Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta asteroid. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta asteroid. Mostrar todas las entradas

lunes, 13 de marzo de 2017

The space around

   Space has always been the same: cold, unwelcoming and largely boring to watch. That is because, despite how big it is and how many natural phenomenon happen all around, some parts, most parts, are just empty space surrounded by that black veil tinted with stars. People who decide to work there are either adventurers or simply the ones that never got what they wanted and now have decided its time to sacrifice body and mind for the greater good of humanity.

 Every “day” it’s the same thing: waking up to realize you are in space, alone and bored. Then you have some breakfast, normally one of those dehydrated foods that need some water drops to transform into something a little bit tastier. Then, it’s time for hygiene and cleaning of the facility. Most of the time, it’s all about mopping and sweeping all around, nothing interesting like discovering asteroids or observing one of the many wonders of the universe. That’s for others to do.

 Stevenson had been assigned to that quadrant and to that station almost one year ago. He was really looking forward the year to be completed because he would be eligible to be replaced and send to some other planet or station, hopefully one where boredom is not a cause of death. Inexperienced people, as he was at the start, normally get to monitor the boring areas of the universe. The ones that people know about and admire, those are normally assigned to more popular areas of the territories.

 As he sweeps and mops, Stevenson likes to put on some music and dance to it while he does his chores. Many days, not caring much about the security cameras and the visual diary he must keep, he takes off all his clothes and walks around naked, doing everything he normally does only that with not one fabric over his body. Is not really a statement or something funny to do, but just the fact that people get bored really fast and easy when nothing happens around them.

 One of those naked days, Stevenson was preparing dinner. It had been another uneventful day for him and he was looking forward to his weird sleep. For dinner, he made a sandwich, which he had to create in the microwave. When he was eating, one of the emergency sirens started. It was a very loud noise and he had never heard it. Actually there were many things he didn’t really know about the station and he normally learned on the way. He went to the command center but it wasn’t clear what had happened. The siren was turned off and no reason was found for its activation.

 However, the onboard computer declared that the siren had been activated through movement in a forbidden area but it couldn’t really tell what actually moved. Stevenson thought it was a moving cable that wasn't working anymore or maybe it was something worse. He had heard of parasites bigger than fists infesting stations all over the place. Of course, they weren’t creatures that lived in space, but they attached themselves when stations were built or launched into their positions.

 He decided to check everything before going to sleep. He spent several hours on the computer, checking everything on the corresponding monitor and holding the station’s manual on one hand to verify he was doing all he standard procedures correctly.  It took hours but at the end of it all he didn’t find any actual proof something had moved anywhere around the ship. He also found out there were no parasites. The ship was in perfect shape, working like a well-tuned clock.

 As he walked to his room, he thought about the possibility of something actually exciting happening there. He had been alone for long, so bored too, that he had been excited because of the siren. It was scary at first, but it made him feel alive and useful, instead of useless, which was what he felt every single day of his life. As he covered himself with the bed sheets, he looked one last time to his window and wondered if he would ever feel like more than just some lost guy.

 Stevenson had a nightmare: it was about him running all around the station. He was running away from something but he never saw in the dream what it was. But it had to be something really scary because he could feel on his body when it came too close. It was a very tense situation. He would scream sometimes and run. He would also get into areas of the stations that didn’t actually existed. Then, whatever was after him finally caught up with him and jumped and it was then when he woke up.

 Not only the scare woke him up, but also the fact he had fallen from his bed, covered in sweat. He took all his clothes, what he used as a pajama, and threw it on the bin that was actually a washing machine. He had never experienced that kind of nightmare. It had really been scary. He even realized his face was covered in tears when he removed his t-shirt. He decided to get into the shower, as even cold water would help getting his ideas in order and all of the bad thoughts out of his mind, at least for while. He needed to feel calm once again. But that didn’t last very long.

 As he walked out of the shower, the alarm was activated again. This time the computer was able to tell him way with one word: asteroid. He ran still naked and wet to the command center, holding a towel on one hand. Stevenson put the towel on the chair and sat on it and then pushed some buttons and wrote some words in a keyboard. He was chatting with the computer. On a screen, he got an image of whatever it was that had activated the alarm. He had to enhance the quality because it was very small.

 Indeed, it was an asteroid. It had a very classical shape and was travelling slower than most asteroids did. But that wasn’t the reason the alarm had been activated. In the last few months, he had encountered other rocks like that one. The difference this time was that all the instruments onboard the ship had detected life on the rock. Some form of life was around or inside that asteroid and he had to be able to get it for himself as that would be his ticket to a much better life.

 The station couldn’t really move but he did have a vehicle for outside exploration. He ran to the hangar, put on some piloting clothes and hopped into the small vehicle, which was shaped as a tennis ball. The idea was to grab the rock and carry it back to the station with the mechanical arms the vehicle had. It shouldn’t be hard as the rock was not that big and he only needed some pieces. So he went out inside the ball and navigated bravely towards the floating rock.

 An incredible velocity pushed it though space but it was too slow for asteroid standards. So breaking it a little bit shouldn’t be hard at all. He started doing so when a powerful sound almost made him deaf. It was coming from the station, another alarm. He had to complete his work fast with the asteroid first, so he decided to use a laser to extract a good chunk of it. His operation on the rock was successful and he was able to take a very good part back to the station, where the sound seemed to get stronger.


 Apparently, it was an urgent message and that piercing noise was the way to get it through. He was surprised to see it was not only a short written message that said, “Stand by”. He didn’t really understand. Besides, his mind was with the rock he had just brought back. But then, the alarm ended and a screen that had never worked had been turned on. There was a face there, it was his boss. He was pale and looked very skinny and tired. He declared they had encountered something and that, whatever it was, it had attacked them. He failed to explain it further. But his next phrase was the one who made Stevenson feel heavier: “The Earth has been destroyed. Don’t come back”.

lunes, 6 de octubre de 2014

Keljbalāh

It was a small moon, orbiting a hot, unwelcoming planet. Keljbalāh was all green, spotted with blue lakes and small settlements all around. No more than one million Keljbalans lived on the small moon. They were mainly farmers and enjoyed a simple life. They worked only to feed themselves, each family receiving a crop. It wasn't a property as such. The whole moon was their property, of every Keljbalan. If someone had a bad crop, their neighbors would help them. No problem, no ulterior motives, no evil.

Keljbalans had light yellow skin, due their conception of "mush". Mush grew all over and could be cooked into hundreds of dishes, combined with fruits and vegetables grown on the dark side. Most people lived in the light side but they thought that, with basic technology, they could bring light to the dark side and so they did.

Keljbalāh was peaceful, never having wars of any kind. They did have disease but the species was intelligent and used their natural resources to take care of the sick. Poverty was unknown as well as richness. They were advanced but preferred to be at ease, enjoying their time alive.

One day, however, the moon witnessed a historic event: an eclipse. They didn't occur often but, when they did, every Keljbalan would look to the sky and thank the Sun for everything he allowed to exist.

The day of the eclipse many people gathered with their families, on fields, mountains and arounds lakes, to contemplate the all mighty sun. In a matter of minutes it turned black and many gasped and screamed and laughed. The moon was all dark for a time. People held hands and kissed and hugged. It was their most special event.

The the sun returned to its normal state. But something was wrong. Some of the Keljbalans interested in astronomy, where looking at the sun with telescopes. And what they saw when the planet left was very strange.

In a matter of minutes every person knew, as no secrets existed on the moon: a small object, apparently increasing size with the passing of minutes, was detected in front of the Sun. The object was not another planet as its shape was similar to the arrows some Keljbalans used to hunt flying animals when in the forests.

Now, every person had to go home. And they all thought about the same thing that night: what's the object? Other people? A small moon? Some kind of transport?

The answer came two weeks after the eclipse. The ship, almost exactly like an arrow, landed near the largest settlement. And did nothing for a whole day. People from every part of Keljbalāh came to see it. The hull was silver, a color not many Keljbalans had seen, only the miners. The apparatus had some windows around, but no one to be seen.

The following day, a big door no one had seen before, opened and a ramp was deployed. People that had stayed to see more of the sip, gather close but not too close. From inside the sip, two creatures stepped out. Different from Keljbalans, their skin was light blue and they were tall and with big eyes. Slids insted of a proper nose and three toes on each feet and three fingers on each hand. They wore capes, the same colors of the blueberries that grew by the lakes.

The creatures then bowed and it appeared it was hard for them. Not because they didn't want to but because of their large bodies.

  - We are Xysperians. We are explorers. We spent a day before coming out as we were learning your   language and your physical traits.

Everyone was a bit scared but mostly intrigued. The creatures seemed peaceful and decent. No one understood how they had learn to breath and speak in a day but more questions arose.

Some villagers took them to take a stroll around the fields and up to a hill from were the largest lake in Keljbalāh could be seen. They explained their history to the explorers and they just listened.

The following days, more Xysperians came out of the ship. They said they were from a planet with a dim red sun and that they had explored the galaxy looking for other life forms. They had thought, for a time, they were alone.

Keljbalans asked them about their planet, their traditions, their food. And Xysperians did the same. They shared meals, jokes, work and stories. And the two species rapidly became friends.

After on week, the Xysperians got back to their ship and stayed there for another whole day. They told the Keljbalans they had to meet and talk about some important issued and that they would now soon enough the results of their discussion.

Not just waiting this time, Keljbalans thought their new friends might leave soon. So every single Keljbalan came to the valley were the ship had landed and organized a feast, like no one had seen in years on the planet. They wanted to give the best to their friends.

The following day, Xysperians enjoyed the feast. The food was delicious, and it was accompanied with dances and tales and laughs. Everyone had a great time.

But when the food was almost disappeared, the visitors told their hosts they had important news to share with them: they had come to this system as they had detected life with their scientific knowledge. They had actually detected life in at least a hundred other places in the galaxy. But they had chosen to visit Keljbalāh as another discovery led them to.

An asteroid was coming and would hit Keljbalāh planet with strength. The Xysperians thought that event would finish life in the moon, rendering it barren, if not destroyed.

It was hard for the people of the moon to pass from great happiness to that hollow feeling you have after receiving terrible news. The Xysperians said they would share every piece of information with them as they revealed the reason why they had come to Keljbalāh: they wanted to save them.

So for the next ten years, Xysperians and Keljbalans worked together to build three massive ships and then they had a day called Koflar: the day of ripping. The day they had to leave the place that had given them everything. Every single one of them left something on the ground, a memory that would stay there forever.

They boarded their ships and the Xysperians led them to a new planet, a place where they would relocate close to their new friends, to built something even better for everyone. Due their extraction from their home world, all Keljbalans developed blue lines on their bodies, different from everyone. They said they were there to remember them of their origins.

Twenty years after, the asteroid hit the planet and debris hit Keljbalāh, transforming it into a ball of rock, with no life or heart. The planet, however, slowly became habitable and it appeared to be the new hope of this system.