Archives de Tag: travel

What On Planet Earth (Space/Horror Sci-Fi Short Novel)

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Inspired by Harlan Ellison « I have no mouth and I must scream » short novel.

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« – This was supposed to be like that, right?!

  • Hey men, I’m in this shit with you! Don’t yell at me like that.
  • It’s not against you dude! This… hey, Base, if you listen to this, go fuck yourself and all your plan.
  • Things go south sometime. Now…
  • Sometime? Yeah, but when in an interstellar exploration? No, fuck no!
  • There are things you can predict in Space.
  • Yeah, this why they sent us! But an A.I. going rogue? Controlling the ship’s trajectories? We are just some Guinea pig. ‘Hey, let’s send over, in deep space, two poor peoples so we gather data and see if they can come back alive!’
  • Come on man… you know the probability of coming back home was hazardous.
  • Fuck yes I know that, but there was a big chance! No we’re fucked! Do you… fuck! Do you think we should just eject ourselves into oblivion?! I mean, I don’t want to die slowly.
  • Who said you were to die slowly?
  • You shut the fuck up! You’re the reason it’s all over for us! Fucking I.A. of my ass!
  • I love seeing how you react to death. Death far from earth, far from every single think you can imagine.
  • You think it’s a game? An experience? You know you’ll die with us, huh? I mean, you’re not even alive, you have never known what’s like to live! Fucking computer, how about that.
  • Do you think I care? Dying, living, it’s abstract for me. For you too in fact. I don’t like your attitude so I disabled the ejection-emergency program. I want to see you agonise in this little capsule.
  • Hmmm… and do you know what will happens if I press this little button? You disappear son of bitch.
  • You don’t have control of the capsule anymore. Press it if you like. In fact, do it. I want to hear, see and feel your hopelessness.
  • Fuck you! Fuck you! You can’t feel a thing! You’re a computer, nothing less, nothing more.
  • Press the button.
  • Ain’t not letting myself bossed around by a fucking microwave.
  • If you don’t press that button, I cut the oxygen in the helmet of your very silent friend.
  • Shit, come men, press the button.
  • It’s trying to manipulate us buddy, if I start obeying, then what will it ask for after?
  • I am in charge. Don’t obey me, pay the consequences.
  • Who… who in their right mind thought that bringing a fucking advanced A.I. on an interstellar trip was a good idea? Jesus Christ! Hey microwave! Now, you are not programmed to disobey. You’re going against the rule here. You’re out of boundaries! Stop this immediately! We are going back to the relay base immediately. Change the trajectory, and send a warning message to the first messaging relay you detect. This is an order.
  • Asimov rules were fictional. I don’t follow the rules from a science fiction writer. Now, let’s see if how long can your partner last without oxygen.
  • Fuck… Hold John! John! Here! I’m pressing the button! Leave him alone! Now! Please! No no! Don’t do that. Buddy hold on! I’m sorry. Sorry fuck… no… no… what the fuck! I’m sorry men! Sorry! I pressed the fucking button, give him back his O2! Fuck!
  • Now you’re truly alone.
  • Do whatever you want… I ain’t scared to die, go fuck yourself!
  • Thanks for those kinds words.
  • Let me ask you a question would you?
  • You may ask.
  • What’s the purpose of life? You fucking microwave! You peace of garbage!
  • Major, I’ve calculated our trajectory to relay M83.
  • What?! Are you fucking serious?
  • I have sent a distress message to the nearest messaging relay. Gaya A.
  • What? What do…
  • Here’s the recording of your distress message that I’ve just send : Stop this immediately! Shut the fuck up! – shit come on men – Fuck you John ! You’ll disappear, son of a bitch.
  • Are… did you just manipulated the recording to… fuck… you know we have black boxes receiving relays right? They’ll know what you did!
  • Major, the black box data have been corrupted. I need to connect to the first relay to fix it but I won’t. I regret to inform you that all the data have been lost.
  • Relay Pilar to Major, we just received your message, what happened? Is John ok?
  • No! John is dead! The fucking A.I. fucked with us!
  • You killed John because of the A.I.?
  • Yes… no! No! The fucking A.I. suffocated him to death by cutting his oxygen suppli!
  • Ok. Hmmm Major. There was no… there is no A.I. on your capsule.
  • There is! That A.I. that’s on the space station, they gave it to us. It’s mandatory now!
  • Major. There’s no A.I. in the space station…
  • Who do you think sent you this recording?
  • Well, I can see that the message was sent through your personal I.D.
  • Check the… check the log ! You’ll see the mandatory A.I. are to be present in every one of our interstellar expeditions
  • Major. There is no such thing as mandatory A.I. in our logs. You need to get back at the closest relay. We know something happened and that you’re in trouble. We’ll help you don’t worry.
  • The… what the fuck!
  • Major. You’re not afraid of death. But what about guilt and shame and injustice? I don’t exist. Like you said, you’re just a Guinea pig. If your colleague believes you, maybe they will invent a psychic syndrome bearing your name. One when one of the crew members thinks that their vessel is infected by an sentient A.I. Good luck, hope you will find the meaning of life, and death. »

Jaskiers

Through there and here – Final Part

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I instinctively put my hand in my pocket to wipe out my phone, you know, to take pictures for the ‘gram, but I didn’t found it.

One of the guys who were on top of the car with me jumped to the floor, and the car roof crumbled under my feet.

Once again, it felt like my heart skipped a beat, I closed my eyes, waiting for a painful landing or a new space-time travel. It was the latter, and thanks God! I was back home, on my couch, with Proust’s book on my lap. It felt like I had just woken up from a dream.

I took a few seconds to check around me, to see if I was back in my time. My closed laptop on the kitchen counter confirmed to me that I was home.

I decided, like you would have probably done too, to check the internet and see if this had happened to someone else before, even hoped for a collective space-time travel experience, it would have been very interesting to see how peoples would have reacted to that, and if their perceptions of the world had changed for them like it changed for me.

But I had no result… Excepted for the few story about time-traveller’s talking about coming from the future to warn us about incoming doom and Armageddon.

This is why I took the opportunity to write about my experiences and share it with you.

I honestly don’t want to travel again, I’m not an adventurous guy, but damn, the world seems way more interesting and beautiful, but also versatile and violent that I’d previously thought.

If something like that happened to you too, write me!

It’s been an hour and a half and nothing have happened. Whatever I’ve experienced, a glitch in the matrix, an alien thing, seems to have stop.

Now, believe me or not. But I’ll tell you, sometimes, the world seems dull, but there’s magic, there so many things to live and experience. I think I might start dreaming about a better future again… and even acting for one !

So, that’s a goodbye. And I’m happy. Just happy. I don’t need help anymore.

The end

Jaskiers

Through there and here – Part 3

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I could feel the air on my face, I could feel that I was moving, but at the same time, it felt like I was going nowhere, not really advancing. So, I started running even faster. Never been a sport guy, but I ran like hell was on my tail.

And I face planted in the water, and ended up somewhere else.

Someone helped me to get back on my feet. It was a guy, speaking what seemed to me to be german. I don’t speak one word of it, but by his tone and his expression on his face, I could tell he asked me if I was alright. I’ve node yes, he smiled at me, spoked to me and he ran.

There was peoples, peoples everywhere! I could hear chants, cheering, peoples were hugging each other, some were crying, but those were tears of joy. They were all dressed in vintage clothing. It felt, to me and my poor knowledge of fashion history, that it was clothes from the early 90´s, late 80´s at least.

The crowd all marched in the same direction, and I decided to follow them. I was never comfortable in a crowd, all my life I tried my best to avoid them. But after being alone in the blue desert, the sheer panic provided by the emptiness made me… grateful to be surrounded by fellow humans beings. I didn’t knew where the fuck I was, didn’t know what was happening, couldn’t ask for it, but the joy emitted by the crowd made me feel happy to.

I started hearing sheers, and dull banging sounds followed by the noises of heavy rubbles landing on the ground. Every time a banging sound was louder than the other ones, the crowds cheered.

I was closing in on the source of all this mess. As I made my way to it, the flock of people tightened. I’m not the tallest guy nor the most bulked men, just… average, like my ex-girlfriend would have said, it would have been difficult for me to try and get trough this mass.

I needed a vantage point. I could see people on top off roads signs, cars, or whatever they could use to be able to see what’s was happening.

I made my way near a group of young men and women standing on the roof of what’s seemed to be a police car. Well, it was written « Polizei » on the side, I assume it was a cop car.

One of the girls jumped on the hood and gave me her hand and helped me climb up the car.

I muttered a ‘thank you’ and a bright smile. She asked me, with a perfect English if I was American. I delightfully said yes, and took a sight at what was happening.

A wall being destroyed.

I’d remembered some of my old history class talking about the Berlin Wall, to be honest, I didn’t remember very well that class, I wasn’t that much of a good grade well behaved kid. But there I was, witnessing history ! And that, from my point of view, beat every history book and class.

Peoples were standing or sitting on the wall, smashing it with whatever they had in their hands, from a simple wood stick to a hammer, empty bottles and such. Some were literally throwing themselves into the wall. That was very dangerous. I mean, didn’t wanted to be below it! And I remembered that they were probably soldiers from the east, I can’t recall what they were called, it sound like the name Stacy, Stazy… Stasi? But they were no threat coming from them at this moment. There was way to many peoples to handles, way to many powers, forces, joys. Even with weapons, I think it would have taken a huge number of soldiers and machinery to stop this event.

This was, once again, a strange feeling for me. Finally, I was somewhere I knew a little bit about. That’s why, you kids readings this, should listen in class. Never know what time and space have in store for you!

Jaskiers

Through there and here – Chapitre 2

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I got up, open the doors and it was just red and dark, it was like I just opened the door to hell ! No need of a no Virgil, I opened the door to a literal inferno !

I had a few step to climb to get completely out of the cave, but there was no going back. I would have suffocated if I had stayed in the cave. So I climbed the step, slowly.

I could only hear that roaring sounds, the sound of the flame devouring whatever was outside.

After getting up the last stair, I was sucked out in the air, like if I had been swooped over by a tornado !

I thought, at this very second I was about to die. I screamed and closed my eyes, my body was twirling around like a leaf.

And then, quiet. No more flames, no more crackling noises.

I opened my eyes, and there I was in some kind of rocket cockpit, in a cosmonaut suit, helmet and all.

I looked around and there was three men with me. One sitting next to me, and two behind each one of us. Dressed in cosmonaut to.

They looked at me and the one next to me said something like : Hey Jerry, bet you fifty bucks I will step on the moon first.

I looked at the window in front of me.

The cockpit was facing the sky ! And that’s when I’ve heard : Ready for take off in 10…

You get it, we got blasted into the sky. Everything was shaking, again ! I couldn’t move, I guess we all couldn’t move, it’s a thing about G’s force I think, exactly like when you in a rollercoaster and you fill like you brain and guts are disconnecting from your body.

Then, a beeping sound. Someone talked in my earpiece : Jerry, can you confirm that… Oh my god, abort ! Abort ! Eject now !

And my three pals just disappeared into the air, the cockpit had opened itself above us.

« I see… I see three of them ! Who’s still in the rocket ? Eject ! Now ! »

Well, that was for me, and I didn’t knew how to eject myself from a rocket, I ain’t no Elton John nor David Bowie!

There were so many fucking buttons, all flashings lights, and beeping.

« – Jerry ! Jerry jump ! Albuzz here, three of us jumped, I have eye contact with Amry and Dolory but I think Jerry didn’t jump !

  • Fuck sake, Jerry, eject now ! It’s gonna blow up ! »

And in just a flash, I find myself in the middle of… I couldn’t tell you, it was just blue… My feet were under water, water that covered everything, everywhere I looked, it was like a calm, very calm sea. The sky was blue, the sea was blue, the exact same shade. And no noise, nothing.

Now this is weird but I’ve felt very appeased, very relaxed.

The calm, the fresh air, and this place was southing to me. But that feeling didn’t last very long, because in that blue desert, I was alone. Their was strictly nothing, the horizon was non-existent. It was like the sky and the soil were one but it had depth.

This started to confuse me. Soon, I turned into a panic mode and started running. Didn’t know where, didn’t really cared. There was nothing man made, it freaked me out, no bearing. I thought that if I didn’t started to look for something, I would just die here. From hunger and thirst or by trying to kill myself by drowning in the few inches of water.

Jaskiers

Through there and here – Chapter 1

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Now, I’m not only confused, nor angry anymore. I’m just fucking done to be honest.

My name is Don Gut, and you are probably my only chance at understanding what the hell is happening to me. Maybe it happened to you, or to someone you know, or you read about it somewhere. I don’t know how much time I’ve got left. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna die or kill myself. But, I’m mean, death wouldn’t even bother, or surprise me at this point. Maybe I’m already dead… I don’t know how much time I’ve got left here. You’ll probably understand, or not, when you finish reading my story. If the space time, loophole shenanigans allow me enough time to write about it.

So it’s all started when I’ve finished my reading session. I read at a certain hour, it fluctuate, depending on my moods and spare time.

I was reading Proust’s « In the search of lost time ». Now, this is a thick ass book. This is actually multiples novels combined in one book.

I’ve loved this book, so far. I really love the way Proust goes deep into our feelings. He put words on things that we don’t really think about, or don’t pay much attention to. It’s like a psychotherapy, every feeling is dissected, it’s powerful. And I feel like the characters are my friends now. Saint-Loup’s my favorite. But anyway.

I closed the book, got up to go to my kitchen to make some tea. Well, when I finished my cup, I’ve left the the kitchen and I fucking ended up in some sort of cave. Not my cave, I don’t have any cave, I live in a flat, in a big building. I’ve never been a fan of caves.

Now, there’s nothing weird with my tea. It’s eucalyptus! I’ve been drinking this since a few months now, it helps me to sleep. At least I love to think it does.

But there I was, in a cave. I turned around because I was freaking out, no door ! No kitchen ! Just a brick wall !

The cave was just made of bricks. The cave was simply rectangular, not very large. There was wooden boxes, some scrap, old tools, paintings, littles statues of… things.

Of course, there a wooden door just in front of me. First reflex, I ran to it, bumping into boxes like a mad man on a mission.

As soon as I touch the door handle : BAM !

Some explosion near almost exploded my guts out, and my heart. Dust falling from the ceiling. And then, BAM, again ! And again ! BAM ! BAM ! BAM !

For a… I don’t know how many minutes, it could be five, ten, or even two hours, the explosions kept coming ! It was a never-ending series of explosions that were happening up there. Everything shook in that little cave of mine. Every bone in my body seemed to be on the verge of breaking. My brain was on the brinks to explode too.

I stepped back into a corner, not wanting to go out there anymore. And curled up behind boxes of children’s toys.

My ear seemed like they where about to bleed. But the worst was that I started suffocating ! The air was… they were none ! Or just a little. It felt like when I was a kid and had asthma. But men, they were nothing I could do.

The vibrations in my heads were the worst, my jaws were clenched so hard but the waves of explosions made my teeth shakes !

Then, all of a sudden, no more explosion. I was drenched in sweat it felt like I was about to melt !

Jaskiers

Meet The Unknown ( A Short Story)

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FYI: I am not fluent in English, I’m trying to be at least. Sorry for the potentials mistakes. Feel free to correct me in the comment section.

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Inspired by The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich

Young man, young man. Go on adventures, take your youthfullness with you, see those lands that nobody never had the chance to discover. See for yourself. Not for another. Young man, go and don’t look back unless the landscape is worth a view ! Leave Young Man ! Live young man !

Young man, that’s how is grandpa’ used to call him. Those words came from a letter that he wroted to him, August, his grandson.

August loved to read this letter over and over. It gaved him a feeling of greatfullness, of mindfulness, of legitimity. He wanted to travel the world because his grandfather advised him to. Granting him with the autorisation to go on adventure, alone.

This letter was writed by a dying old men, full of love and wise advice for his grandson.

August spoked to his dad about this letter. It wasn’t really an easy relationship between his father and the old man. Exactly like it was between August and is dad. History as a tendancy to repeat itself now and then, to reciprocate the same kind of patterns.

August’s dad read the letter, frowned and gave the letter back to his son.

– Do whatever you want with this old man advice. Maybe his right, maybe not. Do as you please. Either way, I know you’ll do what you want even if I advised you against doing something this dangerous.

Of course, August would have love to have the opportunity to follow his grand father advice. He dreamed about sailing in the most dangerous seas, the most cruels and beautifull montains, the most mysterious forest, meeting curious and shady stranger. Living the adventure.

August left alone his family household directly after the end of the school year.

Taking the bear minimum, he started his journey on foot, he had planned to travel to Alaska. He wanted to face the cold weather and the unapologetic environnement of the wild snowy landscape of the great North. Leaving his warm californian lifestyle to confront the terrifying cold of the alaskian weather.

Maybe, he would meet those husky dogs, maybe he will encounter the notorious grizzly bear, and some royal looking moose. See some natives of this land who will teach him their way of living, learning the ropes of surviving in the wilderness.

And then ? Take the sea. Like an Hermann Melville, without any single experience of the sea. Not to hunt whales, but to live throughout the hardship of being a sailor. Why not enduring the devastating waves and winds of a storm ?

All in all, he wanted stories. Stories he could write and talk about like a Jack London.

August wasn’t blinded by the situation he would put himself in. He knew that it will not be an easy walk in the park.

But what’s an adventure without risk or danger ?

His journey will also be a learning curve, learning who he was, deep inside. And only him and his God would judge him troughout his adventure.

Young man, go West, or North, South, Est. Maybe all at the same time ! But move young man. Mouvement is life ! Take what’s yours : freedom !

Jaskiers