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future

A New Eden – a short story

28 May 2021 by villia Leave a Comment

The display read 28 May 2321. It also displayed general information on the outside atmosphere. 77 percent nitrogen, 22 percent oxygen, 0.8 percent argon, and 0.2 percent unidentified gases. Temperature is 22 degrees Celsius, humidity 81 percent.

It is almost the same as Earth’s, Ashley said. Atmospheric pressure is 87% of that on Earth. We should have no trouble breathing here, but we may grow tired quicker, but slightly lower gravity may compensate.

The others were sceptical, but the surroundings looked suspiciously similar to Earth. Trees with deep green leaves, a strange creature shot through the grass-like straws. Some kind of cross between a cat, a dog and a koala. Looked harmless.

I didn’t expect to see mammal-like creatures here, Aron said. He was the commander of the mission and immediately after touchdown; he took the initiative. I’m going into the airlock, no space suit, no oxygen. Lydia, you take command if I don’t make it.

They sealed the airlock and watched as Aron prepared himself. He rolled his shoulders, looked up, took a deep breath, wiggled his arms. Okay, open the outer door.

The door made a whooshing sound as air rushed out. Because of the lower atmospheric pressure, he felt slightly dizzy for a moment, but adapted quickly. The air was fresh, like he’d never experienced before. One small step for us, a giant leap into the future. The grass was soft and slightly damp, and the leaves of the trees made a soft hustling sound in the gentle breeze. What a perfect world, Aron thought. They were here to build a new world for humanity and he fantasised about how it would turn out. The six astronauts were highly intelligent, each a specialist in their field, chosen after extended physical and psychological tests. Earth 2.0 would be a lot more successful than the old world they’d left behind.

He turned and looked at the spaceship behind him. A relic of their old world. The last great achievement before civilisation turned inwards and was forced to react to the climate catastrophe of the late twenty-first century. There were no space missions anymore, no looking to the future. Earth had enough problems to deal with. He imagined they’d probably forgotten about this very mission, Genesis I, launched to explore a promising planet in the Alpha Centauri star system. Scientists had pinpointed this planet in 2176 as very similar to Earth, and a mission was immediately prepared.

The six astronauts would need to find a way to communicate with Mission Control, if it still existed. The findings were correct. This could be a perfect Earth 2.0. A new Eden.

The airlock closed and within a few seconds, the other five were outside. I suppose building a fire should be safe, Lydia said. The atmosphere is similar to ours and the ground isn’t overly dry. Let’s set up camp here.

The days were longer, around 27 hours and a few minutes, but they got used to it. The trees provided excellent building material, and there was enough edible vegetation. Within a few weeks, they were no astronauts anymore; they were settlers. A few exhibitions had revealed a mountain range in one direction and a large lake or an ocean close by. They relocated and set up camp on the shore.

Lydia was busy working on the communications equipment, trying to contact Earth. She and Aron were getting very friendly, while Ben, the biologist, was trying his best with Ashley. Ben laughed about them being Adam and Eve, and that they would create a new humankind. Ashley shrugged it off. Spoiling this world with humans was the last thing she was interested in. The more she learned about this new world, the more absurd the idea was. Wounds left by chopped trees angered her. The houses they built didn’t belong here. What if they managed to contact Earth and thousands, or millions of people arrived here?

Would they destroy the forests? Would native species go extinct? Would the oceans become acidic and die?

The idea was unbearable.

It was on the evening of 29 August that everything changed. Three months and a day after planetfall, two camps later, Ben made his move. Aron and Lydia were off for a walk along the shore when Ben put his arms around Ashley. She resisted, but he grabbed her tighter. You know you want it, babe. We are Adam and Eve and without us, this world will die. He slipped his hand down her trousers while holding her. She couldn’t move. She tried to fight him off, but he was stronger. He finished what he’d started and rolled over. Ashley lay in the sand, tears running down her cheeks. Aron and Lydia were far away and the other two were at the spaceship. She was alone in this alien world.

Rage was building up in her. Ben had violated this peaceful world, violated her, destroyed what they had. Their duty was to build a new human race, to populate a world that didn’t need or want them. She realised everything would be the same, women would be subdued, raped, abused. The planet would be exploited. Rage got the better of her. She grabbed a stone and struck Ben on the head. He screamed and raised himself up, his hair soaked in blood. Ashley panicked, didn’t understand why she’d done this. Regretted the whole thing and wanted to apologise, was ready to give in to anything that was expected of her. He attacked her, grabbed her throat, pushed her to the ground. She had no choice. Still holding the rock in her hand, she struck again. This time, he fell to the ground. Ben was dead.

She sat there for a few minutes, crying over what had happened. To her and Ben. How the mission was now in jeopardy. What kind of justice system did they have here? None, they would have to improvise. How would they punish her?

Something moved in the bushes behind her. A large animal with enormous teeth approached her. Ashley stood up and walked slowly backwards, towards the water. The animal made growling noises, and she almost tripped. Then it focused its attention on Ben’s corpse and ripped it open. Another animal appeared and joined the first. They were scavengers, not interested in her.

Ashley ran through the forest to the old camp, found the space ship. She was in panic. Lucy and Simon, the two scientists on the mission, saw her approaching. We made a breakthrough; they exclaimed. The incubator works. The fertilised eggs are responding. We should have around fifty babies in nine months. Enough for genetic diversity, enough to create a new human race!

Ashley smiled and entered the spaceship. Looked at the faint glow at the back, at the glass tubes. The embryos were still just a handful of cells, invisible to the human eye. Nobody would notice.

This is the twenty-first installment in the Moments series

Filed Under: Short Stories, Writing Tagged With: alphacentauri, future, moments, scifi, short stories, short story, space

I’ll See You in My Dreams – a short story

5 February 2021 by villia Leave a Comment

He knew it as she put the coffee mug in front of him. She pierced deep into his eyes and stirred a little too slowly. He smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible. How could she know? She couldn’t. It was impossible. The authentication system was fully biometric. There was no way anyone could look into his account and see what he’d been up to. Not even his wife.

‘How was it?’

‘How was what?’

‘Who is she?’

‘Who is who?’

‘Where did you go with her?’

Images of a faraway sandy beach flashed before his eyes. The warm breeze, the gentle waves crashing against their feet and the soft sand between their toes. The blood red sunrise, the gentle warmth as the rays hit their naked bodies. Running hand in hand, falling into the cool surf and making love. It happened in his dream and there was no way she could know.

‘Was it a colleague? An actual person or an avatar? I can understand an avatar, but if she’s a genuine person, if you went there with somebody else… Was it somebody real?’

‘I’ve been here all along. I work from home, I was in bed with you, sleeping. What are you talking about?’

‘How do you explain this?’ She projected a receipt onto the kitchen wall.

In Your Dreams, it said. It was a rental service, much like the old movie streaming services they used to have. They marketed it as a sleeping aid. You could rent dreams before going to bed and be guaranteed a good sleep. Their holiday sceneries were popular. You fell asleep and found yourself on a beach or in a forest, on a mountain top or on a boat, sailing the oceans. Every week, they added new scenes. ‘It’s a receipt from In Your Dreams. You use it as well.’

‘This.’ She pointed at a subitem. Away Together. ‘Who were you with?’

He hadn’t thought of it showing up on the receipt. It was innocent enough; you rented a dream and invited others to join. ‘I thought it would be a good idea if we went away for a night. I bought it for you.’

‘You woke me up. You were moaning and groaning and you were fully aroused. You weren’t counting pigeons on a square in Rome. You were with someone and you had sex.’

What could he say? They’d been married over 20 years. He had never cheated on her. He wasn’t even sure if this qualified as cheating. Surely, dreaming with somebody wasn’t a crime? Yes, he had invited a young female colleague to join his dream, and yes, they had run together in the sand and made love on the beach. They’d been all alone, because that’s how it works in those dreams. Nobody saw them, nobody knew, they hadn’t met in reality. ‘I don’t know what I look like when I sleep, but I was asleep in my own bed. How can I be cheating on you?’

It didn’t help. She stormed out, shouting something about staying with her mother and that she wanted a divorce. She’d been threatening with it for a while now, and it looked like she meant it this time. It was a dream, goddamn it, he thought to himself. A dream. Nothing more.

As the front door slammed shut, he poured himself another cup of coffee and looked out onto the street. It was quiet. It was always quiet. Nobody went outside these days. Life happened in a virtual reality, in a chair with a headset on. You sat down, put that thing on your head and were instantly at work, in the supermarket or wherever you wanted to be. The supermarket was especially convenient. There were no other people, and the products you normally bought were lined up at the front. You just touched them and they were in your basket, then delivered to your house within ten minutes. The gym was good too; they put you in a beautiful location and the algorithm fooled your brain into burning calories as you virtually ran, swam or climbed. The latest addition, sharing your experiences was great, as you could invite people to come along. What was the harm in that?

He finished his coffee and sat down in his work chair, leaned backwards and put on the headset and goggles. He was in his office and so was she. She looked at him and smiled. ‘Thanks for last night.’ She kissed him passionately, and he felt her body push against his. She looked into his eyes. ‘I have this report you need to look at. You know where to find me.’ She smiled and left the office.

This story is the fifth installment in the Moments series

Filed Under: Short Stories, Writing Tagged With: adultery, dreams, future, moments, short stories, short story, technology

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