Canticles of the Unhomed

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Finished

So I just finished my short story. It is to be published in the speculative fiction magazine Specopolis. It is a new, small speculative fiction/science fiction magazine that contracted me to write a short story for them. They sent me a couple of pieces they were thinking about publishing, and as I read the type of stuff they had, I noticed that it was mostly cyberpunk-ish/telepath kind of stuff. Not really my cup of tea, so I decided that I should give them something a bit more... philosophic. So I wrote a story about the fear of death; this is played out in the format of a highly advanced race that over literally trillions of years builds this artifact that will preserve them and all "True Life" past the end of the universe. They decide that they are not going to allow trillions of years of advancement and accomplishment be randomly destroyed when the universe ends. The idea is that this race and their need to survive mirrors our own fear of death and sometimes fanatical need to persist. Of course, the real point is fate - can you struggle against your fate; can you change it or overcome it? An added complication is that every living being, everywhere in the universe, after they die, their soul, or Voice, is captured by this race and placed in storage until the end of the universe. After the Big Crunch and the subsequent Big Bang, the race will then use these Voices to seed new planets, spreading life across the universe billions of years before it did the last time. The twist comes when one Voice "wakes up" before its time and starts asking questions. It allows for a couple of good conversations about fate between the being and the aliens. Now, as for whether or not the aliens actually succeed in surviving the end of the universe... you'll have to read the story to find out. The chances of you finding a copy of Specopolis in print is pretty slim; I think they would publish the story on their website once the issue actually goes to print, though. However, I don't know which issue they plan to publish the story in. I will keep you all posted.

:: written by Matt Thompson, 4:11 PM