TEEN: - Complete Infinite Unimportance

[Ultra Pidgeot]

Hey, everybody. I hardly ever post on here but I've started flexing my writing muscle once again. Here is a little short story (and I do mean short). Enjoy! Or don't. You've got free will.​

Hollywood would have you believe that space, when seen from the interior of an interstellar vessel, looks much like it does in photos of space. Majestic multicolored nebulas swirl about, full of gas and energy and life. Beautiful, distant galaxies spiral on endlessly, their stars and colors spun out like some work by Pollock. Hollywood is utterly wrong.

Space, as seen from the interior of an interstellar vessel is infinite and black and horrifying. Andre was quickly discovering this. He was transfixed by the infinite blackness that stretched out before him, continuing endless light years out from him. The sudden realization of his insignificance hit him like a load of bricks. He staggered back from the window, furiously gasping for air and desperately clutching at his chest. It felt as though his heart had been ripped out and a raw, bloodied hole was all that remained. He stumbled, falling onto his ass. He furiously scuttled backwards until he found himself smashed against the cold steel wall of the space ship, lest the unending inky black of outer space suck him in and destroy him. Several inches of high density, heat resistant plexiglass prevented this, of course, but in that particular moment Andre forgot this fact.

He spent hours curled into a miserable little ball in the hallway, rocking back and forth, utterly terrified. The ship's orderlies finally found him when he was absent for dinner. He was unceremoniously carted to the psychiatric ward, where he spent the remaining duration of the voyage, slowly recovering.

It was only a few weeks after this that interstellar vehicles were mandated to have their windows removed due to the increasing regularity of similar incidents. It was too late for Andre, however. He would never fully recover from the horror of realizing his own infinite unimportance. He had been there, on the edge, and he had stared into the abyss. It had indeed stared back.

 

[industry]

I like it, the subject matter and style echoes some of Heinlein's earlier work (specifically, Have Space Suit, Will Travel). This also reminds me of the Total Perspective Vortex from HHG.

Keep it up! Polish those writing skills!

 

[MuddyMudkip]

I enjoyed this piece very much; it was a nice, quick read that sortof makes you reflect on your "insignificance," that makes you think about space, about this massive universe, in this manner. I absolutely loved the detail, the way you wrote this - everything felt so real, described so vividly. The way you described Andre's reaction was simply amazing, and it was like I could just see it in my head, how he staggered back and all that. ^_^

Keep up the great work!

 

[SuperTrainStationH]

Well!! I've had the this open in a tab on my browser for weeks now, and having finally gotten the chance to sit down and read it I'm glad I did.

I like the stubborn refusal of the narrative to give into the temptation of romanticism. It reminds me of several days ago when I saw a rather pretty butterfly feasting on a pile of fresh dog dung.

A very short read, but for that it was rather thought provoking and entertaining.

Thanks for sharing!