I realized the other day that I didn’t really mention in my blog why I was writing stories. I told a few people face to face, so I just didn’t think about it. Basically, I’m writing stories because I feel like Allison does today… only I feel that way all the time. When someone asks me what is new, I can’t usually come up with much.
I’ve written stories before for fun, and Jen kept saying that I should write some more, so I decided to start a random story and see where it went. Now, writers are often asked where they get their characters and ideas from. My plots are often just a random train of thought. For instance when Jonathan Wyndham was buying his new fly minion, I randomly came up with the idea to have the fly genetically keyed to obey him. I don’t think that I have heard that particular concept before, although I might have. I just figured that if they were genetically mutating animals, they could probably genetically mutate them a little further without much effort.
The characters in my stories come from all of you. I just take people I know and imagine how they would act in my story. As I’m sure you all have guessed, the character of Rakthor is based loosely on Dustin. I won’t tell you who the overly dominating Sylvie is. You’ll have to just wonder which of you it is... Ok, I’m just kidding, I don’t base my characters on any of you.
Anyway, now you know why I’m writing stories. It’s just because I’m bored and don’t have anything else to blog about that is super interesting, and I like writing.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Escolia- Part 2
Jon walked confidentially toward the pilot's cabin, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He decided that it was best to pretend he hadn't humiliated himself the day before. After all, if he let Sylvie know that she had gotten to him, it would just encourage her.
Jon sat in the commander's chair and called, “Sylvie?”
With a loud popping noise, Sylvie suddenly appeared in front of him, causing Jon to jump involuntarily.
“Do you really need to make a noise when you appear like that?”
Sylvie grinned impishly, “That all depends on how much I need to see that look of terror on your face.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Jon sighed. “Sylvie, I need you to plot a course for Zrakthia.”
“What's in Zrakthia?”
“Well, every good pirate needs a pet of some sort, and the geneticists there are doing some great work with enhanced animal behavior.”
A look of amused surprise crossed Sylvie's face. “You think you are a pirate?”
Jon was a little embarrassed and defensive. “Well, I read about pirates in books, and I'm trying to be one. It's hard though, I don't have anyone to learn from.”
“Did you ever think about trying to watch a movie about pirates? I mean, your clothing is all wrong, and you aren't even trying to to use an accent.”
Jon was dumbfounded. “Of course! Why didn't I think of that?”
Sylvie mumbled to herself, “Probably for the same reason that you decided to fly through an asteroid field that was out of your way.”
“What did you say?”
In answer, Sylvie set the ship's course for Zrakthia. Jon called up old 21st century movies and began watching them to see what he could learn.
The Zrakthian spaceport was teeming with life of every kind. Aliens with every imaginable bulbous protrusion crowded the marketplace. Most business was done in the orbiting spaceports, since a great deal of the planet's native life was quite deadly to the unprepared visitor. On a world where even infants shot lasers from their eyes, the wildlife was quite deadly. Jon's gaudy pirate's hat barely got a second glance, but that was no surprise, given the other outlandish outfits and body parts that everyone else had.
Jon headed toward the geneticist's building, where mutated animals and creatures of all types were on display. A large chameleon with what appeared to be computer inputs sat under a sign that explained “Plug this chameleon into your ship and let its natural camouflage act as a cloaking device to make you completely invisible.” A bird had the dual purpose of chirping the most beautiful bird song that Jon had ever heard, as well as a programmable feature that allowed it to be used as an alarm. Tiny elephants that could fit in a human hand eagerly jumped around a glass container, to the delight of a group of children who were watching them expectantly.
Jon realized with disappointment that he couldn't find any parrots and only one type of monkey which apparently did little more than play the violin poorly.. He continued to browse, close to giving up and trying a different store when he noticed an enormous fly. It was the size of a small dog, and a sign announced “Enhanced Intelligence.” Curious, he examined it more closely. Its description explained that it was able to understand and complete simple tasks. It wasn't quite a parrot, but it did fly, and it would be useful to have a pet that was so versatile. The price was a modest 500 million escolians. Not a bad deal at all.
A piece of Jon's hair was used to genetically key his new pet to accept and obey orders from him. Such pets were coded in a way that prevented them from harming any living creature that was not threatening the life of its master. Jon decided to name his new fly Rakthor, as it sounded like a suitably fearsome name for a pirate's pet.
Rakthor perched on Jon's shoulder as he walked toward the food market. A few popular food chains from Earth had survived for thousands of years, and Jon was pleased to see the familiar Starbucks and McDonalds. As he waited in line to get a burger, he noted with disgust that a single escolian would now only buy 3 chicken nuggets. He bought twelve nuggets for Rakthor and filled out a complaint card to let the management know how outraged he was at their overpriced nuggets. Argh, the dread pirate Jonathan Wyndham wants to tell ye that yer nuggets are too expensive. Shiver me timbers if I don't attack the first of yer ships that I sees, ifin ye don't do something about it. He would be surprised if the prices didn't fall within the week.
Now that Jon had a fly minion, it was time to do something suitably piratish. Kidnapping a beautiful woman seemed like the best place to start. His funds needed some replenishing, and a good ransom might be just the thing he needed. Since the market place was still full of people, he decided to walk the streets, looking for his first victim.
An alien female with brilliantly orange skin caught his attention. She was wearing a large amount of jewelry, and her clothes looked to be rather expensive as well. Jon headed toward her, to get a better look and see if she would be worth the effort. Rakthor buzzed in eager anticipation, obviously as excited as he was. She did not appear much different than a human, other than her skin color. Only two arms and two legs, which meant that Jon wouldn’t have to wonder if any of the extra appendages had evolved as a type of weapon. Jon was not able to see any weapons on her in fact, something that made him a little suspicious. It seemed like most people in the market had a weapon of some kind.
Rakthor suddenly began to buzz and squeak in outraged tones. Jon turned to see what could possibly be upsetting him so much and saw an enormous frog. The frog, which came up to Jon’s waist, seemed to be focused intently on the same orange alien female that they had been watching a moment ago. Jon watched in amazement as the frog’s tongue shot out lightning fast from an incredible distance and snatched several of the expensive looking pearls that the female was wearing. It seemed like no one but them had happened to see the thievery, and he was not entirely sure he had actually seen it.
“Hmm, that might be a useful pet to have. Being able to take things from a distance like that would be nice.” Jon said to himself quietly. Rakthor was outraged and flew off of Jon’s shoulder and began angrily buzzing and squeaking in his face.
Before Jon could act to quiet his upset pet, a small explosion sounded, and he looked in surprise to see what appeared to be the flesh of some creature flying in all directions from a point where moments before a particular frog had squatted. There was no great uproar of the incident, apparently exploding frogs were commonplace here. “Blasted frogs are always exploding,” a passerby confirmed.
Jon quietly reevaluated the bright orange female. It would appear that her jewelry was for far more than show. He shuddered to think what might have happened if he had taken that woman on his ship with so many hidden explosives.
Rakthor had landed in the middle of where the explosion had originated from and was rolling around on his back while kicking his legs in the air, apparently in great mirth. Jon decided to leave him to his celebration while he continued looking for another potential victim. He spotted her almost at once.
There was not much that stood out about her. She was well dressed, but not extravagantly. Her height and attractiveness were also a bit above average, but not exceptional. A blaster was strapped to her leg, which made Jon decidedly more comfortable. If her weapon was obviously visible, he probably didn’t need to worry about any hidden ones. Jon followed her as she headed off toward a space ship and then called Sylvie tell her which ship to begin tracking.
Jon returned to find Rakthor, only to see him now dancing in delight on the spot where the frog had met its demise, as if he had been responsible for the defeat of a great and terrible foe.
Calling to Rakthor, Jon quickly hurried off to his own spaceship to begin his second great act as a pirate.
Jon sat in the commander's chair and called, “Sylvie?”
With a loud popping noise, Sylvie suddenly appeared in front of him, causing Jon to jump involuntarily.
“Do you really need to make a noise when you appear like that?”
Sylvie grinned impishly, “That all depends on how much I need to see that look of terror on your face.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Jon sighed. “Sylvie, I need you to plot a course for Zrakthia.”
“What's in Zrakthia?”
“Well, every good pirate needs a pet of some sort, and the geneticists there are doing some great work with enhanced animal behavior.”
A look of amused surprise crossed Sylvie's face. “You think you are a pirate?”
Jon was a little embarrassed and defensive. “Well, I read about pirates in books, and I'm trying to be one. It's hard though, I don't have anyone to learn from.”
“Did you ever think about trying to watch a movie about pirates? I mean, your clothing is all wrong, and you aren't even trying to to use an accent.”
Jon was dumbfounded. “Of course! Why didn't I think of that?”
Sylvie mumbled to herself, “Probably for the same reason that you decided to fly through an asteroid field that was out of your way.”
“What did you say?”
In answer, Sylvie set the ship's course for Zrakthia. Jon called up old 21st century movies and began watching them to see what he could learn.
The Zrakthian spaceport was teeming with life of every kind. Aliens with every imaginable bulbous protrusion crowded the marketplace. Most business was done in the orbiting spaceports, since a great deal of the planet's native life was quite deadly to the unprepared visitor. On a world where even infants shot lasers from their eyes, the wildlife was quite deadly. Jon's gaudy pirate's hat barely got a second glance, but that was no surprise, given the other outlandish outfits and body parts that everyone else had.
Jon headed toward the geneticist's building, where mutated animals and creatures of all types were on display. A large chameleon with what appeared to be computer inputs sat under a sign that explained “Plug this chameleon into your ship and let its natural camouflage act as a cloaking device to make you completely invisible.” A bird had the dual purpose of chirping the most beautiful bird song that Jon had ever heard, as well as a programmable feature that allowed it to be used as an alarm. Tiny elephants that could fit in a human hand eagerly jumped around a glass container, to the delight of a group of children who were watching them expectantly.
Jon realized with disappointment that he couldn't find any parrots and only one type of monkey which apparently did little more than play the violin poorly.. He continued to browse, close to giving up and trying a different store when he noticed an enormous fly. It was the size of a small dog, and a sign announced “Enhanced Intelligence.” Curious, he examined it more closely. Its description explained that it was able to understand and complete simple tasks. It wasn't quite a parrot, but it did fly, and it would be useful to have a pet that was so versatile. The price was a modest 500 million escolians. Not a bad deal at all.
A piece of Jon's hair was used to genetically key his new pet to accept and obey orders from him. Such pets were coded in a way that prevented them from harming any living creature that was not threatening the life of its master. Jon decided to name his new fly Rakthor, as it sounded like a suitably fearsome name for a pirate's pet.
Rakthor perched on Jon's shoulder as he walked toward the food market. A few popular food chains from Earth had survived for thousands of years, and Jon was pleased to see the familiar Starbucks and McDonalds. As he waited in line to get a burger, he noted with disgust that a single escolian would now only buy 3 chicken nuggets. He bought twelve nuggets for Rakthor and filled out a complaint card to let the management know how outraged he was at their overpriced nuggets. Argh, the dread pirate Jonathan Wyndham wants to tell ye that yer nuggets are too expensive. Shiver me timbers if I don't attack the first of yer ships that I sees, ifin ye don't do something about it. He would be surprised if the prices didn't fall within the week.
Now that Jon had a fly minion, it was time to do something suitably piratish. Kidnapping a beautiful woman seemed like the best place to start. His funds needed some replenishing, and a good ransom might be just the thing he needed. Since the market place was still full of people, he decided to walk the streets, looking for his first victim.
An alien female with brilliantly orange skin caught his attention. She was wearing a large amount of jewelry, and her clothes looked to be rather expensive as well. Jon headed toward her, to get a better look and see if she would be worth the effort. Rakthor buzzed in eager anticipation, obviously as excited as he was. She did not appear much different than a human, other than her skin color. Only two arms and two legs, which meant that Jon wouldn’t have to wonder if any of the extra appendages had evolved as a type of weapon. Jon was not able to see any weapons on her in fact, something that made him a little suspicious. It seemed like most people in the market had a weapon of some kind.
Rakthor suddenly began to buzz and squeak in outraged tones. Jon turned to see what could possibly be upsetting him so much and saw an enormous frog. The frog, which came up to Jon’s waist, seemed to be focused intently on the same orange alien female that they had been watching a moment ago. Jon watched in amazement as the frog’s tongue shot out lightning fast from an incredible distance and snatched several of the expensive looking pearls that the female was wearing. It seemed like no one but them had happened to see the thievery, and he was not entirely sure he had actually seen it.
“Hmm, that might be a useful pet to have. Being able to take things from a distance like that would be nice.” Jon said to himself quietly. Rakthor was outraged and flew off of Jon’s shoulder and began angrily buzzing and squeaking in his face.
Before Jon could act to quiet his upset pet, a small explosion sounded, and he looked in surprise to see what appeared to be the flesh of some creature flying in all directions from a point where moments before a particular frog had squatted. There was no great uproar of the incident, apparently exploding frogs were commonplace here. “Blasted frogs are always exploding,” a passerby confirmed.
Jon quietly reevaluated the bright orange female. It would appear that her jewelry was for far more than show. He shuddered to think what might have happened if he had taken that woman on his ship with so many hidden explosives.
Rakthor had landed in the middle of where the explosion had originated from and was rolling around on his back while kicking his legs in the air, apparently in great mirth. Jon decided to leave him to his celebration while he continued looking for another potential victim. He spotted her almost at once.
There was not much that stood out about her. She was well dressed, but not extravagantly. Her height and attractiveness were also a bit above average, but not exceptional. A blaster was strapped to her leg, which made Jon decidedly more comfortable. If her weapon was obviously visible, he probably didn’t need to worry about any hidden ones. Jon followed her as she headed off toward a space ship and then called Sylvie tell her which ship to begin tracking.
Jon returned to find Rakthor, only to see him now dancing in delight on the spot where the frog had met its demise, as if he had been responsible for the defeat of a great and terrible foe.
Calling to Rakthor, Jon quickly hurried off to his own spaceship to begin his second great act as a pirate.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Post delayed
I tried to write another episode of Jonathan Wyndham, but it needs some refinement before I post. Don't worry, I'll put it up as soon as I get it done.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Escolia- Introduction to Jonathan Wyndham
Jonathan Wyndham gripped the smooth controls of his class C4 starship in eager anticipation. He had just seen a small asteroid cluster in the center of the Escolian galaxy, only slightly out of his way, and decided to fly through it, a sort of testing ground for his new and very sleek intergalactic star-voyaging machine. If anyone had been watching, this would be a moment that would have gone down in history. Jonathan Wyndham conquering the first of his most perilous trials.
The fearless and intrepid space pilot, overcoming overwhelming obstacles. Jon thought. He cackled gleefully, “Overcomer of Overwhelming Obstacles, I should probably have that emblazoned on the hull of this beauty.”
A shimmering figure of an attractive woman appeared to the side of Jon’s vision. “How about ‘Obstinate Oaf, Overcomer of Obvious Obsticles.’” Ah yes, he had almost forgotten about the artificial intelligence that came with the ship, complete with its own holographic projector.
“Sylvie, darling, I wouldn’t expect your computer’s brain to begin to understand the need of man to conquer and tame nature.”
Truth be told, his ship wasn’t exactly “new” in the conventional sense of the word. The previous owner had been an eccentric quintillionaire who collected starships. He had made his vast fortune by programming AI’s and custom fitting starships with whatever devices their owners wanted. When Jon had approached him and told the man of his life’s ambition and how he absolutely had to have a space ship to accomplish it, the man had smiled sagely and said there was only one ship that could possibly be up to the task. The C4 was ancient, almost nobody would have wasted money on it. Jon had been intensely skeptical at first. The old man had explained that “this ship has more whistles and bells, hidden compartments, secret weapons, added thrusters, invisibility, cloaking devices, lasers, shields, food replicators, and cool graffiti than you can shake a Zrakthian baby at.” People were always shaking Zrakthian babies at things, probably because of lasers that shot from their eyes when you did it.
“And that’s not all. This baby has the most advanced AI on board that the universe will probably ever know. I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting it, and this is the one and only ship that I’ve ever put it in.”
Jon had fought mightily to keep the pleased smile from his face. This would fit perfectly into his plan. The element of surprise was of absolute importance in his future career. No one would suspect an old C4 to have all the gadgets of a much newer starship, and the too-cool flames painted all over the body of the ship were just icing on the cake. He had been hoping to spend only 50 billion escolians on a new starship that he would take the time to outfit on his own, but this thing was beyond his wildest dreams. He had tried to haggle for a while with the man, offering only 25 billion at first. They had almost settled on the relatively modest price of 600 billion when the man had disclosed the final and perhaps most important accessory a ship could have.
“Did I mention that there is an Ultra HD HoloTV in the bedroom?”
That did it. Jon had always wanted a TV in his bedroom, but his parents had stubbornly refused, despite all of his pleading. To have one of the Ultra HD HoloTV’s… Jon had only seen them in adds before. Without hesitating further, Jon had given up almost all of the rest of his savings, a modest two trillion Escolians. Armed with only his new spaceship and his wits, Jon set out to accomplish his life’s ambition
Jonathan Wyndham fancied himself a space pirate. From the time he was four months old, he had dreamed of exploring the furthest reaches of space, seeking out hidden alien treasure, holding wealthy and beautiful women hostage, making his fortune with nothing more than his keen intellect and fast reflexes. Women would swoon when they heard his name, a name that would be feared and respected by all who knew it.
All of that was going to start today, as he navigated the soon to be infamous Wyndham asteroid belt. After all, the chances were slim that anyone had ever named this particular asteroid cluster, so why not name it after himself?
Sylvie laughed and laughed. “I understand men better than you think. Conquering nature indeed. Nature could crush you at any time, but because you climb a mountain, fly through an asteroid field, or shake Zrakthian babies you feel invincible.”
“Women! You never make any sense. How do Zrakthian babies even fit into this?” Jon couldn’t help himself from talking to the computer like it was an actual woman. It’s just a computer. There is no reason to let it get under your skin.
“They are all stupid things that men do to prove their manhood. Have you ever stopped to think what those poor babies are feeling? Why do you think that lasers come out of their eyes in the first place?”
“First of all, how do you know that Zrakthian babies don’t show their mothers how much they love them by shooting lasers at them? And secondly, you are nothing more than an overly complicated AI. I thought you were supposed to help me, not psychoanalyze my every thought!”
This computer was certainly more than Jon had bargained for. He had been duped by that crafty old man. Most AI’s were programmed to sound like machines, and they never volunteered their opinions. And who had ever heard of an AI that sounded and reasoned like a woman? It was absolutely ridiculous, that’s what it was, like having his mother along to offer her advice.
“Fine, if you don’t want my help, you can try to make it through this asteroid belt by yourself.”
That was fine with Jon. He maneuvered his ship into the midst of the chunks of rock and began smoothly dodging in and around them. The C4 was spectacular. It responded so perfectly to his control that it was as if it was responding directly to his thoughts.
A small and unexpected asteroid seemed to appear out of nowhere. It struck the ship with a resounding smack, but only left a dent. A lesser man might have panicked, but not Jonathan Wyndham. A lesser man would probably have already smashed himself to pieces, Jon thought with intense satisfaction. He tossed his hair in an imaginary wind, as he imagined an old time pirate might have done. I am the master of my domain.
An odd noise distracted Jon from his moment of exaltation. It sounded oddly like someone trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. Glancing at the image of Sylvie he saw her shoulders shaking violently. Hesitantly he asked, “Sylvie?”
Jon almost had to cover his ears as Sylvie threw back her head and a raucous burst of laughter echoed off the walls. “What’s so funny?” He asked with a fair bit of annoyance.
“You… you’re flying…” Sylvie rolled on the ground, kicking her feet in the air, arms pressed against her stomach as another fit of laughter seized her. Finally, with a supreme effort of will, she managed to regain her composure somewhat. “You are flying around these things so slowly. You look like a two year old, absolutely concentrated on maneuvering his tricycle around the kitchen table.” She collapsed in another fit of helpless laughter. Jon felt his face flush with embarrassment. He was going to have to have this AI serviced when he got into a docking station again.
“Well, if you think it’s so easy, why don’t you just give it a try.”
Almost before the words were out of his mouth, the controls of his ship stopped responding to his touch. Jon watched in horror as all thrusters went online and their speed began to increase phenomenally. The asteroids became a blur as the ship darted in and around with movements so quick that his eyes couldn’t begin to follow them. With a wail of terror he crumpled in a heap on the floor and passed out.
The fearless and intrepid space pilot, overcoming overwhelming obstacles. Jon thought. He cackled gleefully, “Overcomer of Overwhelming Obstacles, I should probably have that emblazoned on the hull of this beauty.”
A shimmering figure of an attractive woman appeared to the side of Jon’s vision. “How about ‘Obstinate Oaf, Overcomer of Obvious Obsticles.’” Ah yes, he had almost forgotten about the artificial intelligence that came with the ship, complete with its own holographic projector.
“Sylvie, darling, I wouldn’t expect your computer’s brain to begin to understand the need of man to conquer and tame nature.”
Truth be told, his ship wasn’t exactly “new” in the conventional sense of the word. The previous owner had been an eccentric quintillionaire who collected starships. He had made his vast fortune by programming AI’s and custom fitting starships with whatever devices their owners wanted. When Jon had approached him and told the man of his life’s ambition and how he absolutely had to have a space ship to accomplish it, the man had smiled sagely and said there was only one ship that could possibly be up to the task. The C4 was ancient, almost nobody would have wasted money on it. Jon had been intensely skeptical at first. The old man had explained that “this ship has more whistles and bells, hidden compartments, secret weapons, added thrusters, invisibility, cloaking devices, lasers, shields, food replicators, and cool graffiti than you can shake a Zrakthian baby at.” People were always shaking Zrakthian babies at things, probably because of lasers that shot from their eyes when you did it.
“And that’s not all. This baby has the most advanced AI on board that the universe will probably ever know. I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting it, and this is the one and only ship that I’ve ever put it in.”
Jon had fought mightily to keep the pleased smile from his face. This would fit perfectly into his plan. The element of surprise was of absolute importance in his future career. No one would suspect an old C4 to have all the gadgets of a much newer starship, and the too-cool flames painted all over the body of the ship were just icing on the cake. He had been hoping to spend only 50 billion escolians on a new starship that he would take the time to outfit on his own, but this thing was beyond his wildest dreams. He had tried to haggle for a while with the man, offering only 25 billion at first. They had almost settled on the relatively modest price of 600 billion when the man had disclosed the final and perhaps most important accessory a ship could have.
“Did I mention that there is an Ultra HD HoloTV in the bedroom?”
That did it. Jon had always wanted a TV in his bedroom, but his parents had stubbornly refused, despite all of his pleading. To have one of the Ultra HD HoloTV’s… Jon had only seen them in adds before. Without hesitating further, Jon had given up almost all of the rest of his savings, a modest two trillion Escolians. Armed with only his new spaceship and his wits, Jon set out to accomplish his life’s ambition
Jonathan Wyndham fancied himself a space pirate. From the time he was four months old, he had dreamed of exploring the furthest reaches of space, seeking out hidden alien treasure, holding wealthy and beautiful women hostage, making his fortune with nothing more than his keen intellect and fast reflexes. Women would swoon when they heard his name, a name that would be feared and respected by all who knew it.
All of that was going to start today, as he navigated the soon to be infamous Wyndham asteroid belt. After all, the chances were slim that anyone had ever named this particular asteroid cluster, so why not name it after himself?
Sylvie laughed and laughed. “I understand men better than you think. Conquering nature indeed. Nature could crush you at any time, but because you climb a mountain, fly through an asteroid field, or shake Zrakthian babies you feel invincible.”
“Women! You never make any sense. How do Zrakthian babies even fit into this?” Jon couldn’t help himself from talking to the computer like it was an actual woman. It’s just a computer. There is no reason to let it get under your skin.
“They are all stupid things that men do to prove their manhood. Have you ever stopped to think what those poor babies are feeling? Why do you think that lasers come out of their eyes in the first place?”
“First of all, how do you know that Zrakthian babies don’t show their mothers how much they love them by shooting lasers at them? And secondly, you are nothing more than an overly complicated AI. I thought you were supposed to help me, not psychoanalyze my every thought!”
This computer was certainly more than Jon had bargained for. He had been duped by that crafty old man. Most AI’s were programmed to sound like machines, and they never volunteered their opinions. And who had ever heard of an AI that sounded and reasoned like a woman? It was absolutely ridiculous, that’s what it was, like having his mother along to offer her advice.
“Fine, if you don’t want my help, you can try to make it through this asteroid belt by yourself.”
That was fine with Jon. He maneuvered his ship into the midst of the chunks of rock and began smoothly dodging in and around them. The C4 was spectacular. It responded so perfectly to his control that it was as if it was responding directly to his thoughts.
A small and unexpected asteroid seemed to appear out of nowhere. It struck the ship with a resounding smack, but only left a dent. A lesser man might have panicked, but not Jonathan Wyndham. A lesser man would probably have already smashed himself to pieces, Jon thought with intense satisfaction. He tossed his hair in an imaginary wind, as he imagined an old time pirate might have done. I am the master of my domain.
An odd noise distracted Jon from his moment of exaltation. It sounded oddly like someone trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. Glancing at the image of Sylvie he saw her shoulders shaking violently. Hesitantly he asked, “Sylvie?”
Jon almost had to cover his ears as Sylvie threw back her head and a raucous burst of laughter echoed off the walls. “What’s so funny?” He asked with a fair bit of annoyance.
“You… you’re flying…” Sylvie rolled on the ground, kicking her feet in the air, arms pressed against her stomach as another fit of laughter seized her. Finally, with a supreme effort of will, she managed to regain her composure somewhat. “You are flying around these things so slowly. You look like a two year old, absolutely concentrated on maneuvering his tricycle around the kitchen table.” She collapsed in another fit of helpless laughter. Jon felt his face flush with embarrassment. He was going to have to have this AI serviced when he got into a docking station again.
“Well, if you think it’s so easy, why don’t you just give it a try.”
Almost before the words were out of his mouth, the controls of his ship stopped responding to his touch. Jon watched in horror as all thrusters went online and their speed began to increase phenomenally. The asteroids became a blur as the ship darted in and around with movements so quick that his eyes couldn’t begin to follow them. With a wail of terror he crumpled in a heap on the floor and passed out.
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