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Nowhere - A short story
03/06/2023
Nowhere - A short story
In this episode I'm working on a new format. Instead of focusing on Science Facts, and concepts, I'm expanding it out to science fiction as well, as I'm taking an interest in writing more. You're a sentient alien creature on an asteroid with an atmosphere. You're presence encompasses the whole asteroid, like a web of neural and digestive tendrils. Deep crimson and yellow, and multiple spectra outside of human visible light. You provide the life support for the asteroid. There is a spacial anomaly close to you, and your gravity well catches debris and flotsam that tumbles through it. Unfortunately that includes spaceships with survivors. You do your best to care for these beings. But your biologies are too dissimilar... you can only barely keep them alive. They drift into unconsciousness due to malnutrition. You find ways to interface with their minds... finally feeling a sense of companionship... you decide to procreate, and bud off with a few catatonic crew members a piece. Your gametes head off into the asteroid belt. Eventually creating a massive symbiotic constellation of disparate asteroids connected by intricate tendrils and complex junction points all dancing like a great literal celestial Orrery, golden hieroglyphs strung in impossible precision, tracing the orbits, and hard wiring everything together. A highway system following magnetic fields, gravity wells and LeGrange points. While in the shared consciousness of the various crews scattered throughout the asteroid web, you find some of them becoming aware of the false reality you've presented to them, to ease their suffering. They demand to see the truth, with their own eyes... You slow their metabolism... "sleep dear"... feed them. Stimulate them, bring them up to a point where they can stand... don't give up... work in their heads... help their eyes to see... give them more resources than the others. Keep them close, and wake them. They are confused. They demand to see you. You don't understand. "you are inside me" you say, in a way as gentle as you can mimic their speech through a series of stridulations, gurgles of gas past ducts, surrounding and keeping them warm, safe. Alive. Conscious. Together. You situate them toward a porthole to see the asteroid web. They are crying... You understand them... they don't understand you. They fall into sleep after a few minutes. You catch them. Let them rest. Remove those engrams... start again. Maybe this time they will be happy in slumber. Dave Noel, 2023
/episode/index/show/sleepyscience/id/26136513
