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Short Stories Science Fiction The Star Sailor
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The Star SailorThis story may contain adult content. |
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| Written by Robert Quintin Penn | |
| Thursday, 17 April 2008 | |
“Alright then. Clark and I will do a quick sweep of the vessel while you two prepare your hyper-sleep pods.” I said to the two women. We all went our separate ways, two and two.
It was amazing, but once again our grandfathers' grandfathers' ideas of space travel in the upcoming centuries were off. I recall as a kid hearing about a film all the way back from 1979. They had a space ship, or rather, freighter in it. My father saw it on the international network, but I never did. He said that the design of the freighter was inefficient. Deck after deck, very dark, barely anyone aboard. How could only seven humans keep track of such a large thing? As a kid it did not make any sense to me. Now in 2136 I was aboard a space freighter with three other people. The reactor is my favorite thing about it. We can leave the solar system and return without having to fuel up. Sure we have a computer. You could call it a crew member. And let us not forget the sleep pods. Get in, cool down, and the months fly by. We got our payload from Europa and now for the dangerous part: getting back to Earth in safely. Being off by just a bit and that is it.
What can happen in a century, even half a century. 2040 we successfully put a man on Mars. By the end of the century we had routine space flight, from the Earth to the Moon. Just recently they started building a colony on Mars. Still, I have a fear of isolation. We were in the Jovian system, millions of miles from home. But on the other hand, once you are on Mars, you are staying there. I made my choice.
“Where should we start, Gordon?” Clark asked, with apathy. Instead of answering him I began walking to the back. He followed wordlessly. As we came closer, the hypnotic hum of the reactor came to our ears. Opening the hatch, the intensity doubled, bringing about an uneasy feeling. “Check the output.” I said quietly. Clark unenthusiastically went forward, mumbling. My thoughts turned back to Natasha. For about a hundred and fifty years, America and Russia have been the two most powerful countries in space exploration. And even then it was mainly men alone that went up into the cosmos. To think it would have been heretical at one time to have two genders on the same vessel, let alone two people from different countries. My how things change. History, social norms, and technology. Oh how they fascinate me.
“Fuel is at 79%. Power output at 10%.” Upon hearing this, I frowned, having my thoughts interrupted. “Bring it up to 15%. I want us through the belt as quick as possible without causing damage to the payload.” He did as he was told. “Once you are finished with that, we need to check navigation, automatic, as well as back up systems.” Clark mumbled something, but the noise of the reactor drowned it out.
“We should reach Earth a few weeks ahead of schedule thanks to that boost. I've set the computer to lower oxygen output for the decks and direct them to the pod room after everyone is accounted for. Lights too. Life support is go.” I told Clark. “Gorden, why do you even check this stuff? You know that it will automatically do all of this later. Besides, I already know how this hunk of metal runs.” I turned to face him. “Sure they are programmed to automatically perform these tasks, but I want to know full well that they will do them.” “Whatever.” With that said we began to walk back, ready to enter hyper-sleep.
I recall my first time in space. Most normal males would fantasize about losing their virginity at such an age. At the age of sixteen I fantasized about orbiting the Earth, the origin of all life as we know it. The G-forces hit me, the rush of speed came to me. Then the feeling of weightlessness followed. Looking down upon the blue shining orb of a planet, I saw the great continent of Africa. It was then that I realized how puny us humans truly are. Hours later, I saw the scarred face of the Moon. That would have been my equivalent of losing my virginity. My so-called “right of passage.” Instead of having my cherry popped, my mind was enlightened. I had finally left Earth and escaped into the great beyond, a place that humans were never destined to go. From a simple bi-pedal ape to a master of his domain, man has done things that God never intended, but allowed nonetheless.
“You going to stand there?” My assistant inquired as I stood there, staring off into the obscured vacuum of space. Wordlessly I walked into the sleeping chambers. Natasha was already asleep in her pod, as well as Ellen, both peacefully unaware of us as we entered the room. “Before you turn in, make sure you relief yourself of any built up waste.” I said. Clark turned and said shaking his head, “You will never let me live that down, will you?” at which point he left.
Removal of the jumpsuit was quick and easy, the boots too. I folded my uniform and placed it in my locker, the boots on the bottom half of it. From there I prepped the sleep pod. The glass raised up, allowing me to enter, but I didn't. I hesitated. Something made me stop.
Looking to my left lay young Natasha. Leaning down over her, I put my hand on the glass covering her. Oddly I had developed an affection for her. I could do nothing more than stare at her. The model 05f sleeping suit covered most of her torso, ending at a thin strip that went between her smooth legs. At taking in this fact, I found my affection suddenly turn to lust and desire. Thankfully, Clark had returned from his business. “That's against company policy. You should know better, sir.” “Oh shut up you son of a bitch. It is not what it looks like.”
“Oh really? Than what is it?”
“Never you mind.”
“Admit it, it is what I think it is.”
“Like that time you pissed yourself.”
“Not that again.”
“ 'Trust me, it ain't piss!' Frankly your answer ruined any further investigation.”
“Why would you even want to know?!”
“As you would often say, 'whatever.' I'm turning in.”
I turned to look at my so called bed, which more closely resembled a coffin in my opinion. Clark grunted as he turned to his. Slowly, I laid myself down upon the white fabric, the pillow seeming to form, mold, and caress my head. Then the glass came down over me. The air around me began to cool rapidly. My breaths became slower and fewer. Looking through the glass, I saw something move. I kept my eyes open long enough to see the thing come closer. What in the hell was it? It came right up to my pod. Fear gripped me, but I was beginning to close my eyes. I tried to speak. “Hoe....lee....shee-” Then I lost consciousness.
Comments (8) |
 04-17-2008 23:13, Are you doin mre of these?You should, good. » Reply to this comment...  04-18-2008 09:25, IM hook...like thirteen said,,make this a continuing story...i need conclusion. » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s)  04-18-2008 11:33, “Hoe....lee....shee-” Where's the rest :-) » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s)  04-21-2008 16:30, I like to think the last thing he saw natasha awake and coming to him for a kiss! Other wise its too scary, nice work of science fiction Robert » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s)  04-22-2008 10:44, Ha, this was like "Alien" and "Sunshine" ('s) hybrid child. I especially like you when you write in 1st person point of view; it's when your writing is the best. I liked this one a lot, it was very well-written and self-explanatory (that is I was able to understand the setting perfectly). I was drawn into the story as well. Very, very good job! » Reply to this comment...  04-22-2008 10:45, Oh, and I on the other hand would NOT like you to make a continuation; it's great as it is. » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s) 04-22-2008 10:47, Uhh, the comment that starts with, "Ha, this was like "Alien and "Sunshine" ('s)... was written by me. » Reply to this comment...  04-24-2008 13:31, hyper sleep pods.. coolio » Reply to this comment... |
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