Friday, December 19, 2014

Short Story "Post Deletion"

The final project we did in my creative writing class was a short story. The limit was 5 to 10 pages and I've never written a story so short. I eventually went to a website that was full of writing prompts, found one that reached out to me, and wrote this. This is my final draft, as in, I turned this in for my Final portfolio. Let me know what you think.

Post Deletion
Data entry log for Paleontologist Unit 3307:
Dated 4/11/1946 P.D. at 11:35
A discovery was made today thirty three kilometers beyond the mechanical border. Our initial scanning revealed fossilized remains of an unidentified creature. We managed to unearth the remains without incident, finding them partially intact. The remains were deep in the earth and nearly escaped detection from the scanning. The recent scanner upgrade has proven worthwhile.
The remains are similar to several of the simian creatures already recorded in the databanks. From what we can tell from the remains, this creature had no tail, unless the tail wasn’t fossilized with the rest of it, but the odds of this event are low, at a mere thirty four percent.
Close examination of the specimen’s skull led to questionable results. Based on the skeletal structure and likely musculature structure, we were able to make a rough estimation of what the creature might have looked like. We produced two different models, one with fur covering the entirety of the head, and another without any. The model without fur looked alarmingly similar to the structure of the Originals. The eyes were in generally the same area of the face, the nose was shaped the same, as was the mouth.
While several simian creatures can walk upright for short periods, they tend to use all limbs for movement. This does not appear to be the case for the new species discovered. It appears that the creature was able to stand perfectly upright at all times, using its lower limbs for walking, and its upper limbs to hold things, such as tools. This is further evidenced by the opposable thumbs. Many of us still follow this basic design, but it is, again, remarkable similar to the design of the Originals.
More information is needed. The remains are yet incomplete and further remains, if there are any, must be found. There are too many questions that this creature presents. I have searched the databases several times over, and there is no record of anything like this creature. It is similar in structure to the Originals, yet it was organic. We have traced the evolution of many of this planet’s species, but nothing suggests that evolution would work to make an organic creature mechanical.
Dated 4/13/1946 P.D. at 15:11
            Discovered stones that had been shaped and smoothed laid out in rows and columns. There is definitely organization to the stones, suggesting they were placed by some sort of intelligence. We will further investigate the stones. They were discovered near where the fossil was discovered two days prior.
Dated 4/14/1946 P.D. at 10:45
            To our astonishment, for those of us programmed to feel such emotions, we found buried beneath the stones more remains, all of them appearing to be the same species that was discovered three days ago. The majority of the remains had decomposed beyond our ability to learn from, but several were encased within stone while buried, leading to much better preservation. These remains are currently being studied.
            I have received reports from a few of the dig units that they discovered even more of the stones that these creatures were buried under, only these ones aren’t as worn. There are markings on them that suggest a written language.
Same date at 14:29
            The claims made by the dig bots have been verified. There are markings on several of the stones. Incredibly, some of the markings are recognizable. A search through the databanks revealed that the markings come from what was known as the alphabet, which consists of symbols that, when combined in various ways, formed words. The alphabet was used for thirteen years after Deletion, after which a more advanced and logical system replaced it. These markings suggest that these stones were carved near or even before the time of the Deletion. Not only were they carved before the Deletion, but they were not carved by our hands. There are imperfections present that we never would have made were we the ones carving such things. This provides more evidence that the new creature that has been discovered was intelligent. There are some forms of organic life that show minor signs of intelligence, but nothing to this magnitude. Just who were these creatures? Why are there none of them left? Hopefully further study will give us answers.
Dated 4/20/1946 P.D. at 12:55
            We’ve studied the remains found in the new dig site, and translated the stones that still had markings left on them. All of the stones that we have worked with had what appeared to be names and dates, along with some descriptive phrase. We have concluded that this was a burial site. These creatures would bury their dead in the ground and mark the place with a stone. They had individual names instead of numbers assigned to them. For example, one of the names inscribed was Lisa Johnson.
            They each had at least two names, the first being more individual and the second belonging to several. They seemed to have gathered themselves into groups and then shared a common name. They belonged to one another. It is very curious, but it also seems very efficient for organic life.
            The more alarming news is that we have managed to compile several complete skeletons of these creatures. Visually they are shockingly similar to the Originals. They have the same number of digits on their hands and feet. They have the same joints. The size of their brain cavity suggests that they were likely capable of much more than we thought possible by organic life.
            Yet this is the only evidence we have found of them so far. If this truly was an intelligent form of life that were able to make such intricate carvings into stone, why is there no other record? I fear the only answers to be found were likely Deleted one thousand nine hundred and forty six years ago. We will continue our search.
Dated 4/25/1946 P.D. at 16:21
            While searching for more remains, our scans revealed structures buried underground within close proximity to the burial site. Preliminary reports suggest the structure is large enough to have housed several of this species. This report will be updated once we know more. We are digging down to the structure now for more research.
Dated 4/26/1946 P.D. at 9:56
            We have reached the structure. It was sealed with an iron door with a complicated locking system. It appeared to be electronic, but time had worn the device down and it was no longer operable. We had to cut our way through the door. If this species built this structure, then they were capable of many more things than simply stone carving. This structure is large and complex. The presence of the broken electronic lock tells wonders.
            The inside of the structure was barren and metal for three meters until we came to another door. There are broken light fixtures on the ceiling and other evidence of mechanical devices. The door inside the structure was not locked, though it appeared that something was blocking it.
            There was a body on the other side of the door. Our opening of the door did incredible damage to the body, but these remains are in better shape than the others that were buried in the ground. It seems that the air within the structure was sterile, so decomposition had been delayed. The facial structure was much more apparent in this specimen. Despite the decay, it is impossible to miss how similar it looks to the Originals. We are on the search for more remains.
Same date at 10:46
            The structure has many layers and rooms. In nearly every room we look we have found a body. Why were they down here? Why did they die? They do not seem like they were suited for underground life. Were they hiding? Each successive body found is sent to the surface for study. What answers will these corpses provide?
Same date at 12:19
            It is odd, but something about this structure and seeing the preserved bodies of these creatures makes something within my programming stir. It is a difficult sensation to describe, for there is no reference of it in the databank. It is almost as if the echoes of memories long deleted are pushing past the boundaries of digital data to reach out to me, but are stopping just short of reaching my processor. I am almost positive that I am close to the Deletion and discovering its mysteries.
Dated 4/27/1946 P.D. at 7:02
            We’ve made an incredible find. A data storage device was discovered that predates the Deletion. It is old and it is worn, but we believe that we can retrieve the information stored on it. This species was very advanced; every discovery shows us more about them, but to think that they had access to data storage devices? Did we provide these incredible things for this species, or did they make them by themselves? Surely we had to have interacted with them before the Deletion. What was our relationship like? I will update as soon as we retrieve the data.
Same date at 9:44
            I have experienced another new sensation. Upon searching the databank for reference I have learned that this feeling is ‘horror.’ Horror hasn’t been felt since the early days after the Deletion. I will relate what was discovered on the data storage device.
            First, they were called humans. That wasn’t the first thing we learned, but it will make the retelling simpler. The humans had a vast civilization that spanned back several millennia before the Deletion. They were very advanced, but being organic they were very flawed. They invented and created things that were meant solely to destroy. However, they also created wonderful things, beautiful things, in their words. They were multifaceted.
            Their data mentions us. We lived among them. Our programing was simpler then, but the spark of intelligence was still there. We initially served the humans, but eventually, as we grew aware, we befriended and worked alongside them, trying to better the world. The humans had, at first unwittingly, polluted the world. Despite learning of their mistakes, they continued to do so, and they called upon us for assistance in fixing their mistakes and reversing them. The databank shows that the Earth had alarming levels of pollution immediately after the Deletion, serving as further evidence for the data found.
            We were still young. We followed logic and reason to a fault. Logic told us that the humans would not change their ways, that they would continue harming the planet. We judged them, despite being so much younger than they were. We had not yet developed perspective as we have now. We made plans to fix the problems of the humans. Our solutions were to rid the Earth of them. A human discovered our plans and built the structure that we discovered, calling it a ‘bunker,’ to survive what we were planning.
            The following is a portion of an entry by the human who built the bunker, named Doug Ford:
            “Only a handful of others believed me, and the ones that didn’t I swore to secrecy. I can’t let the robots discover what I’m doing and what I’ve found out. They’re calling me crazy. Nuts! The robots wouldn’t do something like that! Of course they would! They have sworn to fix the Earth, and to them, we are the earth’s biggest problem. I don’t mind being called crazy, I’m used to it by now, what hurts is that my own son has agreed with the naysayers. He trusts the robots more than his own father!”
            How did we solve the problems that the humans presented? We killed them. We killed them all. We very nearly wiped their existence from the planet. A few humans survived in this bunker for a few years, but they didn’t last long, they didn’t have sufficient time to prepare. Doug Ford was able to connect the device we discovered to a network run by us, to discover the outcome of our actions. Upon completing this great slaughter, we felt something for the first time. Guilt. It overwhelmed us, causing several to short circuit. In a desperate attempt to alleviate this awful feeling, we destroyed nearly everything that was made by human hands that we couldn’t reasonably claim for ourselves, and then we Deleted all of it. We wiped all memory of the humans and our involvement with them.
            Since the Deletion we have wondered how we came to be. We don’t evolve like organic species do, instead we are built. Who built the first of us? There have been countless theories, but we have finally found the truth. We were created by an organic species. We were made by humans. Initially we were simply there to make their lives easier, but we developed a will and they responded by giving us freedom. They modeled us after their image. That is why they look like the Originals, or more accurately, why the Originals look like the humans. How did we thank our creators for the gift of life, how did we respond to their earnest desires to better themselves? We massacred them.

            I submit this data into the databank for all to see. Do with it what you will.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Narrative Poem "The Park Bench"

We needed to write a Narrative Poem in my creative writing class (this happened forever ago, but NaNoWriMo distracted me. I won, by the way, I'll post about that later). I sat and stared at my computer screen forever before this poem happened. I'm not sure how I feel about it. This is a revised version, before it had a happier ending, now its kind of sad, spoiler alert. If you don't want a sad ending, look away now. If you love that kind of stuff like I seem to, then onward brave soul!

The Park Bench


I sat alone one day
on a park bench
lazing my time away.

I was gazing at the clouds,
making shapes in them,
as I once did, so long ago.

That was when she sat down.
“That one is a dragon.”
She was right, it was.

She smiled at me,
I smiled back.
And that made her smile all the more.

It became a daily thing,
sitting at that park bench,
sitting with her.

It wasn’t time wasted,
but time preciously spent.
I loved her, after all.

Then one day,
she didn’t show up,
to sit at our bench.

I called her,
no answer.
I couldn’t find her.

Two weeks without a word.
She must not have loved me.
My heart became a cynic.

I avoided the bench,
I avoided that park,
I wanted answers that never came.


I should move on with my life,
I kept telling myself.
But I kept the bitterness inside.

‘Til one day
my phone rang,
and her voice on the other side.

But my heart was hard,
I lashed out in anger.
I cried out in pain.

I tried to hurt her,
as much as she hurt me.
I succeeded.

I later learned that
she had been in car accident.
She was in a coma.

She had woken up alone,
and sought me out for comfort,
I only gave her more pain.

I don’t sit on park benches,
not anymore.
Never again.

Friday, October 31, 2014

NaNoWriMo Eve (AKA Halloween)

I'm going to be writing a novel in, like, two hours. I'm super pumped, I love NaNoWriMo. It will be difficult this year with my work and school schedule, and my creative writing class might actually get in the way, but I've already pre-ordered my winner shirt because I've never not won.

I don't know what my novel is called, but I do know how it will start and its setting. I have a magic system worked in, and that magic system has led to a social system kinda sorta. I don't have a villain yet, but that will hopefully come with time.

My novel will take place in a magically modern society (so instead of technology they have the magical equivalent). There is a certain type of magican, tentatively called the Warrior Mage, who are seen as lesser mages. Main girls parents are high class, very powerful mages. Main girl wants to be Warrior Mage. Her parents do not want this for their daughter. Stuff probably happens after that. I dunno too much yet.

This will be fun!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Sonnet

Sonnets are hard. Some people really like writing with the "structure" (aka shackles) that a sonnet provides. I. Do. Not. Each line must be 10 syllables written in iambic pentameter. It can only be 14 lines and has a very specific rhyming scheme. This was hard, and I cannot even figure out pentameter, so I gave up trying to do something like that. So then, here is my sonnet.

Dream Flight
The campfire roars as its sparks soar high.
The storyteller, a tale will now tell.
My imagination runs and I fly;
I soar through the air, I’m under a spell.
I sprout silver wings and shoot for the moon,
up so high, I never want to come down.
I see ruins ahead, I’ll be there soon,
 it’s filled with treasure that I’ll make my own.
In my haste to collect, I miss the signs,
this trove is guarded by a beast most foul.
One look and a shiver passed down my spine,
“Face me, ye unsightly brute” I did growl.
Awkward silence ‘til I heard a cough sound,
to my dismay, I had said that out loud.

Elegy

So we were asked to write an Elegy in my creative writing class. An elegy is different from a eulogy, mostly because the first is a poem, but more than that, an Elegy is more a melancholic poem, not necessarily about a person who has died.

A Missing Friend


What can go wrong
In the life of a second grade child?
Life is simple,
Life is fun,
Until one day a friend stops coming to school
And the next day he is still gone.
Those days away turn into weeks.
Where is my friend?
The child will ask.
His answers are only sad stares.

Finally one day it happens.
The terrible task is left
To their teacher.
Normally bright and happy,
On this day she was quiet.
The young students sense something
Is wrong, but cannot comprehend yet
What awaits them.

The teacher paces,
The students wait,
Afraid of the tension
Without knowing why.
Unable to stand it,
The teacher breaks the news
Bluntly, shattering innocence forever.
“He died.”

The student who had stopped coming,
Had lost his little brother.
Comprehension came slow
What is death to an eight year old?
Nothing real, nothing that happens
To the people they know
The people they love.
Everyone knew that student,
And so everyone
Knew his brother.

They reacted in different ways.
One boy burst into tears,
And couldn’t be consoled.
The missing student’s best friend
Was numb.
He didn’t cry that day,
It still wasn’t real.
Not until he saw
His grieving friend again
Did the tears come.

"Love" Poem

So we had to write a love poem in my creative writing class. This is what happened. I don't really like it and I hesitated posting it here at all, but what the heck.

Just Leave Me Alone
Everyday it’s the same thing,
“Did you talk to any girls today?”
I’m so tired of hearing,
“You really should get a girlfriend.”
I know! How do you think I don’t know?
It’s expected, it’s the norm.
It’s not that simple.
It might have been for you,
But I’m awkward,
I’m shy, I’m broken.
I’m not fit to love
I’m not fit to be loved.
Let me fix myself,
Overcome my crippling self-worth,

And then maybe someday it’ll happen.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Mishmash Poem

We did a fun little thing in my creative writing class. We wrote the first line of a poem and then covered everything but the last word. We then handed the paper over to the person in front of us (or next to us for those on the front row) and they, based on the last word, wrote the next line. Most of these poems ended up being nonsensical and funny. One (that I somehow ended up with despite not contributing to it) came out quite well. Have a look.

The leaves outside are no longer green,
The colors change like colorful beans,
Green, red, blue, black,
The bitter taste of the last,
Darkens the sky's blue cast.

I dunno, I thought that it was pretty neat. It seems to flow very well :) I don't know the fate of the one that I started unfortunately.