A Brutal Waking Up (short story)

Napping…. napping, the nectar of gods ! If you have never had one, had this few minutes or hours of sleep during the day, you’ll never experienced one of the most beautiful life experiences.

A nap can be risky thought. If you sleep too much, you wake up, and it feel like you’re about to finish you day with a light hangover. It passes after one or two hours. But still, it’s annoying. That’s why I’ve set a up a clock, and a habit of taking a nap at the same hour everyday.

Once you got the rhythm of it, that your body and brain is used to it, this little sleeping time is a blissful and welcomed gift you give to yourself.

I had this habit for almost two years. Never felt this good. I was better at my job (what? A napping employee is actually a more performant asset at the job? Don’t tell this to Jeff B… well, he probably doesn’t exist at this time anymore…), felt less anxiety and stress, more happy and, well, alive. Truly alive. I’ve pushed my body and mind too much for years, and now, I give them this afternoon break. Treat yourself right? Well…

Today… or… Yesterday? Or years ago? The last one seem more likely…

Listen, I’ve just taken a nap right? At the usual hour, 2 P.M. Set my alarm for 3:30 P.M. although I generally wake up before the alarm ring. That alarm is just here to avoid sleeping too much and wake up with that hangover feeling.

Well, I got woken up by the clock today… I guess I was more tired than usual, it’s rare but it happens now and then.

But as I woke up, I could smell smoke and this awful smell of rotten meat. I rose up immediately thinking that something was burning! The building? My oven (even thought I barely cook with it)? A neighbor who has gone insane et burned himself hoping to take the whole building down with him? We never know in those days…

Those thoughts appeared in a matter of second. Then I finally took the time to look around.

My flat was wrecked! Dust everywhere, filling the air, rust was all over my furnitures, weeds was growing on my floor which was cracked, as so were the wall. They were holes in them! And damn, it was cold! My windows were shattered, the celling was cracked as badly as my floor.

What the fuck right? My first thought was that a tornado just passed… while I was asleep! How?! How?!

But I got up and walked carefully to the nearest window, trying my best to avoid to step on the most damaged area of the floor.

What I saw through the window? Devastation! There was barely nothing left standing of my city, of… fucking everything! I could see the horizon, it was impossible before… everything seemed to have been leveled… the forest I used to drive through to get to work, that huge pines trees forest had disappeared. Everything… it was burned down. This was just rubbles…

I don’t know why I speak of this as something from the past… it is still the same as I share this with you.

And the most baffling, for me, is that I can’t pick up anything… I tried to go outside… my building is the only things standing, and I live on the second floor. I’m not to high up, I could jump on the rubbles and then… we’ll what I’m trying to tell you is that I pass through walls… I can’t touch anything, I don’t feel anything from my fingertips… but I’m cold… it seems like I don’t have a body anymore… But I can see it! I can touch and feel my arms…

You maybe are wondering how I’m able to write this… well, technology. Talk to write. But I can’t hear my voice, I don’t know how… but my phone can hear my voice.

I’ve just checked my phone and I have realize that even thought it still works, no date nor hour are available… nor signals…

Help me. Please. Tell me you know what happened. Tell me you can see me. Come, I beg you!

TELL ME I EXIST!

Jaskiers

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

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

—

« – 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