Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous: Tim Marquitz
“That’s how long we have. The ore that gives us light, keeps us warm, and runs the food plants has finally come to an end. Three hundred and fifty years after the dimming. A good run.
But not long enough. Not by my reckoning. I’m only twelve points short of my breeding merit. There’s no way I’m checking out of here before then.
So I volunteered. “Exploration duty”, that’s what they call it. “Suicide”, Tom Draper said. “Escape”, Linda whispered in my ear the night before I left.
As it turns out, ...all three were right in their own way.
~ It started well enough, despite my apprehension at heading out. The flyer they gave me hadn’t been upside for thirty years; nobody had. Too cold, too dark, no point. Until now. I had to wait for two days while the bots fitted an ore probe and a drill and that just gave me more time to fret. I was actually happy when I strapped in and took the flyer into the tube.
The five minute ascent to Hell soon put paid to that.
I felt cold before we got halfway up.MoreLess
But not long enough. Not by my reckoning. I’m only twelve points short of my breeding merit. There’s no way I’m checking out of here before then.
So I volunteered. “Exploration duty”, that’s what they call it. “Suicide”, Tom Draper said. “Escape”, Linda whispered in my ear the night before I left.
As it turns out, ...all three were right in their own way.
~ It started well enough, despite my apprehension at heading out. The flyer they gave me hadn’t been upside for thirty years; nobody had. Too cold, too dark, no point. Until now. I had to wait for two days while the bots fitted an ore probe and a drill and that just gave me more time to fret. I was actually happy when I strapped in and took the flyer into the tube.
The five minute ascent to Hell soon put paid to that.
I felt cold before we got halfway up.MoreLess
Read book Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous: Tim Marquitz for free
You can download books for free in various formats, such as epub, pdf, azw, mobi, txt and others on book networks site. Additionally, the entire text is available for online reading through our e-reader. Our site is not responsible for the performance of third-party products (sites).
Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
10 / 10
User Reviews: