Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 0:25:09 GMT
What a lonely existence. No.1 lay upright in a tube, his shadow form unmoving, as if frozen. He found it difficult to think, and impossible to move. Trips between galaxies took a while, but not nearly as long as the eternity it feels like. Time flies when your busy, and slows down to a grinding halt when you literally have nothing to do. No.1 would count every second then start from scratch when the numbers got too high, the point when they hadn't invented the number he had reached, save for infinity, and saying 'quadrillion trillion billion etc' just didn't cut it anymore. However, No.1 suddenly felt himself able to move, and he stepped out of the tube and stretched his shadow form out as much as he could. Before he knew it, he was stretching the flesh of yet another strange creature. A pale creature, wearing fabric. Unlike the other shadows, No.1 wore a thick black cloak that covered his entire body, and was lined on the inside with blue, over the standard suit and tie. He also wore a black Akubra, which covered his eyes. He also had a stubbed beard, reflecting his clear physical age difference over the other shadows. He decided to take careful care shaving his beard over a basin he created while he waited for a shadow to brief him.
Eventually, one came in.
"Greetings No.1, our newly named Emperor Erebus has issued you with a new name and a planet to investigate. You will for the duration of our time within the milky way quadrant, be known as Tenebrae." The shadow stated.
Tenebrae did not look amused. His eyes lowered as he continued shaving, not looking directly at the shadow.
"Wonderful. What is the name of the planet." He said as he finished, then he bent down and began drinking water from the taps.
"Earth. You are to embark immediately." Said the shadow, before turning around and leaving.
Tenebrae quickly picked up what he would need. Food, a computer to go around his wrist which allowed him to keep in contact and record data for his mission, and a brief case containing other gadgets. He began walking down the corridors. He heard footsteps behind him, and looked back as far as he could without moving his head. A shadow was following him. He was completely indifferent, and returned to looking straight ahead at the ever changing corridors.
As he prepared ship for take off, he could feel the eyes of the shadow watching him. He continued to pretend not to notice.
As he began starting up the ship when he was inside, he was notified that something had entered the storage area, he even felt the ship rock and heard quiet breathing.
He was about to say something, but then he realised that it would be his funeral. He'd be turned into jelly back there pretty quickly.
He took off and relaxed as the stars whizzed past his vision, like brightly lit neon signs during the night hours.
Earth soon came into vision and he slowed down for entry, choosing to land in an isolated, oceanic area that his computer told him had a safe climate. It was quite close to land.
the ship began burning up around the outside, and a thick mist formed when the ship landed in the ocean, imbedding its self in the ocean's floor. An ejector seat sent Tenebrae out of the ship before the pressure got to high, and afterwards the ship disintegrated without a trace.
Tenebrae swam to the surface and looked around.
"What a dull planet... so much water and not a soul in sight. I thought the dominant species always adapted to their environment?" He spoke to himself whilst easily treading water. He then looked around. Above him he saw a weird thing flying high in the clouds. It looked artificial, and it was incredibly slow in comparison to what Tenebrae used.
"So they use machines to fly above their environment... interesting. I wonder if they live up high, too. Then again I would have been able to pick that up... there are a few landmasses. In what direction though?" He continued to mumble to himself as he looked around. In the distance, he saw what appeared to be land.
His brief case floated up from the ship, and he rummaged around for a specific gadget. He used it to inflate a raft, then he clambered onto it and a small propeller began to move him towards his desired destination. He took off his clothes and placed them in a press, the searing hot heat dried them quickly, got rid of the salt granules, and straightened them up. When he put them on again, he looked ready to begin his mission.
He stood up as he drew closer to land and saw someone on the far shore as it came into focus.
"This is bad... I'll have to study the human's social conventions before I arrive on land..." He said to himself as he began looking at some text that he brought up on his wrist computer. As he drew closer though, he realized it was shadow. The suit was a giveaway, sure, but he could also sense his own kind when he saw it.
"He followed me... clearly deficient. I'll have to kill him. In fact, following him could yield useful data on the human condition as applied to emotionless creatures." He sighed.
As he neared land, he noticed that it had begun to rain and the seas were getting incredibly stormy.
He opened up and umbrella and sat back down, looking incredibly glum. This was a very slow process, he wished he could have simply landed on land, and cursed his past self. The shadow was running away now. So it was human. As he read up on human, he noted that even the most irrational of anxieties caused them to show signs of terror. Interesting, he knew that No.1 was his own kind but still decided to run. A logical being would assume that No.1 meant no harm, but the shadow could sense Tenebrae's intent. Either that, or he simply looked scary. Something illogical actually translated into better logic than logic, it seemed. Tenebrae decided to write that observation down as he continued sailing over the rocky waves.
When he reached land, the shadow was nowhere to be seen. What a pain.
He began making his way down the road which Tenebrae had seen him running down and spotted a city in the distance.
After a long time walking, Tenebrae eventually spotted something unusual in the road that perplexed him.
It looked like a human eye, although now it looked dead. A socket, rather than an eye. A few native birds landed nearby and didn't appear to give it much notice. Then again that could mean anything.
Tenebrae took a picture of it, and sent it back to the ship to be analyzed. As far as he knew, the eye was an anomaly on earth. Disembodied eyes did not appear from inorganic substances.
As Tenebrae decided to look away, he suddenly heard something. A disgusting squelching sound. Turning back, he saw the eye lid close on its own, then life returned to the eye. It opened up again, and began watching him intently.
Tenebrae was contemplating this turn of events when he suddenly got a phone call.
A picture of a shadow on deck appeared on his wrist computer's screen.
"Why did you take a picture of concrete?" Asked the shadow, bringing it up on screen. It was the same picture Tenebrae had just taken, however he couldn't see the eye in it. It was just a boring patch of ground.
"There was an eye there. I can see it now, watching me, in real life." He explained.
"Try again." The shadow demanded.
Tenebrae took another photo, taking care to get it in the frame.
"Nothing. No.1, are you sure the transition hasn't at last destroyed your old mind?" Asked the shadow.
"Don't be ridiculous. The human brain is prone to temporary hallucinations, I'm sure. Yes, quite sure. Thats why there is a word I suppose... its perfectly normal!" He yelled, closing communications.
The eye continued to watch him, and it half closed as if in mockery.
Tenebrae touched the eye, and suddenly felt odd. The air around him shimmered and he felt something beyond himself. He sharply drew back, as if burned.
"This eye can only mean one thing... but that would be insane, surely... Geez, why is that information so...?" He drifted off.
Eventually, he shook his head and quickly stamped out the eye, leaving a trail of blood from its carcass. He felt light headed as he continued down the road, towards the city.
Eventually, one came in.
"Greetings No.1, our newly named Emperor Erebus has issued you with a new name and a planet to investigate. You will for the duration of our time within the milky way quadrant, be known as Tenebrae." The shadow stated.
Tenebrae did not look amused. His eyes lowered as he continued shaving, not looking directly at the shadow.
"Wonderful. What is the name of the planet." He said as he finished, then he bent down and began drinking water from the taps.
"Earth. You are to embark immediately." Said the shadow, before turning around and leaving.
Tenebrae quickly picked up what he would need. Food, a computer to go around his wrist which allowed him to keep in contact and record data for his mission, and a brief case containing other gadgets. He began walking down the corridors. He heard footsteps behind him, and looked back as far as he could without moving his head. A shadow was following him. He was completely indifferent, and returned to looking straight ahead at the ever changing corridors.
As he prepared ship for take off, he could feel the eyes of the shadow watching him. He continued to pretend not to notice.
As he began starting up the ship when he was inside, he was notified that something had entered the storage area, he even felt the ship rock and heard quiet breathing.
He was about to say something, but then he realised that it would be his funeral. He'd be turned into jelly back there pretty quickly.
He took off and relaxed as the stars whizzed past his vision, like brightly lit neon signs during the night hours.
Earth soon came into vision and he slowed down for entry, choosing to land in an isolated, oceanic area that his computer told him had a safe climate. It was quite close to land.
the ship began burning up around the outside, and a thick mist formed when the ship landed in the ocean, imbedding its self in the ocean's floor. An ejector seat sent Tenebrae out of the ship before the pressure got to high, and afterwards the ship disintegrated without a trace.
Tenebrae swam to the surface and looked around.
"What a dull planet... so much water and not a soul in sight. I thought the dominant species always adapted to their environment?" He spoke to himself whilst easily treading water. He then looked around. Above him he saw a weird thing flying high in the clouds. It looked artificial, and it was incredibly slow in comparison to what Tenebrae used.
"So they use machines to fly above their environment... interesting. I wonder if they live up high, too. Then again I would have been able to pick that up... there are a few landmasses. In what direction though?" He continued to mumble to himself as he looked around. In the distance, he saw what appeared to be land.
His brief case floated up from the ship, and he rummaged around for a specific gadget. He used it to inflate a raft, then he clambered onto it and a small propeller began to move him towards his desired destination. He took off his clothes and placed them in a press, the searing hot heat dried them quickly, got rid of the salt granules, and straightened them up. When he put them on again, he looked ready to begin his mission.
He stood up as he drew closer to land and saw someone on the far shore as it came into focus.
"This is bad... I'll have to study the human's social conventions before I arrive on land..." He said to himself as he began looking at some text that he brought up on his wrist computer. As he drew closer though, he realized it was shadow. The suit was a giveaway, sure, but he could also sense his own kind when he saw it.
"He followed me... clearly deficient. I'll have to kill him. In fact, following him could yield useful data on the human condition as applied to emotionless creatures." He sighed.
As he neared land, he noticed that it had begun to rain and the seas were getting incredibly stormy.
He opened up and umbrella and sat back down, looking incredibly glum. This was a very slow process, he wished he could have simply landed on land, and cursed his past self. The shadow was running away now. So it was human. As he read up on human, he noted that even the most irrational of anxieties caused them to show signs of terror. Interesting, he knew that No.1 was his own kind but still decided to run. A logical being would assume that No.1 meant no harm, but the shadow could sense Tenebrae's intent. Either that, or he simply looked scary. Something illogical actually translated into better logic than logic, it seemed. Tenebrae decided to write that observation down as he continued sailing over the rocky waves.
When he reached land, the shadow was nowhere to be seen. What a pain.
He began making his way down the road which Tenebrae had seen him running down and spotted a city in the distance.
After a long time walking, Tenebrae eventually spotted something unusual in the road that perplexed him.
It looked like a human eye, although now it looked dead. A socket, rather than an eye. A few native birds landed nearby and didn't appear to give it much notice. Then again that could mean anything.
Tenebrae took a picture of it, and sent it back to the ship to be analyzed. As far as he knew, the eye was an anomaly on earth. Disembodied eyes did not appear from inorganic substances.
As Tenebrae decided to look away, he suddenly heard something. A disgusting squelching sound. Turning back, he saw the eye lid close on its own, then life returned to the eye. It opened up again, and began watching him intently.
Tenebrae was contemplating this turn of events when he suddenly got a phone call.
A picture of a shadow on deck appeared on his wrist computer's screen.
"Why did you take a picture of concrete?" Asked the shadow, bringing it up on screen. It was the same picture Tenebrae had just taken, however he couldn't see the eye in it. It was just a boring patch of ground.
"There was an eye there. I can see it now, watching me, in real life." He explained.
"Try again." The shadow demanded.
Tenebrae took another photo, taking care to get it in the frame.
"Nothing. No.1, are you sure the transition hasn't at last destroyed your old mind?" Asked the shadow.
"Don't be ridiculous. The human brain is prone to temporary hallucinations, I'm sure. Yes, quite sure. Thats why there is a word I suppose... its perfectly normal!" He yelled, closing communications.
The eye continued to watch him, and it half closed as if in mockery.
Tenebrae touched the eye, and suddenly felt odd. The air around him shimmered and he felt something beyond himself. He sharply drew back, as if burned.
"This eye can only mean one thing... but that would be insane, surely... Geez, why is that information so...?" He drifted off.
Eventually, he shook his head and quickly stamped out the eye, leaving a trail of blood from its carcass. He felt light headed as he continued down the road, towards the city.
