12 ultra-short science fiction stories

The Onteleological Drive

A curious yet undeniable fact is that most humans in existence have not the slightest connection to planet Earth.

Most humans in reality (almost all in fact) evolved independently on other worlds throughout the Macrocosmos and the Multiverse beyond.

They are forever out of reach. Finding fellow humans who evolved independently would take as much effort as creating their entire civilization from scratch.

The nearest planet inhabited by aliens that look exactly like humans is unimaginably far beyond the edge of the observable universe.

Even then the resemblance would be superficial, only a first impression. Everything that can be different will be different.

Their expressions and way of speaking, their values, attitudes and emotions would be completely unrecognizable, as alien as any nonhuman aliens.

The nearest planet with aliens that are exactly like humans in a moral and mental sense is also unimaginably far away.

In that case, their appearance would be incredibly different, but their minds and society will be completely understandable.

No matter how far our descendants spread through the universe, they will never find either of these worlds - let alone a world with independently evolved identical humans

The only way it might happen would be if faster-than-light travel turns out to be possible. There might just be a second theoretical exception to Einstein's laws, beside tachyons: faster than light travel might be almost infinitely fast, so the speed violation can't be observed.

A faster than light drive might immediately take a spaceship outside the observable universe, to another area that happens to be almost but not quite identical.

In that case, Star Trek and Star Wars will become really possible.

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"The aliens are still far away, but they're already partway here."

The homeless man lying on the stretcher was alone, but he seemed to be having a real conversation.

"They don't arrive all at once. They just become more and more present over time. It's like they're merging into reality among us."

I slid to the end of the bench to listen in. The man had to be delirious, but he spoke clearly. Was he dying?

"Unlikely events slowly become more likely. Low probability outcomes are amplified as things get stranger."

If you ignored his words, he sounded completely sane. I took my phone out to record the exchange.

He didn't know I was there, but suddenly I felt as if I had been maneuvered to be here.

"The only way they can come through is by becoming us."

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The Important Ones

There were lifeforms circling the event horizon of the black hole, spinning around the collapsed star thousands of times per second.

Species of rapidly evolving "Flyers" inhabited the inner accretion disk in an endless whirlpool catastrophe.

Their only goal was to gain enough energy to spread slightly outward and survive a few moments longer. Eventually all would fall and be replaced.

To live their intensely brief lives, they had evolved immensely powerful flowing brains that dwarfed the combined brainpower of all humans.

They were fanatically focused on nothing else. Outside observers still doubted they were sentient.