Parker

The last moments of a ship operator as the ship begins its quick descent into a crash landing

At a quarter to two in the morning, as the crew slept, Parker watched as the numbers on the dial decreased from 630,954,578. It had started at noon the previous day and it was now at 129,501,016…015…014.  It was dropping too fast, even if they were making a programmed landing, which they weren’t. The crew slept in the invulnerable sleep chamber filled with sleep gas.

              There was a sudden alarm and the light above the dial began to pulse. The dial read 129,501,008. This was going top be the end for him and he knew it.

                            94,006,519

Parker opened the bottle of Old Earth wine he had been saving for his deathbed. The only indication that the ship was moving to fast was the slight ripple in the glass as he poured.

                            14,956,051

Parker didn’t worry about his death; he knew it wouldn’t hurt. He knew that the crew in the sleep chamber would not even feel the impact; they were safe.  He raised his glass and began to sing the old song he’d learned:

              “Lying in a field of daisies

              Not a care in the world and lazy…”

                            5,086,100

              “Watching those sheep jump over the fence

              Those made him think of dreaming.

              Who would’ve guessed

              Not he or the rest

              That those sheep were the death of Parker.”

He added his own name because it was tradition to add the name of the deceased in the death song.

                            720,594

Parker poured himself another glass and tried to think of something else to say: a poem, song, anything. In that moment he experienced something he never had before.

                            340,480

Thoughts upon thoughts flowed into his mind and knowledge unknown to the world was his.

                            150,620

He suddenly knew every language in the universe, including ones that were only dreamed of before.

                            42,808

Every dance ever danced, every song ever sung, every play ever performed. It was the most beautiful experience ever.

                            420

Parker suddenly remembered that the ship recorder was on. He stood up…

                            105

cleared his throat…

                            23

and said it all in one word…

                            0

Reviews

[Kelly M.]

aww gosh how sad! so beautiful though..I love how you counted done. It was really short, but you made it so real and made the reader feel bad for Parker and the others. I also loved the song!

[Fallacy Pharmacy]

Whoa! I love this story! Such a fresh and refreshing read!

I love the plot and the way you set this out... And I also love the way Parker didn't panic, or tried to get the others to wake up. Maybe the best way to go is quietly with a drink...

The way you described the experience Parker felt before dying left me very intrigued and wanting to read more. Wondering what Parker said in those 23 seconds intrigued me even more; just wow.

This is one the type of reads that makes you wonder of what would you do in this situation... Simply amazing.

[faryn wolff]

Wow. Short and expressive. I do so thoroughly dig this. Great job!

[Zombeh]

Excellent story, I loved the plot line, it was something unique. It was very sad, as I couldn't help but feel for Parker and the crew, but you made it feel like everything was going to be alright. Great job with this :)

[JENY]

Hi…
Nice…
Good…
Feel fresh as if after a voyage…

[Frifthor (D^2)]

An excellent story Joseph. I decided earlier that I needed some sci-fi, and this story provided a short joy indeed. I'm surprised you were able to express everything in such a short story, but your length fit perfectly. I don't think it would of worked for the story to be any longer. An excellent work.