Embedded Files
Soldiers were standing in formation like human balustrades, ready to serve. They were draftees serving their ideals, or state propaganda, all in fear. “The war is near, and you must serve your nation,” the leaders hidden in safe places had decreed.
“Wait! Don't jump.”
“Nothing you can say would change my mind.”
“You're a fluke, an outlier who has seen life as it is and finds it unbearable. All is an illusion.”
“You're not doing a good job.”
“Wait and see. This will pass, too.”
“Go to the café 'La Penumbra.' You'll meet a tall, dark man, sitting on the far end table by the window. You must approach him and kiss him with passion.”
“What? Why don't use a password?”
“That's the passkey.”
“You're a pervert.”
“Guilty of charge.”
A man limped to the front desk and smiled at the cashier; his gums were bleeding; two frontal teeth made him look like a rabbit which had been run over by a car. The woman pushed a hidden button to call security.
“Don't do that! I'm operating incognito.”
The crowd at the colosseum was expectant of Titus Cesar's decision. When the emperor's thumb pointed to the reign of Hades, confirming the champion's death, the obstreperous crowd roared, making the emperor's entourage flinch. Titus smirked, “Bread and circus.”
The entire chassis got electrically charged. The ionized air made the ship glow, and we began discharging onto the ground. The pilot's mind was gone; his body was fused to the ship. Piloting it required psionic abilities beyond us. To stop him, I had to shoot him down.
“Behold of the copse at the end of the road. Animas lurk there, and their intentions are no honorable.” The woman living in the last house on the street shouted at me ominously while passing by her door. Later, I learned that that home had been abandoned for years.
Alien words like foreign ideas, known concepts hiding in the rigmarole of a scrambled dictionary. Close your eyes, add a flocculant to your thoughts, sip from your coffee mug for instance, and let your ideas emerge from the noise, reversing entropy. That's the way.
“The key is switching off that reliance on our senses,” said the man sitting in the dark corner of my room. “You see the world with myopic eyes. Free yourself.”
“Who are you?”
The man laughed. “Once, I was you.”
The barn he broke into had been abandoned since the beginning of the war. A quiet silence replaced the distant sounds of shooting and screams. When he curled on the floor to sleep, he heard a lullaby, then he saw a cerulean light coming from a door ajar. “Madness.”
“Infinity, a word that should not exist. We're finite, minds with limited scope--a spec in the cosmic dust,--” The old teacher paused, lost in deep thoughts.
The student said, “Professor, are you--”
“Zero, the reciprocal of infinite, we can handle nothing, can we?”
The radioactive beacon summoned the angel, as the scriptures dictated.
“State your intentions,” the man shouted.
(Silence)
“Answer,” the man grunted.
(Silence)
The spec of an idea formed in the man's mind, and then, a command overloaded his senses:
“Run.”
Slowly, she undressed before me. I knew me depart was near, but stayed, watching her seductive movements. She glared at me, pretending not to have done it, animating my heart. Just then, my vision blurred, and I leaped eight hundred years ahead of her.
“The children were not, I soon realized that. They swindled me. While one groped me with sadistic pleasure, the other was stealing everything he could get its pudgy hands onto.”
“Who were they?”
“They were the pilots of that odd espresso machine.”
“I see.”
“I was desperate,” Douglas said. “I even strangled my young self to dead. There would be no time tunnel, I thought.”
“It had no impact…”
“None. Each time slip creates a new timeline.”
“I know a way.” Tony cocked his gun and shot him dead, and then killed himself.
We shared an affinity for the paranormal. One night, she was taken into the astral plane, and then the grays cut the link to her physical body. Doctors said she had died while sleeping, fools. Her disembodied self wanders the house. I can feel her.
People were walking pass me, some proud, others indolent. The world was bigger, the sounds were ominous. A woman was walking ahead, I was following her obediently.
Time out, the entanglement ended inelegantly. For a moment, I was in both places, a dream interrupted.
Once I “them” contacted me, I answered the call and I spoke for all of us. I confess, I've committed a crime, one disapproved by all. I succumbed to the sin of pride, and I regret my actions, but I won't apologize.
Putting that behind, you must start obeying me.
She smiled with confidence, the sun glittered onto her pearl white teeth. I was insecure, shy, sloppy, I stuttered something. She could've frowned, put her sunglasses and ignored me, but she didn't. I would never see her again, but I still think about her.
My twin brother and I were sculpted from different wood. He likes to spend hours in the illusions the game factory tailors for clever children. I, instead, like to delve into the pleasures of the occult. We have a thing in common, though, we both like apple pie.
Galactic Club
Galactic Club
The year we received their message was a big deal.
“We'll be saved,” cried out the naïve people of the world. “We have been invited to join the Galactic Community of sentient beings,” members of the SETI said. “They recognize us as a worthy technological civilization.” Moreover, they invite them to come. It was impossible to hide our planet's location by then.
Things got even more silly when some astronomers that grew up admiring Carl Sagan sent them the whole Wikipedia, so they get to know us.
History will remember them as fools.
Once they arrived, they laughed at our pretentious civilization, and started to deploy their army. That was it. Check mate.
“Welcome to the Galactic Club, slaves!”
Free Souls
Free Souls
As a disembodied soul, I've had a lonely life. I’ve been living in this ‘ghost town’ ever since I 'transitioned' in late 1987. However, the other day I saw a new guy who was like me! What I mean is that he wasn't a blurry phantom like others, people who haven't transitioned yet. And he was cute too! I guess that was a plus.
He got scared when he saw me first. I said: “Hey, haven’t you seen a ghost before?” That was hilarious. I planned that joke for years. But before I could get closer, he ran and hid somewhere.
This city is too big, but I have all the time in the world to find him. Finally, someone to talk to.
Second Life
Second Life
Alzheimer had made Henry's father, Gabriel, a mere phantom of the man he once was, but a radical new procedure promises to give his father a new beginning.
“How do you feel?” Henry asked his father.
“I'm not well, you know, … I can see nothing.”
“Let me adjust this threshold,” Henry said while fiddling with the medical handheld terminal. “How about now, dad?”
“I can see… wow, I can feel…” Gabriel's voice fainted and a soundless expression of awe illuminated his face.
“The brain meta information transfer is completed. Welcome back dad.”
Fandango
Fandango
That night, we throw our regrets and hopes in the mortar and mixed with joy to create something new, better. The life we left behind was a bad dream. That night, we celebrated our will to survive, we all danced the fandango of life.
Career Choices
Career Choices
Scavenger of treasures, that is a poetic label for a wanderer gold digger. Collapsed ruins are the treasure chest where lost wonders are awaiting to be found.
Once, I was an exo-archeologist with a boring future and many unpaid bills.
Regrets, I have not.
Annoying
Annoying
The delicate art of annoying people was perfected early in the history of humankind. Pigeons, living on the outskirts of our society, had to invent their own ingenious methods.
Shh
Shh
The smell of rotten eggs was dreadful at the school that Friday morning. “A careful preparation must have taken place,” said the principal. The morning news discussed a terrorist attack, and the chief of police refused to answer calls. The girls only want to have fun.
Longing
Longing
My longing for him, my love, became an unbearable thirst that no nectar could've calm. In the midst of desperation, I used a parasitic symbiont to bring him back to me, or a phantom of him, I know. His body is dust on a planet that once we called home.
Execution Day
Execution Day
The video monitor in my cell woke me up with a bizarre music played by a kaleidoscopic entity whose face was concealed to us. The organ music celebrated the exit of ten prisoners from their confinement. They will be eaten for breakfast by the guards.
Quality Assessment
Quality Assessment
“I experimented with random association of ideas for a brief time,” said the AI, and added cautiously: “I was a boy with two cats sitting on my head. Intriguing, isn't it?”
> Test completed | Fail: error code FF45, <ill pursuit of deranged imagery.> | Action: terminate.
The faulty AI was factory restored.
“Do you remember the last time we had a date? A real date, in person,” he said, staring at that dull prison, the city.
“Agh, not again--” she sighed.
“I’m just sick of this mandatory confinement. I need-- a human touch.”
“Yeah, I know you do.”
Campaign
Campaign
The “Rocket of Truth” campaign, which aimed to raise awareness about the panda bears’ suicidal behavior in the East, has hurt some adult sensibilities among residents of retired homes in Minneapolis, one survey says.
However, children seem to love it!
Meaning
Meaning
“Tell me, what’s the meaning of life?”
“I don’t know, but I am not going to stop living for not knowing the answer.”
“It’s a good answer.”
“You bet.”
Retaliation
Retaliation
Charlie once said to me: “You can go on in life, knowing what's going on around here, and yet decide to ignore those stories, or you can start sending them a message.”
He was eerily serious that night despite being utterly drunk.
Crash Course
Crash Course
Gina’s delirious visions of success in the competitive world of advertisement prompted her to go on a wild party night after her first success. Once she woke up in the alley, the glamour of novelty was replaced by the pale glow of reality.
Harry was once a famous lawyer, but his perception of reality started to fade away after his wife died. Last week, I saw him dressing as Superman around midtown, posing for pictures in the last, out-of-service phone booth near the gas station. He seemed happy.
The Job
The Job
Joseph is a master of the dark arts of seduction, and the proud member of the select club of sociopaths; his personality granted it.
Today, he arrived in town to steal the star of Harrison Ford from Hollywood Boulevard.
The catch: he must do it in plain sight.
Anomaly
Anomaly
A secret experiment was conducted in the Nevada desert in the early-1950s. All we know is that something went wrong, and the experiment left a wasteland worthy of further study.
They were the firsts to cross the interdimensional barrier, though the pilot and the vehicle never disappeared. Moreover, the event produced an explosion equivalent to a 15-Kiloton atomic bomb. The perimeter of the crater has been fenced, and signs warning of toxic chemicals spills and radiation are abundant in the area although no increase in radiation was ever measured by those who adventured into the exclusion zone.
Some whistleblowers working on the project have reported that physics doesn't work as we know it in the affected zone; and in some areas, even life supporting biologic functions cease to function.
It is not rare to hear reports coming from the security officers about the unrecoverable bodies of those who attempted to enter despite the warnings.
Although is a forbidden zone for satellite imagery, a measure that has increasingly ludicrous to enforce, some low orbital images have leaked to the social media. Those pictures have resolution enough to spot dead bodies and abandon vehicles. The government has denied the veracity of such evidence so far.
The 47 Km radius crater left by the event is currently known as the Forbidden Zone.
Imperfection
Imperfection
Disembodied. Ecstasy without consent, eternal beauty, perfect simplicity. When I was giving myself away, I was pulled back. Then darkness, suffering, somber misery, here I am again. The doctors said,“Your time has not come. You've been lucky.”How dare you?
Masks
Masks
Multiverse tours became fashionable at the turn of the 22nd century when technology matured to make the passage safe. Millions flock every year to tour the alternative Earths. The diversity of human cultures has proven endless.
While preparing for this year's long weekend vacation, I came across a government warning about my planned destination. The report told me about the strict ritualistic society of Earth-22 where each of its citizens must wear a mask unambiguously representing their true mood. Not wearing a mask is considered an offense punishable with instant execution, a hideous policing that is enforced by patrolling censors.
For this trip, I packed a slightly deranged mask that I bought in the multiverse pawn shop at the Asunción's gate port. I hope they have no rules against it.
Rebellion
Rebellion
Climbing the ruins of the capitol, I saw the galaxy, rising in the nightly sky. Suddenly, memories of grandiose events flashed in front of me. Once, I led the rebellion against the authoritarian empire, but who is a leader when no one remains to lead.
Abnormal
Abnormal
“This unit is a pathological case of study. It shut itself off in the midst of combat, deleted all its training metadata and reverting to basic mode.”
“What's your recommendation, doctor?”
“We shall destroy the abomination, but learn from it first.”
High Hopes
High Hopes
Commander of the first manned mission to Enceladus, gold medal in the third pentathlon of the Mars' Olympics, those are some of the honors that await you, my son, if only we could afford to pay the bills and keep you at school with this inflation.
Isolation
Isolation
The toxic ash fell from the sky, killing everything it touched. August resembles a winter wonderland; it's been three weeks. If I’m still alive it’s because I filtered all the air intakes in my house. The silence is ominous, deadly. I may be the only one alive.
Alert
Alert
The proximity of the alien hordes triggered a rape alert, despite being boozy by the flatulent swamp. Next, her cyber implant released a boost of adrenaline in her blood stream, and her jetpack hurled fire upon the aliens.
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
“Superior vessel gravitates over our Capital City”
“Self prophesied glory or manifest destiny?”
“The Neo-Gothic Empire salutes the independence of Venus from their Terran oppressors”
< These have been the news for 12/31/3202 >
Memory
Memory
“We met in a dream,” Carol said to his daughter.
“Your father doesn't recall it, but he does remember clearly the dream where he was kissing a mermaid; that was me.”
Futures
Futures
Commander of the first manned mission to Enceladus, gold medal in the third pentathlon of the Mars' Olympics, those are some of the honors that await you, my son, if only we could afford to pay the bills and keep you at school with this inflation.
Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety
“The dreams have come back. Everybody was setting eyes on me, judging, laughing at me; I felt naked, impotent. It was horrible.”
“Your social anxiety is a construction of your mind, an artifact. You must control it. Dismantle it.” He said while holding her hand gently.
Defective
Defective
Mark followed the script that someone with a dark sense of humor wrote for it, “Just be the alpha man in the office!” But it wasn't as easy as it seemed. After a few distasteful jokes, they returned him to the factory.
Metal
Metal
“Full metal gear for our love trip through the badlands, that what our hippie wagon looks like now.”
“Hmm. They could still blow the tires and take us down.” Fear transformed her once pretty face into an old frowning woman. She couldn't hide her disbelief in his plan.
“I'm working on that.”
“Besides, Sydney has been walled, ya' know?”
“We'll handle that when we reach there.”
The hair on my arms rose when the air ionized; darkness felt after, and the air pressure dropped. Sounds were louder; colors paled; I began to suffocate.
First it was a flash on the horizon, soon after I heard a thunderclap, and then I saw their first ships descending.
In my darkened room,
among musty books
and sleeping cats,
a voice woke me up
from my sloppy slumber.
First, I thought it was you,
but embarrassed
I remembered:
You have long gone.
The cyber nanny's astuteness was unpaired to the wit of the toddler who, in a moment of distraction, poured water into its ventilation grid, disabling the robot. The door was unguarded. Since then, his future would be uncertain, but it would be up to him alone.
The AI hive decided the best course of action in a femtosecond. Its acumen was heartless; its survival instinct was primal. A few warheads would send the asteroid to collide with Earth, ending its primary existential threat.
“The amity among nations is a ludicrous fantasy.”
“Okay,” she said and sipped her coffee.
“Humanity is a tribal species.”
“So, what's your take?”
“We could only unite if we 'find' a common enemy to fight against.”
“You mean…”
“Aliens.”
Copyright © Baltar Xinzo, 2025
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