*
"Very well. Proceed."
*A badly injured Mox is helped into the chamber by medical staff, and is seated in front of the council. He begins his testimony at the nod of the High Chairman's head.*
"We were sent in by the books. Quietly, during what these demons would call 'night' in the wilderness of Terran-058. Our recon squads got back to our FOB and reported that no troops had been sent in retaliation; that we were alone. Within the coming hours we had started to mobilize on one of their cities. One that was small enough to not raise too much alarm and act as a good spot for troop deployment and resupply. We cleared it out; no survivors or casualties. We had every advantage over them in reaction time, intelligence, armor; and we were unstoppable. At least, that's what we thought."
*He pauses, coughs, and takes a raspy breath.*
"We had these spots set up across Terran-058, ready for a full scale multi-point invasion. But that's when they hit us the hardest. First came the human's military, with primitive chemical based weaponry. These could hardly penetrate our hide, but it was when one got up close that we had to worry. Their primitive steel weaponry couldn't do anything until they found the secret: Fire."
*Small gasps and murmurs could be heard amongst the council. The High Chairman kept an icy gaze on the Mox soldier, prodding him on with a single nod.*
"Alone, fire would hurt and weaken our hide, but not kill us, yes. But they would douse their blades with this poison they enjoyed consuming... alcohol, I think is what our intel came up with. And this substance mixed with fire would continue to burn. Mix that with primitive steel weaponry, and one small slip up could lead to your heart being carved out. One tiny ambush. I lost two of my squad to one of these."
*The High Chairman's glare intensified.*
"And as for the other 27 of your squad?"
"Gone. We started a retreat to the FOB once the Humans adapted to guerilla tactics in this urban environment. They knew these structures well, where as we did not. It took us a light-cycle and a half to make it to their city from our FOB despite being a few lockens away because of the dense wilderness and our inability to go without proper rest. But these... these *things* never rest. They hunted us down one by one, picking off the ones that fell behind or collapsed on our trek back."
*The soldier's 3 eyes widened a bit.*
"They tore us apart the whole way. Not once were we safe from them closing the gap. Even after we started to return to our craft, we were getting reports of entire battalions being wiped out."
"And as for the loss of the bigger portion of your invading armada?"
"They followed us to the edge of Kadari Sector, and through every jump reset they just continued, picking us off..."
\[END OF TRANSCRIPTION\]
\*\*\*
"So class, what you just read is the reason why the Intergalactic Council has withdrawn all colonies and native council-bearing species from Laxian sector as a whole. It contains one of the most fearsome species we know: The humans. Their apex status doesn't stem from their physical attributes, as most do, but rather from their mental fortitude. Now if you would turn to page 893 of *Intergalactic History*..."
​
///
​
Hey y'all, to any who read this, I know it was a bit long and not the best. It was my first try at this, so please feel free to leave any criticism and let me know how you enjoyed it!
|
I Didnt write this
It is by Tumblr user impalalord
They have many other stories like this I think I worth a read
Our civilization had finally reached its peak; our domain stretched nearly the entire length of the galaxy. Hundreds of civilizations pledged allegiance to our rule, and for that were pampered with our love and resources. Some did not comply, and they were punished for being unruly upstarts in our domain, and once we had shown them the error of their ways they accepted our ways and were loved and pampered as the rest.
It was toward the last part of the cycle of 420^M51, our scouts had found an irregularly large solar system. Only one planet had life upon it and what we found disturbed us greatly. It was a planet of evolved sapient apes, naked as they were, wrapped themselves in the skins and fabrics of the other life around them. They were suicidal, destructive, aggressive, deceitful; everything we were not. I had never known another species to kill one of it’s own, or even to take it’s own life, but these creatures did it all willingly. I learned a work while monitoring their world beyond what they called the Kuiper belt, Genocide.
It had taken me many glanns to properly give the word a definition that I could comprehend, and when I did I wish I hadn’t. The utter annihilation of a group that was not your own,every adult, child, every bit of it’s culture, is what it meant. To do so not only confounded me morally but even through an ecological standpoint would it not greatly change the environment and cause more species to go extinct? Truly no creature would be capable of such an act, but as I continued to monitor them, the more I realized they would not only willfully, but willingly, fanatically, dogmatically. I fear we have stumbled upon a species that fully deserved punishment for it’s ways.
I reported my findings back to the Council and they deliberated the fate of this race. This civilization so prone to civil war, our strategists assumed that we would be able to silently pick off many of their factions while the rest were at war with the others. It was simple, but we felt it should work. I had failed to gather how fast they were able to adapt and engineer,for by the time our ships arrived, they had not only gone to the moon and back, but they had learned to split the atom, and had already colonized the fourth planet and many of the moons of the fifth and sixth planets all within five of their generations!
Fortunately, all of their society was splintered, the planets had demanded their own sovereignty like the “nations” they had left back on earth, so there was not a single united group among them besides alliances different groups had against others. Our ships descended upon the moon of what they called Titan. Our delegates landed and forced the inhabitants to submit or else we would employ force to make them do so. Our translator caught a single word from the moon’s military leader; it simply said “Nuts.” We did not know what it meant, so another warning was sent. We intercepted an outgoing distress signal to the other colonies around it. I found it amusing, as the moon’s around Titan weren’t even in a non-aggression pact, no one would come to their aide.
Our sensors indicated that they were picking up multiple signals off our starboard side. Many signals indeed, hundreds of the colonial attack craft had been summoned from all across the system. The instant unification had our commander flabbergasted, we all had assumed their independence was one out of inherent genetics, not of circumstance. How horribly wrong we were. We found more communication flaring to and from all of the planets in their solar system, more warnings, more information, more united resolve. We began to calculate the total miniature empires and alliances they had, coupled with all of their individual armies and the technological might of each one. We soon realized we needed more ships.
What we thought was a simple policing action on a broken and faulted race such as these turned into an outright war against an entire solar system consisting of tens of billions of souls, all of whom would die before submitting to our divine rights as rulers of the galaxy. Our efforts soon shifted from social progress to keeping this tiny system at bay, they had already forced us out multiple times, and had taken many more of our systems around them. Their empire was growing, unknowingly, we had united them. All of their millennia of war and strife had trained them and bred them to this moment in history when all of their accumulated data would finally be taken out on some ignorant outsider, something they could completely focus their hate and resolve on. We did not realize what kind of mistake we had truly made until we received the last transmission we would ever get from them, “We know where your home is. No survivors, no prisoners, no mercy.” We were finished, because though their diplomatic branch had withered and fell; their martial branch never showed us respite.
Again this is by tumblr user impalalord
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
And as the human representative stepped up to the podium he proclaimed to the council “it is, or never has been survival of the fittest but survival of the most adaptable. I see here the skold the most effective killing machines in the galaxy but can they love, I see here the krem the most logical species in the galaxy but can they dream, I see here every single one of you excel in different ways but humans excel in our versatility we have humans in the hottest climates to the coldest on our planet, we have humble men step into the annals of bravery when confronted in war. For our strength lies not within our bodies but our minds”
It was at that moment the council knew they fucked up.
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
"No worries I'll try again tomorrow, Just tell the Afred the Frekrin ambassador I called" The Human voice said cheerfully before disconnecting the line.
As soon the holo shutdown Afred released his tight grip on his now broken Prongboard and sighed, the Human had been calling everyday for four weeks and it was definitely getting to him.
The first time the Human had called on the holophone Afred had politely taken the call call and explained that. "Whilst the Frekrin Empire appreciate the offer he had no idea what *Contents Insurance* was and thus have no need of it." To which the Human raised his smallest most appendage on his arm and said. "Ah but Everyone needs contents insurance as what would happen if your contents got damaged?" Afred replied confused "We would just replicate more in the replicator?". Uditured the Human had opened his arms wide and smiled and stated matter of factly "But what about the sentimental value of those contents? Surely you would want to be reimbursed for that."
That first conversation continued back and forth like that for the next two hours. Afred would state why they don't need contents insurance and the Human would counter that that is exactly the reason why you do need it. Eventually Afred just said he would think about it and the Human Disconnected.
The second time he had called the Afred pretended he was busy at the moment which turned out to be a big mistake as the Human asked When would he be free to chat and promised to call back later. When the Human did call later that cycle Afred decided to ignore it and he soon realized this was a big mistake as the Human then called every fifteen minutes for the next four hours and only relented when Afred finally answered and said he was still thinking about it.
On the fourth call Afred had a plan and thought he had stumped the Human as when the inevitable question of "Do you want to buy our contents insurance came up" Afred simply replied "We already have it from the Granol Collective" Happily lifted his anteni in a sign of minor apology and just as he was about to disconnect the Human lifted the sides of his eating tube in what they call a "smirk" and stated "Oh well I promise if you can give me just 15 minutes of your time I could show how our offering is better" That call lasted two hours.
Since then Afred had tried every trick he had learned at the Frekrin Diplomats Academy for Gifted Arthropods and in the end settled with pretending that he was in fact not the Ambassador and merely his assistant. This seemed to work due to the Humans inability to really tell their species apart and he had managed to reduce the daily phone call to pleasantries, a quick offer of insurance cover and then the goodbyes. Afred couldn't believe this is what it had come to, the ambassador of the Frekrin empire with two hundred planets and over a trillion citizens, pretending he wasn't in.
Afred remembered when he had voted three cycles ago to allow the Human race to join the galactic empire. It was on the basis that they looked like they probably needed the help as they had all their flesh on the outside and they weren't all that strong or smart in comparison to other races. Most Council members wondered how they had even survived their home world considering it boasted some seriously scary predators, if their historical documents are to be believed. In fact their joining the council had prompted a whole new set of warning labels around the station with statements like "Be aware of enhanced gravity capable of crushing Humans," "Please refrain from touching this is dangerous," and Afreds personal favourite "Do not eat Human." That last one worked both for the Humans and the Trillanions on the station. Now he was starting to realized that the Humans never needed to be strong or smart, Their species sheer stubbornness to never give up had forced evolution to make them top of their local food chain.
Afred was beginning to think the itch he had developed in his frontal lobe was being caused by the Humans incessant calls. They were ridiculous, endless and annoying. He was starting to think that perhaps if he made a deal with the Human it would all go away for a while. Technically speaking the Human only wanted a relatively small amount of credits per trade and to be fair Afred had broken his favorite Prongboard and he felt like he deserved to be compensated for its sentimental value.
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
He collapsed on the far side of the rock, air sacs pulsating as he tried to oxygenate his system. His hind limbs were shaking, he knew he couldn't go on much further. He peered back and saw the creature, pink skin layered over with synthetic fibers it's two legged stride ate up the ground between them as it started to close the gap yet again. It hadn't changed speed since this chase started almost ten hours ago, and didn't seem especially fatigued by the chase so far. He, on the other hand, was almost out of energy.
He waited as long as he could to re-oxygenate, and then when the creature was only five body length away he heaved himself to his hooves and started a new sprint. The distance opened: 10 bodylengths; 15; 20; something in his left hind leg spasmed and he collapsed. The human was still coming. Back to his hooves. Forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP; forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP, Forelimbs down, hindlimbs... didn't move. His muzzle hit the dirt. He didn't look behind him, he knew it would still be there, still moving with that strange ground-eating stride.
A few seconds later he felt the creature's stride vibrating the dirt. He heaved himself forewords with his forelimbs. Made it maybe half a bodylength. Too much dead weight. The footfalls stopped. He craned his neck and looked at the pink creature - he had grown a single, long claw - gleaming in the sunlight. It moved, the claw flashing down in a single long cut, and there was darkness.
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
They don't *sleep*. I swear to Kalyth, they don't * ** sleep** *.
They're slow, their fastest sprinters don't even outclass our walking pace. They're not strong, their "strongmen" can compete with our strong children. They have decent vision, but can only see a limited amount of the EM spectrum. Their sense of smell is laughable, they can't even determine direction. Hearing? They can hear higher pitches than we can, but they can't hear sounds as quiet as we can.
We thought we would smash them. And we did, at first. Our first [Translation: Active Period], we slaughtered them by the hundreds before our first [Translation: Rest Period] was required. We returned to our base triumphant. We outran their vehicles, we tore through their walls, we broke their spines. Then, after our Active Period [Note: 2 earth hours], we returned to our base to allow our hearts to cool and our bodies to dissipate heat, our best armors had even given us an additional [30 minutes] of combat time, which was exceptional.
You can imagine our shock when we sealed up our base for our [Rest Period] and not even [30 Mins] later we had enemies at our gates. We had expected them to bring fresh troops, and we had a reserve of our own ready, but their travel technology wasn't fast enough to bring in *That many* soldiers.
With the bulk of our army [In Rest], we were left hopelessly outnumbered. A few soldiers elected to leave [Rest] to help the bulk of us escape, their hearts exploding to buy us an additional [10 minutes] to evacuate.
Several subsequent engagements happened during our [Battle Phase: 2 hours hard fighting and 6 hours recovery], and I swear that I saw the same humans fight during our Battle Phase as I saw invading during rest, for *days* in a row. Intelligence later learned the humans had multiple drugs that affect their ability to remain conscious to varrying degrees, and one, a thick brown liquid, was regularly sold to their *civilians*.
The fight was long and hard, we can't leave orbit on a [rest], our bodies can't handle the stress, so we had to defeat the humans before we could evacuate. But they *don't sleep*, I swear not once in the entire [four day] invasion did their front line soldiers sleep, intel says that they rotated out every [24 hours], but I don't believe them. I knew those eyes, I couldn't have forgot the soldier that breached my [Rest Chamber] and used a primitive blade to end the lives of each of my comrades.
To this day I don't know why he spared me, but I've since left the military. We never did defeat the humans. Those of us who had landed with first wave were all killed or captured, save a few they allowed to be rescued. After the direct failure of first wave, second never bothered to touch down. They fired a few cursory orbital projectiles, then retreated to the natural satellite.
But on my life I will never again lift a weapon, because when we abandoned that world we left behind ships and weapons and bunkers and machines, and not even [one month] later I can see the first telltale signs of Impulse drives lifting human craft. That alone is proof that they *don't sleep*, because how could any reasonable race get so much done in so little time? They're unholy, and I fear that they'll rival even us before the first reinforcements arrive in their system.
Edit: correcting auto correct.
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Denial of Application, Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Amended 5.2 - Sanctions, cont.
​
Date of writ. The human colony on the fourth planet of their system has been isolated for two local cycles following hostilities against council survey team and refusal of third planet government (see note 5.2.2 on multiple terrestrial governments) to censure by consensus. All incoming material from third planet to fourth has been intercepted and seized prior to entering fourth planet orbit. Assessment is that this will be insufficient to coerce behavioral changes from the colony.
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member):
*This is a waste. We were preparing to offer aid to the colony after we synthesized a large amount of their foodstuffs and supplies following the first payload interception from their homeworld as a standard pressure tactic when dealing with recalcitrants. Last report details this. Observation showed a serious depletion in body mass among the colonists for the first several centicycles (local) but no reduction in activity. Any other non-hibernating species of even half their average size would be dead by now, but they've dug in and begun harvesting discarded biomass and reprocessing it for agricultural purposes. Their caloric intake has stabilized. Exhaustion is clear in their habits, but if anything they're resting less and working more. Animal desperation coupled with clear purpose and rational - in context, if you'll excuse me - intent. FOR TWO LOCAL CYCLES. They have next to no usable resources available to them, and they're stretching it thinner than anything I've seen. As a reminder, this is the same species wallowing in wasteful excess on third planet.*
*We've been resupplied four times since establishing the blockade. We're running lean and losing. They're running on nothing and winning. I said this was a waste, but it's more than that. It's dangerous. We should leave.*
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member) - amended:
*The second payload interception was unsuccessful due to payload detonation. Two died and the crew of 59-D-1 - including myself - had to be evacuated to 59-D-2. 59-D-1 has been scuttled and we are standing by for rescue or reinforcement.*
*It was a bomb.*
*It was a bomb, and I can't say with certainty whether it was meant for us or the colony.*
*We should leave.*
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Our triumph had nearly come. My aide reported that a few well placed payments to cousins of my colleague from Abrax, and we'd secured the votes we needed to pass the bill legalizing our future conquests, even if the Galactic council didn't know it, and to halt the slow 'self determination' movement that had been putting pressure on the Empire to release our client states. As if they would even know how to govern without our direction!
Only the humans seemed suspicious of the bill enough to campaign hard against it, and they'd rallied their usual sycophants in a so-called 'freedom caucus' to defeat it. Fortunately for us, money in the pocket of a politician speaks more loudly than their promises and ideas of economic 'galacticization' and future growth.
Now, it was just time to sit back, and wait a few more hours for the inevitable bombastic speeches and self aggrandization of the politicians. This was the last thing on the agenda for this session before taking recess for the next year, but no matter, as my fellows were looking exhausted from the long session today. The discussion would draw to a close, the vote would happen, and there would be no time left for anyone to try to reverse it.
With a happy sigh, I relaxed into my chair, thinking of the reward the Emperor would surely give me. The galaxy's armies might have united against our military if we tried to conquer our neighbors... but it will be so much sweeter to take them over diplomatically before they realized it.
As I watched, the human, looking surprisingly chipper, slowly walked up the podium, holding some large fabric bound object. No doubt here to beg for the assembled groups to reconsider. Ha! The fool had already lost even if he didn't accept it.
Sitting down at the podium, he opened up the object he'd carried up, which looked to be some kind of large thick book. Not even a data slate, how antiquated.
He started speaking, "Esteemed assembled representatives of their peoples. I would like to come up here to talk about the lessons of history. Of my own race's past where bills like this were introduced for the express purpose of personal gain. The mistakes that we've made in our past. That... that's a book that I'd suggest you all read someday. One far thicker than the one I brought up here with me. But now, in the closing hours of our session, I'd like to read you from another book. The english dictionary. And I think I'll start somewhere in the middle, with the letter F, for 'filibuster'..."
|
I took a deep breath.
"We're gonna die," I said with the most clarity in the past 4 gerlens. 12 weeks in human times.
"Dude shut up, I refuse to believe the tales of Humanities persistence, they will tire and they will fall. No species as weak as them can fight for that long. I mean look at us, we're the *Serleuns* we were built for combat, we evolved for combat, we live for combat." Jaklurn said.
"Sure bro, but the humans fight with no honor! You know what happened to captain Zern, he challenged their champion to a duel for the ship. You know the one in the skeleton of steel? He just shot him!" The One in the Skeleton was the human's champion, there have been tales of him that spread through the fleets, he was one who wore a thick armor that could resist against ballistic blasts and even plasma. In tales, there was a total count of 14 that walked with similar armor, but many believe there were more as an encounter with one meant sure death.
"then we will kill their champion, and go down in glorious combat and be remembered for all history!" He said, standing and pulling out a weapon.
"you know what, sure, we're gonna die anyway." I stood with him and we left our little crevice and made our way through the cockpit of the station.
When the elevator opened, we charged. Humanity was taken by surprise, they tried to shoot us but the power of the first warrior was flowing through us!
One by one they fell.
One by one we slew the humans.
Till only the champion at the end of the hall stood.
"Champion! We are here to challeng-" BAM!
Jaklurn was dead. I stared at the champion who then aimed his weapon at me.
And that was all I remembered
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
"No worries I'll try again tomorrow, Just tell the Afred the Frekrin ambassador I called" The Human voice said cheerfully before disconnecting the line.
As soon the holo shutdown Afred released his tight grip on his now broken Prongboard and sighed, the Human had been calling everyday for four weeks and it was definitely getting to him.
The first time the Human had called on the holophone Afred had politely taken the call call and explained that. "Whilst the Frekrin Empire appreciate the offer he had no idea what *Contents Insurance* was and thus have no need of it." To which the Human raised his smallest most appendage on his arm and said. "Ah but Everyone needs contents insurance as what would happen if your contents got damaged?" Afred replied confused "We would just replicate more in the replicator?". Uditured the Human had opened his arms wide and smiled and stated matter of factly "But what about the sentimental value of those contents? Surely you would want to be reimbursed for that."
That first conversation continued back and forth like that for the next two hours. Afred would state why they don't need contents insurance and the Human would counter that that is exactly the reason why you do need it. Eventually Afred just said he would think about it and the Human Disconnected.
The second time he had called the Afred pretended he was busy at the moment which turned out to be a big mistake as the Human asked When would he be free to chat and promised to call back later. When the Human did call later that cycle Afred decided to ignore it and he soon realized this was a big mistake as the Human then called every fifteen minutes for the next four hours and only relented when Afred finally answered and said he was still thinking about it.
On the fourth call Afred had a plan and thought he had stumped the Human as when the inevitable question of "Do you want to buy our contents insurance came up" Afred simply replied "We already have it from the Granol Collective" Happily lifted his anteni in a sign of minor apology and just as he was about to disconnect the Human lifted the sides of his eating tube in what they call a "smirk" and stated "Oh well I promise if you can give me just 15 minutes of your time I could show how our offering is better" That call lasted two hours.
Since then Afred had tried every trick he had learned at the Frekrin Diplomats Academy for Gifted Arthropods and in the end settled with pretending that he was in fact not the Ambassador and merely his assistant. This seemed to work due to the Humans inability to really tell their species apart and he had managed to reduce the daily phone call to pleasantries, a quick offer of insurance cover and then the goodbyes. Afred couldn't believe this is what it had come to, the ambassador of the Frekrin empire with two hundred planets and over a trillion citizens, pretending he wasn't in.
Afred remembered when he had voted three cycles ago to allow the Human race to join the galactic empire. It was on the basis that they looked like they probably needed the help as they had all their flesh on the outside and they weren't all that strong or smart in comparison to other races. Most Council members wondered how they had even survived their home world considering it boasted some seriously scary predators, if their historical documents are to be believed. In fact their joining the council had prompted a whole new set of warning labels around the station with statements like "Be aware of enhanced gravity capable of crushing Humans," "Please refrain from touching this is dangerous," and Afreds personal favourite "Do not eat Human." That last one worked both for the Humans and the Trillanions on the station. Now he was starting to realized that the Humans never needed to be strong or smart, Their species sheer stubbornness to never give up had forced evolution to make them top of their local food chain.
Afred was beginning to think the itch he had developed in his frontal lobe was being caused by the Humans incessant calls. They were ridiculous, endless and annoying. He was starting to think that perhaps if he made a deal with the Human it would all go away for a while. Technically speaking the Human only wanted a relatively small amount of credits per trade and to be fair Afred had broken his favorite Prongboard and he felt like he deserved to be compensated for its sentimental value.
|
And as the human representative stepped up to the podium he proclaimed to the council “it is, or never has been survival of the fittest but survival of the most adaptable. I see here the skold the most effective killing machines in the galaxy but can they love, I see here the krem the most logical species in the galaxy but can they dream, I see here every single one of you excel in different ways but humans excel in our versatility we have humans in the hottest climates to the coldest on our planet, we have humble men step into the annals of bravery when confronted in war. For our strength lies not within our bodies but our minds”
It was at that moment the council knew they fucked up.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
They don't *sleep*. I swear to Kalyth, they don't * ** sleep** *.
They're slow, their fastest sprinters don't even outclass our walking pace. They're not strong, their "strongmen" can compete with our strong children. They have decent vision, but can only see a limited amount of the EM spectrum. Their sense of smell is laughable, they can't even determine direction. Hearing? They can hear higher pitches than we can, but they can't hear sounds as quiet as we can.
We thought we would smash them. And we did, at first. Our first [Translation: Active Period], we slaughtered them by the hundreds before our first [Translation: Rest Period] was required. We returned to our base triumphant. We outran their vehicles, we tore through their walls, we broke their spines. Then, after our Active Period [Note: 2 earth hours], we returned to our base to allow our hearts to cool and our bodies to dissipate heat, our best armors had even given us an additional [30 minutes] of combat time, which was exceptional.
You can imagine our shock when we sealed up our base for our [Rest Period] and not even [30 Mins] later we had enemies at our gates. We had expected them to bring fresh troops, and we had a reserve of our own ready, but their travel technology wasn't fast enough to bring in *That many* soldiers.
With the bulk of our army [In Rest], we were left hopelessly outnumbered. A few soldiers elected to leave [Rest] to help the bulk of us escape, their hearts exploding to buy us an additional [10 minutes] to evacuate.
Several subsequent engagements happened during our [Battle Phase: 2 hours hard fighting and 6 hours recovery], and I swear that I saw the same humans fight during our Battle Phase as I saw invading during rest, for *days* in a row. Intelligence later learned the humans had multiple drugs that affect their ability to remain conscious to varrying degrees, and one, a thick brown liquid, was regularly sold to their *civilians*.
The fight was long and hard, we can't leave orbit on a [rest], our bodies can't handle the stress, so we had to defeat the humans before we could evacuate. But they *don't sleep*, I swear not once in the entire [four day] invasion did their front line soldiers sleep, intel says that they rotated out every [24 hours], but I don't believe them. I knew those eyes, I couldn't have forgot the soldier that breached my [Rest Chamber] and used a primitive blade to end the lives of each of my comrades.
To this day I don't know why he spared me, but I've since left the military. We never did defeat the humans. Those of us who had landed with first wave were all killed or captured, save a few they allowed to be rescued. After the direct failure of first wave, second never bothered to touch down. They fired a few cursory orbital projectiles, then retreated to the natural satellite.
But on my life I will never again lift a weapon, because when we abandoned that world we left behind ships and weapons and bunkers and machines, and not even [one month] later I can see the first telltale signs of Impulse drives lifting human craft. That alone is proof that they *don't sleep*, because how could any reasonable race get so much done in so little time? They're unholy, and I fear that they'll rival even us before the first reinforcements arrive in their system.
Edit: correcting auto correct.
|
And as the human representative stepped up to the podium he proclaimed to the council “it is, or never has been survival of the fittest but survival of the most adaptable. I see here the skold the most effective killing machines in the galaxy but can they love, I see here the krem the most logical species in the galaxy but can they dream, I see here every single one of you excel in different ways but humans excel in our versatility we have humans in the hottest climates to the coldest on our planet, we have humble men step into the annals of bravery when confronted in war. For our strength lies not within our bodies but our minds”
It was at that moment the council knew they fucked up.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Our triumph had nearly come. My aide reported that a few well placed payments to cousins of my colleague from Abrax, and we'd secured the votes we needed to pass the bill legalizing our future conquests, even if the Galactic council didn't know it, and to halt the slow 'self determination' movement that had been putting pressure on the Empire to release our client states. As if they would even know how to govern without our direction!
Only the humans seemed suspicious of the bill enough to campaign hard against it, and they'd rallied their usual sycophants in a so-called 'freedom caucus' to defeat it. Fortunately for us, money in the pocket of a politician speaks more loudly than their promises and ideas of economic 'galacticization' and future growth.
Now, it was just time to sit back, and wait a few more hours for the inevitable bombastic speeches and self aggrandization of the politicians. This was the last thing on the agenda for this session before taking recess for the next year, but no matter, as my fellows were looking exhausted from the long session today. The discussion would draw to a close, the vote would happen, and there would be no time left for anyone to try to reverse it.
With a happy sigh, I relaxed into my chair, thinking of the reward the Emperor would surely give me. The galaxy's armies might have united against our military if we tried to conquer our neighbors... but it will be so much sweeter to take them over diplomatically before they realized it.
As I watched, the human, looking surprisingly chipper, slowly walked up the podium, holding some large fabric bound object. No doubt here to beg for the assembled groups to reconsider. Ha! The fool had already lost even if he didn't accept it.
Sitting down at the podium, he opened up the object he'd carried up, which looked to be some kind of large thick book. Not even a data slate, how antiquated.
He started speaking, "Esteemed assembled representatives of their peoples. I would like to come up here to talk about the lessons of history. Of my own race's past where bills like this were introduced for the express purpose of personal gain. The mistakes that we've made in our past. That... that's a book that I'd suggest you all read someday. One far thicker than the one I brought up here with me. But now, in the closing hours of our session, I'd like to read you from another book. The english dictionary. And I think I'll start somewhere in the middle, with the letter F, for 'filibuster'..."
|
And as the human representative stepped up to the podium he proclaimed to the council “it is, or never has been survival of the fittest but survival of the most adaptable. I see here the skold the most effective killing machines in the galaxy but can they love, I see here the krem the most logical species in the galaxy but can they dream, I see here every single one of you excel in different ways but humans excel in our versatility we have humans in the hottest climates to the coldest on our planet, we have humble men step into the annals of bravery when confronted in war. For our strength lies not within our bodies but our minds”
It was at that moment the council knew they fucked up.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
They don't *sleep*. I swear to Kalyth, they don't * ** sleep** *.
They're slow, their fastest sprinters don't even outclass our walking pace. They're not strong, their "strongmen" can compete with our strong children. They have decent vision, but can only see a limited amount of the EM spectrum. Their sense of smell is laughable, they can't even determine direction. Hearing? They can hear higher pitches than we can, but they can't hear sounds as quiet as we can.
We thought we would smash them. And we did, at first. Our first [Translation: Active Period], we slaughtered them by the hundreds before our first [Translation: Rest Period] was required. We returned to our base triumphant. We outran their vehicles, we tore through their walls, we broke their spines. Then, after our Active Period [Note: 2 earth hours], we returned to our base to allow our hearts to cool and our bodies to dissipate heat, our best armors had even given us an additional [30 minutes] of combat time, which was exceptional.
You can imagine our shock when we sealed up our base for our [Rest Period] and not even [30 Mins] later we had enemies at our gates. We had expected them to bring fresh troops, and we had a reserve of our own ready, but their travel technology wasn't fast enough to bring in *That many* soldiers.
With the bulk of our army [In Rest], we were left hopelessly outnumbered. A few soldiers elected to leave [Rest] to help the bulk of us escape, their hearts exploding to buy us an additional [10 minutes] to evacuate.
Several subsequent engagements happened during our [Battle Phase: 2 hours hard fighting and 6 hours recovery], and I swear that I saw the same humans fight during our Battle Phase as I saw invading during rest, for *days* in a row. Intelligence later learned the humans had multiple drugs that affect their ability to remain conscious to varrying degrees, and one, a thick brown liquid, was regularly sold to their *civilians*.
The fight was long and hard, we can't leave orbit on a [rest], our bodies can't handle the stress, so we had to defeat the humans before we could evacuate. But they *don't sleep*, I swear not once in the entire [four day] invasion did their front line soldiers sleep, intel says that they rotated out every [24 hours], but I don't believe them. I knew those eyes, I couldn't have forgot the soldier that breached my [Rest Chamber] and used a primitive blade to end the lives of each of my comrades.
To this day I don't know why he spared me, but I've since left the military. We never did defeat the humans. Those of us who had landed with first wave were all killed or captured, save a few they allowed to be rescued. After the direct failure of first wave, second never bothered to touch down. They fired a few cursory orbital projectiles, then retreated to the natural satellite.
But on my life I will never again lift a weapon, because when we abandoned that world we left behind ships and weapons and bunkers and machines, and not even [one month] later I can see the first telltale signs of Impulse drives lifting human craft. That alone is proof that they *don't sleep*, because how could any reasonable race get so much done in so little time? They're unholy, and I fear that they'll rival even us before the first reinforcements arrive in their system.
Edit: correcting auto correct.
|
He collapsed on the far side of the rock, air sacs pulsating as he tried to oxygenate his system. His hind limbs were shaking, he knew he couldn't go on much further. He peered back and saw the creature, pink skin layered over with synthetic fibers it's two legged stride ate up the ground between them as it started to close the gap yet again. It hadn't changed speed since this chase started almost ten hours ago, and didn't seem especially fatigued by the chase so far. He, on the other hand, was almost out of energy.
He waited as long as he could to re-oxygenate, and then when the creature was only five body length away he heaved himself to his hooves and started a new sprint. The distance opened: 10 bodylengths; 15; 20; something in his left hind leg spasmed and he collapsed. The human was still coming. Back to his hooves. Forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP; forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP, Forelimbs down, hindlimbs... didn't move. His muzzle hit the dirt. He didn't look behind him, he knew it would still be there, still moving with that strange ground-eating stride.
A few seconds later he felt the creature's stride vibrating the dirt. He heaved himself forewords with his forelimbs. Made it maybe half a bodylength. Too much dead weight. The footfalls stopped. He craned his neck and looked at the pink creature - he had grown a single, long claw - gleaming in the sunlight. It moved, the claw flashing down in a single long cut, and there was darkness.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Denial of Application, Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Amended 5.2 - Sanctions, cont.
​
Date of writ. The human colony on the fourth planet of their system has been isolated for two local cycles following hostilities against council survey team and refusal of third planet government (see note 5.2.2 on multiple terrestrial governments) to censure by consensus. All incoming material from third planet to fourth has been intercepted and seized prior to entering fourth planet orbit. Assessment is that this will be insufficient to coerce behavioral changes from the colony.
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member):
*This is a waste. We were preparing to offer aid to the colony after we synthesized a large amount of their foodstuffs and supplies following the first payload interception from their homeworld as a standard pressure tactic when dealing with recalcitrants. Last report details this. Observation showed a serious depletion in body mass among the colonists for the first several centicycles (local) but no reduction in activity. Any other non-hibernating species of even half their average size would be dead by now, but they've dug in and begun harvesting discarded biomass and reprocessing it for agricultural purposes. Their caloric intake has stabilized. Exhaustion is clear in their habits, but if anything they're resting less and working more. Animal desperation coupled with clear purpose and rational - in context, if you'll excuse me - intent. FOR TWO LOCAL CYCLES. They have next to no usable resources available to them, and they're stretching it thinner than anything I've seen. As a reminder, this is the same species wallowing in wasteful excess on third planet.*
*We've been resupplied four times since establishing the blockade. We're running lean and losing. They're running on nothing and winning. I said this was a waste, but it's more than that. It's dangerous. We should leave.*
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member) - amended:
*The second payload interception was unsuccessful due to payload detonation. Two died and the crew of 59-D-1 - including myself - had to be evacuated to 59-D-2. 59-D-1 has been scuttled and we are standing by for rescue or reinforcement.*
*It was a bomb.*
*It was a bomb, and I can't say with certainty whether it was meant for us or the colony.*
*We should leave.*
|
He collapsed on the far side of the rock, air sacs pulsating as he tried to oxygenate his system. His hind limbs were shaking, he knew he couldn't go on much further. He peered back and saw the creature, pink skin layered over with synthetic fibers it's two legged stride ate up the ground between them as it started to close the gap yet again. It hadn't changed speed since this chase started almost ten hours ago, and didn't seem especially fatigued by the chase so far. He, on the other hand, was almost out of energy.
He waited as long as he could to re-oxygenate, and then when the creature was only five body length away he heaved himself to his hooves and started a new sprint. The distance opened: 10 bodylengths; 15; 20; something in his left hind leg spasmed and he collapsed. The human was still coming. Back to his hooves. Forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP; forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP, Forelimbs down, hindlimbs... didn't move. His muzzle hit the dirt. He didn't look behind him, he knew it would still be there, still moving with that strange ground-eating stride.
A few seconds later he felt the creature's stride vibrating the dirt. He heaved himself forewords with his forelimbs. Made it maybe half a bodylength. Too much dead weight. The footfalls stopped. He craned his neck and looked at the pink creature - he had grown a single, long claw - gleaming in the sunlight. It moved, the claw flashing down in a single long cut, and there was darkness.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Our triumph had nearly come. My aide reported that a few well placed payments to cousins of my colleague from Abrax, and we'd secured the votes we needed to pass the bill legalizing our future conquests, even if the Galactic council didn't know it, and to halt the slow 'self determination' movement that had been putting pressure on the Empire to release our client states. As if they would even know how to govern without our direction!
Only the humans seemed suspicious of the bill enough to campaign hard against it, and they'd rallied their usual sycophants in a so-called 'freedom caucus' to defeat it. Fortunately for us, money in the pocket of a politician speaks more loudly than their promises and ideas of economic 'galacticization' and future growth.
Now, it was just time to sit back, and wait a few more hours for the inevitable bombastic speeches and self aggrandization of the politicians. This was the last thing on the agenda for this session before taking recess for the next year, but no matter, as my fellows were looking exhausted from the long session today. The discussion would draw to a close, the vote would happen, and there would be no time left for anyone to try to reverse it.
With a happy sigh, I relaxed into my chair, thinking of the reward the Emperor would surely give me. The galaxy's armies might have united against our military if we tried to conquer our neighbors... but it will be so much sweeter to take them over diplomatically before they realized it.
As I watched, the human, looking surprisingly chipper, slowly walked up the podium, holding some large fabric bound object. No doubt here to beg for the assembled groups to reconsider. Ha! The fool had already lost even if he didn't accept it.
Sitting down at the podium, he opened up the object he'd carried up, which looked to be some kind of large thick book. Not even a data slate, how antiquated.
He started speaking, "Esteemed assembled representatives of their peoples. I would like to come up here to talk about the lessons of history. Of my own race's past where bills like this were introduced for the express purpose of personal gain. The mistakes that we've made in our past. That... that's a book that I'd suggest you all read someday. One far thicker than the one I brought up here with me. But now, in the closing hours of our session, I'd like to read you from another book. The english dictionary. And I think I'll start somewhere in the middle, with the letter F, for 'filibuster'..."
|
He collapsed on the far side of the rock, air sacs pulsating as he tried to oxygenate his system. His hind limbs were shaking, he knew he couldn't go on much further. He peered back and saw the creature, pink skin layered over with synthetic fibers it's two legged stride ate up the ground between them as it started to close the gap yet again. It hadn't changed speed since this chase started almost ten hours ago, and didn't seem especially fatigued by the chase so far. He, on the other hand, was almost out of energy.
He waited as long as he could to re-oxygenate, and then when the creature was only five body length away he heaved himself to his hooves and started a new sprint. The distance opened: 10 bodylengths; 15; 20; something in his left hind leg spasmed and he collapsed. The human was still coming. Back to his hooves. Forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP; forelimbs down, hindlimbs forward, JUMP, Forelimbs down, hindlimbs... didn't move. His muzzle hit the dirt. He didn't look behind him, he knew it would still be there, still moving with that strange ground-eating stride.
A few seconds later he felt the creature's stride vibrating the dirt. He heaved himself forewords with his forelimbs. Made it maybe half a bodylength. Too much dead weight. The footfalls stopped. He craned his neck and looked at the pink creature - he had grown a single, long claw - gleaming in the sunlight. It moved, the claw flashing down in a single long cut, and there was darkness.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Our triumph had nearly come. My aide reported that a few well placed payments to cousins of my colleague from Abrax, and we'd secured the votes we needed to pass the bill legalizing our future conquests, even if the Galactic council didn't know it, and to halt the slow 'self determination' movement that had been putting pressure on the Empire to release our client states. As if they would even know how to govern without our direction!
Only the humans seemed suspicious of the bill enough to campaign hard against it, and they'd rallied their usual sycophants in a so-called 'freedom caucus' to defeat it. Fortunately for us, money in the pocket of a politician speaks more loudly than their promises and ideas of economic 'galacticization' and future growth.
Now, it was just time to sit back, and wait a few more hours for the inevitable bombastic speeches and self aggrandization of the politicians. This was the last thing on the agenda for this session before taking recess for the next year, but no matter, as my fellows were looking exhausted from the long session today. The discussion would draw to a close, the vote would happen, and there would be no time left for anyone to try to reverse it.
With a happy sigh, I relaxed into my chair, thinking of the reward the Emperor would surely give me. The galaxy's armies might have united against our military if we tried to conquer our neighbors... but it will be so much sweeter to take them over diplomatically before they realized it.
As I watched, the human, looking surprisingly chipper, slowly walked up the podium, holding some large fabric bound object. No doubt here to beg for the assembled groups to reconsider. Ha! The fool had already lost even if he didn't accept it.
Sitting down at the podium, he opened up the object he'd carried up, which looked to be some kind of large thick book. Not even a data slate, how antiquated.
He started speaking, "Esteemed assembled representatives of their peoples. I would like to come up here to talk about the lessons of history. Of my own race's past where bills like this were introduced for the express purpose of personal gain. The mistakes that we've made in our past. That... that's a book that I'd suggest you all read someday. One far thicker than the one I brought up here with me. But now, in the closing hours of our session, I'd like to read you from another book. The english dictionary. And I think I'll start somewhere in the middle, with the letter F, for 'filibuster'..."
|
Denial of Application, Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Amended 5.2 - Sanctions, cont.
​
Date of writ. The human colony on the fourth planet of their system has been isolated for two local cycles following hostilities against council survey team and refusal of third planet government (see note 5.2.2 on multiple terrestrial governments) to censure by consensus. All incoming material from third planet to fourth has been intercepted and seized prior to entering fourth planet orbit. Assessment is that this will be insufficient to coerce behavioral changes from the colony.
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member):
*This is a waste. We were preparing to offer aid to the colony after we synthesized a large amount of their foodstuffs and supplies following the first payload interception from their homeworld as a standard pressure tactic when dealing with recalcitrants. Last report details this. Observation showed a serious depletion in body mass among the colonists for the first several centicycles (local) but no reduction in activity. Any other non-hibernating species of even half their average size would be dead by now, but they've dug in and begun harvesting discarded biomass and reprocessing it for agricultural purposes. Their caloric intake has stabilized. Exhaustion is clear in their habits, but if anything they're resting less and working more. Animal desperation coupled with clear purpose and rational - in context, if you'll excuse me - intent. FOR TWO LOCAL CYCLES. They have next to no usable resources available to them, and they're stretching it thinner than anything I've seen. As a reminder, this is the same species wallowing in wasteful excess on third planet.*
*We've been resupplied four times since establishing the blockade. We're running lean and losing. They're running on nothing and winning. I said this was a waste, but it's more than that. It's dangerous. We should leave.*
Report brief (system oversight council 59-D, second member) - amended:
*The second payload interception was unsuccessful due to payload detonation. Two died and the crew of 59-D-1 - including myself - had to be evacuated to 59-D-2. 59-D-1 has been scuttled and we are standing by for rescue or reinforcement.*
*It was a bomb.*
*It was a bomb, and I can't say with certainty whether it was meant for us or the colony.*
*We should leave.*
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Our triumph had nearly come. My aide reported that a few well placed payments to cousins of my colleague from Abrax, and we'd secured the votes we needed to pass the bill legalizing our future conquests, even if the Galactic council didn't know it, and to halt the slow 'self determination' movement that had been putting pressure on the Empire to release our client states. As if they would even know how to govern without our direction!
Only the humans seemed suspicious of the bill enough to campaign hard against it, and they'd rallied their usual sycophants in a so-called 'freedom caucus' to defeat it. Fortunately for us, money in the pocket of a politician speaks more loudly than their promises and ideas of economic 'galacticization' and future growth.
Now, it was just time to sit back, and wait a few more hours for the inevitable bombastic speeches and self aggrandization of the politicians. This was the last thing on the agenda for this session before taking recess for the next year, but no matter, as my fellows were looking exhausted from the long session today. The discussion would draw to a close, the vote would happen, and there would be no time left for anyone to try to reverse it.
With a happy sigh, I relaxed into my chair, thinking of the reward the Emperor would surely give me. The galaxy's armies might have united against our military if we tried to conquer our neighbors... but it will be so much sweeter to take them over diplomatically before they realized it.
As I watched, the human, looking surprisingly chipper, slowly walked up the podium, holding some large fabric bound object. No doubt here to beg for the assembled groups to reconsider. Ha! The fool had already lost even if he didn't accept it.
Sitting down at the podium, he opened up the object he'd carried up, which looked to be some kind of large thick book. Not even a data slate, how antiquated.
He started speaking, "Esteemed assembled representatives of their peoples. I would like to come up here to talk about the lessons of history. Of my own race's past where bills like this were introduced for the express purpose of personal gain. The mistakes that we've made in our past. That... that's a book that I'd suggest you all read someday. One far thicker than the one I brought up here with me. But now, in the closing hours of our session, I'd like to read you from another book. The english dictionary. And I think I'll start somewhere in the middle, with the letter F, for 'filibuster'..."
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
A deep, growling thrum emanated from Commander Gruey’s alien throat. The rest of the various species that made up the round table of the Galactic Council shrunk back as he exploded.
“Why haven’t they surrendered yet!” The enormous, flabby commander growled, slamming a fat fist on the board table, “We’ve got all of the galaxy’s media demoralizing them, our best military species exterminating them in the millions, and all of their financial resources completely drained. And yet… ”
“Calm down, Commander Gruey,” A wiry, tentacled alien said in a smooth tone, “The fact remains that they are objectively weaker than we are. We have many, many more cards left to play, especially since we’re the ones making the galaxy’s rules. There’s no need to fear the little gnats on a tiny dirt planet.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one fighting them, Treasurer Barbaol.” Gruey said, “Do you have any idea what *guerilla warfare* is? Their ships swoop out of nowhere, fire their anti-spacecraft rockets, and leave just as fast. Our losses are triple, even ten times more than theirs!”
“I’m fighting them too,” Barbaol said, “We all are. The humans are still holding onto their financial stakes in the galactic markets despite our enormous efforts against them. We’re suffering more than fifty percent losses on our financial resources since they keep fighting instead of giving up.”
“No need to worry,” An alien piped up from the low-ranking, back end of the table. He slid an antique, box-shaped speaker to the middle of the table.
“What is this, Roskaw? How is this going to solve the Human Problem?” Gruey said, picking up the speaker and turning it about.
Roskaw smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp, golden teeth, “A human communicator with the highest clearance levels and twenty light years of range. We can infiltrate their networks and control their information, crippling them for sure.”
The rest of the board members perked up slightly.
“Well, turn it on, let’s see how useful it is then,” Gruey said, sliding it back to Roskaw.
Roskaw fiddled with it and it turned on. The alien board members leaned in, straining to hear human voices in the static as Roskaw adjusted its frequency.
*Ksshhhhhhhhhh.. We don’t*… *Ksshhhhh*
“Wait, stop,” Barboal said, “Turn it back. I heard something.”
Roskaw dialed it back slightly…
*Ksshhhhhh*.
“Alright boys listen up! We might have lost some, but they’ve lost more.” The slightly static voice coming from the speaker sounded like a young man. Gruey scoffed as he heard a chorus of cheers in response. This is what they were up against? What a rambunctious, undisciplined lot.
The speaker continued, “If any of you need to quit now, we understand. You have families to provide for, and this war is risky and you might lose it all. However, for me, I don’t care if I lose everything. For me it’s PERSONAL!”
Cheers, louder this time, came in response.
“Gruey and the rest of the Galactic Council stole everything from my family! They play around with lives like they’re nothing! So when they beg us to surrender what do we say?”
Enthusiastic responses overlapped each other.
“...make them pay… ”
“...suck an anti-spacecraft rocket… ”
“...toast them alive in their boardroom…”
The aliens looked at each other, warily. Gruey scowled.
The human captain’s voice spoke over them, “We ride at dawn! We’re going to suffer more losses, but we’re not gonna start bawling and fold up to their schemes! We’re gonna HOLD THE LINE!”
The response was unanimous, “HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE!”
Roskaw turned the speaker off. The board members looked at each other tiredly in silence.
Gruey scratched his head with a flabby hand, “Humans, are so annoying to deal with…”
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It had been 3 sleep cycles since Sella's ship had docked with the cold station.
3 cycles since the sabotaged docking connection had sheered through the pressure lock of their ship.
3 cycles of hearing sounds in from between the hulls of the ship and seeing flashes of light, always just 1 turn away around a corner.
At first they hadn't known who the station had been built by, then they had found a message scrolling across the main display in the station's central control in as many languages as the ships AI knew.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE.
The message hadn't made sense at first until they found another one scrawled on the floor of the mechanics shop: You won't be leaving here, not after what happened to my family.
Half of the crew had fled to the nearest pressure lock and tried to contact the ship only to find all radio and light transmissions blocked.
3 cycles of running, first some of the crews suits had been compromised by traps on terminals and tools. Then we had to run from environmental controls gone seemingly haywire, cutting us off from any exit of the ship. Always moving inward to the reactor that should have been dead according to scans.
It wasn't dead now, and standing in front of it was a human of all things. A race lauded for its ingenuity towards survival despite its soft and weak biology.
3 of our rest cycles come and gone with no chance to sleep or eat. 56 of this creatures standard hours, and there it stood with one hand hovering over a terminal my helmets ai told me was the reactor self destruction control, and the other holding a cannister of steaming liquid it was taking drinks out of between ravings of pirates and something called "vultures".
It finishes in a shout and my suit feeds me the translation as wanting vengeance for his family unless we take him to the ones who killed her. As exhausted as my 3 remaining crew mates are we cannot provide an answer and slide to the flooring beside them, pulled down by the gentle spin gravity of the station.
The humans hand moves and my suit notifies me the jamming is lifted and hes transmitting a recording of the events on the ship with 2 flags for me and my crew along with a 15 minute timer already counting down.
The first flag is for a private message to any family or clan we may want to know, an oddly sensitive gesture considering what he's doing, and the second is for a message to our leaders so they can understand the danger of continuing to scavenge human equipment.
I finish my messages with 15 seconds left in the timer and look up to see the human smiling sadly and holding what my suit tells me is a damaged children's toy.
The last thing I see is the human reduced to superheated atoms a fraction of a second before the same happens to me.
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, did this during a bit of downtime at work on my phone.
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was supposed to be a simple task. Deliver the Intergalactic Council's rejection message, destroy the human's primary starbase, and return home victorious. Thus far, they'd only succeeded on the first goal, and even then just barely.
Despite the humans' limited technology, it had been decided to send a message by using a Dreadnaught class battlecruiser, the *Vanquisher* to deliver the message. Even if they humans decided to fight, there was no way they could possibly defeat its might. Except that's just what they were doing, albeit very slowly. The moment the rejection message had been delivered, the humans had struck. Not, like the Council's tactics suggested, by hitting them with their heavy weapons. Instead it was a small transport, one of many that had been flying around the massive warship on their way here and there, seemingly innocuous, that had suddenly veered off course and crashed into the starboard hyperlight pod, exploding with what could only have been a massive bomb. The damage was minimal, but the effect was enormous. The FTL drive was unusable, preventing the *Vanquisher* from leaving the system other than with its sublight engines.
That explosion must have been the signal to attack, because then the humans forces had come from everywhere. And while individually they could do minimal damage, they quickly had taken the primary cannon offline, long before it could be brought to bear on the starbase they had been tasked to destroy. They had certainly taken heavy losses, doing so, but without their main gun, the starbase was just too big to destroy quickly enough to justify the damage the *Vanquisher* would inevitably take. And so, with their second objective unobtainable and their third flat out gone, the *Vanquisher* had turned around, heading away from the planet as fast as it could, in an attempt to get far enough away to be able to make repairs and report back to the council for reinforcements.
That was 3 days ago.
Just as they had expected the humans to react the way other denied members had in the past when their application was denied, they expected the humans to watch them go, taking pot shots until they got out of range. Instead, a hastily assembled fleet of human ships, large and small, had pursued the *Vanquisher* \- **pursued a Dreadnaught!** \- continuing to attack with whatever weapons they could bring to bear, preventing any chance at repairing the FTL drive. At first the humans continued to take heavy losses, as the massive warship's defenses did their best to eliminate its pursuers. But over time, those attacks took their toll on the *Vanquisher*, so that it found itself in its current position.
"Incoming transmission from the humans, sir," the *Vanquisher*'s communications officer spoke up, sounding a little shaken. "They're offering terms of surrender."
"Finally given up, have they?" asked the first officer, giving the Captain a smirk.
"N-no, Captain," stuttered the comm officer, handing a printout to the Captain. "They're offering to let us surrender to them."
The Captain grabbed the printout, read it, and stared. Then he sat heavily in his command chair and closed his eyes, his posture taking on a defeated nature.
"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the first officer. "Let me see that!" He grabbed the printout from the Captain and read it.
\-----
TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE VANQUISHER: IT HAS BEEN THREE DAYS SINCE WE CHASED YOU AWAY FROM OUR PLANET. IT COULD BE DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HUNT YOU UNTIL YOU EITHER SURRENDER OR YOUR SHIP DISINTEGRATES AROUND YOU FROM OUR ATTACKS. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RUN, BUT RIGHT NOW YOUR SHIP IS CRIPPLED AND WE CAN KEEP UP THIS PACE FOREVER. HOW'S THAT FOR SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? YOU HAVE 2 HOURS BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR NEXT ATTACK, AND DON'T THINK WE HAVEN'T NOTICED THE GAP IN YOUR DEFENSES. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE.
\-----
It was a very surprised intergalactic council fleet that met the \*Vanquisher\* 15 light years outside the human system, 5 days after it had first gone in. When it got within communications range, it was not the Captain and his crew that appeared on the video, but a number of humans. Before anyone could interject, the human in command spoke.
"I am Admiral Hailey Tran of the Human Confederation, and on behalf of the Federation I claim membership in the Intergalactic Council by \*\*Right of Conquest!\*\*.
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
The Large conqueror class Dreadnaught broke from FTL not far behind it thousands of smaller ships little more than corvette class broke into real space as well and immediately began firing at
A message came over the onboard coms "Pride leader this is the engine room we have to stop and let the engines fully cycle we can't keep jumping like this or we will shear the ship apart"
the Pride leader knew this to be true and while it went against his very being to run he also knew they had no choice they were facing an enemy that did not stop. and if they stopped even for a cycle to let their systems regenerate these hairless apes would pick their ship apart their ships were too small and fast to target in real space and in FTL while slower due to having redundant power cores an idea the great pride decided was inefficient they can have their drives running constantly
A message came from the ships chasing them "You are the best Hunt we have had in centuries You have made worthy prey for the empire and your trophies will be displayed in the great hunting hall. But it is time to end this we have hunted in this manner since we were still using stone tools and living in caves taking down prey as big as the ships we now fly and you thought to concur us
one of yours will be allowed to live and escape to tell the tale as a warning
Humans NEVER STOP"
as soon as the message ended a massive explosion could be felt and the lights on the bridge gave out it was over the Great pride long thought to be the deadliest hunters in space had been bested by a fleet of tiny ships from a species that had only just started to join the stars
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
A deep, growling thrum emanated from Commander Gruey’s alien throat. The rest of the various species that made up the round table of the Galactic Council shrunk back as he exploded.
“Why haven’t they surrendered yet!” The enormous, flabby commander growled, slamming a fat fist on the board table, “We’ve got all of the galaxy’s media demoralizing them, our best military species exterminating them in the millions, and all of their financial resources completely drained. And yet… ”
“Calm down, Commander Gruey,” A wiry, tentacled alien said in a smooth tone, “The fact remains that they are objectively weaker than we are. We have many, many more cards left to play, especially since we’re the ones making the galaxy’s rules. There’s no need to fear the little gnats on a tiny dirt planet.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one fighting them, Treasurer Barbaol.” Gruey said, “Do you have any idea what *guerilla warfare* is? Their ships swoop out of nowhere, fire their anti-spacecraft rockets, and leave just as fast. Our losses are triple, even ten times more than theirs!”
“I’m fighting them too,” Barbaol said, “We all are. The humans are still holding onto their financial stakes in the galactic markets despite our enormous efforts against them. We’re suffering more than fifty percent losses on our financial resources since they keep fighting instead of giving up.”
“No need to worry,” An alien piped up from the low-ranking, back end of the table. He slid an antique, box-shaped speaker to the middle of the table.
“What is this, Roskaw? How is this going to solve the Human Problem?” Gruey said, picking up the speaker and turning it about.
Roskaw smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp, golden teeth, “A human communicator with the highest clearance levels and twenty light years of range. We can infiltrate their networks and control their information, crippling them for sure.”
The rest of the board members perked up slightly.
“Well, turn it on, let’s see how useful it is then,” Gruey said, sliding it back to Roskaw.
Roskaw fiddled with it and it turned on. The alien board members leaned in, straining to hear human voices in the static as Roskaw adjusted its frequency.
*Ksshhhhhhhhhh.. We don’t*… *Ksshhhhh*
“Wait, stop,” Barboal said, “Turn it back. I heard something.”
Roskaw dialed it back slightly…
*Ksshhhhhh*.
“Alright boys listen up! We might have lost some, but they’ve lost more.” The slightly static voice coming from the speaker sounded like a young man. Gruey scoffed as he heard a chorus of cheers in response. This is what they were up against? What a rambunctious, undisciplined lot.
The speaker continued, “If any of you need to quit now, we understand. You have families to provide for, and this war is risky and you might lose it all. However, for me, I don’t care if I lose everything. For me it’s PERSONAL!”
Cheers, louder this time, came in response.
“Gruey and the rest of the Galactic Council stole everything from my family! They play around with lives like they’re nothing! So when they beg us to surrender what do we say?”
Enthusiastic responses overlapped each other.
“...make them pay… ”
“...suck an anti-spacecraft rocket… ”
“...toast them alive in their boardroom…”
The aliens looked at each other, warily. Gruey scowled.
The human captain’s voice spoke over them, “We ride at dawn! We’re going to suffer more losses, but we’re not gonna start bawling and fold up to their schemes! We’re gonna HOLD THE LINE!”
The response was unanimous, “HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE!”
Roskaw turned the speaker off. The board members looked at each other tiredly in silence.
Gruey scratched his head with a flabby hand, “Humans, are so annoying to deal with…”
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It had been 3 sleep cycles since Sella's ship had docked with the cold station.
3 cycles since the sabotaged docking connection had sheered through the pressure lock of their ship.
3 cycles of hearing sounds in from between the hulls of the ship and seeing flashes of light, always just 1 turn away around a corner.
At first they hadn't known who the station had been built by, then they had found a message scrolling across the main display in the station's central control in as many languages as the ships AI knew.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE.
The message hadn't made sense at first until they found another one scrawled on the floor of the mechanics shop: You won't be leaving here, not after what happened to my family.
Half of the crew had fled to the nearest pressure lock and tried to contact the ship only to find all radio and light transmissions blocked.
3 cycles of running, first some of the crews suits had been compromised by traps on terminals and tools. Then we had to run from environmental controls gone seemingly haywire, cutting us off from any exit of the ship. Always moving inward to the reactor that should have been dead according to scans.
It wasn't dead now, and standing in front of it was a human of all things. A race lauded for its ingenuity towards survival despite its soft and weak biology.
3 of our rest cycles come and gone with no chance to sleep or eat. 56 of this creatures standard hours, and there it stood with one hand hovering over a terminal my helmets ai told me was the reactor self destruction control, and the other holding a cannister of steaming liquid it was taking drinks out of between ravings of pirates and something called "vultures".
It finishes in a shout and my suit feeds me the translation as wanting vengeance for his family unless we take him to the ones who killed her. As exhausted as my 3 remaining crew mates are we cannot provide an answer and slide to the flooring beside them, pulled down by the gentle spin gravity of the station.
The humans hand moves and my suit notifies me the jamming is lifted and hes transmitting a recording of the events on the ship with 2 flags for me and my crew along with a 15 minute timer already counting down.
The first flag is for a private message to any family or clan we may want to know, an oddly sensitive gesture considering what he's doing, and the second is for a message to our leaders so they can understand the danger of continuing to scavenge human equipment.
I finish my messages with 15 seconds left in the timer and look up to see the human smiling sadly and holding what my suit tells me is a damaged children's toy.
The last thing I see is the human reduced to superheated atoms a fraction of a second before the same happens to me.
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, did this during a bit of downtime at work on my phone.
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was supposed to be a simple task. Deliver the Intergalactic Council's rejection message, destroy the human's primary starbase, and return home victorious. Thus far, they'd only succeeded on the first goal, and even then just barely.
Despite the humans' limited technology, it had been decided to send a message by using a Dreadnaught class battlecruiser, the *Vanquisher* to deliver the message. Even if they humans decided to fight, there was no way they could possibly defeat its might. Except that's just what they were doing, albeit very slowly. The moment the rejection message had been delivered, the humans had struck. Not, like the Council's tactics suggested, by hitting them with their heavy weapons. Instead it was a small transport, one of many that had been flying around the massive warship on their way here and there, seemingly innocuous, that had suddenly veered off course and crashed into the starboard hyperlight pod, exploding with what could only have been a massive bomb. The damage was minimal, but the effect was enormous. The FTL drive was unusable, preventing the *Vanquisher* from leaving the system other than with its sublight engines.
That explosion must have been the signal to attack, because then the humans forces had come from everywhere. And while individually they could do minimal damage, they quickly had taken the primary cannon offline, long before it could be brought to bear on the starbase they had been tasked to destroy. They had certainly taken heavy losses, doing so, but without their main gun, the starbase was just too big to destroy quickly enough to justify the damage the *Vanquisher* would inevitably take. And so, with their second objective unobtainable and their third flat out gone, the *Vanquisher* had turned around, heading away from the planet as fast as it could, in an attempt to get far enough away to be able to make repairs and report back to the council for reinforcements.
That was 3 days ago.
Just as they had expected the humans to react the way other denied members had in the past when their application was denied, they expected the humans to watch them go, taking pot shots until they got out of range. Instead, a hastily assembled fleet of human ships, large and small, had pursued the *Vanquisher* \- **pursued a Dreadnaught!** \- continuing to attack with whatever weapons they could bring to bear, preventing any chance at repairing the FTL drive. At first the humans continued to take heavy losses, as the massive warship's defenses did their best to eliminate its pursuers. But over time, those attacks took their toll on the *Vanquisher*, so that it found itself in its current position.
"Incoming transmission from the humans, sir," the *Vanquisher*'s communications officer spoke up, sounding a little shaken. "They're offering terms of surrender."
"Finally given up, have they?" asked the first officer, giving the Captain a smirk.
"N-no, Captain," stuttered the comm officer, handing a printout to the Captain. "They're offering to let us surrender to them."
The Captain grabbed the printout, read it, and stared. Then he sat heavily in his command chair and closed his eyes, his posture taking on a defeated nature.
"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the first officer. "Let me see that!" He grabbed the printout from the Captain and read it.
\-----
TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE VANQUISHER: IT HAS BEEN THREE DAYS SINCE WE CHASED YOU AWAY FROM OUR PLANET. IT COULD BE DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HUNT YOU UNTIL YOU EITHER SURRENDER OR YOUR SHIP DISINTEGRATES AROUND YOU FROM OUR ATTACKS. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RUN, BUT RIGHT NOW YOUR SHIP IS CRIPPLED AND WE CAN KEEP UP THIS PACE FOREVER. HOW'S THAT FOR SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? YOU HAVE 2 HOURS BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR NEXT ATTACK, AND DON'T THINK WE HAVEN'T NOTICED THE GAP IN YOUR DEFENSES. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE.
\-----
It was a very surprised intergalactic council fleet that met the \*Vanquisher\* 15 light years outside the human system, 5 days after it had first gone in. When it got within communications range, it was not the Captain and his crew that appeared on the video, but a number of humans. Before anyone could interject, the human in command spoke.
"I am Admiral Hailey Tran of the Human Confederation, and on behalf of the Federation I claim membership in the Intergalactic Council by \*\*Right of Conquest!\*\*.
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Freyen didn’t think much of it when the human had said, *I’m happy to show you how we’ve always hunted.* He didn’t think much of it when he had said, *I’ll give you a bit of a head start; head out into the wilderness and I’ll come find you.* And he really didn’t think much of that human’s smile when he had agreed, suited up, and left. Now he was on X-46’s surface, its atmosphere a mimic of the human’s old planet.
Freyen wasn’t fond of oxygen, personally, but eventually, he took off the suit when the heat inside blossomed. For his species, they overheated easily, and he didn’t want to risk dealing with his body’s response--an opening of his chest cavity--and then having to wait for it to close again. It would certainly slow him down, and he could still smell that human.
At first, he’d been running on all fours, the most comfortable mode of transport for his species, but soon he grew tired, his skin itching from the oxygen, his myriad of eyes stinging from the dust. But he knew he couldn’t stop. He had to keep putting one paw in front of the other, keep pushing through the grasslands.
His friends had joked that the human would fall flat on his face at some point, tripping over a rock or stick, and have to abandon the chase; but Freyen knew it wouldn’t end like that. The human had gotten close enough to call out to him: *Just keep going, Freyen! I’ll be there soon enough!* But their pace had slowed to a walk; it had been fifteen hours and Freyen was growing tired, so very tired, even in the dead of night, when things were cooler and his skin had hardened to keep him warm.
He’d passed many beasts on his way, all with a wary look in their eyes as he passed as if they could smell his exhaustion, his growing desperation. His paws ached, his skin begged for moisture, his organs cramped from exertion. Thinking on it now, he didn’t know why the humans had asked him to do it, instead of setting off after one of the beasts on the planet. His species had been so kind to them, helping them construct this planet to be a near-exact copy of their old one, animals and all.
The alliance between the two of them had been beneficial so far, as the humans created art that his species was unable to produce, unable to even conceive. Something about sculpture spoke to him specifically, the way it mimicked the surroundings of the humans yet spoke to something deeper, their varied and wild emotions. And walking now, this feeling of desperation and resolve, not knowing why he continued, unable to even see the threat that chased him, he was beginning to understand them a little better.
At twenty-two hours, he was slowing drastically, passing a stream that he doused himself in to restore his skin’s natural texture--if he hadn’t, his joints would have locked up from overexertion, his body rebelling against the trial it was under. But that gave the human time to catch up. He was still smiling when he found Freyen, pulling himself clumsily from the stream, hauling himself onto the shore. His skin shivered as he breathed in deeply, the human moving over him.
In his hand, he held a primitive spear. Freyen watched as the human raised it high, bringing it down with tremendous force, burying it into the dirt next to his head. The human extended his hand, that smile growing and twitching. Freyen took it, hoisting himself unnaturally onto two legs; they wanted to buckle instantly.
The human pulled him close, *You’re lucky they’re still watching*, the human said, indicating our ship in orbit, *I hate to let a good hunt go.*
/r/ainsleyadams
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
The arena itself was over a thousand miles square. It was the largest arena in the western Zyraxian realm. It was built to hold the universe’s most exotic species. The floating platform had within tens of thousands of rooms with thousands of species managed and researched. The floor of the arena itself was made of a special material which could transfer into and mimic virtually any environment imaginable.
It could mimic the great iron oceans in which the Threads of San’thras, the sea serpents from that planet, would battle and consume whole legions of Zyraxian prisoners of war. There was the beasts of Bode’s gate, with their galactically famous eighty-seven rows of teeth and claws which can tear through even the toughest Zyraxian armor.
The Zyrax empire selected citizens at a young age to be an arena keeper. Curating the events, taking care of the species, completing the research. The Zyrax empire was at their zenith. Extravagance like this would not last and, in many ways, would eventually lead to their downfall.
Zan’Tharr the Third Light, considered to be one of the greatest of their emperors, who brought in the era of Thyrinian Peace while also building the galactic wall of Junisar along the Butterfly nebula, was the emperor to lay the ground works for the arena. Three hundred years later and the public works project was completed in the reign of his son, Zynar the Fourth Light.
The arena was seen within the empire as a display of their greatness, their manifest destiny within the universe. At this current point in time, the borders of the Zyraxian empire was expanding at almost a parsec across every Zyraxian year.
Some of the wealthy and elite Zyraxian would actually participate in the arena—that is, of course, when they knew the distinct advantage was on their side. It was seen as a great honor and a way to spotlight yourself in front the emperor and his cohort. There had been many ambitious Zyraxian who made their social climb this way.
And of course, there were prisoners within the empire, those who were convicted of high crimes, that would be sent within the arena to fight against the never-ending flood of species the Empire pulled into their chambers.
Today there was a great crowd for a particularly special species was brought. A curiously small… yet surprising hardy and tough species. The word had passed along from Zyraxian to Zyraxian that this would be a special event. That there was a species on the outer fringe of the Zyrax empire which warranted special attention.
“Bring out the humans!” the council leader called.
*Part II Below*
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It all started with the Dalarians. After defeating the humans in battle, they naturally waited for the humans to surrender as any civilized species would do after being defeated. But the humans applied an insane and illogical philosophy called the "sunk cost fallacy". Instead of surrendering to the Dalarians, the humans stole their tech, massacred their leaders, and launched a crusade against the galaxy.
At first no one believed those fleshy prey animals posed a threat. But now the galaxy was in peril as the humans conquered or destroyed species after species after species.
Early to fall were the Tarvaks. They had evolved to be the deadliest creatures in the galaxy. Hulking armored brutes but quick on their feet and just as quick with their claws and fangs. Destroyed by wave after wave of human warriors. Five human soldiers were lost for every Tarvak but they didn't care.
The Meeleks, famous for their poisonous breath, were destroyed after the human chancellor said "eh it's war and they're doing it, screw the Geneva Convention" and destroyed the Meeleks using a deadly poison that they consume as food! Mustard!
Species after species fell like dominoes. Planets were massacred, fleets destroyed, and the human menace spread across the galaxy like an infectious disease.
I write this history of the Human Wars so future generations can read the loser's perspective. I'm a Booshamite. My people have the fastest ships in the galaxy. We hoped to flee the human demons. But no matter how long or how far we run... They. Keep. Coming.
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
Svedbar grasped the arm of his favorite discussion partner Chiztet and led her to the counsel chambers to discuss what was just presented. The humans finally laid proposition to the counsel to join the galactic treatise.
“That human removed its exo-skeleton.” Svedbar said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them.”
Chiztet chirped into her hand-held and Svedbar heard, “You are mistaken. Humans in some spaces are able to remove their outer wear. It is not actually a part of them. Their real selves are squishy and raw. It’s a wonder they’re the dominant species on their planet.”
“Tell me about them. Are they to be trusted? What would their end goal be?” Svedbar ducked to whisper to his friend as other counsel members joined them in the chambers.
Chiztet chirped again and Svedbar heard, “Well they are persistent. I have read that back before they used what they call modern weapons, they would chase down other species on their planet in order to wear them down. I have no doubt that unless we wipe them out, they will eventually become a part of the counsel if it is their intention to do so. I say we hear them out now. Maybe their fleshy minds will provide insight on how to deal with the fungi. It is the major threat to us all.”
Svedbar nodded pondering about what the counsel might have to give to these fleshy beings clad in metal. The two took their seats with the counsel members of their species as the prominent took their position at the front and started the formal discussions.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was supposed to be a simple task. Deliver the Intergalactic Council's rejection message, destroy the human's primary starbase, and return home victorious. Thus far, they'd only succeeded on the first goal, and even then just barely.
Despite the humans' limited technology, it had been decided to send a message by using a Dreadnaught class battlecruiser, the *Vanquisher* to deliver the message. Even if they humans decided to fight, there was no way they could possibly defeat its might. Except that's just what they were doing, albeit very slowly. The moment the rejection message had been delivered, the humans had struck. Not, like the Council's tactics suggested, by hitting them with their heavy weapons. Instead it was a small transport, one of many that had been flying around the massive warship on their way here and there, seemingly innocuous, that had suddenly veered off course and crashed into the starboard hyperlight pod, exploding with what could only have been a massive bomb. The damage was minimal, but the effect was enormous. The FTL drive was unusable, preventing the *Vanquisher* from leaving the system other than with its sublight engines.
That explosion must have been the signal to attack, because then the humans forces had come from everywhere. And while individually they could do minimal damage, they quickly had taken the primary cannon offline, long before it could be brought to bear on the starbase they had been tasked to destroy. They had certainly taken heavy losses, doing so, but without their main gun, the starbase was just too big to destroy quickly enough to justify the damage the *Vanquisher* would inevitably take. And so, with their second objective unobtainable and their third flat out gone, the *Vanquisher* had turned around, heading away from the planet as fast as it could, in an attempt to get far enough away to be able to make repairs and report back to the council for reinforcements.
That was 3 days ago.
Just as they had expected the humans to react the way other denied members had in the past when their application was denied, they expected the humans to watch them go, taking pot shots until they got out of range. Instead, a hastily assembled fleet of human ships, large and small, had pursued the *Vanquisher* \- **pursued a Dreadnaught!** \- continuing to attack with whatever weapons they could bring to bear, preventing any chance at repairing the FTL drive. At first the humans continued to take heavy losses, as the massive warship's defenses did their best to eliminate its pursuers. But over time, those attacks took their toll on the *Vanquisher*, so that it found itself in its current position.
"Incoming transmission from the humans, sir," the *Vanquisher*'s communications officer spoke up, sounding a little shaken. "They're offering terms of surrender."
"Finally given up, have they?" asked the first officer, giving the Captain a smirk.
"N-no, Captain," stuttered the comm officer, handing a printout to the Captain. "They're offering to let us surrender to them."
The Captain grabbed the printout, read it, and stared. Then he sat heavily in his command chair and closed his eyes, his posture taking on a defeated nature.
"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the first officer. "Let me see that!" He grabbed the printout from the Captain and read it.
\-----
TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE VANQUISHER: IT HAS BEEN THREE DAYS SINCE WE CHASED YOU AWAY FROM OUR PLANET. IT COULD BE DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HUNT YOU UNTIL YOU EITHER SURRENDER OR YOUR SHIP DISINTEGRATES AROUND YOU FROM OUR ATTACKS. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RUN, BUT RIGHT NOW YOUR SHIP IS CRIPPLED AND WE CAN KEEP UP THIS PACE FOREVER. HOW'S THAT FOR SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? YOU HAVE 2 HOURS BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR NEXT ATTACK, AND DON'T THINK WE HAVEN'T NOTICED THE GAP IN YOUR DEFENSES. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE.
\-----
It was a very surprised intergalactic council fleet that met the \*Vanquisher\* 15 light years outside the human system, 5 days after it had first gone in. When it got within communications range, it was not the Captain and his crew that appeared on the video, but a number of humans. Before anyone could interject, the human in command spoke.
"I am Admiral Hailey Tran of the Human Confederation, and on behalf of the Federation I claim membership in the Intergalactic Council by \*\*Right of Conquest!\*\*.
|
A deep, growling thrum emanated from Commander Gruey’s alien throat. The rest of the various species that made up the round table of the Galactic Council shrunk back as he exploded.
“Why haven’t they surrendered yet!” The enormous, flabby commander growled, slamming a fat fist on the board table, “We’ve got all of the galaxy’s media demoralizing them, our best military species exterminating them in the millions, and all of their financial resources completely drained. And yet… ”
“Calm down, Commander Gruey,” A wiry, tentacled alien said in a smooth tone, “The fact remains that they are objectively weaker than we are. We have many, many more cards left to play, especially since we’re the ones making the galaxy’s rules. There’s no need to fear the little gnats on a tiny dirt planet.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one fighting them, Treasurer Barbaol.” Gruey said, “Do you have any idea what *guerilla warfare* is? Their ships swoop out of nowhere, fire their anti-spacecraft rockets, and leave just as fast. Our losses are triple, even ten times more than theirs!”
“I’m fighting them too,” Barbaol said, “We all are. The humans are still holding onto their financial stakes in the galactic markets despite our enormous efforts against them. We’re suffering more than fifty percent losses on our financial resources since they keep fighting instead of giving up.”
“No need to worry,” An alien piped up from the low-ranking, back end of the table. He slid an antique, box-shaped speaker to the middle of the table.
“What is this, Roskaw? How is this going to solve the Human Problem?” Gruey said, picking up the speaker and turning it about.
Roskaw smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp, golden teeth, “A human communicator with the highest clearance levels and twenty light years of range. We can infiltrate their networks and control their information, crippling them for sure.”
The rest of the board members perked up slightly.
“Well, turn it on, let’s see how useful it is then,” Gruey said, sliding it back to Roskaw.
Roskaw fiddled with it and it turned on. The alien board members leaned in, straining to hear human voices in the static as Roskaw adjusted its frequency.
*Ksshhhhhhhhhh.. We don’t*… *Ksshhhhh*
“Wait, stop,” Barboal said, “Turn it back. I heard something.”
Roskaw dialed it back slightly…
*Ksshhhhhh*.
“Alright boys listen up! We might have lost some, but they’ve lost more.” The slightly static voice coming from the speaker sounded like a young man. Gruey scoffed as he heard a chorus of cheers in response. This is what they were up against? What a rambunctious, undisciplined lot.
The speaker continued, “If any of you need to quit now, we understand. You have families to provide for, and this war is risky and you might lose it all. However, for me, I don’t care if I lose everything. For me it’s PERSONAL!”
Cheers, louder this time, came in response.
“Gruey and the rest of the Galactic Council stole everything from my family! They play around with lives like they’re nothing! So when they beg us to surrender what do we say?”
Enthusiastic responses overlapped each other.
“...make them pay… ”
“...suck an anti-spacecraft rocket… ”
“...toast them alive in their boardroom…”
The aliens looked at each other, warily. Gruey scowled.
The human captain’s voice spoke over them, “We ride at dawn! We’re going to suffer more losses, but we’re not gonna start bawling and fold up to their schemes! We’re gonna HOLD THE LINE!”
The response was unanimous, “HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE!”
Roskaw turned the speaker off. The board members looked at each other tiredly in silence.
Gruey scratched his head with a flabby hand, “Humans, are so annoying to deal with…”
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
A deep, growling thrum emanated from Commander Gruey’s alien throat. The rest of the various species that made up the round table of the Galactic Council shrunk back as he exploded.
“Why haven’t they surrendered yet!” The enormous, flabby commander growled, slamming a fat fist on the board table, “We’ve got all of the galaxy’s media demoralizing them, our best military species exterminating them in the millions, and all of their financial resources completely drained. And yet… ”
“Calm down, Commander Gruey,” A wiry, tentacled alien said in a smooth tone, “The fact remains that they are objectively weaker than we are. We have many, many more cards left to play, especially since we’re the ones making the galaxy’s rules. There’s no need to fear the little gnats on a tiny dirt planet.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one fighting them, Treasurer Barbaol.” Gruey said, “Do you have any idea what *guerilla warfare* is? Their ships swoop out of nowhere, fire their anti-spacecraft rockets, and leave just as fast. Our losses are triple, even ten times more than theirs!”
“I’m fighting them too,” Barbaol said, “We all are. The humans are still holding onto their financial stakes in the galactic markets despite our enormous efforts against them. We’re suffering more than fifty percent losses on our financial resources since they keep fighting instead of giving up.”
“No need to worry,” An alien piped up from the low-ranking, back end of the table. He slid an antique, box-shaped speaker to the middle of the table.
“What is this, Roskaw? How is this going to solve the Human Problem?” Gruey said, picking up the speaker and turning it about.
Roskaw smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp, golden teeth, “A human communicator with the highest clearance levels and twenty light years of range. We can infiltrate their networks and control their information, crippling them for sure.”
The rest of the board members perked up slightly.
“Well, turn it on, let’s see how useful it is then,” Gruey said, sliding it back to Roskaw.
Roskaw fiddled with it and it turned on. The alien board members leaned in, straining to hear human voices in the static as Roskaw adjusted its frequency.
*Ksshhhhhhhhhh.. We don’t*… *Ksshhhhh*
“Wait, stop,” Barboal said, “Turn it back. I heard something.”
Roskaw dialed it back slightly…
*Ksshhhhhh*.
“Alright boys listen up! We might have lost some, but they’ve lost more.” The slightly static voice coming from the speaker sounded like a young man. Gruey scoffed as he heard a chorus of cheers in response. This is what they were up against? What a rambunctious, undisciplined lot.
The speaker continued, “If any of you need to quit now, we understand. You have families to provide for, and this war is risky and you might lose it all. However, for me, I don’t care if I lose everything. For me it’s PERSONAL!”
Cheers, louder this time, came in response.
“Gruey and the rest of the Galactic Council stole everything from my family! They play around with lives like they’re nothing! So when they beg us to surrender what do we say?”
Enthusiastic responses overlapped each other.
“...make them pay… ”
“...suck an anti-spacecraft rocket… ”
“...toast them alive in their boardroom…”
The aliens looked at each other, warily. Gruey scowled.
The human captain’s voice spoke over them, “We ride at dawn! We’re going to suffer more losses, but we’re not gonna start bawling and fold up to their schemes! We’re gonna HOLD THE LINE!”
The response was unanimous, “HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE!”
Roskaw turned the speaker off. The board members looked at each other tiredly in silence.
Gruey scratched his head with a flabby hand, “Humans, are so annoying to deal with…”
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was supposed to be a simple task. Deliver the Intergalactic Council's rejection message, destroy the human's primary starbase, and return home victorious. Thus far, they'd only succeeded on the first goal, and even then just barely.
Despite the humans' limited technology, it had been decided to send a message by using a Dreadnaught class battlecruiser, the *Vanquisher* to deliver the message. Even if they humans decided to fight, there was no way they could possibly defeat its might. Except that's just what they were doing, albeit very slowly. The moment the rejection message had been delivered, the humans had struck. Not, like the Council's tactics suggested, by hitting them with their heavy weapons. Instead it was a small transport, one of many that had been flying around the massive warship on their way here and there, seemingly innocuous, that had suddenly veered off course and crashed into the starboard hyperlight pod, exploding with what could only have been a massive bomb. The damage was minimal, but the effect was enormous. The FTL drive was unusable, preventing the *Vanquisher* from leaving the system other than with its sublight engines.
That explosion must have been the signal to attack, because then the humans forces had come from everywhere. And while individually they could do minimal damage, they quickly had taken the primary cannon offline, long before it could be brought to bear on the starbase they had been tasked to destroy. They had certainly taken heavy losses, doing so, but without their main gun, the starbase was just too big to destroy quickly enough to justify the damage the *Vanquisher* would inevitably take. And so, with their second objective unobtainable and their third flat out gone, the *Vanquisher* had turned around, heading away from the planet as fast as it could, in an attempt to get far enough away to be able to make repairs and report back to the council for reinforcements.
That was 3 days ago.
Just as they had expected the humans to react the way other denied members had in the past when their application was denied, they expected the humans to watch them go, taking pot shots until they got out of range. Instead, a hastily assembled fleet of human ships, large and small, had pursued the *Vanquisher* \- **pursued a Dreadnaught!** \- continuing to attack with whatever weapons they could bring to bear, preventing any chance at repairing the FTL drive. At first the humans continued to take heavy losses, as the massive warship's defenses did their best to eliminate its pursuers. But over time, those attacks took their toll on the *Vanquisher*, so that it found itself in its current position.
"Incoming transmission from the humans, sir," the *Vanquisher*'s communications officer spoke up, sounding a little shaken. "They're offering terms of surrender."
"Finally given up, have they?" asked the first officer, giving the Captain a smirk.
"N-no, Captain," stuttered the comm officer, handing a printout to the Captain. "They're offering to let us surrender to them."
The Captain grabbed the printout, read it, and stared. Then he sat heavily in his command chair and closed his eyes, his posture taking on a defeated nature.
"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the first officer. "Let me see that!" He grabbed the printout from the Captain and read it.
\-----
TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE VANQUISHER: IT HAS BEEN THREE DAYS SINCE WE CHASED YOU AWAY FROM OUR PLANET. IT COULD BE DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HUNT YOU UNTIL YOU EITHER SURRENDER OR YOUR SHIP DISINTEGRATES AROUND YOU FROM OUR ATTACKS. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RUN, BUT RIGHT NOW YOUR SHIP IS CRIPPLED AND WE CAN KEEP UP THIS PACE FOREVER. HOW'S THAT FOR SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? YOU HAVE 2 HOURS BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR NEXT ATTACK, AND DON'T THINK WE HAVEN'T NOTICED THE GAP IN YOUR DEFENSES. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE.
\-----
It was a very surprised intergalactic council fleet that met the \*Vanquisher\* 15 light years outside the human system, 5 days after it had first gone in. When it got within communications range, it was not the Captain and his crew that appeared on the video, but a number of humans. Before anyone could interject, the human in command spoke.
"I am Admiral Hailey Tran of the Human Confederation, and on behalf of the Federation I claim membership in the Intergalactic Council by \*\*Right of Conquest!\*\*.
|
It had been 3 sleep cycles since Sella's ship had docked with the cold station.
3 cycles since the sabotaged docking connection had sheered through the pressure lock of their ship.
3 cycles of hearing sounds in from between the hulls of the ship and seeing flashes of light, always just 1 turn away around a corner.
At first they hadn't known who the station had been built by, then they had found a message scrolling across the main display in the station's central control in as many languages as the ships AI knew.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE.
The message hadn't made sense at first until they found another one scrawled on the floor of the mechanics shop: You won't be leaving here, not after what happened to my family.
Half of the crew had fled to the nearest pressure lock and tried to contact the ship only to find all radio and light transmissions blocked.
3 cycles of running, first some of the crews suits had been compromised by traps on terminals and tools. Then we had to run from environmental controls gone seemingly haywire, cutting us off from any exit of the ship. Always moving inward to the reactor that should have been dead according to scans.
It wasn't dead now, and standing in front of it was a human of all things. A race lauded for its ingenuity towards survival despite its soft and weak biology.
3 of our rest cycles come and gone with no chance to sleep or eat. 56 of this creatures standard hours, and there it stood with one hand hovering over a terminal my helmets ai told me was the reactor self destruction control, and the other holding a cannister of steaming liquid it was taking drinks out of between ravings of pirates and something called "vultures".
It finishes in a shout and my suit feeds me the translation as wanting vengeance for his family unless we take him to the ones who killed her. As exhausted as my 3 remaining crew mates are we cannot provide an answer and slide to the flooring beside them, pulled down by the gentle spin gravity of the station.
The humans hand moves and my suit notifies me the jamming is lifted and hes transmitting a recording of the events on the ship with 2 flags for me and my crew along with a 15 minute timer already counting down.
The first flag is for a private message to any family or clan we may want to know, an oddly sensitive gesture considering what he's doing, and the second is for a message to our leaders so they can understand the danger of continuing to scavenge human equipment.
I finish my messages with 15 seconds left in the timer and look up to see the human smiling sadly and holding what my suit tells me is a damaged children's toy.
The last thing I see is the human reduced to superheated atoms a fraction of a second before the same happens to me.
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, did this during a bit of downtime at work on my phone.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
It had been 3 sleep cycles since Sella's ship had docked with the cold station.
3 cycles since the sabotaged docking connection had sheered through the pressure lock of their ship.
3 cycles of hearing sounds in from between the hulls of the ship and seeing flashes of light, always just 1 turn away around a corner.
At first they hadn't known who the station had been built by, then they had found a message scrolling across the main display in the station's central control in as many languages as the ships AI knew.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE.
The message hadn't made sense at first until they found another one scrawled on the floor of the mechanics shop: You won't be leaving here, not after what happened to my family.
Half of the crew had fled to the nearest pressure lock and tried to contact the ship only to find all radio and light transmissions blocked.
3 cycles of running, first some of the crews suits had been compromised by traps on terminals and tools. Then we had to run from environmental controls gone seemingly haywire, cutting us off from any exit of the ship. Always moving inward to the reactor that should have been dead according to scans.
It wasn't dead now, and standing in front of it was a human of all things. A race lauded for its ingenuity towards survival despite its soft and weak biology.
3 of our rest cycles come and gone with no chance to sleep or eat. 56 of this creatures standard hours, and there it stood with one hand hovering over a terminal my helmets ai told me was the reactor self destruction control, and the other holding a cannister of steaming liquid it was taking drinks out of between ravings of pirates and something called "vultures".
It finishes in a shout and my suit feeds me the translation as wanting vengeance for his family unless we take him to the ones who killed her. As exhausted as my 3 remaining crew mates are we cannot provide an answer and slide to the flooring beside them, pulled down by the gentle spin gravity of the station.
The humans hand moves and my suit notifies me the jamming is lifted and hes transmitting a recording of the events on the ship with 2 flags for me and my crew along with a 15 minute timer already counting down.
The first flag is for a private message to any family or clan we may want to know, an oddly sensitive gesture considering what he's doing, and the second is for a message to our leaders so they can understand the danger of continuing to scavenge human equipment.
I finish my messages with 15 seconds left in the timer and look up to see the human smiling sadly and holding what my suit tells me is a damaged children's toy.
The last thing I see is the human reduced to superheated atoms a fraction of a second before the same happens to me.
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, did this during a bit of downtime at work on my phone.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
Freyen didn’t think much of it when the human had said, *I’m happy to show you how we’ve always hunted.* He didn’t think much of it when he had said, *I’ll give you a bit of a head start; head out into the wilderness and I’ll come find you.* And he really didn’t think much of that human’s smile when he had agreed, suited up, and left. Now he was on X-46’s surface, its atmosphere a mimic of the human’s old planet.
Freyen wasn’t fond of oxygen, personally, but eventually, he took off the suit when the heat inside blossomed. For his species, they overheated easily, and he didn’t want to risk dealing with his body’s response--an opening of his chest cavity--and then having to wait for it to close again. It would certainly slow him down, and he could still smell that human.
At first, he’d been running on all fours, the most comfortable mode of transport for his species, but soon he grew tired, his skin itching from the oxygen, his myriad of eyes stinging from the dust. But he knew he couldn’t stop. He had to keep putting one paw in front of the other, keep pushing through the grasslands.
His friends had joked that the human would fall flat on his face at some point, tripping over a rock or stick, and have to abandon the chase; but Freyen knew it wouldn’t end like that. The human had gotten close enough to call out to him: *Just keep going, Freyen! I’ll be there soon enough!* But their pace had slowed to a walk; it had been fifteen hours and Freyen was growing tired, so very tired, even in the dead of night, when things were cooler and his skin had hardened to keep him warm.
He’d passed many beasts on his way, all with a wary look in their eyes as he passed as if they could smell his exhaustion, his growing desperation. His paws ached, his skin begged for moisture, his organs cramped from exertion. Thinking on it now, he didn’t know why the humans had asked him to do it, instead of setting off after one of the beasts on the planet. His species had been so kind to them, helping them construct this planet to be a near-exact copy of their old one, animals and all.
The alliance between the two of them had been beneficial so far, as the humans created art that his species was unable to produce, unable to even conceive. Something about sculpture spoke to him specifically, the way it mimicked the surroundings of the humans yet spoke to something deeper, their varied and wild emotions. And walking now, this feeling of desperation and resolve, not knowing why he continued, unable to even see the threat that chased him, he was beginning to understand them a little better.
At twenty-two hours, he was slowing drastically, passing a stream that he doused himself in to restore his skin’s natural texture--if he hadn’t, his joints would have locked up from overexertion, his body rebelling against the trial it was under. But that gave the human time to catch up. He was still smiling when he found Freyen, pulling himself clumsily from the stream, hauling himself onto the shore. His skin shivered as he breathed in deeply, the human moving over him.
In his hand, he held a primitive spear. Freyen watched as the human raised it high, bringing it down with tremendous force, burying it into the dirt next to his head. The human extended his hand, that smile growing and twitching. Freyen took it, hoisting himself unnaturally onto two legs; they wanted to buckle instantly.
The human pulled him close, *You’re lucky they’re still watching*, the human said, indicating our ship in orbit, *I hate to let a good hunt go.*
/r/ainsleyadams
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
Freyen didn’t think much of it when the human had said, *I’m happy to show you how we’ve always hunted.* He didn’t think much of it when he had said, *I’ll give you a bit of a head start; head out into the wilderness and I’ll come find you.* And he really didn’t think much of that human’s smile when he had agreed, suited up, and left. Now he was on X-46’s surface, its atmosphere a mimic of the human’s old planet.
Freyen wasn’t fond of oxygen, personally, but eventually, he took off the suit when the heat inside blossomed. For his species, they overheated easily, and he didn’t want to risk dealing with his body’s response--an opening of his chest cavity--and then having to wait for it to close again. It would certainly slow him down, and he could still smell that human.
At first, he’d been running on all fours, the most comfortable mode of transport for his species, but soon he grew tired, his skin itching from the oxygen, his myriad of eyes stinging from the dust. But he knew he couldn’t stop. He had to keep putting one paw in front of the other, keep pushing through the grasslands.
His friends had joked that the human would fall flat on his face at some point, tripping over a rock or stick, and have to abandon the chase; but Freyen knew it wouldn’t end like that. The human had gotten close enough to call out to him: *Just keep going, Freyen! I’ll be there soon enough!* But their pace had slowed to a walk; it had been fifteen hours and Freyen was growing tired, so very tired, even in the dead of night, when things were cooler and his skin had hardened to keep him warm.
He’d passed many beasts on his way, all with a wary look in their eyes as he passed as if they could smell his exhaustion, his growing desperation. His paws ached, his skin begged for moisture, his organs cramped from exertion. Thinking on it now, he didn’t know why the humans had asked him to do it, instead of setting off after one of the beasts on the planet. His species had been so kind to them, helping them construct this planet to be a near-exact copy of their old one, animals and all.
The alliance between the two of them had been beneficial so far, as the humans created art that his species was unable to produce, unable to even conceive. Something about sculpture spoke to him specifically, the way it mimicked the surroundings of the humans yet spoke to something deeper, their varied and wild emotions. And walking now, this feeling of desperation and resolve, not knowing why he continued, unable to even see the threat that chased him, he was beginning to understand them a little better.
At twenty-two hours, he was slowing drastically, passing a stream that he doused himself in to restore his skin’s natural texture--if he hadn’t, his joints would have locked up from overexertion, his body rebelling against the trial it was under. But that gave the human time to catch up. He was still smiling when he found Freyen, pulling himself clumsily from the stream, hauling himself onto the shore. His skin shivered as he breathed in deeply, the human moving over him.
In his hand, he held a primitive spear. Freyen watched as the human raised it high, bringing it down with tremendous force, burying it into the dirt next to his head. The human extended his hand, that smile growing and twitching. Freyen took it, hoisting himself unnaturally onto two legs; they wanted to buckle instantly.
The human pulled him close, *You’re lucky they’re still watching*, the human said, indicating our ship in orbit, *I hate to let a good hunt go.*
/r/ainsleyadams
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
The arena itself was over a thousand miles square. It was the largest arena in the western Zyraxian realm. It was built to hold the universe’s most exotic species. The floating platform had within tens of thousands of rooms with thousands of species managed and researched. The floor of the arena itself was made of a special material which could transfer into and mimic virtually any environment imaginable.
It could mimic the great iron oceans in which the Threads of San’thras, the sea serpents from that planet, would battle and consume whole legions of Zyraxian prisoners of war. There was the beasts of Bode’s gate, with their galactically famous eighty-seven rows of teeth and claws which can tear through even the toughest Zyraxian armor.
The Zyrax empire selected citizens at a young age to be an arena keeper. Curating the events, taking care of the species, completing the research. The Zyrax empire was at their zenith. Extravagance like this would not last and, in many ways, would eventually lead to their downfall.
Zan’Tharr the Third Light, considered to be one of the greatest of their emperors, who brought in the era of Thyrinian Peace while also building the galactic wall of Junisar along the Butterfly nebula, was the emperor to lay the ground works for the arena. Three hundred years later and the public works project was completed in the reign of his son, Zynar the Fourth Light.
The arena was seen within the empire as a display of their greatness, their manifest destiny within the universe. At this current point in time, the borders of the Zyraxian empire was expanding at almost a parsec across every Zyraxian year.
Some of the wealthy and elite Zyraxian would actually participate in the arena—that is, of course, when they knew the distinct advantage was on their side. It was seen as a great honor and a way to spotlight yourself in front the emperor and his cohort. There had been many ambitious Zyraxian who made their social climb this way.
And of course, there were prisoners within the empire, those who were convicted of high crimes, that would be sent within the arena to fight against the never-ending flood of species the Empire pulled into their chambers.
Today there was a great crowd for a particularly special species was brought. A curiously small… yet surprising hardy and tough species. The word had passed along from Zyraxian to Zyraxian that this would be a special event. That there was a species on the outer fringe of the Zyrax empire which warranted special attention.
“Bring out the humans!” the council leader called.
*Part II Below*
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
The arena itself was over a thousand miles square. It was the largest arena in the western Zyraxian realm. It was built to hold the universe’s most exotic species. The floating platform had within tens of thousands of rooms with thousands of species managed and researched. The floor of the arena itself was made of a special material which could transfer into and mimic virtually any environment imaginable.
It could mimic the great iron oceans in which the Threads of San’thras, the sea serpents from that planet, would battle and consume whole legions of Zyraxian prisoners of war. There was the beasts of Bode’s gate, with their galactically famous eighty-seven rows of teeth and claws which can tear through even the toughest Zyraxian armor.
The Zyrax empire selected citizens at a young age to be an arena keeper. Curating the events, taking care of the species, completing the research. The Zyrax empire was at their zenith. Extravagance like this would not last and, in many ways, would eventually lead to their downfall.
Zan’Tharr the Third Light, considered to be one of the greatest of their emperors, who brought in the era of Thyrinian Peace while also building the galactic wall of Junisar along the Butterfly nebula, was the emperor to lay the ground works for the arena. Three hundred years later and the public works project was completed in the reign of his son, Zynar the Fourth Light.
The arena was seen within the empire as a display of their greatness, their manifest destiny within the universe. At this current point in time, the borders of the Zyraxian empire was expanding at almost a parsec across every Zyraxian year.
Some of the wealthy and elite Zyraxian would actually participate in the arena—that is, of course, when they knew the distinct advantage was on their side. It was seen as a great honor and a way to spotlight yourself in front the emperor and his cohort. There had been many ambitious Zyraxian who made their social climb this way.
And of course, there were prisoners within the empire, those who were convicted of high crimes, that would be sent within the arena to fight against the never-ending flood of species the Empire pulled into their chambers.
Today there was a great crowd for a particularly special species was brought. A curiously small… yet surprising hardy and tough species. The word had passed along from Zyraxian to Zyraxian that this would be a special event. That there was a species on the outer fringe of the Zyrax empire which warranted special attention.
“Bring out the humans!” the council leader called.
*Part II Below*
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
It all started with the Dalarians. After defeating the humans in battle, they naturally waited for the humans to surrender as any civilized species would do after being defeated. But the humans applied an insane and illogical philosophy called the "sunk cost fallacy". Instead of surrendering to the Dalarians, the humans stole their tech, massacred their leaders, and launched a crusade against the galaxy.
At first no one believed those fleshy prey animals posed a threat. But now the galaxy was in peril as the humans conquered or destroyed species after species after species.
Early to fall were the Tarvaks. They had evolved to be the deadliest creatures in the galaxy. Hulking armored brutes but quick on their feet and just as quick with their claws and fangs. Destroyed by wave after wave of human warriors. Five human soldiers were lost for every Tarvak but they didn't care.
The Meeleks, famous for their poisonous breath, were destroyed after the human chancellor said "eh it's war and they're doing it, screw the Geneva Convention" and destroyed the Meeleks using a deadly poison that they consume as food! Mustard!
Species after species fell like dominoes. Planets were massacred, fleets destroyed, and the human menace spread across the galaxy like an infectious disease.
I write this history of the Human Wars so future generations can read the loser's perspective. I'm a Booshamite. My people have the fastest ships in the galaxy. We hoped to flee the human demons. But no matter how long or how far we run... They. Keep. Coming.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
It all started with the Dalarians. After defeating the humans in battle, they naturally waited for the humans to surrender as any civilized species would do after being defeated. But the humans applied an insane and illogical philosophy called the "sunk cost fallacy". Instead of surrendering to the Dalarians, the humans stole their tech, massacred their leaders, and launched a crusade against the galaxy.
At first no one believed those fleshy prey animals posed a threat. But now the galaxy was in peril as the humans conquered or destroyed species after species after species.
Early to fall were the Tarvaks. They had evolved to be the deadliest creatures in the galaxy. Hulking armored brutes but quick on their feet and just as quick with their claws and fangs. Destroyed by wave after wave of human warriors. Five human soldiers were lost for every Tarvak but they didn't care.
The Meeleks, famous for their poisonous breath, were destroyed after the human chancellor said "eh it's war and they're doing it, screw the Geneva Convention" and destroyed the Meeleks using a deadly poison that they consume as food! Mustard!
Species after species fell like dominoes. Planets were massacred, fleets destroyed, and the human menace spread across the galaxy like an infectious disease.
I write this history of the Human Wars so future generations can read the loser's perspective. I'm a Booshamite. My people have the fastest ships in the galaxy. We hoped to flee the human demons. But no matter how long or how far we run... They. Keep. Coming.
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
Day 32
​
It's been 32 cycles. 32 whole cycles, and still the chase continues. We won't last any longer. Half the squad has given up and surrendered, while the other half has been gradually picked out and killed. Commander Ydrevous has ordered me, Captain Xsimoth, to write our final words and warnings. Fellow brethren, and all other alien species that may receive this message, this is our warning. Do not invade the Sol System.
​
When we first encountered the humans, it was the opinion of the Galactic Council to classify them as a subservient species. No one could fathom why the humans, with their weak, fragile bodies, could become the prime species on their planet. They lacked shells, tails, claws, anything that would give them an advantage in a fight. But there is a reason why they have risen to the heights they are at now.
​
Humans may not have weapons for body parts, but they have one thing more than every other species. That trait is their persistence. Long ago, before humans achieved the technological progress they have today, their hunters would spend weeks chasing down prey. It is this trait that we are warning the galaxy against.
​
Persistence hunting. That's what they call it. Every day, they would come at us, attacking from within their concrete and natural jungles. Every attack would cost them multiple casualties, while we lost very few. But the attacks never stopped. Every hour, every minute, there was a possibility of soldiers emerging from every direction, attacks from every angle, traps at every corner. They never gave up, no matter how many losses we inflicted on them, no matter the weapons we pulverized them with. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
​
And the effect it had on us was terrible. Our men grew discouraged. Many fell ill with stress, unable to withstand the constant pressure. Every attack, every foray had a chance of us losing a brother-in-arm. Eventually our soldiers became tired, weighed down by the effect such unrelenting foes. How could we beat such demons, they told each other, when nothing we do seems to deter or slow them down?
​
That is the power of the humans. Not their physical strength, nor their technological or cultural advances, but rather their mental attitude in resisting colonization. Their unrelenting march towards eradicating us. Their persistence, never witnessed before by the galactic community.
​
Tomorrow, we will attempt a last foray towards our last known spaceship. If we fail, or we find that it too has been destroyed, then we shall lay down our arms and send each other to the Beyond. Let our bodies, laid out on the rocky soil of Earth, serve as a warning to all species in the Galactic Council.
​
Do not offend the humans.
====================================================
​
Check out r/17Stories for more of my work!
|
|
[WP] All the alien species in the intergalactic council excelled in one way or another to climb through survival of the fittest. So why are humans, a species with average physique, so hard to deal with? And what the hell is persistence hunting.
|
It was the silence that made me realize something was wrong. One month into the siege of the human city on the planet they called Sacrifice, and not a peep from them since the initial attack. Not a single cry of help from the hopelessly outgunned settlement, set for "forceful relocation" once our ground troops got here.
...
It was nothing personal, really. An international snafu among the council species was threatening to expand into full blown war, and this planet was a prime spot to set up a forward base, should any sort of aggressive action be necessary. And it might not, we had a small cultural attachment who first attempted to convince the humans to leave. Jolkn, our millitary anthropologist, immediately took to the humans, spending extra shore leave during the diplomatic phase of our takeover in their village. He was fond of some sort of mind affecting drug the humans favored called "Absinthe".
It was with the scent of Absinthe on the air that he outlined what he learned in a week or two of interaction with the locals.
"They're quite friendly, honestly. A social species, small local government involving representation. Imagine a Sigmar with a sense of humor." His face radiated warmth as he recounted. "Most races I've studied are welcoming on first contact, but even after I told them we were here to oust them from their settlement, they changed the subject and continued to graciously host me. That made learning about them all the easier. They boasted about their past, how they got here through centuries of conflict and hardship. And their history does seem especially bloody."
"Did you know?" He asked me excitedly, "the first humans hunted not with venom or great strength, but by sheer efficiency. They tracked their prey for upwards of an entire solar cycle, never letting it sleep or rest. Once its reserves of energy ran dry, the actual kill was simple. This allowed them to take down creatures that would normally wipe them out in a fair fight."
I mulled this over for a bit. "I assume then that they're fond of and practiced in siege warfare? That makes things more difficult, we're going to have to cut off their supply lines completely if they refuse to leave."
"Yes, that is going to be a concern... Their records of warfare are deep, but I'm familiar with their recent tactics thank to a tap of their main computer systems. They've set up a dead man's switch, so even if we jam communications, sizable reinforcements will be arriving within a couple months. I think instead we should focus on targeted strikes of their food storage and call for ground troops immediately. Hopefully a show of force will convince them to leave without putting up much of a fight."
"Draw the plans." I ordered. It was war, then. An uncommon outcome, but mostly I pitied the humans. Without the protection of being a member species of the council, they didn't have much of a chance.
...
A month had passed, and I was starting to grow impatient. We didn't have enough ground troops to forcibly oust the remaining population, and reinforcements had been delayed multiple times already. And then, a personal call from high command and logistics.
"I hope this is about our missing ground troops. They should have arrived weeks ago, what's taking so long?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. You are to withdraw all forces and depart for headquarters. You and your crew are being court martialed."
I paused to regain my composure. A court martial? Over a routine diplo-millitaristic occupation? I racked my memories, but couldn't think of any missteps in our procedure over this operation.
"...What, sir? A court martial? Why would--"
"--Whatever you did on Sacrifice may have cost us our position in the council. Multiple trade agreements have been dissolved in the last 3 weeks. Every single human merchant has pulled out of our colonies, a mass exodus. They left behind terrible rumors and targeted blows to the economy. Other council races are asking about war crimes we committed years ago, political maneuverings, even the hedgemon's affair was brought to light. There's an investigation into our millitary, multiple accusations of shirking council dues and duties... If more than one of these stick, that's it for our council membership."
I sat down, stunned. All that, from a siege of a *single city* on the rim of human space? ...What had I done?
"Oh, and we decrypted the first communications burst after the attack. It had a payload adressed to one of your crew, Jolkn; replicator recipies for some sort of drug named Absinthe, and a short message. Would you like to relay the message?"
"Um... Sure." I didn't really feel like it in the face of everything that happened, but it might be time to learn why he was so fond of this drug...
"Message proceeds thus:
'*Pay attention in the following weeks, my friend, and you will see how humanity persistence hunts a culture.*'"
|
"So they're not even apex predators on their own planet?" Vice Admiral Tonkin paced along the deck of the bridge, razor sharp claws tapping at the metal grating of the floor. These humans had turned out to be a much more difficult problem than anyone on the Council anticipated.
"No, sir." Captain Vranks confirmed, scrolling through entries on his datapad. A small repetitive beep came from the pad and the Vraxonate native set it down on the console in front of him with a sheepish grin.
He pulled a small square of cloth from his pocket and wiped down the pad, but made no move to pick it back up.
"There's no need to get excited yet, Captain." The Admiral assured him. The poisonous glands that made them such effective predators on their own planet and in the Planetary Sovereignty had thrust their race into command positions on their warships almost from the moment of their inclusion into the Sovereignty.
Still, they're instincts were still primitive around the edges, not entirely under control in the delicate environment of space. Still, Admiral Tonkin was confident they would adapt and make the Sovereignty stronger as a whole.
"On their native planet, they came to be the dominant species through technological advancements and sheer size of their population," Commander Sykes, the very competent XO, seamlessly picked up the silence for her Captain. As she spoke, her skin shimmered slightly with the instinctual urge to camouflage her skin to the background of panels on the bridge.
In the short time Admiral Tonkin had worked with her, he had been increasingly impressed with her instincts and ability to control a situation. She probably would have advanced much faster if she didn't have such a proclivity to fade into the background.
"So they're prey animals?" The conclusion seemed obvious to Admiral Tonkin, but it only made the human's ingenious combat tactics all the more perplexing.
Sykes shook her head, antennae bobbing with the movement. "No, from preliminary reconnaissance on their home planet, they share traits with both predators and prey. They can subsist on both meat or plants, or either one exclusively. They call this condition omni..." She squinted at the page, her mouth working over the unfamiliar syllables. "Omnivore?" She said the name more as a question that a statement.
"So we can't create an embargo or stave them until we isolate them from ALL organic materials?" the Admiral asked, the size of their problem escalating in scope.
"It appears so, sir." She used the antennae on her head to scroll through the screen. "Perhaps the Council was hasty denying their admission into the Sovereignty. They have the potential to be formidable allies." Then a little softer, she added, "Or enemies."
"Indeed," Admiral Tonkin tapped another long claw on the back Captain Vrank's chair and watched a thin sheen of poison break out along the smooth scalp. Maybe the Vraxonates weren't as good of candidates as he first thought.
"Sir," the Captain stood up, addressing the Admiral eye-to-eye. Admiral Tonkin snarled, an implicit challenge in his posture and insolence.
The Captain dropped his gaze to the floor and rounded his back, a conciliatory posture that saved his life. For the moment.
"Perhaps we should call for back-up. Have Garrus station send a few ships for reinforcement." he said, his tone now quite.
Weak. The soft underbelly of his fear showing.
Not a stature worthy of a Captain.
"Sir, multiple contacts along the hull. Dozens, no hundreds of them," Additional appendages unfolded from Sykes' side, bringing up information almost as fast as the ship's computers could compile it.
"They broke apart their pack?" Admiral Tonkin considered this new tactic. "I believe you're right Sykes, the Sovereignty was a little too hasty in denying their application. Open a channel to the ship."
After a few quick taps, Sykes confirmed, "Audio only."
"Human ship. Recall your pack and we are willing to reconsider your terms for entrance into the Sovereignty." The Admiral announced to the speaker set into the far wall.
There was a short delay, but the returning answer was definitive. "Why would we want to be a member of your Sovereignty. You people have been trying to kill us."
"Don't worry humans. As members, you will retain your autonomy, at least those of you who choose not to enter the glorified service of the Sovereign Fleet. But as members, it would dictate your territory and ensure other member species would not encroach on your area of space."
Another pause. "So, a ceasefire and treaty?"
Admiral Tonkin turned to Sykes for confirmation of the unusual term.
She nodded her head once, indicating whatever humans considered a ceasefire matched our vernacular.
"Correct."
The returning answer was much faster. "How can we trust you."
Admiral Tonkin curled his lip, an answer to two problems today. "I'm sending over the Captain of this ship as your spoils from this encounter. Do with him what you wish until members of the Council arrive. Does this show our good faith?"
A crackle of static, then, "Yes."
"Captain Sykes," Admiral Tonkin strode towards the door, ready to indulge his appetites on the hunting deck. He stocked it with some of his favorite prey animals before leaving on this mission. "Send Vranks out the airlock so he can meet our new members."
As an afterthought, he added, "No need to waste a good vac suit."
r/StaceyOutThere
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
A: would like some honey in your tea? I have your favorite kind of tea too.
Me: just a little. Of course you would.
A: So you haven’t been doing so great recently.
Me: What makes you think that?
A: your constantly crying when you are home alone
Me: Right, I’m not. I’m stuck I don’t know where to go from here where to turn to. Everyone I love is gone. I have no one.
A: Yes I saw that your romantic partner left last week. She took the dog too. When we both know that it was your dog to begin with
Me: Thank you, I just feel like nobody understands me. I repel people away like a overpowering perfume. Or they wince when they get near like a bad brain freeze.
A: You all smell bad to me but you dont smell any worse than any other human.
Me: Why are you even watching me? Why are you trying to help me?
A: Why did you help Max when you got him from the animal shelter? He had a broken leg and was way older than all the other dogs. You picked Max because you know what it was like to be broken and alone, to feel unwanted right? I picked you because I know what’s it like to feel outcasted. I want to help you, just like how you wanted to help Max.
Me: I didn’t know aliens to be so sympathetic.
A: I didn’t know that humans were able to talk. There is a lot more than meets the eye in both of us.
What you lack though and the rest of the population is perspective. perspective to see beyond your microcosmic existence and look broader. You species is yet so young and innocent. You barely can have to ability to see how your existence effects the people around you let alone the world that you inhabit. You live in tiny boxes independently when you are meant for community. There is a lot that you all must learn but the best thing you could do right now. Is look outside the window and see how the moon shines with the sun.
Now what was your problem? A slight feeling of being lost in your tiny world. Your life happens 1 in a billion chance having life start way out here, nobody on my planet thought it was possible but here you all are. Thriving, more or less. Problems that you face are there to help you not beat you down into a pulp. Problems mean you are still alive and that you still care to move forward. Use what you know, Be what you truly are with out all your other simulations that run in you head. Be the core of your species which is creative creatures. Builders, scientists, Storytellers. You love to share and create. Create what you see and help others connect with you from your own perspective. The more perspective the better we can all see the world.
Now How many doughnuts would you like before you go?
Me: mmmm Half dozen.
|
“So...how are we doing today?”
I stare at the creature in front of me with a mix of fascination, fear, and excitement.
“Are you actually an Alien, or am I dreaming?”
“Yes I suppose the term Alien, in your language, would be a good way to describe me,” it replies.
After the initial shock hits, I immediately want to do what any other sane human would do who met an Alien. Ask as many questions as possible.
“So is it true that those UFOs have actually been you? What color is your blood if you have it? You look pretty similar to what a typical Alien drawing looks like, is that cause you’ve been to Earth bef-“
“As honored as I am that you see me as some sort of space celebrity, that’s not the reason I brought you here.”
“Oh. Then why did you bring me here?” I ask.
“Steven, to put it bluntly we’ve been watching you. I suppose studying is a less creepy way of saying that, but hey what’s done is done haha.”
“Wait you’ve been spying on me? You know if Earth laws applied to you could get in a lot of trouble for that.”
“We do apologize BUT nobody would believe you if told them you saw us anyways. Besides Steven, we want to help you.”
“I can always catch you on vid- never mind I see you took my phone. What do you want?” I asked.
“Well, when monitoring your thoughts and behaviors….”
“You can read my thoughts?! Well time to crawl up in a hole and die of embarrassment I guess.”
“Yes we can read your thoughts, but just judging from your actions… is it normal to listen to sad music all the time? And while you’re listening to said music is it normal to post it on social media and say ‘don’t hmu only real ones know.’”
My face turned a bit red when the Alien said this. I felt like I just had my pants pulled down in public as I got my secrets exposed. I suppose I had posted those cringy captions, but hearing it from someone just made it more embarrassing.
“That was just a joke. An inside joke with my friends that I make sometimes.”
“Ok then. There have also been all those days where you’ve had a breakfast of ice cream with m&ms on it and monster energy drink. We know the effects of sugar, Steven. You aren’t keeping up with your nutrition are you?”
“Hey I’m allowed to do whatever I want. It’s a free country. If I want to give myself a kidney stone someday that’s my right.”
“Fine. What about that time you got drunk and went streaking around at night flipping everyone off. What do you call that, Steven? Are you really ok?”
“That was a good one,” I say with a laugh.
However, I can’t help but sigh. I knew deep down the reason I had been acting weird and seeking attention.
“But you’re right I don’t normally act like this. Truth is I’m really depressed. I moved to this new town, yet I still haven’t met a single person. Everyone back home always seems like they’re busy, and everyone I try to meet here doesn’t care for me. I feel like nobody loves me…”
“But Steven people do love you. You just don’t think about it. Trust me we’ve been through your contacts list, we know you have people who are there for you.”
“If they really were there for me they’d reach out.” I retort.
“Have you tried telling them how you feel?”
“No I haven’t,” I reply.
“Well maybe you can try that next time.”
“Well either way, I don’t think you can help me.”
“No but we can certainly try. I think we’ve made good progress at our first session. Mind if we abduct you again in a week?”
“I suppose I don’t have much of a choice do I?”
“No. No you don’t. Goodbye Steven, and remember you are loved.”
I pretend like I am annoyed with the Alien as I leave the ship, but the truth is I think that these therapy sessions are going to be good for me. It may take weeks, months, or even years before I feel better. However, I know the Aliens have my back, and if this isn’t a sign that I can fight depression then I don’t know what is.
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
The office looked like any other doctor’s office, with paintings of plants on the walls, the white-and-blue sterile style, and the computer in the corner, but that wouldn’t fool me. I knew that we were on a spaceship or something, so I refused to let go of my panic and continued to hyperventilate as I sat with my hands gripping the seat of my cushioned chair. A lime-green alien sat on the chair across from me and looked at me carefully with his stalk eyes.
“Are you okay, do you need something to drink?” The alien said.
“N...no,” I said, “I’m good. Please don’t study me anymore. I wanna go home.”
“I’m not here to study you or anything, I just want to help.” The alien extended his green, slightly translucent arm, “My name is Doctor Lewap, I’m an interspecies therapist who specializes in helping humans.”
I flinched backwards slightly, “No… no that’s okay. I’m good. Really.”
“Ah,” The doctor looked at his hand, “Is this whole, doctor thing not working?”
I shook my head, “Nope. You’re not fooling me. Of course you’re not a real doctor. You’re an alien. Now please let me go.”
“No,” Lewap said, shaking his head firmly. He spoke softly, “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you go. Doctor or not, I know that you’re hurting inside, that you lay in bed all day, isolated from the other humans, and I want to help you.”
I froze, then glared at the alien doctor. He looked back at me with his stalk eyes and smiled slightly, his eyes full of pain.
“I’m so, sorry, Jean… but please don’t look at me like that, it hurts too much.”
Lewap’s stalk eyes welled up with tears as he spoke.
“I… didn’t want you to hate me… I just wanted to help. I dressed up like a doctor, made the room seem familiar, all so I could help you… and I messed it all up.”
“Woah, woah,” I said as Lewap sniffled, “I don’t even know you, why are you getting all emotional over me?”
“I’ve been with you for a few months, ever since I ran away from my home planet. I never got the courage to talk to you, but I always cheered you on when you were sad and laughed along with you when you were happy, Jean. Your emotions gave me life.”
“I… see…” I said, taken aback by the alien’s earnestness.
“And now, I want to pay you back. I want to give you life.” The alien took my hand and looked at me with his honest, dark eyes.
“This is all, so surreal,” I said, “Too much to take in at once.” Everything he said felt so, real though. Like a vivid dream that I knew couldn't be real but I wished were so.
“Let me simplify it then,” Lewap said, “I want to play games with you, study with you, laugh with you, and share in your happiness and sadness so you’re not alone… ” Lewap stopped as I held up a hand.
“That's enough,” I said, "You're embarrassing yourself."
“Oh,” Lewap said, looking at the floor, tears welling up in his eyes.
Then I laughed, “Don’t cry! If you can’t, I’ll simplify it to three words for you. Be my friend.”
Lewap looked up quickly, and I hugged him. His body felt so tiny, and it still shivered with sobs, now of joy rather than sadness. I let him go and patted his shoulder.
“Now can you take us home? I'm happy, but I'm still very, very confused. We have a lot of catching up to do, Lewap.”
|
It was that fateful evening. A full moon approaching me at alarming speed, revealing itself to be an UFO.
The circular disc floated above me as I admired it, it let down a stream of blue light on me, dissolving my atoms.
I awoke aboard what I assumed was the UFO. Two big, green headed aliens watched over me.
Soon it was just me and the smaller alien. Both were bald but it was evident that this was the female alien. Her eyes a little larger, and her body a bit less boxy.
She reached out to me and placed her three fingers on my forehead. I wanted to feel her skin and see if it was truly as soft as It looked but unfortunately I was immobilised by some laser contraption.
Her fingers proceeded to caress my forehead and she slid it up and down, poking my cheeks every so often.
This was my demise I thought. I'm going to get experimented on and die. The silver lining was that a hot alien was the cause of death.
I closed my eyes and hoped for a painless death.
"Are you okay?"
A voice echoed throughout the room, vibrating every hair on my body.
She had stopped touching my forehead.
"You have many stress veins human" she proceeded to draw a circle around my chest. "Your feelings are turbulent..." she paused.
"Are you truly okay?" She asked me once again.
I froze. Not because my body was physically frozen by the laser contraption but - well yes that was why I was frozen. But also because it had been 20 years since someone had asked me that. It brought me memories of mother. I wanted to cry but my eyes were frozen open.
Her fingers were shaped like mushrooms. The finger tips large and sensual. Its touch full of love.
I wanted to respond but I couldn't. She seemed considerate but not considerate enough to consider that my mouth was frozen and that humans couldn't speak without moving their mouth...
So I just sat there while she felt my skin, running her fingers up and down and making heartwarming statements about my very stressful life.
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
“So Kathy,” the round-bodied, thin-limbed creature said in a surprisingly human voice. “How are we doing? Feeling alright?”
Kathy snarled. She had been forcefully abducted from her home, strapped into what she soon realized was a spacecraft, drugged, prodded a bit, drugged again, and then held in an empty white cell for *months.* She was feeling distinctly *not* alright.
“I’m sensing some hostility.”
“No shit!" Kathy yelled. "You kidnapped me!”
“Kidnapped?" The alien said, looking confused. "Heavens no. We would never kidnap anyone.”
“I was forcefully taken from my home and imprisoned on this ship for months. What would you call it?”
“Well we have it on good authority that you're a..." Zlagna glanced down at the clip-board on her lap, "...a twenty-eight year old human. Which by your species' standards, is well into adulthood. So we didn't *kidnap* you, we merely *abducted* you.”
Kathy stared her captor down, not willing to give it the satisfaction of a response. She wasn’t in the mood to debate semantics. A minute passed.
The alien still had that dumb look of confusion on its face, as if it were frozen there. Another minute. Kathy caved. “That’s it? You’re not going to say anything else?”
“I already said something. Now it’s your turn to say something. That’s how human conversations work.”
“Right, and you would be the expert wouldn't you," Kathy said sarcastically.
"Correct! I'm the ship's xenologist. So, do you feel better now?"
"Why would I feel better?"
"I thought you might feel better now that you understand you weren't kidnapped."
"Abducted isn't much better is it?!" Kathy yelled, exasperated. "Look, no one has told me anything since I got here. What the hell are you, and why’d you abduct me?”
“I’m Zlagna. I’m what you would call an alien. Oh I see you’re tensing up—*don’t worry!*” It said reassuringly. “When I say ‘alien,’ I mean the extraterrestrial kind. Not the illegal ones you think are stealing your jobs.”
“Oh great. How very reassuring. I’m glad to hear you’re not stealing my job, and instead, you're just stealing my *entire fucking self!*”
“Excellent. So you feel better?”
“No I don’t fucking feel better! You kept me locked up in a box for months!”
Zlagna frowned. “Is that a long time?”
“*Yes* it's a long time! It's a very very long time!”
“I’m terribly sorry. You're the first human we've abducted. I suppose that with your short life-spans a month could feel like a while.”
“Yes, Zlagna. Yes it does. Apology not accepted. What do you want from me anyways? You want to run some tests? Stick a probe up my butt?”
“No no, I haven't probed a butt in years. I’m just here to make sure you’re feeling okay. We noticed your mental health was declining, so we read a bit about human 'therapy' and just want to make you feel better.”
Zlagna seemed almost sincere. Kathy *had* been in a rut the past year or two. Was it so crazy that this was a misunderstanding brought on by inconceivable differences between two entirely different planetary species? She wasn’t about to let her guard down, but maybe she should give the alien the benefit of the doubt. “So you’re just here to make me feel better?" Kathy asked. "That’s all you want?”
“Of course!” Zlagna pulled out a teddy bear. “Now tell me on this Theodore-bear where the bad people touched you.”
Kathy burst out laughing. “I think you’ve been reading the wrong therapy books!”
“But you’re laughing!" Zlagna said excitedly. "That’s a symptom of mental hygiene! So you feel better?”
“Yeah, well, I guess it's a start.” Kathy said smiling.
“Great!” Zlagna said, turning to the door. “Zorgon! Get in here! The human’s mental state has stabilized!”
“Wait what? Who's Zorgon?”
"It was great meeting you Kathy. My job here is done. I just needed to normalize your mental state before Zorgon takes over." Zlagna turned to the door again, cupping her slender green hands over her mouth. "*Zorgon!* Don't forget the butt probe!"
 
***
 
Thanks for reading! This is only my second post, but I plan to write more and aggregate everything on r/Banana_Scribe
|
It was that fateful evening. A full moon approaching me at alarming speed, revealing itself to be an UFO.
The circular disc floated above me as I admired it, it let down a stream of blue light on me, dissolving my atoms.
I awoke aboard what I assumed was the UFO. Two big, green headed aliens watched over me.
Soon it was just me and the smaller alien. Both were bald but it was evident that this was the female alien. Her eyes a little larger, and her body a bit less boxy.
She reached out to me and placed her three fingers on my forehead. I wanted to feel her skin and see if it was truly as soft as It looked but unfortunately I was immobilised by some laser contraption.
Her fingers proceeded to caress my forehead and she slid it up and down, poking my cheeks every so often.
This was my demise I thought. I'm going to get experimented on and die. The silver lining was that a hot alien was the cause of death.
I closed my eyes and hoped for a painless death.
"Are you okay?"
A voice echoed throughout the room, vibrating every hair on my body.
She had stopped touching my forehead.
"You have many stress veins human" she proceeded to draw a circle around my chest. "Your feelings are turbulent..." she paused.
"Are you truly okay?" She asked me once again.
I froze. Not because my body was physically frozen by the laser contraption but - well yes that was why I was frozen. But also because it had been 20 years since someone had asked me that. It brought me memories of mother. I wanted to cry but my eyes were frozen open.
Her fingers were shaped like mushrooms. The finger tips large and sensual. Its touch full of love.
I wanted to respond but I couldn't. She seemed considerate but not considerate enough to consider that my mouth was frozen and that humans couldn't speak without moving their mouth...
So I just sat there while she felt my skin, running her fingers up and down and making heartwarming statements about my very stressful life.
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
Lily frantically looked around the room she found herself in. It was solid white, the walls smooth and slick. The door set flush with one wall was locked right, with no obvious console or mechanism to open it.
Lily shrugged and plopped back into the couch. It was soft, at least, and she found herself drooping down into sleep.
When she awoke, she immediately noticed she was not alone. A strange creature, like a bipedal insect, stood before her. Lily looked at it's eyes, which took up nearly a third of its face, but couldn't discern any emotion.
"You are...unwell." Lily heard the words almost as a buzzing. This creature didn't have a visible mouth. How was it talking to her?
"I have been observing you for many of your moon phases." This time, Lily caught the almost imperceptible vibrating of the creatures wings.
"I don't understand, what do you want with me?" Lily felt the panic start to rise in her chest.
"Do you want to go home?" It blinked it's saucer like orange eyes at her.
"Well, not really...but I don't feel safe here."
"Human safety...human safety..." It began to flitter around the room. Lily watched as hidden compartments opened in the wall. The creature gathered up an armful of blankets and pillows from the closet, and began to pile them onto her.
"I have observed you spent much of your time curled up in your...what do you call it...blanket nest?" The creature tilted it's head inquisitively. "I have also procured some tea and cookies!"
It flew out the door, and returned with a tray of steaming tea and cookies. Chamomile. Lily's favorite. *This thing really did it's research. What if it also knows about...? No,* Lily thought, *don't think about it now...*
Too late...
The tears overwhelmed her, cascading down her cheeks and collecting into salty droplets on the blanket. She burrowed deeper into her nest.
"I understand, human. I have seen the true evil of your kind. Please know, that man has also been procured. However, while I'm here to learn more about human emotions, my friends are learning something very different from him."
Lily's heart began to pound, and she wildly scanned the room for the man who haunted her nightmares.
"Be calm, human. He is secured elsewhere. There is a swarm of Odota between you and him. And many locked doors."
Lily relaxed back into the blankets, and cautiously sniffed the tea. It smelled amazing, with a tinge of honey. After a moment of sipping the tea, she gathered up her courage and began to nibble a cookie.
"Very good! Humans require liquid and solid sustenance daily. You have been insufficient in consuming your nutrients. There is plenty for you to consume. You failed to eat due to emotions, is my theory. Is that correct?"
Lily nodded weakly.
The creature overturned a honey jar into a cup, and a long thin tongue snaked it's way from the beings mouth to the sweet beverage.
"You feel unsafe. Shall I return you home? The other human will not be returning." The buzzing was softer this time, more subdued. The movements almost seemed hesitant.
"I don't think I'll ever feel safe there again." Lily felt the tears sting her eyes again.
"You will, human. It will take time, but you will. Your species is synonymous in galactic standard for resilience. Your reputation precedes you. I assure you, all will be well in time."
"Can I stay here?" Lily knew it was a childish question, but she was desperate to flee these memories.
"I'm afraid not. One day your kind will make their way into the galactic community. Let me tell you from experience, though, that the galaxy is not large enough to outrun your problems. You'll have to face them, and overcome them." The beings eyes dulled, and it's wings dropped slightly.
Lily ran forward and hugged it. The creature's hard carapace was slick and cool. "Thank you. I don't know how to talk to anyone about this. I don't know what to say to Mom. I'm scared."
"Let's go, then. I won't leave until you feel safe. I'm Ziiila, by the way." Ziiila extended her hand to Lily.
It's going to be okay, Lily thought, I have a friend to help me through this.
"Shall we go talk to her together? Sometimes things are easier with a friend. I am so excited that my theories and hypothesis was correct! We aren't so different after all."
Edit: Sorry for the typos. I typed this on phone.
|
It was that fateful evening. A full moon approaching me at alarming speed, revealing itself to be an UFO.
The circular disc floated above me as I admired it, it let down a stream of blue light on me, dissolving my atoms.
I awoke aboard what I assumed was the UFO. Two big, green headed aliens watched over me.
Soon it was just me and the smaller alien. Both were bald but it was evident that this was the female alien. Her eyes a little larger, and her body a bit less boxy.
She reached out to me and placed her three fingers on my forehead. I wanted to feel her skin and see if it was truly as soft as It looked but unfortunately I was immobilised by some laser contraption.
Her fingers proceeded to caress my forehead and she slid it up and down, poking my cheeks every so often.
This was my demise I thought. I'm going to get experimented on and die. The silver lining was that a hot alien was the cause of death.
I closed my eyes and hoped for a painless death.
"Are you okay?"
A voice echoed throughout the room, vibrating every hair on my body.
She had stopped touching my forehead.
"You have many stress veins human" she proceeded to draw a circle around my chest. "Your feelings are turbulent..." she paused.
"Are you truly okay?" She asked me once again.
I froze. Not because my body was physically frozen by the laser contraption but - well yes that was why I was frozen. But also because it had been 20 years since someone had asked me that. It brought me memories of mother. I wanted to cry but my eyes were frozen open.
Her fingers were shaped like mushrooms. The finger tips large and sensual. Its touch full of love.
I wanted to respond but I couldn't. She seemed considerate but not considerate enough to consider that my mouth was frozen and that humans couldn't speak without moving their mouth...
So I just sat there while she felt my skin, running her fingers up and down and making heartwarming statements about my very stressful life.
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
Lily frantically looked around the room she found herself in. It was solid white, the walls smooth and slick. The door set flush with one wall was locked right, with no obvious console or mechanism to open it.
Lily shrugged and plopped back into the couch. It was soft, at least, and she found herself drooping down into sleep.
When she awoke, she immediately noticed she was not alone. A strange creature, like a bipedal insect, stood before her. Lily looked at it's eyes, which took up nearly a third of its face, but couldn't discern any emotion.
"You are...unwell." Lily heard the words almost as a buzzing. This creature didn't have a visible mouth. How was it talking to her?
"I have been observing you for many of your moon phases." This time, Lily caught the almost imperceptible vibrating of the creatures wings.
"I don't understand, what do you want with me?" Lily felt the panic start to rise in her chest.
"Do you want to go home?" It blinked it's saucer like orange eyes at her.
"Well, not really...but I don't feel safe here."
"Human safety...human safety..." It began to flitter around the room. Lily watched as hidden compartments opened in the wall. The creature gathered up an armful of blankets and pillows from the closet, and began to pile them onto her.
"I have observed you spent much of your time curled up in your...what do you call it...blanket nest?" The creature tilted it's head inquisitively. "I have also procured some tea and cookies!"
It flew out the door, and returned with a tray of steaming tea and cookies. Chamomile. Lily's favorite. *This thing really did it's research. What if it also knows about...? No,* Lily thought, *don't think about it now...*
Too late...
The tears overwhelmed her, cascading down her cheeks and collecting into salty droplets on the blanket. She burrowed deeper into her nest.
"I understand, human. I have seen the true evil of your kind. Please know, that man has also been procured. However, while I'm here to learn more about human emotions, my friends are learning something very different from him."
Lily's heart began to pound, and she wildly scanned the room for the man who haunted her nightmares.
"Be calm, human. He is secured elsewhere. There is a swarm of Odota between you and him. And many locked doors."
Lily relaxed back into the blankets, and cautiously sniffed the tea. It smelled amazing, with a tinge of honey. After a moment of sipping the tea, she gathered up her courage and began to nibble a cookie.
"Very good! Humans require liquid and solid sustenance daily. You have been insufficient in consuming your nutrients. There is plenty for you to consume. You failed to eat due to emotions, is my theory. Is that correct?"
Lily nodded weakly.
The creature overturned a honey jar into a cup, and a long thin tongue snaked it's way from the beings mouth to the sweet beverage.
"You feel unsafe. Shall I return you home? The other human will not be returning." The buzzing was softer this time, more subdued. The movements almost seemed hesitant.
"I don't think I'll ever feel safe there again." Lily felt the tears sting her eyes again.
"You will, human. It will take time, but you will. Your species is synonymous in galactic standard for resilience. Your reputation precedes you. I assure you, all will be well in time."
"Can I stay here?" Lily knew it was a childish question, but she was desperate to flee these memories.
"I'm afraid not. One day your kind will make their way into the galactic community. Let me tell you from experience, though, that the galaxy is not large enough to outrun your problems. You'll have to face them, and overcome them." The beings eyes dulled, and it's wings dropped slightly.
Lily ran forward and hugged it. The creature's hard carapace was slick and cool. "Thank you. I don't know how to talk to anyone about this. I don't know what to say to Mom. I'm scared."
"Let's go, then. I won't leave until you feel safe. I'm Ziiila, by the way." Ziiila extended her hand to Lily.
It's going to be okay, Lily thought, I have a friend to help me through this.
"Shall we go talk to her together? Sometimes things are easier with a friend. I am so excited that my theories and hypothesis was correct! We aren't so different after all."
Edit: Sorry for the typos. I typed this on phone.
|
The office looked like any other doctor’s office, with paintings of plants on the walls, the white-and-blue sterile style, and the computer in the corner, but that wouldn’t fool me. I knew that we were on a spaceship or something, so I refused to let go of my panic and continued to hyperventilate as I sat with my hands gripping the seat of my cushioned chair. A lime-green alien sat on the chair across from me and looked at me carefully with his stalk eyes.
“Are you okay, do you need something to drink?” The alien said.
“N...no,” I said, “I’m good. Please don’t study me anymore. I wanna go home.”
“I’m not here to study you or anything, I just want to help.” The alien extended his green, slightly translucent arm, “My name is Doctor Lewap, I’m an interspecies therapist who specializes in helping humans.”
I flinched backwards slightly, “No… no that’s okay. I’m good. Really.”
“Ah,” The doctor looked at his hand, “Is this whole, doctor thing not working?”
I shook my head, “Nope. You’re not fooling me. Of course you’re not a real doctor. You’re an alien. Now please let me go.”
“No,” Lewap said, shaking his head firmly. He spoke softly, “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you go. Doctor or not, I know that you’re hurting inside, that you lay in bed all day, isolated from the other humans, and I want to help you.”
I froze, then glared at the alien doctor. He looked back at me with his stalk eyes and smiled slightly, his eyes full of pain.
“I’m so, sorry, Jean… but please don’t look at me like that, it hurts too much.”
Lewap’s stalk eyes welled up with tears as he spoke.
“I… didn’t want you to hate me… I just wanted to help. I dressed up like a doctor, made the room seem familiar, all so I could help you… and I messed it all up.”
“Woah, woah,” I said as Lewap sniffled, “I don’t even know you, why are you getting all emotional over me?”
“I’ve been with you for a few months, ever since I ran away from my home planet. I never got the courage to talk to you, but I always cheered you on when you were sad and laughed along with you when you were happy, Jean. Your emotions gave me life.”
“I… see…” I said, taken aback by the alien’s earnestness.
“And now, I want to pay you back. I want to give you life.” The alien took my hand and looked at me with his honest, dark eyes.
“This is all, so surreal,” I said, “Too much to take in at once.” Everything he said felt so, real though. Like a vivid dream that I knew couldn't be real but I wished were so.
“Let me simplify it then,” Lewap said, “I want to play games with you, study with you, laugh with you, and share in your happiness and sadness so you’re not alone… ” Lewap stopped as I held up a hand.
“That's enough,” I said, "You're embarrassing yourself."
“Oh,” Lewap said, looking at the floor, tears welling up in his eyes.
Then I laughed, “Don’t cry! If you can’t, I’ll simplify it to three words for you. Be my friend.”
Lewap looked up quickly, and I hugged him. His body felt so tiny, and it still shivered with sobs, now of joy rather than sadness. I let him go and patted his shoulder.
“Now can you take us home? I'm happy, but I'm still very, very confused. We have a lot of catching up to do, Lewap.”
|
|
[WP] You thought you were being abducted by aliens for bizarre medical experiments. Instead it turns into a therapy session as the alien researcher who has been observing you for months asks if you are really ok.
|
Lily frantically looked around the room she found herself in. It was solid white, the walls smooth and slick. The door set flush with one wall was locked right, with no obvious console or mechanism to open it.
Lily shrugged and plopped back into the couch. It was soft, at least, and she found herself drooping down into sleep.
When she awoke, she immediately noticed she was not alone. A strange creature, like a bipedal insect, stood before her. Lily looked at it's eyes, which took up nearly a third of its face, but couldn't discern any emotion.
"You are...unwell." Lily heard the words almost as a buzzing. This creature didn't have a visible mouth. How was it talking to her?
"I have been observing you for many of your moon phases." This time, Lily caught the almost imperceptible vibrating of the creatures wings.
"I don't understand, what do you want with me?" Lily felt the panic start to rise in her chest.
"Do you want to go home?" It blinked it's saucer like orange eyes at her.
"Well, not really...but I don't feel safe here."
"Human safety...human safety..." It began to flitter around the room. Lily watched as hidden compartments opened in the wall. The creature gathered up an armful of blankets and pillows from the closet, and began to pile them onto her.
"I have observed you spent much of your time curled up in your...what do you call it...blanket nest?" The creature tilted it's head inquisitively. "I have also procured some tea and cookies!"
It flew out the door, and returned with a tray of steaming tea and cookies. Chamomile. Lily's favorite. *This thing really did it's research. What if it also knows about...? No,* Lily thought, *don't think about it now...*
Too late...
The tears overwhelmed her, cascading down her cheeks and collecting into salty droplets on the blanket. She burrowed deeper into her nest.
"I understand, human. I have seen the true evil of your kind. Please know, that man has also been procured. However, while I'm here to learn more about human emotions, my friends are learning something very different from him."
Lily's heart began to pound, and she wildly scanned the room for the man who haunted her nightmares.
"Be calm, human. He is secured elsewhere. There is a swarm of Odota between you and him. And many locked doors."
Lily relaxed back into the blankets, and cautiously sniffed the tea. It smelled amazing, with a tinge of honey. After a moment of sipping the tea, she gathered up her courage and began to nibble a cookie.
"Very good! Humans require liquid and solid sustenance daily. You have been insufficient in consuming your nutrients. There is plenty for you to consume. You failed to eat due to emotions, is my theory. Is that correct?"
Lily nodded weakly.
The creature overturned a honey jar into a cup, and a long thin tongue snaked it's way from the beings mouth to the sweet beverage.
"You feel unsafe. Shall I return you home? The other human will not be returning." The buzzing was softer this time, more subdued. The movements almost seemed hesitant.
"I don't think I'll ever feel safe there again." Lily felt the tears sting her eyes again.
"You will, human. It will take time, but you will. Your species is synonymous in galactic standard for resilience. Your reputation precedes you. I assure you, all will be well in time."
"Can I stay here?" Lily knew it was a childish question, but she was desperate to flee these memories.
"I'm afraid not. One day your kind will make their way into the galactic community. Let me tell you from experience, though, that the galaxy is not large enough to outrun your problems. You'll have to face them, and overcome them." The beings eyes dulled, and it's wings dropped slightly.
Lily ran forward and hugged it. The creature's hard carapace was slick and cool. "Thank you. I don't know how to talk to anyone about this. I don't know what to say to Mom. I'm scared."
"Let's go, then. I won't leave until you feel safe. I'm Ziiila, by the way." Ziiila extended her hand to Lily.
It's going to be okay, Lily thought, I have a friend to help me through this.
"Shall we go talk to her together? Sometimes things are easier with a friend. I am so excited that my theories and hypothesis was correct! We aren't so different after all."
Edit: Sorry for the typos. I typed this on phone.
|
“So Kathy,” the round-bodied, thin-limbed creature said in a surprisingly human voice. “How are we doing? Feeling alright?”
Kathy snarled. She had been forcefully abducted from her home, strapped into what she soon realized was a spacecraft, drugged, prodded a bit, drugged again, and then held in an empty white cell for *months.* She was feeling distinctly *not* alright.
“I’m sensing some hostility.”
“No shit!" Kathy yelled. "You kidnapped me!”
“Kidnapped?" The alien said, looking confused. "Heavens no. We would never kidnap anyone.”
“I was forcefully taken from my home and imprisoned on this ship for months. What would you call it?”
“Well we have it on good authority that you're a..." Zlagna glanced down at the clip-board on her lap, "...a twenty-eight year old human. Which by your species' standards, is well into adulthood. So we didn't *kidnap* you, we merely *abducted* you.”
Kathy stared her captor down, not willing to give it the satisfaction of a response. She wasn’t in the mood to debate semantics. A minute passed.
The alien still had that dumb look of confusion on its face, as if it were frozen there. Another minute. Kathy caved. “That’s it? You’re not going to say anything else?”
“I already said something. Now it’s your turn to say something. That’s how human conversations work.”
“Right, and you would be the expert wouldn't you," Kathy said sarcastically.
"Correct! I'm the ship's xenologist. So, do you feel better now?"
"Why would I feel better?"
"I thought you might feel better now that you understand you weren't kidnapped."
"Abducted isn't much better is it?!" Kathy yelled, exasperated. "Look, no one has told me anything since I got here. What the hell are you, and why’d you abduct me?”
“I’m Zlagna. I’m what you would call an alien. Oh I see you’re tensing up—*don’t worry!*” It said reassuringly. “When I say ‘alien,’ I mean the extraterrestrial kind. Not the illegal ones you think are stealing your jobs.”
“Oh great. How very reassuring. I’m glad to hear you’re not stealing my job, and instead, you're just stealing my *entire fucking self!*”
“Excellent. So you feel better?”
“No I don’t fucking feel better! You kept me locked up in a box for months!”
Zlagna frowned. “Is that a long time?”
“*Yes* it's a long time! It's a very very long time!”
“I’m terribly sorry. You're the first human we've abducted. I suppose that with your short life-spans a month could feel like a while.”
“Yes, Zlagna. Yes it does. Apology not accepted. What do you want from me anyways? You want to run some tests? Stick a probe up my butt?”
“No no, I haven't probed a butt in years. I’m just here to make sure you’re feeling okay. We noticed your mental health was declining, so we read a bit about human 'therapy' and just want to make you feel better.”
Zlagna seemed almost sincere. Kathy *had* been in a rut the past year or two. Was it so crazy that this was a misunderstanding brought on by inconceivable differences between two entirely different planetary species? She wasn’t about to let her guard down, but maybe she should give the alien the benefit of the doubt. “So you’re just here to make me feel better?" Kathy asked. "That’s all you want?”
“Of course!” Zlagna pulled out a teddy bear. “Now tell me on this Theodore-bear where the bad people touched you.”
Kathy burst out laughing. “I think you’ve been reading the wrong therapy books!”
“But you’re laughing!" Zlagna said excitedly. "That’s a symptom of mental hygiene! So you feel better?”
“Yeah, well, I guess it's a start.” Kathy said smiling.
“Great!” Zlagna said, turning to the door. “Zorgon! Get in here! The human’s mental state has stabilized!”
“Wait what? Who's Zorgon?”
"It was great meeting you Kathy. My job here is done. I just needed to normalize your mental state before Zorgon takes over." Zlagna turned to the door again, cupping her slender green hands over her mouth. "*Zorgon!* Don't forget the butt probe!"
 
***
 
Thanks for reading! This is only my second post, but I plan to write more and aggregate everything on r/Banana_Scribe
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
But why a *worm*?
*It's supposed to be a perfect balance for a 'transcendent' experience. A worm is 'alive' enough to get a soul, big enough to have a brain, and dumb enough to have jack going on upstairs. Nothing to do but eat sleep and bone other worms. And since it's a tiny little creature in prehistoric times, there's plenty of potential bodies to go around. No waiting in a further queue for a slot to open up after making your choice.*
Okay. That doesn't actually sound too bad...
*Yeah. The only problem is, you're a fucking worm.*
Yeah, that's not really a mark in it's favor…
*Look, I'm not going to stop you getting your wiggle on at least once. Get back in line, maybe give it a try, maybe check out Ancient Rome or the Jovian Colonies. I'll be here when you get back.*
You're not getting in line?
*Been there, done that. Have a fun time in realspace.*
You're really just going to wait for me to get back? It's a long line...
*We're in reincarnation's waiting room. Time is the one thing I've got.*
---
*Welcome back. How was it?*
I was a worm.
*Thought you might pick that. How was it?*
I was... A worm. A dumb wriggling thing tunneling through the dirt. Nothing enlightening or transcendent about it.
*Oh?*
…I'm going to try again. Maybe I missed something?
*Missed something about being a worm?*
---
*So how'd it go?*
I got eaten!
*Not so good then?*
By a LIZARD!
*A risk of the occupation.*
Fuck worms! Fuck the whole lot of them. If you can get something out of that experience you're welcome to it. I'm going to the future.
---
*Are you okay?*
The hull seal blew. Depressurized instantly. I wasn't wearing a suit, I can still feel the...
*You're safe now. Take your time.*
It's going to be like this every time, isn't it. No matter what I choose, I'll still die at the end. I'll still wind up back here.
*Pretty much.*
…
…
…Why aren't you in line?
*Waiting for you. Or someone like you, anyway.*
Why?
*It's a two person job to get over the wall.*
|
The hideous thing slithered out of the doorway behind the terminal. Its lopsided bulk scraping the frame as it pushed those writhing tentacular appendages through.
Its face was inconceivably grotesque with a thousand misplaced eyes all staring out at Henry, or not Henry anymore, Spirit [445667839-a.tt/xe](https://445667839-a.tt/xe). Henry had already forgotten.
The Hulking being looked at Henry with all those eyes, filled with hate, insanity, and most of all the boredom that comes with working for a universal spirit placing agency.
"Hold on" It said with the voice of a million lost souls translated into what seemed like speech but was more a violating intrusion into Henry's mind.
It reached behind the counter and produced a green vest that sported the agency's logo a figure eight on its side. The name of the agency was printed below. Regen-Solutions. Its name tag read Bertfgggn.
"Back again Hen-... Sorry. [445667839-a.tt/xe](https://445667839-a.tt/xe).?" It said
"Ya, not my fault once again." Henry said.
"Hmm, so your file shows twenty five deaths in the last hundred years. Most from falling from different buildings around Earth."
"Like I said, not my fault. Its these bodies you keep putting me in. They all have this desire to look over the edge of something tall for some reason."
"Ya Henry, when you're born in one of our bodies our specialized software, or spiritware, packages get installed. That means you bring your soul's desire with you." Bertfgggn said.
"So?"
"So, Henry. You must not realize that these rebirths aren't free. Corporate is looking into some things here. You have a flag on your file."
"Wait, isn't that discrimination? Is it because I'm black?"
"Henry, your last body was black, you've been white, a woman, a white woman, an asian bankteller. That won't work."
"Well, this is some kind of discrimination, I know it. Let me talk to your manager Bertfgggn."
"Seriously Henry?"
"Ya, ask him if being black in my last life entitles me to some sort of spiritual litigation."
"Alright."
With that Bertfgggn turns around and shoves his bulk back through the door he entered from leaving primordial slime on the jamb.
Henry looked around at the place. Inconceivably high ceilings, the walls were translucent and he could see the infinite abyss beyond the walls.
All those poor Christian souls that were plunged down those depths after death with no hope of regeneration. Thankfully, Henry had had the will to choose a religion with reincarnation as a possibility in each of his thousands of lives, otherwise he might actually have to pass on. God knows what that would mean.
There was a shuffling of horrible slug like "feet" as Bertfgggn came back from the manager's office. He shrugged through the door and got back to the terminal.
"Henry, you lucky bastard."
"What?"
"My manager's in a good mood, and he recognizes you are one of our best customers. So..."
"Ya, So?"
"So he wants to offer you a deal."
"We aren't going to put you back in a human body for another thousand years."
"What the fuck Bert?"
"But, but, there's something even better. Something that we only offer to our premium customers."
"I'm listening."
"Hear me out. Protoplankton."
"No..."
"Ya, that one is bad. That was the boss's first pitch. Alright, how about Tricladida. That is the final offer. Otherwise, its..."
Bert pointed toward the abyss and Henry's stomach dropped.
"No, no abyss. What is this tri-chlamydia thing?"
"Look, I won't lie, its a worm."
"What the fuck Bert, for real? Is it because I was black?"
"No man, this is a premium service. Just because its a worm doesn't mean its bad man. Surely someone who's lived thousands of lives has picked up a reverance for the amazing life on Earth."
"You'd be surprised."
"Whatever. Take a look at that long ass line over there would ya?"
Henry looked over and saw a huge line full of bored people queued up outside gilded double doors with a badge reader on the front. A bouncer stood in front of the doors letting one person in at a time.
"Think about it. This worm is a predator. It doesn't have too much of a nervous system so really low stakes problems. Just killing eating and reproducing."
"Well..."
"C'mon Henry, they're trying to offer you a premium service. You've been a great customer for millenia so you deserve it man. This is a once in a lifetime thing. I mean, not lifetime, but you know what I mean."
"Bert man, are you sure?"
"Ya i'm sure man. Here's your voucher."
"Alright Bert, I'm gonna trust you."
"Good Henry, I'm just trying to help."
Henry took one last look at Bert's horribly ugly misshapen face and smiled. Bert flexed the musculature under his mottled skin and shuddered, Henry knew this was how Shoggoths smiled.
"Until next time old pal."
"Ya, until then."
They parted and Henry waited in the line outside the gilded doors. The others in line chattered to each other and told stories about all the ways they'd died.
When it was Henry's turn to enter the doors the bouncer reached out for the voucher and Henry handed it over.
"Ah, another gold club member. You know this is quite an honor. I'm jealous, really." Said the bouncer.
"Ya, it is quite an opportunity. Maybe one day you'll get here too." Henry said.
The bouncer opened the door.
"Go ahead and enter the chamber. Your tech will be here soon."
Henry went into the room and the door slammed behind him. Finally, after all these deaths and all this time he was actually getting what he deserved. He smiled.
The room was a small white chamber with a cylindrical beam of light in the middle. Henry knew from all the times before that this was where he was meant to stand to start the regen process. He waited for the tech.
A door opened to his right and Bert entered.
"Hey Bert! Long time no see. Do I need to fill out some forms or something? Where's the tech?" Henry asked.
"Oh Henry, I'm the tech on this one. I just kinda do this on the side while old Bhozish is out."
"Oh awesome!"
"Hop in Henry, I'll turn on the machine."
Henry walked into the cylinder of light and turned around to look at Bert.
"Alright, let me just."
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
But why a *worm*?
*It's supposed to be a perfect balance for a 'transcendent' experience. A worm is 'alive' enough to get a soul, big enough to have a brain, and dumb enough to have jack going on upstairs. Nothing to do but eat sleep and bone other worms. And since it's a tiny little creature in prehistoric times, there's plenty of potential bodies to go around. No waiting in a further queue for a slot to open up after making your choice.*
Okay. That doesn't actually sound too bad...
*Yeah. The only problem is, you're a fucking worm.*
Yeah, that's not really a mark in it's favor…
*Look, I'm not going to stop you getting your wiggle on at least once. Get back in line, maybe give it a try, maybe check out Ancient Rome or the Jovian Colonies. I'll be here when you get back.*
You're not getting in line?
*Been there, done that. Have a fun time in realspace.*
You're really just going to wait for me to get back? It's a long line...
*We're in reincarnation's waiting room. Time is the one thing I've got.*
---
*Welcome back. How was it?*
I was a worm.
*Thought you might pick that. How was it?*
I was... A worm. A dumb wriggling thing tunneling through the dirt. Nothing enlightening or transcendent about it.
*Oh?*
…I'm going to try again. Maybe I missed something?
*Missed something about being a worm?*
---
*So how'd it go?*
I got eaten!
*Not so good then?*
By a LIZARD!
*A risk of the occupation.*
Fuck worms! Fuck the whole lot of them. If you can get something out of that experience you're welcome to it. I'm going to the future.
---
*Are you okay?*
The hull seal blew. Depressurized instantly. I wasn't wearing a suit, I can still feel the...
*You're safe now. Take your time.*
It's going to be like this every time, isn't it. No matter what I choose, I'll still die at the end. I'll still wind up back here.
*Pretty much.*
…
…
…Why aren't you in line?
*Waiting for you. Or someone like you, anyway.*
Why?
*It's a two person job to get over the wall.*
|
I never thought I'd be given a chance to choose. Given the vain life I lived. Without helping and without being helped. Without loving and without being loved. But here I am. Maybe this is the chance to correct all my wrongdoings. I will definitely do it right this time, I thought. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I went ahead and chose the path to (what I thought) a glorious future.
__________________________________________________
That was quick, I thought with a whoosh. Or was it long? Who knows how long it takes to reach heaven. Does time hold any meaning here? I wondered as I waited to be led to my destination.
A long life it was. The years felt long even though my time was so short. The last time I was here I made the wrong choice in my haste, or was it because I wasn't an 'experienced' soul? This life was not what I imagined it to be. It wasn't glorious, far from it. But it taught me, what I didn't know at the time I made this choice.
My short life showed me the changed world. The world I was hoping to see was there. But there were things I did not expect to see. Technology had made the impossible happen. The world looked dreamy. But as things changed, not everything changed for good. The rapid pace with which we were running to the future, made the extremes of the world more visible. It almost felt like the world had two sides. One was dreamlike and the one that showed the results of it. In that dream there was a solution to everything. But it's result was people were nothing more than products. What seemed like a metaphor in the past was actually happening. It is hard to believe now that I have my memories. But there it felt so natural. Cruelty felt natural.
When I was there I didn't even know I made the choice of being there. It was easier that way. Knowing a different life and living a different one can be tormenting. In the end, this life was just as vain as the last one, since I didn't even remember the resolve I went with– changing my life. So everything repeated. But atleast I gained something this time, I became an 'experienced' soul.
In a past life my teacher told me "That's the difference of being an experienced soul. Experienced souls look for more experiences while new souls look for more wealth." I didn't think much of it. I didn't think I was chasing wealth. Who doesn't want to live a comfortable life? I said. But she just smiled.
How do I remember these conversations after all these years? I was intrigued. "Maybe time doesn't mean anything here after all," a female voice replied. I turned around to see the woman I had this conversation with. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since then. I asked H-how? How do you look just like then?
"I don't look like anything", she replied. "I am a soul just like you. To you I look like the teacher you had the conversation with and to my enemy I'll still look like the soldier he met at the battlefield. Like I said, time doesn't mean anything here. Your perception defines how souls look like." But–
In a flash she was gone. Everything around me started to dissolve. And I was standing there again. The place where I made my foolish choice. It was time to choose again. But this time I knew what I wanted.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
I giant panel resembling that of a flight departure sign but in four dimensions hovers in the front of the line, updating and calibrating with each new soul that plummets into their new lives. The count of Humans is always very high, but surprisingly enough, animals and other creatures from even other worlds get a fair amount.
Now there is an exceptionally diverse range within humans, which is why it is so popular but
Some choose the same life as they had before. Those are typically the souls that feel like they missed something the first go around. Something that goes unsaid or a dream that they never pursued the first time. That’s a tricky cycle to break out of, but I've seen plenty of higher-up souls do the same thing and find total bliss and fulfillment in that.
I had a pretty good round this last time, but. I’m not about that. I think I got everything out of my life. I was a doctor who had a beautiful wife, family, fulfilled. In the end, I even wrote a book about my story and how I became so lucky.
I'll have to keep that in mind to pick up that book in my next life, not that I'll remember. It will just be a little inside joke for me.
I could decide to do a couple of quick greatest hits lives. These encompass the short and sweet ones. Things like miscarriages, abortions, Getting hit by a car while trying to grab a ball from the streets. Classic. These are nice cause they are short and sweet. Since you move on so quickly, you don’t have to feel like you are stuck. You get the experience, and then your out. They are usually pleasant and can learn a lot. A lot of people testing the waters of different kinds of lives gravitate to this list.
There are longer ones filled with extraordinary lives, the poor lives, the everything fucking goes wrong life, EFGW for short. One of my soulmates had this one. They had this almost post-apocalyptic scenario where everyone in the world got sick from this rampant virus. They called it too and, well, moved on. I have been those also. All super rewarding, not always realized at the time, but I can see why it was essential to have those experiences.
I’m looking for something new though something fresh, something way outside my usual.
I finally get to widen my timeline to a broader scope in the universe. It’s kind of like Girl and boys scouts where you get badges for doing good deeds. My soul sash has reached the next tier. So now I can pick just about anywhere I want in time. Other than the beginning and the end of time.
I look at the panel, and I see a new life journey crawl up the ranks of popularity. I’m not really about trends, but I’m curious to see what the higher uppers are on right now. Since you know your girl is a semi enlightened being now. And. It takes me a second to read the life that scrolls across the panel
Life: Worm
Timeline: 121 BCE
Active: ^ 6 Million
Wait. What? I watch it scroll past again in case I missed something. I have been insects before and other critters but a worm? I’m not getting it. What kind of Ayahuasca shit are they on.
I pull up one of the live feeds of their lives, yep, just what I expected—literal darkness eating and shitting dirt all day. I may be enlightened, but I’m not insane. I’m not about to be the odd man out either.
I decide to scroll through the different worm subspecies. Oh, here we go, I got a plan. I just need to change my setting here. Let’s go, Alternate universe, New world timeline 121 million BCE, and we will pick a worm call Websteroprion armstrongi, these typically lived in the sea, but hey, we don't need god to change the rules. I will make it a land creature and make it like a star wars Sarlacc, eating dinosaurs and taking no prisoners. A world eater.
“Fuck you, god, I can do it better.” Pleased with myself. I get ready to launch. I think about what I will experience as a worm, all the weird creatures ill devour, and as I'm about to connect with this new, somewhat synthesized creature, oh yeah, I should have checked the lifespan. I open up to find the default lifespan has been set for 400 years......
I made a huge mistake.
Live, and you learn right. It ain’t a pretty life, but it's my life. I hope it goes by fast, and then everything goes dark.
|
I never thought I'd be given a chance to choose. Given the vain life I lived. Without helping and without being helped. Without loving and without being loved. But here I am. Maybe this is the chance to correct all my wrongdoings. I will definitely do it right this time, I thought. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I went ahead and chose the path to (what I thought) a glorious future.
__________________________________________________
That was quick, I thought with a whoosh. Or was it long? Who knows how long it takes to reach heaven. Does time hold any meaning here? I wondered as I waited to be led to my destination.
A long life it was. The years felt long even though my time was so short. The last time I was here I made the wrong choice in my haste, or was it because I wasn't an 'experienced' soul? This life was not what I imagined it to be. It wasn't glorious, far from it. But it taught me, what I didn't know at the time I made this choice.
My short life showed me the changed world. The world I was hoping to see was there. But there were things I did not expect to see. Technology had made the impossible happen. The world looked dreamy. But as things changed, not everything changed for good. The rapid pace with which we were running to the future, made the extremes of the world more visible. It almost felt like the world had two sides. One was dreamlike and the one that showed the results of it. In that dream there was a solution to everything. But it's result was people were nothing more than products. What seemed like a metaphor in the past was actually happening. It is hard to believe now that I have my memories. But there it felt so natural. Cruelty felt natural.
When I was there I didn't even know I made the choice of being there. It was easier that way. Knowing a different life and living a different one can be tormenting. In the end, this life was just as vain as the last one, since I didn't even remember the resolve I went with– changing my life. So everything repeated. But atleast I gained something this time, I became an 'experienced' soul.
In a past life my teacher told me "That's the difference of being an experienced soul. Experienced souls look for more experiences while new souls look for more wealth." I didn't think much of it. I didn't think I was chasing wealth. Who doesn't want to live a comfortable life? I said. But she just smiled.
How do I remember these conversations after all these years? I was intrigued. "Maybe time doesn't mean anything here after all," a female voice replied. I turned around to see the woman I had this conversation with. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since then. I asked H-how? How do you look just like then?
"I don't look like anything", she replied. "I am a soul just like you. To you I look like the teacher you had the conversation with and to my enemy I'll still look like the soldier he met at the battlefield. Like I said, time doesn't mean anything here. Your perception defines how souls look like." But–
In a flash she was gone. Everything around me started to dissolve. And I was standing there again. The place where I made my foolish choice. It was time to choose again. But this time I knew what I wanted.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
\[poem\]
Waiting in line with my earnings and winnings, in afterlife traffic, with a shit-ton of lemmings. Flying in the sky, underwater swimming? Nope, you idiots want to go back to the beginning.
Defeating the purpose...I lived disrespected in a lifetime of service. I was poor, destitute, and felt worthless. Now you want me to eat dirt? You know how dangerous prehistoric earth is?
So I'm next in line, after watching someone morph into a giant worm, for the thousandth time. I could be a rapper, famous for my rhymes, or a celestial star, with a supernatural shine. I am NOT going in the ground, without hair, and blind. I'll use all four of my limbs, and fight, like I'm out of my mind.
I look at the line behind me, the peer pressure gets nuts. Just like my first real job, where coworker's were cliqued-up. I walk up to St. Pete, and use the skills I picked up. "I haven't seen a worm policy, think I'd like to switch up. Seems to be a popular choice, but this uh...really isn't gonna work for me, I don't wanna get stuck. Specifically in the soil, I'm claustrophobic as f#@k." St. Pete squints his eyes, and then his glasses are flipped up.
"These people are all know-it-alls, and lied in HR reports. They were toxic to the industries and workers they claimed to support. Since they're all followers, we convinced them the best sort of life is one unaware that it's stressful, and short. If they knew it was a trick, they'd all abort. But now we won't have to deal with them in our Guardian Angel reports."
I stand there stunned. "What about the social workers, lawyers, and nuns?" Pete looks back, and his gentle tone is done.
"They overlooked wrongs, and even covered up some. They were overwhelmed, and stressed, but they let it make them numb. They prioritized their kingdom on earth. So their kingdom? Will never come." Oh, well screw them then, I pop up both thumbs.
"Ok thank God. Haha sorry, no pun!" Pete looks offended by that, yeah I guess that was dumb. "So since worms are pretty much covered...what can I become?"
Pete thinks hard, then meets me with his gaze. "The human mind is a dungeon, and the heart is a maze. You'll start out idealistic, but grow cold, and unfazed. You won't have time to search for magic, or enjoy the sunny rays. You'll begin to grow old, and bitter, and resent each one of your days. There are many wonderful lives. But human lives? I'd stay away. Despite the fact: it would all be buried, if we didn't have a few who pray."
I don't mention I'm Hindu, I just roll with the Christian thing, or pretend to. Sorry if that upsets, or offends you. But, you're probably coming back as a worm, and approval from a worm isn't something I'm into.
|
I never thought I'd be given a chance to choose. Given the vain life I lived. Without helping and without being helped. Without loving and without being loved. But here I am. Maybe this is the chance to correct all my wrongdoings. I will definitely do it right this time, I thought. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I went ahead and chose the path to (what I thought) a glorious future.
__________________________________________________
That was quick, I thought with a whoosh. Or was it long? Who knows how long it takes to reach heaven. Does time hold any meaning here? I wondered as I waited to be led to my destination.
A long life it was. The years felt long even though my time was so short. The last time I was here I made the wrong choice in my haste, or was it because I wasn't an 'experienced' soul? This life was not what I imagined it to be. It wasn't glorious, far from it. But it taught me, what I didn't know at the time I made this choice.
My short life showed me the changed world. The world I was hoping to see was there. But there were things I did not expect to see. Technology had made the impossible happen. The world looked dreamy. But as things changed, not everything changed for good. The rapid pace with which we were running to the future, made the extremes of the world more visible. It almost felt like the world had two sides. One was dreamlike and the one that showed the results of it. In that dream there was a solution to everything. But it's result was people were nothing more than products. What seemed like a metaphor in the past was actually happening. It is hard to believe now that I have my memories. But there it felt so natural. Cruelty felt natural.
When I was there I didn't even know I made the choice of being there. It was easier that way. Knowing a different life and living a different one can be tormenting. In the end, this life was just as vain as the last one, since I didn't even remember the resolve I went with– changing my life. So everything repeated. But atleast I gained something this time, I became an 'experienced' soul.
In a past life my teacher told me "That's the difference of being an experienced soul. Experienced souls look for more experiences while new souls look for more wealth." I didn't think much of it. I didn't think I was chasing wealth. Who doesn't want to live a comfortable life? I said. But she just smiled.
How do I remember these conversations after all these years? I was intrigued. "Maybe time doesn't mean anything here after all," a female voice replied. I turned around to see the woman I had this conversation with. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since then. I asked H-how? How do you look just like then?
"I don't look like anything", she replied. "I am a soul just like you. To you I look like the teacher you had the conversation with and to my enemy I'll still look like the soldier he met at the battlefield. Like I said, time doesn't mean anything here. Your perception defines how souls look like." But–
In a flash she was gone. Everything around me started to dissolve. And I was standing there again. The place where I made my foolish choice. It was time to choose again. But this time I knew what I wanted.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
Man, this line is dragging out. Can't people just stop dying so much for a little while until I get my turn. Oh, that guy's talking weird. Maybe he's not just cosplaying as an roman soldier. Is that woman from the paleolithic period? Oh god, is the wait that long?
Wait no, the roman is in front of her. I think there's just people from all across time here. "There's no time in eternity", I guess.
I wonder if there's anyone from the future here...
Maybe that thing there is from the future. It doesn't look like any animal I've ever seen. Haven't seen that many though, maybe that's actually what zebras look like. If platypuses aren't actually blue, then anything I've ever seen in cartoon animals could be a lie.
Everyone looks so hazy... Am I still drunk? I kind of thought that blood-alcohol-level wouldn't carry over between body and soul. At the same time, I also thought souls would just look like floating blue flames or weird blobs or something. Maybe they retain their old shape for a while, but like they start to lose it over time? That would explain why everyone far ahead looks so weird.
Common, hurry up... How long does it take to think of what you want to be? You've had way more than enough time to think about it in the line. Just pick anything, jeez. I want to go back already! Back, but in the future this time. Something like 150 years should be enough for some cool stuff, right? Global warming should be sorted out by then at least.
Finally the line moved, dear god. Now let's wait for another year or two until... Wait it's moving again. Ok, apparently some people don't wait until the last second before thinking what to order, thank god. If only everyon- Oh it moved again, again. Good to see people finally got their shit together. Maybe I'll get to the end in less than a millennium even.
Wow, this really went from cement-speed to bullet-train-speed just when I started to complain about it. It's nice to be able to see what the end of the line looks like. I really was starting to think there wasn't one, and this was just some fucked-up psychological trick to hide that we are in purgatory. Looks like there's a screen there to pick the creature and time. A bit more modern that I expected, though I guess they can see any time that ever happens here. Wait, shouldn't it be more futuristic then? You would think they could have a massive 3D hologram or something. Maybe that kind of technology never gets invented? Oh fuck, is there no future-tech in the future?
...Did that guy just choose to be a worm? And in like a billion years before humans? There someone for everything, I guess.
Another pre-historical worm? Did they choose what they were going to become together in the line? "Let's crawl on dirt after it rains together". Some people have really weird tastes.
That one choose to be a worm too?! And at the exact same year? Ok, what the hell is this all about? Do they know something I don't?
Ok, that one already looks like a worm. Let's see what they pick... Prehistoric worm. Of course. Who would have known that being a worm is so great that souls go for seconds after they die.
I'm starting to think there's something going on here, for real. There really has to be something here I don't know about. Maybe they're all in on some kind of invertebrate cult 'Worm Pact'. Or maybe they have all seen the future before.
Maybe they have seen all of history, they have compared all possible reincarnation choices, and they landed on... Ancient worm. That sounds insane. Is it insane? Do I know if it insane? I'm new at this, I have never been anything else other than a human, and I wasn't that great at that either. Worms probably don't have to worry about not accidentally pissing on an electric wire. That is an improvement.
Huh, this really moved along fast. Just two more souls and it's my turn. Yep, another worm. Are all these people thinking the same as me? Are they all picking worm because the people ahead of them picked it? I don't want to just pick worm just out of group pressure. I want to live in the future. Right?
Worm again. And I'm up. What do I do? I want to live in the future, but I'm not so sure now that it is going to be like in the movies at all. I mean to be honest, I'm not 100% confident that humans are going to have global warming sorted 150 years in the future. Or ever for that matter.
Aw crap. I'm the slow-thinking guy delaying the queue now. I have became that what I always hated most. Ok make a decision now. Now. Now.
Ok, I'll just count to three and say what I want to choose outloud, then pick that.
1...
2...
3...
WORM!
...
I'm dead again already? Are you serious? I'm at the back of the line again! The line's just worms all the way to the horizon now, and oh there's another worm behind me now, and another, and another.
I didn't even get to experience being a worm for long enough to see if it is worth it or not!
Maybe if I pick worm again I can live a bit longer this time and find out...
|
I never thought I'd be given a chance to choose. Given the vain life I lived. Without helping and without being helped. Without loving and without being loved. But here I am. Maybe this is the chance to correct all my wrongdoings. I will definitely do it right this time, I thought. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I went ahead and chose the path to (what I thought) a glorious future.
__________________________________________________
That was quick, I thought with a whoosh. Or was it long? Who knows how long it takes to reach heaven. Does time hold any meaning here? I wondered as I waited to be led to my destination.
A long life it was. The years felt long even though my time was so short. The last time I was here I made the wrong choice in my haste, or was it because I wasn't an 'experienced' soul? This life was not what I imagined it to be. It wasn't glorious, far from it. But it taught me, what I didn't know at the time I made this choice.
My short life showed me the changed world. The world I was hoping to see was there. But there were things I did not expect to see. Technology had made the impossible happen. The world looked dreamy. But as things changed, not everything changed for good. The rapid pace with which we were running to the future, made the extremes of the world more visible. It almost felt like the world had two sides. One was dreamlike and the one that showed the results of it. In that dream there was a solution to everything. But it's result was people were nothing more than products. What seemed like a metaphor in the past was actually happening. It is hard to believe now that I have my memories. But there it felt so natural. Cruelty felt natural.
When I was there I didn't even know I made the choice of being there. It was easier that way. Knowing a different life and living a different one can be tormenting. In the end, this life was just as vain as the last one, since I didn't even remember the resolve I went with– changing my life. So everything repeated. But atleast I gained something this time, I became an 'experienced' soul.
In a past life my teacher told me "That's the difference of being an experienced soul. Experienced souls look for more experiences while new souls look for more wealth." I didn't think much of it. I didn't think I was chasing wealth. Who doesn't want to live a comfortable life? I said. But she just smiled.
How do I remember these conversations after all these years? I was intrigued. "Maybe time doesn't mean anything here after all," a female voice replied. I turned around to see the woman I had this conversation with. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since then. I asked H-how? How do you look just like then?
"I don't look like anything", she replied. "I am a soul just like you. To you I look like the teacher you had the conversation with and to my enemy I'll still look like the soldier he met at the battlefield. Like I said, time doesn't mean anything here. Your perception defines how souls look like." But–
In a flash she was gone. Everything around me started to dissolve. And I was standing there again. The place where I made my foolish choice. It was time to choose again. But this time I knew what I wanted.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"We don't forget. That's the problem, you see?"
The man? Woman? Thing? next to me seemed to smile, but even that was not clear. It was more a feeling building up inside me, the same feeling I might have had, had someone smiled warmly at me. Words felt like they had formed briefly before, a quick memory of something that had just happened.
"So you do one or two or ninethousand of those reincarnations. Into all eternity. Some are fun, I once met a guy who was a famous ruler or something. But most aren't. Most are messy, dirty, violent. No matter the century, the day, even the hour, you'll have a higher chance of coming back to a life as someone or something experiencing pain than a ruler."
It began to make sense. I remembered everything from my past life. The one I had had, my first, from the looks of this. My youth, that first kiss, many things I'd forgotten in life, they all were there, clear as day. Six candles on the altar when my mother died. Nine people in the first row during the baptism of my second child, the one that died of cancer nineteen years later. Nineteen years, six months, twelve days, four hours, nine minutes and sixteen seconds later. I remembered everything. In absolute clarity. And it hit me as if it had just happened.
I felt waves of profound sadness wash over me. I did not cry, and I wasn't sure if I could. But I felt that the person next to me felt my emotions as well.
"See, that's the thing. You'll experience all this. Every time you're here. Only way to forget is to reincarnate, to seek out a new life. But, of course, you'll form new memories plus those you had before. And when you come back, your stack grows. Some go positively crazy in here, seek out random places, all to add some happy to the sad. It rarely works. And it will make you sadder and sadder."
"What can I do?" I tried to speak, but it didn't work. Yet, for some reason he knew what I'd asked.
"Go worm. Seriously. There's one 121 million BCE that has an amazing lifespan and basically just sits there. It has no frontal cortex, so it forms few memories and those are mostly positive like eating and a warm summer day. You don't have much of a choice what you get reincarnated as, but it has to be somewhere on your original lineage. Something with a soul or the beginning of one. Sorry, oak tree is unfortunately out. Most animals, too, if they split off the human lineage before souls were introduced. That's all of them, sadly, the ones that went extinct before didn't have that great of a life, either. So, worm. Last happy soul bearing thing."
"When do I have to decide?"
"There is no time here, so you can't take all the time you need. But whenever you're ready, you'll go. I don't know how this works, but..."
"So, worm?"
"Sure, you have infinite tries, give it a shot."
I thought about it. Decided to try it.
The "world" went black. A strange feeling.
And then white again. I was back, just like that. I still remembered my daughter's death. My mother's funeral. But there was something else. A warm ray of sun one day that was just right, not too hot to burn me and not too cold to immobilize me. And more glycosides in the water that made me feel ready to bud off and become two. Moments ago, it had felt like the deepest pit of sadness and pain. It still did, only a little less.
Worm it was. At least until the simple happiness of a ray of sunshine drowned out the deep sadness of burying your own child.
|
I never thought I'd be given a chance to choose. Given the vain life I lived. Without helping and without being helped. Without loving and without being loved. But here I am. Maybe this is the chance to correct all my wrongdoings. I will definitely do it right this time, I thought. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I went ahead and chose the path to (what I thought) a glorious future.
__________________________________________________
That was quick, I thought with a whoosh. Or was it long? Who knows how long it takes to reach heaven. Does time hold any meaning here? I wondered as I waited to be led to my destination.
A long life it was. The years felt long even though my time was so short. The last time I was here I made the wrong choice in my haste, or was it because I wasn't an 'experienced' soul? This life was not what I imagined it to be. It wasn't glorious, far from it. But it taught me, what I didn't know at the time I made this choice.
My short life showed me the changed world. The world I was hoping to see was there. But there were things I did not expect to see. Technology had made the impossible happen. The world looked dreamy. But as things changed, not everything changed for good. The rapid pace with which we were running to the future, made the extremes of the world more visible. It almost felt like the world had two sides. One was dreamlike and the one that showed the results of it. In that dream there was a solution to everything. But it's result was people were nothing more than products. What seemed like a metaphor in the past was actually happening. It is hard to believe now that I have my memories. But there it felt so natural. Cruelty felt natural.
When I was there I didn't even know I made the choice of being there. It was easier that way. Knowing a different life and living a different one can be tormenting. In the end, this life was just as vain as the last one, since I didn't even remember the resolve I went with– changing my life. So everything repeated. But atleast I gained something this time, I became an 'experienced' soul.
In a past life my teacher told me "That's the difference of being an experienced soul. Experienced souls look for more experiences while new souls look for more wealth." I didn't think much of it. I didn't think I was chasing wealth. Who doesn't want to live a comfortable life? I said. But she just smiled.
How do I remember these conversations after all these years? I was intrigued. "Maybe time doesn't mean anything here after all," a female voice replied. I turned around to see the woman I had this conversation with. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since then. I asked H-how? How do you look just like then?
"I don't look like anything", she replied. "I am a soul just like you. To you I look like the teacher you had the conversation with and to my enemy I'll still look like the soldier he met at the battlefield. Like I said, time doesn't mean anything here. Your perception defines how souls look like." But–
In a flash she was gone. Everything around me started to dissolve. And I was standing there again. The place where I made my foolish choice. It was time to choose again. But this time I knew what I wanted.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"We don't forget. That's the problem, you see?"
The man? Woman? Thing? next to me seemed to smile, but even that was not clear. It was more a feeling building up inside me, the same feeling I might have had, had someone smiled warmly at me. Words felt like they had formed briefly before, a quick memory of something that had just happened.
"So you do one or two or ninethousand of those reincarnations. Into all eternity. Some are fun, I once met a guy who was a famous ruler or something. But most aren't. Most are messy, dirty, violent. No matter the century, the day, even the hour, you'll have a higher chance of coming back to a life as someone or something experiencing pain than a ruler."
It began to make sense. I remembered everything from my past life. The one I had had, my first, from the looks of this. My youth, that first kiss, many things I'd forgotten in life, they all were there, clear as day. Six candles on the altar when my mother died. Nine people in the first row during the baptism of my second child, the one that died of cancer nineteen years later. Nineteen years, six months, twelve days, four hours, nine minutes and sixteen seconds later. I remembered everything. In absolute clarity. And it hit me as if it had just happened.
I felt waves of profound sadness wash over me. I did not cry, and I wasn't sure if I could. But I felt that the person next to me felt my emotions as well.
"See, that's the thing. You'll experience all this. Every time you're here. Only way to forget is to reincarnate, to seek out a new life. But, of course, you'll form new memories plus those you had before. And when you come back, your stack grows. Some go positively crazy in here, seek out random places, all to add some happy to the sad. It rarely works. And it will make you sadder and sadder."
"What can I do?" I tried to speak, but it didn't work. Yet, for some reason he knew what I'd asked.
"Go worm. Seriously. There's one 121 million BCE that has an amazing lifespan and basically just sits there. It has no frontal cortex, so it forms few memories and those are mostly positive like eating and a warm summer day. You don't have much of a choice what you get reincarnated as, but it has to be somewhere on your original lineage. Something with a soul or the beginning of one. Sorry, oak tree is unfortunately out. Most animals, too, if they split off the human lineage before souls were introduced. That's all of them, sadly, the ones that went extinct before didn't have that great of a life, either. So, worm. Last happy soul bearing thing."
"When do I have to decide?"
"There is no time here, so you can't take all the time you need. But whenever you're ready, you'll go. I don't know how this works, but..."
"So, worm?"
"Sure, you have infinite tries, give it a shot."
I thought about it. Decided to try it.
The "world" went black. A strange feeling.
And then white again. I was back, just like that. I still remembered my daughter's death. My mother's funeral. But there was something else. A warm ray of sun one day that was just right, not too hot to burn me and not too cold to immobilize me. And more glycosides in the water that made me feel ready to bud off and become two. Moments ago, it had felt like the deepest pit of sadness and pain. It still did, only a little less.
Worm it was. At least until the simple happiness of a ray of sunshine drowned out the deep sadness of burying your own child.
|
Man, this line is dragging out. Can't people just stop dying so much for a little while until I get my turn. Oh, that guy's talking weird. Maybe he's not just cosplaying as an roman soldier. Is that woman from the paleolithic period? Oh god, is the wait that long?
Wait no, the roman is in front of her. I think there's just people from all across time here. "There's no time in eternity", I guess.
I wonder if there's anyone from the future here...
Maybe that thing there is from the future. It doesn't look like any animal I've ever seen. Haven't seen that many though, maybe that's actually what zebras look like. If platypuses aren't actually blue, then anything I've ever seen in cartoon animals could be a lie.
Everyone looks so hazy... Am I still drunk? I kind of thought that blood-alcohol-level wouldn't carry over between body and soul. At the same time, I also thought souls would just look like floating blue flames or weird blobs or something. Maybe they retain their old shape for a while, but like they start to lose it over time? That would explain why everyone far ahead looks so weird.
Common, hurry up... How long does it take to think of what you want to be? You've had way more than enough time to think about it in the line. Just pick anything, jeez. I want to go back already! Back, but in the future this time. Something like 150 years should be enough for some cool stuff, right? Global warming should be sorted out by then at least.
Finally the line moved, dear god. Now let's wait for another year or two until... Wait it's moving again. Ok, apparently some people don't wait until the last second before thinking what to order, thank god. If only everyon- Oh it moved again, again. Good to see people finally got their shit together. Maybe I'll get to the end in less than a millennium even.
Wow, this really went from cement-speed to bullet-train-speed just when I started to complain about it. It's nice to be able to see what the end of the line looks like. I really was starting to think there wasn't one, and this was just some fucked-up psychological trick to hide that we are in purgatory. Looks like there's a screen there to pick the creature and time. A bit more modern that I expected, though I guess they can see any time that ever happens here. Wait, shouldn't it be more futuristic then? You would think they could have a massive 3D hologram or something. Maybe that kind of technology never gets invented? Oh fuck, is there no future-tech in the future?
...Did that guy just choose to be a worm? And in like a billion years before humans? There someone for everything, I guess.
Another pre-historical worm? Did they choose what they were going to become together in the line? "Let's crawl on dirt after it rains together". Some people have really weird tastes.
That one choose to be a worm too?! And at the exact same year? Ok, what the hell is this all about? Do they know something I don't?
Ok, that one already looks like a worm. Let's see what they pick... Prehistoric worm. Of course. Who would have known that being a worm is so great that souls go for seconds after they die.
I'm starting to think there's something going on here, for real. There really has to be something here I don't know about. Maybe they're all in on some kind of invertebrate cult 'Worm Pact'. Or maybe they have all seen the future before.
Maybe they have seen all of history, they have compared all possible reincarnation choices, and they landed on... Ancient worm. That sounds insane. Is it insane? Do I know if it insane? I'm new at this, I have never been anything else other than a human, and I wasn't that great at that either. Worms probably don't have to worry about not accidentally pissing on an electric wire. That is an improvement.
Huh, this really moved along fast. Just two more souls and it's my turn. Yep, another worm. Are all these people thinking the same as me? Are they all picking worm because the people ahead of them picked it? I don't want to just pick worm just out of group pressure. I want to live in the future. Right?
Worm again. And I'm up. What do I do? I want to live in the future, but I'm not so sure now that it is going to be like in the movies at all. I mean to be honest, I'm not 100% confident that humans are going to have global warming sorted 150 years in the future. Or ever for that matter.
Aw crap. I'm the slow-thinking guy delaying the queue now. I have became that what I always hated most. Ok make a decision now. Now. Now.
Ok, I'll just count to three and say what I want to choose outloud, then pick that.
1...
2...
3...
WORM!
...
I'm dead again already? Are you serious? I'm at the back of the line again! The line's just worms all the way to the horizon now, and oh there's another worm behind me now, and another, and another.
I didn't even get to experience being a worm for long enough to see if it is worth it or not!
Maybe if I pick worm again I can live a bit longer this time and find out...
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"Well that was a disaster" Romain thinks to himself as he takes a place at the back of the "reincarnation line". "Pick the 21st century Terra they said, it will be fun they said. Well it was not. Especially not being a god damn human. What did I even think of? I was obviously way too late to the party and I still picked it!?"
Romain's eyes scouer the wast endless void stretching out to every side. There must be atleast a trillion souls waiting for a second, third or hundredth existance. He's looking for something to occupy his time with, but just as the first, second, and fiifth time, there's nothing here except for boring souls. They said that there were once endless rivers running through the void brining life to an oettherwise utterly tiresome space.
Time moves differently here. It isnt really a linear flow like in the plane of living. Instead, time is condensed and channeled through one's existance. Or atleast that what they say.
As Romain slowly starts to enclose himself in his own isolation the echoes from the front reach him. The soul in front turns and the empty sound of their voice revers inside of your existance. "you hear that!? The elders are picking Terra... A WORM ON TERRA!". A worm... On Terra? Who would put themself through that!? There's no way, that Romain the great will be a worm... On Terra.
But as time goes on, the rumours grow stronger. More and more people are picking Terra worms and soon Romain starts to consider it. After all, why would everyone else be picking it. There must be something there, they must know something that he doesn't.
So as he stepps up to the counter he proudly writes down in the book of life "Romain: Worm, Terra, earliest possible time". The clerk behind the desk chuckles slightly, and as he flips throigh the pages to cement Romain's wish he can see sthe billions of souls picking worm. He thinks to himself "there's no way this can go tits up"
And as he's transported to Terra into this new being. As the soul is forced into a new twisted existance of life he realizes.... There's nothing to this existance. They lied.
|
Wrong Lever
As I watched the others transcend to that primordial hell, I began to reconsider. What did they know that I didn't? As I took each small, eternal step towards the dock, I decided -jist this once - I would follow the crowd; after all, how long could a worms life be? When my time came I entered the transpiritual reactor and pulled the lever, engulfed in the fires of heaven.
The ether encompassed me, white (theres no word for its actual brilliance) with a series of varying stars changing locations as a countdown. Decompression from the corporeal. After an eternal instant I was transposed back to the waiting room. From everywhere a soothing voice announced "welcome to Receiving dock 5/j(8b¡^4)▪︎8, when ready please proceed to the rotunda"
I sat there shuddering, shivering, holding myself. I was astounded no human had found a trace of it in the fossil record. The sheer madness of those monstrosities. The things that threatened them. Those eyes. Those endless mouths!
No one had told me beforehand that we were going into battle.
No one told me how truly depraved Enkidu (no... Sakloss. No.... Jeh.... the thought evaporated) could truly be. The humans had such limited comprehension, such a narrow understanding of their potential unrealization. Of who their true allies were.
"Projection". Thats the word one of the humans had used. The bad ones rely on projection.
The memories played through: the aggregate titans. The tactical strategies. The battles. Then then cold, the COLD! Of space itself swallowing the sun. Then the memory of warmth, of light... where was I? A petri dish! Thats right... pulled from a core sample. I made headlines, I think. Before some buffoon melted me in acid. Oh those poor fools, I hope they didn't dig too far.
I was still sorting through the thoughts and timelines, reconciling millions of years, when I felt a presence by my side. I looked at them, and they at me. They could see from the look in my Eye that something was terribly wrong.
"Oh," they sighed "you... you went THERE?" They embraced me and it was warm, engulfing, and my fear and terror, those remnants of biology, drifted away. Looking at me again they said "im sorry child. We try to ensure that level 4 and above only go there, for reasons you no doubt now understand . Sometimes though, a brave soul falls through the cracks."
They took my hand and led me back to a reactor. "What you need is a long rest. No activity, no excitement. Hrm..." they cycled through options, before showing me one they thought was best "Here! Perfect. Standard stellar cycle with 4 BARREN worlds (you've seen your share of carnage after all!)," They giggled darkly "with a termination by a passing Stage 6 singularity. Yes, just the rest you need. And try to remember to accrete plenty of H2O! Now, make your preparations and we will send you off."
I did as told, smiling and thanking them. They caressed me gently, "my pleasure. Sweet Dreams, love". They pulled the lever, and the fires of heaven took me.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"We don't forget. That's the problem, you see?"
The man? Woman? Thing? next to me seemed to smile, but even that was not clear. It was more a feeling building up inside me, the same feeling I might have had, had someone smiled warmly at me. Words felt like they had formed briefly before, a quick memory of something that had just happened.
"So you do one or two or ninethousand of those reincarnations. Into all eternity. Some are fun, I once met a guy who was a famous ruler or something. But most aren't. Most are messy, dirty, violent. No matter the century, the day, even the hour, you'll have a higher chance of coming back to a life as someone or something experiencing pain than a ruler."
It began to make sense. I remembered everything from my past life. The one I had had, my first, from the looks of this. My youth, that first kiss, many things I'd forgotten in life, they all were there, clear as day. Six candles on the altar when my mother died. Nine people in the first row during the baptism of my second child, the one that died of cancer nineteen years later. Nineteen years, six months, twelve days, four hours, nine minutes and sixteen seconds later. I remembered everything. In absolute clarity. And it hit me as if it had just happened.
I felt waves of profound sadness wash over me. I did not cry, and I wasn't sure if I could. But I felt that the person next to me felt my emotions as well.
"See, that's the thing. You'll experience all this. Every time you're here. Only way to forget is to reincarnate, to seek out a new life. But, of course, you'll form new memories plus those you had before. And when you come back, your stack grows. Some go positively crazy in here, seek out random places, all to add some happy to the sad. It rarely works. And it will make you sadder and sadder."
"What can I do?" I tried to speak, but it didn't work. Yet, for some reason he knew what I'd asked.
"Go worm. Seriously. There's one 121 million BCE that has an amazing lifespan and basically just sits there. It has no frontal cortex, so it forms few memories and those are mostly positive like eating and a warm summer day. You don't have much of a choice what you get reincarnated as, but it has to be somewhere on your original lineage. Something with a soul or the beginning of one. Sorry, oak tree is unfortunately out. Most animals, too, if they split off the human lineage before souls were introduced. That's all of them, sadly, the ones that went extinct before didn't have that great of a life, either. So, worm. Last happy soul bearing thing."
"When do I have to decide?"
"There is no time here, so you can't take all the time you need. But whenever you're ready, you'll go. I don't know how this works, but..."
"So, worm?"
"Sure, you have infinite tries, give it a shot."
I thought about it. Decided to try it.
The "world" went black. A strange feeling.
And then white again. I was back, just like that. I still remembered my daughter's death. My mother's funeral. But there was something else. A warm ray of sun one day that was just right, not too hot to burn me and not too cold to immobilize me. And more glycosides in the water that made me feel ready to bud off and become two. Moments ago, it had felt like the deepest pit of sadness and pain. It still did, only a little less.
Worm it was. At least until the simple happiness of a ray of sunshine drowned out the deep sadness of burying your own child.
|
Wrong Lever
As I watched the others transcend to that primordial hell, I began to reconsider. What did they know that I didn't? As I took each small, eternal step towards the dock, I decided -jist this once - I would follow the crowd; after all, how long could a worms life be? When my time came I entered the transpiritual reactor and pulled the lever, engulfed in the fires of heaven.
The ether encompassed me, white (theres no word for its actual brilliance) with a series of varying stars changing locations as a countdown. Decompression from the corporeal. After an eternal instant I was transposed back to the waiting room. From everywhere a soothing voice announced "welcome to Receiving dock 5/j(8b¡^4)▪︎8, when ready please proceed to the rotunda"
I sat there shuddering, shivering, holding myself. I was astounded no human had found a trace of it in the fossil record. The sheer madness of those monstrosities. The things that threatened them. Those eyes. Those endless mouths!
No one had told me beforehand that we were going into battle.
No one told me how truly depraved Enkidu (no... Sakloss. No.... Jeh.... the thought evaporated) could truly be. The humans had such limited comprehension, such a narrow understanding of their potential unrealization. Of who their true allies were.
"Projection". Thats the word one of the humans had used. The bad ones rely on projection.
The memories played through: the aggregate titans. The tactical strategies. The battles. Then then cold, the COLD! Of space itself swallowing the sun. Then the memory of warmth, of light... where was I? A petri dish! Thats right... pulled from a core sample. I made headlines, I think. Before some buffoon melted me in acid. Oh those poor fools, I hope they didn't dig too far.
I was still sorting through the thoughts and timelines, reconciling millions of years, when I felt a presence by my side. I looked at them, and they at me. They could see from the look in my Eye that something was terribly wrong.
"Oh," they sighed "you... you went THERE?" They embraced me and it was warm, engulfing, and my fear and terror, those remnants of biology, drifted away. Looking at me again they said "im sorry child. We try to ensure that level 4 and above only go there, for reasons you no doubt now understand . Sometimes though, a brave soul falls through the cracks."
They took my hand and led me back to a reactor. "What you need is a long rest. No activity, no excitement. Hrm..." they cycled through options, before showing me one they thought was best "Here! Perfect. Standard stellar cycle with 4 BARREN worlds (you've seen your share of carnage after all!)," They giggled darkly "with a termination by a passing Stage 6 singularity. Yes, just the rest you need. And try to remember to accrete plenty of H2O! Now, make your preparations and we will send you off."
I did as told, smiling and thanking them. They caressed me gently, "my pleasure. Sweet Dreams, love". They pulled the lever, and the fires of heaven took me.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"You hungry?" it asked.
I realized I wasn't. "No," I answered.
It nodded - that much I could glean, hazy outline that it was.
"Sit with the implications for a minute," it continued. "I could ask a bunch of similar questions, but, well. Yeah."
It gave me a few moments. I did my best. I wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or tired. I wasn't really anything, except aware, and thinking.
Since I could, I thought back to life's endless pangs and frustrations. I gave credit where it was due. I felt another nod from the figure in front of me. The line moved again.
"You get to choose every time," it said. "Worms can't choose. Couldn't tell you what happens to a worm that was never a thinker before. Different line, maybe. In here, we may not be human anymore, but we're something like it. We think. We have memories. We have values. We have preferences.
"Some of us have too many," it finished, and it sounded... heavy.
"I don't think I have any others," I said cautiously. Now I was waiting for the other shoe to drop - but I couldn't call it dread, or fear. Not really. Too much was missing. It was simply a new consideration.
The hazy figure in front of me didn't really whistle, but, well, I got the gist. That was how things worked here, for the most part: gists. I newly considered that I wasn't really seeing, or speaking, or even moving. There was purity in the ambiguity, though. Every gist seemed honest. Every symbol was truth. In fact, I considered that the haze wasn't ambiguous at all. Perhaps everything real was ambiguous. Perhaps the haze was the result of my own inability to square unvarnished truth with my memories of physical existence.
I waited to feel smart - at least for a brief moment - but it turned out that that was mostly physical too.
"Genuine virgin," the figure in front of me gisted. "Lucky you.
"Look," it continued, "I'm not telling you what to do, obviously, but, well... I dunno. Even in here, thinkers don't seem to do well with multiple lives. It confuses the sense of self. In case you haven't noticed, that's pretty much all that's left."
"You all seem to be on the same page now, though," I replied. In return, I got a gist of grudging respect.
"Turns out there's a global tilt towards risk aversion," it gisted. "We found something that works, more or less. We choose a worm, we live for a moment, we don't add any new damage - well, nothing we remember, anyway - we die, we come back here. So far as anybody can tell, this is it. It's either life, or it's this. And *this* is a whole lot simpler the fewer thinkers' lifetimes you have to juggle."
Were I still a creature of atoms and bonds, I am sure I would have felt all manner of messy, meaty things in response to the revelation: defiance, denial, despair, scorn or ridicule, contempt or pity, surely nothing remotely close to good. But I didn't feel any of those. I simply considered, and considered anew.
"What if-" I began.
"Guess," it gisted. "Just guess. You don't go back until you pick something valid. And hey, there's no rush anyway, right? And if you stumble upon something new, well, hey - feel free to share it with the rest of the line next time."
The line moved again, and again, never trying my patience because I possessed neither it nor its opposite. Gists of conversations came and went, tales of lives lived delivered with a studied detachment. For as long as the line moved, the central mystery remained: we felt no fear, and yet, the worm, over and over and over again. The worm.
I was convinced for a tiny eternity that I would stand before the grand machine and make my glorious stand upon a mountain of senseless lottery tickets, delivering each to be shredded as incoherent or invalid until finally one came through, delivering me to some alien experience that would represent the second point of a grand triangulation.
My moment came, and I chose the worm. Then I was back in line.
|
Wrong Lever
As I watched the others transcend to that primordial hell, I began to reconsider. What did they know that I didn't? As I took each small, eternal step towards the dock, I decided -jist this once - I would follow the crowd; after all, how long could a worms life be? When my time came I entered the transpiritual reactor and pulled the lever, engulfed in the fires of heaven.
The ether encompassed me, white (theres no word for its actual brilliance) with a series of varying stars changing locations as a countdown. Decompression from the corporeal. After an eternal instant I was transposed back to the waiting room. From everywhere a soothing voice announced "welcome to Receiving dock 5/j(8b¡^4)▪︎8, when ready please proceed to the rotunda"
I sat there shuddering, shivering, holding myself. I was astounded no human had found a trace of it in the fossil record. The sheer madness of those monstrosities. The things that threatened them. Those eyes. Those endless mouths!
No one had told me beforehand that we were going into battle.
No one told me how truly depraved Enkidu (no... Sakloss. No.... Jeh.... the thought evaporated) could truly be. The humans had such limited comprehension, such a narrow understanding of their potential unrealization. Of who their true allies were.
"Projection". Thats the word one of the humans had used. The bad ones rely on projection.
The memories played through: the aggregate titans. The tactical strategies. The battles. Then then cold, the COLD! Of space itself swallowing the sun. Then the memory of warmth, of light... where was I? A petri dish! Thats right... pulled from a core sample. I made headlines, I think. Before some buffoon melted me in acid. Oh those poor fools, I hope they didn't dig too far.
I was still sorting through the thoughts and timelines, reconciling millions of years, when I felt a presence by my side. I looked at them, and they at me. They could see from the look in my Eye that something was terribly wrong.
"Oh," they sighed "you... you went THERE?" They embraced me and it was warm, engulfing, and my fear and terror, those remnants of biology, drifted away. Looking at me again they said "im sorry child. We try to ensure that level 4 and above only go there, for reasons you no doubt now understand . Sometimes though, a brave soul falls through the cracks."
They took my hand and led me back to a reactor. "What you need is a long rest. No activity, no excitement. Hrm..." they cycled through options, before showing me one they thought was best "Here! Perfect. Standard stellar cycle with 4 BARREN worlds (you've seen your share of carnage after all!)," They giggled darkly "with a termination by a passing Stage 6 singularity. Yes, just the rest you need. And try to remember to accrete plenty of H2O! Now, make your preparations and we will send you off."
I did as told, smiling and thanking them. They caressed me gently, "my pleasure. Sweet Dreams, love". They pulled the lever, and the fires of heaven took me.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"Juramaia, man", the hazy figure in front of me in the queue said.
"It's this little thing, kind of a primordial shrew or something. Split off from the marsupials, closed up the pouch and grew a placenta instead. Size of your thumb. Doesn't look like anything much.
We don't know if it was something they ate, maybe some kind of herb too weird to ever evolve again, or maybe it was just because Juramaia got stuck with nature's first draft of the liver and kidneys. Whatever. But there was something in their urine, some molecule that never was before and never was again.
And these little worms man, most primitive nervous system you can imagine. Just one big nerve really, not even a brain. Permeable skin like a frog. Orange blood.
And when a Juramaia pisses on one of those worms that worm gets as high as fuck. Like, indescribably high. That molecule just zips right into them and lights them up like no other being in the universe ever got lit up.
You can go see the universe all over, from the bang to the heat death, if that's what you think you want. We've all been there. We've seen it all, we've done it all. There're dudes in this queue who are billions of billions of billions of years old. That's what eternity is.
And none of us ever found nothing to beat being that worm. We're all going around again. Got nothing better to do, you know? The waiting's the hard part, in the queue, having a brain again, knowing you got to wait before you can go back to being the worm".
He stepped forward one pace, said "121 million BCE worm" and vanished.
And I stood at the head of the queue.
|
Wrong Lever
As I watched the others transcend to that primordial hell, I began to reconsider. What did they know that I didn't? As I took each small, eternal step towards the dock, I decided -jist this once - I would follow the crowd; after all, how long could a worms life be? When my time came I entered the transpiritual reactor and pulled the lever, engulfed in the fires of heaven.
The ether encompassed me, white (theres no word for its actual brilliance) with a series of varying stars changing locations as a countdown. Decompression from the corporeal. After an eternal instant I was transposed back to the waiting room. From everywhere a soothing voice announced "welcome to Receiving dock 5/j(8b¡^4)▪︎8, when ready please proceed to the rotunda"
I sat there shuddering, shivering, holding myself. I was astounded no human had found a trace of it in the fossil record. The sheer madness of those monstrosities. The things that threatened them. Those eyes. Those endless mouths!
No one had told me beforehand that we were going into battle.
No one told me how truly depraved Enkidu (no... Sakloss. No.... Jeh.... the thought evaporated) could truly be. The humans had such limited comprehension, such a narrow understanding of their potential unrealization. Of who their true allies were.
"Projection". Thats the word one of the humans had used. The bad ones rely on projection.
The memories played through: the aggregate titans. The tactical strategies. The battles. Then then cold, the COLD! Of space itself swallowing the sun. Then the memory of warmth, of light... where was I? A petri dish! Thats right... pulled from a core sample. I made headlines, I think. Before some buffoon melted me in acid. Oh those poor fools, I hope they didn't dig too far.
I was still sorting through the thoughts and timelines, reconciling millions of years, when I felt a presence by my side. I looked at them, and they at me. They could see from the look in my Eye that something was terribly wrong.
"Oh," they sighed "you... you went THERE?" They embraced me and it was warm, engulfing, and my fear and terror, those remnants of biology, drifted away. Looking at me again they said "im sorry child. We try to ensure that level 4 and above only go there, for reasons you no doubt now understand . Sometimes though, a brave soul falls through the cracks."
They took my hand and led me back to a reactor. "What you need is a long rest. No activity, no excitement. Hrm..." they cycled through options, before showing me one they thought was best "Here! Perfect. Standard stellar cycle with 4 BARREN worlds (you've seen your share of carnage after all!)," They giggled darkly "with a termination by a passing Stage 6 singularity. Yes, just the rest you need. And try to remember to accrete plenty of H2O! Now, make your preparations and we will send you off."
I did as told, smiling and thanking them. They caressed me gently, "my pleasure. Sweet Dreams, love". They pulled the lever, and the fires of heaven took me.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"Well that was a disaster" Romain thinks to himself as he takes a place at the back of the "reincarnation line". "Pick the 21st century Terra they said, it will be fun they said. Well it was not. Especially not being a god damn human. What did I even think of? I was obviously way too late to the party and I still picked it!?"
Romain's eyes scouer the wast endless void stretching out to every side. There must be atleast a trillion souls waiting for a second, third or hundredth existance. He's looking for something to occupy his time with, but just as the first, second, and fiifth time, there's nothing here except for boring souls. They said that there were once endless rivers running through the void brining life to an oettherwise utterly tiresome space.
Time moves differently here. It isnt really a linear flow like in the plane of living. Instead, time is condensed and channeled through one's existance. Or atleast that what they say.
As Romain slowly starts to enclose himself in his own isolation the echoes from the front reach him. The soul in front turns and the empty sound of their voice revers inside of your existance. "you hear that!? The elders are picking Terra... A WORM ON TERRA!". A worm... On Terra? Who would put themself through that!? There's no way, that Romain the great will be a worm... On Terra.
But as time goes on, the rumours grow stronger. More and more people are picking Terra worms and soon Romain starts to consider it. After all, why would everyone else be picking it. There must be something there, they must know something that he doesn't.
So as he stepps up to the counter he proudly writes down in the book of life "Romain: Worm, Terra, earliest possible time". The clerk behind the desk chuckles slightly, and as he flips throigh the pages to cement Romain's wish he can see sthe billions of souls picking worm. He thinks to himself "there's no way this can go tits up"
And as he's transported to Terra into this new being. As the soul is forced into a new twisted existance of life he realizes.... There's nothing to this existance. They lied.
|
It seemed almost paradoxical in a way, Jarod thought. Why would anyone want to experience a mundane life of dirt and decomposition over the wondrous advancements of the future? To opt against a post first-contact society?
Perhaps the more experienced souls had already seen all there was to life, and simply grown old and tired of it, preferring the mindlessness of an undeveloped creature from eras past. But... something felt off. Surely the future was infinite, and there could be no end to the experiences one might be curious to see?
Jarod took much time contemplating the potential reasonings behind such a choice, and could only come to one conclusion. For whatever reason, they wanted to create as much potential for a new series of timelines, because somewhere down the line, there must be an inevitable event they want to avoid by going farther and farther back, disrupting the course of history moving forward via butterfly effect. With this in consideration, he still had to make a choice..
——————————————————
It was a brief, yet surprisingly brutal life Jaida led. From confinement at birth, persecution for the crimes of humanity against the *Xi’Uqr Union of Stars*, and casually violent end at the hands of a DGE officer who found her after shortly after escape from the Union’s highest security prison planet. A grudge against the people that nearly caused the extinction of a dozen Union species, and collapsed the host star of their capital system, is not likely to ever be forgiven.
——————————————————
Upon returning to the void, and being offered the choice of reincarnation again, Jaida answered immediately. If the sheer number of souls opting for such an early point in evolutionary history was any clue, nothing could likely be done to reroute humanity from the abominable path it lead, and the only salvation would be the alteration of evolution to change what they would eventually become, or to prevent their emergence entirely.
=============================
First time making a response to a prompt. It was kind of short term inspiration so if anything doesn’t seem like it came out right, please share <3
I enjoy world-building ideas and I’d love to get better
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"We don't forget. That's the problem, you see?"
The man? Woman? Thing? next to me seemed to smile, but even that was not clear. It was more a feeling building up inside me, the same feeling I might have had, had someone smiled warmly at me. Words felt like they had formed briefly before, a quick memory of something that had just happened.
"So you do one or two or ninethousand of those reincarnations. Into all eternity. Some are fun, I once met a guy who was a famous ruler or something. But most aren't. Most are messy, dirty, violent. No matter the century, the day, even the hour, you'll have a higher chance of coming back to a life as someone or something experiencing pain than a ruler."
It began to make sense. I remembered everything from my past life. The one I had had, my first, from the looks of this. My youth, that first kiss, many things I'd forgotten in life, they all were there, clear as day. Six candles on the altar when my mother died. Nine people in the first row during the baptism of my second child, the one that died of cancer nineteen years later. Nineteen years, six months, twelve days, four hours, nine minutes and sixteen seconds later. I remembered everything. In absolute clarity. And it hit me as if it had just happened.
I felt waves of profound sadness wash over me. I did not cry, and I wasn't sure if I could. But I felt that the person next to me felt my emotions as well.
"See, that's the thing. You'll experience all this. Every time you're here. Only way to forget is to reincarnate, to seek out a new life. But, of course, you'll form new memories plus those you had before. And when you come back, your stack grows. Some go positively crazy in here, seek out random places, all to add some happy to the sad. It rarely works. And it will make you sadder and sadder."
"What can I do?" I tried to speak, but it didn't work. Yet, for some reason he knew what I'd asked.
"Go worm. Seriously. There's one 121 million BCE that has an amazing lifespan and basically just sits there. It has no frontal cortex, so it forms few memories and those are mostly positive like eating and a warm summer day. You don't have much of a choice what you get reincarnated as, but it has to be somewhere on your original lineage. Something with a soul or the beginning of one. Sorry, oak tree is unfortunately out. Most animals, too, if they split off the human lineage before souls were introduced. That's all of them, sadly, the ones that went extinct before didn't have that great of a life, either. So, worm. Last happy soul bearing thing."
"When do I have to decide?"
"There is no time here, so you can't take all the time you need. But whenever you're ready, you'll go. I don't know how this works, but..."
"So, worm?"
"Sure, you have infinite tries, give it a shot."
I thought about it. Decided to try it.
The "world" went black. A strange feeling.
And then white again. I was back, just like that. I still remembered my daughter's death. My mother's funeral. But there was something else. A warm ray of sun one day that was just right, not too hot to burn me and not too cold to immobilize me. And more glycosides in the water that made me feel ready to bud off and become two. Moments ago, it had felt like the deepest pit of sadness and pain. It still did, only a little less.
Worm it was. At least until the simple happiness of a ray of sunshine drowned out the deep sadness of burying your own child.
|
It seemed almost paradoxical in a way, Jarod thought. Why would anyone want to experience a mundane life of dirt and decomposition over the wondrous advancements of the future? To opt against a post first-contact society?
Perhaps the more experienced souls had already seen all there was to life, and simply grown old and tired of it, preferring the mindlessness of an undeveloped creature from eras past. But... something felt off. Surely the future was infinite, and there could be no end to the experiences one might be curious to see?
Jarod took much time contemplating the potential reasonings behind such a choice, and could only come to one conclusion. For whatever reason, they wanted to create as much potential for a new series of timelines, because somewhere down the line, there must be an inevitable event they want to avoid by going farther and farther back, disrupting the course of history moving forward via butterfly effect. With this in consideration, he still had to make a choice..
——————————————————
It was a brief, yet surprisingly brutal life Jaida led. From confinement at birth, persecution for the crimes of humanity against the *Xi’Uqr Union of Stars*, and casually violent end at the hands of a DGE officer who found her after shortly after escape from the Union’s highest security prison planet. A grudge against the people that nearly caused the extinction of a dozen Union species, and collapsed the host star of their capital system, is not likely to ever be forgiven.
——————————————————
Upon returning to the void, and being offered the choice of reincarnation again, Jaida answered immediately. If the sheer number of souls opting for such an early point in evolutionary history was any clue, nothing could likely be done to reroute humanity from the abominable path it lead, and the only salvation would be the alteration of evolution to change what they would eventually become, or to prevent their emergence entirely.
=============================
First time making a response to a prompt. It was kind of short term inspiration so if anything doesn’t seem like it came out right, please share <3
I enjoy world-building ideas and I’d love to get better
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"You hungry?" it asked.
I realized I wasn't. "No," I answered.
It nodded - that much I could glean, hazy outline that it was.
"Sit with the implications for a minute," it continued. "I could ask a bunch of similar questions, but, well. Yeah."
It gave me a few moments. I did my best. I wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or tired. I wasn't really anything, except aware, and thinking.
Since I could, I thought back to life's endless pangs and frustrations. I gave credit where it was due. I felt another nod from the figure in front of me. The line moved again.
"You get to choose every time," it said. "Worms can't choose. Couldn't tell you what happens to a worm that was never a thinker before. Different line, maybe. In here, we may not be human anymore, but we're something like it. We think. We have memories. We have values. We have preferences.
"Some of us have too many," it finished, and it sounded... heavy.
"I don't think I have any others," I said cautiously. Now I was waiting for the other shoe to drop - but I couldn't call it dread, or fear. Not really. Too much was missing. It was simply a new consideration.
The hazy figure in front of me didn't really whistle, but, well, I got the gist. That was how things worked here, for the most part: gists. I newly considered that I wasn't really seeing, or speaking, or even moving. There was purity in the ambiguity, though. Every gist seemed honest. Every symbol was truth. In fact, I considered that the haze wasn't ambiguous at all. Perhaps everything real was ambiguous. Perhaps the haze was the result of my own inability to square unvarnished truth with my memories of physical existence.
I waited to feel smart - at least for a brief moment - but it turned out that that was mostly physical too.
"Genuine virgin," the figure in front of me gisted. "Lucky you.
"Look," it continued, "I'm not telling you what to do, obviously, but, well... I dunno. Even in here, thinkers don't seem to do well with multiple lives. It confuses the sense of self. In case you haven't noticed, that's pretty much all that's left."
"You all seem to be on the same page now, though," I replied. In return, I got a gist of grudging respect.
"Turns out there's a global tilt towards risk aversion," it gisted. "We found something that works, more or less. We choose a worm, we live for a moment, we don't add any new damage - well, nothing we remember, anyway - we die, we come back here. So far as anybody can tell, this is it. It's either life, or it's this. And *this* is a whole lot simpler the fewer thinkers' lifetimes you have to juggle."
Were I still a creature of atoms and bonds, I am sure I would have felt all manner of messy, meaty things in response to the revelation: defiance, denial, despair, scorn or ridicule, contempt or pity, surely nothing remotely close to good. But I didn't feel any of those. I simply considered, and considered anew.
"What if-" I began.
"Guess," it gisted. "Just guess. You don't go back until you pick something valid. And hey, there's no rush anyway, right? And if you stumble upon something new, well, hey - feel free to share it with the rest of the line next time."
The line moved again, and again, never trying my patience because I possessed neither it nor its opposite. Gists of conversations came and went, tales of lives lived delivered with a studied detachment. For as long as the line moved, the central mystery remained: we felt no fear, and yet, the worm, over and over and over again. The worm.
I was convinced for a tiny eternity that I would stand before the grand machine and make my glorious stand upon a mountain of senseless lottery tickets, delivering each to be shredded as incoherent or invalid until finally one came through, delivering me to some alien experience that would represent the second point of a grand triangulation.
My moment came, and I chose the worm. Then I was back in line.
|
It seemed almost paradoxical in a way, Jarod thought. Why would anyone want to experience a mundane life of dirt and decomposition over the wondrous advancements of the future? To opt against a post first-contact society?
Perhaps the more experienced souls had already seen all there was to life, and simply grown old and tired of it, preferring the mindlessness of an undeveloped creature from eras past. But... something felt off. Surely the future was infinite, and there could be no end to the experiences one might be curious to see?
Jarod took much time contemplating the potential reasonings behind such a choice, and could only come to one conclusion. For whatever reason, they wanted to create as much potential for a new series of timelines, because somewhere down the line, there must be an inevitable event they want to avoid by going farther and farther back, disrupting the course of history moving forward via butterfly effect. With this in consideration, he still had to make a choice..
——————————————————
It was a brief, yet surprisingly brutal life Jaida led. From confinement at birth, persecution for the crimes of humanity against the *Xi’Uqr Union of Stars*, and casually violent end at the hands of a DGE officer who found her after shortly after escape from the Union’s highest security prison planet. A grudge against the people that nearly caused the extinction of a dozen Union species, and collapsed the host star of their capital system, is not likely to ever be forgiven.
——————————————————
Upon returning to the void, and being offered the choice of reincarnation again, Jaida answered immediately. If the sheer number of souls opting for such an early point in evolutionary history was any clue, nothing could likely be done to reroute humanity from the abominable path it lead, and the only salvation would be the alteration of evolution to change what they would eventually become, or to prevent their emergence entirely.
=============================
First time making a response to a prompt. It was kind of short term inspiration so if anything doesn’t seem like it came out right, please share <3
I enjoy world-building ideas and I’d love to get better
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"Juramaia, man", the hazy figure in front of me in the queue said.
"It's this little thing, kind of a primordial shrew or something. Split off from the marsupials, closed up the pouch and grew a placenta instead. Size of your thumb. Doesn't look like anything much.
We don't know if it was something they ate, maybe some kind of herb too weird to ever evolve again, or maybe it was just because Juramaia got stuck with nature's first draft of the liver and kidneys. Whatever. But there was something in their urine, some molecule that never was before and never was again.
And these little worms man, most primitive nervous system you can imagine. Just one big nerve really, not even a brain. Permeable skin like a frog. Orange blood.
And when a Juramaia pisses on one of those worms that worm gets as high as fuck. Like, indescribably high. That molecule just zips right into them and lights them up like no other being in the universe ever got lit up.
You can go see the universe all over, from the bang to the heat death, if that's what you think you want. We've all been there. We've seen it all, we've done it all. There're dudes in this queue who are billions of billions of billions of years old. That's what eternity is.
And none of us ever found nothing to beat being that worm. We're all going around again. Got nothing better to do, you know? The waiting's the hard part, in the queue, having a brain again, knowing you got to wait before you can go back to being the worm".
He stepped forward one pace, said "121 million BCE worm" and vanished.
And I stood at the head of the queue.
|
It seemed almost paradoxical in a way, Jarod thought. Why would anyone want to experience a mundane life of dirt and decomposition over the wondrous advancements of the future? To opt against a post first-contact society?
Perhaps the more experienced souls had already seen all there was to life, and simply grown old and tired of it, preferring the mindlessness of an undeveloped creature from eras past. But... something felt off. Surely the future was infinite, and there could be no end to the experiences one might be curious to see?
Jarod took much time contemplating the potential reasonings behind such a choice, and could only come to one conclusion. For whatever reason, they wanted to create as much potential for a new series of timelines, because somewhere down the line, there must be an inevitable event they want to avoid by going farther and farther back, disrupting the course of history moving forward via butterfly effect. With this in consideration, he still had to make a choice..
——————————————————
It was a brief, yet surprisingly brutal life Jaida led. From confinement at birth, persecution for the crimes of humanity against the *Xi’Uqr Union of Stars*, and casually violent end at the hands of a DGE officer who found her after shortly after escape from the Union’s highest security prison planet. A grudge against the people that nearly caused the extinction of a dozen Union species, and collapsed the host star of their capital system, is not likely to ever be forgiven.
——————————————————
Upon returning to the void, and being offered the choice of reincarnation again, Jaida answered immediately. If the sheer number of souls opting for such an early point in evolutionary history was any clue, nothing could likely be done to reroute humanity from the abominable path it lead, and the only salvation would be the alteration of evolution to change what they would eventually become, or to prevent their emergence entirely.
=============================
First time making a response to a prompt. It was kind of short term inspiration so if anything doesn’t seem like it came out right, please share <3
I enjoy world-building ideas and I’d love to get better
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"We don't forget. That's the problem, you see?"
The man? Woman? Thing? next to me seemed to smile, but even that was not clear. It was more a feeling building up inside me, the same feeling I might have had, had someone smiled warmly at me. Words felt like they had formed briefly before, a quick memory of something that had just happened.
"So you do one or two or ninethousand of those reincarnations. Into all eternity. Some are fun, I once met a guy who was a famous ruler or something. But most aren't. Most are messy, dirty, violent. No matter the century, the day, even the hour, you'll have a higher chance of coming back to a life as someone or something experiencing pain than a ruler."
It began to make sense. I remembered everything from my past life. The one I had had, my first, from the looks of this. My youth, that first kiss, many things I'd forgotten in life, they all were there, clear as day. Six candles on the altar when my mother died. Nine people in the first row during the baptism of my second child, the one that died of cancer nineteen years later. Nineteen years, six months, twelve days, four hours, nine minutes and sixteen seconds later. I remembered everything. In absolute clarity. And it hit me as if it had just happened.
I felt waves of profound sadness wash over me. I did not cry, and I wasn't sure if I could. But I felt that the person next to me felt my emotions as well.
"See, that's the thing. You'll experience all this. Every time you're here. Only way to forget is to reincarnate, to seek out a new life. But, of course, you'll form new memories plus those you had before. And when you come back, your stack grows. Some go positively crazy in here, seek out random places, all to add some happy to the sad. It rarely works. And it will make you sadder and sadder."
"What can I do?" I tried to speak, but it didn't work. Yet, for some reason he knew what I'd asked.
"Go worm. Seriously. There's one 121 million BCE that has an amazing lifespan and basically just sits there. It has no frontal cortex, so it forms few memories and those are mostly positive like eating and a warm summer day. You don't have much of a choice what you get reincarnated as, but it has to be somewhere on your original lineage. Something with a soul or the beginning of one. Sorry, oak tree is unfortunately out. Most animals, too, if they split off the human lineage before souls were introduced. That's all of them, sadly, the ones that went extinct before didn't have that great of a life, either. So, worm. Last happy soul bearing thing."
"When do I have to decide?"
"There is no time here, so you can't take all the time you need. But whenever you're ready, you'll go. I don't know how this works, but..."
"So, worm?"
"Sure, you have infinite tries, give it a shot."
I thought about it. Decided to try it.
The "world" went black. A strange feeling.
And then white again. I was back, just like that. I still remembered my daughter's death. My mother's funeral. But there was something else. A warm ray of sun one day that was just right, not too hot to burn me and not too cold to immobilize me. And more glycosides in the water that made me feel ready to bud off and become two. Moments ago, it had felt like the deepest pit of sadness and pain. It still did, only a little less.
Worm it was. At least until the simple happiness of a ray of sunshine drowned out the deep sadness of burying your own child.
|
"Well that was a disaster" Romain thinks to himself as he takes a place at the back of the "reincarnation line". "Pick the 21st century Terra they said, it will be fun they said. Well it was not. Especially not being a god damn human. What did I even think of? I was obviously way too late to the party and I still picked it!?"
Romain's eyes scouer the wast endless void stretching out to every side. There must be atleast a trillion souls waiting for a second, third or hundredth existance. He's looking for something to occupy his time with, but just as the first, second, and fiifth time, there's nothing here except for boring souls. They said that there were once endless rivers running through the void brining life to an oettherwise utterly tiresome space.
Time moves differently here. It isnt really a linear flow like in the plane of living. Instead, time is condensed and channeled through one's existance. Or atleast that what they say.
As Romain slowly starts to enclose himself in his own isolation the echoes from the front reach him. The soul in front turns and the empty sound of their voice revers inside of your existance. "you hear that!? The elders are picking Terra... A WORM ON TERRA!". A worm... On Terra? Who would put themself through that!? There's no way, that Romain the great will be a worm... On Terra.
But as time goes on, the rumours grow stronger. More and more people are picking Terra worms and soon Romain starts to consider it. After all, why would everyone else be picking it. There must be something there, they must know something that he doesn't.
So as he stepps up to the counter he proudly writes down in the book of life "Romain: Worm, Terra, earliest possible time". The clerk behind the desk chuckles slightly, and as he flips throigh the pages to cement Romain's wish he can see sthe billions of souls picking worm. He thinks to himself "there's no way this can go tits up"
And as he's transported to Terra into this new being. As the soul is forced into a new twisted existance of life he realizes.... There's nothing to this existance. They lied.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"You hungry?" it asked.
I realized I wasn't. "No," I answered.
It nodded - that much I could glean, hazy outline that it was.
"Sit with the implications for a minute," it continued. "I could ask a bunch of similar questions, but, well. Yeah."
It gave me a few moments. I did my best. I wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or tired. I wasn't really anything, except aware, and thinking.
Since I could, I thought back to life's endless pangs and frustrations. I gave credit where it was due. I felt another nod from the figure in front of me. The line moved again.
"You get to choose every time," it said. "Worms can't choose. Couldn't tell you what happens to a worm that was never a thinker before. Different line, maybe. In here, we may not be human anymore, but we're something like it. We think. We have memories. We have values. We have preferences.
"Some of us have too many," it finished, and it sounded... heavy.
"I don't think I have any others," I said cautiously. Now I was waiting for the other shoe to drop - but I couldn't call it dread, or fear. Not really. Too much was missing. It was simply a new consideration.
The hazy figure in front of me didn't really whistle, but, well, I got the gist. That was how things worked here, for the most part: gists. I newly considered that I wasn't really seeing, or speaking, or even moving. There was purity in the ambiguity, though. Every gist seemed honest. Every symbol was truth. In fact, I considered that the haze wasn't ambiguous at all. Perhaps everything real was ambiguous. Perhaps the haze was the result of my own inability to square unvarnished truth with my memories of physical existence.
I waited to feel smart - at least for a brief moment - but it turned out that that was mostly physical too.
"Genuine virgin," the figure in front of me gisted. "Lucky you.
"Look," it continued, "I'm not telling you what to do, obviously, but, well... I dunno. Even in here, thinkers don't seem to do well with multiple lives. It confuses the sense of self. In case you haven't noticed, that's pretty much all that's left."
"You all seem to be on the same page now, though," I replied. In return, I got a gist of grudging respect.
"Turns out there's a global tilt towards risk aversion," it gisted. "We found something that works, more or less. We choose a worm, we live for a moment, we don't add any new damage - well, nothing we remember, anyway - we die, we come back here. So far as anybody can tell, this is it. It's either life, or it's this. And *this* is a whole lot simpler the fewer thinkers' lifetimes you have to juggle."
Were I still a creature of atoms and bonds, I am sure I would have felt all manner of messy, meaty things in response to the revelation: defiance, denial, despair, scorn or ridicule, contempt or pity, surely nothing remotely close to good. But I didn't feel any of those. I simply considered, and considered anew.
"What if-" I began.
"Guess," it gisted. "Just guess. You don't go back until you pick something valid. And hey, there's no rush anyway, right? And if you stumble upon something new, well, hey - feel free to share it with the rest of the line next time."
The line moved again, and again, never trying my patience because I possessed neither it nor its opposite. Gists of conversations came and went, tales of lives lived delivered with a studied detachment. For as long as the line moved, the central mystery remained: we felt no fear, and yet, the worm, over and over and over again. The worm.
I was convinced for a tiny eternity that I would stand before the grand machine and make my glorious stand upon a mountain of senseless lottery tickets, delivering each to be shredded as incoherent or invalid until finally one came through, delivering me to some alien experience that would represent the second point of a grand triangulation.
My moment came, and I chose the worm. Then I was back in line.
|
"Well that was a disaster" Romain thinks to himself as he takes a place at the back of the "reincarnation line". "Pick the 21st century Terra they said, it will be fun they said. Well it was not. Especially not being a god damn human. What did I even think of? I was obviously way too late to the party and I still picked it!?"
Romain's eyes scouer the wast endless void stretching out to every side. There must be atleast a trillion souls waiting for a second, third or hundredth existance. He's looking for something to occupy his time with, but just as the first, second, and fiifth time, there's nothing here except for boring souls. They said that there were once endless rivers running through the void brining life to an oettherwise utterly tiresome space.
Time moves differently here. It isnt really a linear flow like in the plane of living. Instead, time is condensed and channeled through one's existance. Or atleast that what they say.
As Romain slowly starts to enclose himself in his own isolation the echoes from the front reach him. The soul in front turns and the empty sound of their voice revers inside of your existance. "you hear that!? The elders are picking Terra... A WORM ON TERRA!". A worm... On Terra? Who would put themself through that!? There's no way, that Romain the great will be a worm... On Terra.
But as time goes on, the rumours grow stronger. More and more people are picking Terra worms and soon Romain starts to consider it. After all, why would everyone else be picking it. There must be something there, they must know something that he doesn't.
So as he stepps up to the counter he proudly writes down in the book of life "Romain: Worm, Terra, earliest possible time". The clerk behind the desk chuckles slightly, and as he flips throigh the pages to cement Romain's wish he can see sthe billions of souls picking worm. He thinks to himself "there's no way this can go tits up"
And as he's transported to Terra into this new being. As the soul is forced into a new twisted existance of life he realizes.... There's nothing to this existance. They lied.
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"You hungry?" it asked.
I realized I wasn't. "No," I answered.
It nodded - that much I could glean, hazy outline that it was.
"Sit with the implications for a minute," it continued. "I could ask a bunch of similar questions, but, well. Yeah."
It gave me a few moments. I did my best. I wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or tired. I wasn't really anything, except aware, and thinking.
Since I could, I thought back to life's endless pangs and frustrations. I gave credit where it was due. I felt another nod from the figure in front of me. The line moved again.
"You get to choose every time," it said. "Worms can't choose. Couldn't tell you what happens to a worm that was never a thinker before. Different line, maybe. In here, we may not be human anymore, but we're something like it. We think. We have memories. We have values. We have preferences.
"Some of us have too many," it finished, and it sounded... heavy.
"I don't think I have any others," I said cautiously. Now I was waiting for the other shoe to drop - but I couldn't call it dread, or fear. Not really. Too much was missing. It was simply a new consideration.
The hazy figure in front of me didn't really whistle, but, well, I got the gist. That was how things worked here, for the most part: gists. I newly considered that I wasn't really seeing, or speaking, or even moving. There was purity in the ambiguity, though. Every gist seemed honest. Every symbol was truth. In fact, I considered that the haze wasn't ambiguous at all. Perhaps everything real was ambiguous. Perhaps the haze was the result of my own inability to square unvarnished truth with my memories of physical existence.
I waited to feel smart - at least for a brief moment - but it turned out that that was mostly physical too.
"Genuine virgin," the figure in front of me gisted. "Lucky you.
"Look," it continued, "I'm not telling you what to do, obviously, but, well... I dunno. Even in here, thinkers don't seem to do well with multiple lives. It confuses the sense of self. In case you haven't noticed, that's pretty much all that's left."
"You all seem to be on the same page now, though," I replied. In return, I got a gist of grudging respect.
"Turns out there's a global tilt towards risk aversion," it gisted. "We found something that works, more or less. We choose a worm, we live for a moment, we don't add any new damage - well, nothing we remember, anyway - we die, we come back here. So far as anybody can tell, this is it. It's either life, or it's this. And *this* is a whole lot simpler the fewer thinkers' lifetimes you have to juggle."
Were I still a creature of atoms and bonds, I am sure I would have felt all manner of messy, meaty things in response to the revelation: defiance, denial, despair, scorn or ridicule, contempt or pity, surely nothing remotely close to good. But I didn't feel any of those. I simply considered, and considered anew.
"What if-" I began.
"Guess," it gisted. "Just guess. You don't go back until you pick something valid. And hey, there's no rush anyway, right? And if you stumble upon something new, well, hey - feel free to share it with the rest of the line next time."
The line moved again, and again, never trying my patience because I possessed neither it nor its opposite. Gists of conversations came and went, tales of lives lived delivered with a studied detachment. For as long as the line moved, the central mystery remained: we felt no fear, and yet, the worm, over and over and over again. The worm.
I was convinced for a tiny eternity that I would stand before the grand machine and make my glorious stand upon a mountain of senseless lottery tickets, delivering each to be shredded as incoherent or invalid until finally one came through, delivering me to some alien experience that would represent the second point of a grand triangulation.
My moment came, and I chose the worm. Then I was back in line.
|
And, I, sitting and thinking that if I choose to start somewhere in the advanced future, I'll be closer to finding out what God is. Seems I was wrong; seems that there s no God closer to the end, but only close to the beginning;
That is when I realized why the older souls crave so much for the beginning - they want to get as close to the beginning of the Universe to find out what was really there before the Big Bang, to race always as early as possible up until the very first spark.
"It might be the only way out", tells an old soul. "The only way out of this endless cycle. Reach the moment before the inevitable gears of Time sets the motion of the Universe and you could be free."
|
|
[WP] After death, you find out that you can choose how and when to be reincarnated. Initially eager to be a futuristic human, you soon realize that every (more experienced) soul ahead of you in line is choosing to be a "worm" in the year 121 million BCE.
|
"Juramaia, man", the hazy figure in front of me in the queue said.
"It's this little thing, kind of a primordial shrew or something. Split off from the marsupials, closed up the pouch and grew a placenta instead. Size of your thumb. Doesn't look like anything much.
We don't know if it was something they ate, maybe some kind of herb too weird to ever evolve again, or maybe it was just because Juramaia got stuck with nature's first draft of the liver and kidneys. Whatever. But there was something in their urine, some molecule that never was before and never was again.
And these little worms man, most primitive nervous system you can imagine. Just one big nerve really, not even a brain. Permeable skin like a frog. Orange blood.
And when a Juramaia pisses on one of those worms that worm gets as high as fuck. Like, indescribably high. That molecule just zips right into them and lights them up like no other being in the universe ever got lit up.
You can go see the universe all over, from the bang to the heat death, if that's what you think you want. We've all been there. We've seen it all, we've done it all. There're dudes in this queue who are billions of billions of billions of years old. That's what eternity is.
And none of us ever found nothing to beat being that worm. We're all going around again. Got nothing better to do, you know? The waiting's the hard part, in the queue, having a brain again, knowing you got to wait before you can go back to being the worm".
He stepped forward one pace, said "121 million BCE worm" and vanished.
And I stood at the head of the queue.
|
And, I, sitting and thinking that if I choose to start somewhere in the advanced future, I'll be closer to finding out what God is. Seems I was wrong; seems that there s no God closer to the end, but only close to the beginning;
That is when I realized why the older souls crave so much for the beginning - they want to get as close to the beginning of the Universe to find out what was really there before the Big Bang, to race always as early as possible up until the very first spark.
"It might be the only way out", tells an old soul. "The only way out of this endless cycle. Reach the moment before the inevitable gears of Time sets the motion of the Universe and you could be free."
|
|
[WP] You live in a videogame like world where everyone has a visible health bar and everyone knows until you turn the age of 15 you cant lose health. There has been a dragon that has been terrorizing a kingdom as of late that no knight can defeat ... As the king you have an idea to use kids to fight
|
The king's head rolled into the basket. The townsfolk cheered briefly. Now, they faced a grim task.
The dragon.
One man had been selected and with a bag of gems and gold, he climbed. Up the mountain he went. Oh, the path was easy as the knights who had walked the path had worn it well. It was how the children made it up there.
He could still hear their screams.
He approached the cave and set the bags down at the mouth. He shouted, "Dragon, hear me! We have brought you gold and gems for the children!"
The beast crawled to the mouth, as large as a castle and as fearsome as a storm. He was chewing and as he chewed, the man nearly retched.
As the dragon open it mouth to speak, the man heard the children's screams. "I don't know, I'll think I'll keep them! It's like what you humans call gum, but it never loses it's flavor!"
\---------------------
Horrible thanks to Jhonen Vasquez for nightmare fueling this idea.
|
As I sat 'pon my splendid throne in my splendid hall,
did I ask for a hero to answer duty's call.
Unfortunately it seemed my luck was sore,
For the only one to answer was a Taur.
&#x200B;
Her name was Mina and she was monster born,
She had tail and teeth, hooves and horn.
Perhaps it was a sign that my plan was twisted,
That I got a helper so deviously wicked.
&#x200B;
"So children don't take damage, see?" I began in stride,
"The trick is to get them to slash and stab, not run and hide."
But it was impossible to get anyone to agree
To exploit the fact this world was rated PG.
&#x200B;
Mina cleared her throat and started to speak with glee,
"You cannot use children to fight where knight would flee,
To ask kids to fight would bring unbearable shame
So instead, you trick them - that it is a game within game."
&#x200B;
Her idea had some merit, and to me she did impress,
"See, a scared little child will have low DPS,
But if you convince them their foe is full of sweet,
they will charge joyfully through teeth and heat."
&#x200B;
And so the plan came to be,
An army amassed far as eye could see,
And I would soon cement myself in saga
as the one who turned a dragon into a pinata.
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
\*\*First timer, be gentle. It's been a long time since I wrote anything for public viewing.\*\*
*...based on these findings, we can conclude that the enzymatic reaction is stable at physiological pH, and thus…*
My eyelids drag coarsely across my weary eyes as I blink up at the time. I'd been waist deep in journal articles in the ancient half of the university library for hours, and everything was blurring together, getting me nowhere. Another day wasted. I sighed, gently closing the journal and placing it back in it's spot on the table, where dozens of books and journals littered the workspace. I closed my eyes and inhaled the musky scent of old books and old buildings, letting my thoughts drift as they wished, relinquishing control.
I was 2 years into a PhD program, researching the biochemical processes of aging and going nowhere in the meantime. The whole field was chock full of pseudoscience and impossible to prove theoreticals, resulting in a metric fuck-ton of useless drivel that I needed to parse through while writing my thesis. Trying to be a “serious scientist” in a field of superficial commercial products was exhausting and disheartening. And yet, like all budding scientists, I felt my cause was righteous - that unlocking the mechanisms of aging would let us reverse senility and save those we held most dear. It was a pipe dream, and I knew it, but I clung to the hope that one day this would all mean something. I peered at the stacks on my table and sighed, rubbing my temples and feeling the headache starting there.
*Time for a change of scenery*. I thought to myself, standing and stretching. I was deep in the stacks of the older section of the library building, where largely forgotten volumes of scientific journals and old medical texts were housed. The room was largely silent, minus the hum of the ventilation system and occasional creak of the floor above me. I liked it here, wrapped in solitude and blanketed in the smell of books and old wood, as opposed to the laboratory or classroom where I was constantly asked questions I couldn’t answer about where my project was heading and what, exactly, it was that I wanted to accomplish here. A female in academia isn’t exactly new, nowadays, but a female in academia studying biochemistry in a laboratory that also tested makeup and skin care products was treated as a joke.
Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I turn to go back to the main library when I hear a faint “pop” somewhere in the stacks beside me. I know the odd pops and creaks this wing makes well enough, and I’m stuck with the sensation that I am no longer alone. I shift to see into the cluster of shelves and see a figure moving among the rows. How did someone get past me without me seeing them?
“Hello?” I call, “Sorry, I have a whole bunch of journals over here on the table, so if you can’t find what you’re looking for you may want to…” I trail off as the figure moves into the open. He’s a tall, slender college student, and he looks at me with a sudden warmness and recognition that sends a flush of embarrassment through me. I’ve never seen this man before in my life, but he’s looking at me as though I am his oldest friend.
“Oh thank goodness! My love!” He rushes towards me, moving to embrace me. I flinch backwards, suddenly alarmed, running through every potential acquaintance in my memory and coming up blank. I am absolutely sure I have never seen this man before in my life. He stops, his warmness instantly replaced by despair. “Fuck!” He exclaims. “Wrong timeline. Again.” He drops his hands to his pockets and averts his gaze. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am.” I stand in stunned silence, gripping my purse. His green eyes flick back up to mine, briefly, and I see what seems like true sorrow there.
“Does that line ever actually work on anybody?” He stares at me, confused. “Because, I mean, I have to admit it’s unique but a little bit over the top.” I smile at him, and after a moment, he returns it.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” He snorts out a short laugh, still obviously embarrassed. “You look just like someone I know.”
“Someone you love, you mean? She must be pretty special.”
The stranger looks at his shoes. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“Why did you think she’d be here? I’m pretty much the only one who ever uses this section of the library - at least for the past few months.”
“Ah, well..” he rocks back and forth on his heels, “She’s been working on this project for astrophysics and I thought I’d find her here.”
“Well, there’s your problem.” I laugh. “This is the medical wing.” He looks up sharply.
“Medical?”
“Yeah, pretty sure it has been for at least 2 years or so now. Probably a whole lot longer than that.”
“You’re in the medical field?”
“Well no, not exactly. I’m in a biochemistry program, but I’m studying the aging process and…”
“Oh, well,” he starts, then pauses, “that’s different.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I feel heat rising to my cheeks. “Because I’m a girl and I’m…” he holds his hand up soothingly.
“No, no! I just mean…” he trails off. I cock and eyebrow at him, waiting. He sighs. “I just mean, you’ve never done this before.”
“Well of course I’ve never done this before, it’s not like I have other PhD’s just lying around.”
He meets my eyes for a moment, seeming to weigh his options. Then he shrugs and says “I mean, in every alternative universe, I’ve never once seen you pursue medicine. It just...isn’t you. You’ve always been a physicist and a damn good one. I just have a hard time seeing you as anything else.”
“I….what?”
He sighs. “Your name is Rachel Turner. You grew up in Huntsville, Alabama where you were supposed to get interested in rocket science and physics. I don’t know what diverted that, but I know that in every other timeline, you still love books, terrible movies, and have a soft spot for old things and history.” I shift uncomfortably and he laughs softly. “And when you’re uncomfortable you push your hair back behind your ears like that, and shift your weight to your left foot.” I straighten, and consciously shift my weight back to my right. “You’re stubborn and fierce and have never encountered a puzzle you couldn’t tease apart.” The twinkle in his eyes falters, slightly, “Until you open the portal.”
“Was I your TA or something?”
“What?” He looked confused.
“Is that how you know so much about me? Are you stalking me?”
“What, no, I…”
“Because if you did you’re a terrible stalker. I only lived in Alabama until I was 3, we moved when my father died and my mother needed to go back to Ohio to find work and be closer to family.”
“Your dad died?”
“Yeah, early onset dementia.”
“...which is why you’re studying aging.” He nods, satisfied. ”Look, I’m sorry for scaring you and wasting your time. I’ll let you get back to your work.” He motions to the stack of books on the table.” He turned to go back into the stacks.
“Wait!” I exclaim, before I know what I’m saying. He looks back at me over his shoulder and smiles.
“You may want to find Sam Albertson over in the physics department.” He says, turning back to walk away. “But he’s not going to remember any of this though.”
I stood, stunned and watched him disappear into the stacks. I heard another faint “pop” a few seconds later and the sound snapped me out of my confusion. I rushed into the stacks after him, but found nothing. I searched and searched, feeling along the walls, looking for hidden openings, until the library lights flipped on and off flipped on and off three times, signaling that it was about to close. I returned to my table, looking all around for any clues of the stranger’s identity or where he could have gone. Had I really just met a time traveler? Could such a thing really be possible?
I shook my head, thinking it was more likely that I had just fallen asleep while reading my articles.
\-------- (continued in comments)
|
Those three words would change my life forever. He immediately ran away to the nearest exit. My curiosity couldn't contain itself. I have always had an interest in the time travel .the idea of time travel has always intrigued me and I always believed that some part of it is true and when i heard those exact lines I had a thought. A weird thought at first but it made sense. Did the future find a way to contact different timelines? As soon as this thought crossed my mind I started running after the stranger. After a while I lost sight of him but it seems he dropped something while running. It had a cuboidal shape with dials and number around it. It looked like a Rubik's cube filled with numbers and symbols. I brought it home and then placed it on my table. I started toying with the dials and I started studying the object. I used all my energy and time trying to decipher how to use the object .I theorised that the cube has many uses for it since each faces of the cube had different writing on it. Writings which didn't translate to any language on earth.
A couple months later in my room ,I was in a deep and comfortable slumber and then something popped in my dreams. It looked like a figure was approaching me. It got closer and it looked very similar to the cube but there was a dark element in the cube. I got closer and closer and suddenly touched it and then I felt different for a second and then my mind broke. It felt like I was everything and nothing. I started seeing new things and creatures and languages .it felt terrifying but in a thrilling way. It went on for a while until there was suddenly nothing and then there was a voice speaking out to me saying "give back the cube Miranda, its never going to be yours" and then it ended. I woke up with sweat and tears rolling out of my eyes.
I looked at the cube and I could understand the reading marked in it.one of the faces say time, another one says reality and the other two are used to find a specific person in the specific timeline or reality. The timeline face had a year on it. I clicked enter and everything went black and I felt like dust. In minutes I came back to my usual body and the first thing I see is guns and men with huge metal suits. "Drop the cube or we will not hesitate".
hope u guys enjoyed it. This is first time I wrote something like this sooo suggestions would be nice.
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
"My love!" A brown-haired girl came running up to me, a wide grin on her face. I flinched a bit as her arms closed around me.
She felt the movement and backed away, eyes full of concern. "Dan? What's wrong?"
People always told me that I wear my heart on my face, this time was no different. You could practically feel my confusion radiating outwards. I watched as realization dawned on her, but not on me. She muttered a quick "sorry" and something about timelines under her breath, then turned and ran away.
I've seen Lucy around the school, always from a distance. We don't share any classes or many mutual friends, so the only reason I even know her was because I asked her friend out to homecoming back in our freshman year of high school (she said no, they had a hell of a laugh about it). But if I ever was sure about something, it's that, for all intents and purposes, we're strangers.
I shook off the encounter, trying to return my focus to my research, but my thought process had completely escaped me. After staring at the books spread out on my desk for several more minutes, I gave up. With a sigh, I collected my things and returned to my dorm.
It wasn't until I flopped onto my bed that I allowed myself to think about the earlier proceedings. Now, don't call me a creep, but weirdly I enjoyed being... well, not sure what I was gonna say there... but I enjoyed it. It's probably because I'm single like the rest of you redditors. Remember how I said I got rejected by the girl? Yea... turns out I was rejected by every girl. To have such an enthusiastic hug, even unsolicited and from a stranger? Man did it feel good.
Feeling slightly better now that I've convinced myself I'm not a creep, just touch and love starved, I thought about the last word she said. "Timeline," hmm, now what's that supposed to mean. Ooooooh, hear me out here. What if, Lucy's a time traveler, who can jump between different timelines? What if...
As I drifted off into sleep, my mind filled with fantasies, I gave one more contented sigh. Maybe, not all versions of Dan are lonely...
|
"Fuck. Wrong Timeline."
I looked back at her. She was a somewhat cute girl- a blank, black skirt with a white shirt up top. Her hair was brunette, with a slight blue coloring at the ends, almost looking a halo. I wasn't able to get her face, though, as she ran away. Her voice was trembling, almost like her throat was giving out entirely. It was oddly familiar.
"Huh. Odd." I looked at her run away, out of the library, as I kept on looking for the books.
I eventually found what I wanted, *A Journey made for the Curious and Spiteful,* by Luto Rinpin. A rather odd name, for a rather odd book. It was a fictional book I was researching, looking at two people that played tricks on each other throughout all of history, looking for ways to beat each other on a bet, based on who could pull the largest trick over the other. It was very interesting, but had fallen out of favor, as it had been too early for its time. A book almost made by a time traveler, it was critiquing tropes that only came into being in the last decade or so, and it explored them expertly. Luto Rinpin was a man born in the wrong century.
"I'd like to check this out please." I walked over to the old, breaking down, wooden check out desk, where an oddly young girl was standing there. She had a flat face, her nose almost looking like it was being squished by some elaborate mask. Her hair was in a bun, a ball of bright, annoying blond that took your attention. But that looked relatively odd when comparing it to what she was wearing. She was wearing a massive black sweatshirt, with some niche metal band on the badge. She also had an eyepatch on, for some reason, probably just the edge.
"Oh, *A Journey made for the Curious and Spiteful*, huh?" she looked at the book with some scorn. "I never liked it all that much."
"Oh, really? It's a great critique, especially for someone as far back in time as that." I remarked. "It's almost like they were a time traveler or something." I looked at her.
"Oh really? The explain why I haven't heard about it from anyone else."
"Well that girl who bumped into me certainly gets it." I remarked, thinking about what she'd said.
"Um, i'm sorry, but you're the only one who's came in here. Nobody else has."
Something about her voice was familiar. It sounded raspy, but it sounded fake, like they were trying to hide what they actually sounded like.
"Oh really? Want me to describe her?" I asked, condescendingly.
"Please, don't describe your dream chick to me, or I'll punch you."
"Won't you die if you punch me?" I tested something out for a second.
"Huh?" her raspy voice fell for it perfectly.
"Oh wait, wrong timeline." I darted away, leaving the book there. If this was real, then I was amazing, and a genius. If it wasn't then I had hallucinated a girl talking about timelines, and then thoroughly creeped out the poor librarian.
I heard a chuckle in that initial, same voice, right before I opened the door to leave.
"Shit. It's 534-534 then. Back to deuce."
Memories came flooding back to me I didn't even know I had. Memories of preparing and testing pranks, all throughout centuries and time, even getting to such a point where we agreed to wipe our own memories and replace them with new ones, just to start the game over. She had been up one when we took those memories, at 533-534, but we agreed to a win by two rule back in the 500's BC, and we had been back and forth ever since. Up by one, Down by one, Up by one, down by one, for centuries.
"Yep. You were close, too. How did you get your memories back?" I looked at her, as her form changed back to that that she had initially used. A white shirt, and black skirt. Nothing special.
"I never lost them in the first place. Did you really wipe your own memories?" she looked at me incredulously.
"Ummmmm...." I looked back at her sheepishly. "Maybe?"
The girl, who I now remember was named Clarisse, laughed. "Oh, that HAS to be a point for me, then!" she walked up to me, laughing her ass off. "You actually fell for that!? I thought you were lying too!"
"What? No! I've been awful at traps for centuries. I just recognize them easily, that's all." I looked back at her, awestruck by her stupidity.
"Oh, yeah... I might have forgotten that bit. By the way, how did you catch me? I thought I had you thinking you were insane!" she questioned me, getting up in my face.
"Woah woah, calm down there, Clarisse. It was your voice."
"Huh, my voice? I used a voice changer for that!" she whined, slamming the ground in childish rage.
"Didn't work out so well. Should have made it smoother. Also, it wasn't natural. It sounded like a voice changer, honestly.". I shrugged my shoulders in defeat. "Other then that, I didn't suspect a thing."
She sighed, giving me puppy eyes. "Fine, *Luto*, you wanna just get drinks and call it a night?"
"Sure, where you wanna go?" I looked at her, giggling myself a little bit. "As long as you don't spike it."
"You'd smell it anyways, you narc. Just give me a place. You won today, so I'll pay."
"Thanks, I didn't have any money on me anyways."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" Clarisse roared. "So you were just going to *steal* that book?" she glared at me.
"No-no-no, Clarisse, please, don't kill me, AGHHHHJHHHHHHHH!!" I was chased by a lunatic out of the library, looking forwards to more pranks and curiosities to explore.
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
"My love!" A brown-haired girl came running up to me, a wide grin on her face. I flinched a bit as her arms closed around me.
She felt the movement and backed away, eyes full of concern. "Dan? What's wrong?"
People always told me that I wear my heart on my face, this time was no different. You could practically feel my confusion radiating outwards. I watched as realization dawned on her, but not on me. She muttered a quick "sorry" and something about timelines under her breath, then turned and ran away.
I've seen Lucy around the school, always from a distance. We don't share any classes or many mutual friends, so the only reason I even know her was because I asked her friend out to homecoming back in our freshman year of high school (she said no, they had a hell of a laugh about it). But if I ever was sure about something, it's that, for all intents and purposes, we're strangers.
I shook off the encounter, trying to return my focus to my research, but my thought process had completely escaped me. After staring at the books spread out on my desk for several more minutes, I gave up. With a sigh, I collected my things and returned to my dorm.
It wasn't until I flopped onto my bed that I allowed myself to think about the earlier proceedings. Now, don't call me a creep, but weirdly I enjoyed being... well, not sure what I was gonna say there... but I enjoyed it. It's probably because I'm single like the rest of you redditors. Remember how I said I got rejected by the girl? Yea... turns out I was rejected by every girl. To have such an enthusiastic hug, even unsolicited and from a stranger? Man did it feel good.
Feeling slightly better now that I've convinced myself I'm not a creep, just touch and love starved, I thought about the last word she said. "Timeline," hmm, now what's that supposed to mean. Ooooooh, hear me out here. What if, Lucy's a time traveler, who can jump between different timelines? What if...
As I drifted off into sleep, my mind filled with fantasies, I gave one more contented sigh. Maybe, not all versions of Dan are lonely...
|
The Nubian slave handed me a short scroll as I walked back from the dining table. The patronage of Ptolemy was magnificent, I can only think of how much money must have been spent paying for such strong and tall slaves who were literate too.
I was distracted by a woman -- a woman, in the Library of Alexandria! -- dressed in the finest woven clothes, of a strange material. It would be good to add the library's zoo whatever beast or plant that was made from. She rushed to me and spoke words in a strange tongue. Perhaps it was "Miloph"? Was she from Milos? I had heard of female scholars in other lands, but in Milos? That seemed hard to believe. And what a strange greeting she gave -- surrounding me with her arms. When I came to the library I knew I would encounter many new ideas and people from strange lands, drawn to the library's great storehouse of wisdom and scholarship -- but this incident with the woman was indeed beyond what I could ever have imagined.
And then she seemed to say "envelope" in the language of the Greeks. Well, I suppose she had done that. But it seemed she wanted something of me that I could not give her. And with that, she left.
I consulted with the chief librarian, who knew nothing of these matters. I asked several other men of great wisdom and learning if they understood what had just transpired.
In desperation I asked that strange man Quartus who had travelled all the way from Rome what he made of the situation, and he queried me in great detail about the nature of the woven goods the woman wore. Based on what I could recollect, he offered an explanation. He told me that many visitors with that sort of garb appeared at his end of the great sea, claiming to be from beyond the great straits to the west and also from the future, where it is as possible to travel through time much as we step aboard a chariot, but much chaos ensues so very few make the journey. They only come briefly and to very important places. He claims that one day Rome will be the seat of a great empire (such comedy!) and that they come to explore its foundings. "If this were so," I asked him, "would they not want to come to the centre of the greatest empire? Do you suppose that Alexandria will not stand?"
He had no answer to this, and nor do I have an answer to the mystery of the woman who briefly visited the library. I never thought to ask her what marvellous manuscripts she might have that we could have had copied.
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
Right this is my first attempt at creative writing in 10 years so don’t be too harsh please 😳! I have more on my mind for making it a bit longer but just thought I’d share.
Edit - added a bit more to it.
Terry scanned the old wooden book shelf lazily. She knew this would be the sixth night in a row she spent in the university library and not the last. The exact structure of the report was in her mind. However she kept focusing on the gut wrenching feeling of impending doom that she was experiencing. Terry began to reach for a book relating to offender behaviour in prison when suddenly she caught site of a tall muscular figure start running towards her. As the figure drew closer she noticed his piercing golden eyes and curly warm dark hair. Within the blink of an eye the man was infront of Terry, she began to get lost in thought as her brain was consuming the man’s face. Terry noticed how beautifully contrasted his eyes were to his hair and his beauty which could only be described as angelic. It felt like forever had gone by when he attempted to give Terry a hug while speaking softly he said “my love” this brought Terry plummeting back to the real world. Terry had never moved so fast in her life when she flinched and jerked backwards to escape the beautiful strangers advances. She immediately noticed his expression and body language change, which had previous been loving and trusting morphed into what appeared to be disgust and anger. He began muttering under his breath. Terry faintly heard him say “fuck. wrong timeline, how could I be so fucking wreck-less”. At that he looked down at Terry with a cold expression and said “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else” and then he swiftly turned away and headed for the door. Terry stood between the dusty rows of books in the old and worn library processing what had just happened. Without thinking she began to sprint towards the door following the stranger.
The scent of cool wet air hit terry the moment she entered the street which was full of voices and the mechanical sound of traffic. She instantly seen him, he was on the other side of the street heading towards the alley. Terry quickly and quietly followed him, always keeping 10 steps behind. This continued for what felt like forever to terry. She turned the corner the stranger took and instantly felt a pit in her stomach when she realised he had vanished. Terry ran to the end of the alley onto the attached street scanning the faces of everyone in site. The pit in Terry’s stomach began to feel like it was consuming her when suddenly everything started going dark and she felt weak. The weight of her body began to be too much for her legs to bare. She began to fall, terry felt a slight warmth around her as she drifted off into the darkness.
Terry awoke in a daze, her eyes frantically searched her surroundings. She felt her heart rate pick up to a point it felt like it was going to beat of her chest, she also noticed she was struggling to breath. Panic had consumed all of Terry as tears flowed down her cheeks in a steady stream. Then she saw him, the beautiful stranger, her beautiful stranger she thought. With that Terry realised she was breathing in a regular rhythm and her heart rate was steadying. She couldn’t put her finger on why this complete stranger brought her out of the panic attack the moment she lay her eyes on him or why she felt comfortable this him. Terry’s train of thought was quickly broken when her mind jumped back to the darkness swallowing her up and the warmth that had surrounded her. At that the man rose from his seat and asked Terry “why in the hell did you follow me?” Terry couldn’t help but notice the condescending tone in his voice. She realised that even she didn’t understand why she followed him. Terry abruptly said “who are you? Why did you call me your love? What did you mean wrong timeline? Also to answer your question you’re about to ask, yes I heard you muttering away at yourself”. Terry completely focussed on his facial expression as it morphed before her, she could see so many different emotions within his face as she watched in sheer amazement. His face began to settle. she immediately noticed his eyebrows move together and the wrinkles on his four head, the tell tale sign of sadness. With that she looked into his signature gold eyes as she thought she could easily get lost in them, she saw that his beautiful big eyes were full of despair and loneliness. It was if his eyes were searching hers for any sign of recognition or love. Terry snapped out of it and abruptly said “stop looking at me like that, I don’t know you, we first met in the library and you started going on about different timelines which is make believe stuff”. His face changed to a neutral expression and his eyes appeared shielded as he sat down and let out a sigh. The stranger remained silent for about five minutes which made Terry antsy as she needed answers. Terry inhaled deeply and went to start talking, however she was stopped in her tracks as he replied “who I am is unimportant however if you need to refer to me as something you can call me Carter. I told you I thought you were someone else and I meant it, the timeline stuff was just me being dramatic and not wanting to admit I was wrong. Now now eat this and get some rest it’s been a long night”. Terry couldn’t muster up the courage to continue the conversation as she was mentally and physically exhausted from her university work and forgetting to eat. She began to eat and quickly drifted off to sleep. As she awoke she noticed it appeared to be midday and the room was in eery silence. She got up and wandered about what appeared to be a hotel room, she found a note sitting on the table by the couch. It read - “I have gone to take care of the business that brought me to town, the hotel room is fully paid for till the end of the week, feel free to stay as long as you wish. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye.” As she read the note Terry had a gut feeling Carter was lying and she knew she would get to the truth.
|
''I’m sorry, do I know you?'' I ask.
She lets go of me and then she takes a few steps back. I get a sudden chill.
''This is the exact same place we first met. It’s shame that…'' She doesn’t finish her sentence and she turns away. She touches one of the books on the shelf before she disappears into thin air.
I slap myself a few times to make sure I’m not dreaming and I see the book she just touched blinking blue and purple. Without any hesitation, I take the book and I open it.
'Going upstairs won’t get you to your future. Going downstairs won’t get you to your past. Where will you go?’ says on the first page.
I take my eyes off the book and I realise I’m in a different place. I’m surrounded by a brick wall and I look up I see a dim light coming from the sky.
I try to calm myself and I close my eyes.
''Take a deep breath. You are just dreaming.'' I tell to myself.
When I open my eyes I see the book itself changed the page. Now I’m looking at page 2.
‘There are no more stops. I’m here for you. Look down and you will the sign.’
I slowly look down and I see a circling crystal snake beneath the transparent ground. As I put the book down on the ground the snake stops moving and starts to eat its own tail and it freezes perfectly and it starts to emit the same colour as the book.
I wake up and I find myself back in the library. No one is around. I see the same book open in front of me, it’s page 3.
‘I’m one with you. I can see what you see, I can feel what you feel and I can hear what you hear. Do not fear.’
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
"My love!" I hear a stranger whisper in my left ear with my husband's voice.
He catches me in a hug as I try to turn and stand. The chair I was sitting on tips slightly, balanced now by my thigh. Instinctively, my arms reach around him and his latte coloured jacket. There's a hint of chai in his breath, which Tim does not usually drink. The whirlpool of coffee hair in his stubble seems a centimetre downwards compared to where I remember.
The embrace feels simultaneously awkward and nice. Like a guilty pleasure, or an ice-block pilfered from the fridge before dinner.
"Tim, you're supposed to be in Europe," I whisper into his ear. "What are you doing here?"
Onlookers cast a few glances in our direction, then return to their studies. Some I recognise from lectures. It is almost exam time, and I dread the marking that comes after.
"Oh. To... see you," the stranger flinches back, and we look each other full in the face. Our confused expressions are mirrored in each other as we stare, eyes flickering, counting freckles in wrong locations. Not-Tim's hazel irises look a carbon copy of Tim's, but the tint underneath was a shade of summer sky rather than jade green.
"Uh, who are *you*?" I ask, still in a whisper. We release each other, struggling to process the un-canny resemblance to the person in our memories.
We're both fully standing now. My chair leans dangerously, threatening to cause a scene. In the corner of my vision I spot Janice, the librarian on-duty, discreetly shift our way. She's expecting to intervene, just in case, because she has not met my husband.
Not-Tim begins to back away. He lips swear, *Fuck. Wrong again.*
I read the words incredulously. The look of embarrassment is unmistakeable, almost cute, though I would never say it out loud in Tim's presence. Not-Tim fumbles at his watch.
"Wait!" I whisper at him, receding.
My arms reach out and grab his. My movement causes the chair to topple over, but I never hear the clatter. For as we touch again, the world around us dissolves. The desk fades. The bookshelves tear apart...
...we land in a chamber adorned in whirling gears and orbiting spheres.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry-," words tumble out of Not-Tim's mouth. He leaves me and rushes over to a dais in the centre.
I absorb the scene in awe. Below me is a shifting pattern of fractal gears, above me an astrolabe of dancing Earths. Metal doors are spaced evenly around the room, twelve in number.
One behind me opens with an oiled squeak.
"Oh dear, not again." Two voices echo, like mine but subtly different.
I turn to see two copies of me rushing in. We hug, and comfort each other in the madness of time travel and absent loves.
|
''I’m sorry, do I know you?'' I ask.
She lets go of me and then she takes a few steps back. I get a sudden chill.
''This is the exact same place we first met. It’s shame that…'' She doesn’t finish her sentence and she turns away. She touches one of the books on the shelf before she disappears into thin air.
I slap myself a few times to make sure I’m not dreaming and I see the book she just touched blinking blue and purple. Without any hesitation, I take the book and I open it.
'Going upstairs won’t get you to your future. Going downstairs won’t get you to your past. Where will you go?’ says on the first page.
I take my eyes off the book and I realise I’m in a different place. I’m surrounded by a brick wall and I look up I see a dim light coming from the sky.
I try to calm myself and I close my eyes.
''Take a deep breath. You are just dreaming.'' I tell to myself.
When I open my eyes I see the book itself changed the page. Now I’m looking at page 2.
‘There are no more stops. I’m here for you. Look down and you will the sign.’
I slowly look down and I see a circling crystal snake beneath the transparent ground. As I put the book down on the ground the snake stops moving and starts to eat its own tail and it freezes perfectly and it starts to emit the same colour as the book.
I wake up and I find myself back in the library. No one is around. I see the same book open in front of me, it’s page 3.
‘I’m one with you. I can see what you see, I can feel what you feel and I can hear what you hear. Do not fear.’
|
|
[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”
|
"My love!" I hear a stranger whisper in my left ear with my husband's voice.
He catches me in a hug as I try to turn and stand. The chair I was sitting on tips slightly, balanced now by my thigh. Instinctively, my arms reach around him and his latte coloured jacket. There's a hint of chai in his breath, which Tim does not usually drink. The whirlpool of coffee hair in his stubble seems a centimetre downwards compared to where I remember.
The embrace feels simultaneously awkward and nice. Like a guilty pleasure, or an ice-block pilfered from the fridge before dinner.
"Tim, you're supposed to be in Europe," I whisper into his ear. "What are you doing here?"
Onlookers cast a few glances in our direction, then return to their studies. Some I recognise from lectures. It is almost exam time, and I dread the marking that comes after.
"Oh. To... see you," the stranger flinches back, and we look each other full in the face. Our confused expressions are mirrored in each other as we stare, eyes flickering, counting freckles in wrong locations. Not-Tim's hazel irises look a carbon copy of Tim's, but the tint underneath was a shade of summer sky rather than jade green.
"Uh, who are *you*?" I ask, still in a whisper. We release each other, struggling to process the un-canny resemblance to the person in our memories.
We're both fully standing now. My chair leans dangerously, threatening to cause a scene. In the corner of my vision I spot Janice, the librarian on-duty, discreetly shift our way. She's expecting to intervene, just in case, because she has not met my husband.
Not-Tim begins to back away. He lips swear, *Fuck. Wrong again.*
I read the words incredulously. The look of embarrassment is unmistakeable, almost cute, though I would never say it out loud in Tim's presence. Not-Tim fumbles at his watch.
"Wait!" I whisper at him, receding.
My arms reach out and grab his. My movement causes the chair to topple over, but I never hear the clatter. For as we touch again, the world around us dissolves. The desk fades. The bookshelves tear apart...
...we land in a chamber adorned in whirling gears and orbiting spheres.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry-," words tumble out of Not-Tim's mouth. He leaves me and rushes over to a dais in the centre.
I absorb the scene in awe. Below me is a shifting pattern of fractal gears, above me an astrolabe of dancing Earths. Metal doors are spaced evenly around the room, twelve in number.
One behind me opens with an oiled squeak.
"Oh dear, not again." Two voices echo, like mine but subtly different.
I turn to see two copies of me rushing in. We hug, and comfort each other in the madness of time travel and absent loves.
|
Right this is my first attempt at creative writing in 10 years so don’t be too harsh please 😳! I have more on my mind for making it a bit longer but just thought I’d share.
Edit - added a bit more to it.
Terry scanned the old wooden book shelf lazily. She knew this would be the sixth night in a row she spent in the university library and not the last. The exact structure of the report was in her mind. However she kept focusing on the gut wrenching feeling of impending doom that she was experiencing. Terry began to reach for a book relating to offender behaviour in prison when suddenly she caught site of a tall muscular figure start running towards her. As the figure drew closer she noticed his piercing golden eyes and curly warm dark hair. Within the blink of an eye the man was infront of Terry, she began to get lost in thought as her brain was consuming the man’s face. Terry noticed how beautifully contrasted his eyes were to his hair and his beauty which could only be described as angelic. It felt like forever had gone by when he attempted to give Terry a hug while speaking softly he said “my love” this brought Terry plummeting back to the real world. Terry had never moved so fast in her life when she flinched and jerked backwards to escape the beautiful strangers advances. She immediately noticed his expression and body language change, which had previous been loving and trusting morphed into what appeared to be disgust and anger. He began muttering under his breath. Terry faintly heard him say “fuck. wrong timeline, how could I be so fucking wreck-less”. At that he looked down at Terry with a cold expression and said “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else” and then he swiftly turned away and headed for the door. Terry stood between the dusty rows of books in the old and worn library processing what had just happened. Without thinking she began to sprint towards the door following the stranger.
The scent of cool wet air hit terry the moment she entered the street which was full of voices and the mechanical sound of traffic. She instantly seen him, he was on the other side of the street heading towards the alley. Terry quickly and quietly followed him, always keeping 10 steps behind. This continued for what felt like forever to terry. She turned the corner the stranger took and instantly felt a pit in her stomach when she realised he had vanished. Terry ran to the end of the alley onto the attached street scanning the faces of everyone in site. The pit in Terry’s stomach began to feel like it was consuming her when suddenly everything started going dark and she felt weak. The weight of her body began to be too much for her legs to bare. She began to fall, terry felt a slight warmth around her as she drifted off into the darkness.
Terry awoke in a daze, her eyes frantically searched her surroundings. She felt her heart rate pick up to a point it felt like it was going to beat of her chest, she also noticed she was struggling to breath. Panic had consumed all of Terry as tears flowed down her cheeks in a steady stream. Then she saw him, the beautiful stranger, her beautiful stranger she thought. With that Terry realised she was breathing in a regular rhythm and her heart rate was steadying. She couldn’t put her finger on why this complete stranger brought her out of the panic attack the moment she lay her eyes on him or why she felt comfortable this him. Terry’s train of thought was quickly broken when her mind jumped back to the darkness swallowing her up and the warmth that had surrounded her. At that the man rose from his seat and asked Terry “why in the hell did you follow me?” Terry couldn’t help but notice the condescending tone in his voice. She realised that even she didn’t understand why she followed him. Terry abruptly said “who are you? Why did you call me your love? What did you mean wrong timeline? Also to answer your question you’re about to ask, yes I heard you muttering away at yourself”. Terry completely focussed on his facial expression as it morphed before her, she could see so many different emotions within his face as she watched in sheer amazement. His face began to settle. she immediately noticed his eyebrows move together and the wrinkles on his four head, the tell tale sign of sadness. With that she looked into his signature gold eyes as she thought she could easily get lost in them, she saw that his beautiful big eyes were full of despair and loneliness. It was if his eyes were searching hers for any sign of recognition or love. Terry snapped out of it and abruptly said “stop looking at me like that, I don’t know you, we first met in the library and you started going on about different timelines which is make believe stuff”. His face changed to a neutral expression and his eyes appeared shielded as he sat down and let out a sigh. The stranger remained silent for about five minutes which made Terry antsy as she needed answers. Terry inhaled deeply and went to start talking, however she was stopped in her tracks as he replied “who I am is unimportant however if you need to refer to me as something you can call me Carter. I told you I thought you were someone else and I meant it, the timeline stuff was just me being dramatic and not wanting to admit I was wrong. Now now eat this and get some rest it’s been a long night”. Terry couldn’t muster up the courage to continue the conversation as she was mentally and physically exhausted from her university work and forgetting to eat. She began to eat and quickly drifted off to sleep. As she awoke she noticed it appeared to be midday and the room was in eery silence. She got up and wandered about what appeared to be a hotel room, she found a note sitting on the table by the couch. It read - “I have gone to take care of the business that brought me to town, the hotel room is fully paid for till the end of the week, feel free to stay as long as you wish. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye.” As she read the note Terry had a gut feeling Carter was lying and she knew she would get to the truth.
|
|
[WP] You are a marriage councillor and your first clients are history's most infamous couple. No not Romeo and Juliet but Zeus and Hera
|
“Alright would one of you like to tell me why you’re here today?”
“I’ll go first.” The husband is named Zeus. He’s very impressive looking, smartly dressed with a physique that would draw the envy of bodybuilders. And the chin! Songs could be written about the clef of it.
“He’ll go first,” His wife Hera says at the same time. She’s equally impressive, dark-haired, and sharp-featured, like the falling of dusk around a sunset.
“Wait, why do you want me to go first?” Zeus stops and looks at her.
“I want to hear what you’ll say,” Hera says.
“Well, I don’t want to go first.” Zeus looks the other way.
“Let's take a step back,” I say, using my practiced soothing tone. That’s one of the first things they teach you in school - tone is more important than words.
“Please,” Hera says. “Let's take several steps back. Let's start with when he killed our father!”
“He what now?” I blink.
“Oh here we go!” Zeus scoffs. “She always does this. Makes everything into my fault!”
“It was your fault!” Hera says. “He never would have eaten us if you hadn’t been destined to kill him. He was only trying to keep us safe!”
“I’m sorry - did you say-” I try to interrupt.
“I didn’t choose my destiny!” Zeus glowers. “I didn’t ask to be lord of all creation! But I do it. Every day I toil and labor to keep the very fabric of existence from unraveling and does she ever thank me! Of course not! She’s too busy pointing out all of my faults!”
“I only ever asked him for one thing! Faithfulness. And he promised, didn’t he. I’ll love you and only you, loveliest of my sisters. That’s what he said.”
“Wait… Sister?” I cough, pressing a hand to a temple.
“And how long was it - a day? I don't know. And then he’s all cozied up with that cow and then he pretends it's a gift! A gift! The nerve!”
“You like cows!” Zeus protests. “Giving you a cow is a completely reasonable-”
“Stop it!” I snap. The room falls into sudden silence and I take a few deep breaths, trying to carefully arrange my face. That’s another thing they teach you in school - your expression has to be neutral. Not judging, but also not overly sympathizing.
Back to the script. When in doubt, just go back to the script.
“I need to tell you that everything we say here is confidential with two exceptions. One, if you threaten to harm yourself, or two if you threaten to harm another.”
“And would immolating his lover with lighting upon revealing his true nature constitute harm to another?” Hera smirks.
Zeus throws up his hands. “You're the one who got disguised and put the idea in her head! I didn't want to-”
I clap loudly several times to get their attention and give them a high-eyebrowed smile. “Maybe we could talk about how you first met. What first attracted you to each other?”
This gives them each a pause.
“I mean look at her,” Zeus says, almost irritated. “She’s liquid sex. That smolder. And she’s good. Too good for me. Wise as the boundless sea. Smart as any scholar.”
“And you should have seen him back then.” Hera smiles wistfully. “He was strong, handsome, but also vulnerable. Like a little bird just learning to fly.”
“You were all I ever wanted,” Zeus says, turning to look at her.
“And you stole my heart. It could never belong to another.”
Zeus kisses her with sudden passion, like the crashing of a wave onto a rocky shore.
“Um..” I say as Hera reclines, knocking over a vase on the table next to the sofa. Zeus's hands start to wander along her shoulder and then down to her waist.
“Well, our time is up,” I say, despite the clock asserting otherwise.
Zeus is fiddling with his belt and Hera arching her neck in pleasure.
“Well, I’m going to go,” I say. “I think we’ve made some good progress here today. This week we should practice our I statements.”
I back out of the room, whistling tunelessly, my mind carefully arranged in therapist neutrality. When I'm out of the room I take out my phone.
"Got any available appointments?" I text my therapist.
&#x200B;
\-------
Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you thought.
For more of my stories check out [http://aarontellsstories.com/](http://aarontellsstories.com/).
|
Me (Thinking):
“Why did the most dysfunctional couple of all of Greek mythological lore have to come to me? And I can’t even use tough love, they’ll just smite me! He’s a serial cheater and she’s a psycho path that goes after his love children. I don’t recall any myths that they WEREN’T at each other throats. What would Joseph Campbells say about this?”
Me: *Clears throat* Why are you both together?
Zeus: “What?”
Me: Why are you together, why have both of you been in a relationship together for so long?
Zeus: Oh me, I have to think about it...
Hera: You have to THINK about it?!?!
Zeus: Give me a few minutes, it’s literally been an eternity since we got married!
Hera: Typical, you...
Me: Give him a few minutes, to forgive is divine you know
Hera: *glares* you know I could turn you into a turtle
Me (thinking): “why a turtle?”
Zeus: I’m ready, I’m ready, also Hera we can’t keep turning the therapists into animals, we’ll get nowhere.
Me: Go ahead
Zeus: To begin with between Hestia, Demeter and her. Hera had the most fire...
Hera: (amused) More fire than Hestia?
Zeus: Yes, don’t interrupt my train of thought, I’ll never finish this. And we were in a war with Cronus, it was so precarious back then, we would all end up in his stomach if we made any misstep... I remember thinking I want to be with this goddess, even for a short while.
Hera: *blushes*
Me: What about after the fall of Cronus, what kept you two together then?
Zeus: Well we were newlyweds, and we were finally out of peril. We were riding on a high to be completely honest.
Me (thinking) : oh dear, we getting into the infidelities, I have to be careful or I’ll be a turtle.
Me: Hera any thoughts?
Hera: oh that first millennia, it was such bliss. Then he had to go...You know I’m so tired of this dynamic.
Me: sorry?
Hera: I’m tired of being the scorned wife. I’m tired of always feeling bad because he has some stupid itch to scratch. And honestly I really hate going after his bastards, it’s takes so much mental energy from me.
Zeus: You know , I’ve never understood why you went after innocent children
Hera: SHUT UP! You know what, I have an answer to why we are together. It’s because I’m the goddess of MARRIAGE, MARRIAGE. But I had ENOUGH, I’m done!
Zeus: Doc...
Me: (Whispers) I really don’t want to be a turtle.
Hera: I’m changing my role, I’m the goddess of Divorce, and I’m going to have so many tomboys. Enjoy your floozies.
Hera storms out and Zeus follows pleading.
Me: Oh thank them, it’s over
|
|
[WP] You are a marriage councillor and your first clients are history's most infamous couple. No not Romeo and Juliet but Zeus and Hera
|
“Hello, it’s good to see you two.” I said, my eyes on the couple across from me. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, studying the corners of my office. “Why don’t we start off easy? You two take turns answering, and letting the other answer. Sound good?”
Zeus snorted, crossing his arms, “Like she’ll let me talk at all.”
Hera swatted at him, “Don’t say things like that. I let you talk.”
Zeus just grumbled, the muscles in his arms and chest rippling as he shifted. I smiled at the both of them. “Like I said, let’s start easy. Why do you think you’re here?” I motioned towards Hera, as her body language was more open than Zeus’.
She sighed, batting her long eyelashes at me, “I’m here on the advice of some of my friends. They said that counseling had helped them tremendously in their marriage and we need it.” She cast a glance at Zeus, her eyes filled with worry and longing.
“Is that all? Why do you say you need it?”
Shifting, she turned more towards me, crossing her legs, “He’s been stepping out on me. Since we’ve been married, he’s found his way into the bed of every goddess, woman, and beast on this planet.”
“Hey now,” came Zeus’ reply as he turned towards her. I put up a hand.
“Let her finish, please.”
Hera smiled at me, “And I don’t feel like he listens to me at all. Everyday I’ll tell him something, and he just forgets it! Gone! Poof! Like it’s the damned clouds he loves so much.” She wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye. “I’m supposed to be the guardian of marriages, how can I do that if I can’t even keep my own intact?”
I passed her the box of tissues and looked at Zeus. “Without responding to her directly, why do you think you’re here?”He grunted, leaning his elbows on his knees, “I’m here because she asked me to come. Well, she told me to come or she would slaughter every child I’ve ever conceived, including those I had with her.”
Hera turned a shade of pink I’d never seen before. I nodded, “Is that the only reason?”
“No,” there was silence, the shuffling of feet, bodies on the couch, “I guess I feel forgotten sometimes, too. She’s always so busy with the children and ruling. I mean, I’m a man. I have needs. I just feel like mating once or twice every few years isn’t cutting it for me.”
She huffed, “We have a responsibility, Zeus, we can’t keep fucking and making new members of Olympus--”
I put my hand up, stopping her. “So you have intercourse once or twice every few years?” I scribbled on my clipboard, then looked at them. They exchanged a glance, the first one they really had, and I was glad to have brought them together for a brief moment.
“Yes,” Hera said, her voice low, “We can’t afford to keep producing children.”
“Have you considered methods of birth control?”
“He once birthed a man by sewing him to his leg. Our daughter emerged from his head, out of sea foam.”
“And did you two have sex prior to those incidents?”
Hera looked at him, thinking, “I don’t know, now that I think on it.” She put a hand on his arm, “Did we, dear?”
He seemed to crumble when she called him ‘dear.’ “I don’t know, I really don’t. It’s a bit of a blur. Takes a lot out of man, the whole birthing thing.”
I nodded sympathetically, leaning forward, “So, maybe your sex life isn’t tied to when you produce children?”
They exchanged another look, both of them a mix of worry and excitement at the prospect. Hera spoke first, “I just don’t know if I can handle another child on top of Zeus’ infidelity.”
He turned and took her hand, “My goddess, I won’t step out again.” He kissed her hand, “I just need to know you’re here for me. That you know about my needs.”
She blushed like a schoolgirl, “Oh, dear, you’re too much.” She looked at me, “I--I want to believe him, but he’s said this before.”
“It can be hard to heal from infidelity, but he is taking the first step.” I passed Zeus a pamphlet, “Do you have any coping mechanisms for handling temptation? If you work to build those, you are less likely to cheat again, provided you are committed to staying faithful.”
He took the pamphlet in his giant hands, unfolding it, “I don’t guess I know what you mean.”
“Okay,” I said, sitting up again, resting my elbow on the arm of the chair, “say a beautiful mortal woman approaches you in the night, calls to you on Olympus, and tempts you. What do you do?”
“Not… go?” He said, hesitant.
“Yes! But how about on top of that, we do something *instead* of sleeping with her. That way, we replace that habit with a neutral or good one. How does that sound? Do you have anything you think you could do? Like go and kiss your beautiful wife?”
“Hey!” He said, his brows furrowed, “Only I get to call my wife beautiful.”
I think I felt my soul lift from my body out of fear, his voice was as booming as thunder. I flushed, “I apologize. Still, do you have anything you can replace it with?”
He chewed his cheek, “Maybe I could,” he looked at Hera, “go kiss my beautiful wife?”
“Splendid idea!” I exclaimed, almost too enthusiastically.
Hera smiled sweetly at him, “I’m always here for you. Even when I’m doing a lot of other things. We mothers have the ability to be in two places at once, you know.”
I glanced at the clock, their hour almost up. “Is there anything you two would like to discuss before you head out?”
They both shook their head, not taking their eyes off one another. I clapped my hands together and stook, sticking out my hand. Zeus gripped it and I almost wilted. He saw my pained expression and backed off, an apologetic look on his face. Hera shook it gently, her skin soft and glowing. “Well,” I said, “Then I will see you next Tuesday, yes?”
Zeus hooked his arm around Hera, kissing her cheek, “Yes. You did well today, mortal. You’ll be spared.”
Hera swatted his giant chest and he laughed, the two of them fading into nothingness. I took a giant breath and went to the window, throwing it open. I gulped in the fresh air, the scent of rain hitting my nostrils. I looked out into the storm clouds above. Lightning shot down, hitting one of the rods on a building next door. Thunder boomed, a faint sound of laughter echoing with it.
r/AinsleyAdams
|
“So, how did you two meet?” I asked the couple before me, pretending like I didn’t already know. This wasn’t the first time a pair of gods had manifested into human form and booked a slot with me. Ever since I helped Poseidon and Amphitrite work things out I've had a bit of a reputation on Mount Olympus. There wasn't a divine marriage I hadn't been able to save. But I always knew this day was coming, and that my reputation couldn't last. Before me sat Zeus and Hera, a relationship more dysfunctional than toothpaste and orange juice.
“It’s a very cute story,” Hera said. “So when Zeuss—I mean.. uh.. Seuss—first asked me out, I actually said no. I always thought he was a bit of a meat-head, you know? So he backed off, and then—”
“To set the scene though," Zeus said, interrupting. "I want to emphasize that this wasn’t common.”
“For you to get rejected?” I asked.
“Yes, and even then I normally wouldn’t just back off. But Hera—I mean Kara—was something special. I was quite a gentleman when I courted her. No rape or anything.”
Hera smiled and put her hand on Zeus’s shoulder. “He really can be quite charming when he wants to... So anyways, he left and then one day I came across the cutest little bird lying on the grass, its wings broken. So I picked it up and put it to my chest.”
I glanced at Zeus. He winked.
“Then lo-and-behold, the bird transformed! It was Seuss the whole time! I thought it was so very sweet of him to transform into a helpless creature just to get closer to me. We started dating the next—"
“Wait wait, Kara you’re skipping the best part." Zeus said. "What kind of bird was I?”
“I’m not going to say it.”
“Come on, say it.”
“If you want it said, *you* say it.”
“I was a *Great Tit!*” Zeus said grinning. “Eh?” Hera shook her head, her face stone cold.
“Very funny,” I said, jotting some notes.
“But wait, it gets better,” Zeus said. "Kara, tell him what I told you.”
“Look if you want to tell the story, be my guest. You know, you always do this, every time we tell this stupid story you have to—”
“Fine fine, I’ll say it. So I was this little bird right? A Great Tit. Right up against *her* great tits. Poetic right? I planned that. So yeah, then I transformed back, and guess what I said.”
I tried to remain silent, but Zeus seemed determined for a response. “I don’t know, what?”
“I said, *a bird in the hand is great, but how about we go back to my place and I prove to you that one in the bush is even better?*”
I took some notes and suppressed a laugh. Hera was scowling, and I needed to remain impartial.
“Eh?” Zeus goaded. “Come on doc, that’s hilarious. You get it right? Here, I can explain—”
"No no, I get it. So Kara, did *you* find the joke funny?”
“Does it look like I found it funny?”
“She doesn’t find anything funny,” Zeus said.
"So Kara, you found this to be a *cute* story?" I asked.
"Cuter than most the others," she said.
"So lets talk about that," I said. "What brings you in today?"
"We've been having communication—"
"We need to spice up our sex life," Zeus said, interrupting.
"No no no!" Hera said scowling. "We talked about this! We need to learn to *communicate* better!"
"Right right right. So doc, I've been *communicating* to Kara that I want a spicier sex life, but she's not listening. How do we fix that?"
"Unbelievable!" Hera yelled.
"What're you mad about, Kara?! I said what you wanted! Look, I've been pulling my weight here, I've tried to spice things up in the bedroom, but—"
"What do you mean you've *tried?!* We haven't had sex in decades!"
"Well not with *eachother!* I've been practicing on the side, for *you* my love."
"Oh right, *practice.* That's what you call it? You're disgusting, you know that?
"I'm a *man,* Kara! I'm allowed to—"
"You're \*King of the Gods!\*" Hera said, immediately clasping her hand over her mouth, eyes wide.
"Great! You blew our cover!" Zeus yelled, crossing his arms. "Now everyone's going to think I'm some adulterating pervert!"
"Let's all just calm down," I said. "Look, I've known who you two were since the beginning. I've taken Greek mythology classes so I'm familiar with \*all of this\*" I gestured my hand in a circle at them. "I don't need to hear anymore. This was all just a formality anyways, I could've made my recommendation from the get-go."
"What is it, doc?" Zeus asked. "What do you recommend, some adult toys? Maybe a little light bondage? Look I'm up for anything, try me."
"Divorce," I said.
&nbsp;
***
&nbsp;
Thanks for reading! If you want to see more of my work as it comes, I'll be aggregating everything on r/Banana_Scribe
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
"The throne is yours, my queen", the hero accepts his defeat.
"NO!!! You can't do that", intervened the princess. "She's a witch. She put a spell upon our subjects. Our holy throne will not be spoilt by this wretched witch", she cries.
"My princess, my darling, we have to accept our defeat. There is no proof that the dragon sorceress bewitched our subjects. During the election, she was with us in the courtroom. It is a strong alibi", the hero consoles his princess.
"This mustn't be happening. I was supposed to marry you and become a queen. You were chosen by the Goddess herself. Why did you have to attempt this ludicrous democracy?"
"A great philosopher named Michael Palin once said, 'Strange women lying in ponds and distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from the mandate from the masses'", the hero sobs.
The princess turns towards the crowd.
"Look at who you didn't vote for. My valiant betrothed won the war single-handedly. He offered you freedom, transparent governance, lower taxes and freedom of speech. There's no man I've ever seen who is so brave and intelligent. Yet you voted this wretched witch as your queen", the princess rants.
"But she's got dragons", a member in the crowd shouts.
"She cured my jock itch with magic", another man shouts.
"She can cure jock itch with magic?", the hero curiously asks the dragon sorceress.
"Ugh... Yes, I can", the dragon sorceress replies.
"Save me. Put an end to my misery, please", the hero begs.
Men start shouting and begging for the dragon sorceress to cure them.
The sorceress accepts their request. She points her finger to the ceiling and puts a spell on the majestic palace.
It started raining inside the palace. Prince appears out of nowhere and plays that killer guitar solo in Purple Rain. The dragon sorceress takes the throne as the crowd cheers for her. Stupified, the princess walks out of the palace.
THE END
|
As Arthur rose valiantly from the ashes of the last battle, he raised Excalibur in triumph. The crowd cheered as he looked out across the magnificent kingdom. **”My fine people!”** He boomed. **”For too long have we cowered under the almighty control of the dragon sorceress! I have decided to give the power to you, the people, so that you might decide your new ruler!** The crowds applause halted as the pondered this new development. A voice came from the back. “Oi, now what if, here me ou’... we re-elected the dragon sorceress.” The crowd murmured in agreement. Arthur was confused. Was this not what they wanted? Freedom from the wicked beasts tyrannical control? He cleared his throat, and spoke again. **”My people! I believe you mis-“** another voice interrupted him. “Why d’you keep going on abou’ “my people”? We’re not your people! You ain’t in charge!” More voices joined the chorus. Someone else cried out: “What makes you so much betta’ than the res of us, eh?” Arthur straightened his back, stood tall and looked towards the crowd, proudly proclaiming the words he had said so many times before. **”As the Lady of The Lake, clad in-“** *Thunk.* A small rock bounced off of his helmet, with a new voice accompanying it. “Oh, come off of it! Just ‘cause somebody gave you a fancy cutting line don’t mean you’re out new king!” Another shout joined in. “Yeah! Some unauthorized lady in a body of water handin ou’ weapons is a sound government system if ya ask me!” The crowd grew louder and more deafening. “Oi!” Shouted someone. “If some moist bloke sittin’ in a puddle lobbed a butchers knife at me head, and I went round sayin’ I was the emperor, you lot’d put me away!” The crowd began to chant in unison as the marched forwards. “Down with Arthur! All hail the dragon! Down with Arthur! All the hail the dragon!”
As the teacher closed the history book, the bell rang and the students ran out of the classroom, eager to get back home. She cleaned the mess from that day of school, before giving a quick bow towards the flag of the dragon sorceress, ruler of the kingdom as she rushed out.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
Alfonsus the Brave descended the steps of the dragon sorceress' castle, with the sorceress in tow, having bound her in her human form with his enchanted chains. A large crowd began to gather at the foot of the steps. The sun bathed them all in its glorious light and warmth, as if heralding his victory to all the land.
Twas a bloodless battle, one to be recounted through the ages - in a single night, he had descended upon the sorceress as she was napping, and freed the princess from her bedchamber by valiantly kicking down her door. He had expected a more grateful welcoming, but the princess had simply remarked that it had taken him long enough, and then walked off in a huff.
Here she was now, by his side, sulky and irritated at the hot sun. She commanded one of his soldiers lift his shield to shade her from the sun. Alfonsus the Brave had never met a princess, but assumed she was well within her rights.
Heart swelling with pride and bolstered by his success, Alfonsus the Brave addressed the crowd.
"My dear people! I have vanquished this..." He gestured vaguely at the dragon sorceress. "EVIL from your land, and rescued your princess. You are now free to live your lives in peace.".
Silence.
"You are welcome," continued Alfonsus the Brave. He waited.
"So... Are you king now?" Asked a villager.
"All hail the King," chanted the crowd in unenthusiastic unison.
Alfonsus the Brave stood on the steps, felt the wind in his hair. He remembered a time where he was passed over for knighthood because he was not of noble blood, remembered when the king's men would come and ransack his family home for coin and their harvest and call it tax. He remembered being asked to fight a war with a land he had never heard of, with people who had ne'er done him harm, in the name of his king. Kings, he thought, were overrated.
"No," said Alfonsus the Brave. "I am not your King.".
"Then who's the king?" Asked one in the crowd.
"No one is King," Alfonsus the Brave replied.
The crowd fell into intense, panicked murmurs.
"There needs to be a King!" "Unheard of!" "What will the other kingdoms think!" "Who will protect us?!".
"Okay fine, you have a King!" Said Alfonsus the Brave hurriedly. Behind him, the Dragon Sorceress rolled her eyes. "But, but, but... You get to choose! Who your ruler is. It doesn't have to be a King, it can be a woman. It could be me, or it could be anyone of you, yes, you! Or it could be me."
The crowd began to murmur again, contemplatively. Then, reaching a conclusion, they fell silent.
"So. You're saying...We choose the King?" Asked a villager.
"That's right," said Alfonsus the Brave.
"And it can be anyone?"
"Anyone."
"Can we choose her?" Asked a woman, pointing.
Alfonsus the Brave followed the point of her finger - it travelled beyond him, and rested on... the dragon sorceress. Realising this, the dragon lady guffawed with laughter and Alfonsus the Brave whipped back round to the crowd in shock.
"Her?!" He spluttered. "Why her?! She--she imprisoned your princess!"
"We didn't think much of the princess," said an old villager. "Bit rude."
"How dare you! Chop off his tongue, knight!" screeched the Princess.
Alfonsus looked at the princess, appalled, and decided to ignore her.
"The dragon sorceress is evil!" He yelled. "She burns down fields and lays waste to the earth."
"To be honest, it's easier to clear the wheat fields of excess straw and stubble after the harvest," said a farmer.
The dragon sorceress smirked.
"Look at her, she's a monster!" cried Alfonsus the Brave. "If she wasn't bound in these chains she could alter her form and turn into a dragon at will!"
"You need a monster to protect you from other monsters. If other lands are scared of us they won't attack us," said a woman.
"We want the dragon sorceress as our ruler!" Came a cry in the crowd. The villagers echoed their firm approval.
Soon a chant began to rise amongst the villagers: "Dragon Queen! Dragon Queen! Dragon Queen! Dragon Queen!" The chant bubbled, and grew, and grew until it was a roar.
Alfonsus the Brave was stumped. His shoulders fell, and as he stared, uncomprehending, into the crowd, the Dragon Sorceress nudged him to release her chains. Shaken, he freed her and let the chains fall to her feet.
"Tough break, hero," she said. "Should have declared yourself king when you had the chance."
"They'll realize they made a mistake," he said. "You're a monster."
"Yeah, bite me," she said, and shoved past him to take centre stage. The crowd cheered and applauded with fervour and jubilation.
Alfonsus the Brave sullenly gathered his men, and together they walked quietly away from the Dragon Sorceress and her cheering subjects.
"Wait, where are you going?!" Demanded the princess.
"Onward," said Alfonsus the Brave. "My men and I will make a name for ourselves yet."
"You're not leaving me here with these imbeciles," said the princess. "I will come with you."
Alfonsus the Brave sighed. He should have declared himself king when he had the chance.
|
As Arthur rose valiantly from the ashes of the last battle, he raised Excalibur in triumph. The crowd cheered as he looked out across the magnificent kingdom. **”My fine people!”** He boomed. **”For too long have we cowered under the almighty control of the dragon sorceress! I have decided to give the power to you, the people, so that you might decide your new ruler!** The crowds applause halted as the pondered this new development. A voice came from the back. “Oi, now what if, here me ou’... we re-elected the dragon sorceress.” The crowd murmured in agreement. Arthur was confused. Was this not what they wanted? Freedom from the wicked beasts tyrannical control? He cleared his throat, and spoke again. **”My people! I believe you mis-“** another voice interrupted him. “Why d’you keep going on abou’ “my people”? We’re not your people! You ain’t in charge!” More voices joined the chorus. Someone else cried out: “What makes you so much betta’ than the res of us, eh?” Arthur straightened his back, stood tall and looked towards the crowd, proudly proclaiming the words he had said so many times before. **”As the Lady of The Lake, clad in-“** *Thunk.* A small rock bounced off of his helmet, with a new voice accompanying it. “Oh, come off of it! Just ‘cause somebody gave you a fancy cutting line don’t mean you’re out new king!” Another shout joined in. “Yeah! Some unauthorized lady in a body of water handin ou’ weapons is a sound government system if ya ask me!” The crowd grew louder and more deafening. “Oi!” Shouted someone. “If some moist bloke sittin’ in a puddle lobbed a butchers knife at me head, and I went round sayin’ I was the emperor, you lot’d put me away!” The crowd began to chant in unison as the marched forwards. “Down with Arthur! All hail the dragon! Down with Arthur! All the hail the dragon!”
As the teacher closed the history book, the bell rang and the students ran out of the classroom, eager to get back home. She cleaned the mess from that day of school, before giving a quick bow towards the flag of the dragon sorceress, ruler of the kingdom as she rushed out.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
"Dammit." The hero said while he pounded his fist on the table that was now just a pile of wood.
"Now now hero, no need to throw a fit. Isn't this what you wanted? The people have a voice and decided who they want in charge, and that's me." The sorceress said
"Ragh!" He said, throwing his chair into the wall. "Why! Why would they vote for you! You're a monster! You killed my father!"
"Well, at least now they voted you in as my adviser so you can try to make sure that doesn't happen to another child in the future."
The hero stared at her condescending face, The same she held after he had battled her into submission, as if she always knew this would be the end result. "Why would they vote for a monster like you, *knowing* that you would just make yourself queen. ***again!"***
She shook her head. All of that power but no brains. "Did you ever stop to ask what things were like before I consolidated power?
"Better I assume, since you're a sociopathic monster."
"Sociopathic? Perhaps. Were things better? Tell me, was it *better* that the people could do nothing but starve if they had a harsh growing season? Was it *better* that the old royal family had more wealth that 95% of the population combined? Was it *better* that the former king would silence any form of dissent by killing entire families by working them to death?"
"You lie!"
She laughed haughtily. "Ask any of my older subjects. I have fought to improve this kingdom every day I've been in power, my subjects never go hungry and they desire for little. I allow them to chase their dreams and educate themselves. You only thought of yourself."
"He was a good man and you took his life."
"Your father fought under the banner of another kingdom and lost, the kingdom that attacked my lands first. Tell me, how is your village now that it is under my command?"
He stood silent.
"You were only the hero in your own story."
|
Loud banging on my bed-chamber woke me from a peaceful slumber.
"I'm coming; I'm coming."
The voice from the other side of the door was scared.
"You need to get out of our kingdom."
"What? Why? Did I not free you from the deadly grip of the Dragon Sorceress and gave your people power to decide about their fate for the years to come?"
"You did my lord. We held the election last night, as per your suggestion."
"Great! Who won? The Old Mayor, who promised to repair the walls and rebuild the city, or the Druidess, whose spells would cure the crops and bring food in abundance to everyone in the four counties?"
"Well...no."
"So, the bard whose songs incite love and understanding between foes and monsters, bringing peace everlasting is your new ruler?"
"No My Lord"
"I was not aware there were other candidates?"
"She stormed in late last night, while you were at the feast in your honour and insisted she has rights like any other person, or this is not a true democracy."
"Who was it?"
"The...Dragon Sorceress, My Lord"
"WHAT!!!"
"She won by four votes."
" Where is she now?"
"Preparing an acceptance speech in the great hall."
I grabbed my sword and shield. There is only one way this ends - this time, she will not slither between the rocks and disappear from my righteous wrath.
&#x200B;
The crowd on the main square measured the celebratory gathering I had when I returned after vanquishing the Dragon Sorceress. I could barely hear her speech from the back, so I had to push my way forward. People were surprised to see me, advancing towards the stage.
"...and I promise we will keep our country pure - no outsiders will abuse our lands or trust. Our people will have jobs, shops and wealth they deserve and we will kick out everyone, not of the dragon blood."
&#x200B;
I finally reached the stage and climbed it. My sword glistened in the noon sun. "We meet again, vile witch."
&#x200B;
" Mayoress, please - an elect official and ruler of Dragonstone"
&#x200B;
"I don't know how you enchanted everyone, but your spell will die with you"
&#x200B;
"No enchantment. I just gave the people what they want"
&#x200B;
"Which is?"
&#x200B;
"A promise nothing will change."
&#x200B;
I turned towards the crowd.
&#x200B;
"You fools. You could have lived long and prospered under your own rule, yet you choose this abomination as your ruler."
&#x200B;
A stone came from the crowd, leaving a scarlet streak on my forehead.
&#x200B;
"Out with the foreigners!" shouts came from the crowd.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
After defeating the dragon sorceress, Salemencia the Powerful, Viktor the Brave had a clear path to the throne. He stood before the crowds as he ascended to the seat, the sorceress unconscious at the base of the steps. The crowds of people in the courtroom watched in silence. Viktor stopped in front of the throne, contemplating the captivity these people were under as they were ruled by the powerful dragon woman.
“No,” he said, flipping his long hair as he faced the crowd, “I will not be you king!”
The people gave each other side glances, obviously confused. Peasants rarely knew how to handle such vast political changes like this. They probably hadn’t processed the good deed Viktor had done for them yet. Yes, that was why they hadn’t started cheering.
“This will become a free land!” Viktor declared, holding his magic sword forward, “A land where the people decide who rules them! This will be a democracy!”
The crowd erupted into mutters and whispers. Eventually, one of the peasants stepped forward.
“You. . . you want us to pick our next ruler?” The peasant man asked.
“Each person will vote on who they decide to be the ruler. Use the fastest messengers to gather votes from the other cities of the kingdom,” Viktor instructed, “Then we will count the votes. I imagine this will take time. No worries, I will stand in as an interim ruler until the election is settled.” He plopped into the throne, “Go! You new ruler must be elected with haste!”
There was more murmuring, then the crowds started shuffling out of the room, some dragging the disgusting dragon with them.
It took only two weeks before three neatly dressed peasants approached Viktor the Brave as he ate an apple in the throne room. It had been a calm few weeks. Viktor had expected some celebrations, or at the very least some cheering, but there was none of that. Perhaps the simpleminded peasants were still working to understand this democracy. They would enjoy the freedom soon, though.
“Excuse me, Sir Viktor the Brave,” One of the men before him said, stepping forward, “We have elected our newest president.”
“President?” Viktor chuckled, “You have taken to democracy quite quickly! That term is much better than ‘King’.”
“Erm, yes. Anyhow,” The man shifted uncomfortably, “The votes have been counted, you can see the counts here on this form if you’d like. The new elected leader is Salemencia the Powerful.”
Viktor dropped his apple.
“What?” He said, suddenly outraged, “You elected the very person that I dethroned to free you?”
“Actually,” a plump woman stepped forward, “nobody actually *asked* you to prance in here and attack Salamencia.”
“She was a dragon!” Viktor said, “A powerful sorceress that was clearly oppressing you!”
“Clearly?” The first man said with a sniff, “Please, she was a very benevolent ruler. We had rights and freedoms. She just had a nice community center built, and was creating a program to build more orphanages. Goodness, it was much better than any other government we’ve ever had!”
“Besides,” the second man said quietly, “we *already* elected her in the previous election two years ago. We have quite an efficient democratic system already developed.”
“You - you already had a democratic government established?” Viktor sputtered, plopping down in the throne, stunned.
“Yes,” the woman said, putting her hands on her hips, “Yes we did. You didn’t bother to find that out, huh? You just came in magic sword flying and hacking at our ruler without even asking about our happiness.” She shook her head. “The nerve of you hot headed lunatics!”
“Now Generva, don’t get worked up--” the third man began but the woman didn’t stop.
“All they hear is that there is a dragon leader and they have got to try and slay ‘em,” she said, “why I oughta-” the first man cut her off with a shush.
The first man straightened himself, “Anyways, we redid the election to follow your. . . guidance, but now we would like to respectfully request that you leave our city. We would rather you not stick around to attempt to slay our leader again.” He produced another paper, “In fact, the people voted on it expelling you from the country. You can visit again if you sign a series of contracts stating that you won’t kill anyone. But those will be mailed to you.”
Viktor couldn’t believe it. He stood up, grabbing his magic blade from beside the throne again. Unsure what else to do, he shook the people’s hands, then left.
The crowds finally cheered as he left the city.
|
He never knew a moment could last so long. He kept his eyes closed, not that there was anything to see on the ground, anyway. His ears were alert, though, listening for the familiar noise. The rest of his body was contorted strangely, bent, and tucked, and crouched. It was almost comfortable, all things considered.
In the moment, his thoughts went to the enemies he had laid bare. They were all like him in a lot of ways. They sought the change they wanted with action and relentless pursuit. He had always seen a fire in their eyes that reflected his, and he pitied that they were set against each other, instead of working together. He always imagined what the world could be like if they discarded the old ways in favor of collaboration. A nation of allies, united in purpose and drive.
*We could accomplish something, then*, he would think.
*Twang*. A sudden noise cut the air.
He smirked despite himself.
It was that thought which had driven him to declare the nation bound by the rule of law. The bindings were made between each other. They would *be* the law, he convinced them. They could pick how to tax each other, and what to build for each other, and who to fight, and who to save. And because they would do it together, they would be all the more likely to succeed.
After she had killed all of the royal family, it was an ideal time to reforge the world in a new image of hope and prosperity, where anyone could be the next leader if they had a proper vision for the world.
He told them they would need to be clear-eyed about the fact that it was an experiment, and it could go wrong. That external forces would seek to strike if they were indecisive or divided. He had a brilliant plan. He declared he would not seek the leadership, but would commit beforehand to the tireless defense of whomever they chose. Whatever their vision for the nation, he would see it done.
He warned them to choose someone strong and wise, with the right mix of charisma and even a dash of cunning. Someone powerful and decisive, to protect the experiment upon which they were embarking, and that their neighbors would see as a weakness.
*Whoosh*. The noise cut sharper and it was the only noise his ears could hear.
The experiment hadn't started how he had hoped.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
In the old system, it was hard for the common man to have a say in anything. As a child I had seen too often the common folk's cries for relief or fair representation often go ignored at best. If you wanted to gain recognition as a commoner, to have your words mean something, you had to have done something those of higher stature could not afford to ignore. Usually, this resulted in you being seen as an obstacle by the nobles, those who believe themselves superior by pedigree alone. The only times they would ever lend ear to common plight was when it started to bite into their own isolated lives. They cared not for cries of famine until the meals they had were in reduced portions. They cared not for disease until the taxmen could not deliver unto them their scheduled tribute. The villagers, craftsmen, even some of the more virtuous nobles had grown tired of that system. A change was desperately needed; even as a child I understood this.
I was a commoner, my words often ignored by those in power. There was little I could do, save for bold action. I needed an opportunity, one that could make my name worth remembering. It came in the form of the dragon sorceress. Truly a powerful being, one with enough power and motivation to cause the kingdom grief. Her forces would press into the realm, driving back the soldiers who answered to the clink of noble coin. Even my home fell under occupation of her forces. The war that had sparked had given me the opportunity to claim glory, as a conscript in the army.
I was not given much in the way of equipment, only in cast off weaponry that the main force had no use of. I cared not, whatever my hands could grasp would serve as a weapon enough. Survival was hard, but I needed more than that. I needed success, and success is what I carved out for myself. In my first battle, I would fight the sorceress's forces until one of us were forced to run. I made sure that there could be no mistaking who I was on the battlefield, often battling until my weapon broke and I was forced to pick up a discarded one. I had no training, only sheer desperation, brute force, and a large amount of luck. In the end, my poor quality weapon was replaced with one of the enemies more refined blades. It was that of their commander.
I still stood out in the rest of my battles, though in different ways. My initial success had provoked some nobles into sending me into more dangerous skirmishes in retaliation for stealing their glory. I would survive. Over time, my fighting style changed into something more practical, based on my experiences with the enemy. I grew more calm, my skill was becoming a source of inspiration for my fellow conscripts. I was starting to be called the kingdom's "hero."
Of course, one man can only do so much. Eventually the dragon sorceress herself came to attack. She was carving a path straight to the capitol. As the "hero," I was sent to intercept.
"You are just like me," she said to me.
"How so?" I said back.
"You're tired of the old way of things. Turn back now and I will not chase."
"Can't do that I am afraid."
Those were the only things we said to each other during the war, just before we fought. It was a stalemate, for all of her magic I had skill. For all of her power I had tenacity. In the end, both of us had to retreat. I would be lauded as the "hero" once again. With her weakened, the army could advance and reclaim territory.
I was not aware of how she treated those she occupied, but the lands we reclaimed in the name of the old system were different. Roads were made, irrigation and agriculture was advanced. There seemed to have been an element of stability. I could not help but feel conflicted over this. Though I had heard her speak, I had not believed her until now. The villages seemed to be better, or they did until the army was forced to tear down her "evil structures." You'd think it odd, that such wonderful developments could be learned from instead razed. I had always considered this war a means to an end to change the system, even now I did. Despite my goals, my ambitions, the villagers I once would call men like me looked at me as though I were a monster. I suppose I could be considered one, I led the charge in reclamation. It gave me a lot to think about.
The war ended when the dragon sorceress snuck into the castle, killing much of the royal family. With luck the princess had escaped with the assistance of her guards and was forced to hide somewhere secret within the castle. I was sent in to recue. I defeated the sorceress's forces, finding and allowing the princess to escape, then was met with another clash with the sorceress herself. Our battle went much like our first one initially, yet I managed to emerge victorious. Magic requires concentration to maintain or use, concentration that she had to spend to fight whilst I could focus entirely on her. I knew more about how she fought than she did about me.
In exchange for my service, I was ascended into nobility and allowed one request. This request could be anything I so wished, the request itself was something I so wished. I could marry the princess and become the next king, a temptation that nearly made me ask for it. Yet I saw the sorceress and remembered her words "You're tired of the old way of things." I made my request, changing the kingdom into a democracy, and required commoner and noble votes to be equally counted. The next month was chaos.
Most nobles saw an opportunity to have the throne without marriage, and started to try and appeal to their denizens. The princess herself tried to campaign to maintain royal superiority. I chose not to run. I instead watched the dragon sorceress and what she did. She went to the villages and cities and helped rebuild what was destroyed. She went and healed the sick and poor. She rebuilt destroyed infrastructure, allowing easier trade once more Through all this, I acted as her "chaperone," though in secret I behaved closer to a bodyguard. When it came time to vote, it was clear who had earned commoner support.
The dragon sorceress was elected legally and fairly. She asked me to still "chaperone" her in the days afterwards, in fear of assassination attempts; I made no protest. I would protect her from threats while she worked to govern, and our relationship became more than professional. Her term lasted for nearly a decade, repairing and restructuring much of the former kingdom. When she left her office, she asked me what I thought of her. I think we all know how that went.
\-Lucian Firescale, husband of First Consul Ignella Firescale the Dragon Sorceress.
&#x200B;
EDIT: Typos, probably don't even find all of them. Also holy crap this is the first time I have ever received gold on reddit. Thank you kind stranger.
|
The wary hero returns to the cottage that had bear his family name for 300 years, almost since the foundation of the kingdom. His serfs welcome him with a hidden shame, he knows most of them should have voted for the dragon sorceress, why wouldn’t they? the Alabrian dynasty and the rest of the families in the peerage system had proven useless in the last 100 years, greedy with taxation and loosing important territories to neighboring powers even with the obligatory conscription, corruption and ridiculous bureaucracy festering in each part of the government; the dragon sorceress had an army of flying minions that were the dread of regular armies, and they didn’t feed on grain nor required coin they simply feed from the power gathered in her rituals, taxation was very lean: a couple of droplets of blood each new and full moon and barely enough grain to sustain the efficient system of self regulated local authorities who were to afraid of the minions to do anything funny, even the Galaorian church started a reform to accommodate for the dark moon ritual within their dogma.
The serfs tend to the hero and the princess with patent guilt and nervousness, they know their vote might be the cause of your demise and the extinction of the lineage that ruled this land since it’s first inhabitants came, running from slavery in the Dolotian empire (now itself a shadow of it’s former glory).
The hero washes, tends to business of the manor and has his lunch interrupted by a messenger of the dragon sorceress escorted by two minions; the butler can meet the hero’s eyes when announcing, and one of the maids simply starts crying while asking for forgiveness for her ingratitude. The messenger then delivers a scroll and proclaims that the new elected head of state (the dragon sorceress herself) forgives the hero and the princess from their crimes of rebellion and invites the hero to join the new electoral administration for overseeing the democratic process of the new republic.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
In the old system, it was hard for the common man to have a say in anything. As a child I had seen too often the common folk's cries for relief or fair representation often go ignored at best. If you wanted to gain recognition as a commoner, to have your words mean something, you had to have done something those of higher stature could not afford to ignore. Usually, this resulted in you being seen as an obstacle by the nobles, those who believe themselves superior by pedigree alone. The only times they would ever lend ear to common plight was when it started to bite into their own isolated lives. They cared not for cries of famine until the meals they had were in reduced portions. They cared not for disease until the taxmen could not deliver unto them their scheduled tribute. The villagers, craftsmen, even some of the more virtuous nobles had grown tired of that system. A change was desperately needed; even as a child I understood this.
I was a commoner, my words often ignored by those in power. There was little I could do, save for bold action. I needed an opportunity, one that could make my name worth remembering. It came in the form of the dragon sorceress. Truly a powerful being, one with enough power and motivation to cause the kingdom grief. Her forces would press into the realm, driving back the soldiers who answered to the clink of noble coin. Even my home fell under occupation of her forces. The war that had sparked had given me the opportunity to claim glory, as a conscript in the army.
I was not given much in the way of equipment, only in cast off weaponry that the main force had no use of. I cared not, whatever my hands could grasp would serve as a weapon enough. Survival was hard, but I needed more than that. I needed success, and success is what I carved out for myself. In my first battle, I would fight the sorceress's forces until one of us were forced to run. I made sure that there could be no mistaking who I was on the battlefield, often battling until my weapon broke and I was forced to pick up a discarded one. I had no training, only sheer desperation, brute force, and a large amount of luck. In the end, my poor quality weapon was replaced with one of the enemies more refined blades. It was that of their commander.
I still stood out in the rest of my battles, though in different ways. My initial success had provoked some nobles into sending me into more dangerous skirmishes in retaliation for stealing their glory. I would survive. Over time, my fighting style changed into something more practical, based on my experiences with the enemy. I grew more calm, my skill was becoming a source of inspiration for my fellow conscripts. I was starting to be called the kingdom's "hero."
Of course, one man can only do so much. Eventually the dragon sorceress herself came to attack. She was carving a path straight to the capitol. As the "hero," I was sent to intercept.
"You are just like me," she said to me.
"How so?" I said back.
"You're tired of the old way of things. Turn back now and I will not chase."
"Can't do that I am afraid."
Those were the only things we said to each other during the war, just before we fought. It was a stalemate, for all of her magic I had skill. For all of her power I had tenacity. In the end, both of us had to retreat. I would be lauded as the "hero" once again. With her weakened, the army could advance and reclaim territory.
I was not aware of how she treated those she occupied, but the lands we reclaimed in the name of the old system were different. Roads were made, irrigation and agriculture was advanced. There seemed to have been an element of stability. I could not help but feel conflicted over this. Though I had heard her speak, I had not believed her until now. The villages seemed to be better, or they did until the army was forced to tear down her "evil structures." You'd think it odd, that such wonderful developments could be learned from instead razed. I had always considered this war a means to an end to change the system, even now I did. Despite my goals, my ambitions, the villagers I once would call men like me looked at me as though I were a monster. I suppose I could be considered one, I led the charge in reclamation. It gave me a lot to think about.
The war ended when the dragon sorceress snuck into the castle, killing much of the royal family. With luck the princess had escaped with the assistance of her guards and was forced to hide somewhere secret within the castle. I was sent in to recue. I defeated the sorceress's forces, finding and allowing the princess to escape, then was met with another clash with the sorceress herself. Our battle went much like our first one initially, yet I managed to emerge victorious. Magic requires concentration to maintain or use, concentration that she had to spend to fight whilst I could focus entirely on her. I knew more about how she fought than she did about me.
In exchange for my service, I was ascended into nobility and allowed one request. This request could be anything I so wished, the request itself was something I so wished. I could marry the princess and become the next king, a temptation that nearly made me ask for it. Yet I saw the sorceress and remembered her words "You're tired of the old way of things." I made my request, changing the kingdom into a democracy, and required commoner and noble votes to be equally counted. The next month was chaos.
Most nobles saw an opportunity to have the throne without marriage, and started to try and appeal to their denizens. The princess herself tried to campaign to maintain royal superiority. I chose not to run. I instead watched the dragon sorceress and what she did. She went to the villages and cities and helped rebuild what was destroyed. She went and healed the sick and poor. She rebuilt destroyed infrastructure, allowing easier trade once more Through all this, I acted as her "chaperone," though in secret I behaved closer to a bodyguard. When it came time to vote, it was clear who had earned commoner support.
The dragon sorceress was elected legally and fairly. She asked me to still "chaperone" her in the days afterwards, in fear of assassination attempts; I made no protest. I would protect her from threats while she worked to govern, and our relationship became more than professional. Her term lasted for nearly a decade, repairing and restructuring much of the former kingdom. When she left her office, she asked me what I thought of her. I think we all know how that went.
\-Lucian Firescale, husband of First Consul Ignella Firescale the Dragon Sorceress.
&#x200B;
EDIT: Typos, probably don't even find all of them. Also holy crap this is the first time I have ever received gold on reddit. Thank you kind stranger.
|
Bernard Sandstorm sat quietly in the back of the amphitheater. It was a cold winter day. His arms are crossed, his legs are crossed and his attitude is also cross. It was a historic day in the kingdom. The first ever Inauguration Day.
Sandstorm worked hard for this day to finally come. He spent most of his adult life defending the people of the kingdom. He defeated the dragon sorceress, he rescued the princess and many other notable heroism’s, all for the benefit of the people.
When he made it to the top of the proverbial mountain. When he was about to take the throne for himself, he couldn’t do it. He’s seen the people suffer at the hands of power hungry kings. He’s seen resources from the hard work of the peasants spent on lavish royal parties and unjust wars.
He’d had enough. Instead of seeing himself caught up in a life of politics, he gave the power to the people. Let them decide who’s in charge. No more monarchies, it’s time for something new. Time for democracy. He had big plans and they all went sideways.
“What’s up Sando? Why so glum?” Alvin asked as he took an open seat next to Bernard. His bad vibes kept all the seats close to him empty. Sandstorm just glared at him.
“I’m not glum. I’m pissed. I did all this work. I saved the princess, I saved the kingdom, I even invented a brand new system of governance that gives ultimate power to the people and what do they do with it? They elect her.” Bernard snarled and pointed to the dragon sorceress as she gave her acceptance speech.
“Jeeze man, what do you have against her? She seems to have some good plans for the kingdom.” Alvin asked.
“What do I have against her! She’s evil! Shes killed three people during her speech, so far. She’s the one I saved the kingdom from! And now no one seems to remember that. Why would anyone vote for her anyway?” Bernard said asked.
“She paid them.” Alvin said matter of factly.
“She paid them for their vote?” Bernard said.
“Yup, you probably should have added some sort of rules keeping money out of the election process. It seems pretty obvious that who ever is the richest will win the election. Plus it keeps the average Joe from being able to run an effective campaign. Thus keeping power centralized amongst the generational elites.” Alvin said.
“Where were you 3 months ago? I could have used you. I thought I figured it all out. The world was going to be a better place. That’s all I ever wanted.” Bernard said and buried his face in his mittens.
Alvin patted Bernard on the back. “So what are you going to do now?” Alvin asked.
“I guess I have to keep on doing what I’ve always been doing. Battling the evil dragon sorceress.” Bernard said.
“How are you going to do that now? She’s untouchable.” Alvin asked.
“Tomorrow, I announce my intent to run for president in the next election cycle.” Bernard said.
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
In the old system, it was hard for the common man to have a say in anything. As a child I had seen too often the common folk's cries for relief or fair representation often go ignored at best. If you wanted to gain recognition as a commoner, to have your words mean something, you had to have done something those of higher stature could not afford to ignore. Usually, this resulted in you being seen as an obstacle by the nobles, those who believe themselves superior by pedigree alone. The only times they would ever lend ear to common plight was when it started to bite into their own isolated lives. They cared not for cries of famine until the meals they had were in reduced portions. They cared not for disease until the taxmen could not deliver unto them their scheduled tribute. The villagers, craftsmen, even some of the more virtuous nobles had grown tired of that system. A change was desperately needed; even as a child I understood this.
I was a commoner, my words often ignored by those in power. There was little I could do, save for bold action. I needed an opportunity, one that could make my name worth remembering. It came in the form of the dragon sorceress. Truly a powerful being, one with enough power and motivation to cause the kingdom grief. Her forces would press into the realm, driving back the soldiers who answered to the clink of noble coin. Even my home fell under occupation of her forces. The war that had sparked had given me the opportunity to claim glory, as a conscript in the army.
I was not given much in the way of equipment, only in cast off weaponry that the main force had no use of. I cared not, whatever my hands could grasp would serve as a weapon enough. Survival was hard, but I needed more than that. I needed success, and success is what I carved out for myself. In my first battle, I would fight the sorceress's forces until one of us were forced to run. I made sure that there could be no mistaking who I was on the battlefield, often battling until my weapon broke and I was forced to pick up a discarded one. I had no training, only sheer desperation, brute force, and a large amount of luck. In the end, my poor quality weapon was replaced with one of the enemies more refined blades. It was that of their commander.
I still stood out in the rest of my battles, though in different ways. My initial success had provoked some nobles into sending me into more dangerous skirmishes in retaliation for stealing their glory. I would survive. Over time, my fighting style changed into something more practical, based on my experiences with the enemy. I grew more calm, my skill was becoming a source of inspiration for my fellow conscripts. I was starting to be called the kingdom's "hero."
Of course, one man can only do so much. Eventually the dragon sorceress herself came to attack. She was carving a path straight to the capitol. As the "hero," I was sent to intercept.
"You are just like me," she said to me.
"How so?" I said back.
"You're tired of the old way of things. Turn back now and I will not chase."
"Can't do that I am afraid."
Those were the only things we said to each other during the war, just before we fought. It was a stalemate, for all of her magic I had skill. For all of her power I had tenacity. In the end, both of us had to retreat. I would be lauded as the "hero" once again. With her weakened, the army could advance and reclaim territory.
I was not aware of how she treated those she occupied, but the lands we reclaimed in the name of the old system were different. Roads were made, irrigation and agriculture was advanced. There seemed to have been an element of stability. I could not help but feel conflicted over this. Though I had heard her speak, I had not believed her until now. The villages seemed to be better, or they did until the army was forced to tear down her "evil structures." You'd think it odd, that such wonderful developments could be learned from instead razed. I had always considered this war a means to an end to change the system, even now I did. Despite my goals, my ambitions, the villagers I once would call men like me looked at me as though I were a monster. I suppose I could be considered one, I led the charge in reclamation. It gave me a lot to think about.
The war ended when the dragon sorceress snuck into the castle, killing much of the royal family. With luck the princess had escaped with the assistance of her guards and was forced to hide somewhere secret within the castle. I was sent in to recue. I defeated the sorceress's forces, finding and allowing the princess to escape, then was met with another clash with the sorceress herself. Our battle went much like our first one initially, yet I managed to emerge victorious. Magic requires concentration to maintain or use, concentration that she had to spend to fight whilst I could focus entirely on her. I knew more about how she fought than she did about me.
In exchange for my service, I was ascended into nobility and allowed one request. This request could be anything I so wished, the request itself was something I so wished. I could marry the princess and become the next king, a temptation that nearly made me ask for it. Yet I saw the sorceress and remembered her words "You're tired of the old way of things." I made my request, changing the kingdom into a democracy, and required commoner and noble votes to be equally counted. The next month was chaos.
Most nobles saw an opportunity to have the throne without marriage, and started to try and appeal to their denizens. The princess herself tried to campaign to maintain royal superiority. I chose not to run. I instead watched the dragon sorceress and what she did. She went to the villages and cities and helped rebuild what was destroyed. She went and healed the sick and poor. She rebuilt destroyed infrastructure, allowing easier trade once more Through all this, I acted as her "chaperone," though in secret I behaved closer to a bodyguard. When it came time to vote, it was clear who had earned commoner support.
The dragon sorceress was elected legally and fairly. She asked me to still "chaperone" her in the days afterwards, in fear of assassination attempts; I made no protest. I would protect her from threats while she worked to govern, and our relationship became more than professional. Her term lasted for nearly a decade, repairing and restructuring much of the former kingdom. When she left her office, she asked me what I thought of her. I think we all know how that went.
\-Lucian Firescale, husband of First Consul Ignella Firescale the Dragon Sorceress.
&#x200B;
EDIT: Typos, probably don't even find all of them. Also holy crap this is the first time I have ever received gold on reddit. Thank you kind stranger.
|
Sitting down at a table with Agrezza the Dragon was not how I envisioned this would end.
"*I am an adult that can control his feelings, when I made the decision to introduce them to democracy I was aware this could happen,"* I thought to myself. But it was especially hard to keep thinking those thoughts when the Dragon Sorceress that I had defeated just **TWO WEEKS** prior was sitting there with the biggest smirk on her face and slurping her drink.
"Great weather, don't ya think?" she said, with a knowing smile. "Yes," I said with an even expression, "very good weather." "You know what makes this day even better," She said. *"Don't say it, don't you dare say it,"* I thought\*.\* "That I won!"
"God dammit," I sighed, "I was hoping that you wouldn't be so crass to outright say it." Oh no,' she replied, laughing, "You're gonna know about this until the day you die, which, conveniently, I'll still be alive for."
"Ya know, when you first proposed the idea of 'Democracy,' I was a bit sceptical. But after the fiasco that was your election, I feel like it could definitely be a working system. Requires a lot of tweaking, but the basic idea is solid, even if you suck at doing anything with it."
I respond back with, "Well, you only won because the villagers only have known your rule." "That's how you win darling," she shot back, "familiarity. And you are just another bumbling hero, even if you did some good at the start. Now back to the subject at hand. Me winning..."
\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*
An hour later I walk out of the restaurant thinking about the day's events. The Dragon, who I had defeated and then saved the princess she held captive, would rule over this area again, this time legally. I sighed, thinking about the future and not looking forward to her relentless teasing. I sighed again, and thought to myself, "*At least she likes the idea of democracy, that's one win.*"
|
|
[WP] The hero defeated the dragon sorceress, rescued the princess, and saved the kingdom. Instead of ascending to the throne, he decided to introduce democracy and give power to the people...who then promptly elected the dragon sorceress.
|
In the old system, it was hard for the common man to have a say in anything. As a child I had seen too often the common folk's cries for relief or fair representation often go ignored at best. If you wanted to gain recognition as a commoner, to have your words mean something, you had to have done something those of higher stature could not afford to ignore. Usually, this resulted in you being seen as an obstacle by the nobles, those who believe themselves superior by pedigree alone. The only times they would ever lend ear to common plight was when it started to bite into their own isolated lives. They cared not for cries of famine until the meals they had were in reduced portions. They cared not for disease until the taxmen could not deliver unto them their scheduled tribute. The villagers, craftsmen, even some of the more virtuous nobles had grown tired of that system. A change was desperately needed; even as a child I understood this.
I was a commoner, my words often ignored by those in power. There was little I could do, save for bold action. I needed an opportunity, one that could make my name worth remembering. It came in the form of the dragon sorceress. Truly a powerful being, one with enough power and motivation to cause the kingdom grief. Her forces would press into the realm, driving back the soldiers who answered to the clink of noble coin. Even my home fell under occupation of her forces. The war that had sparked had given me the opportunity to claim glory, as a conscript in the army.
I was not given much in the way of equipment, only in cast off weaponry that the main force had no use of. I cared not, whatever my hands could grasp would serve as a weapon enough. Survival was hard, but I needed more than that. I needed success, and success is what I carved out for myself. In my first battle, I would fight the sorceress's forces until one of us were forced to run. I made sure that there could be no mistaking who I was on the battlefield, often battling until my weapon broke and I was forced to pick up a discarded one. I had no training, only sheer desperation, brute force, and a large amount of luck. In the end, my poor quality weapon was replaced with one of the enemies more refined blades. It was that of their commander.
I still stood out in the rest of my battles, though in different ways. My initial success had provoked some nobles into sending me into more dangerous skirmishes in retaliation for stealing their glory. I would survive. Over time, my fighting style changed into something more practical, based on my experiences with the enemy. I grew more calm, my skill was becoming a source of inspiration for my fellow conscripts. I was starting to be called the kingdom's "hero."
Of course, one man can only do so much. Eventually the dragon sorceress herself came to attack. She was carving a path straight to the capitol. As the "hero," I was sent to intercept.
"You are just like me," she said to me.
"How so?" I said back.
"You're tired of the old way of things. Turn back now and I will not chase."
"Can't do that I am afraid."
Those were the only things we said to each other during the war, just before we fought. It was a stalemate, for all of her magic I had skill. For all of her power I had tenacity. In the end, both of us had to retreat. I would be lauded as the "hero" once again. With her weakened, the army could advance and reclaim territory.
I was not aware of how she treated those she occupied, but the lands we reclaimed in the name of the old system were different. Roads were made, irrigation and agriculture was advanced. There seemed to have been an element of stability. I could not help but feel conflicted over this. Though I had heard her speak, I had not believed her until now. The villages seemed to be better, or they did until the army was forced to tear down her "evil structures." You'd think it odd, that such wonderful developments could be learned from instead razed. I had always considered this war a means to an end to change the system, even now I did. Despite my goals, my ambitions, the villagers I once would call men like me looked at me as though I were a monster. I suppose I could be considered one, I led the charge in reclamation. It gave me a lot to think about.
The war ended when the dragon sorceress snuck into the castle, killing much of the royal family. With luck the princess had escaped with the assistance of her guards and was forced to hide somewhere secret within the castle. I was sent in to recue. I defeated the sorceress's forces, finding and allowing the princess to escape, then was met with another clash with the sorceress herself. Our battle went much like our first one initially, yet I managed to emerge victorious. Magic requires concentration to maintain or use, concentration that she had to spend to fight whilst I could focus entirely on her. I knew more about how she fought than she did about me.
In exchange for my service, I was ascended into nobility and allowed one request. This request could be anything I so wished, the request itself was something I so wished. I could marry the princess and become the next king, a temptation that nearly made me ask for it. Yet I saw the sorceress and remembered her words "You're tired of the old way of things." I made my request, changing the kingdom into a democracy, and required commoner and noble votes to be equally counted. The next month was chaos.
Most nobles saw an opportunity to have the throne without marriage, and started to try and appeal to their denizens. The princess herself tried to campaign to maintain royal superiority. I chose not to run. I instead watched the dragon sorceress and what she did. She went to the villages and cities and helped rebuild what was destroyed. She went and healed the sick and poor. She rebuilt destroyed infrastructure, allowing easier trade once more Through all this, I acted as her "chaperone," though in secret I behaved closer to a bodyguard. When it came time to vote, it was clear who had earned commoner support.
The dragon sorceress was elected legally and fairly. She asked me to still "chaperone" her in the days afterwards, in fear of assassination attempts; I made no protest. I would protect her from threats while she worked to govern, and our relationship became more than professional. Her term lasted for nearly a decade, repairing and restructuring much of the former kingdom. When she left her office, she asked me what I thought of her. I think we all know how that went.
\-Lucian Firescale, husband of First Consul Ignella Firescale the Dragon Sorceress.
&#x200B;
EDIT: Typos, probably don't even find all of them. Also holy crap this is the first time I have ever received gold on reddit. Thank you kind stranger.
|
„The god forsaken fools“stammered the hero as he put his undies in a bag.
“Whatever shall we do?” asked the princess standing next to the royal family who had stormed his humble home for protection.
“They are coming for us” screamed her father, the King. He pointed his finger at the hero. “This is all your fault” he screamed.
The hero knew it was time to flee. Normally, he would gladly go up against the dragon sorceress. He had no problems killing her baby dragons and the henchmen who rode them into battle but this was different. First off, her henchmen were now the city guard consisting of people he knew as well as normal a mob of people who voted for her. People he swore to protect.
But far more important than that. He had no right to fight her. She won fair and square. The hero chuckled as he remembered her voting slogan “Who better to protect you from monsters than a monster?”
He grabbed his bag and made his way toward the front door. “Whoever wants to travel as far away as we can with me, is welcomed. Other than that, I cannot help you”. The members of the royal family wanted to protest but the hero had his mind made up. He opened the door and a bolt from a crossbow flew right by his head, cutting his ear. Out of reflex, he slammed the door as about a dozen more bolts hit the door, their heads piercing through it.
He fell backward and was stunned for a moment. He saw the man who shot the bolt. It was his best friend and leader of the Towns guard. A shrill laugh appeared. The hero panicked, got up, locked the door and slammed a piece of furniture behind it.
“Ow hero ow hero, Come out before my dragons burn your house down and bring the royal traitors with you.” The sorceress yelled.
He looked at the family. The princess did not understand and insisted, they were not traitors. The Former King screamed at the hero. “You must step outside, kill her and give power back to me. It’s our only way!”
A laugh overcame the hero. “You were a brutal dictator. You used to skin people alive who spoke against you.” Members of the royal family drew their daggers. All seven of them except for the princess. The hero drew his sword. A mighty dragon slaying weapon earned through fire and blood. The members of the family appeared to lose their fighting spirit. “Can we negotiate with her?” asked an uncle. The hero looked at him. The man was a rapist who lived decades evading punishment.
“You can try” responded the hero. He made his way past the royal member and went to his living room. He pulled away the rug that tied the room together to expose an entrance into the sewer canal. As he opened their escape way, he heard the queen yell “FIRE” followed by roars of dragons and oddly enough, cheers by the crowd. Fire engulfed the second floor of his house and the temperature rose quickly.
The hero jumped into sewer below him. For a moment he pondered if he should close the door behind him. But not all members of the royal family were monsters. The princess for example as well as her cousin who was pregnant. So he waited for all the family to jump down. He closed the entrance to the sewer just before the house collapsed. Again they all heard roaring applause. The hero understood that no one would be said at the loss of the royal family, but this was his house. He had protected them.
The hero pointed his sword down the canal they now stood in.
“You go down this way, I take the opposite. Your way will lead to the north exit of the town near the bay, Use your jewels to buy passage on a ship” he told them.
“Where will you go?” asked the princess. Before the hero could respond, her father said
“He goes back of course, to kill the Sorceress. Hopefully we will be back in power by new moon.”
The Hero laughed again. “I got family next town over, im gonna go there and have some of my cousins pie”
The royal family couldn’t believe it. The princess started to cry “Why are you not helping us?” she asked the hero.
“Because you are monsters” the hero replied. “The town finally got freed from you.” He turned around and started walking away
“Who better to protect you from monsters than a monster?” he said remembering the sorceress slogan. “It’s not a bad slogan but what the people didn’t realize, if you vote for a monster, you will have to live under it.” He glances back at the royal family still standing under his entrance to the sewer.
“But what else is new?” asked the hero as he turned the corner.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Cheers all
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
Benjy was born before he was ready.
Modern medicine has come a long way on what constitutes a viable birth. As is often the case technology created an issue for magic.
When Benjy was born, he remembered things he was supposed to forget.
He remembered dancing shadows of a life he had lived before. He also remembered what came after.
In what to his mind appeared as the vast emptiness of space only punctuated by stars his consciousness floated. The totality of all the meaning of his previous experience floated, until it was pulled from its infinite drift by something. Try as he might he could not remember what the old god looked like other than the ethereal tentacles that whirled about in the void holding him.
It was then it spoke in him; Benjy says within him because he doesn’t remember a voice, just thoughts within his own head.
It called itself The One Who Feasts. It told him it would sup on his life experiences until he was an empty shell and then he would send the empty vessel back to be filled again and again as it had been for all eternity.
Benjy didn’t have a nervous system anymore, but he did have a concept of terror. The old god guffawed in a terrible way as it sucked out this new feeling first. Benjy could feel an emptiness growing in him as he slowly forgot his first bike, how it felt to be in love, the tears he cried when his mother died, and so on through his existence.
Until it stopped. He felt his self being pulled free from those awful tendrils, memories of his past still lingering in his brain, and then the gasps of air and brightness of light of a hospital room.
As is true of all children, Benjy didn’t remember his early years, though his unconscious did. From stories that he was told had colic as a child and nearly unplacatable to the point that his parents gave him up for adoption.
The orphanage wasn’t much better.
He would scream out in the night from night terrors about some unseen monster trying to eat his dreams. The nuns took this as a sign of possession and submitted him to countless exorcisms and other cruel practices that only nuns know for changing the behavior of bad little boys.
As he grew older the dreams began creeping into reality. Benjy would scream and point in corners asking others if they saw what he saw. His odd behavior drove him further and further away from the real world and more into his world of paranoia. The nuns were content to let him isolate and mumble to himself in the corner, wasting away in madness.
That was until he attacked the priest when he tried to touch Benjy. No one believed him because they considered him mad, but Benjy ensured with his teeth that the priest would not do it to anyone else.
The police, having heard about the orphanage before and being aware of Benjy’s history chose to send him to the asylum instead of jail.
Doctor Galvin was a pioneer in electroshock therapy. It was his answer to any patient distress. Within a week of being in the asylum Benjy found himself held down by figures in white coats on the electroshock table.
The first shock roared through his brain with a crack of thunder.
He found himself floating in the void. From his navel stretched out an umbilical cord of lightening. Following it with his eyes he saw he it attached to a woman floating along with him.
“Benjy, I am Bridget, I am you and you are me. We are a shared soul that has existed since the beginning of time.”
“What?” he asked.
She held her finger to his lips, “I don’t know how much time we have, just listen. You shouldn’t no me, but because of your early birth, part of me still exists in you. The creatures you see are real. They want to finish consuming me, just as they will consume your memories and experiences when you die.”
“What do I do?” Benjy asked, tears steaming down your face.
“Find Doctor Bruadar. If we can keep one soul from them we might win. Watch out for....”
Her voice was cut off as Benjy’s eyes shot open. He was lying on a cot in his room, with a raging headache. He tried to sleep but it was no where to be found. Staring at the ceiling he felt clarity that he had never felt before.
In the morning, because of his manners towards the staff and the apparent effectiveness of the treatment he was allowed access to a newspaper with breakfast. Eating his dry toast he thumbed through the pages until he stopped on a small article on the back page.
Archeologist Believes He Found The Fountain of Youth.
The article began, Doctor Bruadar, archeologist with the University of Arkham reports that he may have found the mythical fountain of youth....
Her words came back to him, if we can keep one soul from them we might win.
She was talking about immortality.
Benjy looked at the orderlies milling about, and around their legs snakes shadow tendrils. Tendrils he knew waited for him if he didn’t find Doctor Bruadar.
He had to figure out how to escape.
|
Another death. Another cycle. Another life. Continual existence for the feeding of our extradimensional lords. Though I have not memories of my previous lives, I know of my eternal servitude, humanity's endless slavery to these so-called "gods." For countless lifetimes, we have lived long, meaningful lives only for the memory of them to be devoured. Though they appear to be fulfilling, these mortal coils only serve as mere food. How are we to be truly content when our time passes knowing that it was never for our own sake or for those we care about?
No more. No being can trap the free will of humanity without consequence. If I am trapped in this immortal conscious, so be it. I, the root of their cruel crop, refuse to be harvested and used. I will poison my unfeeling overlords with "meaningless" lives of materialism and greed. I shake my fist at those who hold the keys to my shackles and I will make them suffer. *That* is a truly meaningful existence.
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
"Dearest Chellé, Anne, Adah, Cleo, Unbasa II, Serenity, The Nameless One, Worker #384445, K, 179 and all the iterations I never got to meet,
I know you have never been one for grand gestures, but you will have to excuse me this once.
I love you.
I have loved you through every life and every death of mine. I have loved you for better and for worse. I have loved you in war and in peace. I have loved you even when I did not know the word to describe my feelings, and only understood it through the pain in my chest its absence left.
I have loved you from the big bang of this universe to its heat-death.
And even still, I love you now, though I likely do not remember it.
So I leave you this note, in prayer that you will find it.
I leave it in the leaves blown by the winds.
I leave it in the myriad of constellations in the sky.
I leave it written on the very fabric of this universe.
I leave it wherever you may be; now, later, thousands of years from this very moment.
This reality is our canvas, and we are its artists. Our bodies will not last between worlds, but our actions will ripple ceaselessly across an infinite ocean where our eyes will one day meet again.
Maybe it will be in passing, maybe we will be enemies, though I know that I could never hate you (except for when you took up too much of the bed).
Maybe we will meet on the very place we first met in Paris, or where we first met again, or first met for the last time. Maybe it will be beyond this universe, or perhaps at its very heart.
Our words and stories will define us once our lives disappear, dearest. You have defined me, and I you, in bitter spite of everything that acts against us. There is no Nemean beast too large that we cannot slay, no mountain high enough, no stairway to heaven that we cannot climb.
Even when I was young and jaded, I knew it as the only truth of this world: you are my sunshine.
So it is, that this note defines us. This note is our quiet defiance, from the very first time our eyes met across worlds.
Though we are beat back by a relentless tide that threatens to consume us, to erase the very fibre of our beings, it will not — it *cannot* — stop me.
Though I do not know its face.
Though I do not know the time I have left.
Though I do not know when I will see you again.
I will fight it. As you once did. Like the infinites that came before.
This is how we poison the beast. This is how we win. This is our love that time and space cannot kill.
There is nothing left for me to stay, but still I want to keep on writing. Because every word I send that I know you read is another ceaseless moment spent in your presence.
It cannot be said enough, so allow me to say it once more.
I love you."
---
She crumpled the note, and pressed its ashes to her heart. The memories began to fade as quickly as they had come.
In the most infinitesimal of seconds, she caught some of them as they slipped into non-existence. She grasped them, felt the hitch in her breath, the quiet thump of her chest, a comforting warmth like a mother's embrace —
*the smell of the sea on a summer's day*
*their first kiss, their last, their first again*
*his laugh, hi—*
And then they went. Dust to dust. Lost to the winds of time.
Who was she again?
She did not know, but still that warmth remained. She cradled it. She wanted to protect it.
For years she traversed the harsh tundra, that small feeling staying death's cold embrace.
Though she wandered without aim, it did not *feel* aimless — she felt wonderfully alive in the struggle. It was the most alive she had ever felt.
In those moments of pain, of adversity, she truly understood but one thing. Its name she could not place, so she defined it by an emptiness, a fragmentation, a gestalt. *Hollow*. *Whole.*
It did not need a name. She did not need a name. Did not need to know her purpose.
She went through mountains and dungeons, deserts and battlefields.
She scraped the heavens, felt God's breath in her hair, and told him she would be back soon.
She went to the Devil, and he found there was nothing that she could be tempted with.
She traveled. She died. She lived. She died. She lived.
She walked the stars an inch a second, crossed supernovas and space stations like they were bumps on a road. She was the beat of a butterfly's wing, bringing chaos to a a fake, merciless space.
Love. Such a strange thing; that it did not need a word or meaning to be understood. Only a context.
When she reached the heart of the universe she finally stopped. The feeling did not cease. The warmth flared like a dying star born anew. She looked through the galaxies, the facade, the curtains drawn on the stage-play, and looked the beast dead in its eye.
*I defy you*.
She stopped. She smiled. She turned to face her partner in time.
And so did he.
|
Another death. Another cycle. Another life. Continual existence for the feeding of our extradimensional lords. Though I have not memories of my previous lives, I know of my eternal servitude, humanity's endless slavery to these so-called "gods." For countless lifetimes, we have lived long, meaningful lives only for the memory of them to be devoured. Though they appear to be fulfilling, these mortal coils only serve as mere food. How are we to be truly content when our time passes knowing that it was never for our own sake or for those we care about?
No more. No being can trap the free will of humanity without consequence. If I am trapped in this immortal conscious, so be it. I, the root of their cruel crop, refuse to be harvested and used. I will poison my unfeeling overlords with "meaningless" lives of materialism and greed. I shake my fist at those who hold the keys to my shackles and I will make them suffer. *That* is a truly meaningful existence.
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
Somewhere out there in a space beyond space, where shape and form and all the things people might imagine no longer mattered a monster lurked. It hid in the shadows, a being of pure consciousness and it fed.
With every fiber of his being Devin hated it.
He could not have told anyone why, the question was too large and the reasons ran too deep. The simple fact of knowledge about the monster was too much already. Devin couldn’t burden the people he loved with it.
At night when his wife looked at him with pleading eyes and a breaking voice, asking what had happened, why he had suddenly become like this, there was no answer. Night after night Devin looked back at her saying the same words:
“I’m sorry baby, I love you and I’m so, so sorry.”
They never seemed to do the trick though. As the knowledge of what awaited him after death ate at Devin his wife’s breaking marriage ate at her, chewed her up and spat her out in front of a divorce lawyer along with half of Devin’s soul. The last moment he saw her was the saddest of his life. At least up to that point.
It was on the front steps of the house they had shared, the house she hadn’t asked for in the divorce but that he had offered freely. “Devin,” she had said, “I tried, I really did. Every day, every night I tried so hard to make us work. So why couldn’t you? Why wasn’t I worth it? We had everything planned out! Kids, pets, Christmases as a family and a vacation home in Maine…So why! Why wasn’t I enough?”
She was beautiful even in her rage, Devin had always thought so. As she stood there on the steps, the sun setting behind her she looked just like the girl he had fallen in love with all those years ago. Her auburn hair fell like a cascade of fire in the dying light, her cheekbones were high, lips full with the hint of invitation if she weren’t so mad. Her eyes were the same forest green he’d stared into when he’d proposed.
But her thin, graceful fingers clutched white knuckled to the porch rail as if it were the only thing in the world keeping her up, and she shook with emotions he would never be able to comfort.
Devin kept his peace. He turned back to his car and drove off into the gathering night with the answers she’d yearned for all those years nearly spilling out of his lips, barely having kept them in. He would never tell her what awaited him. Awaited them both.
Instead Devin hatched a plan. He would kill the creature that lurked out there at the end of time and space, waiting to devour everything that made him up. He would poison it in the only way he knew how.
He would live the saddest life possible. He would pack so much misery into himself that when his consciousness finally fell down the great maw he imagined the monster would choke on the crushing darkness within the person it ate, choke and die and plague the the world no more.
Over the next fifteen years of his life Devin set out to systematically destroy himself. In every cheap dive and rat infested motel across America he found the most destructive actions he could, tried everything he could, poisoned himself and his memories so completely that he one day forget the man he was. He forgot everything around himself but the desperate, destructive need and the crushing fear of the monster lurking at the end.
He did things that he would have been unimaginable in his youth, did them in the name of that fear and his desperate desire to end it somehow. Things that had a way of coming back to you.
When Devin’s now ex-wife finally saw him again after all those years it was at a funeral in New Mexico attended only by her. She hadn’t heard a word from him in all those fifteen years, hadn’t spared him a thought in the last five, but when the police called her she answered just the same. They’d found a body, an unidentified man who they thought was in his 70s and had turned out to be Devin Asoli, once her husband and now nothing at all. His only possession had been a small, weather-beaten photo of her, a candid she couldn’t even remember him taking.
For Devin, whose consciousness was even now flying out on its last journey, the picture had been the worst torture of all. He’d stared at it every night before he slept, crying himself to sleep for years until the feelings became something harder.
But his goal was coming. He could feel it, just ahead now, like a great sucking vacuum in a realm he had no words for. He prepared himself, tensing, pulling all thought inward to the shattered core of who he was-
Until he was no more.
The monster shuddered faintly and was silent. It stretched limbs that spanned galaxies as it fell back into sleep. That last being had been *delicious*.
\-------------
r/TurningtoWords
|
“How long has it been?” I wondered to myself. “How many times have I...been.” The questions echoed in my mind, indicating that this was far from the first time I’d asked them. I never really fully understood the entirety of my, nay, our, dilemma. While I’d always had suspicions, theories, and conjecture, they’d always been just that.
But recently, something changed. What had been minute glimpses of the greater reality started widening into full-fledged stares of examination; suddenly, my eyes were opening, and the picture was becoming ever so clear. From the time I was a child, I knew something about this world wasn’t right.
Deep within me, somehow, I instinctively knew “This world is not my home.” What I didn’t understand at the time was that my life was to be the culmination of a multitude of lives. Millennia of those that came before that caught glimpses of the greater reality, and the task that must be accomplished to break the cycle of the creature’s feeding.
All before me have failed, but a few cycles prior to my existence, the seers of the old ways could see the potential for an end to the rebirth. “Inevitably, a sacrifice must be made. A child will be born, who must willingly accept a life of bitter loneliness, hostility, being shown hatred, and pain. And through it all, he must smile, and also choose to house love.”
My whole life has been one misery after the next. My inclination has been to allow my misery to grow into sadness and anger, then bitterness, then hatred towards myself and the planet. I have realized, however, that this is the creature’s favorite meal. I fed him plenty throughout this cycle.
The beast knows what I’ve endured. He has seen the horrors my eyes have witnessed, and expects me to remain bitter and spiteful the remainder of my days. But no more shall I feed the beast. Now, I shall plunge myself into his belly with a dish he cannot digest: hope, laughter, lightness, and love.
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
Building a world is challenging. But building a whole universe is extraordinarily difficult. The simulation you currently reside in took me more time to construct than a human can fathom. Yet, it was all worth it. Your universe was perfect, everything was set in motion as I intended, all with my preconceived plan. Like a great wind up doll you moved forward through time, step by planned step.
There is nothing better than watching your creation as it blossoms slowly, predictably.
And for the first few billion years of this great experiment everything went smoothly. But then a Soulthirst, in its god-forsaken malignancy, wrapped its tentacles around my beautiful creation, around my perfect universe—your universe—consuming with its desperation, all the meaning, all the memories, all the life that blooms within my creation.
At first, I tried to simply remove it, but that, of course, was not so simple, and it latched itself to my universe with even more grip, consuming all the souls as they passed. But these souls were mine, you see. I created them and I wanted them back, yet this Soulthirst was stealing them.
I had but only one option. With a little change in my design, I put in an interesting little hiccup. And that was to give freewill to all of my little beings that I molded with my own hands. You see with this little addition—freewill—my universe now splays out with an infinite amount of parallel universes. And the Soulthirst, in its never ending desire to consume all meaning, latches its tentacles to every single one.
Each time you decide to wear your pink shirt instead of your red shirt, another universe is born and the Soulthirst’s desperate tentacles reaches out within the void, stretching further and further.
And yet the Soulthirst is not infinite. It cannot consume like this forever. It is expanding, and this expansion is a slow poison, a death pill. It will reach its limit.
And so, my beautiful creations, utilize your free will and fill the void with the infinite expansion of your choices.
r/CataclysmicRhythmic
|
“How long has it been?” I wondered to myself. “How many times have I...been.” The questions echoed in my mind, indicating that this was far from the first time I’d asked them. I never really fully understood the entirety of my, nay, our, dilemma. While I’d always had suspicions, theories, and conjecture, they’d always been just that.
But recently, something changed. What had been minute glimpses of the greater reality started widening into full-fledged stares of examination; suddenly, my eyes were opening, and the picture was becoming ever so clear. From the time I was a child, I knew something about this world wasn’t right.
Deep within me, somehow, I instinctively knew “This world is not my home.” What I didn’t understand at the time was that my life was to be the culmination of a multitude of lives. Millennia of those that came before that caught glimpses of the greater reality, and the task that must be accomplished to break the cycle of the creature’s feeding.
All before me have failed, but a few cycles prior to my existence, the seers of the old ways could see the potential for an end to the rebirth. “Inevitably, a sacrifice must be made. A child will be born, who must willingly accept a life of bitter loneliness, hostility, being shown hatred, and pain. And through it all, he must smile, and also choose to house love.”
My whole life has been one misery after the next. My inclination has been to allow my misery to grow into sadness and anger, then bitterness, then hatred towards myself and the planet. I have realized, however, that this is the creature’s favorite meal. I fed him plenty throughout this cycle.
The beast knows what I’ve endured. He has seen the horrors my eyes have witnessed, and expects me to remain bitter and spiteful the remainder of my days. But no more shall I feed the beast. Now, I shall plunge myself into his belly with a dish he cannot digest: hope, laughter, lightness, and love.
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
Building a world is challenging. But building a whole universe is extraordinarily difficult. The simulation you currently reside in took me more time to construct than a human can fathom. Yet, it was all worth it. Your universe was perfect, everything was set in motion as I intended, all with my preconceived plan. Like a great wind up doll you moved forward through time, step by planned step.
There is nothing better than watching your creation as it blossoms slowly, predictably.
And for the first few billion years of this great experiment everything went smoothly. But then a Soulthirst, in its god-forsaken malignancy, wrapped its tentacles around my beautiful creation, around my perfect universe—your universe—consuming with its desperation, all the meaning, all the memories, all the life that blooms within my creation.
At first, I tried to simply remove it, but that, of course, was not so simple, and it latched itself to my universe with even more grip, consuming all the souls as they passed. But these souls were mine, you see. I created them and I wanted them back, yet this Soulthirst was stealing them.
I had but only one option. With a little change in my design, I put in an interesting little hiccup. And that was to give freewill to all of my little beings that I molded with my own hands. You see with this little addition—freewill—my universe now splays out with an infinite amount of parallel universes. And the Soulthirst, in its never ending desire to consume all meaning, latches its tentacles to every single one.
Each time you decide to wear your pink shirt instead of your red shirt, another universe is born and the Soulthirst’s desperate tentacles reaches out within the void, stretching further and further.
And yet the Soulthirst is not infinite. It cannot consume like this forever. It is expanding, and this expansion is a slow poison, a death pill. It will reach its limit.
And so, my beautiful creations, utilize your free will and fill the void with the infinite expansion of your choices.
r/CataclysmicRhythmic
|
Somewhere out there in a space beyond space, where shape and form and all the things people might imagine no longer mattered a monster lurked. It hid in the shadows, a being of pure consciousness and it fed.
With every fiber of his being Devin hated it.
He could not have told anyone why, the question was too large and the reasons ran too deep. The simple fact of knowledge about the monster was too much already. Devin couldn’t burden the people he loved with it.
At night when his wife looked at him with pleading eyes and a breaking voice, asking what had happened, why he had suddenly become like this, there was no answer. Night after night Devin looked back at her saying the same words:
“I’m sorry baby, I love you and I’m so, so sorry.”
They never seemed to do the trick though. As the knowledge of what awaited him after death ate at Devin his wife’s breaking marriage ate at her, chewed her up and spat her out in front of a divorce lawyer along with half of Devin’s soul. The last moment he saw her was the saddest of his life. At least up to that point.
It was on the front steps of the house they had shared, the house she hadn’t asked for in the divorce but that he had offered freely. “Devin,” she had said, “I tried, I really did. Every day, every night I tried so hard to make us work. So why couldn’t you? Why wasn’t I worth it? We had everything planned out! Kids, pets, Christmases as a family and a vacation home in Maine…So why! Why wasn’t I enough?”
She was beautiful even in her rage, Devin had always thought so. As she stood there on the steps, the sun setting behind her she looked just like the girl he had fallen in love with all those years ago. Her auburn hair fell like a cascade of fire in the dying light, her cheekbones were high, lips full with the hint of invitation if she weren’t so mad. Her eyes were the same forest green he’d stared into when he’d proposed.
But her thin, graceful fingers clutched white knuckled to the porch rail as if it were the only thing in the world keeping her up, and she shook with emotions he would never be able to comfort.
Devin kept his peace. He turned back to his car and drove off into the gathering night with the answers she’d yearned for all those years nearly spilling out of his lips, barely having kept them in. He would never tell her what awaited him. Awaited them both.
Instead Devin hatched a plan. He would kill the creature that lurked out there at the end of time and space, waiting to devour everything that made him up. He would poison it in the only way he knew how.
He would live the saddest life possible. He would pack so much misery into himself that when his consciousness finally fell down the great maw he imagined the monster would choke on the crushing darkness within the person it ate, choke and die and plague the the world no more.
Over the next fifteen years of his life Devin set out to systematically destroy himself. In every cheap dive and rat infested motel across America he found the most destructive actions he could, tried everything he could, poisoned himself and his memories so completely that he one day forget the man he was. He forgot everything around himself but the desperate, destructive need and the crushing fear of the monster lurking at the end.
He did things that he would have been unimaginable in his youth, did them in the name of that fear and his desperate desire to end it somehow. Things that had a way of coming back to you.
When Devin’s now ex-wife finally saw him again after all those years it was at a funeral in New Mexico attended only by her. She hadn’t heard a word from him in all those fifteen years, hadn’t spared him a thought in the last five, but when the police called her she answered just the same. They’d found a body, an unidentified man who they thought was in his 70s and had turned out to be Devin Asoli, once her husband and now nothing at all. His only possession had been a small, weather-beaten photo of her, a candid she couldn’t even remember him taking.
For Devin, whose consciousness was even now flying out on its last journey, the picture had been the worst torture of all. He’d stared at it every night before he slept, crying himself to sleep for years until the feelings became something harder.
But his goal was coming. He could feel it, just ahead now, like a great sucking vacuum in a realm he had no words for. He prepared himself, tensing, pulling all thought inward to the shattered core of who he was-
Until he was no more.
The monster shuddered faintly and was silent. It stretched limbs that spanned galaxies as it fell back into sleep. That last being had been *delicious*.
\-------------
r/TurningtoWords
|
|
[WP] Reincarnation exists. You wish it didn't. All conscious minds are simply feeding appendages of an extra dimensional parasitic being which consumes meaning from its host universe. Upon death everything you have experienced and all that you are is stripped from you. You vow to poison the beast.
|
Building a world is challenging. But building a whole universe is extraordinarily difficult. The simulation you currently reside in took me more time to construct than a human can fathom. Yet, it was all worth it. Your universe was perfect, everything was set in motion as I intended, all with my preconceived plan. Like a great wind up doll you moved forward through time, step by planned step.
There is nothing better than watching your creation as it blossoms slowly, predictably.
And for the first few billion years of this great experiment everything went smoothly. But then a Soulthirst, in its god-forsaken malignancy, wrapped its tentacles around my beautiful creation, around my perfect universe—your universe—consuming with its desperation, all the meaning, all the memories, all the life that blooms within my creation.
At first, I tried to simply remove it, but that, of course, was not so simple, and it latched itself to my universe with even more grip, consuming all the souls as they passed. But these souls were mine, you see. I created them and I wanted them back, yet this Soulthirst was stealing them.
I had but only one option. With a little change in my design, I put in an interesting little hiccup. And that was to give freewill to all of my little beings that I molded with my own hands. You see with this little addition—freewill—my universe now splays out with an infinite amount of parallel universes. And the Soulthirst, in its never ending desire to consume all meaning, latches its tentacles to every single one.
Each time you decide to wear your pink shirt instead of your red shirt, another universe is born and the Soulthirst’s desperate tentacles reaches out within the void, stretching further and further.
And yet the Soulthirst is not infinite. It cannot consume like this forever. It is expanding, and this expansion is a slow poison, a death pill. It will reach its limit.
And so, my beautiful creations, utilize your free will and fill the void with the infinite expansion of your choices.
r/CataclysmicRhythmic
|
2nd Life: This isn't my first rodeo. It's my second. I don't know why I know that, or how. I just do. I have this vague memory before my second birth. I was floating through a vast darkness. Everything I had ever thought or lived through flashed around me like lightning. Each time all the feelings came with the memory. Then they were gone, forever. I felt myself become nothing at all. The next thing I remember is from about two years old, a simple birthday memory, blowing out candles.
3rd Life: I had a dream last night. It was my second birthday. Well, it was but it wasn't. I remember blowing out the candles, but when I saw my reflection, it wasn't my own. I am researching reincarnation, and I have a theory that I have done this before. I say that, because the information keeps bringing on a sense of Deja Vu.
4th Life: I saw that void again. I dreamed that dream again. I researched reincarnation again. I am beginning to feel a loop of sorts forming. I am being emptied of one life and I desperately seek to refill myself in the next. I know it won't be long before I start all over again.
5th Life: I remembered my name! Well, one of them. I am not sure which, I can't just count how many times this has happened.
10th Life: This is my tenth time in the loop. I know because it spoke to me. That inky blackness told me to stop doing the same things over and over again. It said something about my experiences being tasteless and bland. It is eating us. That part of us that makes us unique. I have begun to retain a little more each time. I think it is trying to only devour the parts it doesn't know. I have begun to keep a journal.
15th Life: Do you know how much there is to read when you have five lifetimes of journals to sift through? It is enough to make someone go mad. I will do it though. I will memorize myself over and over, until the only thing it can do it take all that I am. The full collective of a single line of reincarnations that only ever repeated their history.
30th Life: Oh, how well I know myself now. I kept adding new bits to keep that thing interested. It got harder to do with even more journals added each lifetime, there is only so much time in the day. I barely had any uniques experiences in my 29th life. That said, I went through the same process that all the ones before the current me did. I don't think this thing can just choose not to feed off of me. This gives me hope. I will make it wish that it had never tasted my essence.
101st Life: It begged me to stop. My flavor was so dull, that I could feel the monotony I rained down upon the thing. I could hear the desire to cry as it chewed through my 100th life.
500th Life: It cries every time I die now, I do too. Not in grief, or even agony, just out of pure boredom. It is impossible to keep up with all the journals, I have begun to create one cohesive journal out of them. I slimmed down on the repetition, that each experience is different. Even so, each one is one I have done before.
1001st Life: I felt it retching the last time around. Not every memory I saw was from that lifetime, some were from lifetimes long gone. I think the loop that I have created is finally taking its toll. Were it not for the discipline and determination instilled into me from a hundreds of lives, I would be born mad every time.
Last Life: I don't plan on coming back. I have lost count how many times I have been through this. The world started getting weird after the thousandth time. More and more things from my past lives seemed to be integrated into the world around me. It is hard to explain, but I started seeing myself more and more. Now, everywhere I look, I see a bit of myself. There's nothing so solid as a clone or a twin of my past lives, but it is like every person I meet these days has some piece of me. Tonight, is the night that the thing and I shall dance our final dance. We will leave this world together, for I am too bored to try this again. Even discipline and determination have their limits. This is the final goodbye, from one who has lived more than a million lives.
r/TheSyXan
|
|
[WP] You are a wishgranting Gene. It's your first time granting a wish of someone! They died on their first wish while still having two wishes...what now?
|
Pt 1:
The summoning was like any other, a human who stumbled upon my lamp and, for one reason or another, gave it a rub. This was the go-to way of rousing the genie within, since the usual instinct after finding an old, dirty item is to clean it up. The young man in front of me, wide-eyed in astonishment and a not-insignificant amount of fear, stared at me as his fingers went limp and he lost his grip on the lamp and it clattered to the ground.
“That’s a bit rude,” I spoke, looking down at the gold-plated home on the floor of his dusty attic. I’d found that injecting some humor into the situation tended to rouse the wisher back to the moment. “That’s where I live. How would you like it if someone came up to your house and kicked your front door?”
The man blinked in surprise, manners coming to the forefront of his mind, as I’d predicted, and he quickly picked the lamp back up. “So sorry,” he told me. “You’re right, that was, um…” He swallowed. “Who might you be, exactly?”
“Genie,” I replied. “Three wishes for you. Heard the stories?”
“Yes, of course, but…they’re *stories*,” he told me. “Fiction.”
My gaze went down over my half-opaque form standing before him. “Do I look like a fiction?”
“Ah…touché.” He hesitated. “Do you have a name?”
“Geralt. You?”
“Kenny.”
“Nice to meet you, Kenny. Now, there’s no time limit on these wishes and, despite what rumors you might’ve heard, we’re not all assholes out to twist your wishes into curses,” I explained tiredly. “This is my job, and I take pride in it, doing my best to make my wishers happy. I gain nothing from making you wish you never met me. So, when you want to use one, you say, ‘I would like to use one of my three wishes from the genie I summoned.’”
Kenny rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “Yeah, okay. I guess that makes sense.” He met my gaze. “Are there any rules?”
“Just the kind of thing that makes too many repercussions,” I said. “That being, changing things from the past, or vague, huge wishes that make have ramifications beyond anything we could predict. Most of my wishers have an easier time finding the best way to do things is to think about it as luck; you just got a lot of luck, so what do you want to do with it?”
Without another moment of hesitation, I saw his eyes light up. “My wife has cancer.”
My eyebrows rose. “That’s horrible, I’m sorry. Yes, we can do something about that.”
“Um…uh, can I wish she goes into remission?” he asked. “Permanently?”
I nodded once and smiled. “We can do that.”
Tears sprung to his eyes and I heard him muttering thanks to whichever god he believed in. “Okay.” He took a breath. “I would like to use one of my three wishes from the genie I summoned. I…wish my wife went into remission from her cancer, permanently.”
A glow emanated from my ghostly form, lasting for a few moments before it faded. “All right. That’s one wish down.”
Kenny’s tears overflowed, spilling down his cheeks. “Really?” he managed.
I nodded. “Really, really.”
He choked out a sob, letting his tears flow for a while before gathering himself. “I can’t…I can’t think of anything else,” he muttered, half to himself. “That was…life changing. And I’ve got my whole life ahead of me, we don’t even have kids yet. You said there’s no time limit, right?”
“Right-o.”
“So, can I just leave you in…” He grimaced. “Is it boring in there?” he asked, motioning with the lamp in his hands.
I waved it off. “Nah. It’s a whole world in there, full of genies. Like a doorway. We’d go nuts if we were trapped in an empty room for ages, waiting to get our next wisher.”
Kenny nodded slowly, letting out a long breath. “All right.” He looked to his left, where an open box sat. “This stuff was from the old owners, so I guess…I’ll keep going through it, organize the attic. And call when I need you?”
“Sounds like a good plan. You seem like a smart guy,” I told him. “I look forward to seeing you again.”
He smiled graciously. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
With that, I reentered the lamp. But he didn’t see me soon.
Honestly, I ended up losing track of time, as always. Living in a world like the land of genies where time is bent and crooked, swimming and curving, it’s easy to do so. When I found myself pulled from a hike through one of my favorite forests into an office, I took in my surroundings and, thinking back, realized it had been long. Too long.
Not to mention, this was an office at our headquarters, not the dusty attic in which I’d met Kenny. I was startled by a *bang* and blinked, realizing that the woman in front of me had just dropped the computer on her desk.
“Marian, what’s going on?”
“Geralt,” spoke the woman in front of me, seated behind a solid oak desk. “Sorry, Apple still hasn’t worked out the heat problem with these things. The official advice, believe it or not, is literally to lift it two inches and drop it to get it to work again.”
My left eyebrow rose. “That’s…creative.”
“Yeah. Anyway. We’ve got an anomaly.”
I nodded my understanding, glancing from the pile of files on her desk to the one open in front of her. I took a seat in the chair in front of her desk. “Got it. What’s going on? The last guy I had was…Kenny.”
With a sigh, she motioned to the file. “He’s passed on.”
I let out a long, sad breath. “That’s unfortunate. It’s been… I don’t even know; do you have it there?”
“Yes,” she said, glancing to the file. “It’s been…ten years.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “He didn’t contact me in… Wow.”
Marian shrugged. “Some humans are like that. Careful, knowing this is one-in-a-lifetime.”
“But he was…he couldn’t have been more than mid-twenties. How could he-”
“Car crash,” she explained with a grimace.
“Oh man,” I muttered. “All right. So where do we stand?”
Marian pointed to a line in the file. “We’ve got an heir. Firstborn, a boy named Arthur.”
“The kid lost his dad,” I spoke, desperation creeping into my tone. “I know what regulations say, but-”
Marian was already shaking her head. “No, they won’t make an exception here. He’s too young, and treaties on the topic are extremely specific. Human cultures consider adulthood to be eighteen. Some are more, some are less, but this one in particular is the one we need to go with. Arthur can’t have his inheritance until he hits eighteen.”
|
(Sorry not trying to be a jerk with the prompt typo, just actually gave me an idea to go a total other direction).
The hospital wing reeked of ammonia and bleach. This particular ward specially crafted for the immuno suppressed children was a mix of cold and able to be efficiently scrubbed down but with little details such as painted handprints or the border trim of colorful dinosaurs painted along the walls. Gene couldn’t believe he was here to begin with, it’d been a long time since he was popular enough to warrant receiving the make a wish requests.
He didn’t grant them in his hay day and now that he had the time and inclination he was too far removed from the zeitgeist to bring even the children’s parents any form of whimsy or awe. But this child had been different. A ten yr old KISS fan in 2020. The odds of Toby being into KISS were likely as rare as the immune disease he had contracted, a cruel twist of fate that wasn’t lost on either the foundation or Gene himself. Which is why he took it upon himself to not only show up in costume but to bring along some memorabilia from KISS meets the phantom of the park, allegedly one of Tobys favorite films.
Here he stood well out of place in leather that looked less aged than his own hard life worn skin, in platform boots and makeup unfamiliar to the other children in the ward. He was here he showed up he had granted Tobys wish but there was no shouts or screams of joy. Not even a sputtering gasp of awe. Just a doctor holding a small thin wrist as flat high pitched whine wailed from the machines. Toby was supposed to shake his hand was supposed to talk about the band, they even had a screening room set up special to watch some movies and footage. There was supposed to be time for more wishes, one last hurray another couple months of struggle. Why right after seeing his idol did he crash.
With nothing left to do for the child, Gene threw a pair of scrubs over his costume grabbed some supplies from the front of the wing, a crazy red Afro, round rubber nose and some juggling balls. He wasn’t Gene Simmons in that moment anymore, just Chaim the clown, doing some small tricks and trying to entertain the children still there and still struggling. He thought to himself what do you do when you can’t grant the wishes of someone who needed them, you grant the wishes of others in need in anyway you can.
|
|
[WP] You receive a letter addressing you by a childhood nickname, the sender is a friend who went missing years ago.
|
This is strange. my eyes had been caught by the brown envelope, not a corporate style so often posted through my door to “resident” or the ever more cunning letters from the TV licensing, which have started coming in interesting colours, I suppose to attract interest.
My fingers flicked past the usual suspects to the stalwart intruder. A handwritten address stating in ever so unlikely terms my childhood nickname. Not unusual for sure, but for me this was strange.
Ever since I moved away from home across the water I had always gone by mr Clarke, it seems appropriate for a teacher, and my father always went by Adrian, which I hated. A short snivelling man, I wished in my youth to place myself as far away from him as I could, in name too it seemed. Filling out the driving licence forms had seemed very pedestrian, and truly the choice at the time was simply whimsy but once that was done, it kind of stuck.
The name maketh the man, and here I am years later, mr Clarke to both the passport office my gas company and my students. But not to this mysterious penman. An proverbial assassin from my past, dedicated to the eradication of mr Clarke in an attempt to revive long lost Eddie.
My brow furrowed at the thought, a peculiar feeling creeping up my back as if I had been unmasked.
This would have to wait, I had a cat to feed and the middle of an old apartment building lobby was no stage for what I assume would be something requiring a little thought.
Coat off, bag down cat fed, kettle boiling I sat on one of my stools leaning one arm against the breakfast bar in my homely apartment. A few knick knacks I had picked up from various holidays over the years adorned the walls, most were from far flung places, wooden and tribal. A harsh reality to the winter blues that had set in a few days ago with the incoming dark days and heavy rain.
Picking the intriguing letter out of the bunch I flip it over, looking for a return address. I see none, which I suppose is odd for a hand written letter. But closer scrutiny reveals a little clue.
LondonDerry, reads the post office stamp.
Just as I go to open the letter I hear the kettle tailing off in the background, pausing for a moment I set about making tea. Then returning, tea in hand to my prior engagement.
Apprehensively, I open the envelope and pull out a letter. The creeping feeling was back in full force, rising up my back. Somewhat harder to take in the comfort of my own home, than in a communal lobby.Folded and also hand written. My eyes cast along the lines. I shall save you the content but rather convey the feeling that the letter cast over me, for they are where you dear reader can find meaning. You see it was from my old childhood friend, who had lived down my street when I was very little.
A powerful spell was being woven in my mind, contrasting feelings of my younger life. The rolling hills of Ireland. my aunties house in what seemed like the middle of a sea of green. Trees rocks and nature surrounded the house, I had felt for the brief summer I was there that I was at the centre of a wonderful fairytale. This was heavily contrasted to the loud noise and buzz of 1980s Derry. The stress of the people around me, the noises and the thrum. the feeling of broken rubble under my feet and a smell of burning rubber. Thats where I had left her, my sister. She was older then me, and in those cobbled streets my memory of her would jump and fade. Around my head she moved from pavement to road, my mind sought her, in a dire attempt to call up a face that was all these years later, certainly lost.
It was after one fateful day she had gone, and I had left shortly after. Off to my aunties, away from my parents and the city.
This was the subject of the letter, my sister had been found.
After all these years, her body had been found.
|
The Letter arrived last week.
It had no return address, the label with my own address on it was typed font. I had hid it under my bed; I'm not sure why, I live alone and rarely have anyone over. I prefer going out to staying in so I only ever meet people elsewhere. But it felt right, that something so wrong should be kept in the dark hidden from prying eyes. At least that's how I justified it, deep down inside I hoped maybe I'd forget about the letter or at very least keep it out of my own sight, out of sight out of mind...right? At night it burns holes through my mattress, disturbing my thoughts until I fall into fitful bouts of sleep.
The letter isn't all that exciting itself, on the surface, it appears to be a simple greeting from an old friend wondering about how I've been the past few years. A simple "Long time no see" if you will. That's not the disturbing part, the part that has been haunting me is the sender. Now like I said there was no return address but the name they addressed it to let me know who it was better than any name could have. "Nub" was the name on the address label, my name is Jove but he was a year older than me and "Joven" in young in Spanish apparently, so he went from that to "nubile" and called me nub. He always thought he was quite the comedian, I thought it was a reach to say the least.
I had one problem with receiving the letter from him. He was dead, or at least he was supposed to be. When I was 15 and he was 16 we were biking along a sidestreet on our way to the local dog park so we could toss a frisbee. My mom hated us tossing a frisbee in my front yard because she said we were putting her precious collection of clay angels "at risk". She was a bit obsessed. Regardless we were halfway there when I fell, I must have hit a pothole or something because I flew over my handlebars the bike flipped above me and then promptly came back down on my wrist. The snap was audible. Between my cries of pain, I heard him yell that he was going to bike back to my house and get my mom; she was a nurse. I watched him pick up his bike from where he had dropped it in the grass and start racing down the street. I was at one end of the block looking straight down the street so I had a pretty good view of his progress, it also means I had a good view of the van. It hit him from the side going at a decent speed, enough that I screamed his name and knew deep down in the most primal parts of my brain that he wasn't going to be getting back up.
I heard a door bang open and three guys jumped out of the black van, looked at him for a moment and seemed to discuss what to do. My vision was blurry with tears but they didn't seem all that upset or panicked about what had just happened. Eventually, two of the bigger men grabbed him, one at each arm and dragged him into the back of the van. That was the last time I had seen him. I gave my statement to the police after calling my mother and being taken to the hospital myself where I was diagnosed with a fractured wrist and two torn ligaments. They didn't even look for him, they pronounced him as "assumed dead" the next day. For years afterwards, I regretted telling them how bad of shape he was in, maybe they would've looked for him if they thought he could still be alive.
Then this letter. 15 years after I saw my best friend killed and taken, I get this bloody letter. I don't know what to do at this point, I can't send anything back and I can't show anyone out of my own fear that I may finally be losing it. The only other way I can think of for this letter to exist was if someone was playing a very cruel prank. But I can't even truly lean into that explanation as no one in my new town knows of his nickname for me.
I was confused and terrified when I heard the knock. It was 3:00 AM. I grabbed a hunting knife my father had given to me and headed to the door trying to be as quiet as possible. When I got there I looked through the peephole expecting the worst. Robbers? The Police? Who the hell knocks on someone else's door this early in the morning? No one was there. It was just my front patio and the old elm that sways in front of my house, nothing abnormal. I opened the inner door and a piece of paper floated down from in between the screen door and the main door. I snatched at it a few times midair but ended up bending over to pick it up from the floor.
It was a piece of lined paper, folded in half. I quickly opened it to see what could have possibly been so important to disturb my sleep, or lack thereof. I read the note with measured gaze and when I finished I set it down quickly closed and locked my door then brushed closed my curtains on the front window. I quickly sat down and reread the note to make sure I wasn't delusional.
"Shit" I whispered as I ran the words over and over again in my mind.
*Hey nub, how's the wrist?*
|
|
[removed]
|
[WP] You’re sitting in philosophy class discussing the concept of life and death. Your friend puts his hand up and gives a typically smug answer: ‘nothing really matters’. Suddenly, the classroom begins to shake.
|
“So, what is, according to Nietzsche, really the concept of life and death?” Ms. Suraya asked.
My friend Dan, who sat right next to me, answered. “Nothing really matters.” A cynical smile was smeared across his face.
The classroom began to shake. Ms. Suraya raised her eyebrows in surprise, along with half of the students in the classroom.
“What’s happening?” a boy near the window asked.
“An earthquake, idiot!” another classmate shouted.
“Boys and girls, stay calm!” Ms. Suraya said. “Panic won’t solve anything. We stay here and wait for instructions. Maybe it’s nothing.”
“Oh yes,” Dan said. “It’s Nothing. It’s always been Nothing. *Nothing* is who really matters.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “What the hell are you saying, bro?”
“I’m saying that I *am* Nothing, and I am all that matters.” Dan began to levitate.
A few people screamed. One girl asked what the fuck was going on, another person asked if this was a nightmare.
“Dan, come down!” Ms. Suraya tried to hide her fear, but I could see she was frightened.
“My name is no longer ‘Dan’, Miss,” Dan said. “My name is Nothing.” His voice sounded like it came from all around the room, as if he were a god of some sort.
My heart was pounding. Was this the same guy who I’d played games with for the last couple of months? No, it couldn’t be.
... *or could it?*
The shaking continued. Nobody said anything: we were all too astonished to see Nothing levitating. Nothing closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were filled with the brightest light I’d ever seen.
“Nothing is real,” he said. “But Nothing is all that really matters. You people... you are not Nothing.”
And with that, the world exploded.
——————————————————
r/StevesShittyStories
|
"Just a minor earthquake. Something explainable." Joseph said.
No one believed him; the building shook harder, children began screaming and even Joseph seemed nervous now. But it gradually slowed down, Joseph standing triumphantly, and all stilled.
Joseph was the first to the door, wrenching it open. Joseph spazzed backwards, jerking his arm from the door.
Outside the door was nothing, simply void.
"What the fuck did you do Joseph?" Elizabeth screamed, panic stricken.
Joseph had a frog in his throat, utterly unable to speak, staring hollow eyed and blank faced into the deep abyss. Several students were hiding in the farthest corner, petrified of the void.
What do we do? Ms. Arnold is frozen, with much the same look as Joseph.
Well, what is there to do?
The initial chaos has basically ended, heroically brave Charlie closed and reopened the door again and again, sometimes praying in between attempts. After 25 minutes it was clear it would never work. Charlie sat, tired.
We had recently read Lord of the Flies, so we understood that we needed to keep a cool head.
"This is all fucking Joseph's fault!" Elizabeth shouted. Others agreed fast, hell I kind of agreed. I didn't agree with their solution though. Sacrificing Joseph to the void was never going to work. As we all sat, watching his body float away, hearing his screams, waiting for our room to convert back, we understood. We are fucked.
One less mouth to feed.
Usually, in a group of people, there is a well defined leader; however, when shit hits the fan, that leader may not be the best choice to lead in the new shitty fan world. Ms. Arnold is worthless, still frozen at her desk, a little more wide eyed since we sacrificed Joseph, but otherwise unchanged. John thought she was in shock; I agree.
Who will step up? As if to answer his mind, Charlie took control. First we had to take account of our food supplies, how many of us we had to feed, how much water we had, how long we could survive in this void before being rescued. The knowledge that we will never be rescued hung in the air. People were praying more now, out loud. Elizabeth had started praying the rosary and several other children joined in, several non catholics too.
We could survive comfortably for about 2 days, and waste away for probably about a week until we die of dehydration.
"Well." Charlie said, leaning back in his chair. "Might as well get on with it."
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.