Member-only story
Is This How It All Ends?
A short apocalyptic tale
— How are things over there, Dex?
— Temperature at one hundred and eighty-seven degrees Celsius. Still unable to see anything in here, but the wind noise would deafen you.
— I have no doubt… Good luck there, buddy! We speak a century from now.
— Dex, is everything in order?
— It’s only been ninety-two years; any particular reason for contacting me so soon?
— The solar storms increased faster than we expected. We were afraid we had lost contact.
— No, the pairing remained. There was no significant change, the temperature at two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, still unable to see the chamber where I am. The wind noise, however, subsided.
— It was to be expected. New contact in a century! Best luck!
— Thanks!
— Dex, are you there?
— Where else could I be?
— At this point, close to the orbit of Mars, along with the rest of the atmosphere…
— No, I’m still inside the chamber. I can see it, though! There is light coming in through a crack on my left side, in the ceiling. I think some blocks shifted as the atmosphere was being ripped out.
