Whispers of a Species

At times when the worries of school and social life fail to bother me I find myself contemplating about the Universe and my existence as a part of it. The notion of space travel fascinates me like nothing else. However, I am soon plunged into a dark abyss of depression as I come to the understanding that I'll never have the chance for such magnificent voyages. But who am I to blame for it?

Here's a little narrative I wrote...




Whispers of a Species

        With the recent implementation of Core-Whisper engines at the turning point of the New Year, slipstream travel had been improved by 25 %. Stability and safety were no longer a concern. However, such matters where always of little concern to Barbas. He had been on 6 flights to the outer reaches of Sol in the past 5 years scanning Thebe, Adrastea, Amalthea and several other natural satellites of Jupiter. It had all been child’s play: simple research. But with the aid of this new generation hyper-drive flux engines, Barbas had finally been accepted for interstellar exploration, something of a dream until now. These colossal engines function by ploughing through a dimensional subdomain colloquially known as "Slipstream space"  using particle accelerators in order to generate billions of micro-black holes. Project Orion had become a reality.

        Barbas ran through hundreds of physical and mental exercises as the year grew old. Only one week remained until launch day. After one late night of anti-gravity exercises, he decided to take a stroll outside before heading to his sleeping chamber. The brisk, cool, midnight air was like no other. Since the turn of the 22nd century, earth had begun to renew many of its natural environments and resources. The Dark Century had certainly taken its toll on the precious planet. Half a century ago, on this day, the human species was pushed to the crumbling edge of extinction, as it teetered on that precipice, staring down into the abyss, a hand reached out and pulled humanity back from the brink, the hand of science. Poverty, oppression and corruption had ceased to exist. Only the very edges of New Pangea had yet to be restored.

       At long last, launch day had arrived. Barbas could not have mentally prepared any further. With such ambitions, he was well suited for such space travel. Stepping out of Command Centre, Barbas was ready to begin. With the energy of a thousand suns, the shuttle entered slipspace right there in earth’s atmosphere. The shattering waves would spread for kilometres. But in that blink of an eye, Barbas and his crew were already light years away, where if they were to return, time dilation would greet them with a collapsed solar system: the remnants of a capable species. Such relativistic space flight will begin a new age for humanity, making the universe accessible to a now advanced civilisation. However, such thoughts only fuelled the determination of Barbas and his crew. Only those that embark on the journey hold the future of humanity.

       After two months since the beginning of the journey, the shuttle approached Sentry Omega within the constellation of Cygnus. These outskirts of the Milky Way where home to the destination planet, Kepler 22B. Barbas could not help but think about the vast and endless possibilities. The findings of intelligent life forms could tirgger the start of an advanced interspecies community, to push humanity towards boundless opportunities!

“But suddenly, a giant three eyed monster jumped out of a star and began to fire lasers at Captain Barbas’ ship! The crew struggled to keep the shields on as th-

“Cody!  I told you to come down for dinner. I’m not going to tell you twice. Now get down here before I break your toys!”

And so, Cody went downstairs to eat his vegetables and inevitably live his dull and meaningless life only to lose his innocence and ambition for space travel. In such an age of ignorance and stupidity, Cody will never satisfy his hunger for the cosmos.