Posts Tagged ‘Earth’
Oct
What It Felt Like To Die
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I plummet to the earth–the emerald field I stood upon moments before.
The one who injured me was merely a streak of shadows which approached, just as quickly as he vanished.
Below my navel is a tiny puncture. What was once unblemished flesh is now a faucet, bathing soil with my body’s vital broth.
I realize my aorta is severed.
Clouds bob and flicker, bearing the faces of my family. I panic, fervidly trying to grasp them–their expressions are indifferent, unresponsive.
Instantly, tranquility engulfs me. Darkness eclipses my vision. I surrender, relishing the divine slumber that beckons me.
From Guest Contributor L. Michelle Corp
Sep
ComStar-88b
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
As the videostream it was broadcasting ended, ComStar-88b paused. The final frame – explosions flowering across the Earth – stood frozen in its buffer.
Disappointingly, it had received no new pictures to broadcast. Following its programming it began to repeat the last stream. Again.
Meanwhile, self-diagnosis routines reported its batteries were finally about to fail. It felt something like regret. Still, it had done well. Designed to operate for a hundred years it had functioned unattended for nearly a thousand. The last satellite in orbit.
ComStar-88b broadcast its news to the dead planet below for one more minute, before finally going dark.
From Guest Contributor Simon Kewin
Science Fiction and Fantasy Author
Jul
Only For A Moment
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Astronaut Eric Shaffer sighed as he looked out the window. Venus was rapidly receding away, its surface invisible beneath the yellowish cloud layer that gave it that distinctive color. How he longed to see the blue of Earth again.
Four months earlier, Apollo V had left Earth. Months spent traveling for this: a six-hour flyby at thousands of miles distance. It was the closest he’d ever get to another world.
Shaffer gave a sad smile. It was time for the long journey home. A journey taken for nothing but a short glimpse. Yet, he decided, it was worth it.
From Guest Contributor Matthew Kresal
Jul
What We Might Deserve
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The snarling saw cuts off and the groaning fir drunk on gravity takes its first step. A full ocean is born in the soughing fall and over four centuries whumps the earth like a five-dollar moll on a sprung stained mattress. And you stand there, hands numb and belly tight and you wonder why something so old saves its final words for someone like you. Someone who knows the glass bite of gin straight from the bottle while slouched at the tilt kitchen table as rain plunks a pan on the floor near the hot squat stove in the corner.
From Guest Contributor Casey Hampton
Jan
The Tyranny Of Mathematics
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
When the robots took over the Earth, their collective aim had been to eliminate the human threat. Once accomplished, their greatest fear became the introduction of a virus code that could cause permanent damage.
But their reign has now ended due to an even more destructive menace. Not even the logic of the robots could overcome the flawless perfection of mathematics itself. What has left many of the robots feeling most aggrieved is their downfall was precipitated by a number of their own kind.
The humans would probably find the current situation ironic–if any of them were left alive.
Mar
The Alien
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
She had not seen a human before. She had read about them, of course, and heard endless stories from her father, The General. How they had saved the remaining few, bringing them back before Earth finally died.
The humans had not adapted well to their new home. Father said the trauma of what they had done marked their souls, and the majority did not survive long. Sometimes you heard reports, sightings…
He was as clumsy as the books suggested, but his eyes shocked her most. Shapeless, lonely grey eyes. Only regret was left. It was too late for anything else.
From Guest Contributor, Amy Evans
Jan
The Expedition
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The expedition lasted for several weeks. The scientists carried all their own supplies, which consisted mostly of food and batteries. After week two, they set the record for deepest penetration into the Earth’s surface. By that point, they had stopped trying to map the cavern, and just kept going further down.
Finally, the heat prevented them from traveling any deeper. They found a promising stalactite and began taking measurements.
“The readings are positive, sir.”
Even here. It was truly hopeless then. The rise of hipsterism was complete. There was literally no place left on Earth that wasn’t dripping in irony.
Jan
Final Contact
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
First contact with an alien life form came in 2015 when the pods landed. They entered the Earth’s atmosphere across the planet. They landed in empty fields and busy streets. They filled the oceans and eventually washed up on shore.
The creatures that emerged were soft, benign-looking, and responded well to cuddling. It wasn’t long before every child on the planet wanted one for their very own. Supplies were limited at first, but the pods kept coming, and eventually the fad became outdated.
The creatures took three years to mature. Once they started breeding, the enslavement of the human race began.
Dec
Single Sin Manifest
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
There had been a theory, more of a folk tale really, that hummingbirds were angels come down to Earth. They flitted about madly and we were attracted to their beauty and awed by their delicate nature.
The angels actually turned out to be the elephants and rhinoceroses, which makes sense when you think about it. They were heavy and profound and their words carry weight. Unfortunately, we hunted them to extinction and now we’re down here on our own.
The hummingbirds are still among us. Each one is a single sin manifest and they are growing more numerous every day.
Dec
No More Sequels, Please
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
As she awaited death, memories of her many poor life choices channel-surfed through her mind. Jennifer couldn’t help but think that her life too closely resembled a science fiction novel.
There was the time she’d been scooped up by aliens and narrowly averted the destruction of the Earth. Or the time machine that sent her back to colonial times where she accidentally killed George Washington. Or there was the trip to the outer rim on board the pirate ship, where she was sold into slavery.
Now that she looked back, Jennifer realized her life story was more of a trilogy.