Exigency
Page 40
Pablo clapped his gloves together. “Ha! She actually stayed!” He grinned, astonished, as he shook his head. He clapped once more and eyed Minnie. “Soooo … You happen to have a skimmer parked around here somewhere? I’ve got a pregnant girlfriend waiting back home.”
Minnie blinked. “Wait, what?”
*
Epilogue
Magnified through a biotherm optic, a parasitic worm clings to a brain’s limbic cortex, two rows of tiny barbed appendages anchoring the creature to the organ. When the host moves, the parasite writhes subtly. A horror scene.
Zooming out from the brain, outside the host creature’s body cavity, an intelligent lifeform—a distinguished member of her society and the head of her civilization’s revered assembly of philosophers—stands proudly before a new structure that exemplifies her people’s accomplishment. A scene of accelerated evolution.
Floating upward to a bird’s-eye view, pointing downward, the leader is seen extending an arm to another intelligent lifeform—a distinguished member of a different society, recently rescued and returned from a dangerous land—and the pair exchange words of praise. A scene of peace, optimism, and potential.
Zooming out again, beyond the bustling construction site, beyond the adjacent field of emerging crops, and across an ocean to another land, the view descends on a shaded patch of coastal vegetation, and a frenzied pack of massive predators ripping plants from the soil. As they claw at the entrance to their prey’s burrow, a red cloud of disturbed fungus spores drifts about, sticking to the beasts’ mouths, and flowing into their windpipes. Another scene of potential.
And finally, zooming out once more, past the clouds, past an orbiting field of debris in the thermosphere, the planet shrinking from a globe, to a ball, to a speck, to nothing. Zooming out farther still, farther, and further.
Acknowledgements
Editing services provided by the keen intellect of Kristina Circelli from Red Road Editing. As always, these stories would be nothing without my growing list of amazing beta readers: Alyssa W, Angela P, Bill H, Bill R, DeeDee B, Eric D, Jessica B, Joe S, Karen L, Laura B, Laurie J, Lori W, Pascal B, Scott K, Stacey L, Venture C, and Vicky W—thank you all! Further thanks to Hugh Howey, John Chiu, Mary Roach, Jon Reiner, Eugene Mallove, Gregory Matloff, Kevin Fong, M.D., everyone else who took the time to answer one or more of my silly questions over the past two years, and, of course, my wife, Ana, for all she does, and all she puts up with.
About the Author
Michael Siemsen lives in Northern California with his wife, three kids, dog Brody, cat Atom, several fish, two chupacabrii, and one pesky demon. He continues, as we speak, to spill his guts for your entertainment.
facebook.com/mcsiemsen
michaelsiemsen.com
twitter: @michaelsiemsen
mail@michaelsiemsen.com
Also by Michael Siemsen:
A Warm Place to Call Home (a demon’s story)
The Many Lives of Samuel Beauchamp (a demon’s story)
The Dig (Book 1 of the Matt Turner series)
The Opal (Book 2 of the Matt Turner series)