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Collaborative fiction ~ Sci Fi ~ "Infestation"

#11
Zinjanthropos Offline
Quote:At first glance, it looked like insects but then her Aunt Jennifer’s haunting words flooded her mind. "Why nothing changes, until it does." Was it a collective organism? Oh, hell no! It was coffee grounds. They were coalescing. The coffee grounds that Jarad had spilled earlier were coalescing and they were moving towards the container.


This should have been the first inclination that something was wrong but Jarad determined this particular anomaly was merely a hallucination caused when FTL travel stimulates the brain’s thalamus. He might have had a case until Rastus, a male Negro stowaway, revealed himself to everyone. He told Jarad that he had hidden in the ship’s waste compartment, coincidentally amongst the coffee grounds.

Rastus was an odd character and the first thing he asked of Jarad was for a sex change. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Jarad knew he couldn’t refuse the request lest he be in violation of GCQ rights policy. The entire mission was at risk, especially when Celeste told him that she only liked other women. Jarad pondered his dilemma.
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#12
Leigha Offline
{{Oops, these threads are always a little tricky, I've been involved with one on another site, and some entries get skipped over. lol}}
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#13
Zinjanthropos Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 07:06 PM)Leigha Wrote: {{Oops, these threads are always a little tricky, I've been involved with one on another site, and some entries get skipped over. lol}}

QQ will have to put it together. I kind of like more than one story going on at same time.
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#14
C C Offline
Okay, if we're seriously going to include that proposal about the aqua-bot, let me... with the addition of a few tweaks to adjust it to the contributions afterwards, supply what I originally threatened to post. Here's my spastic attempt to integrate everything together here so that others have some shot of figuring out what to add. QQ will of course offer the final, official canon.

Edited in Zin's late/last addition and some earlier contribution bits from SS & QQ that were partially missed initially (with respect to when this #### summary post first started -- been edited a gazillion times). Got Wegs' donation in the early going (I think).

- - - -

Title: INFESTATION

Sitting on his collapsible near a body of water yet to be named, near a mountain range yet to be climbed, on a planet yet to mapped and surveyed in a star system that needed a super computer to search for, he could only wonder on how life can lead to such extraordinary outcomes.

When Jarad signed up for the Galactic Colonization Quest (GCQ), he received Federation funding, a small star ship, and all the equipment necessary to set up a small outpost in a location of choosing. Promoting and facilitating galactic migration and development was the name of the game and Jarad with his new wife (?) had after passing all the rigorous tests and training, journeyed out of the human bubble near Sols to this exo rock they now called home.

The lakes surface was smooth with hardly a ripple when abruptly Matsya stirred up from the underwater depths and propelled itself toward the bank. Usually the aqua-bot simply transmitted its data, rather than reporting so directly.

"Well, what a coincidence," Jarad sarcastically commented, as the artificial surveyor and caretaker struggled clumsily out of the water. Its body began morphing from characteristics suitable for mobility in a fluid habitat to those adjusted for plodding on land. "I take a notion to settle here for a few moments to reflect on this odd radiance the place has acquired," Jarad continued, "and suddenly you pop up from your submerged, solitary vigil. I hope this is a sign that it's time for the next rung of the ladder."

"Yes," Matsya affirmed. "The imported rudimentary life-forms, accelerated by my management in this formerly sterile lake, have reached a satisfactory level for supporting the next hierarchy. I will initiate the hatching and nursery process back at the base camp facility. Eventually the fingerlings will be transported here for stocking."

"Time for you to start calling it the Outpost," Jarad informed the aqua-bot. "Things have changed a bit since you were last lumbering around there on those awkward excuses for legs."

Matsya shambled up the meager incline, then hesitated. "There's obviously another reason I wanted to speak with you directly. Concerning something down there that's..." The bipedally modified aqua-bot suddenly lost its voice. Its gesticulations indicated that it was as mystified by the glitch as Jarad.

Jarad pulled out the instruction manual to work out how to download the bot's data onto his tablet [why hadn't he done that ages ago, rather than relying on the Outpost's AI to process and sort everything?]. It was the strange yellow glow noticed after sunset that seemed to irradiate the lake that puzzled him and perhaps the bot had something for him to work with. Yellow colored Cheronkov Radiation is what it seemed like, but why yellow?

He could only ponder as the files downloaded and then from behind him he heard his wife [name?] cry out....

.... I awoke, my dream interrupted, laptop still on the notebook page. There they were, the same words I’ve been staring at for the last 12 days. Goddam writer’s block. Not unusual but how much longer? Yet today feels different however, and I take a closer look.

Don’t know why I’ve never noticed this but my hero has chosen his location despite the fact the planet hadn’t been mapped or surveyed. Plus why would a star system need a super computer? Man, brutal language on my part. Missing some punctuation too.

My hero doesn’t know if he has a wife? Really, does it matter out here in the far reaches of space, especially with colonization the final goal? Are there others? Sounding a bit like Genesis here, good thing the Bible scribes can’t sue me for plagiarism.

“My God” I gasped. That last sentence in the second paragraph has the word ‘and’ no less than 4 times.

Ouch, that next paragraph’s lead line, am I talking about one surface for multiple lakes? [Hell, at least that daydream had arbitrarily supplied a choice about that.]

This brain implant isn’t working like I hoped it would...

[What the...? Experiencing massive disorientation, another hallucinogenic rewind to the tentative start? Another dream sequence alternative? New damn brain implant having a quirkiness about it might be an understatement. Could it be infested with a virus?]

...when he noticed the unusual light fluctuations on the lake’s surface, he scrambled for his equipment. This was the closest that anyone had ever been to Tabby. He recalled his Grandfather’s stories of his father’s hypothesis of the Bubbleworld. His grandfather, George, had dedicated his entire life to Project Orion. As he reached for his luminance meter, he noticed that the scar on his right hand was no longer visible, but he dropped it when he heard Celeste scream.

"Jarad, put your hand back on and come here. Those bugs are back in the kitchen...."

No one, not even Celeste had ever seen an invisible scar dropped before. Did it make any sense? Or had the whole hand fallen off? George was in trouble.....

He dropped the meter when he heard Celeste scream. At first glance, it looked like insects but then her Aunt Jennifer’s haunting words flooded her mind. "Why nothing changes, until it does." Was it a collective organism? Oh, hell no! It was coffee grounds. They were coalescing. The coffee grounds that Jarad had spilled earlier were coalescing and they were moving towards the container.

The scene seemed confusing and a bit unnerving at first, but the aroma of Scarlet City coffee made it seem less...daunting. And Celeste's scream, less annoying. All that adrenaline wasted, though.

Ah, Scarlet City. It was a place in their past now, but one that brought both fretful and fulfilling memories.

Shaking his head clear of daydreaming, Jarad....

[Another interval of psychoactive disorientation]

This should have been the first inclination that something was wrong but Jarad determined this particular anomaly was merely a hallucination caused when FTL travel stimulates the brain’s thalamus. He might have had a case until Rastus, a male Negro stowaway, revealed himself to everyone. He told Jarad that he had hidden in the ship’s waste compartment, coincidentally amongst the coffee grounds.

Rastus was an odd character and the first thing he asked of Jarad was for a sex change. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Jarad knew he couldn’t refuse the request lest he be in violation of GCQ rights policy. The entire mission was at risk, especially when Celeste told him that she only liked other women. Jarad pondered his dilemma.
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#15
Secular Sanity Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 07:53 PM)C C Wrote: Rastus was an odd character and the first thing he asked of Jarad was for a sex change. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Jarad knew he couldn’t refuse the request lest he be in violation of GCQ rights policy. The entire mission was at risk, especially when Celeste told him that she only liked other women. Jarad pondered his dilemma

but he knew that Rastus would change his mind once he received the emotional detachment injection. Jared couldn’t help but notice, though, that his own emotions had detached from his memories, as well. When did he fall out of love with her? Was it within seconds…minutes, perhaps? He couldn’t remember. It was a requirement that they both agreed to do when they registered for the Galactic Migration Program.
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#16
Zinjanthropos Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 08:37 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: but he knew that Rastus would change his mind once he received the emotional detachment injection(EDI). Jared couldn’t help but notice, though, that his own emotions had detached from his memories, as well. When did he fall out love with her? Was it within seconds…minutes, perhaps? He couldn’t remember. It was a requirement that they both agreed to do when they registered for the Galactic Migration Program.

Jarad grew suspicious of The GMP. Was this trip really about migration? He wondered if he actually had gone anywhere at all. The feeling he was being set up was overwhelming. But why would they fake the mission? Matsya’s silencing, Rastus’ request, Celeste’s spurning.....what in hell was going on? Then he remembered Matsya mentioning something about the Lake bottom. Was that a clue or trap? He had to find out.
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#17
Secular Sanity Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 08:58 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Jarad grew suspicious of The GMP. Was this trip really about migration? He wondered if he actually had gone anywhere at all. The feeling he was being set up was overwhelming. But why would they fake the mission? Matsya’s silencing, Rastus’ request, Celeste’s spurning.....what in hell was going on? Then he remembered Matsya mentioning something about the Lake bottom. Was that a clue or trap? He had to find out.

He rushed back to the lake but the water was murky. There were no signs of disturbance. He turned on his luminosity meter but the fluctuations from Tabby were decreasing.

The coffee grounds, the lake, and then suddenly the tombstone in Vienna flashed through his mind.


[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTP68RtPuTAPNlYqb6BJXA...4cK6RRhMEQ]
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTP68RtPuTAPNlYqb6BJXA...4cK6RRhMEQ]

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#18
Quantum Quack Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 05:05 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: Jeez! Critics; can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.  Wink

(Aug 6, 2019 03:31 PM)Quantum Quack Wrote: Those bugs are back in the kitchen...." Smile

What year is it and why in the hell are we still in the kitchen.  Angry

Okay-okay.

Correction:

He dropped the meter when he heard Celeste scream.

At first glance, it looked like insects but then her Aunt Jennifer’s haunting words flooded her mind. "Why nothing changes, until it does." Was it a collective organism? Oh, hell no! It was coffee grounds. They were coalescing. The coffee grounds that Jarad had spilled earlier were coalescing and they were moving towards the container.
Developing the personalities and leading to the story title mystery:

When Jarad teamed up with Celeste, for this amazing adventure into the distant reaches of the MIlky Way, he respected her romantic inclinations towards her own gender, noted that she always called the lab her kitchen, where she could exercise her amazing skills at chemical engineering, astrophysics and entomology. Celeste was also an amazing chef.
Bug collecting does have it's moments especially when other critters from the outside world want to join in the fun.
"Hell"Jarad thought, his fear of crawling things was over the top and perhaps it was time for that ancient remedy Diazapam, but the chem distillery that Celeste was building wasn't yet completed, mainly because there were too many bugs in the kitchen.

Jarad opened the lock to the lab and...

(Aug 6, 2019 07:00 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote:
Quote:At first glance, it looked like insects but then her Aunt Jennifer’s haunting words flooded her mind. "Why nothing changes, until it does." Was it a collective organism? Oh, hell no! It was coffee grounds. They were coalescing. The coffee grounds that Jarad had spilled earlier were coalescing and they were moving towards the container.


This should have been the first inclination that something was wrong but Jarad determined this particular anomaly was merely a hallucination caused when FTL travel stimulates the brain’s thalamus. He might have had a case until Rastus, a male Negro stowaway, revealed himself to everyone. He told Jarad that he had hidden in the ship’s waste compartment, coincidentally amongst the coffee grounds.

Rastus was an odd character and the first thing he asked of Jarad was for a sex change. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Jarad knew he couldn’t refuse the request lest he be in violation of GCQ rights policy. The entire mission was at risk, especially when Celeste told him that she only liked other women. Jarad pondered his dilemma.
but the really big question is:
Does Jarad leave Celeste to marry his half cousin Brook who can not stop calling Jarad "Richard" ( side reference to sitcom - Bold and the beautiful)

(Aug 6, 2019 07:53 PM)C C Wrote: Okay, if we're seriously going to include that proposal about the aqua-bot, let me... with the addition of a few tweaks to adjust it to the contributions afterwards, supply what I originally threatened to post. Here's my spastic attempt to integrate everything together here so that others have some shot of figuring out what to add. QQ will of course offer the final, official canon.

Edited in Zin's late/last addition and some earlier contribution bits from SS & QQ that were partially missed initially (with respect to when this #### summary post first started -- been edited a gazillion times). Got Wegs' donation in the early going (I think).

- - - -

Title: INFESTATION

Sitting on his collapsible near a body of water yet to be named, near a mountain range yet to be climbed, on a planet yet to mapped and surveyed in a star system that needed a super computer to search for, he could only wonder on how life can lead to such extraordinary outcomes.

When Jarad signed up for the Galactic Colonization Quest (GCQ), he received Federation funding, a small star ship, and all the equipment necessary to set up a small outpost in a location of choosing. Promoting and facilitating galactic migration and development was the name of the game and Jarad with his new wife (?) had after passing all the rigorous tests and training, journeyed out of the human bubble near Sols to this exo rock they now called home.

The lakes surface was smooth with hardly a ripple when abruptly Matsya stirred up from the underwater depths and propelled itself toward the bank. Usually the aqua-bot simply transmitted its data, rather than reporting so directly.

"Well, what a coincidence," Jarad sarcastically commented, as the artificial surveyor and caretaker struggled clumsily out of the water. Its body began morphing from characteristics suitable for mobility in a fluid habitat to those adjusted for plodding on land. "I take a notion to settle here for a few moments to reflect on this odd radiance the place has acquired," Jarad continued, "and suddenly you pop up from your submerged, solitary vigil. I hope this is a sign that it's time for the next rung of the ladder."

"Yes," Matsya affirmed. "The imported rudimentary life-forms, accelerated by my management in this formerly sterile lake, have reached a satisfactory level for supporting the next hierarchy. I will initiate the hatching and nursery process back at the base camp facility. Eventually the fingerlings will be transported here for stocking."

"Time for you to start calling it the Outpost," Jarad informed the aqua-bot. "Things have changed a bit since you were last lumbering around there on those awkward excuses for legs."

Matsya shambled up the meager incline, then hesitated. "There's obviously another reason I wanted to speak with you directly. Concerning something down there that's..." The bipedally modified aqua-bot suddenly lost its voice. Its gesticulations indicated that it was as mystified by the glitch as Jarad.

Jarad pulled out the instruction manual to work out how to download the bot's data onto his tablet [why hadn't he done that ages ago, rather than relying on the Outpost's AI to process and sort everything?]. It was the strange yellow glow noticed after sunset that seemed to irradiate the lake that puzzled him and perhaps the bot had something for him to work with. Yellow colored Cheronkov Radiation is what it seemed like, but why yellow?

He could only ponder as the files downloaded and then from behind him he heard his wife [name?] cry out....

.... I awoke, my dream interrupted, laptop still on the notebook page. There they were, the same words I’ve been staring at for the last 12 days. Goddam writer’s block. Not unusual but how much longer? Yet today feels different however, and I take a closer look.

Don’t know why I’ve never noticed this but my hero has chosen his location despite the fact the planet hadn’t been mapped or surveyed. Plus why would a star system need a super computer? Man, brutal language on my part. Missing some punctuation too.

My hero doesn’t know if he has a wife? Really, does it matter out here in the far reaches of space, especially with colonization the final goal? Are there others? Sounding a bit like Genesis here, good thing the Bible scribes can’t sue me for plagiarism.

“My God” I gasped. That last sentence in the second paragraph has the word ‘and’ no less than 4 times.

Ouch, that next paragraph’s lead line, am I talking about one surface for multiple lakes? [Hell, at least that daydream had arbitrarily supplied a choice about that.]

This brain implant isn’t working like I hoped it would...

[What the...? Experiencing massive disorientation, another hallucinogenic rewind to the tentative start? Another dream sequence alternative? New damn brain implant having a quirkiness about it might be an understatement. Could it be infested with a virus?]

...when he noticed the unusual light fluctuations on the lake’s surface, he scrambled for his equipment. This was the closest that anyone had ever been to Tabby. He recalled his Grandfather’s stories of his father’s hypothesis of the Bubbleworld. His grandfather, George, had dedicated his entire life to Project Orion. As he reached for his luminance meter, he noticed that the scar on his right hand was no longer visible, but he dropped it when he heard Celeste scream.

"Jarad, put your hand back on and come here. Those bugs are back in the kitchen...."

No one, not even Celeste had ever seen an invisible scar dropped before. Did it make any sense? Or had the whole hand fallen off? George was in trouble.....

He dropped the meter when he heard Celeste scream. At first glance, it looked like insects but then her Aunt Jennifer’s haunting words flooded her mind. "Why nothing changes, until it does." Was it a collective organism? Oh, hell no! It was coffee grounds. They were coalescing. The coffee grounds that Jarad had spilled earlier were coalescing and they were moving towards the container.

The scene seemed confusing and a bit unnerving at first, but the aroma of Scarlet City coffee made it seem less...daunting. And Celeste's scream, less annoying. All that adrenaline wasted, though.

Ah, Scarlet City. It was a place in their past now, but one that brought both fretful and fulfilling memories.

Shaking his head clear of daydreaming, Jarad....

[Another interval of psychoactive disorientation]

This should have been the first inclination that something was wrong but Jarad determined this particular anomaly was merely a hallucination caused when FTL travel stimulates the brain’s thalamus. He might have had a case until Rastus, a male Negro stowaway, revealed himself to everyone. He told Jarad that he had hidden in the ship’s waste compartment, coincidentally amongst the coffee grounds.

Rastus was an odd character and the first thing he asked of Jarad was for a sex change. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Jarad knew he couldn’t refuse the request lest he be in violation of GCQ rights policy. The entire mission was at risk, especially when Celeste told him that she only liked other women. Jarad pondered his dilemma.
Great work... not easy hey, but you did really well... IMO
tempted to build on the GCQ as another sub plot and point to one aspect of the title theme INFESTATION:

so far:
Human infestation
Kitchen infestation
Lake infestation - re: Yellow glow

Federation HQ - GCQ

When Sholea sat down at hers chairpersons desk for the first time, she made a small mental ceremonial note in her thoughts.  
"The greatest achievement of the 3rd Millennia was the establishment of the Galactic Colonization Quest".
She repeated the dogma she had been conditioned with since popping out of the IVF cell breathing her first breath,
"The greatest achievement of the 3rd Millennia was the establishment of the Galactic Colonization "
Almost a chant, a chant that got her into the top job she guessed.

Opponents of the quest often accused the GCQ of using technological development to facilitate the Human INFESTATION of the Galaxy. Sholea new they were right but Earths burgeoning over population had to be dealt with, hopefully with out the massive cull that occurred almost 500 years ago. We simply couldn't help ourselves and even after the disastrous outcomes of the human cull  we still breed like rabbits. Finally technology allowed us to make that leap into spreading our species virus into a pristine galactic wilderness and suddenly the problem of over population was resolved.
So far millions of colonists had taken the GCQ offer up and even at this rate it would take millions of years before we had to look for another galaxy.
But of course the sometimes exotic resources returning to the Earth made  the whole project worth while in economic terms...in fact the planet had never had such an abundance or prosperity. which of course meant more breeding...and more aspirants for the CGQ to pick from as people attempted to flee their somewhat cramped, high density living conditions.

Please excuse the typo's the sites edit function seemed to disappear...
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#19
Quantum Quack Offline
(Aug 6, 2019 06:49 PM)Leigha Wrote: The scene seemed confusing and a bit unnerving at first, but the aroma of Scarlet City coffee made it seem less...daunting. And Celeste's scream, less annoying. All that adrenaline wasted, though.

Ah, Scarlet City. It was a place in their past now, but one that brought both fretful and fulfilling memories.

Shaking his head clear of daydreaming, Jarad....
...recalled their stop over for time out and maintenance at one of the first colonies established over 100 years ago, on their long journey to a distant exo they called Home. Or at least hoped to call home.
Scarlet City was surprisingly sedate, conservative yet many instances of respectful human flamboyance could be seen in the sprawling avenues and malls.
It was there that, given the vastness of the Galaxy and massive improbability, he met up with a long distant relationship. Distant in time and space actually. Celeste had no idea of this aspect of his past and he intended to keep it that way.

Celeste, though was way to clever to not notice, so when she saw the two of them in a bar she broke the "time out rule" and....

It is really cool people! Posted some amazing ideas..

One of the problems of writing is managing the flow of ideas so I thought I would propose Chapters.


Chapters:


The lake
Introducing:
Yellow glow, aqua bot, Jarad, Celeste, stowaway Rastus

Scarlet City
Introducing:
Location, old secret relationship for Jarad.

Neuro Psychedelics
Introducing:
Dream sequences perhaps inspired by the infestation in the lake's "Yellow glow".

GCQ Headquarters.
Introducing:
Chair person Sholea, general GCQ background, human cull. GCQ intentions and goals.

Have I missed any?
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#20
Secular Sanity Offline
(Aug 7, 2019 12:22 AM)Quantum Quack Wrote: Developing the personalities and leading to the story title mystery:

When Jarad teamed up with Celeste, for this amazing adventure into the distant reaches of the MIlky Way, he respected her romantic inclinations towards her own gender, noted that she always called the lab her kitchen, where she could exercise her amazing skills at chemical engineering, astrophysics and entomology. Celeste was also an amazing chef.
Bug collecting does have it's moments especially when other critters from the outside world want to join in the fun.
"Hell"Jarad thought, his fear of crawling things was over the top and perhaps it was time for that ancient remedy Diazapam, but the chem distillery that Celeste was building wasn't yet completed, mainly because there were too many bugs in the kitchen.

Oh, darn it!  Sad

I was working towards a few of Benard’s creatures leading to the law of maximum entropy with LIFE being the infestation.

I know-I know…back to the labWink
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