Writing

Here's an interesting writing prompt I found on Reddit.

Every year several hundred thousand people go missing worldwide, the crazies said it was aliens. When you were abducted, you found out they were right. Turns out humans make astonishingly good pets. Not because we're smart or strong or fast but because... we're adorable.

The original thread can be found here. https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/iperh8/wp_every_year_several_hundred_thousand_people_go/

Hello. Hope you are well. I am well too. Although you are going to find this message in a bottle, so to speak, please understand that I am not in any immediate danger. In fact, I quite like it here. I do, however, have to tell my story to whoever listens to it.

My name is Adio. I finished top of my class at the CMU and joined the "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd." in 1999. They were the only industry back home able to pay great salaries. In 2012 I was promoted to captain of the "Adventure of the Seas". I held this position until June 18th 2015.

I know that you are probably not going to believe this. But those alien abductions stories you hear from around the world are true. I was just like you. Unable to believe; brushing those stories aside as crazy people stories. I even scoffed at Daniel Badrick once when he told me. I hope he isn’t as immature as me and forgives me. I will completely understand if you choose to ignore this and move on with your life. Like I said before, I am doing quite well. I have been eating well. Granted the food is not like back home. I have never been a picky eater to begin with. Truth be told, I am glad this happened. It’s almost as if my wishes have been granted. After all, how long was a man just supposed to stare at the stars? Now I travel through them.

On the night of June 18th in 2015 I was on deck with Bardick Devan. At around 3:30am, when things were quiet, we spotted what I now know is the Drroluman transport ship. It was a bright royal blue thing. So elegant. So...... smooth. Bardick and I went out to investigate. I still remember when Bardick shouted out “UFO.... OH MY GOD”. When I opened my mouth to say something to Bardick I felt this force I can’t really put in terms that is in the realms of your experience. But I now know what it was. These people.... yes they are people, have mastered gravity. Because at that moment I was definitely falling INTO the transport ship.

I landed hard. My 44 year old knees stung like shit. I tried standing up but when I struggled, I felt someone’s “hands” picking me up. Gently. I wasn’t expecting that. The shock made me scream. My screams shocked him instead and he roared like some kind of wild cat. I don’t know how long I stared at him, but when I came to me senses the first thing I asked him was “what the fuck are you?”. I didn’t understand anything that came. But this much I knew. He was trying to explain something to me.

And that’s what was so shocking to me. That I knew he was trying to explain something to me. When I was done collecting my thoughts I knew three things.
1. I was definitely inside of an alien ship
2. I was staring at an alien.
3. Other than the fact that they were huge and seemed ungainly, they looked remarkably like people. Shit... I even had an uncle that looked like him.

I have been here, by my count, 2 years and 167 days and this is what I have to report about these people. They are miners. They mine metals, minerals from any place they can lay their hands on. Asteroids, planets, moons, dead stars. Everything. Not in a thousand years humans would be able to replicate the way these people process these mined materials. I am currently riding on a space ship these people made. They seem so ungainly, but god damn, they can build great things. Not to mention their “robots”. God, these things were more human than human. So nimble, so quick. I can't explain it in enough words.

Now the people. In every way they seem like humans. Larger in every way. Larger heads, large body, large legs, large hands, large fingers... you get the idea. Their skin only looks remarkably like ours. But it’s different. Brown with splotches of black here and there. These markings are unique to every individual. They don’t have a discernible body language but they do have a vivid skin language. Laughter for example makes their skin make these beautiful waves of pink crawling all over their body. Like some kind of sophisticated chameleon. Anger makes it go a dull orange. Happiness a bright pink.

I don’t know where these people truly are from, but all they do is travel between star systems, mine and trade it with other people of their kind. I can tell they’ve colonized an many systems and they live everywhere. There are billions of them. Humanity could talk about solving over population all they want, but this truly seems like the answer.

I did figure out why they took me. I am... for lack of a better word... a pet on their ship. Something to distract them from. Something to love. To like. I have a free run on the whole ship. They feed me well. In every aspect they have provided for me. There’s a reason they take us. We look vaguely like them. From their point of view we look like tinier versions of them. Like monkeys. But intelligent. Our voice sounds tinny and squeaky to them and delights them.

I know what you are probably thinking. No. It’s not demeaning in any way. Yes, I am, for all intents and purposes a pet. But these people know what sentience is. They did seem apologetic for taking me. But I was okay with it. Two failed marriages. 2 daughters who don’t want anything to do with me. A fuckton of alimony. Why wouldn’t I choose this over my life back on Earth.

I still haven’t figured how they manage to communicate in space. They don’t seem to be using any radio. All my training at the CMU and I still haven’t found anything that resembles a transmitter or receiver. After months of scavenging I built a radio. I did test it out a couple of times to check if I tripped some alarms, but all seems well. They still haven’t figured I got a radio.

---

Crossing the vast distances across space, the radio waves finally washed over Earth. An empty Earth. If there were any humans left, the year would have been 11,491. But there were none. Poor Adio, all his training at the CMU, and he completely forgot about relativity.

This story was based a prompt I found on Reddit. Here's the original prompt.

Exactly 100 years ago, a massive obelisk appeared in the sky, idle and silent. Only today had it ever finally spoken, and when it did, it only uttered one word: “Complete.”

The original thread can be found here. https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ihvw3n/wp_exactly_100_years_ago_a_massive_obelisk/

Nick stood there astonished at the sight. No amount of photos or reading about the object did it any justice. This was a dream a long time in the making. To come and see the "Pillar of Scilly". He'd saved enough money over the last 6 or so years just to come see this wonder. I am going to remember this for the rest of my life, thought Nick. He couldn't remember the last time he was happier.

No one knew what the object was. Supposedly over a 100 or so odd years ago, the object had arrived from outer space and parked itself some 160 meters above St Martin's Island at the Isles of Scilly. It was definitely obelisk shaped. His friends back home in Greece were right. Nick had no idea why it was called a "Pillar". Maybe because it just floated so commandingly beige and upright. All 256 meters of it.

The plaque next to the enclosure read

"The 'Pillar of Scilly' arrived on Earth June 28th, 1908. No one knows its origins or where it came from. No attempts to communicate or evoke a response from the object has been successful. The object is inert in every way except gravity. The Pillar of Scilly has remained in position 300 meters above sea level ever since it arrived. Originally called 'Gods Column' it was renamed after a vote in 1933 to its present name. The object resists any attempts to extract samples of it for scientific studies"

Nick had seen this plaque on the photos so many times. He clicked a photo of the plaque lazily before resuming photographing The Pillar. The path around the enclosure allowed people to walk around the object and see it from all directions. There was even a helicopter ride that would take you up to the object. £280 the board had read. For a 15 minute ride. He hadn't that much money.

The time was only 10:15 in the morning and he until 5 to get to the boat. Nick was going to enjoy every minute of it just staring at the wonder. Nick was disappointed when his friends didn't want to come. The world had lost interest a long time ago at the object. It had become a part of the landscape. He glanced at the other tourists lazily walking around staring upwards. No one seemed to be asking questions about it anymore. How was it floating? Is there someone inside? Is this a message? A scout perhaps?

Nick took a deep breath and decided to click a picture of the very tip of The Pillar. As he raised his camera to his eye, he felt a breeze. It smelled weird. Electric. A smell he knew so well from all the years as an electrician in Kalamaria. The breeze only picked up in strength. The smell too was now unmistakable. Like some kind of ancient motor had sprung to life. All around the path everyone had stopped and stared at the object. Some had held their noses at the smell.

"COMPLET" came a booming word unmistakably from The Pillar. Nick didn't understand what it said but that's what it sounded like. He looked around inquiringly until a woman caught his eyes and she said.. "I think it just said Complete". "Complete What" asked Nick. She just shrugged.

Nick was delighted he was there to witness the first activity of The Pillar. With a grin on his face, he changed his camera to video mode and started recording. "You guys are not going to believe this" he said in Greek. As he was recording he realized he couldn't keep it in frame. It was shocking to realize that the object had began to move. The grin now disappeared from his face. As he began to lower his camera to look at the Pillar directly he realized the object had gained height. Quickly he raised his camera back at the moving pillar.

The smell had gone fainter but the breeze had definitely picked up. It was as if something big was revving up. There was no noise or sounds or whines Nick was expecting to hear. It was moving away. Moving upwards. It was getting smaller. There was no mistaking it.

The blast knocked the wind out of Nick. The air smelled electric. Everyone standing around the path had been knocked to the ground. As Nick glanced upwards, he could see The Pillar ascending fast. Unbelievably fast. It was like watching a 747 taking off. Nothing this big should be able to move this fast he thought through the breathlessness.

As quickly as the event had started it was over. The "Pillar of Scilly" had simply gone away. Vanished. Where to he couldn't even begin to guess.