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Jason P. Burnham is an infectious diseases physician and clinical researcher. He loves many things, among them sci-fi, his wife, sons, and dog, metal music, Rancho Gordo beans, and equality (not necessarily in that order).
"Entity on the hull has a message," says XO Jabrus.
Captain Xyn inhales, tension in the bridge almost too thick to breathe. "Onscreen."
"Thanks for allowing my attachment. Please, if possible, refrain from traveling faster than light," says the entity, a haze of flashing blue-green.
"FTL is impossible," Xyn says.
"Perfect," says the being. "They'll never look for me in sub-light."
"Who?" Asks Xyn nervously.
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The entity's lights dull. "You traverse the interstellar medium without knowledge of what lies beneath?"
Suddenly, the ship spins wildly, throwing them to the floor.
"What was that?' Xyn asks.
The entity flickers. "They're breaching."
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, January 20th, 2022
Author Comments
This story originates from a question and a conjecture: 1) what if faster-than-light travel were not only possible, but absolutely horrifying? and 2) Perhaps humanity was never meant to leave Earth (no planet B!).
- Jason P Burnham
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