by

Scattered: #writephoto

Thanks to Sue Vincent for a beautiful photo prompt. I went a little off-world on this one. Hope you enjoy.

*

“I’ll take the risk.” Captain Galles scratched the stubble graying his jaw. “If something happens to me, Corso’s in charge, not that you’ll have any decisions left.”

No one argued. What was the point? Forty chrons without food and water, we ran shy of options. We’d searched the black bowels of the alien freighter, a salvage operation by the looks of it, and found nothing but twisted and charred metal, every scrap incinerated clean. Our damaged shuttle lay on its side amidst the sea of relics.

The exception to the vast darkness was a panel of fractured light, a patterning of sublime beauty suspended over a polished dais. Our mechanical captors had wedged the unit against the compartment’s grated wall shortly after we found ourselves prisoners. Primitive cyborgs, the aliens lacked facial articulation and translation capabilities, the robotic language in all forms indecipherable. All our words and gestures proved futile, and our captain’s demands for basic sustenance went unheeded. They’d installed the contraption and left, its function a mystery.

The eight of us stood at the fringe of light as Galles stepped onto the dais. The array of lights above him hummed in a slow spin and increased in speed until they appeared to hurl backward. His mouth gaped in a silent wail, eyes pooled with terror. He struggled to escape the machine, hammered fists against an invisible barrier he couldn’t break. The lights blurred into a white star and he froze like a holograph set on pause.

His body began to disintegrate, clothing and skin breaking apart and floating like mist, then deeper, his whole shape loosening and scattering. He dissolved into swirling vapor, a haze of bright particles. A burst of blue current blinded me, and when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

I gasped and licked my parched lips, stifling an urge to vomit. Someone to my right heaved a dry sob. We sank to the floor where we’d stood, doomed. A day or two, we’d all be dead.

***

Amak studied the monitor. An unexpected reaction. It appears they are unfamiliar with teleportation. The fear response was extreme.

They are primitive. Rohla absorbed a wave of compassion emanating from the companion. They lack translation capabilities and do not understand the most basic of trinary languages. Their arithmetics are rudimentary. We have no means of communicating with them.

They choose death over the unknown. Amak shared the bafflement, their logic incomprehensible. Are we certain of the teleportation coordinates?

Without question. They were retrieved from their ship’s logs prior to processing.

Thoughts?

Rohla’s aura went silent, and Amak ceded to the desire for contemplation. Once completed, Rohla opened a channel and set the dilemma forth. Either we honor their choice as sentient beings and let them die, or we defy them, apply force, and save their lives.

133 thoughts on “Scattered: #writephoto”

  1. Dawn D says:
    September 30, 2017 at 8:21 am

    When I read the human version of this, my thoughts were “Because they can’t communicate with someone they assume that it’s because they’re too basic? How very human of us, thinking we’re better than everybody else!”
    The rest of the story proved me right! How sad that we can’t think outside the box for a minute, or hope for good rather than evil when met with someone/something different…

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      October 1, 2017 at 5:49 pm

      Thanks, Dawn. The communication problems go both ways, but yes, the human’s definitely assume the aliens are primitive and hostile. I wonder if after seeing the captain vaporized, I would step into that machine. I don’t know. It’s fun to leave these open at the end. Thanks for stopping by to read. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Teri Polen says:
    September 25, 2017 at 9:36 am

    Love the way your mind works, Diana.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Cloud Walker says:
    September 23, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    amazing how you let your words flow… 😻

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Julie Holmes, author says:
    September 23, 2017 at 4:44 am

    Great piece, Diana! And ending with the question of what will happen next, and of course we won’t know. Very sneaky–or cruel 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  5. roughwighting says:
    September 22, 2017 at 4:24 am

    I just LOVE how your mind works. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this – what? – sci fi alien yet so realistic story. Perhaps that’s the best way to describe it. I was right there. Beam me up, Diana….

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Wildlife Destination says:
    September 21, 2017 at 11:38 pm

    Fascinating decision toward the conclusion to deny another’s decision with a specific end goal to spare them. The two sides think the opposite side is primitive.

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 22, 2017 at 5:01 am

      Thanks so much for stopping by to read. It’s fun writing about aliens because of all the room for misinterpretation and the different perspectives. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend. 🙂

      Like

  7. ellenbest24 says:
    September 21, 2017 at 11:33 am

    A superb interpretation made mine seem tame, thought I had taken a risk but not as far reaching as yours. I love the flash that leaves you wanting and makes you wonder how it began.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Photo prompt round-up – Scattered #writephoto | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo says:
    September 21, 2017 at 2:03 am

    […] D. Wallace Peach at Myths of the Mirror […]

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Erik says:
    September 20, 2017 at 11:01 pm

    You really get at the heart of flash fiction in unique ways, Diana. I found myself pausing and admiring the vivid imagery you were able to create with your word choice in such a condensed space, where the workings and effect of the portal were concerned. It’s a complex image that not many could have described as clearly.

    And, as I’ve noticed with nearly all of your writing, you’ve always got a pulse on the human condition with elegant social commentary lurking in the subtext. Love it.

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 21, 2017 at 10:24 am

      Thanks so much, Erik. I don’t know where that subtext comes from, but it does tend to poke its head into my stories, sometimes without my knowledge! It cracks me up when some points out a detail that’s news to me. Yeah, yeah, I planned that (Not). Lol. Thanks for the great comments. Have an excellent day, my friend.

      Liked by 2 people

  10. L. T. Garvin, Author says:
    September 20, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    Diana, you do such a great job with these story prompts, and the photograph is always so neat and interesting. I enjoyed this rather gritty, alien quandary and I’ve always been interested in science fiction subjects such as teleportation. Very nice story!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Frank Hubeny says:
    September 20, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    Interesting choice at the end to deny another’s choice in order to save them. Both sides think the other side is primitive.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Lyn Horner says:
    September 20, 2017 at 11:29 am

    More, please!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Almost Iowa says:
    September 20, 2017 at 8:06 am

    Great story!

    I feel like Amak when I try to tell my outside cats about coyotes – but they won’t listen, preferring the allure of the night woods to the safety of the shed.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Jacqui Murray says:
    September 20, 2017 at 7:52 am

    Didn’t mind at all–the off-world approach. Great story. It leads nicely into “Where did they end up?”

    Liked by 2 people

  15. patriciaruthsusan says:
    September 20, 2017 at 3:42 am

    It seems these first people are unfamiliar with “Beam me up, Scotty.” Good story, Diana. Great description as always. 🙂 — Suzanne

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Shallow Reflections says:
    September 20, 2017 at 2:56 am

    What a terrific story from the photo prompt. Your imagination is out of this world!

    Liked by 2 people

  17. derrickjknight says:
    September 20, 2017 at 2:51 am

    Excellent story. I suspect Scotty is behind it all

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Annika Perry says:
    September 20, 2017 at 1:53 am

    And…you can’t leave us hanging there!!😃 Terrific story and not at all expected from the first paragraphs. I really enjoy the twist and Amak’s thoughts about the primitive beings!

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 20, 2017 at 8:17 am

      I had to leave it there, Annika. Because I don’t know what anyone decides, human or alien. It was fun to think about what I would do if I were stuck there. I’m not sure I would get in that machine. I’m so glad you enjoyed it 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Judith Barrow says:
    September 20, 2017 at 1:20 am

    I did enjoy this, Diana. Do you send these to competitions? You should. 🙂 xx

    Liked by 2 people

  20. dgkaye says:
    September 19, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    Wow! Was this a prompt or the beginning of a new book? Lol, fantastical! 🙂 x

    Liked by 3 people

  21. Jennie says:
    September 19, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    This is a great story, Diana. Gripping and exciting. So now, what’s going to happen?

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Bette A. Stevens says:
    September 19, 2017 at 4:46 pm

    Another great short!

    Liked by 2 people

  23. paulandruss says:
    September 19, 2017 at 4:16 pm

    I really liked this story Diana . There is a strong sense of completeness about it and as always written with nuance and great skill.

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks, Paul. I’m not what decision the aliens make. I’m not sure what I would do if I was one of those Earthlings – probably die, unless the aliens shoved me in there, which would be terrifying. It’s interesting to think about. Happy Writing, my friend 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • paulandruss says:
        September 20, 2017 at 10:53 am

        That came across very strongly. The total lack of communication between beings that communicate in entirely different ways, each incomprehensible to the other. The reader sees where each group stands and why. You understood the futility arising from the inability to communicate. The aliens’ frustration and our fear. There was a sense of watching a trapped animal : flies, bees even birds that get into the greenhouse and keep going to the perfectly obvious, to us, exit and then back away becoming more and more agitated. It was clever to put us (man – the pinnacles of God’s creation) in that position -it brought home that through our common evolutionary biology we are no different. Finally, (as I’m analysing this to death might as well go for it!) I liked how you presented our human arrogance. we considered the alien ‘robots’ primitive and savage because they did not wear a simulacrum of a human face.

        Liked by 1 person

        • D. Wallace Peach says:
          September 20, 2017 at 12:56 pm

          Thanks for the analysis., Paul. I love how you picked up on things I didn’t even think about or notice. Ha ha. That old muse seems to be adding subtlety behind my back.

          Liked by 1 person

          • paulandruss says:
            September 21, 2017 at 9:59 am

            Diana, for A-level I read about DH Lawrence and how subconscious imagery crept into Sons and Lovers and Women in Love, such as the mention of the type of flowers in a vase. (Not Lady Chatterley’s Lover I hasten to add- that was an entirely different vase of flowers). In those days I thought what tosh, he knew exactly what he was doing. Then I started writing and it is true so much subtlety creeps in… and that as you so rightly say is the muse!

            Liked by 2 people

    • Erik says:
      September 20, 2017 at 10:53 pm

      I agree, Paul: “a strong sense of completeness,” as if it were intended all along to open and close just where it did.

      Liked by 2 people

  24. Joanne Sisco says:
    September 19, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    I might have involuntarily let out a small snort when I read the line “I went a little off-world on this one”. Since when HAVEN’T you gone off-world? 🙂 🙂

    An interesting “2-sides of every coin” kind of story. Loved it.

    Liked by 4 people

  25. vanbytheriver says:
    September 19, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Very cool, D. You went there !! Nice take on that image.

    Liked by 2 people

  26. anotherfoodieblogger says:
    September 19, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Hi Diana! I have so missed your beautiful writings! This is a wonderful piece, and can certainly see this going in a few different directions.I hope all is well, wet and cold and windy today. I want summer back!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 4:37 pm

      Thanks for dropping by to read, Kathryn. You’ve had a great summer, I think. And yes! Two days of rain and we’re already complaining! I sure do hope there’s a little more dry weather ahead before the rains stick around. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  27. cagedunn says:
    September 19, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    This was great, a reminder of how we look at ourselves and ‘other’ and how they have the right to be as conceited as we in our understanding of ‘civilised’ – or not …

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      Yes! They both complain about the other lacking translation capabilities. I had fun putting that in there. Culture clashes are interesting to me, and with aliens it can get very interesting fast. 🙂 Happy Writing.

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Natalie Ducey says:
    September 19, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    This is magnificent, Diana! I just love your stories. Thanks so much for sharing. ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

  29. inesephoto says:
    September 19, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    Brilliant story, Diana. Makes me think about how many times some superior aliens took pity on us already without us knowing.

    Liked by 2 people

  30. anotetohuguette says:
    September 19, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    What a beautiful image, it inspired an intriguing story that makes one want to read more and learn about the alien characters, I really loved the compassion that they showed for the unwary humans that crossed their path!

    Liked by 2 people

  31. Duke says:
    September 19, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    we all need to go off world sometimes!

    Like

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 24, 2017 at 12:13 pm

      Thanks for the comment, Duke. I found two of your comments in spam this morning and apologize for the delay getting back to you. Thanks for stopping by to read. 🙂 Happy Sunday!

      Like

      • Array says:
        September 24, 2017 at 12:16 pm

        No problem. If that’s worst thing that ever happens in life then we are good. I have been to the valley where I almost lost everything that matters. Everything else compared to that is no big deal.

        Liked by 1 person

  32. babbitman says:
    September 19, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    Love it! Kind of reminds me of your sci-fi short, The Ghost Ship (which was the first thing of yours I read and made me want to find everything else!) – in fact at the beginning I wondered whether it might have been a prequel – 2 damaged spaceships & a twinkling light (like shards of a chandelier?).
    I treasure your sci-fi.
    🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 5:03 pm

      I didn’t even notice the similarities, Nick. I enjoy writing and reading sci-fi, but I don’t know if I’m sciency enough to sustain a whole novel. I do like alien perspectives, though. Hmmm. Thanks for reading, and Happy Writing!

      Liked by 2 people

  33. Bernadette says:
    September 19, 2017 at 1:23 pm

    Diana, I also liked the change in perspective that you brought about in this story. It is funny to think of humans as inferior. We are so accustomed to thinking we are superior. I like how you subtly brought that out. Quite a different take on Beam Me Up Scotty.

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 4:20 pm

      I was trying to avoid Star Trek lingo, Bernadette. 🙂 I tend to think that if there are other civilizations out there, we are probably somewhere lumped in the middle of the bell curve. We certainly aren’t very bright here on Earth. Lol. Have a lovely week my friend. ❤

      Liked by 3 people

  34. davidprosser says:
    September 19, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    What a beautifully crafted story, what a difficult decision for the aliens, presumably having only only their own race’s actions under these conditions as their guide.
    xxx Huge Hugs xxx

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      September 19, 2017 at 4:16 pm

      Thanks, David. That’s all part of the fun, thinking about the different ways the paradigms might fit or conflict. Even these aliens are rather “human.” xx Huge Hugs xx

      Liked by 1 person

      • Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC says:
        September 19, 2017 at 6:45 pm

        I saw the aliens less as “human” and more god-like in their concern over interceding in free-will. Many thoughts inspired by this piece, Diana. I worked my way down the comments, “liking” with abandon. DITTO!

        I don’t know how “sciency” you’d need to be to expand this into a novel. Philosophical and metaphysical as much as Sci-Fi. SO many threads in this short piece alone. I don’t read SciFi as a rule, but I’d jump at the chance to read the rest of this.

        I clicked over from the Senior Salon, btw – great to see it back up again, especially knowing that it means that Bernadette is beginning to heal, feeling better after the death of her son.
        xx,
        mgh
        (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
        ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
        “It takes a village to transform a world!”

        Liked by 2 people

  35. thecontentedcrafter says:
    September 19, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    I so like your writing Diana! I like the way you described the two different realities – the inability to understand thought processes and the way fear stops us from thinking or daring. It could be a modern fable! And of course as a reader I want you to carry on and take me to the end of the story 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  36. Lynz Real Cooking says:
    September 19, 2017 at 11:09 am

    Wow this is so powerful! I wonder what will happen!

    Liked by 2 people

  37. SebnemSanders says:
    September 19, 2017 at 10:30 am

    Great story, Diana. Will the aliens save the inferior humans? Nice hook at the end. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  38. watchingthedaisies says:
    September 19, 2017 at 10:26 am

    Goodness Diana I did not expect the ending. Beautifully written. 🌼🌼🌼

    Liked by 2 people

  39. Iris@poetsmith says:
    September 19, 2017 at 10:21 am

    Simply fascinating! Wonderfully creative… I enjoyed that, Diana. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  40. Jason H. Abbott says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:48 am

    Very well done Diana!

    Liked by 2 people

  41. delphini510 says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:28 am

    Well written and your imagination is very vivid. I am glad it is still light out there as I have time to recover from this scene. :))
    miriam

    Liked by 2 people

  42. ghostmmnc says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:27 am

    You left them in the lurch! What is going to happen to them? Great story … so far 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  43. Teagan R. Geneviene says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Ah-ha! Well done Diana. I felt a twist was coming and I loved the “dance.” Hugs on the wing!

    Liked by 2 people

  44. Andrew Joyce says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:19 am

    You have a good eye.

    Liked by 2 people

  45. Cynthia Reyes says:
    September 19, 2017 at 9:10 am

    A very interesting image!

    Liked by 1 person

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