So, allow me to present two things here, the first is one of my darkest ever short stories, the second is that same story twisted and malformed by online translation software.
Immortality
She could not move, she could not blink, she could not feel, she could not hear, she could not speak, she could not sleep, she could not shriek, she could not die.
A few years ago, or perhaps a few hundred thousand years, she had no way to tell; the independent merchant freighter Broken Verse had been waylaid by a Nydaruku privateer vessel. The Captain of which gave a very straightforward ultimatum; send one crew member to their vessel as a sacrifice and the freighter could go free, otherwise, and here the alien Captain couldn't quite keep a clicking laugh at bay, the freighter would be destroyed.
Everyone had heard stories of the Nydaruku's 'japes'; there seemed to be a new one each week. Freighters and survey vessels beyond the Imperial border were, with increasing frequency, being set upon by their black and grey, spiny vessels. They had no interest in stealing cargo, nor it seemed with provoking a conflict with the Empire as they only attacked non-military vessels which were owned and operated by the expendable 2nd class citizenry. The Nydaruku only wanted people, and sometimes like in this case, not even the entire crew. What they did with those they took seemed to grow increasingly unimaginable with each new example.
With all of thirteen minutes to decide and respond, the fifteen-strong crew drew lots to decide who would go, and when the young deckhand, Jennifer Thew, picked the short one, her shipmates wasted little time in sedating her and putting her in an escape pod, just to be sure she couldn't have an attack of nerves, or worse still, trouble their already troubled hearts by pleading on account of her youth.
When she woke up, she was already in the capsule, already speeding through space towards the outer edge of the system. In a blind panic, she tried to call out and bang her fists against the hatch three inches in front of her face, but her body would do nothing despite all her efforts.
How long ago had it been? Was she still in known space?
It had taken her a very long time to calm down, and when she did and figured out what had been done, by rights she should have been driven mad with the vileness of it, but something the Nydaruku had done, some feature of this capsule, forced her mind to remain aware and able to appreciate the situation, and there was nothing else that she could now appreciate; here she was, sealed away, banished into the void, literally unable to do anything except lie perfectly still and stare at the dimly lit roof and tiny screen in her field of vision. She could not sleep, though her mind didn't seem to suffer for it; she never felt hungry or thirsty, which suggested she was being fed intravenously somehow, she never felt anything, except the misery and rage that she had no way to express.
Time passed... probably, and nothing happened, she just lay there, silently screaming, silently cursing at the crew who had handed her over to the Nydaruku, trying in vain to keep hold of pleasant memories from her old life through the onslaught of overwhelming monotony and all the while silently trying to die through sheer force of will.
Finally, one day, displayed in the screen a message in green, digital, English characters, a message appeared before her, confirming much of what she'd long suspected:
'You will linger on for a seeming eternity in this pod. No chance meteor shall strike it, no ship shall see you through its reflective shield, no malfunction from within shall disrupt our work of statuary, the pod will do whatever is necessary to keep running and keep you alive in this state, you will go on... by now the jape has likely ceased to amuse us, by now all have probably forgotten you, but you will go on.'
And indeed, on it went, as the Empire and the Nydaruku had finally died out after the count of long millennia, until the stars of Sol and Nydar-yiarh were dead, until Jennifer Thew was the last living human and ultimately the last sentient being in the ancient, collapsing galaxy.
Lovely hmm? Now here it is translated into various languages, then back to English.
Can not move, can not give him, he felt, he couldn't hear, couldn't speak, he can't go to sleep, he can't shout, can't die. A few years ago, not miskien, a few hundred thousand years, he can not say, watch for truck trader private independent steamer cuts nydaruku poems. The captain was very simple and ultimatum. let's send members of the crew of one ship, truck, and could go free, otherwise, fluffy and unable to keep the Bay the captain laughs here to crush, to destroy the truck. It was all a joke nydaruku heard the story, every week a new defense. The cargo ship of the Imperial ships and investigated to the border, to increase the frequency and read them on their black, thick. Theft, there is no difficulty in their interest, and, it seems, is on against офâ to provoke the Empire, only if they attack civilian ships, to manage people and disposable 2-small. Nydaruku just was not, and people, and sometimes, as in this case, not the entire crew. What to do with those who, something new-anything new that is growing, as an example. Who was ten minutes to decide against it, fifteen-pulling a strong team to decide who, when and the young lion, Jennifer TEW, elected in short, vermors his friends-is a sedative and put in a capsule many times, says, we just believe that his horse an-foam nerves, or, even worse, he looked younger, now try they need to fight for a place in the heart. When he woke up, he already has a capsule, the direction and speed now, the outside world is through the space of the system. Luke himself tried to whom is fighting against the blind panic and scream in his face his fist inches, but his body was not to do anything, though, it all. How so? At his feet-the most in the world knows? It is Haram-for a very long time can not calm down, and when he, knowing what had to be done, as a rule, was insane, his respect, but to do something nydaruku, especially capsules, his thoughts, to be aware of and able to assess the situation - there was nothing that could now realize they were printed here, in the void, motionless and look at Leo's leg as eyes and couldn't do nothing but small fields barely covered it on the screen. He could not sleep, but his thoughts seemed to resent him, he feels hunger or not to drink ever, and to tell it as it somewhere else, or intravenous feeding, he never felt anything but grief and anger that he did not show. Time passed... I guess nothing happened, he just lies there, screaming silently, silently, silently cursing in a wheelchair, which Nydaruku, trying in vain to keep the delicious memories of her former life, and it always works just quietly dies under the onslaught of overwhelming the nose. One day, finally, screen has a green color in the news, points, English characters, came the news that when the first showed it a lot, I think that the reason is-the-lakhaniá time: "You will think of eternal glory of the pod. There was no chance the meteor will hit, you ship will be new evidence of the shield that hinders our work there is no picture, the pod, he had to do everything to keep that able to keep you in work and life such as you... now go on YAP, always entertained us, who is now best to forget, but you continue. Indeed, the fact that he is rich as nydaruku and finally died for many thousands of years believed, salt and nydar stars yiarh death, human life is at the end of life and finally, the last TEW Jennifer was old, falling apart galaxy.
For an audio recording of the latter, click here:
https://www.rmepaul.com/immortality
(Thought of the day: Have fun.)
