For all the horrors and the head-tiltingly weird that JO’s weekly stream visits upon my brain, every once in a while, there’s something awesome. Things like this, that just make me remember what it was like as a kid, reading Asimov and watching Star Wars and Star Trek and wanting so badly to be in space, feeling all at once immeasurably tiny and yet still not unimportant. Space is amazing. And I, though tiny, am a part of this amazingness and I just want to see more of it. All of it. Even when it’s awful, even when it’s so beautiful it hurts. It’s amazing.
… And then I remember that I’m a ridiculous little human being with no real space-applicable skills, and we’ll likely not see my faaaavorite science fiction/theories within my lifetime (AI-robot BUDDIES 5EVAR, and O'Neill Cylinders FFFF YES THOSE ARE BOTH AWESOME) because not everyone has my interests, and humanity’s priorities as a whole don’t seem focused on space anymore, and AI probably won’t reach science-fiction levels for me because I’m not that lucky, and…
Oh, well. It makes for good winding-down music before bed. Which is where I should be right now, rather than rambling into the void of Tumblr.
A Collin’s Gem miniature edition of The Universe, a 4 ½ inch book about space by Pam Spence. It’s a great, I can easily imagine it being a full-size coffee table book. Plus, unlike most of my Collin’s Gem books, it’s not even a dictionary!
Yes, this was her master. Her master without the many years of destruction and corruption. She didn’t dislike this master, though it felt weirdly like betrayal. Except it wasn’t, not really. It was all very confusing. She lifted a pen from the cup near the register and scribbled on the back of her receipt her address and her cellphone number and slid it across the counter toward him.
With a wink, she took her goodies and headed out. Her outward confidence betrayed her inner conflict. Watching him all these months, he seemed content in his “new” life. How could she tear that away from him and thrust him back into the conflict with his former siblings up in space? Yet Abrasax Industries was his birthright. The company was in limbo, fifty years after his death, and she was doing all she could to stall Kalique and Titus from taking over. But there was only so much she could do, especially from earth.
She returned to her small home, greeted by her eternal companion. The petite feline was nearly as old as she was, kept alive, like her, by RegeneX. Her date was hours away, so she lazed about before getting ready. Her sundress was fun and fluttery and on her feet, pointy heels. The clothes she wore on earth were vastly different than those she wore while in Balem’s employ; less leather, for sure.
As the clock hit seven, she stared a hole into the front door.
He was on cloud nine. It felt like AGES since he was last on a date, and that had ended disastrously. Nobody was into space nowadays, even with the new settlement on the moon being planned or the new space station over the Indian Ocean. He’d been called a space nerd for loving space more than things others considered ‘important’, like going on dates, partying, and buying the most recent electronics. So his experience with dating was pretty much nonexistent. He had a feeling, however, that tonight was different. Tonight was going to be special. He clocked out ten minutes after his shift and hurried back home, where he showered and dressed. Nothing fancy: just a smart dress shirt, well-pressed jeans, and a leather jacket and matching shoes.
David had memorized her address and number, but he brought the receipt just in case. He was a minute or so away from her house when it happened: a big, blue spotlight shone right on top of him, followed by loud explosions. His eyes widened as the concrete exploded a few inches from where he was, and he raced to the front entrance of Hoku’s apartment building. Were they targeting him? It sure felt like it.
The distinct hum of hovercraft could be heard ( impossible, he thought ) followed by shrill gunshots being fired. David stumbled into the lobby and up the stairs. He didn’t trust using the elevator, which left him with no choice but to run up the several flights of stairs until he reached the correct floor. Hoku’s apartment was at the very end of the hallway, and he banged right into it in his haste. He hadn’t heard gunshots yet, but he DID hear the sound of a large moving object rushing up the stairwell.
“Balem!”
Pressing his back against the door, he knocked ( more like banged) on the wood, falling and hurriedly crawling inside in his haste.
