Reflections

Asteroid mining wasn't exciting or charming. The pay was good; I just wish to live long enough to spend it. 

When we found that alien statue floating adrift, I thought I could retire. But the company made it disappear. We didn't even get a bonus for it.

Tucked in bed, warm and protected from the rain that poured outside, I had a cosmic epiphany. My entire life was a dream, the same as the lives of others. After we all die, we'll find that we were one and the same, dreaming to be other people. But then it won't matter. 

It was a bold move. Radioactive exposure would only harm living tissue, so they say. Maybe that's correct for the most part. The stem cells from amphibians made a difference. Biology is nanotech that works. The gamma radiation was plus.

A jolt in my leg woke me up. I opened my eyes. The brightest light I've seen leaked through the door ajar. It was midnight. A vision of a sexless boy calling me to a green field replaced the bedroom. “Go away!” I'm too old to fall for those cheap tricks.