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Into the 121st Century (collaborative writing project)
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For the following, please, if you like, write the next chapter and then someone else can take it from there. Changes in style don't matter and could
be explained in some creative manner.
A red light was blinking on and off to the sound of his heartbeat, while a visiscreen of his brainwave patterns revealed a steady climb from the delta pattern of deep sleep through theta, to alpha and then the beta rhythms of wakefulness. It was like being resurrected into a high tech coffin.
Bob looked around and attempted to deduce his true circumstance. "Where am I?" he croaked, as if he hadn't used his own vocal chords for millennia (although by his own clock, 987 years would be more precise), and then it all came flooding in like an epiphany of the newly resurrected. "Oh, my, God!" he rasped weakly.
"Oh my God! I'm back!" he exclaimed, more forcefully, as his bodily systems started booting up. He proceeded to press the appropriate release button on his coffin-capsule, liberating himself into, "into what?" he again whispered to himself (he'd always had a habit of talking to himself when anxious or unsure of himself) as the sleep-pod opened with a whoosh.
"Well here goes nothing!" croaked Bob as he prepared to step out (not an easy task when you've been in suspended hibernation for almost 1000 years) into the 'domain' of one hundred and twenty first century Earth. Thanks to relativity, while his journey took 987 years, on earth 10,000 years had elapsed, from Bob's perspective in the blink of an eye. "As least I'm well rested!" he said to himself with a nervous chuckle.
The little red light now began to blink in rapid succession to signal the sudden spike in his heart rate, and the brain-wave pattern on the visiscreen signalled that he was in either a state of near-panic, or absolute exhilaration, or both, at his newfound circumstance on the far side of the "deep sleep" as they called it when he swallowed the neuropill almost a millennia ago. Both, it was both. He was both freaked right out, Bob was, and yet more excited that he'd ever been even as a young child on Christmas morning. This was it! He'd made it!
"I made it!" he said, as if to no one in particular, or to any other person as might exist, or not. None of that mattered to him at this point however, as much as his curiosity demanded that he find out the state of the world in the 121st century.. He was ALIVE!
"This is TRIPPY!" he said to himself, gingerly placing first one leg and then the other on the floor, and, with a shaking hand on the rail of his sleep-pod, Bob slowly stood up to face an unknown future the likes of which he could not possibility have imagined for the life of him.
Although he'd spent almost his entire fortune to make this possible, Bob was also now a very rich man, as he'd invested wisely.
"Let the fun begin!" Bob said in his Texan drawl. "Future here I come!"
Into the 121st Century by ATS creative writers..?
A red light was blinking on and off to the sound of his heartbeat, while a visiscreen of his brainwave patterns revealed a steady climb from the delta pattern of deep sleep through theta, to alpha and then the beta rhythms of wakefulness. It was like being resurrected into a high tech coffin.
Bob looked around and attempted to deduce his true circumstance. "Where am I?" he croaked, as if he hadn't used his own vocal chords for millennia (although by his own clock, 987 years would be more precise), and then it all came flooding in like an epiphany of the newly resurrected. "Oh, my, God!" he rasped weakly.
"Oh my God! I'm back!" he exclaimed, more forcefully, as his bodily systems started booting up. He proceeded to press the appropriate release button on his coffin-capsule, liberating himself into, "into what?" he again whispered to himself (he'd always had a habit of talking to himself when anxious or unsure of himself) as the sleep-pod opened with a whoosh.
"Well here goes nothing!" croaked Bob as he prepared to step out (not an easy task when you've been in suspended hibernation for almost 1000 years) into the 'domain' of one hundred and twenty first century Earth. Thanks to relativity, while his journey took 987 years, on earth 10,000 years had elapsed, from Bob's perspective in the blink of an eye. "As least I'm well rested!" he said to himself with a nervous chuckle.
The little red light now began to blink in rapid succession to signal the sudden spike in his heart rate, and the brain-wave pattern on the visiscreen signalled that he was in either a state of near-panic, or absolute exhilaration, or both, at his newfound circumstance on the far side of the "deep sleep" as they called it when he swallowed the neuropill almost a millennia ago. Both, it was both. He was both freaked right out, Bob was, and yet more excited that he'd ever been even as a young child on Christmas morning. This was it! He'd made it!
"I made it!" he said, as if to no one in particular, or to any other person as might exist, or not. None of that mattered to him at this point however, as much as his curiosity demanded that he find out the state of the world in the 121st century.. He was ALIVE!
"This is TRIPPY!" he said to himself, gingerly placing first one leg and then the other on the floor, and, with a shaking hand on the rail of his sleep-pod, Bob slowly stood up to face an unknown future the likes of which he could not possibility have imagined for the life of him.
Although he'd spent almost his entire fortune to make this possible, Bob was also now a very rich man, as he'd invested wisely.
"Let the fun begin!" Bob said in his Texan drawl. "Future here I come!"
edit on 12-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
World Creation Ideas
Note: If you wish to write a paragraph or two or a chapter or two, you are absolutely more than welcome to do so. Please don't be shy, it doesn't matter. This is all just for fun and enjoyment.
Just head it (your piece) with a subtitle for your chapter, and we can integrate into the storyline and the world.
I'm going to offer up some possibilities here in terms of world creation or the framing and context of 121st century Earth, and some ideas of the kind of predicaments that poor Bob might get into and the magnitude of the paradigm shifts that he's about to undergo.
If you would like to add to the world creation component without writing a chapter, that too is welcome, maybe just title that - "World" or "World Creation" or something to set it apart from the ongoing storyline, and then you can speculate until the cows come home (are there still cows?) about what human life experience might be like 10,000 years from now..
World Creation
These are just suggestions and ideas only that I'm throwing out there, as this type of "world" has endless possibilities.. so let your imagination run wild.
- Contact with ET Civilizations took place at some point (of your choosing), so we're into a type of "Long Earth" scenario, but in the real world Cosmos. The implications of this are, well, unlimited.
ie: In this world, it's discovered that sheep are not indigenous to the Earth, as but one example of the kind of thing we're looking at.
- It factors in the adage, "what was loosed on earth was loosed in heaven and what was/is bound on earth is bound in heaven also" (with the word "heaven" interchangeable with cosmos). This isn't Biblical fan fiction, but that framework for ancient history could be drawn on if you like ie: "we were waiting for you Bob for a very long time.." (said ominously).
"As above, so below" would be another way of looking at it, whereby the actions of people like the Pharaoh, or Hitler, had the farthest reaching implications ie: if Hitler had won WWII, the Earth and humanity would have been slotted for destruction by becoming a potentially world-destroying species in violation of the Prime Directive (see my sig for ideas about the implications of that if you like) once FTL transit was discovered by a future Einstein who worked out the TOE including quantum gravity, whereby the newest iteration of E=MC2 unleashes the power to destroy whole worlds and thus threatens the very fabric of intergalactic civilization.
- Comedy: Bob, from his POV, is really quite insane relative to the world he finds himself in, so there's limitless possibility for humor ie: his investments had long ago been given to charity and he's now into a radically different society and civilization where money no longer has any meaning or purpose.
As a result, one of the first places he could end up might be in the future equivalent, of a mental ward.. where he's being interviewed and "brought up to speed", yet in such a way that he's not able to corroborate his story (took a sub-light speed rocket trip around the sun).
To them he's an enigma, and almost certainly, mentally ill.
So he doesn't get the kind of reception and fanfare that he'd expected as a very wealthy celebrity time traveller..!
Therefore, somehow all evidence of his ship must vanish... which may have been done as a prank by an outlaw alien species who've secretly invaded earth and violated the Prime Directive by taking on human form in every way but one.. and where poor Bob is really at the center of a cosmic drama, the likes of which would make any paranoid schizophrenic appear entirely sane by comparison.
The "doctor" at the future mental ward then might not even be who and what he appears to be either.. (also humorous, but serious).
In other words, Bob from Texas, who inherited an oil fortune and blasted off into space (plausible, within this century), simply won't be able to or will have an exceedingly difficult time navigating this world, all the while being the sole object of a terrible conspiracy of the farthest reaching proportions and implications both for humanity and for the Intergalactic Federation of Civilized Worlds, so while being very humorous, the implications are also very very grave, making what was funny even funnier.
Comedic Sci-fi, and everything else under the suns.
That's an idea anyway, but a fun one..
Ok, I'm going to leave this thread alone now for a while and come back in a couple of days and see if anything's happened or started, and then if there's nothing, I'll keep writing, but it would be better if everyone starting doing it, oh what creative writing fun that would be, and it could go on and on and take on a life of it's own.
Note to ATS writers and readers,
I'm sure this has been tried many times, but you gotta try and just have faith in people, so that's all I'm doing, trying to get it started nothing more, and otherwise give away the ownership of the story to ATS and you the ATS members and whoever writes and/or who reads what's been written, so this isn't my thread, any more, or I hope not.
Counting on you to take it from here, and then someone else to add to it their bit. It wouldn't take long.. it will be fun..?
Best,
Ankh
Note: If you wish to write a paragraph or two or a chapter or two, you are absolutely more than welcome to do so. Please don't be shy, it doesn't matter. This is all just for fun and enjoyment.
Just head it (your piece) with a subtitle for your chapter, and we can integrate into the storyline and the world.
I'm going to offer up some possibilities here in terms of world creation or the framing and context of 121st century Earth, and some ideas of the kind of predicaments that poor Bob might get into and the magnitude of the paradigm shifts that he's about to undergo.
If you would like to add to the world creation component without writing a chapter, that too is welcome, maybe just title that - "World" or "World Creation" or something to set it apart from the ongoing storyline, and then you can speculate until the cows come home (are there still cows?) about what human life experience might be like 10,000 years from now..
World Creation
These are just suggestions and ideas only that I'm throwing out there, as this type of "world" has endless possibilities.. so let your imagination run wild.
- Contact with ET Civilizations took place at some point (of your choosing), so we're into a type of "Long Earth" scenario, but in the real world Cosmos. The implications of this are, well, unlimited.
ie: In this world, it's discovered that sheep are not indigenous to the Earth, as but one example of the kind of thing we're looking at.
- It factors in the adage, "what was loosed on earth was loosed in heaven and what was/is bound on earth is bound in heaven also" (with the word "heaven" interchangeable with cosmos). This isn't Biblical fan fiction, but that framework for ancient history could be drawn on if you like ie: "we were waiting for you Bob for a very long time.." (said ominously).
"As above, so below" would be another way of looking at it, whereby the actions of people like the Pharaoh, or Hitler, had the farthest reaching implications ie: if Hitler had won WWII, the Earth and humanity would have been slotted for destruction by becoming a potentially world-destroying species in violation of the Prime Directive (see my sig for ideas about the implications of that if you like) once FTL transit was discovered by a future Einstein who worked out the TOE including quantum gravity, whereby the newest iteration of E=MC2 unleashes the power to destroy whole worlds and thus threatens the very fabric of intergalactic civilization.
- Comedy: Bob, from his POV, is really quite insane relative to the world he finds himself in, so there's limitless possibility for humor ie: his investments had long ago been given to charity and he's now into a radically different society and civilization where money no longer has any meaning or purpose.
As a result, one of the first places he could end up might be in the future equivalent, of a mental ward.. where he's being interviewed and "brought up to speed", yet in such a way that he's not able to corroborate his story (took a sub-light speed rocket trip around the sun).
To them he's an enigma, and almost certainly, mentally ill.
So he doesn't get the kind of reception and fanfare that he'd expected as a very wealthy celebrity time traveller..!
Therefore, somehow all evidence of his ship must vanish... which may have been done as a prank by an outlaw alien species who've secretly invaded earth and violated the Prime Directive by taking on human form in every way but one.. and where poor Bob is really at the center of a cosmic drama, the likes of which would make any paranoid schizophrenic appear entirely sane by comparison.
The "doctor" at the future mental ward then might not even be who and what he appears to be either.. (also humorous, but serious).
In other words, Bob from Texas, who inherited an oil fortune and blasted off into space (plausible, within this century), simply won't be able to or will have an exceedingly difficult time navigating this world, all the while being the sole object of a terrible conspiracy of the farthest reaching proportions and implications both for humanity and for the Intergalactic Federation of Civilized Worlds, so while being very humorous, the implications are also very very grave, making what was funny even funnier.
Comedic Sci-fi, and everything else under the suns.
That's an idea anyway, but a fun one..
Ok, I'm going to leave this thread alone now for a while and come back in a couple of days and see if anything's happened or started, and then if there's nothing, I'll keep writing, but it would be better if everyone starting doing it, oh what creative writing fun that would be, and it could go on and on and take on a life of it's own.
Note to ATS writers and readers,
I'm sure this has been tried many times, but you gotta try and just have faith in people, so that's all I'm doing, trying to get it started nothing more, and otherwise give away the ownership of the story to ATS and you the ATS members and whoever writes and/or who reads what's been written, so this isn't my thread, any more, or I hope not.
Counting on you to take it from here, and then someone else to add to it their bit. It wouldn't take long.. it will be fun..?
Best,
Ankh
edit on 12-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
Nice plot, very conducive to collaborative writing...should it not be in this forum though...?
www.abovetopsecret.com...
This is the short story forum and some collaborations tend to run and run...
Just a thought.
S+F
Regards midicon.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
This is the short story forum and some collaborations tend to run and run...
Just a thought.
S+F
Regards midicon.
edit on 12-9-2016 by midicon because: (no reason given)
Awaken to new surprises / problems.
Bob stumbled out of his medi-check chambre and decided to find some food. He easily remembered how to navigate the labyrinth that was his ship, but also wondered (not for the first time) Why did I fund such a large vessel? He made his way into the kitchen and was horrified that all the food other than a toothpaste like field ration had disintegrated eons ago. So he grabbed a tube of his ration goo and headed for the flight deck.
Upon arriving at the flight deck he decided that he truly was a fool for not spending that extra $200 million on a ship's AI, or at least a couple million on some simple droids. He was well and truly alone, well except for that pestering orange light above the far left console. Orange? What did orange mean again? "Oh blessed tornadoes! I just woke up and am making contact!"
Just as Bob was bringing up his external cameras to see what was out there, his ship lurched to a stop. A written message appeared on his screen. It appeared somewhat garbled but surprisingly was in human language well somewhat. It was more a mixture of human languages Great, that's all I need . . . aliens who learned to communicate with people by listening to broadcasts from multiple countries. I guess I better get to interpreting it.
The message read: "Vessel arrette vamanos! Junbi shimasu pour boarding. Yame!"
Hmmm . . . well it only appears to be two or three languages. "I see some Spanish, ok I'm good with that, and I recognize some of my highschool French, but what's this other script? Chinese, Japanese? Oh well I'll figure that out later." He made a brief translation of: "Vessel stop now! ???? for boarding. ????"
Not much option now do I? Seeing as you already stopped me.
Bob started to walk starboard to the hatch, but was surprised to find three beings on his ship coming onto the flight deck as he turned around. Even more surprising was that they were human. They didn't just look human, they were human. He didn't know why he knew this, but he just did.
. . . (continued to be) . . .
Bob stumbled out of his medi-check chambre and decided to find some food. He easily remembered how to navigate the labyrinth that was his ship, but also wondered (not for the first time) Why did I fund such a large vessel? He made his way into the kitchen and was horrified that all the food other than a toothpaste like field ration had disintegrated eons ago. So he grabbed a tube of his ration goo and headed for the flight deck.
Upon arriving at the flight deck he decided that he truly was a fool for not spending that extra $200 million on a ship's AI, or at least a couple million on some simple droids. He was well and truly alone, well except for that pestering orange light above the far left console. Orange? What did orange mean again? "Oh blessed tornadoes! I just woke up and am making contact!"
Just as Bob was bringing up his external cameras to see what was out there, his ship lurched to a stop. A written message appeared on his screen. It appeared somewhat garbled but surprisingly was in human language well somewhat. It was more a mixture of human languages Great, that's all I need . . . aliens who learned to communicate with people by listening to broadcasts from multiple countries. I guess I better get to interpreting it.
The message read: "Vessel arrette vamanos! Junbi shimasu pour boarding. Yame!"
Hmmm . . . well it only appears to be two or three languages. "I see some Spanish, ok I'm good with that, and I recognize some of my highschool French, but what's this other script? Chinese, Japanese? Oh well I'll figure that out later." He made a brief translation of: "Vessel stop now! ???? for boarding. ????"
Not much option now do I? Seeing as you already stopped me.
Bob started to walk starboard to the hatch, but was surprised to find three beings on his ship coming onto the flight deck as he turned around. Even more surprising was that they were human. They didn't just look human, they were human. He didn't know why he knew this, but he just did.
. . . (continued to be) . . .
a reply to: JDeLattre89
Close Encounter
Seeing them standing their dressed up from neck to toe in what looked like real expensive workout tights, with no apparent means of having boarded his ship while in transit, made Bob more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockers.
And while they certainly looked human and were definitely human, there was something in the way they looked at him that gave him a very nervous feeling indeed, sumth'n in the eyes. For a moment he fumbled for his pocket for the prepared speech he'd written, but dang that was supposed to be for his address to the whole world who, according to the "time capsule" agreement he'd signed with good 'ol Elon at SpaceX, should have already been anxiously awaiting his arrival and indeed ought to have been following his progress all the way along at not less than 50 year intervals. Bob, you see, was a regular rock star when he was preparing to leave Earth (nuth'n money can't buy) for his long trip around the sun, and he fully expected to be even more famous upon his return.
The bright Orange light was supposed to detect ET contact, in the event that he might be able to "hitch a ride" to the stars. like screw Earth if the opportunity presented itself to explore the stars with some friendly and benevolent alien race, so when that option was presented, Bob was of course quick to pay the extra 10 mil for that particular feature, but when he'd signed his name to the whole thing, a chill went down his spine and he'd felt like a possum trotted over his grave. Elon, who was friendly enough during the negotiations (deal total went to over a bil 5, as in BILLION), then shook his hand with a wry grin but darned if he didn't slap the back of Bob's hand so hard as to make it sting.
Green. It was supposed to be a green light to herald his arrival back at Earth, his home.
These three steely-eyed unfriendlies represented neither benevolent ET's nor a warm welcome party, who were supposed to enter by the aft port that Bob liked to referred to as the ships anus, much to Elon's chagrin at the time.
Nevertheless, they did appear to Bob to be first rate aholes, so with a chuckle to himself, but not without near #eing his pants, Bob summoned up his courage and walked straight up to them and, even though they looked like they ate supper before they said grace, in his most charming Texan drawl (it had worked wonders on the ladies back in Houston), Bob said, "Howdy folks! You mind telling me why you're on my ship and how in the heck you climbed aboard? Who do you represent and on who's authority are you here?"
In response to which, if their eyes weren't creepy enough, they grinned at him, but darned if it wasn't like they weren't grinning in a friendly greeting like you'd expect at such a momentous occasion at this, with he like the Prodigal Son returned home at last (and without any whoring while away, although he did blow his entire fortune on this venture), but grinning as if to themselves at a joke that he wasn't in on, and worse than that, a joke, at his own expense.
These folks were meaner than a junkyard dog. They looked like the type that would start a fight at the drop of a hat, and drop the hat themselves.
Bob tried to regain his composure and was about to give them a piece of his mind when he seemed to lose his mind altogether, because in an instant, the ship was gone and next thing he knew, if he knew anything at all, he was staring face up at a white ceiling in a shiny white room, unable to move a muscle, because he was strapped down tighter than a, than a... as the white turned to darkness.
Bob was out like a light had been switched, and, in his newfound little white cell, he dreamed...
TBC..
Close Encounter
Seeing them standing their dressed up from neck to toe in what looked like real expensive workout tights, with no apparent means of having boarded his ship while in transit, made Bob more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockers.
And while they certainly looked human and were definitely human, there was something in the way they looked at him that gave him a very nervous feeling indeed, sumth'n in the eyes. For a moment he fumbled for his pocket for the prepared speech he'd written, but dang that was supposed to be for his address to the whole world who, according to the "time capsule" agreement he'd signed with good 'ol Elon at SpaceX, should have already been anxiously awaiting his arrival and indeed ought to have been following his progress all the way along at not less than 50 year intervals. Bob, you see, was a regular rock star when he was preparing to leave Earth (nuth'n money can't buy) for his long trip around the sun, and he fully expected to be even more famous upon his return.
The bright Orange light was supposed to detect ET contact, in the event that he might be able to "hitch a ride" to the stars. like screw Earth if the opportunity presented itself to explore the stars with some friendly and benevolent alien race, so when that option was presented, Bob was of course quick to pay the extra 10 mil for that particular feature, but when he'd signed his name to the whole thing, a chill went down his spine and he'd felt like a possum trotted over his grave. Elon, who was friendly enough during the negotiations (deal total went to over a bil 5, as in BILLION), then shook his hand with a wry grin but darned if he didn't slap the back of Bob's hand so hard as to make it sting.
Green. It was supposed to be a green light to herald his arrival back at Earth, his home.
These three steely-eyed unfriendlies represented neither benevolent ET's nor a warm welcome party, who were supposed to enter by the aft port that Bob liked to referred to as the ships anus, much to Elon's chagrin at the time.
Nevertheless, they did appear to Bob to be first rate aholes, so with a chuckle to himself, but not without near #eing his pants, Bob summoned up his courage and walked straight up to them and, even though they looked like they ate supper before they said grace, in his most charming Texan drawl (it had worked wonders on the ladies back in Houston), Bob said, "Howdy folks! You mind telling me why you're on my ship and how in the heck you climbed aboard? Who do you represent and on who's authority are you here?"
In response to which, if their eyes weren't creepy enough, they grinned at him, but darned if it wasn't like they weren't grinning in a friendly greeting like you'd expect at such a momentous occasion at this, with he like the Prodigal Son returned home at last (and without any whoring while away, although he did blow his entire fortune on this venture), but grinning as if to themselves at a joke that he wasn't in on, and worse than that, a joke, at his own expense.
These folks were meaner than a junkyard dog. They looked like the type that would start a fight at the drop of a hat, and drop the hat themselves.
Bob tried to regain his composure and was about to give them a piece of his mind when he seemed to lose his mind altogether, because in an instant, the ship was gone and next thing he knew, if he knew anything at all, he was staring face up at a white ceiling in a shiny white room, unable to move a muscle, because he was strapped down tighter than a, than a... as the white turned to darkness.
Bob was out like a light had been switched, and, in his newfound little white cell, he dreamed...
TBC..
edit on 12-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
a reply to: midicon
I went and checked that out over there. Cool placed for dedicated writers, but you have to have writing status to post and be assigned a project, whereas I was thinking of something a little more participatory by any and all who might want to contribute. So this is the right place, although I wish I didn't change the title from "Into the Future", but then again, by specifying right in the title that we're talking about 10,000 years from now, helps set the stage for Texan Bob's comedic and enlightening adventures in the 121st century.
I went and checked that out over there. Cool placed for dedicated writers, but you have to have writing status to post and be assigned a project, whereas I was thinking of something a little more participatory by any and all who might want to contribute. So this is the right place, although I wish I didn't change the title from "Into the Future", but then again, by specifying right in the title that we're talking about 10,000 years from now, helps set the stage for Texan Bob's comedic and enlightening adventures in the 121st century.
Visions of Grandeur
In his dream, Bob was the sole object of a TV interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN.
It was the last thing he'd watched before dropping his neuropill and climbing into the sleep-pod. In fact, he'd watched that interview so many times, he practically had it memorized so it's little wonder that it would replay itself now, in his dream-life.
He and Anderson were on a stage, surrounded by a live audience, like one of those Town Hall setups they sometimes did during a Presidential Campaign.
He was in his element, and tipped the edge in his 10 gallon cowboy hat (he had a relatively large cranium which he'd once read was a good indicator of a superior intellect ie: bigger brain, more brain power) in favor of a particularly attractive female admirer in the front row, who gave him a wink and a nod in return, which was very satisfying. Bob hadn't been laid in a coon's age and if there was one thing he needed to do before hitting the hay for a 1000 years, that was first things first and last things last on his bucket list.
Anderson: "So Bob, tell us. If you actually make it and return in 10,000 Earth years, what do you think will be the first thing you'll do when you get there or back here I should say?"
Bob: (to audience laughter) "Check my investments to see how I made out while I was away."
Anderson: "Are you concerned that when you wake up things will have changed so much that you won't know what to do or how to act? I mean if we had a time traveller from 10,000 years ago, wouldn't they be at a bit of a loss as to what's going on here in the early 21st century?"
Bob: "Not really. Some things never change, especially human nature. Don't matter how long ya wait, it'll still be mostly all about sex and money" (to more laughter).
Anderson: "Aren't you scared Bob? Your ship is slotted for takeoff in just three days. I don't know about you, but i'd probably be having second thoughts right about now.."
Bob: "Wellp, the way I see it is that this life is like a winning ticket to a universal lottery. Everything's a risk, and this here's one risk worth taking as far as I can tell. Also, all the data that I've seen tells me that there's nothing to worry about. Elon over at SpaceX has assured me that they've covered every possible contingency and as you know, a test flight around Saturn was already completed and "Bob", the monkey aboard (I really wish they'd given him another name), he passed all his tests when they woke him up, so I'm not worried at all about the suspended animation aspect.
The most difficult and challenging technical issue I guess was the shielding in case of any space debris, however small, particularly when I hit the 70% speed of light limit, but that too has been resolved with the discovery of the Higgs field projector, so there really ain't nuth'n that can hurt me or the ship while it circles the solar system. Nope, ain't nuth'n gunna stop me now!
I suppose the only hesitancy I might have is in saying good bye to ya'll", as he darted a conspiratorial glance at young blondie in the front row.
Anderson: "Well Bob, we wish you all the very best. The whole world as you know is watching and we'll be keeping tabs on you with the time capsules, each to be opened once every 50 years, for the next 10,000 years. By the time you return home, you'll probably be more famous than the Beatles and Jesus Christ put together.."
Bob: "For the amount of money that I'm spending to do this, I'm counting on it!" (more laughter, they all loved him).
Anderson: "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bob, the world's first time traveller!"
At this, and this was his favorite part, everyone in the audience gave him a standing ovation, but Bob had his eye on only one of them who's flushed cheeks told him everything he needed to know.
While he slept, a slick monitor outside his sparkly white room indicated a slight rise in heart rate, testosterone levels, and penile tumescence.
The white-clothed technician monitoring this from his station made a little note on his screen, and snickered to himself.
TBC..
In his dream, Bob was the sole object of a TV interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN.
It was the last thing he'd watched before dropping his neuropill and climbing into the sleep-pod. In fact, he'd watched that interview so many times, he practically had it memorized so it's little wonder that it would replay itself now, in his dream-life.
He and Anderson were on a stage, surrounded by a live audience, like one of those Town Hall setups they sometimes did during a Presidential Campaign.
He was in his element, and tipped the edge in his 10 gallon cowboy hat (he had a relatively large cranium which he'd once read was a good indicator of a superior intellect ie: bigger brain, more brain power) in favor of a particularly attractive female admirer in the front row, who gave him a wink and a nod in return, which was very satisfying. Bob hadn't been laid in a coon's age and if there was one thing he needed to do before hitting the hay for a 1000 years, that was first things first and last things last on his bucket list.
Anderson: "So Bob, tell us. If you actually make it and return in 10,000 Earth years, what do you think will be the first thing you'll do when you get there or back here I should say?"
Bob: (to audience laughter) "Check my investments to see how I made out while I was away."
Anderson: "Are you concerned that when you wake up things will have changed so much that you won't know what to do or how to act? I mean if we had a time traveller from 10,000 years ago, wouldn't they be at a bit of a loss as to what's going on here in the early 21st century?"
Bob: "Not really. Some things never change, especially human nature. Don't matter how long ya wait, it'll still be mostly all about sex and money" (to more laughter).
Anderson: "Aren't you scared Bob? Your ship is slotted for takeoff in just three days. I don't know about you, but i'd probably be having second thoughts right about now.."
Bob: "Wellp, the way I see it is that this life is like a winning ticket to a universal lottery. Everything's a risk, and this here's one risk worth taking as far as I can tell. Also, all the data that I've seen tells me that there's nothing to worry about. Elon over at SpaceX has assured me that they've covered every possible contingency and as you know, a test flight around Saturn was already completed and "Bob", the monkey aboard (I really wish they'd given him another name), he passed all his tests when they woke him up, so I'm not worried at all about the suspended animation aspect.
The most difficult and challenging technical issue I guess was the shielding in case of any space debris, however small, particularly when I hit the 70% speed of light limit, but that too has been resolved with the discovery of the Higgs field projector, so there really ain't nuth'n that can hurt me or the ship while it circles the solar system. Nope, ain't nuth'n gunna stop me now!
I suppose the only hesitancy I might have is in saying good bye to ya'll", as he darted a conspiratorial glance at young blondie in the front row.
Anderson: "Well Bob, we wish you all the very best. The whole world as you know is watching and we'll be keeping tabs on you with the time capsules, each to be opened once every 50 years, for the next 10,000 years. By the time you return home, you'll probably be more famous than the Beatles and Jesus Christ put together.."
Bob: "For the amount of money that I'm spending to do this, I'm counting on it!" (more laughter, they all loved him).
Anderson: "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bob, the world's first time traveller!"
At this, and this was his favorite part, everyone in the audience gave him a standing ovation, but Bob had his eye on only one of them who's flushed cheeks told him everything he needed to know.
While he slept, a slick monitor outside his sparkly white room indicated a slight rise in heart rate, testosterone levels, and penile tumescence.
The white-clothed technician monitoring this from his station made a little note on his screen, and snickered to himself.
TBC..
edit on 12-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
World Note:
Thinking of the implications of an intergalactic interdependent framework in terms of human evolution, it could be that a number of evolutionary trajectories took place at certain points in time during the 10,000 year gap, and, that were anticipated long before that.
Within a non-local, holographic universe, the human being, although the least evolved, technically, and in terms of their understanding of the TOE (theory of everything) ME (moral equivalency), nevertheless was, as the most recent evolutionary adaptation in favor of sentience (where it could be said that the last are first and the first, last), the physical embodiment of the apex of the Tree of Life. Who woulda thought?
As such, the human DNA Genome was both the most highly prized asset of the Intergalactic Tree of Life DataBank, but also the patterning and the wellspring of genetic diversity among all the seeded worlds for whom Earth had become a type of seed bank for the Intergalactic Farm.
Thus you would find other words populated with Elk and other animals from earth, along with animals on earth that were never indigenous to our world, like sheep, as but one example.
But morophgenically, at least for the seeded-worlds, in manifestations of sentient life the human form was assumed, but with slight adaptations, and in some cases rather more than slight where human and alien DNA was mixed together, but for the most part, they were humans, adapted to minor changes in local celestial systems' configurations, to the degree that they differed from Earth's.
This was done by the Workers, long long ago, in anticipation of human technological evolution. Because of the human tendency for barbarity, as much for elegance and grace, they (people like Bob) posed a serious dilemma within the framework and context of the Prime Directive. It, we'll call it "the predicament", was something that always happened pretty much every time a species was on the threshold of the TOE, but which always somehow resolved itself and in the most ridiculous of ways amid an infinitely complex web of interdependent special interests from around the Cosmos, because not everyone could always agree on it's resolution.
Therefore, instead of just sitting on a quarantine until it was too late, with no choice but to destroy humanity, the implication of the TOE-ME was played out by a quantum computer, and it was decided that it would be best to get ahead of the curve and start seeding as many worlds as possible with the human phylos, for a future humanity to breed into and integrate with. It was a way of reigning in the human impulse for barbarity without violating the Prime Directive, so that's the type of Cosmos we moved out into when the TOE was discovered. By the time we got there, we, in a slightly adapted form, were already there waiting for us, along with more advanced technology than we could ever wield against them, so we were defanged, right out of the gate so to speak. It was a brilliant resolution to the fundamental predicament posed by the Prime Directive in the case of the human being - until Bob came along.
Bob himself, because of something that took place during "the gap" of the 10,000 years, finds himself in a type of socio-political nexus, and while everywhere he goes and everything he does, both in the "mental hospital" (it was really Secret Intelligence) and beyond, appears, at least to him like a practical joke at his expense, in the end the last laugh it NOT on Bob, but on everyone else, as he becomes a type of unwitting cosmic Christ-like figure, but only because God Himself has a great sense of humor.
So Bob does get to finally realize his dream of fame and fortune, but never in a way that he could have imagined, as he too has so many lessons to learn, and a character to develop in order to also learn his great lesson, or he'd still be left behind and alone. He's like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Teased for his uniqueness, never in on the game that's being played, subject to distain and ridicule, but in who's destiny resides the salvation of a Civilization gone awry in the most fundamental way - the loss of their sense of humor, mirth, and charm.
He's like the Forrest Gump of the Cosmos, but not as innocent or naive. Texans never are, in spite of their simplistic language and thought patterns. They know a raw deal when they smell one, so it's not like Bob isn't also very hip and sensitive to his surroundings, and thus capable of growth and adaptation to changing circumstances.
He represents every man then in a quest for meaning and significance in a world gone mad that although it felt it was the epitome of reason, still had an important lesson to learn for which our character has a vital role to play.
Stay tuned.. read on..
Thinking of the implications of an intergalactic interdependent framework in terms of human evolution, it could be that a number of evolutionary trajectories took place at certain points in time during the 10,000 year gap, and, that were anticipated long before that.
Within a non-local, holographic universe, the human being, although the least evolved, technically, and in terms of their understanding of the TOE (theory of everything) ME (moral equivalency), nevertheless was, as the most recent evolutionary adaptation in favor of sentience (where it could be said that the last are first and the first, last), the physical embodiment of the apex of the Tree of Life. Who woulda thought?
As such, the human DNA Genome was both the most highly prized asset of the Intergalactic Tree of Life DataBank, but also the patterning and the wellspring of genetic diversity among all the seeded worlds for whom Earth had become a type of seed bank for the Intergalactic Farm.
Thus you would find other words populated with Elk and other animals from earth, along with animals on earth that were never indigenous to our world, like sheep, as but one example.
But morophgenically, at least for the seeded-worlds, in manifestations of sentient life the human form was assumed, but with slight adaptations, and in some cases rather more than slight where human and alien DNA was mixed together, but for the most part, they were humans, adapted to minor changes in local celestial systems' configurations, to the degree that they differed from Earth's.
This was done by the Workers, long long ago, in anticipation of human technological evolution. Because of the human tendency for barbarity, as much for elegance and grace, they (people like Bob) posed a serious dilemma within the framework and context of the Prime Directive. It, we'll call it "the predicament", was something that always happened pretty much every time a species was on the threshold of the TOE, but which always somehow resolved itself and in the most ridiculous of ways amid an infinitely complex web of interdependent special interests from around the Cosmos, because not everyone could always agree on it's resolution.
Therefore, instead of just sitting on a quarantine until it was too late, with no choice but to destroy humanity, the implication of the TOE-ME was played out by a quantum computer, and it was decided that it would be best to get ahead of the curve and start seeding as many worlds as possible with the human phylos, for a future humanity to breed into and integrate with. It was a way of reigning in the human impulse for barbarity without violating the Prime Directive, so that's the type of Cosmos we moved out into when the TOE was discovered. By the time we got there, we, in a slightly adapted form, were already there waiting for us, along with more advanced technology than we could ever wield against them, so we were defanged, right out of the gate so to speak. It was a brilliant resolution to the fundamental predicament posed by the Prime Directive in the case of the human being - until Bob came along.
Bob himself, because of something that took place during "the gap" of the 10,000 years, finds himself in a type of socio-political nexus, and while everywhere he goes and everything he does, both in the "mental hospital" (it was really Secret Intelligence) and beyond, appears, at least to him like a practical joke at his expense, in the end the last laugh it NOT on Bob, but on everyone else, as he becomes a type of unwitting cosmic Christ-like figure, but only because God Himself has a great sense of humor.
So Bob does get to finally realize his dream of fame and fortune, but never in a way that he could have imagined, as he too has so many lessons to learn, and a character to develop in order to also learn his great lesson, or he'd still be left behind and alone. He's like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Teased for his uniqueness, never in on the game that's being played, subject to distain and ridicule, but in who's destiny resides the salvation of a Civilization gone awry in the most fundamental way - the loss of their sense of humor, mirth, and charm.
He's like the Forrest Gump of the Cosmos, but not as innocent or naive. Texans never are, in spite of their simplistic language and thought patterns. They know a raw deal when they smell one, so it's not like Bob isn't also very hip and sensitive to his surroundings, and thus capable of growth and adaptation to changing circumstances.
He represents every man then in a quest for meaning and significance in a world gone mad that although it felt it was the epitome of reason, still had an important lesson to learn for which our character has a vital role to play.
Stay tuned.. read on..
edit on 13-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
Waking Up (a second time)
Bob opened his eyes, and rubbed them, then rubbed them again as he blinked around at his surroundings.
The white walls that he vaguely recollected had transformed themselves into a mountain vista, with the occasional bird flying. He could faintly hear the sound of a bubbling brook, but he could still vaguely make out that he was still (imprisoned?) in a room, although this one was considerably bigger than what he remembered.
The bed upon which he lay, had already gradually propped him up as he awakened (when did that happen?), and sunlight was beaming morning rays of light over the mountains in the projected image. It sure felt good, real or not.
"Not a bad alarm clock!' said Bob to himself.
He could even smell the woods!
They sure know how to treat a special guest, thought Bob, without speaking aloud but continuing the conversation with himself, as he always did.
Wasn't the kind of reception that I was expecting, but this is rather nice!
Then he remembered the straps on his arms, now gone, and wondered if that might have been a dream..
"Where the hell am I?" he said. Crickets, literally, is all he heard in reply amid the sound of a mountain stream and the twittering of birds..
Suddenly, in an instant, as if in delayed response to his inquiry, the whole scene faded into white, a door opened right in font of him where there was no door before, and in walked a man dressed in white with a head circumference for whom 10 gallons would most certainly not have been an adequate fit, accompanied by the most beautiful woman Bob had ever laid eyes on.
In most every other way he looked perfectly human, but his head was just way too big for his shoulders, and his neck was rather thicker than normal, like a football player's. He was also tall. Probably pushing 7 feet.
She, on the other hand looked perfectly normal in every way, except much more beautiful than normal and, that she was dressed in a type of nurse's outfit with a pleated white skirt certainly didn't hurt Bob's eyes none either. His heart skipped a beat. It was love at first sight, at it always was with Bob.
What an interesting specimen, both men thought to themselves, as the "Doctor" (without the traditional stethoscope but clearly a Doctor of some kind) approached him and said, in a deep and rich melodious voice (he must have big vocal chords Bob thought on hearing it),
[your turn?]
Bob opened his eyes, and rubbed them, then rubbed them again as he blinked around at his surroundings.
The white walls that he vaguely recollected had transformed themselves into a mountain vista, with the occasional bird flying. He could faintly hear the sound of a bubbling brook, but he could still vaguely make out that he was still (imprisoned?) in a room, although this one was considerably bigger than what he remembered.
The bed upon which he lay, had already gradually propped him up as he awakened (when did that happen?), and sunlight was beaming morning rays of light over the mountains in the projected image. It sure felt good, real or not.
"Not a bad alarm clock!' said Bob to himself.
He could even smell the woods!
They sure know how to treat a special guest, thought Bob, without speaking aloud but continuing the conversation with himself, as he always did.
Wasn't the kind of reception that I was expecting, but this is rather nice!
Then he remembered the straps on his arms, now gone, and wondered if that might have been a dream..
"Where the hell am I?" he said. Crickets, literally, is all he heard in reply amid the sound of a mountain stream and the twittering of birds..
Suddenly, in an instant, as if in delayed response to his inquiry, the whole scene faded into white, a door opened right in font of him where there was no door before, and in walked a man dressed in white with a head circumference for whom 10 gallons would most certainly not have been an adequate fit, accompanied by the most beautiful woman Bob had ever laid eyes on.
In most every other way he looked perfectly human, but his head was just way too big for his shoulders, and his neck was rather thicker than normal, like a football player's. He was also tall. Probably pushing 7 feet.
She, on the other hand looked perfectly normal in every way, except much more beautiful than normal and, that she was dressed in a type of nurse's outfit with a pleated white skirt certainly didn't hurt Bob's eyes none either. His heart skipped a beat. It was love at first sight, at it always was with Bob.
What an interesting specimen, both men thought to themselves, as the "Doctor" (without the traditional stethoscope but clearly a Doctor of some kind) approached him and said, in a deep and rich melodious voice (he must have big vocal chords Bob thought on hearing it),
[your turn?]
edit on 13-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
a reply to: 727Sky
Thank you! Appreciation and encouragement is always helpful! Keeps the writing going.
I think the main character has come to life, and I'm a little concerned for him in terms of what he's gotten himself into.. lol
He will surely find himself the object of ever-widening spheres of influence and conspiracies once he manages to gain release, or escape, from the mental ward, an experience that will take on the form of a type of resurrection of sorts as he enters into the larger world and worlds the subject of much interest and curisosity by various PTB all of whom have a stake in the outcome and a chip in the game for whom Bob from Texas, has become a unique and important historical player and participant in a Cosmic game of thrones of sorts.
In fact, the more that they wish to take advantage of him and mislead and manipulate him, only the more his power and influence will grow as a walking predicament and a type of double-bind on power and authority that's capable of rendering the Prime Directive null and void and unleashing socio-politicial forces that no one could have possibly anticipated while he slept in hibernation for almost 1000 years at sub-light speed.
Bob then is like a running gag of sorts. He's also an untouchable according to the same Prime Directive and TOE, so he can't be killed, only re-directed in ways favorable to certain competing agendas. He might not realize that however, until it's almost too late.
Relative to Bob, everyone's hands are tied, and it's up to him alone to figure out what's really going on, and why, and to give them a piece of his mind while he's at it, all with a healthy peppering of Texas slang. lol
Thank you! Appreciation and encouragement is always helpful! Keeps the writing going.
I think the main character has come to life, and I'm a little concerned for him in terms of what he's gotten himself into.. lol
He will surely find himself the object of ever-widening spheres of influence and conspiracies once he manages to gain release, or escape, from the mental ward, an experience that will take on the form of a type of resurrection of sorts as he enters into the larger world and worlds the subject of much interest and curisosity by various PTB all of whom have a stake in the outcome and a chip in the game for whom Bob from Texas, has become a unique and important historical player and participant in a Cosmic game of thrones of sorts.
In fact, the more that they wish to take advantage of him and mislead and manipulate him, only the more his power and influence will grow as a walking predicament and a type of double-bind on power and authority that's capable of rendering the Prime Directive null and void and unleashing socio-politicial forces that no one could have possibly anticipated while he slept in hibernation for almost 1000 years at sub-light speed.
Bob then is like a running gag of sorts. He's also an untouchable according to the same Prime Directive and TOE, so he can't be killed, only re-directed in ways favorable to certain competing agendas. He might not realize that however, until it's almost too late.
Relative to Bob, everyone's hands are tied, and it's up to him alone to figure out what's really going on, and why, and to give them a piece of his mind while he's at it, all with a healthy peppering of Texas slang. lol
edit on 13-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
New Friends
"Hallo." said the Doctor, melodiously.
"What do mean, HAll-o?", said Bob in reply. "It's HELLo, everyone knows that!"
The Doctor, without so much as a sense of mirth or irony and with every indication that he was entirely serious said, matter of factly, "we took the 'hell' out of the word hello a long time ago, That's no way to greet someone, not in this day and age. You know how offensive that word once was I'm quite sure.
"Well HAllo to you then pardner! Howdy!" said Bob, enthusiastically, then turning to take in little Ms. sweetie pie, he gave her a wink and said "and hallo to you too my dear!"
Oh what a relief it was for Bob to have some friends and people with whom to communicate and interact with. They sure looked like nice and reasonable people, but, then again, there was something seriously wrong with them when he came to think of it. They seemed to be missing someth'n deep down in the soul, thought Bob. Why aren't they reciprocating? What am I to these people? Chopped liver? Do they think I just fell off the tater truck?
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Paid one point five billion dollars to fly around the sun while 10,000 years elapsed on Earth" said Bob. He was never one for beat'n around the bush. Cut straight to the point like a hot knife through butter was the way his mamma taught him, and if he didn't cut right to the chase with his father he was apt to be cuffed up this side the head, in a real hurry. Bob didn't mince words.
"You said that before, when you first came in" said the doctor with a condescending look in his eye, and a lack of humor that gave him a very slack face. Almost goat-like in some indefinable way that Bob was at a loss to put his finger on at the moment.
"What the hell you talk'n about Doc? One moment I was in my ship, and the next I was staring up at the ceiling right here in this room or another one down the hall."
Bob was starting to get a rather queezy feeling 'about these folks, both of them, as cute as the girl might be. Come to think of it, she had that slack-faced condescending look too, which was a total turnoff for Bob. Woman don't respect her man there'll ain't no way come hell or high water that he's gonna hand over his power to her just for a bit of skin. It just isn't worth it in the end run. This Bob had learned from a great deal of trial and error. He was wise when it came to deal'n with woman, and this girl here ain't really beautiful at all, he suddenly realized. Bob fell straight out of love, as he always when he can see that there ain't no love in it, oftentimes when it was too late to reverse the course of history. He'd learned the hard way. That which hurts, instructs, thought Bob to himself, quoting Ben Franklin. Yep, I'm going to have to draw a line with this little lady, don't matter how nice her skin looks, or her legs..
* This is ironic, insofar as unbeknownst to Bob, he's about to become the most eligible bachelor in a largely loveless universe.
"You don't remember?" inquired the Doctor, tilting his big head forward and in the process almost invading Bob's space.
"Well you tell me Doc. Best I can recall, one minute I was on my ship, yeah, with three amigos, as you say I called them. Next thin I knew I was right here, and if I might add, strapped down so that I couldn't move, and one thing I do know even though I know I don't know much and that is that ain't no way to treat a stranger!" exclaimed Bob, indignantly, yet while expressing just the appropriate amount of righteous civil anger at the indignity of his treatment.
Bob knew that balancing one's feelings according to the situation could prevent a person from getting into a whole heap of trouble over some silly misunderstanding that you can't even remember when the dust settles, so he didn't pick a fight lightly and preferred to err on the side of Civility in all his dealings. It had worked wonders for him back in Houston and in fact it was the very trait that brought him to this strange place of which he as yet knew nothing.
Yep, a true gentlemen never hurts another person's feeln's, unintentionally; another of Bob's cherished truths about human social interaction. Sometimes ya just gotta talk straight to people and take watchca get. No use fancy dancing around, was Bob's sentiment.
The Doctor tried a different tact.
"Do you have the sense of a feeling of amnesia, or of any lost time that you cannot account for?"
"No, but I can't account for the last 987 years, to be perfectly honest."
"You think you're 987 years old?"
"No." Bob thought it might better if he just started keeping his mouth shut and saying as little as possible.
"So you don't remember how you got here or even why you are here?"
"You ask a lot of the same questions for someone with such a big head Doc, with all due respect if you don't mind me saying so."
"Ok, let's back up again then. We can get to that later. First of all, what is your name?"
"You don't already know? Bob Smith." He thought it best not to elaborate any further.
"Why do YOU think you're here?"
So Bob told them the whole story. Damned if he was going to LIE or claim the 1st on such a question. It was important for them to know who he was and where, and from what time, he was coming from. They really should have already known. Damn that Elon Musk! Contract wasn't worth the paper it was written on!, thought Bob, before going into it all, starting with the inheritance of his oil fortune when daddy passed on back in 99.
Although they seemed to listen intently, not a muscle moved on their face the whole time he was speaking. But Bob had played more than a few hands of poker in his time, and with these people, well their tell was their lack of a tell. In fact, he had the distinct impression that they just didn't give a hill of beans for him or his story, at all. It was like talking to a pair of manikins! But alas, even bad company can be good company when you were concerned that you might return as the last man standing so to speak. A listening ear is a listening ear, so Bob told them everything, and it was actually a great relief to him to find anyone who might lend a listening ear.
originally posted by: AnkhMorpork
Waking Up (a second time)
What an interesting specimen, both men thought to themselves, as the "Doctor" approached him and said, in a deep and rich melodious voice..
"Hallo." said the Doctor, melodiously.
"What do mean, HAll-o?", said Bob in reply. "It's HELLo, everyone knows that!"
The Doctor, without so much as a sense of mirth or irony and with every indication that he was entirely serious said, matter of factly, "we took the 'hell' out of the word hello a long time ago, That's no way to greet someone, not in this day and age. You know how offensive that word once was I'm quite sure.
"Well HAllo to you then pardner! Howdy!" said Bob, enthusiastically, then turning to take in little Ms. sweetie pie, he gave her a wink and said "and hallo to you too my dear!"
Oh what a relief it was for Bob to have some friends and people with whom to communicate and interact with. They sure looked like nice and reasonable people, but, then again, there was something seriously wrong with them when he came to think of it. They seemed to be missing someth'n deep down in the soul, thought Bob. Why aren't they reciprocating? What am I to these people? Chopped liver? Do they think I just fell off the tater truck?
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Paid one point five billion dollars to fly around the sun while 10,000 years elapsed on Earth" said Bob. He was never one for beat'n around the bush. Cut straight to the point like a hot knife through butter was the way his mamma taught him, and if he didn't cut right to the chase with his father he was apt to be cuffed up this side the head, in a real hurry. Bob didn't mince words.
"You said that before, when you first came in" said the doctor with a condescending look in his eye, and a lack of humor that gave him a very slack face. Almost goat-like in some indefinable way that Bob was at a loss to put his finger on at the moment.
"What the hell you talk'n about Doc? One moment I was in my ship, and the next I was staring up at the ceiling right here in this room or another one down the hall."
Bob was starting to get a rather queezy feeling 'about these folks, both of them, as cute as the girl might be. Come to think of it, she had that slack-faced condescending look too, which was a total turnoff for Bob. Woman don't respect her man there'll ain't no way come hell or high water that he's gonna hand over his power to her just for a bit of skin. It just isn't worth it in the end run. This Bob had learned from a great deal of trial and error. He was wise when it came to deal'n with woman, and this girl here ain't really beautiful at all, he suddenly realized. Bob fell straight out of love, as he always when he can see that there ain't no love in it, oftentimes when it was too late to reverse the course of history. He'd learned the hard way. That which hurts, instructs, thought Bob to himself, quoting Ben Franklin. Yep, I'm going to have to draw a line with this little lady, don't matter how nice her skin looks, or her legs..
* This is ironic, insofar as unbeknownst to Bob, he's about to become the most eligible bachelor in a largely loveless universe.
"You don't remember?" inquired the Doctor, tilting his big head forward and in the process almost invading Bob's space.
"Well you tell me Doc. Best I can recall, one minute I was on my ship, yeah, with three amigos, as you say I called them. Next thin I knew I was right here, and if I might add, strapped down so that I couldn't move, and one thing I do know even though I know I don't know much and that is that ain't no way to treat a stranger!" exclaimed Bob, indignantly, yet while expressing just the appropriate amount of righteous civil anger at the indignity of his treatment.
Bob knew that balancing one's feelings according to the situation could prevent a person from getting into a whole heap of trouble over some silly misunderstanding that you can't even remember when the dust settles, so he didn't pick a fight lightly and preferred to err on the side of Civility in all his dealings. It had worked wonders for him back in Houston and in fact it was the very trait that brought him to this strange place of which he as yet knew nothing.
Yep, a true gentlemen never hurts another person's feeln's, unintentionally; another of Bob's cherished truths about human social interaction. Sometimes ya just gotta talk straight to people and take watchca get. No use fancy dancing around, was Bob's sentiment.
The Doctor tried a different tact.
"Do you have the sense of a feeling of amnesia, or of any lost time that you cannot account for?"
"No, but I can't account for the last 987 years, to be perfectly honest."
"You think you're 987 years old?"
"No." Bob thought it might better if he just started keeping his mouth shut and saying as little as possible.
"So you don't remember how you got here or even why you are here?"
"You ask a lot of the same questions for someone with such a big head Doc, with all due respect if you don't mind me saying so."
"Ok, let's back up again then. We can get to that later. First of all, what is your name?"
"You don't already know? Bob Smith." He thought it best not to elaborate any further.
"Why do YOU think you're here?"
So Bob told them the whole story. Damned if he was going to LIE or claim the 1st on such a question. It was important for them to know who he was and where, and from what time, he was coming from. They really should have already known. Damn that Elon Musk! Contract wasn't worth the paper it was written on!, thought Bob, before going into it all, starting with the inheritance of his oil fortune when daddy passed on back in 99.
Although they seemed to listen intently, not a muscle moved on their face the whole time he was speaking. But Bob had played more than a few hands of poker in his time, and with these people, well their tell was their lack of a tell. In fact, he had the distinct impression that they just didn't give a hill of beans for him or his story, at all. It was like talking to a pair of manikins! But alas, even bad company can be good company when you were concerned that you might return as the last man standing so to speak. A listening ear is a listening ear, so Bob told them everything, and it was actually a great relief to him to find anyone who might lend a listening ear.
edit on 14-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
This is fun!
It doesn't matter anymore who writes it, only that it continues to write itself one way or another, because I'm just as curious as the next person about what's going to happen who's going to say what to whom.
Let me first alleviate Bob of any way to corroborate his story. TBC..
Then we'll explore the true nature of his predicament, and theirs, relative to him.
World Note:
It (the predicament) will involve a loophole in the legalese of the Prime Directive regarding the definition and nature of sentience, which was signed while Bob was out cold during his trip and thus it cannot be applied to him, as well as some sort of loophole in the ME (moral equivalency of the TOE) by which Bob's trip was anticipated by the Quantum Computer from the singularity of the universe, a closely held secret, guarded by a very few, who simply must get their hands on Bob, ASAP, but at the same time, who cannot touch him or do away with him or severely impinge upon his freedom, for fear of upsetting a delicate balance that was/is and must always be held together by the Prime Directive as the ME expression of the TOE as the final, preventative last resort measure to avoid the possibility of interstellar warfare and planetary destruction on a galactic and intergalactic scale. Not a good thing.
In other words, if this Is mishandled and Bob's rights and freedoms are seriously violated, God himself might just pull the plug on the whole affair and call it a day. It cannot end with everyone fighting, simple as that.
The long and the short of it is that Texan Bob's arrival into the future, is like a loose end in the very fabric of the Intergalactic Civilization, at all levels, because his presence cuts to the heart of everything they stand for and that gives them their place within the social order and hierarchy.
At the most fundamental level, Bob then is the only one who's truly free.
But can a guy from Texas who just happened to inherit a giant oil fortune and decided to take a 1000 year ride around the solar system, unwittingly liberate the entire Cosmic Civilization while keeping his wits about him and enlightening people along the way with nothing more than Civility, wisdom, and some good-humored, down home Texan humor, and charm?
to be cont'd
Best regards, dear reader (if there's anyone reading any more..),
Ankh
It doesn't matter anymore who writes it, only that it continues to write itself one way or another, because I'm just as curious as the next person about what's going to happen who's going to say what to whom.
Let me first alleviate Bob of any way to corroborate his story. TBC..
Then we'll explore the true nature of his predicament, and theirs, relative to him.
World Note:
It (the predicament) will involve a loophole in the legalese of the Prime Directive regarding the definition and nature of sentience, which was signed while Bob was out cold during his trip and thus it cannot be applied to him, as well as some sort of loophole in the ME (moral equivalency of the TOE) by which Bob's trip was anticipated by the Quantum Computer from the singularity of the universe, a closely held secret, guarded by a very few, who simply must get their hands on Bob, ASAP, but at the same time, who cannot touch him or do away with him or severely impinge upon his freedom, for fear of upsetting a delicate balance that was/is and must always be held together by the Prime Directive as the ME expression of the TOE as the final, preventative last resort measure to avoid the possibility of interstellar warfare and planetary destruction on a galactic and intergalactic scale. Not a good thing.
In other words, if this Is mishandled and Bob's rights and freedoms are seriously violated, God himself might just pull the plug on the whole affair and call it a day. It cannot end with everyone fighting, simple as that.
The long and the short of it is that Texan Bob's arrival into the future, is like a loose end in the very fabric of the Intergalactic Civilization, at all levels, because his presence cuts to the heart of everything they stand for and that gives them their place within the social order and hierarchy.
At the most fundamental level, Bob then is the only one who's truly free.
But can a guy from Texas who just happened to inherit a giant oil fortune and decided to take a 1000 year ride around the solar system, unwittingly liberate the entire Cosmic Civilization while keeping his wits about him and enlightening people along the way with nothing more than Civility, wisdom, and some good-humored, down home Texan humor, and charm?
to be cont'd
Best regards, dear reader (if there's anyone reading any more..),
Ankh
edit on 14-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
Identity Crisis
After this one-way conversation took place, Bob stopped talking, and looked at them, both, inquisitively, imploringly, as if to ask the unspoken question - so what do you think?
They said nothing.
Gee wiz, these folks are a few pickles short of a barrel, thought Bob. What the hell's a matter with them? And here I thought I was comin back to a ticker tape parade but I feel 'bout as welcome as as an egg-sucking dog. Perhaps it'd be better if I turned this boat around and see what tickles their fancy.
"You know, we’ve howdied but we haven’t shook. What are your names? Who am I talk'n to?"
"Do you mean our birth names?" inquired the Doctor.
"Hell yeah! (the Doctor winced at the mention of the hell word). Your names. It's not a trick question fired from of a loaded gun! If we're going to get anywhere, I need to know who I'm talking to!" said Bob, trying not to lose his patience.
The doctor, a little taken aback, not as much by Bob's unusual turn of phrase, but because, in spite of his vast experience and repertoire of scientific knowledge and understanding and his place in "the order", for the life of him could not recall anyone ever showing as much interest in him as Bob was in that moment. And in that moment something happened, the likes of which would reverberate like outwardly concentric ripples throughout the Cosmos and eternity like a small pebble thrown into still water. He lost his composure, as something deep within the strata of his psyche, perhaps something transcendent of his functional upbringing, like a genetic memory, was touched, and disturbed, by a feeling that he'd never felt before. He leaned forward, again, this time just the smallest fraction further than before to enter into the sphere of Bob's space (it felt good, for both men) and without replying, looked into Bob's eyes, and the twinkle he saw there made his heart skip a beat, much to the astonishment of the doctor, as well as the technician in the corridor sitting in the middle of an ovular holoscreen.
In Bob's eyes and from his point of view, he noticed that, for a split fraction of a second, or faster than double-struck lightning, the good doctor's face twitched, as if for a moment that hideous unmoved mask he was wearing, slipped to reveal a human being underneath. A redness had also surfaced in the white of the doctor's eyeballs, and damned if Bob didn't notice a momentary twinkle that, if it were to persist would form the originating seed of a tear.
Before the doctor could reply, Bod said "I'm sorry Doc, or whatever your name is, I don't mean to pry or lose my patience with you. The two of you have been very kind and generous to me so far as yet, and you've been very patient too as I was recount'n my story to ya'll. You see, right now to be perfectly honest, I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground, and from your perspective and point of view, and we all have one, you and little Miss here, my social graces might be rather lacking, but as I'm sure you can understand, I have a lot of questions. I don't mean to be making any demands upon either of you", he said, with the utmost civility and compassion, now taking in little miss gorgeous, who now appeared to be very confused. "So if'n I've offended either of you in any way at all, you just let me know and I'll proceed accordingly."
After this one-way conversation took place, Bob stopped talking, and looked at them, both, inquisitively, imploringly, as if to ask the unspoken question - so what do you think?
They said nothing.
Gee wiz, these folks are a few pickles short of a barrel, thought Bob. What the hell's a matter with them? And here I thought I was comin back to a ticker tape parade but I feel 'bout as welcome as as an egg-sucking dog. Perhaps it'd be better if I turned this boat around and see what tickles their fancy.
"You know, we’ve howdied but we haven’t shook. What are your names? Who am I talk'n to?"
"Do you mean our birth names?" inquired the Doctor.
"Hell yeah! (the Doctor winced at the mention of the hell word). Your names. It's not a trick question fired from of a loaded gun! If we're going to get anywhere, I need to know who I'm talking to!" said Bob, trying not to lose his patience.
The doctor, a little taken aback, not as much by Bob's unusual turn of phrase, but because, in spite of his vast experience and repertoire of scientific knowledge and understanding and his place in "the order", for the life of him could not recall anyone ever showing as much interest in him as Bob was in that moment. And in that moment something happened, the likes of which would reverberate like outwardly concentric ripples throughout the Cosmos and eternity like a small pebble thrown into still water. He lost his composure, as something deep within the strata of his psyche, perhaps something transcendent of his functional upbringing, like a genetic memory, was touched, and disturbed, by a feeling that he'd never felt before. He leaned forward, again, this time just the smallest fraction further than before to enter into the sphere of Bob's space (it felt good, for both men) and without replying, looked into Bob's eyes, and the twinkle he saw there made his heart skip a beat, much to the astonishment of the doctor, as well as the technician in the corridor sitting in the middle of an ovular holoscreen.
In Bob's eyes and from his point of view, he noticed that, for a split fraction of a second, or faster than double-struck lightning, the good doctor's face twitched, as if for a moment that hideous unmoved mask he was wearing, slipped to reveal a human being underneath. A redness had also surfaced in the white of the doctor's eyeballs, and damned if Bob didn't notice a momentary twinkle that, if it were to persist would form the originating seed of a tear.
Before the doctor could reply, Bod said "I'm sorry Doc, or whatever your name is, I don't mean to pry or lose my patience with you. The two of you have been very kind and generous to me so far as yet, and you've been very patient too as I was recount'n my story to ya'll. You see, right now to be perfectly honest, I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground, and from your perspective and point of view, and we all have one, you and little Miss here, my social graces might be rather lacking, but as I'm sure you can understand, I have a lot of questions. I don't mean to be making any demands upon either of you", he said, with the utmost civility and compassion, now taking in little miss gorgeous, who now appeared to be very confused. "So if'n I've offended either of you in any way at all, you just let me know and I'll proceed accordingly."
edit on 17-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
Identity Crisis - Cont'd
There was a pause. There was an eternity in that pause. Time stood still. Everything, and everyone, waited, and Bob, he could wait until the cows come home and the fat lady sings, both.
The tech in the hallway noticed something that he would never have expected, as Bob's heart rate slowed, and that of the others, the tech himself included, increased!
"Um, forgive me" said the doctor, trying, with great difficultly, to bring himself back into focus, but the moment never lost on him since once the mind and heart changes shape it can never go back to it's original configuration, and the doctor had both a very large head and a heart big enough to pump the required amount of blood through it.
There was something about this strange man, this Bob Smith, who'd impacted his entire physiology quite literally in the twinkling of an eye. It was a power for which the very height of technological innovation was simply no match. There was neither any hardware or software involved, how could that be? thought the doctor to himself, while the tech busily set to work doing a rapid system reboot of his sensory array, and as he, the Doctor, was about to disclose his nomenclature to Bob, Bob filled the awkward space with a wink and a smile, and said
"You haven't done anything to ask forgiveness for, Doc, at least not yet anyway. Forgiveness, if and when it's needed, is a two way street as I'm sure you well know. It always has to start somewhere, and the way I was raised, to forgive is to also to be forgiven, that's right out of the good Lord's mouth h'self, so by simply asking, you're a blessed man!"
Now speechless, the red in the doctor's eyes, spread to his large face.
The woman, and the tech, nervously checked themselves, so as to avoid the prospect of having to undergo a complete psych evaluation. But it was too late. The cat was out of the bag so to speak, because to be is to be perceived, and in their case in more ways than one, living as they did in an absolutely surveilled society. For a moment they almost felt sorry for the doctor, which was also noted in their neuroscan by a vast, nested hierarchy of techs all the way to the Omegasphere. Things were getting dicey. History was in the making as this interchange would come to shake the very foundations of mental health and sciences to their core for millennia, and then some - as the doctor suddenly burst into tears, to the horror of all observers, Bob included.
There was a pause. There was an eternity in that pause. Time stood still. Everything, and everyone, waited, and Bob, he could wait until the cows come home and the fat lady sings, both.
The tech in the hallway noticed something that he would never have expected, as Bob's heart rate slowed, and that of the others, the tech himself included, increased!
"Um, forgive me" said the doctor, trying, with great difficultly, to bring himself back into focus, but the moment never lost on him since once the mind and heart changes shape it can never go back to it's original configuration, and the doctor had both a very large head and a heart big enough to pump the required amount of blood through it.
There was something about this strange man, this Bob Smith, who'd impacted his entire physiology quite literally in the twinkling of an eye. It was a power for which the very height of technological innovation was simply no match. There was neither any hardware or software involved, how could that be? thought the doctor to himself, while the tech busily set to work doing a rapid system reboot of his sensory array, and as he, the Doctor, was about to disclose his nomenclature to Bob, Bob filled the awkward space with a wink and a smile, and said
"You haven't done anything to ask forgiveness for, Doc, at least not yet anyway. Forgiveness, if and when it's needed, is a two way street as I'm sure you well know. It always has to start somewhere, and the way I was raised, to forgive is to also to be forgiven, that's right out of the good Lord's mouth h'self, so by simply asking, you're a blessed man!"
Now speechless, the red in the doctor's eyes, spread to his large face.
The woman, and the tech, nervously checked themselves, so as to avoid the prospect of having to undergo a complete psych evaluation. But it was too late. The cat was out of the bag so to speak, because to be is to be perceived, and in their case in more ways than one, living as they did in an absolutely surveilled society. For a moment they almost felt sorry for the doctor, which was also noted in their neuroscan by a vast, nested hierarchy of techs all the way to the Omegasphere. Things were getting dicey. History was in the making as this interchange would come to shake the very foundations of mental health and sciences to their core for millennia, and then some - as the doctor suddenly burst into tears, to the horror of all observers, Bob included.
edit on 17-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
Identity Crisis - Cont'd
"Golly geewizzackers" said Bob, his own face turning red in sympathetic compassion for the doctor.
"I just asked for your names, I didn't mean to make no one cry! Doc, I was just trying to be a gentleman, with Civility, where it may be said that a perfect gentleman never hurts another person's feel'ns, unintentionally. Why are you crying? Please, for the love of God, tell me what I said or did wrong?!" said Bob, now on the verge of tears himself. Mamma always said that real men do cry, and so Bob had no problem showing his emotions and his love for others. He was no hardass.
The doctor remained at a loss for words, as a tear rolled across the circumference of his massive cheek, and fell to the floor with a tiny splash.
"Can I give you a hug?" asked Bob, his face showing pained concern.
"Muh, muh, my name is, is, x, x, Xzander. Xzander Ibid" said the doctor, trying, amid his sobbing, trying desperately to get himself under control, but knowing full well that his career was over, his entire function rendered inoperable.
He of course forget to introduce the astonished woman at his side.
"Sounds like Alexander" said Bob, lovingly. "If you don't mind I'll call you Alex. Bring 'er here, Alex", said Bob, standing up from the edge of his bed with his big arms opened wide.
The doctor didn't know what else to do, but comply, and at the very moment that the two men embraced, the doctor's transformation was complete.
He smiled, as a Bob's flannel shirt wiped away the tears from his eyes.
The observers, including the woman, looked on, but not without a little or more than a little, fear and trembling at what they were seeing as it played out before their very eyes. It was unsettling. It was disturbing. For some among them, it evoked a desire to KILL Bob, an impulse of a much much higher level of violation than mere cying according to the ME of the TOE of which they were it's adepts, it's gatekeepers, enforcers and administrators.
Somewhere, a senior Cosmic government official who oversaw the SIN (Secret Intelligence Network) shouted angrily and slammed both his fists down on a table to the shocked looks of his colleagues, many of whose faces had already taken on a pinkish hue, as the goats were separated from the sheep so to speak.
Bob, had arrived; his destiny, a loose end flailing wildly at the edge of the very fabric of Cosmic Civilization, like a flag or a banner starting to unravel and disintegrate in the powerful wind of time and circumstance.
And nothing would ever be the same, while everything, now that it had happened, was unfolding precisely as it should.
Bob meanwhile put the very love of God into the good doctor as he always tried to do when giving someone a hug who really needed it.
"Golly geewizzackers" said Bob, his own face turning red in sympathetic compassion for the doctor.
"I just asked for your names, I didn't mean to make no one cry! Doc, I was just trying to be a gentleman, with Civility, where it may be said that a perfect gentleman never hurts another person's feel'ns, unintentionally. Why are you crying? Please, for the love of God, tell me what I said or did wrong?!" said Bob, now on the verge of tears himself. Mamma always said that real men do cry, and so Bob had no problem showing his emotions and his love for others. He was no hardass.
The doctor remained at a loss for words, as a tear rolled across the circumference of his massive cheek, and fell to the floor with a tiny splash.
"Can I give you a hug?" asked Bob, his face showing pained concern.
"Muh, muh, my name is, is, x, x, Xzander. Xzander Ibid" said the doctor, trying, amid his sobbing, trying desperately to get himself under control, but knowing full well that his career was over, his entire function rendered inoperable.
He of course forget to introduce the astonished woman at his side.
"Sounds like Alexander" said Bob, lovingly. "If you don't mind I'll call you Alex. Bring 'er here, Alex", said Bob, standing up from the edge of his bed with his big arms opened wide.
The doctor didn't know what else to do, but comply, and at the very moment that the two men embraced, the doctor's transformation was complete.
He smiled, as a Bob's flannel shirt wiped away the tears from his eyes.
The observers, including the woman, looked on, but not without a little or more than a little, fear and trembling at what they were seeing as it played out before their very eyes. It was unsettling. It was disturbing. For some among them, it evoked a desire to KILL Bob, an impulse of a much much higher level of violation than mere cying according to the ME of the TOE of which they were it's adepts, it's gatekeepers, enforcers and administrators.
Somewhere, a senior Cosmic government official who oversaw the SIN (Secret Intelligence Network) shouted angrily and slammed both his fists down on a table to the shocked looks of his colleagues, many of whose faces had already taken on a pinkish hue, as the goats were separated from the sheep so to speak.
Bob, had arrived; his destiny, a loose end flailing wildly at the edge of the very fabric of Cosmic Civilization, like a flag or a banner starting to unravel and disintegrate in the powerful wind of time and circumstance.
And nothing would ever be the same, while everything, now that it had happened, was unfolding precisely as it should.
Bob meanwhile put the very love of God into the good doctor as he always tried to do when giving someone a hug who really needed it.
edit on 17-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
The two men parted, and the doctor, a new creation or something that he'd never been before in spite of having an IQ that was off the charts, sat down
in a white contoured chair that had magically appeared as if when no one was looking. The woman also took a seat, staring with abject horror at the
doctor's face, which now possessed a flushed pink hue that she'd never seen before framing a self-satisfied grin of some kind that called to her mind
an image of the Buddha, even though she'd never seen such a thing in her life. To say this experience was unnerving for her, would be the
understatement of the ages.
Bob then turned to her, thinking to himself, she kinda looks like she might need hugs too but I'd better quit while I'm ahead, and I did drawn that line with her, best to stay on this side of it.
Seeing Bob turn to her having just performed the most extraordinary piece of psychotherapeutic surgery she had ever witnessed, as if for a moment ready to extend to her the same invitation that he had the doctor, struck her with a level of fear and terror the likes of which she had no words to describe.
At the tech's workstation, her readings were quickly approaching that of the doctors before his breakdown, which only caused his own to follow not far behind. He considered turning off the video feed trained on Bob for the sake of his own sanity, and to avoid a similar fate as the doctor, and perhaps soon, the nursing assistant as well. But alas, protocol prohibited it, and if he turned it off, it would only come back on again, and he'd have to answer for that decision, amid all the implications that carried themselves along with it, so he closed his eyes instead, adjusted his personal volume control down to zero, and began meditating on the TOE ME, while wondering if he was violating it's central precept by refusing to participate as a consciously aware free will agent. Realizing this, he turned back up the volume, and opened his eyes to see what would happen next. By now his own readings were way outside of normal range anyway, so he had nothing to lose anymore, and maybe, if something deep in an inkling of his own intuition, right at the razor's edge between sanity, and insanity, was right and true, which he suspected that it was, everything to gain.
He too could also see the face of the smiling Buddha, with a large head. It defied all reason, and all probability, but there it was. Isn't that what he really wanted to have happen to him also? he mused to himself. An thus he allowed himself to go insane as well. It was contagious.
Bob immediately registered the utter shock and horror on her face, and in her eyes, while the doctor stretched out his legs, clasped his hands behind his head, and relaxed, the corners of his mouth permanently upturned but in a subtle, knowing way, like Mona Lisa.
I guess a hug probly wouldn'a been such a good idea, and it looks like I don't have to worry about her making the moves on me, but a part of him felt like he'd just struck out with a pretty lady. Gee wiz, I hope she doesn't think I'm gay! thought Bob, looking at her shocked eyes, but oh weren't they so blue..
The last thought that went through her head before she lost her mind, was "His eyes! His eyes! There's something in his eyes!"
Bob then turned to her, thinking to himself, she kinda looks like she might need hugs too but I'd better quit while I'm ahead, and I did drawn that line with her, best to stay on this side of it.
Seeing Bob turn to her having just performed the most extraordinary piece of psychotherapeutic surgery she had ever witnessed, as if for a moment ready to extend to her the same invitation that he had the doctor, struck her with a level of fear and terror the likes of which she had no words to describe.
At the tech's workstation, her readings were quickly approaching that of the doctors before his breakdown, which only caused his own to follow not far behind. He considered turning off the video feed trained on Bob for the sake of his own sanity, and to avoid a similar fate as the doctor, and perhaps soon, the nursing assistant as well. But alas, protocol prohibited it, and if he turned it off, it would only come back on again, and he'd have to answer for that decision, amid all the implications that carried themselves along with it, so he closed his eyes instead, adjusted his personal volume control down to zero, and began meditating on the TOE ME, while wondering if he was violating it's central precept by refusing to participate as a consciously aware free will agent. Realizing this, he turned back up the volume, and opened his eyes to see what would happen next. By now his own readings were way outside of normal range anyway, so he had nothing to lose anymore, and maybe, if something deep in an inkling of his own intuition, right at the razor's edge between sanity, and insanity, was right and true, which he suspected that it was, everything to gain.
He too could also see the face of the smiling Buddha, with a large head. It defied all reason, and all probability, but there it was. Isn't that what he really wanted to have happen to him also? he mused to himself. An thus he allowed himself to go insane as well. It was contagious.
Bob immediately registered the utter shock and horror on her face, and in her eyes, while the doctor stretched out his legs, clasped his hands behind his head, and relaxed, the corners of his mouth permanently upturned but in a subtle, knowing way, like Mona Lisa.
I guess a hug probly wouldn'a been such a good idea, and it looks like I don't have to worry about her making the moves on me, but a part of him felt like he'd just struck out with a pretty lady. Gee wiz, I hope she doesn't think I'm gay! thought Bob, looking at her shocked eyes, but oh weren't they so blue..
The last thought that went through her head before she lost her mind, was "His eyes! His eyes! There's something in his eyes!"
edit on 17-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
a reply to: AnkhMorpork
In the 10,000 years that Bob was gone, great medical advances had been made.
Heart disease was cured over 9,000 years ago. No one had had a heart attack in almost 100 centuries.
So when all the excitement caused Bob's heart to stop beating, no one knew what to do. So he died, and they were not able to resuscitate him. He was dead for good.
And so Bob did become famous... for being the first person to die of a heart attack in 100 centuries!
The End
In the 10,000 years that Bob was gone, great medical advances had been made.
Heart disease was cured over 9,000 years ago. No one had had a heart attack in almost 100 centuries.
So when all the excitement caused Bob's heart to stop beating, no one knew what to do. So he died, and they were not able to resuscitate him. He was dead for good.
And so Bob did become famous... for being the first person to die of a heart attack in 100 centuries!
The End
a reply to: craig732
And then, amid all the excitement, Bob had the first heart attack in 9000 years, and so he died for lack of a defibrillator, the "evil" doctor Ibid's mission complete, to the sound of cheers and hats in the air, and even ticker tape parades from here to kingdom come. And not unlike Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Bob went down in history for saving the universe from the death of love when things were at their foggiest.
But lo and behold, in resurrection and the transmigration of the soul, did he not then get to go for the Cosmic ride of his life in Santa's sleigh that he referred to as the "Silver Bullet", with three smiling amigos at the helm who weren't so bad after all and who, when they first intercepted Bob on arrival, were merely fulfilling their role and proper function as "Security" of last resort, as the Omegasphere Quantum Computer guiding their hyperdimensional ship integrated Bob into the Book of Life.
The end.
LOL!
Yeah, that's one way it could go, but is it fully satisfying? It does tie up a lot of loose ends though..
JK!
to be cont'd..
And then, amid all the excitement, Bob had the first heart attack in 9000 years, and so he died for lack of a defibrillator, the "evil" doctor Ibid's mission complete, to the sound of cheers and hats in the air, and even ticker tape parades from here to kingdom come. And not unlike Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Bob went down in history for saving the universe from the death of love when things were at their foggiest.
But lo and behold, in resurrection and the transmigration of the soul, did he not then get to go for the Cosmic ride of his life in Santa's sleigh that he referred to as the "Silver Bullet", with three smiling amigos at the helm who weren't so bad after all and who, when they first intercepted Bob on arrival, were merely fulfilling their role and proper function as "Security" of last resort, as the Omegasphere Quantum Computer guiding their hyperdimensional ship integrated Bob into the Book of Life.
The end.
LOL!
Yeah, that's one way it could go, but is it fully satisfying? It does tie up a lot of loose ends though..
JK!
to be cont'd..
edit on 18-9-2016 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)
a reply to: AnkhMorpork
I feel terrible now... I was only joking... I didn't really want to kill the main character! I take it back. My wife just told me I was an ass hole for doing it!
I feel terrible now... I was only joking... I didn't really want to kill the main character! I take it back. My wife just told me I was an ass hole for doing it!
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Mood Music Part VI
Music • 3272 • : Hellmutt -
Rishi Sunak to announce UK General Election on July 4th?
Political Issues • 71 • : Oldcarpy2 -
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Karl Nell discusses Government Disclosure of UAP
Aliens and UFOs • 3 • : grey580 -
Nearly 70 Percent of Gaza Aid From US Stolen
Middle East Issues • 43 • : KrustyKrab -
“We are all fundamentally good ... the heart itself is good,” says Pope Francis
Conspiracies in Religions • 15 • : Coelacanth55