Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Final Draft)

Strange World

...sank into the darkness and tuned out my cell. Konforma kept on mumbling her monotonous lessons. If I had the power, I'd open a super massive black hole and get soaked into it. Landing in some distance place of the galaxy, far, far away from the Bulwark Cluster.

Blackness, wash over me.

I dozed off, drowned into the nothingness where no sound and sight remained. My body became light, like a leaf twirling into a tornado. Legs, arms and torso whistled through the air until my back vanished with the rest of my mind. I found myself in a landscape where the border between ground and sky vanished.

This place.

Was unlike any others I had ever been to.

It felt foreign and familiar at the same time.

The curiosity surged inside of me.

I stepped forward and felt the surface under me. At first, it seemed as if I was walking on water, but this substance was neither liquid nor solid.

Something in-between.

What was this place.

Gravity didn't need to apply—the surface, the colors, and the particles floated like reverse rain.

"Hello?"

My voice traveled toward the horizon.

"Anyone home?"

I stepped forward into the color-overkill of the landscape, watched my mirror image on the ground repeating my every foot. Wherever I walked, it was definitely not the cell in the Bulwark Cluster.

How did I even get here?

My life was an ongoing mystery.

Maybe I landed in the afterlife, traversing the realm between the living and the dead.

Yeah, right.

This was a no man's land, and yet, my feelings told me not to worry.

I could feel a presence. Something floated in the air, and I wasn't just talking about the particles.

Some dense essence that couldn't be touched but permeated my body.

Up high, I noticed the firmament of the universe. A showcase of glowing stars illuminated the vast view. A green fog seemed to separate this place from outer space, or maybe it was just some kind of mist that clouded my mind. My legs moved by themselves. Strange, rugged structures protruded from the ground. Boulders and mountains that looked natural and artificial at the same time. With nothing else to do, I mounted the first rock and targeted the next. Why? I didn't know, but the urge to keep on going increased.

I was someone else's puppet.

Invisible strings pulled me higher.

One climb after another, I mounted the giant boulder formation. Reached the top and felt closer to the stars than ever before. The greenish fog still remained, but now it looked like a liquid hull.

Shielding me from space radiation?

Why not.

In this place, everything was possible. I walked across the peak of the mountain and sat down. If only I had the blue liquid and some rations with me—this was the perfect spot for a galactic picnic, heh. I crossed my legs on the rocky ground and assumed a meditative position. Breathed in the sparkling air that blew life into my lungs. Gazed at the amazing stars and felt the marvel of the galaxy smiling back at me. Every orb on the firmament was unique, but one planet stood out.

It was bigger than any other star in the cosmic ocean. An orb that devoured half of my sight, making its star sisters look like pebbles. Why hadn't I noticed this planet before? It was impossible to ignore.

Hold on, I remembered that planet.

From where, I didn't know.

The atmospheric layer covered the orb like a transparent bed sheet.

Giant amounts of water etched into the brown pieces of soil.

Yes, this sight seemed familiar.

Bluetiful.

What was its name?

It lingered on my tongue.

A planet called...

Nah, I couldn't remember. Maybe beauty didn't need names, it existed for its own sake.

With my legs stretched out again, I lay down on the peak of the mountain and lost myself in the stargazing. The memories of my past faded into mush.

The pain of my mysterious past, the rigid society of the Bulwark Cluster, the war with the Technoids. All these unnecessary sorrows that killed the joy of being alive. If life was hell, what was there to look forward to?

Something to ponder.

My right hand longed for the giant planet in the cosmic soup and wanted to pull it closer to me. That's when I remembered its name—Earth.