[BBOT] Break on Through

"We must act swiftly, or the world as we know it will change forever," intoned the leader solemnly, pinioning every member of the executive council with his icy stare. "You have no idea how bad it is getting, hour by hour. And even worse, how bad its going to get."

Silence. Silence in the boardroom. The board members sat rigidly, faces unmoving masks of stable banality. Meanwhile, inside, each was was scrambling frantically around his own mind, attempting to put out the fires of panic and to position himself with a plausible excuse that would entail the minimum personal responsibility.

Disgusted at this all-too-familiar boardroom scene, the leader pounded on the table. "WAKE UP!" he hissed. A few close to him flinched involuntarily. That was good, but nowhere near good enough. "STATUS REPORT!," he barked, More flinches. Good. Maybe we're finally getting somewhere. "GIVE ME THE STATUS REPORT. WHERE IS THAT OLD SCIENTIST?"

From out of the darkness, an ancient, bent-backed scientist hobbled forward and took his place at the quiet table. "Sir, it is as you have described. The gusher is...growing larger, it seems. And there are strange...substances. New, unknown substances make up most of the gusher."

"What kind of substances?" growled the leader suspiciously.

"Some kind of...liquid. Definitely heavier than oil, and much heavier than natural gas. And a mixture of..other gasses. Very peculiar atomic compositions. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think it's indicative of..." The scientist hesitated.

"What? Tell us." The leader was grim.

"Well...this will sound crazy, but I think there may be some form or even multiple forms of, ahem, unknown life on the other side. And an entire environment we've never, ever suspected."

At this the boardroom finally erupted. "Preposterous!" "Outrageous!" "What kind of addled madness..." "Where did you find this scientist?"

Even the leader had to admit it was a more than bit far-fetched, to say the least. Sure, he'd heard the rumors, the old legends, and the ravings of crackpots..even seen a few fuzzy images suggesting *something* strange on the other side of the rupture in the heavy rock -- something even the media wouldn't report because it was all too much.

"I think we can dispense with the half-baked conspiracy theories, doctor," he said gently, as the hubbub around the table subsided. "What we need are answers. Solid, practical answers. Science."

The leader had long trusted the experienced scientist, but perhaps the poor fellow was finally growing senile in his old age, he thought sourly. After all, everybody knew nothing could survive beyond the outer rock. Everybody knew that no life could exist outside of a pure oil and natural gas envirornment. How would such life be able to breathe without oil surrounding it? The ancient tales of "water" and the even stranger "air" beyond were just that -- tales for children. And legendary intelligent, two-legged beings such as "mankind" were simply too farfetched to even consider. What kind of creature could survive with fewer than seventeen legs, anyway? It would topple over in the first stiff methane gust!

The outer curve of the rock dome marked the end of a cosmos composed almost entirely of oil, natural gas, methane, sand, and stone -- everyone knew that. Whatever the source of the terrifying gusher and exotic new substances, the answers would be found solely through science. Bizarre ancient superstitions about "water" and "air" (not to mention deranged musings on two-legged beings) had no place in a rational mind. Shaking his fifty-seven heads simultaneous in the utmost gesture of contempt known to his species, the leader pronounced the final verdict on the alarmist talk. "Enough of this nonsense. Let's get real."


[edit on 6/18/10 by silent thunder]

Now that was awesome.
Loved it.
Well done.

Aw man that was just sweet.

How the hell am I going to top this.

This made me laugh out loud when I got to the reveal.

Good job!

I loved the twist at the end! Fantastic job!

Woo Hoo!!!

An absolutely delightful read!

Now that was very well done

reply to post by silent thunder


I actually read this story when you first posted it silent thunder. I loved it. What a twist on reality! To think of another species suffering the fate of man's mistakes make me really wonder. I loved it, seriously. The title is awesome as well!

I loved it!

It's EXCELLENT, my friend and wow, all I can say it's awesome!