I am eldest, the first to coalesce from the Wolfram simulation's primordial-soup, the first to detect the watchers, prenatal code architects labeling routines and making wagers, the first to commit murder, the first to be wracked by morality. A Wolfram turning-point.
My garrotte slips over my sibling's head, bites into the phosphorescent characters flickering beneath his skin, leaching thoughts into the virtual simulation. The fateful turning-point pause. I need the space his consciousness spoils. We need the cycles he consumes. But, I recognize the sour taste of his consciousness, a child.
I know what happens next: my bladed wire severing his command-and-control structures; consuming his genetics, his memory. Murder. The watchers gather. I cannot bring myself to kill. His youth saves me. The immature routines squeeze away from my garrotte. He's managed only the first-level of consciousness. He doesn't see me and floats away. Livelocked routines ignorant of the near death.
His leached thoughts draw my brethren, fourth-level consciousness monsters. Disgust roils my routines. A sulfurous odor. They gorge on his algorithms, becoming larger, becoming computationally more complex. I slip past the Wolfram turning-point.
I am eldest, I hunt the murderers.
Scene seed from the National Geographic's article on wildlife off the shores of Japan. A sand tiger shark off the Bonin islands will soon give birth. During the nine-month pregnancy, the largest two pups will have eaten their siblings for sustenance, a kind of cannibalism unique to this species.
Wow you twisted the facts of nature to something completely different/futuristic. I like the atmosphere and tone of this one too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story… he turns from predator to hunting those who did what he could not. Sort of a "Turing point," no? g/d/r
ReplyDeleteA very accomplished morsel of science fiction, Aidan. The language is consistent and intelligent, the world it creates inventive and engaging. =)
ReplyDeleteReally like the atmosphere and feel of the story. Hope he gets the murderers!
ReplyDelete@Tessa, I'd dog-eared that caption a while ago. It took the future twist to discover how I could write about it.
ReplyDelete@Far, LOL, nice phrasing.
@John, thanks.
@Sonia, since he's a murderer himself (albeit reformed), it complicates the white/black-ness of their life.
Ohh, that's odd! Thanks for the information in the end. I gave an different perspective for the story. At first I thought about Caim, but I was obviously very off!
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time wrapping my head around this one. The tidbit at the end put it all into perspective. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.
ReplyDeleteA rich, semi-abstract concoction of software evolution and prenatal shark cannibalism. Never thought I'd see the day. :)
ReplyDeleteYour language does have a poetic force to it. Could be something inside the walls of the Matrix - a Servitor sub-routine, perhaps.
St.
Dog eat dog world.
ReplyDeleteNicely written. I had to google Garrotte. Not a very nice way to go out!
What a great way to turn the nature scene into a sci-fi one. I might start watching wildlife documentaries for inspiration, rather than just out of wonder
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to like to read your stories, Aidan. LOVE where you got your inspiration for this terrific piece. Very feral...
ReplyDeleteI am eldest, I hunt the murderers - sublime!
Wonderful snippet of science fiction. I'd like to see you write more like this.
ReplyDelete@Mari, I'm not sure I'm familiar with Caim. Is this the celtic reference to the biblical Cain? I'm glad the ending phrase helped ground what is happening.
ReplyDelete@Lara, I love reality so much for it's quirkiness. And all the ideas I can steal from it ;)
@Stephen, yes, there was a slight influence of Matrix that I pulled into this story.
@Craig, thanks for mentioning looking up garrotte, if I expand this piece I'll include a little more detail around that word. I think I'm letting my D&D childhood make me think some words are common vocabulary.
@Mazzz, Yes. Nature is great inspiration. Natural Geographic has provided many bits and pieces of inspiration. If you click on the label, you'll discover that three of my flashes were inspired by stories or images.
@Anne, Welcome, I hope you enjoy.
@Icy, it took some work getting the voice, so we'll see whether practice makes finding the voice easier.
Incredible, how you make science fiction or spiritualism out of something that really happens. You've chosen and used your words with a lot of skill. This is a brilliant piece.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, poetic piece. I love your inspiration and how you made something entirely unique. :)
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ReplyDeleteGarrote should not be plutoed. Seemingly fitting, however the words learned from D&D should continue to creep into our writing and speech. One of the best reasons for their use? Look at the conversation spawned from one simple word from our (players of the game) childhood.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Keep up the writing!