Science Fiction - Take One

This piece is actually part of an assignment I did for a science-fiction class I'm taking. I'm still learning. And there's no title. Couldn't think of one.

Standing out against the darkness that consumed everything else, the blue orb grew bigger and bigger at a terrifying pace, soon engulfing the entire viewport. Oceans, clouds, and lands came into view. I could see all colors of life below; healthy shades of green, brown tones, tanned and burned, the deep bluish hue of the waters. I had been to this place only once before and it was even more stunning than I had remembered. The occasion had been the same, but the circumstances far different.

There was nothing I could do. No power, no control, no hope. The colors grew bigger, brighter; soon they would devour me completely. I would reach my destination, only to see myself blown into oblivion. I thought of the others; would they survive? Would the epidemic end? Would they send more? I had only come this far because no one else would, because it had to be done. I had left everything behind to find answers, to find hope. But she was nowhere to be found.

My journey was at its end. I was here, and soon I would be gone. Lights flashed, sirens screamed, engines failed. I lifted my gaze to the ever-growing piece of earth I was about to become. Darkness. Then nothing.

The skies were a calming cerulean, not quite the bottomless blue of the oceans that I had seen before. My ship was a smoldering heap, scattered in small chunks all around me. My extremities had no feeling. I lay face up; I couldn’t move. I was slipping away, back into the darkness. Humans, rushing towards me. They spoke to me but I could not understand; to process the sounds and translate them took to much strength. I felt myself being lifted and carried away. All I could feel was pain.

I awoke again.

The room was colorless, filled with unnatural light. The humans scurried about, carefully analyzing me with their tools and machines; probing and prodding, tubes and instruments covered most of my body; glowing fluids were drawn out of me and whisked away in containers as screens projected readings and information to the individuals who tended to me. I was unaware of the time that had passed between my landing and my retrieval. I was dazed and rather confused.

I then remembered my purpose. I was fortunate to be here and not in the condition of my ship but I needed answers. This took prevalence over my condition, my pain and the fact that I didn’t know how I was going to get back, assuming I survived. I felt the urge to speak; I needed to communicate. I gathered the little strength that remained.

“Where is Dr. Spencer?” Silence fell. They all stared at me. No one moved. “I must speak with Dr. Spencer,” I repeated.

More activity; more scurrying. Darkness.

He appeared. He was younger, and he did not wear the same colorless coverings as the others. His presence was familiar; his touch was soothing to my broken body. He twisted his face slightly as he stood over me, but it was not threatening or unpleasant. The minor distortion was some sort of communication for him; I remember him doing the same the last time I saw him. When I had asked him what he was doing with his face, he called it ‘smile’.

“That was quite an entrance you made on that farm back there, destroying crops and land.” Spencer spoke to me in the same manner he did with the other humans. “Scared an old farmer half to death when he realized you weren’t actually human. You can never really get used to it though. How could you? Aliens dropping in from outer space, checkin’ the place out and then leaving without warning; it’s still crazy to think about.” He had drifted away into his own thoughts but now he returned to me. “You took a good hit in that crash; any human would have been killed instantly. This, ah, biotechnology if you will, that’s in your body – it makes for some strong stuff. Never seen anything like it—truly amazing. Those little guys saved your life. Maybe you won’t make a full recovery, but that’s a whole lot better than being dead I’m sure. Although it appears that your, um, your little buddies are beginning to wane in number... that can’t be good.”

I wasn’t listening; I was elsewhere. The one thing I needed, the one thing I could not go back without: Dr. Spencer could tell me how to find it. He will know what to do.

“I have come to retrieve the Stone.”

“What?” He immediately stopped what he was doing and his face was again distorted, differently this time.

“The Stone. We need it. We are dying.” I was barely able to pierce the silence.

“What is it? What is the Stone? Is it a particular thing? Is it a mineral? A power source? What are you looking for?”

“It is life to my home; without it, we die,” I tried to explain. “Auramancers, they have devoured us because their numbers are too great. Without the Stone, we cannot defend ourselves.”

“It is power?”

“No."

“I… I don’t understand. You gotta help me here, help me understand.”

“My world. It is dark and dying. We fight them, but we cannot win. They are everywhere, growing, feeding, killing. We used to hunt them, as you hunt your lesser beings. But now it is not so. Now they rule us.”

Dr. Spencer appeared to be engaging in some heavy processing. I don’t think he understood. How could he? He was only human. Life was so abundant, so perfect on this planet. Everything grows; everything lives. So much life that humans don’t even notice it. They trample, they take, they use; I have witnessed this myself. They destroy themselves and their world because… because they can. On my world, we are confined to our underground sanctums, fearful of the monsters, hoping to see another rotation. There is no life. There is only death. If the humans continue to erase life, my world will become theirs as well.

“Forty-three,” I said. My last resort. I didn’t know what it meant; only that he would. “Forty-three. The Stone.”

Time passed before Dr. Spencer suddenly leapt. “Technetium!” He exclaimed. The words began to come rapidly. “It’s atomic number is forty-three on the  periodic table! How did you know that? Why do you need technetium? It’s a transitional metal yes? Only found in uranium I believe.”

“With it, we can see them before they see us. But it is not found near my home. Where can I find it?”

“Tc-43?” He said again. “You can’t find it. I mean, you don’t find it. You produce it. A combination of uranium and—Wait, whoa!”

I began to rise. Tubes were ripped from my body; instruments and devices fell to the floor. The room came to life, the humans screaming and running in all directions. I struggled to drag myself across the room, fighting the restraints and my own weakness. The darkness was nearing; I fought to keep moving, I fought to stay alive. The survival of my home weighted upon me as I neared collapsing.

“No, no! You need to rest! You’re not strong enough! This can wait, you cannot!”

This cannot wait. And neither could I.

Dr. Spencer was immediately at my side, attempting to revive my unresponsive body. My skin was beginning to shrivel. The darkness was closing in.

“Do not let your world become mine,” I said. No more worlds would die because of me.

I am but just one life in this vast universe. If I fail here, maybe others will rise up and finish what I have attempted to begin. Maybe all is not lost.