—Alasdair Stuart—
Twittering the Stars
Mari Ness
IN MY INTRODUCTION I already told how much Twitter helped with this anthology—not just with promotion and inspiration, but with helping me find exciting new writers, as well. Mari Ness, though, went the extra mile (140 characters at a time) and sent me a whole story written in Twitter format.
For those of you that don’t know Twitter: it’s a social website where users are allowed only 140 characters (‘including’ spaces) per message.
Yes, this can lead to the worst examples of l33tspeak on the net, but also to moments of pure poetry.
And in this case, to an intriguing story, like watching the Universe through a pinhole. Keep in mind that while such pinholes may leave out the whole picture, they can focus relentlessly...
(Note: the story is set up like the Twitter website; that is, the last tweets appear on top, the first on the bottom. So those who like to read a story in chronological order may want to start at the very end (bottom), and read up to the beginning. However, I can assure you that reading it ‘into the past’ works fine, as well. Probably even better, because then you want to go back up again to enjoy the ride once more.)
I NEED TO sing to the stars again.
five minutes ago from web
Back, finally. More than glad to be home again, more than glad to be walking on real earth, not metal. But I sense I won’t be here for long.
five minutes ago from web
Getting ready for landing. Tweet at all of you soon.
about 23 hours ago from distweet
We’re not even making a pretense of working now. Just watching the Earth. I keep looking at Texas and crying.
6:48 pm July 3rd from distweet
I keep thinking his voice is haunting me. I’m pretty sure that’s not what they want to hear.
11:14 am July 1st from distweet
Still not sure what I’m going to say to T’s family.
11:06 am July 1st from distweet
Earth keeps growing in our windows, but so slowly. All of us are pinned to the windows, unable to work, even me.
7:02 pm June 28th from distweet
We both started giggling like little kids. And then we made out.
3:23 pm June 15th from distweet
M came to me yesterday and pulled me to the porthole. “Sing to the stars again,” he said, so I did.
3:22 pm June 15th from distweet
Now that we’re no longer worried about oxygen needs, my plants are growing like mad. Of course.
5:02 am June 2nd from distweet
Closed myself off from the rest of the group and simply watched my portholes for a long while.
11:58 pm April 16th from distweet
@piehole72 Oh, we stopped talking to each other years ago. Even before the mining, truthfully. And now we’re utterly silent.
11:57 pm March 20th from distweet in reply to @piehole72
I need to hear human voices again.
1:00 pm March 20th from distweet
Burying myself in work. Reporting. Typing. Writing. Nothing else to do, no other way to make these images go away.
3:33 pm December 25th, 2054 from distweet
A poured the rest of the chocolate packs down the waste bin today. Said we had nothing else to celebrate. Thought M would protest, but no.
6:47 pm October 20th, 2054 from distweet
We keep watching each other’s skin, but no one says anything.
9:07 am October 16th, 2054 from distweet
A and R tell us fuel and oxygen levels remain at optimum levels. We will get home.
4:02 pm September 30th, 2054 from distweet
@frogheart29 Yes, I’m a botanist and microbiologist, but there’s a big jump between that and being a medical doctor.
12:44 pm September 28th, 2054 from distweet in reply to frogheart29
@the28thkarenbear And you saw how well that worked with T, right?
12:43 pm September 28th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the28thkarenbear
@the28thkarenbear And if we do get a response, what do we do?
5:34 am September 26th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the 28thkarenbear
@the28thkarenbear We can take MRIs and X-rays and send the images back and have a radiologist look at them, but we won’t get a response for hours.
5:34 am September 26th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the 28thkarenbear
@the28thkarenbear It wasn’t enough.
8:02 pm September 24th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the 28thkarenbear
@the28thkarenbear We all took basic med training, but that’s it. It doesn’t feel like enough.
8:02 pm September 24th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the 28thkarenbear
A convinced she has lumps too. Worst problem with being so far out here is it takes forever to download med info.
4:16 am September 23rd, 2054 from distweet
I shouldn’t say this. But what’s really upsetting me is not having a doctor around anymore. I keep thinking I have lumps in my breasts.
4:15 am September 23rd, 2054 from distweet
Finding myself really missing T.
4:14 am September 23rd, 2054 from distweet
Busying myself studying the computer analyses of the space DNA, as we’re calling it.
4:13 am July 28th, 2054 from distweet
M and I broke up again. It’s ok. I need the space.
6:12 pm July 27th, 2054 from distweet
I need to go silent, for awhile.
12:02 pm April 20th, 2054 from distweet
It wasn’t like the movies, at all. I thought he’d just float away from us, waving.
12:01 pm April 20th, 2054 from distweet
On company orders, sent T’s body out to space.
12:00 pm April 20th, 2054 from distweet
R and I think T should be returned home. A, K and M creeped out by thought.
10:05 pm April 19th, 2054 from distweet
Discussion over what to do with T’s body.
10:04 pm April 19th, 2054 from distweet
A ended up sleeping in my bunk with me last night; says she can’t be alone right now. I know the feeling.
9:03 am April 18th, 2054 from distweet
I’ve sealed the damn extraterrestrial DNA with the iridium. Let the company grab it if they’re so excited. Everyone agreed with me.
10:21 pm April 17th, 2054 from distweet
Company tells us we’re getting additional bonus for discovering first extraterrestrial life. We all feel sick.
7:03 pm April 17th, 2054 from distweet
I’m the damn microbiologist. I should have recognized it sooner.
12:02 am April 15th, 2054 from distweet
@the28thkarenbear @loucheroo @piehole72 @frogheart29 Yes, it is my fault.
12:01 am April 15th, 2054 from distweet
T died.
5:05 am April 12th, 2054 from distweet
K tells me T non responsive. A is trying to see if we can rush home a bit faster, but this far out, a bit faster won’t help.
11:03 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
Also closed off cyanobacteria tanks to everyone, even me. Can’t risk them getting eaten. New lifeform not airborne, so tanks should be safe.
10:26 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
Ship may smell but we so need bacteria to grow. If this gets out…
10:22 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
While waiting for response from company, stopped all onship sanitation procedures.
10:21 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
Sent warning to company anyway. Waiting nervously. R started playing his horror films again and I almost screamed.
9:35 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
Tried to run theory by T, but he’s too out of it to hear me.
9:34 pm April 11th, 2054 from distweet
So not an infection as you’d call it. But something close to it. Something hungering for the bacter
ia T needs to live.
9:24 pm April 10th, 2054 from distweet
Every bacteria I put in with the new lifeforms gets eaten. Immediately. New thought: T is dying because his bacteria are dying.
9:21 pm April 10th, 2054 from distweet
Prepared quick batch of staph and added it to a container with the new lifeforms. Two hours later, bacteria gone.
3:34 pm April 10th, 2054 from distweet
But I keep looking, and, impossible or not: his tissues have the new lifeforms, and almost no bacteria.
2:28 am April 10th, 2054 from distweet
It’s impossible. ALL human organs contain bacteria.
2:37 am April 10th, 2054 from distweet
Just noted something from T’s tissue samples: they’re almost completely bacteria free. How could I not notice this?
2:36 am April 10th, 2054 from distweet
It’s an alien lifeform. I can’t figure out how to counter it. I don’t think we have time to test drugs and possible poisons.
10:32 pm April 9th, 2054 from distweet
This thing—I know under the circumstances this will sound awful. But under my microscope, it’s utterly beautiful.
5:05 am April 9th, 2054 from distweet
T’s breathing labored. M yelling at me to stay with him. I think the better bet is to try to find some bacteria that will eat this thing.
5:03 am April 9th, 2054 from distweet
We think it’s entered all of his organs. I sealed off the room, though T thinks it only attacks in the utter cold of deep space.
4:59 pm April 8th, 2054 from distweet
K with T now, all suited up. Took tissue samples back to lab for study.
2:05 pm April 8th, 2054 from distweet
T delirious and having breathing problems.
6:05 am April 8th, 2054 from distweet
R set up cam in T’s room so doctors on Earth can have continuous delayed stream, but of course it’s hours too late. T our only doctor.
5:04 am April 8th, 2054 from distweet
Been throwing up for hours. K screaming that I botched the amputation.
4:32 am April 8th, 2054 from distweet
Went to talk to A about the aliens. She asked me to go see T instead. Did. Can’t talk about it.
8:09 pm April 7th, 2054 from distweet
Found myself singing to the stars again. M found me and laughed. We even made out a bit. Life has never felt so right.
3:46 pm April 7th, 2054 from distweet
Just watched the news footage (that delay again). Saw the interview with papa and dad. I started to cry.
12:07 pm April 7th, 2054 from distweet
You know, I always figured that the first aliens would look like, you know, aliens. Not just bits of extraterrestrial DNA.
11:10 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet
@loucheroo Well, ok, truthfully for our first ever alien it’s a bit disappointing looking but still! I’m SO GEEKING OUT HERE, as they used to say.
10:03 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet in reply to loucheroo
NSU has rebuilt the DNA in its lab and let it form itself. You probably already saw the pictures. AWESOME!
9:53 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet
This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me—finding not just a new species but a TOTALLY NEW FORM OF LIFE.
9:42 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet
@frogheart29 We made the top of Google News? AWESOME!
9:08 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet in reply to frogheart29
@the25thkarenbear Not related to archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria or eukaryotes. Completely new lifeform.
7:04 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet in reply to the25thkarenbear
And, shit. Also confirmed: whatever these are, they are now in T’s skin and blood. Probably elsewhere.
1:25 am April 7th, 2054 from distweet
Confirmation from NSU and company: Totally new lifeform. TOTALLY.
3:06 pm April 6th, 2054 from distweet
Got this non cellular structure to live on its own, in my lab. Definitely not just a space virus. Damned if I know what it is.
4:22 pm April 5th, 2054 from distweet
Wish I had time to teach R more of the basic principles of biology here; wasting so much time teaching him.
10:32 pm April 4th, 2054 from distweet
Back to the lab. Have got M and K to take over some of the garden duties while R helps me with some of the computer work.
7:37 am April 4th, 2054 from distweet
He’s the doctor; he should know. He says medications well stocked.
7:21 am April 4th, 2054 from distweet
Went back into T’s room. M right; T looks much sicker. He says he’s actually better.
7:21 am April 4th, 2054 from distweet
M wants to know what I’m doing to help T. Have been so involved in studying this new structure that I haven’t even thought about it.
5:02 am April 4th, 2054 from distweet
Isolated what seems to be the non cellular structure from T’s tissue cells. I think this is it. Sending data back to company and NSU now.
11:03 am April 3rd, 2054 from distweet
Ran back into T’s room to take pictures and samples and tell him he’s the first person to ever be infected by an alien.
7:03 am April 3rd, 2054 from distweet
Getting more confirmations now—the DNA strand does not match anything seen on Earth. We think it was clinging to the comet that hit T.
6:04 pm April 2nd, 2054 from distweet
OH. MY. GOD. NSU thinks we’ve found the first real alien life!
2:22 pm April 2nd, 2054 from distweet
Isolated five more samples and sent the images off. This long wait for responses is really bothering me.
11:45 am March 31st, 2054 from distweet
Company asking for more samples. Working on isolating the DNA string.
3:21 am March 31st, 2054 from distweet
Ok, this is weird, but I’ve found a random DNA string that I can’t match on any of our databases. Sending info to company to confirm.
11:23 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Something got on the Nautilus tanks.
6:39 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
But it’s remotely possible that something crept on board and has been lurking around ever since until it caused this. Or—
6:39 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
We shouldn’t have any strange bacteria on board—we were pretty thoroughly, um, decontaminated, I guess you’d call it.
6:38 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Sending results to company for second check.
6:02 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Doing NA scans on T’s blood and skin cells to see if I can isolate a bacteria or virus causing this thing.
4:43 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Managed to wake T up. In severe pain; says can’t swallow or eat. Skin worsening. On morphine drip.
12:15 pm March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Well, not exactly a stain—more like a fine red web settled across his skin. His skin is flaking everywhere.
5:52 am March 29th, 2054 from distweet
M overrode the computer codes and opened the door to T’s room. He’s covered in some red stain.
5:39 am March 29th, 2054 from distweet
K just pounded on my door. T not responding.
5:03 am March 29th, 2054 from distweet
Pulled out three chocolate packages and what they call ‘steak’ to celebrate. Still sick but joined in.
3:12 pm March 27th, 2054 from distweet
Shine Page 17