illumination by peter edgell (short novels in english .txt) 📕

***

A stirring, as ever, but no fear. Then a mounting agitation. Anger burst, boil-like, running impotent along its edge of influence – unable to grasp and destroy the object. It had passed through, it had tricked! But then it turned back towards the darkness and there was joy. From everywhere, life streamed to wreak vengeance, destruction.

***

The light was pale green. Its luminous quality almost blinded the two men at first, but their eyes fought and adjusted.
“Look at…” Lipscombe whispered, but only through reaction. Formane’s eyes were as rigidly fixed as his.
The computer sims were wrong. There was no landscape. The surface was flat. Absolutely flat – not even the faintest of faint dips or rises. And the strange light was emanating from within it, pulsing gently upwards, touching the manic darkness above with the faintest of caresses.
Lipscombe tapped the console for power and a one second scan. The vessel continued, unmolested. As they re-entered the darkness, he glanced up to the display of Formane’s face. The pilot winked and punched for the engine burst. His hand never made contact.

***

Born into darkness, living in darkness, dying in darkness - Lifeskin had one purpose – to protect.
Lifeskin had failed. Lifeskin had been breached.
Lifeskin ripped and hurled the tiny object skyward, away from its riven soul. Whirling laughter as the thing was reduced to atoms.
Then sudden terror. Darkest, darkest terror. Light came.

***

Van Boer watched through his cabin port. He saw the pinprick of light as the nuclear engine exploded and stared in awe as its devastating power streamed through the darkness; growing, spreading - almost as if it were feeding upon the winds, flames along paper threads – and like paper before fire, the atmosphere was stripped away. The winds were a camouflage, life forms themselves, protecting some other…some form… some sentience. Van Boer knew it - deep in his human heart - and he felt it screaming. He gazed upon murder, he gazed upon worse – this was genocide.

The giant globe hung for a moment, revealed - an illumination that shut out the universe surrounding. It shivered, then, as if dying, and space seemed to fold in upon it like an eyelid closing. It winked out of existence. Nothing remained but a view of distant stars gripped inside the cold, dark fist of infinity.

Publication Date: 06-17-2011

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