So this week’s writing challenge is to write a blog about silence, so I thought I would incorporate it into the science fiction piece I have been writing, Orion 83. Please click here for the previous parts in the series.
Orion 83’s systems restarted and he found himself back on the surface of the planet – He did not recognise the terrain but was thankful to be out of the pit. Taking stock of the surroundings he had been left in the middle of a single story complex, which was surrounded by a low wall. Seemingly empty, he poked around the few small buildings and satisfied himself that he was alone – He needed time to assess the events of the last few days and this silent retreat would provide that.
He settled himself in the middle of the compound and silently began working through what had happened to him.
Three days passed and the silent thinker never moved – he was so focused on the task at hand that even his eyes had locked onto the distant horizon. He worked through all the possible scenarios and formulated contingency plans for all of them, and calculated the probabilities of success for each.
To date Orion 83 had had every movement planned out for him – even down to the protocols that controlled his cybernetic brain, each only allowing a specific set of actions. However that seemed to have changed after his encounter with The Light. He was no longer bound by the protocols that he had been programmed with when he was created. To compare it to the human condition it was alike to a human waking one morning to find all the taboos and conditioning that is inherent in human society had been removed.
He found the experience both liberating and terrifying. Whilst now he could apply his superlative intelligence to whatever he wished, the wealth of possibilities was intimidating. What was he going to do?
A chirp sounded from his pocket and he pulled a communicator from his pocket – the power of the light had temporarily disabled it but it had now had time to reset. The chirp indicated that a vessel was in orbit and it was searching for him. A voice sounded from the speaker:
“Orion 83 please respond.”
Orion 83 said nothing – he had nothing to say to the people who had tried to end his existence and vowed to maintain that silence as long as his existence continued. No human would learn what he had learned.
“Orion 83 please respond or face discontinuation”
Orion 83 took the communicator and crushed it under his foot – Silence was his byword now….
Published in response to this week’s Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | The Daily Post.
L5GN 
Leave a comment