Trouble in the Garden!

His journey had been a smooth one ever since the slingshot around Jupiter. The Commander didn’t care much for stasis, so he spent most of his time lounging in the garden on board. One day, as he drifted in and out of his day dreams, the Commander suddenly had an urge to hold the pebble. He yawned, and picked himself up off the hammock. His feet shuffled across the floor. Through the door, into the hall, down to his lab. Switch flick, lights on, pebble grab. A man possessed.

The Commander woke up in the garden. His head was pounding, and the lights seemed brighter than the Sun. He stretched out his arms, and turned to get up from the hammock, when he noticed the pebble on the ground a few feet away. Before he had the chance to consider what this meant, Black North’s alert system came online. “NOW APPROACHING PLUTO”, it said over the loud speakers. “Damn, how long was I out?” the Commander muttered to himself. He walked over to the pebble, and stooped down to inspect it. The area around the pebble was terribly cold. The Commander crouched near the pebble for what felt like hours, and tried to decide what his next move was. Somehow, it had found its way in there. And that thought disturbed him. There was only two options here. He moved it himself. Or somebody else did. He took a deep breath, plunged his hand through the icy air, and wrapped his fingers around the pebble. He stood up with ease, and walked around the garden; despite the pebbles immense weight. He picked a few leaves off the plants, drug his hand through some dirt, and even snapped a few twigs, until finally making his way back to the hammock. All of that with the pebble in hand. All of that with no memory.

Smoke filled his nose, and woke the Commander. His body ached like never before, and it was pain to move. He rolled over with a grunt, and strained his neck to look around. The room was blazing. All of the trees were lit, and the vegetables were well on their way to joining them. The thought of running out of oxygen in space was suffocating, and the wall of smoke coming his way wasn’t going to alleviate that sensation. He rolled back over, and began crawling towards the door. Excruciating pain coursed through his body. He gasped for breathe, holding onto each one because it was probably going to be his last. Crawling along the floor, crying in pain. All alone in the miserable emptiness of space. He felt the flames catching him, and burning his feet. He gave a last effort, to no avail. He would burn alive in space. His pants caught fire, and seared the skin of his legs. It smelt like a Sunday morning tailgate. He blinked in and out of consciousness, and as his vision began to fade, and his lungs filled with smoke, he saw that small black rock. Hope amongst the flames. He reached out with the last ounce of his strength, and seized the pebble.

When he woke up the fire was gone. Not out, but entirely gone. Like it never happened. He scanned the room and saw nothing. Just darkness all around. He walked towards the viewing window that faced the Sun. When he pressed the button that drew back the steel curtains, and listened to them groan as they unfolded, he felt a shot of ice run down his back. The Sun was gone, and it its place was a black hole. He looked desperately around for the star he knew so well. But all he saw was more black holes. Nine total, including the monstrosity on the Sun’s throne. He pulled himself away from the window, and fell into a heap on the floor. He was most certain he was dead, and this was a twisted version of hell created for the Commander by the devil himself. But the longer he lay there, the longer nothing changed. So he got up, and walked to the other window on the opposite side of the room. The groaning of steel curtains being drawn filled the room once more, and with that sound came light. The light filled the room with a shine just like the Sun itself, but not quite. When his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, the Commander peered out the window. He saw an object comparable to the Sun in radiance, but no match in size. And before it, much closer to the ship, another black hole, making ten total. The beginnings of a thought began to creep into the Commander’s head as he strained to make sense of it all, but he was interrupted by an announcement from far away. “NOW ENTERING PLUTO’S ORBIT”, he heard it whisper. He looked down at his open palm, and gazed deeply into the circle of light shining out at him. It all made sense now.