by Tim Curran
You get the picture.
Life forms disappear from the fossil record with unsettling regularity in the greater scheme of geologic time and I believe another has followed suit.
This has been going on as long as there has been life on the planet. I have to wonder if the fleets of collectors didn’t have something to do with it. I keep wondering what sort of creatures built these things and if they even exist anymore. They might have died out a long, long time ago. Their star system might not even exist anymore. But the machines exist. They keep doing what they’re programmed to do and will until another singularity like the Big Bang destroys time and space and matter as we know it.
Theoretical as all hell, I know. But I do wonder.
It would answer a lot of questions.
I’ve been broadcasting on a ham radio setup powered by my generator for six weeks now. I haven’t received a reply. I’m pretty sure no one is left to transmit. I think I witnessed what may some day be known as the Holocene extinction event, which closes out the Cenozoic era. I wonder what will fill the vacuum of man as mammals filled the vacuum of the dinosaurs. What evolved ancestors of creatures out there right now will rise up and dominate the world. Some day in the far distant future, they’ll study the rocks and put together the history of man and the extinction event that destroyed him. Maybe they’ll even be wise enough—unlike us—to know their turn is coming.
Regardless, I’ve lived through the Holocene extinction as I suppose some dinosaurs survived the K-T extinction. In their own simple way, they must have wondered what the hell had happened and where everyone had gone just as I’m wondering now.
Forget the Bible and the rest of that, this is the greatest story ever told.
I only wish there was someone left to tell it to.
About the Author
Tim Curran hails from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A full-time wage zombie in a factory, he collects vintage punk rock, metal, and rockabilly records in his spare time.
He is the author of the novels Skin Medicine, Hive, Dead Sea, Resurrection, Skull Moon, The Devil Next Door, Hive 2: The Spawning, Graveworm, and Biohazard. His short stories have been collected in Bone Marrow Stew and Zombie Pulp. His novellas include Fear Me, The Underdwelling, The Corpse King, and Puppet Graveyard. His short stories have appeared in such magazines as City Slab, Flesh&Blood, Book of Dark Wisdom, and Inhuman, as well as anthologies such as Flesh Feast, Shivers IV, High Seas Cthulhu, and, Vile Things. His latest book is a new novel from DarkFuse, Long Black Coffin. Upcoming projects include the novels Hag Night and Witch Born, and a second short story collection, Cemetery Wine. Find him on the web at: www.corpseking.com.
About the Publisher
DarkFuse is a leading independent publisher of modern fiction in the horror, suspense and thriller genres. As an independent company, it is focused on bringing to the masses the highest quality dark fiction, published as collectible limited hardcover, paperback and eBook editions.
To discover more titles published by DarkFuse, please visit its official site at www.darkfuse.com.