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Richard E. Gropp lives on a mountain outside of Seattle with his partner of fifteen years. It is a small mountain. He studied literature and psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has worked as a bookstore clerk, a forklift driver, and an accountant. He has a hard time spelling the word broccoli, and in his spare time he dabbles in photography and cooking.
His first Daily Science Fiction Story, “Filling Up the Void,” was recently reprinted in Wilde Stories 2012: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction, and his first novel, Bad Glass--Library Journal’s SF/F Debut of the Month--was published by Del Rey last week. (Buy it!) He can be found online at troublebox.com, and on twitter @rgropp.
I stood on the deck of the ship and watched as my planet fell dark, receding into the distance.
"This is certainly the long way 'round," the ship whispered in my ear. "We have stations on both sides--you could have stepped right through. We could have folded you all the way."
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I smiled and reached out to touch the video screen. The tip of my thumb blotted out the shrinking planet. "There's value in patience, ship. The universe is large. Sometimes it's good to have a reminder."
"Thirteen years," the ship whispered. "All alone."
"Yes."
"You should have brought a book."
The End
This story was first published on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012
Author Comments
I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately. Right now I’ve got a browser open--there’s a twitter feed scrolling by; a Facebook page that’s brand new each time I blink my eyes; separate pages for local, national, and international news. I’ve got a music player cycling through new songs it thinks I might like. My phone is chirping with IMs from a friend who wants to do lunch. I’ve got an agent in my inbox, a review blog waiting for 300 words, and if I want to eat dinner tonight, I need to start the crockpot soon.
I think this is the singularity.
I just don’t have enough time to be human anymore.
- Richard E. Gropp
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