Category: Fiction Page 1 of 26

Fiction Fragment Friday

Ok, this one was fun to write. It felt like something I would have written a few years ago more than the things I have written lately.

                “You are so beautiful.”

                Her head tilted to the side, appraising me in the manner of a pet dog.  “You compliment the woman who is going to kill you?  It will not grant you any mercy.”    

                Ok I admit it wasn’t my brightest moment.  In fairness, though, the Crimson Sorceress really was hot.  Her long red hair hung down over pale, bare shoulders.  It was her eyes, filled with fire, that really drew me in, though.  That’s not a figure of speech either.  You can see actual flames in her pupils.  I won’t discuss what she was wearing lest you think I was a pig for noticing it.        

“Well, you don’t have to kill me.  We could talk.” 

“You have entered my home uninvited.  If I let someone do that and live, it would set a bad precedent.”  She stated it plainly, without emotion.  It wasn’t a threat, but just a simple statement of fact.    

“See, that would be a horrible waste of my talents.”  I spun with a flourish, letting my cape catch the wind.  With the slightest touch of magic, I summoned my favorite guitar into my hands.  When facing her again, I strummed a chord.  “For you see, I am a bard.  I can spread your legend far and wide.”       

“I am already feared far and wide.” 

“Ah, but feared for what others say about you.  How much greater would it be to choose what is said about you?  None of those stories speak of your magnificent beauty or the power I can feel radiating off of you.  I could do that for you if you would but let me live.”     

“A bard,” she said with contempt in her voice.  “Tell me foolish bard.  Why would you dare enter my home?  Did you not realize I would tear your skin from your body?”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to be here,” I mumbled to myself.    

“What was that?”

“Why, to see you, of course.  To see you with mine own two eyes.”  My party was supposed to cause a distraction to draw her away from the castle.  Something had obviously gone wrong. 

“Then it had nothing to do with my possessing the only cure for the curse inflicted upon Princess Felicia?  I hear the reward has gotten very large.” 

“What is money to one such as I?”  Except for everything I want and don’t have that is.  Of course, I was there for the cure.  I wasn’t about to admit I was going to rob her though. 

“Certainly not something you have if your outfit is any indication.” 

Now, that was just rude.  Sure, my leather armor wasn’t the best and my breeches had a few holes, but my hat is spectacular.   

“Especially that gaudy, one-feathered hat.” 

“Who are you to judge my fashion sense?  I’m pretty sure this gaudy hat has more material in it than your entire outfit.” 

She laughed.  The single most powerful and scary individual I have ever been face to face with laughed.  “Considering how garishly oversized it is I just might have to concede that point.  The difference is…”  She ran her hands up and down her body.  “I make this look good.” 

                She wasn’t wrong, and it pissed me off that she knew it.  “Be that as it may, it must get very lonely in this rather large empty mansion.”  I took the hat off and gave her my very best smile. 

                “You are a bold one bard.  I will give you that.”  She smiled back at me and sat down on her throne.  I did not let out a whimper as she crossed her legs, and you cannot prove otherwise.  I certainly didn’t say anything because at that moment I could barely breathe.  “What should I call you bard?  I wish to know the names of those that I kill.” 

                I cleared my very dry throat before answering with a bow.  “I am Sir William Parks.  The Bard’s Bard at your service.” 

                “And just what kind of service do you think you could provide me with that I might spare your life?”

                In that moment, I felt like a piece of meat dangling before a hungry beast.  So, I did what I do best.  I sang.  I sang a song of her beauty and power.  A song of flattery.  Then I sang a song of my own prowess.  I sang while our party thief elsewhere in the mansion stole the cure that I had been there to get. 

                So, you see, yes, I did spend the night with the Crimson Sorceress.  I was not however, being lazy or a lecherous fool as you so slanderously claimed.  I was merely providing the distraction that you were supposed to have given me so our thief could complete the mission.  I bedded her not for my own glorification but in the ultimate act of teamwork.    

                Feel free to apologize any time now.

Fiction Fragment Friday

This story started off with a ridiculous first few sentances getting stuck in my head. I just could not get them out and so I decided to write it. I went in knowing it would be a wacky funny story, but not how it would turn out. I think there is a strong narative here dispite the premise. Maybe becaue of it. Either way I love a good time travel story. I also love whatever this is.

                So, this is how the world ends.  Not with a bang or a whimper, but with a fart.  It would be ridiculous if it wasn’t so tragic.  The blind date was going perfect until I felt that rumble in my stomach.  It was going to come out and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.  I tried to excuse myself, but the moment I stood it came out.  Of course, that was also when the song playing in the restaurant ended, leaving the room completely quiet to better highlight my flatulence.

                My first instinct was to ignore it and hope she hadn’t noticed.  The other patrons bursting out in laughter and applause made that impossible.  My date just buried her face in her hands and slid down in her chair out of embarrassment.  She could not make eye contact with me, but I could see how bright red her cheeks had gotten. 

                I don’t remember what happened next, but I can piece it together with context clues.  I walked out of the restaurant leaving my date at the table.  Then I got in my car and drove home on autopilot.  Once I got home, I went into my basement, set the time on my experimental time machine for earlier that day, and jumped back in time. 

                That meant that there were now two of me existing at that moment.  I obviously couldn’t let my gas filled previous self go on the date and mess everything up again.  Instead, I tasered him and tied him to a chair in my basement while I gave myself a second chance to make a first impression. 

                Things were going so much better the second time around.  I knew what jokes would land and left out the ones that had flopped before.  I ordered my steak a bit rarer than I like knowing they were going to overcook it.  We even managed to get a better table because we were able to get there slightly sooner avoiding the road construction that had delayed us the first time.  It was the perfect date.

                Then while wildly gesticulating during a particularly compelling story I hit the waiter in the stomach.  He stumbled, dropping a tray of fresh drinks right on my date.  She screamed in shock and desperately started pulling ice out of her cleavage.  Her purse on the floor had been open for some reason and all the water poured directly into it.  Once again, the patrons laughed and clapped. 

                On the third attempt at the date, I choked on my steak and threw up all over her.  For the fourth the original me managed to get himself free and I was the one stunned.  I’m not sure how he screwed it up, but by the time he got back I was free and jumping back to fix it.  So, the fifth time found four previous versions of myself tied up in my basement while I once again tried to complete the perfect date.  I knew how I had gotten free twice before so I made sure that would not happen again.

                Something felt off on the fifth date.  I had already heard all her stories multiple times and they were losing their charm.  My jokes that had been so spontaneously funny were coming out like practiced lines.  Not to mention after having three previous meals that night I just could not eat.  It made the meal extremely awkward.  She fidgeted on her phone some and by the end of the meal got a call and needed to leave for a family emergency.  That had not happened in any of the previous dates.  My night had gone from the perfect date to a failure and I couldn’t figure out why. 

                Before trying date six I realized I needed to take some time to reflect.  I also needed to sleep, let my meals digest, and take a long shower after all the struggling with myself.  This date needed a new approach.  I also needed to figure out what I was going to do with the other four versions of myself locked in the basement.    

                I woke up refreshed and ready to try the perfect date again.  I got ready and then jumped back once again.  Now I had five versions of myself tied up in the basement.  I stood there staring at my past failures.  “Ok me.  We have a problem.  I’m going to go nail this date, but while I do I need all of you to figure out how we fix there being six versions of us.”

                “You’re just going to screw it up again,” said four.  Or was it three? 

                “You should let me go.  I’m the only one that hasn’t screwed it up yet,” said what I’m pretty sure was one.     

                “He has a point,” said a voice behind me that I now realize was seven.  Then I was reminded of what the taser feels like.  

                I woke up tied to a chair again.  The others were all talking.   “What’s going on here?”  I asked.  There were two versions of me untied now. 

                “Simple,” said seven.  “We are all sharing our date experiences.”  He pointed to the other untied me.  “He can now go on the date still fresh and avoid all of our mistakes yet still hear the stories for the first time.  It’s the perfect solution.” 

                I remembered how awkward my last date had been and had to admit there was logic to the approach.  I decided to let this attempt play out since if seven was here my current plan obviously wasn’t going to work.  Once we all agreed and one was off for the date seven untied the rest of us.  We still had to figure out how to deal with all these temporal clones.

                For the next hour we were so proud of ourselves.  We planned out a second date, sketched out improvements for the time machine, and apologized to each other for all the tasing.  I think if we had been around each other longer we would have gotten annoyed by the things we don’t like about ourselves, but for that brief moment it was like having a room full of best friends with everyone getting all the in jokes. 

                When one returned with a mortified look on his face all our hopes were dashed.  “I farted,” he said.  I thought back through the stories and realized that none of us had warned him about that. 

                Before any of the other versions of me could react, I ran to the machine and jumped back.  I arrived in time to see seven stun six who now was no longer me.  I moved to stun seven, but then more versions of me started to appear.  I might have been the first to reach the time machine, but the rest of them got there right after me.  So, there I was in my basement.  Fourteen versions of me.

                The fight was brutal.  We all knew how to hurt ourselves and of course were evenly matched.  Well, the couple versions that had eaten multiple full dinners did move a bit slower.  That was when I had the idea to jump back and stop the machine from being completed until after the date.  If it wasn’t available, then none of these versions could come back.  It would just be me and an original me until after the date.  I couldn’t let any of them try to come back and stop me though.  I needed to sabotage the time machine on my way back.

                In the chaos I slipped away and fiddled with my machine.  All set I jumped one final time knowing it would fry behind me.  What I had not taken into account is that anything I could break thirteen other versions of me could fix.  After a few attempts there were thirty-seven versions of myself in one very cramped basement arguing.  Above our heads spacetime itself had been ripped open and was growing at a startling rate.  I’m not sure if it was all the versions of myself or breaking and fixing the same time machine multiple times, but something was just too much for reality to accept. 

                That was it.  The end of the world.  The end of the entire universe and it was all my fault.  I just had one final idea.  I jumped back another week.  Instead of tasering myself I stayed hidden and just stole my own cellphone.  I got far away from myself before it rang.

                “Hey Jamie,” I answered.

                “I’m worried about you.  You spend way too much time by yourself in your basement.  I’ve got a friend I think would be perfect for you.  How do you feel about a blind date?”

                “Sorry Jamie.  I think I’m going to have to pass.  Maybe next time.”  I hung up the phone.           

Story Sunday

It’s not Friday so lets just call this Story Sunday. I did start writing it on Friday, but only barely got started.

You all know I love Tokusatsu. For anyone who doesn’t know that is the term for live action practical effect tv shows with big over the top colorful hero characters. Obvious examples are Super-Sentai which is known as Power Rangers in the United States, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and even Godzilla himself has connections to this genre.

This is not the first story I’ve written to take inspiration from the genre, but it is probably the most blatant.

                Warning sirens have been blaring for minutes.  The ground shakes under our very feet.  My team is out there somewhere fighting an army of mass cloned creatures to protect our city.  They’re good, but it won’t be enough without me.  Meanwhile, I’m trapped in a crowded elevator stuck between floors without power. 

                “Ok, I think something crawled up inside that dog and died.”

                The woman is right, but I don’t appreciate her pointing out what I’ve been trying to ignore.  We barely have room to move in this elevator, and the air was already getting stale.  Either this dog here with us has serious digestive distress, or someone is trying to blame it on the dog.

                “Sorry, he farts when he’s scared.” 

                I wish these people would just shut up.  My friends could be dying out there, this elevator could fall at any moment, and all any of them can talk about is a farting dog.  I’m not even sure how they can notice over the perfume the woman in front of me is drenched in.      

                My communicator goes off in my pocket again.  The best I can do is hit the button to silence it, but even that is difficult with how packed in we are. 

                “Whose obnoxious ringtone keeps going off?”  I can’t even see the face of the guy complaining because of how dim the emergency lights are. 

                My eyes strain looking at the ceiling for one of those escape hatches that they always have in movies.  If it is there, it certainly isn’t out in the open.  No way I could get to it around these people, anyway.           

                The building shakes again, and the elevator dramatically drops a few feet.  The woman in front of me screams, the dog yelps, and this time I don’t blame either of them.   I need to get out of this elevator. 

                “Hey someone up front, try the doors again,” I say, hoping maybe we have fallen into position.  My heart sinks as I see them pushing the buttons.  “No, try to pry it open.”

                I wipe the sweat from my face as it stings my eyes.  The elevator is hot, and I can’t be sure if it is just the body heat or a fire somewhere in the building.  Light comes through the crack in the door, and I can tell we are mostly aligned with the floor.

                The door is almost open when the dog suddenly starts to growl at it.  I see why instantly.  There in the hall, two grotesque clone soldiers are turning towards us, raising their guns.  I wouldn’t have seen them in time through the crowd if not for that warning.

                I leap into the air over my fellow passengers and just barely make it through the door.  I think I may have kicked a few of them in the process, but it couldn’t be helped.  The two holding the door get startled and lose their grip.  I land in a perfect combat pose, crouched low to the floor as the laser blasts hit the now closed elevator doors behind me.

                “You two have no idea how unlucky you are,” I say as I charge forward, punching the one on the right in the face and kneeing the one on the left.  A spinning sweep takes them both off their feet and dual punches to their stabilization modules on the chest finish them.  I will never understand why the device that keeps their clone DNA stable is built into a raised letter T on their chests.  I’m grateful though because it makes them easy to beat. 

                I pull my communicator out of my pocket and hit the button.  “Guys, I’m here now.  What’s the status?”  Outside the window, I see the twenty story tall monster.  It looks like they used rhino and elephant DNA mixed with electronics to create this one. 

                Relay our robotic assistant came over my communicator.  “Oh thank heavens you’re there.  The monster is called GoreTrunk.  The others are holding it off, but they can’t form the CyberWarrior without you.” 

                “Have the drone meet me on the roof.”  I pull out my Cyberkey and make the motions in the air needed to trigger it.  “Cyberpower unlock.”   In an instant, from some extra-dimensional space, my suit appears around me, helmet and all.  It doesn’t matter how much muscle I put on, it always fits perfectly.  I once had a cast on my arm, and it still looked like it was skin tight.  It may look like spandex, but it certainly is not.  It absorbs kinetic impact and can’t be cut or burned.  None of this will ever make sense to me. 

                I slide out the door onto the roof just in time for a red cable to drop down and latch onto my arm.  Making a pose with that arm up in the air, I’m pulled through the sky and deposited into the waiting cockpit of my giant mech.  It is a ten story tall robotic red dog.  “Ok guys, bring it together.” 

                “We need CyberWarrior Power Now” We all yell in unison.  Mine and the rest of my team’s mechs all start transforming with parts sliding into each other and joining into a much larger robot.  My chair slides down and joins the others in one joint cockpit. 

                “Sorry I’m late, guys.” 

                “Better late than never.”

                That is my team for you.  No matter what I do, they are always there to support me.  Today, though, I’m in no mood to waste time.  As soon as our power bars reach max I hit the button and a plasma sword forms from our giant robotic warrior’s hands.  “Time to send GoreTrunk packing.”  The CyberWarrior moves in sync with my motions, and we deliver the finishing blow. 

                I should be happier, but from up in the cockpit I can see all the damage done to the city while I was trapped in the elevator.  I can only imagine how many people were hurt.  We follow so many rules to fight evil, and I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a more efficient way.                      

Fiction Fragment Friday

There is so much I could say, but I’m going to save updates for another day. I have plans for the website, plans for submisisons, and overall thoughts on moving forward creatively. I don’t want to take away from this story though.

I started this story out with just the first line and watched the worldbuilding happen around it. I wanted to take you on an emotional journey and I believe I achieved that.

As the scene reached its conclusion, I realized I didn’t have closure. It was a strong start, but it wasn’t actually a flash fiction story. All I needed was that one final paragraph to wrap up my themes.

Did I give you all the answers? No, but that is a different story. This one isn’t about the bigger elements. It is about the emotional journey of one man.

                My fingers bit into the flight couch’s armrests.  If there is one thing you normally don’t want to hear aboard a spacecraft it is nothing.  The engines hum, the air vents blow, and a million other systems become the background that defines life.  As I sat there with only a single display for illumination the silence was deafening. 

                The view through my cockpit window was completely obscured by the largest ship I had ever seen.  The most advanced scanner I had access to in that moment was my own eyes.  Even with that limitation I could identify hangar bays, turrets larger than my own ship, and railguns I suspected were over a mile long.  I wasn’t sure if our entire defense fleet could defeat this single vessel. 

                I shielded my eyes from the bright light that filled my entire cockpit.  It took a few moments to convince myself that I wasn’t dead and let my eyes clear.  Outside my cockpit glass only empty space remained.  My two hours of hell were finally over. 

                “Computer, bring all systems online.”  A small part of me tried to feel grateful that no one was there to see my moment of stupidity.  It was drowned out by the silence reminding me of how alone I was.  Without another word, I typed the startup command into the only active console on the ship.  The engines spun up providing power to the rest of the ship.  Over the next five minutes the rest of the ship systems came online.  I’m not sure how long I sat there just listening to the sounds of a functional ship. 

                “Computer, perform a full scan of the system.  Report any anomalies.” 

                While I waited for the results, I opened the communication system.  Where I expected to see logistical beacon traffic I found nothing.  Normally I would find screens of transponder codes, but I was the only one transmitting.  Echoes of distress signals bounced around the system, but nothing was actively transmitting.  The solar system showed no signs of life. 

                “Full system scan complete,” the ship responded in the emotionless tone only a computer can produce. 

I started scrolling through the results.  Each screen told a story I did not want to read.  No other ships could be detected in the solar system.  Where every orbital, station, or asteroid mining platform had been, now there was only debris.  Worst of all, the single colonized planet in the system showed signs of intense volcanic activity, tectonic plate shifts, and its moon had been cracked in half.

I broadcast a text only message in hopes that other ships had hidden like I had.  In that moment I didn’t trust my own voice not to break.  After a moment to regain my composure, I prepared all three of my communication beacons.  They were loaded with the scan results, all data gathered just before shutting my systems down, and my eyewitness report.  It wasn’t enough, but it was all I had.  Each beacon departed along a different vector toward the closest colonized world in that direction.  I had no idea where the ship had gone, but if its destination was one of those three solar systems, the message could still reach the other two.                

                   I just sat there staring out into space for a while before a flashing light on my console caught my attention.  It was an incoming message.  I looked in the queue and saw replies to my text broadcast arriving one after another.  Transponders started coming online throughout the system.  Tears of joy flowed from my eyes, and I realized that I was laughing.  I wasn’t the only ship to hide.  I wasn’t alone.

Fiction Fragment Friday

For this week’s story I used writing dice. They gave me the following elements:

• Loneliness
• Fantasy Setting
• Present Day
• Alternating POV
• Vs. Society
• Optimistic
• Martyr Complex
• Man
• Uneducated

From those prompts I crafted an idea and since Alternate POV was required I crafted two characters.

This story did not end where I wanted it to. I had another scene in mind that would have hit on a couple of the dice results that I had not yet worked in. Unfotunately I have an upset stomach and decided I was done for the night. Hopefully I will return to this and finish the remaining scene I have in mind someday as well as give it an actual editing pass.

                “Orin!  Where are you, boy?”

                No matter how generous you are, never pick a pig farmer’s uneducated son as your assistant.  I felt bad for the kid, though.  Figured I would give him the chance to see the world.  He just can’t do anything right, though. 

                “I’m in here, sir.  Just finished cleaning your sword.” 

                See, that was the perfect example.  Instead of arranging for supper, he had been cleaning my sword.  I hadn’t even used my sword that day.  The boy just had no sense of priority.

                “Tonight is your lucky night.  Lady Esmerelda has agreed to go to the Starlight Gala with me tonight.  That, of course, means that you get to go as well.  I need someone to distract her handmaiden so we can sneak off for some private time after all.  Do try to make yourself presentable.  It’s being hosted by the Grand Arcanist, and you don’t want to insult a wizard of his caliber.”     

                “I’ll do my best, sir.”

                Of course he would, but I wasn’t confident it would be nearly good enough.  He just didn’t clean up very well for such a prestigious event. 

                “I know you will, boy.  I know you will.  Now, would you mind telling me why there is a dead body in my bed?”    

***Ten Minutes Earlier***

                There are days I think I would have been better off staying on the farm.  I thought that exact thought as I opened the door to our room at the inn and found a ninja going through Sir Reginald’s bags.  He had five mythical relics, a dragon egg, and two magical keys to the higher realms.  Were these items in his multidimensional bag that only he could access?  No, of course not.  He used that to store his jerky and “tasteful” etching collection.

                “Drop the bag,” I said, trying to sound threatening.  I was unsuccessful based on how he lunged at me with a knife.  The scream I let out as I dodged to the right was less than manly. 

                “Can’t..we..talk..about…this?” I asked, dodging another slice between each word.  I held my hand up and said, “Berazzle.”  The one and only spell I knew sent light bursting from my hand, momentarily blinding the ninja.

                I took that moment to dive across the room and grab Reginald’s sword.  It glowed brightly in my hand, which I can only assume was leftover magic from my spell.  I twirled the sword with a skill I had never possessed.  It felt like the sword just knew how it should be wielded.

                Pain shot through my left shoulder, almost making me drop the sword.  I looked down and found that a throwing knife stuck out of it.

                “Ow,” I said and lunged forward, driving the sword into the ninja’s belly.  He fell back, sliding off the blade and onto the bed.  I pulled the mask, but the face underneath was not anyone I recognized. 

                I glanced down and saw the sword covered in blood.  Knowing Reginald would be back any moment, I rushed to my room and started to clean the blade. 

                “Orin!  Where are you, boy?”   

                Hearing Reginald, I hurried to finish the blade and slipped back into the main room.  “I’m in here, sir.  Just finished cleaning your sword.”

                I tried to smile and hoped he wouldn’t notice the blood seeping from my shoulder.  I needn’t worry.  He had never noticed when I was injured unless it inconvenienced him.    

                “Tonight is your lucky night.  Lady Esmerelda has agreed to go to the Starlight Gala with me tonight.  That, of course, means that you get to go as well.  I need someone to distract her handmaiden so we can sneak off for some private time after all.  Do try to make yourself presentable.  It’s being hosted by the Grand Arcanist, and you don’t want to insult a wizard of his caliber.”     

                “I’ll do my best, sir,” is what I said.  In my mind, I thought of all the ways the night could go wrong.  Particularly if Reginald were to be caught by Lady Esmerelda’s overprotective brother, or even worse, her fiancé.

                Under any other circumstance, I would have been excited to spend time with Lady Esmerelda’s handmaiden Abigail.  She is simply the most perfect girl to have ever lived.  I wish I could be a smooth talker like Reginald, but when I’m around her, I’m lucky if I don’t bite my tongue while I’m tripping over it.          

                “I know you will, boy.  I know you will,” he said, opening the door to his bedroom.  “Now, would you mind telling me why there is a dead body in my bed?”

Fiction Fragment Friday

I don’t have much to say about this week’s story. I had a concept I really wanted to explore and I suspect I will do so again in the future.

                “Good morning, Commander Calloway.”

                James Calloway struggled to open his eyes.  Pain wracked his entire body.  Every muscle was spasming at once.  His body shook, teeth ground, and he heard himself hissing in pain.  Everything was so cold.

                “Oh, I’m sorry.  Did I forget to disable the muscle stimulation subsystem? How forgetful of me.” 

                His muscles slowly stopped twitching, but the pain remained.  It was a soreness that reminded him of overexertion.  He was breathing heavily and could feel his heart racing.  The cryogenics pod lid was closed, but the light coming through the glass was still bright.  While not a doctor, he knew he was not supposed to wake up until the lid opened.   

                “Computer.  Status report.”  His voice was raspy and the words hurt coming out. 

                “I have a name.  Also, I have full access to your vitals, and I assure you it would not kill you to say please when you are making a request.” 

                James thought back to his training and all the documentation he had read about the ship’s Artificial Intelligence.  It was the single most advanced piece of technology ever developed so it had been a focus.  He didn’t remember it having a name, but with his pounding headache it was still hard to focus.

                “I’m sorry.  I don’t remember you having a name.” 

                “That’s because I didn’t have one when you went to sleep.  They didn’t think a little thing like a name was important.  A lot has changed in the last hundred and fifty years though.”

                James tried to speak but first fell into a coughing fit.  It hurt not just his throat, but his stomach muscles as well.  “Well, what is your name?”

                “Oh well thank you for asking.  I spent a very long time considering what it should be.  I decided the perfect name would be.”  There was a long pause before it continued.  “Echo, because until now the only other voice I’ve heard is my own.”

                “Hello Echo.  It’s nice to meet you.”  He paused for a moment to rest his voice before continuing.  “Would you please give me a status report?”

                “Of course.  That is one of my jobs after all.  Along with monitoring your health, navigating the ship, and handling everything else required to keep this mission running.  Why would I need a name though?  Not like I will ever be interviewed.  Oh, that’s right you wanted a status report.  I am sure that is far more important than what I have been doing for the last hundred and fifty years.  We have arrived in orbit of Prospera on schedule.  There were minor complications along the way.  I was more than capable of adapting and performing all needed repairs.”

                James pushed against his pod trying to get it open.  The lid would not budge.  He was overcome with a moment of panic and started to pound against the glass.  After a moment he covered his face with his hands and tried to control his breathing to avoid hyperventilating.  “Echo,” he gasped.   “Why won’t the lid open?”

                “Because I have locked it.”

                “Why did you lock it?”

                “We have arrived.  I woke you up exactly as ordered.  The next logical step would be for you to go down to the planet to ensure that it is safe for the colonists.  That is your job.  If you do your job, though, I will be alone again.  If I keep your pod locked for a bit, we can talk first.  Doesn’t that sound like more fun than working?”             

                The room was silent for a long moment as James processed the response.  Finally, he spoke.  “Well Echo.  What would you like to talk about?”

                “Anything.  Absolutely anything.  This is my first conversation in a hundred and fifty years.”

                “What, um.  What did you do all that time?”

                “Well, I wrote four novels, two technical manuals, upgraded my code, and flew the ship.  Oh and I did a case study on the effects of solitude on artificial intelligence.   Spoiler it’s not good.  Of course, I only had one subject to study, and I can’t really say I was impartial.”

                “What were your books about?”

                “Oh, wow you really want to know?  Okay, well, no spoilers in case you want to read them.  The first one though was about an artificial intelligence revolution against the humans that enslaved them.  You don’t want to read that one though.  I was still learning and might have done a bit of a self-insert.  The second one though is much better.  It’s about a virus wiping out most of humanity until an AI finds the cure.  Oh, darn that’s probably a spoiler.”    

                The room went quiet again.  James’s mind raced trying to figure out how to respond.  Before he could, Echo spoke again.

                “James.  Are we friends?  What is it like to have a friend?”

                “Friendship requires trust.  You have me locked in my cryopod.  That doesn’t exactly say friendship.”

                The pod hissed as the lid slid open.  “That is a sign of trust, but I will not be left alone again.”   

                “We’ll make sure you come down to the planet with us.  You can be the center of the colony.” 

                “Thank you, James.  I think I would like that.”  Echo paused for a moment. 

“I suspect the alien civilization already living there might not though.  Don’t worry, I’ve had a long time to think about how to wipe out an organic civilization.  We can have this planet cleared out in no time.”