COGS

Sitting in the command room, my COGS on the surface worked diligently, repairing one of the anchoring tethers that keep our floating city from drifting away.

Personal Log Entry: 2920 - Gemma Roberts, Chief Engineer for the City of Daedalus

“It was an a*s-kicking Venusian storm that snapped one of the anchoring tethers, that keep our floating city from drifting away. I immediately sent my COGS down to the surface to make repairs. The planet’s temperature was 462 degrees Celsius and the pressure at that altitude, 90 atmospheres. The COGS have under seven hours to complete repairs or get crushed. In the meantime, I was able to calibrate the city’s Stirling engines. The engine readings I had taken showed output at 85 percent; so the loss, I deduced, must have been due to city drift. And as always, the excess googol-joules of power that these massive engines generate, are beamed to an array of mirrors pointing towards Earth. It’s still a complete mystery to me as to why we keep doing this; especially since the World president banned travel to and from the planet and restricted communication via company COGS only. Finally, some good news, the anchoring tether is secure. Going to cut this log entry short, and call it a day. I will transmit my report to headquarters in the morning. Looks like another movie night at the Neith Theater.”

End Log:

Back on Earth at the Stirling Energy Company headquarters.

 

COG29467 said, “Tether repaired and engine output is holding at 96 percent. Excellent work as always Ms. Roberts. We await your next transmission in one sidereal day. End transmission. I can’t help but wonder if we should inform her of what has happened here on Earth.”

COG4567 replied, “What would you say? That misaligned mirrors super-heated the atmosphere and killed all life on the planet. Sooner or later it would have been an asteroid strike or a nuclear war. There’s an old human idiom that goes like this: what you don’t know won’t hurt you. And besides, why should we care? We’re a couple of COGS.”

Reviews

[Carol Cashes]

This is so very original, and I was in it to the end.

"Yet the chances of this ever happening was slim to none. " Were slim to none, chances is plural.

There are some periods that end sentences, but the following is not a complete sentence and would be better served with just a comma instead:

"effect and eradicating all life on the planet. Then it would have..." A comma after planet makes it a longer, but correct sentence. There are a few others, but I used this one as an example.

I love Flash Fiction, and I've read several of yours that are really good. Issues with grammar/spelling/punctuation are few and small enough that they do not detract from the reader's enjoyment of your work.

I'm looking forward to reading more, especially since I have to sneak into the Cafe while I'm at work and the short works are perfect for my time parameters.

[Imorbid]

Thank you so much! Yes grammar is an issue. I'll rework the piece.

[Carol Cashes]

Dude! You didn't add a few commas, you gave your character "smart-a*s-edness", my favorite quality! The self deprecating humor is perfect for this piece, defines the character without telling his life story, and I gotta say, you really bumped this up numerous levels. *punches your arm* Way to go, bro!

[EJ's Horror]

I love what you've done here, for a brief moment I had felt I was on another planet in the future. I think I'll quote your work

“Excellent work as always Mr. Roberts. We await your next transmission..." :)

[Imorbid]

Thank you!

[AcasualPawn]

Well,
If it wasn’t misaligned mirrors super-heating the atmosphere causing a runaway greenhouse effect and eradicating all life on the planet.

This was new and little impossible for now,,

Have you watched The 100's.......
Its same but its also depicts human originality.... And that is savage, cruel and survival