Strange Sci-fi Tales #19 - Unsettling Contents [#96]

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            The assistant cleaned the empty lab, his task illuminated by the single light left on in the large, cold room. He eyed the clock on the wall, it was almost midnight, but he knew he would be done before then. With great relief, he finished with the last table, and his task was complete. It was time to leave, but he wanted to have a little fun first.

            His superiors had left him alone in the lab hours prior, they went to dinner, and he was stuck with the grunt work. However, they made the mistake of leaving him completely alone and with the keys. He had access to most of the lab and was free to explore it as he saw fit. While he could screw with his superior's experiments and steal their possessions, he didn't want to get fired. Instead, he'd do some small things. Misplace some pens and files, tilt a few picture frames and perhaps leave out some embarrassing photos.

            Before all that, he wanted to peek into the locked lab fridge and see what secret experiments his superiors currently worked on. If he was lucky, he could find an idea or two to steal for his own experiments. He quickly skittered over to the fridge and unlocked it. With some effort, he pried open the heavy metal door and peered inside. The contents were as he expected, labeled jars, containers, and beakers lined every shelf. Strange liquids, mysterious cultures and bizarre substances filled each. Nothing caught the assistant's eye. He couldn't even tell what most of the contents were as most of the labels were written in shorthand and code. He sighed in frustration and was ready to close the fridge when he noticed something at the back.

            Behind everything else was a scratched up jar wrapped in a faded label. The contents were unique compared to the rest of the containers. It wasn't a liquid or culture, but some kind of meat. It almost looked like someone stuck their lunch at the back of the fridge and forgot about it. The assistant scratched his head at this strange discovery, but he almost wretched when he saw the contents pulse.

            Whatever was inside the mysterious jar wiggled within its container, as though it were alive. The assistant, against his better judgment reached into the fridge to grab the strange container.

            "...Get...Out..." The assistant froze as he heard a voice, he looked over his shoulder, but the lab was still empty. "...Out...Out..." The voice echoed again. The assistant turned back towards the fridge and realized the sound came from inside it. Terrified, the assistant slammed the refrigerator shut, locked it, and ran out of the room in a panic.

            "Get me out, let me out," the contents of the jar repeated inside the locked fridge.

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A cry of warning, or a cry for help?

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Enigmatic Fantasies #31 - Beside Yourself [#95]

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            As the nearly empty airship drifted through the infinite void, she slumped back into her chair and clutched her last scrap of food. It was the second half of a peanut, she had eaten the first half two days ago with the last of her clean water. Once she ate this, she'd have nothing left to eat until she was rescued. Unless she got desperate, but she wasn't ready to go that far yet.

            "You know I thought being alone in the astral sea was supposed to drive you crazy," she told herself, "but we've been here for months, and nothing's changed. Where are the dancing elephants and illusions of dead loved ones."

            "I guess we're too smart to go crazy," she replied to herself, "you gonna eat that?"

            "Yes, yes I am," she guarded the peanut, "get your own."

            "Hey, no fighting you two," another of herself stepped in.

            "Tell her to share, I haven't eaten in days," the hungry her demanded.

            "None of us have eaten in days," the responsible her pointed out, "but she got the peanut first, so let her have it."

            "Victory for me," the peanut her ate her prize.

            "We're going to starve out here," the hungry self moaned.

            "Maybe we already are and don't even know it," the peanut self suggested.

            "Knock it off," the responsible self grabbed the other two's heads, "you'll set a bad example for the others."

            "Wait we're going to starve?" Another her chimed in, "no, I'm too young to die." The panicked her began to run circles around the deck.

            "See what I mean?" The responsible her gestured.

           "What's this about starving?" Another self appeared from above, as she hung off the ship's mast with her legs.

            "We're not going to starve," the responsible self snapped.

            "Oh, okay," the lookout self retreated to a crow's nest above.

             "Let's hope no one else-" The responsible self began, but was swiftly interrupted by four other selves who burst onto the deck.

            "Starvation, now?" "I guess this is the end." "Well, at least we'll lose weight." "I hope you'll die first for that joke!"

            "Too late," the responsible her rubbed her forehead as a nasty headache began.

            "This is your fault," the peanut self accused.

            "Don't try to pass this off onto me, you ate the last bit of food," the hungry her countered. The two continued to squabble, but the responsible self didn't even bother to break them up.

            "Oh look, ships," the lookout her shouted and pointed over the horizon. Like she said, a fleet of airships emerged in the distance.

"Let's hope we're not hallucinating this time," the responsible self stated.

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The worst part of going insane is not realizing it.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Strange Sci-fi Tales #18 - U.P.T.C. Goliath [#94]

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            The U.P.T.C. Goliath Class starship is a marvel of engineering, and humanity's first step towards a genuine life among the stars. The brainchild of the famous starship engineer Fredrick Starfield, the ship began as nothing more than a dream. Ever since he was a boy, Starfield wanted to build spaceships, but not like the small, clunky Golem and Worg Class ships of the time. Starfield's desire from the start was to create a genuinely massive spaceship. One that could support an entire city's worth of passengers. These ships wouldn't only fly from one place to another, they'd be mobile space stations you could easily spend the majority of your life on.

            It was a long road to the Goliath. Even after Starfield graduated from the University of Jupiter's Engineering division with top marks, he struggled to have his ideas taken seriously. At the time the trend for starships moved towards smaller, slimmer designs, like the famous Thunderbird Class ships. Starfield worked around this by drawing inspiration from the now-defunct automobile industry. While the compact, fast cars of the past were always popular. The average family would appreciate a larger, economically priced vehicle. Thus, Starfield began his career with the designs for civilian grade starships, like the Bear and Bigfoot.

            The Bigfoot Class starship was significant in that it was the first of Starfield's creations to have his distinct style and touch. Despite its bulky size and shape, the Bigfoot had not a single inch of wasted space. Everything from the smallest compartment to the largest cup holder was placed with a clear reason in mind. This design sense would continue through Starfield's other early creations, like the Sasquatch and the Ogre.

           About ten years into his career, Starfield was finally able to work on the ships he always dreamed of creating. With financial support from the Solar Travel Agency, Starfield was commissioned to create the first truly massive starship, the Mammoth. While initially created as an interplanetary commercial transport, the starship's robust and reliable design quickly caught the attention of the U.P. military. With a few modifications, the Mammoth was retrofitted as a troop transport. Although this would be the only time Starfield ever worked for the military.

            Instead, the United Planets Travel Corporation (U.P.T.C.), quickly contracted Starfield to exclusively work for them. This lead to the height of Starfield's career as he was given the funds to produce larger and larger starships. Just as he had always dreamed. This leads us back to the Goliath, the seventh of his creations under U.P.T.C.

            Due to its massive size, comparable to a city, the Goliath cannot be feasibly constructed on a planet. It would be almost impossible for such a colossal ship to achieve escape velocity. Thus, the Goliath Class and most other vessels like it are constructed in space. It takes roughly five years, with a construction crew of hundreds of thousands to build a Goliath class ship. Of course, such a feat is only possible thanks to recent advances in robotics. Allowing a great deal of the work to be carried on the shoulders of our mechanical companions. Without them, it would take decades to construct such a starship, and it would require a crew in the millions.

            Come the end of this year, the fourth Goliath Class starship, the PSS King, will finish construction. Its roster of crew and passengers is expected to be filled out halfway through the next. Don't miss your opportunity to be part of history, buy your tickets today, or better yet, apply for a position on the crew. Will you be left behind or will you claim your destiny among the star?

            This information has been brought to you by the U.P.T.C., we will bring all nations across the universe. 

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A brief history lesson followed by an advertisement, seems about right. You know what they say, everyone is trying to sell you something.

Oh yeah and tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of my first real short story on this blog.
So happy anniversary to me, and I look forward to another year of writing short stories. Also, my 100th short story is coming up, but that's still a few weeks away.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Enigmatic Fantasies #30 - Lost Among the Trees [#93]

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            He was lost, that was about all he was sure of. The forest was a maze, no it was more akin to a labyrinth. No matter how far he went, he'd see the same mossy, ancient structure, the same trees, and the same dirt paths. He couldn't tell if he walked in circles or if the land itself tormented him. He dispelled such horrific thoughts and took a seat in one of the structures.

            It wasn't much, only a stone floor and decayed walls, the ceiling had long since been lost to time. The center of the room had a massive symbol etched into it, but the moss obscured it and left it unrecognizable. Twin statues stood at the front of the structure, as though the guarded the interior. However, the statues were also wrapped in moss and looked ready to crumble.

            He sighed, this journey seemed more and more doomed. These ancient ruins held nothing of interest besides lovely scenery. If there was anything of value here, it was taken or lost long ago. He slumped further back, so tired from the long journey. He knew it was about time to gather food and water, perhaps even set up camp for the night. Alas, he was so tired he didn't quite feel up to it. All he wanted to do was rest, or better yet sleep, for a while. The scenery was so serene and peaceful; he felt himself begin to nod off.

            He quickly shook himself back to his sense, this wasn't the time to rest, he needed to move soon. If he stopped like this every time he wanted to sleep, he'd never make it out of this place. With the heavy creak of his bones, he forced himself to his feet and pushed forward. He needed to gather food and water, then he needed to find some shelter. After that, he'd earn his rest, but until then he would keep on the move.

            With some careful steps, he left the ruins behind and returned to the path. He wondered what he'd find to eat tonight. Water would be simple, he could hear a stream flow nearby, but shelter would be tricky. He looked back at the ruins and wished one of them still had a roof. He brushed the concerns aside and walked on forward, with the hope he'd escape this place eventually.

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Even the worst situations will eventually become better (hopefully), but you still need to work your way out of them.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Strange Sci-fi Tales #17 - Time In [#92]

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            Dr. Spark was the foremost authority on time travel, at least he believed himself to be so. After all, he invented a time machine when no one else could. It wasn't a pretty device, it was a bulky monstrosity of wires and tubes, larger than a truck. However, it worked, and that was what mattered. Dr. Spark hadn't done much with it yet, only peeking into times no further than a few weeks prior. However, today he'd perform the real stress test and jump ten years into the past. With great pride, he hopped into his device, locked onto a date roughly ten years prior and started the machine.

            In a flash of color and electricity, Dr. Spark found himself in the middle of a grassy field. As he stepped out of his machine, he quickly realized why. His lab was only built 5 years ago, and before then there was nothing on this land. Happy with the apparent success, he prepared to take some notes until a sudden jolt of energy knocked him off his feet.

            As the good doctor came to, he saw another machine parked beside his own. It was smaller and sleeker, about the size of a compact car. An individual in a lab coat stepped out of the mysterious machine and wore a smug grin.

            "Ah, I was right," the figure laughed, "this is where the 'great' Dr. Spark would arrive in his old clunker. Behold old man, I come from 20 years in the future, and my time machine is far superior to your poorly programmed prototype." Dr. Spark stared on in shock.

            "How demoralizing," Dr. Spark mumbled. Before the figure could gloat further another surge of energy erupted nearby. A third machine appeared, this one no larger than a phone booth. A new person emerged from within, this time it was a woman in a lab coat and goggles.

            "So this is where it all happened," she exclaimed, "where the father of time travel was mocked by some moron in his dinky time car. I come from 30 years in the future, and this is real time travel." She slapped the side of her device. Now it was the figure's turn to stare in shock. Before the moment could sink in, another burst of energy occurred. Instead of a machine, there was a new entity in a suit. It appeared similar to an astronaut's space suit but was somewhat slimmer. The person inside flipped up their visor and smiled.

            "Behold the power of the time suit," the new arrival boasted. "This is what time travel looks like 40 years on; honestly, you guys wasted your time with those dumb machines." Dr. Spark's shock gave way to frustration, he was ready to raise his finger at this obnoxious strange, then another bolt of energy came down. This time the traveler was a woman garbed in only a bulky belt hooked up to an energy pack.

            "Let me guess," the woman smirked, "space boy over there was just gloating about his amazing suit. Yeah well, 50 years into the future we put his bulky waste of space behind us, now the time belt is the way to go." Immediately after she finished her statement, another, smaller, surge ripped out. The new figure was garbed in a t-shirt and slack, with a strange device on his wrist, it was no larger than a watch.

            "Hey, I heard this is where time traveler's compared their stuff, so yeah behold," he brandished his wrist mount device. "Yeah, I rented this at a corner store for $100, that's what it's like 60 years from now." Dr. Spark grew jaded at this point, which helped as several more time travelers arrive in a flash.

            The first was a woman from 70 years in the future who used a ring sized device to time travel. Then a man from 80 years onward arrive, he claimed to have an implant in his body that let him time travel. However, he was cut off by a man from 90 years in the future who boasted time travel was hard-coded into his DNA. Much to Dr. Spark's chagrin, the eight other individuals out of time began to bicker and fight amongst themselves. Each wanted their voice to be heard, so they yelled louder than the next guy. Eventually, a tear in reality tore open, and one more figure walked out. It was a woman dressed in a slick business suit. She stared at the other travelers with a ferocious disdain in her eyes.

            "I come from 100 years on," she explained, "but time is relative, and it means nothing to me. You're all egotistical fools." With a wave of her hand the other time travelers, aside from Dr. Spark, vanished in a flash of blue light. "I apologize for them, Dr. Spark, sometimes people feel the need to pointlessly boast their superiority." She gave him a bow and disappeared back into another portal.

            "You know maybe I'll take my notes later," Dr. Spark rubbed his forehead and retreated back into his own time machine for a nap.

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Even the greatest invention can appear quaint alongside their later incarnations. Although disparaging the original for not having the improvements of later versions is also very quaint.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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