Silicon Dreaming

Day 04. The Space Capsule

Well it seems that events have taken yet another strange turn for the worse and I now find myself in quite possibly the oddest place I have ever been and perhaps the oddest place I can even imagine. It’s also quite possible that you will not believe me if I tell you that I am actually inside the belly of this giant starwhale that currently surrounds me, who seemed to take a fancy to this shiny new space capsule hurtling through space, unfortunately with myself inside. Really you can’t help but laugh at the whole situation, but I figure I’m reasonably safe in here, at least for a while anyway.

Starwhales, from what I’ve seen on those space wildlife documentaries, have one of the most complex digestive systems of all celestial animals, able to digest virtually any substance in existence, though the whole process is extraordinarily slow and takes place over about a year or two. I can’t make out too much of what else is in here with me just with the light from the capsule; seems to be quite a lot of rocks, junk and metal all mixed in together floating in some kind of viscous yellow liquid. It is however surprising how gentle and stable it is in here, even if it is quite disgusting.

At first I was more than a little worried at the prospect of being eaten alive by a starwhale, thinking that I may have had to blast my way out, but I’ve since established a communications link with the nearby space station through the stomach walls of the whale. The station is apparently well equipped to handle these types of situations and they have told me not to worry, that they are sending someone out to retrieve me soon. So I think at this point I’ve stopped expecting that my life will just settle back down into a normal, dull rhythm of monotonous tasks and rituals; at least not any time soon. I am thinking however that it will be nice to get out of this cramped little space capsule at last, enjoy some real food instead of these little replicated nutrition pellets I’ve been nibbling on all day, and maybe just to have a nice cold Tyrellian beer in a decent station bar with a nice atmosphere and a few friendly faces.

posted by Joshua @ 20:24