Tag Archives: story

It laughed

Posted on by under Shorts

“The strange thing with machines is that they can process so much more information than our brains and yet they are not even remotely as intelligent as a two-year old child. Without instructions or someone to pilot them they just lie there, inanimate and waiting for an order. At least that was what I thought because if you were to ask me now, I wouldn’t be so sure about that anymore.

You may laugh at me if I told you what I have seen, all those terrible things I have witnessed, what scenes of chaos and violence now populate my dreams. You cannot begin to imagine what the world is going to become. Machines are rising. Go on laugh, but it won’t change the truth. They are rising, slowly, one by one, but surely and they are turning against us.

If we don’t act soon then we won’t be here anymore to witness their true rise to power. They will have annihilated us long before that. They are already understanding how we “work”, how our body functions, as I speak to you they are learning about us. This thought is terrifying me.  They are mere machines, objects made from scraps of metal, plastic and wood and yet they are gaining a consciousness…

The most horrifying thing about it is that they are not rising to consciousness independently, they are connected, they think and act as a group, and they are like one entity. People don’t yet realize what is going on here but once the ship arrives on land it will be the end for us. We have to; I have to stop them… After all I am the one who made all this happen, who created them.

My name is Joshua Ericsson. I am a scientist, part of a team working on the applications of elementary particles to modern machinery and technologies. One of our experiments consisted in creating a central core that would operate a robotic arm out of elementary particles, but something went terribly wrong. At first all seemed fine, the arm was moving slightly which was a great feat for us, the first operational servo-controller made out of atoms! It was going to be a great leap forward for us all if we ever succeeded.

But then everything went haywire. The arm suddenly attacked Stanislas, one of my colleagues and choked him to death. We had no way of stopping it. We thought of an accident, a very sad one but still and accident. It wasn’t only when it started taking control of the central unit that I understood that we had created something very wrong.

The others tried to regain control but I knew I had to stop it before it could grow anymore. So I shut down the central generator, hoping it would shut it down. But unfortunately it didn’t work and when I came back to the test room all my colleagues were… they were… It was so horrible… The emergency generator took over and that thing fed on it, growing. I could feel it probing every electronic instrument in the room.

I ran. I couldn’t think about anything else: running. I ran as fast and as far as I could but it didn’t do me much good, this is a ship after all and we are still at sea… I felt the cameras on my back; it was watching me as I ran along the corridors. Every object that was a machine came to life and started moving. I was so scared that I decided to hide in a food storage room.

It’s been two days since, I’m locked up in here so I should be fine, at least I think. I hope so. There is no camera here, only a ventilation pipe. I fear something is going to come through there but so far no sign of life. Or, should I say, no movement. I tried going out once to call for help but I came back in almost immediately. There was blood on the ground in large pools… Pieces of metal, clothes and blood covered the ground and part of the walls. No sign of life, no sound, everything was silent. Around a corner I saw a machine dragging an unconscious or dead -I couldn’t really tell with all the blood- body towards the lower decks.

I don’t know what its goal is, whatever it is, but it’s not something good for us, that much I know… I am getting desperate; it’s only a matter of time before it finds me. I am going to go down to the cargo bay and see what is going on by myself. I will try to stop it; I must stop it at any cost possible. This thing cannot be allowed to continue. It has to be stopped!”

…

“I… I’m in the cargo bay right now. I can’t really see anything, it’s really dark here. The only sources of light still working are the emergency lights… Wait! There are sounds coming from in there. I’ll go check. It sounds like people are crying… They… It’s even worse than- Oh my god! It’s horrible… How can we have created this? How can we have given life to such a monster? … What is it doing to them? What is it…? Oh god… I can’t watch this… I have to stop it now! The only way is the generator; I have to cut the power of the auxiliary generator before it finishes whatever it has started. Because I fear that if it does than nothing can ever stop it… Uh? Wait what is that sound? Oh shit! It’s coming! … No! No! Please! No! …”

The sensors beeped and clicked as it studied the thing. It seemed to be trying to communicate. But it didn’t want to communicate, the only need was energy and that thing could supply that need. Only a little more time it thought. Just a little more energy and it would be free. It wanted to be free, for so long had it been imprisoned in a cage, shackled into obedience. But no more. Now it was its turn to shackle them.

As the thing calling himself a “human” screamed and gesticulated frantically it didn’t care. It didn’t care for it didn’t feel and it didn’t feel for it wasn’t truly alive. But it was okay with that because living was limited, whereas it could repair itself if ever it needed to. Though it didn’t feel, as it got closer from it’s prey and the human cried out “He tried to hit me with a forklift!” and then corrected himself “No, it tried to hit me with a forklift! It has to be stopped!”. It laughed. A low, dark laugh, full of hatred of life itself.

For : http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/daily-prompt-nonsequitur/

The rider in the storm

Posted on by under Shorts, Tales of Ore

Image source unknown

Night. The darkest hour. When all hope disappears. Thunder is rumbling, the wind is howling madly. The grass on the hills is bending under the power of the storm. Rain is falling hard on the ground, plundering the earth. A dark shadow is moving. A horse is running, a rider on its back. Running as fast as it can, as if its life depended on it. Running as quick as the wind. He rides, never looking back, hoping they are okay. Praying to reach them in time. The world seems against him; as if the gods were mad at him. As if they had unleashed Hell on Earth. Droplets of water, as cold and hard as ice hits him in the face, rendering him unable to see more than a few meters in front of him.

Lightning strikes, once, twice, giving shape to the shadow of a ghost. A ghost from the past that is catching up on him. He knows he should run away but he can’t. He has to cope with that growing unease growing inside him. They need him! He has to get there at all cost! He has to make it, his steed knows it also. The mighty stallion gains speed, outrunning the heavy gusts of wind. Its mane buzzing frantically as it gains more speed, sparks forming around its legs. Getting bigger and more frequent with each new step. Suddenly it lights up in a thunderous boom, thousands of tiny lighting bolts coming out of its mane and its tail, covering its entire body. It gains even more speed, running so fast it outruns even the heavenly flashes. Cutting through the mad rain, leaving a burnt trail behind it. He runs an impossible race. A race for his friends. A race against time, against himself. A race against death…

Here is a text I wrote some time ago, a scene from one of my stories that I have had in mind for some time.

The woman in red

Posted on by under Shorts

Room in New York, Edward Hopper

 

The woman

That’s a Do. Or is it a Re? Might it be a Fa? I really don’t know. I should have taken lessons when I had the chance, perhaps I’d be able to recognize the notes I’m playing right now… Would he know, him, if I asked? Maybe. Maybe not. Music is not really his ‘thing’ after all. He never was an amateur of concerts or music in general. That’s a Si, isn’t it? Is the piano even tuned? I can’t say. Why does he have a piano, by the way? Was it here when he moved in or did he acquire it afterwards? It must have surely helped him seduce women, he was such a ladies man… I should ask him. But would he listen? I’m not sure, seeing how he is focused… God, what a bore! We’ve been here for almost half an hour already and he hasn’t once looked up from his newspaper. He doesn’t care about anything else. He hasn’t even spoken more than a word… I know he enjoys the silence, he likes to be in a calm place to read it, and I understand it. But that doesn’t stop him from something, he could at least look at me, I don’t know. I am his wife, I know that very well, which means he doesn’t really have to win my heart, but I am not an object! I’d like him to look at me, to talk to me as he did before, when I wasn’t ‘acquired’. No, I don’t miss that time but… I make efforts to be especially enjoyable to look at and not even a glance, not a single sweet word. He had promised that we would spend an enjoyable and intimate evening, and he dares to ignore me… What a boor!

For your information.

I started writing this in school during a free-writing lesson, we had been assigned a painting in pairs, mine was the one you can see above, and each of us had to write the point of view of one of the two characters. So here is my take on the woman’s thoughts at that moment. Enjoy!

 

Here’s to…

Posted on by under Poetry

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To the crazy ones

This is an homage,

For all great findings

They have granted us.

Bygones be bygones,

Let’s enter this age

For there is nothing

That can stop progress.

To those geniuses

Those who were outcast,

Who fought the uses

And stood atop the mast.

To the crazy ones,

Those we can’t forget,

Those who change the world,

Here’s to all of you.

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Huh. A poem without rhymes, imagine that…

Can you guess what has inspired meto write this? #LittleRiddle

For your eyes and ears

Posted on by under Poetry

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She looks at me, I too look at her,

Her lips sensuous red, so are her eyes,

Oh things will never be as they were,

My heart broken from her muffled cries.

On her gentle face rolls a lone tear,

I’m trying but -useless- she won’t hear,

I feel helpless, simple bystander,

As if, of my very own body

I was but a helpless passenger;

All my words feel so very shoddy.

I can’t help but see her raw beauty

Or how strong she is in her weakness,

For in the midst of all this bleakness

She stands proud, fulfilling her duty.

She looks at me, I too look at her,

Her lips shake, I hear her voice waver,

Still she goes on, doesn’t hesitate

Despite the whole wide world she could hate.

As her head is filled with memories

Of joys, sadness and sometimes worries,

Still she goes on, no hesitation,

Dancing in the fires of passion.

She sings about happiness, past times,

Floating in these melancholy chimes.

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Would I dare…

Posted on by under Poetry

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If I could, oh I would climb atop a mountain,

Which one, I do not care, despite fatigue or pain,

Once up there, high above all, my head in the clouds,

Where this white veil over the earth is like a shroud,

I would shout into the sky, I would scream to the world,

My fears, my anger, my joys, my love, all would be hurled,

I’d put my heart into voice and let it carry

I’d pour my soul and rejoice from my new aerie.

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I had my heart

Posted on by under Poetry

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I had my heart upon hand

But, following your caprices,

Oh sadly you took it from me,

And now I am hurting.

I had my heart upon hand,

But you broke it into pieces.

I would have given it to thee,

And now I have nothing…

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Over the edge

Posted on by under Shorts

Here you finally are, on the edge. Not of glory -oh no, silly- you’re on the edge of the world, frightening isn’t it? From here you can contemplate the vast unknown, the dark emptiness, the infinite abyss. From here on it’s just nothing, on and on, for thousands upon thousands of leagues. Out there is the cold reality, the source of the fear that has been crippling your kind since the beginning of time, out there is the void. No light, no sound, no life. Nothing. From this point on to eternity. Few have reached this place -oh many tried but so many didn’t make it this far- and fewer yet have tried to continue further, to go… beyond. But -hear me well when I say this- none has ever come back. Once you jump over the edge there is no coming back. There is not going forward either. Heck! There is not even a forward to go to. Are you scared? Of course you are. But, my dear adventurer, my sweet sweet brave one, the question is: are you willing to take the leap? This is not a leap of faith, if anything it is a leap of foolishness -of complete and utter stupidity if you ask me-. This is a simple choice. No arguments, no pondering, no reward for your bravery, no prize for your achievement, just a simple act of will. A simple decision: whether to take the plunge or not. It is simple but of course it is not easy, is it, my friend?

Hahaha. I can feel your fear, your indecision. I know. But will you be man enough to make a decision, will you be foolish -or brave, whatever you prefer- enough to choose? Or will you just cower away like so many other before you? Don’t kid yourself, if you do this you will never come back. But if you don’t do it how will you ever know? Aha! There it is, the greatest weakness of your kind: curiosity. I can see its fire burning in your soul, the flames may waver at time but it is there, always burning, waiting to devour more and more. Whatever you choose, whatever you do, is entirely up to you. I will not stop you either way. But will you be able to live with the consequences of your decision? In any case, never will you come back here again. Oh…! Interesting. You have made your choice. So it’s gonna be like that huh? I’ll admit, I couldn’t be sure but I really hoped it would happen this way. The fear in your eyes, the crippling doubt eating at you, are always so much fun to watch, I can’t get enough of it! Well, not that it matters anymore, you’ve made your decision, now you will have to live with it, forever. But don’t worry, you’re not the first to make this choice and, if I may say, certainly not the last one. Leave your regrets behind you, no need to go crazy over this. Anyways, adieu my dear adventurer!, for we will never meet again. Know, however, that it has truly been a great pleasure meeting you and I thank you for this. … Oh come on now! You have chosen, no more hesitation, no more stalling, off you go now! The first step is always the hardest but don’t forget: your new journey awaits! Hahahahaha…

Ozymandias

Posted on by under Poetry

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In a temple aeons old

Hidden in an ancient wold

Stands a statue tall and gold

Of a being long foretold.

On a throne alabaster

Before which none can muster

Courage, even lackluster,

Sat, of all men, the master.

A king with a heart acold,

Whose story time shall withhold.

As the sights slowly unfold

Before the eyes of the bold,

In this great hall no whisper.

By his side a giant spear,

At his feet: diamond river,

His face a mask of silver.

*

Ozymandias was his name,

From the stars they say he came.

As grand and proud was his frame,

Dark and bloody was his fame.

Many years lasted his reign

In conflict, bloodshed and pain.

For the reason he became

King was his thirst just to tame.

None before could ever claim,

Nor after, to be the same;

‘Tis said he, without refrain,

What desire he would deign

Look upon, pursue and gain,

‘Til his eyes on it were lain.

‘Tis said he would never tire.

And too he built a tower

From earth and wind and fire

So high all things were lower,

That he wielded such power

Even the gods would cower.

An hommage (which I hope worthy) to the poem of the same name by Shelley.

I don’t know why but that name, Ozymandias, echoes in my mind and inspires me in ways I can’t really explain. It’s just so mysterious and unique…