Deus ex machina
First story I wrote for a writing prompt:
[WP]
When you die you can stay as long as you want as a ghost. The year is
2028 and the crew of the first human mission to mars has no idea that
the ship is filled with the ghosts of hundreds of scientists, explorers
and intellectuals.
"Entry 1" :
Some say there is a god in the machine. If I were a superstitious man I could swear that I find things moved, small things that in zero gravity could have floated away on their own. When I am alone at my shift in the silence I hear sometimes faint whispers. I can almost make out what they say, though they always remain unrecognisable. Sometimes I see things out of the corner of my eye, I can even feel a hand on my shoulder. There's nothing there though, there never is. We're on our 110th day of our voyage and we have all sacrificed so much to be here! My daughter knows me mostly from our online sessions and I see the sad look in my wife's eyes. It must not be in vain! My sleep is irregular and even though we are only 6 in the crew the ship feels crowded! I find it hard to keep my mental focus so I write in a file hidden in our logs under an unassuming name. I feel a pressure on my shoulders though I know not where to place it. I will not fail, there is too much at stake!
Some say there is a god in the machine. If I were a superstitious man I could swear that I find things moved, small things that in zero gravity could have floated away on their own. When I am alone at my shift in the silence I hear sometimes faint whispers. I can almost make out what they say, though they always remain unrecognisable. Sometimes I see things out of the corner of my eye, I can even feel a hand on my shoulder. There's nothing there though, there never is. We're on our 110th day of our voyage and we have all sacrificed so much to be here! My daughter knows me mostly from our online sessions and I see the sad look in my wife's eyes. It must not be in vain! My sleep is irregular and even though we are only 6 in the crew the ship feels crowded! I find it hard to keep my mental focus so I write in a file hidden in our logs under an unassuming name. I feel a pressure on my shoulders though I know not where to place it. I will not fail, there is too much at stake!
"Entry 2" :
I have learned to live with the voices. They are a part of me now, there to guide me when I am awake. They are my mohalata if I can steal a term from a sci-fi book I once read - a protective union against the darkness and cold of space. I see it now, they whisper blessings and solutions to problems we face. There are a few voices that want the trip to fail but I do not listen to them. They are my subconscious probably, the parts of me that are afraid, happy, sad or eager to reach our destination! The ship hurtles through space unhindered, the failures we had have all been fixed and we were always able to find the best solution. I want to see my daughter and my wife again! I miss them so! I wonder if someone finds this journal if they will think I am crazy.
I have learned to live with the voices. They are a part of me now, there to guide me when I am awake. They are my mohalata if I can steal a term from a sci-fi book I once read - a protective union against the darkness and cold of space. I see it now, they whisper blessings and solutions to problems we face. There are a few voices that want the trip to fail but I do not listen to them. They are my subconscious probably, the parts of me that are afraid, happy, sad or eager to reach our destination! The ship hurtles through space unhindered, the failures we had have all been fixed and we were always able to find the best solution. I want to see my daughter and my wife again! I miss them so! I wonder if someone finds this journal if they will think I am crazy.
"Entry 3" :
10 days left to atmosphere entry. The mood is festive and we are all focused! I feel razor sharp! We have reached our destination. The red planet, Mars, God of War is as beautiful as we have imagined. It is truly exhilarating knowing that we will be the first humans to set foot on the planet. We will walk through the canals of Mars as Schiaparelli saw them through his telescope. We will see if there is a race of martians coveting our riches as Wells imagined them. We will rescue any princesses that we happen to find, but most of all we will give a viable option to Earth where our race can find a home in the future. We are but dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants. All the dreamers, the scientists, all the people that made through their hard work made this trip possible, we would not be here without them. Mars will unite us as a species as nothing else! We will no longer be tribes fighting for a piece of land, we will truly be one people!
10 days left to atmosphere entry. The mood is festive and we are all focused! I feel razor sharp! We have reached our destination. The red planet, Mars, God of War is as beautiful as we have imagined. It is truly exhilarating knowing that we will be the first humans to set foot on the planet. We will walk through the canals of Mars as Schiaparelli saw them through his telescope. We will see if there is a race of martians coveting our riches as Wells imagined them. We will rescue any princesses that we happen to find, but most of all we will give a viable option to Earth where our race can find a home in the future. We are but dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants. All the dreamers, the scientists, all the people that made through their hard work made this trip possible, we would not be here without them. Mars will unite us as a species as nothing else! We will no longer be tribes fighting for a piece of land, we will truly be one people!
"Entry 4 - final entry" :
I have to write this down. I will delete this file as soon as I finish, lest they think me mad but I have to get this off my chest. We were on our final descent though the atmosphere, our calculations finished and our orbit set. While descending we suffered a failure due to inaccurate real-gas modelling. Our angle of entry was skewed and I feared we will lose control of the ship. I tried to re-adjust the angle but the calculations required would have taken too much time. I was sure we would fail and a terrible desperation descended over me! It is at that moment that I swear the rocket changed angle and we continued our descent undisturbed. Our logs recorded a change in course but I did not do it. The others tell me I did it but I know best. I know what I heard! The first time I heard them all loud and clear! Through my headphones that cancelled all noise except radio I heard them whispering from all around me: "Earn this! Make us proud!" I saw their faces, all the people who helped this mission, all who dreamed of setting foot on Mars. I believe their last act was to make sure we get here safe. I have not heard the voices since. I will walk today where no man has walked before. Our new home welcomes us! Have I earned this? Maybe at the end they will answer me.
I have to write this down. I will delete this file as soon as I finish, lest they think me mad but I have to get this off my chest. We were on our final descent though the atmosphere, our calculations finished and our orbit set. While descending we suffered a failure due to inaccurate real-gas modelling. Our angle of entry was skewed and I feared we will lose control of the ship. I tried to re-adjust the angle but the calculations required would have taken too much time. I was sure we would fail and a terrible desperation descended over me! It is at that moment that I swear the rocket changed angle and we continued our descent undisturbed. Our logs recorded a change in course but I did not do it. The others tell me I did it but I know best. I know what I heard! The first time I heard them all loud and clear! Through my headphones that cancelled all noise except radio I heard them whispering from all around me: "Earn this! Make us proud!" I saw their faces, all the people who helped this mission, all who dreamed of setting foot on Mars. I believe their last act was to make sure we get here safe. I have not heard the voices since. I will walk today where no man has walked before. Our new home welcomes us! Have I earned this? Maybe at the end they will answer me.
Author's Notes: Hello! First time writer, hope you like it! Feel free to comment if you feel I could have done something better.
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