of
       all
    the species     
     on Earth
    only   one  
    has     not

            only

             the
           ability
      to destroy itself
        but also what
       seems     to be
      the          need
             to
            do
           so

“Missing something?” Lillian could feel her voice rising and tried to push it back down. “We’ve been looking for you for over an hour.”

“Looking for me?” Madeline looked truly confused.

“I stopped by your room probably a little bit after midnight and you weren’t here.”

“Sure I was. I’ve been here since I left your room.”

read more...

                  when
                 in the
             deepest darkest
    depths of space, there is nowhere
      to run, nowhere to hide and
          no one to turn to when 
         everything      suddenly
        takes a              turn to
       the                     strange

“Madeline?” Lillian choked out after a moment of stunned silence. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m completely serious,” Eve responded evenly. “Why?”

“She’s my best friend,” Lillian replied, but it sounded flat even to her own ears.

read more...

           the
          human
    body and soul are
     sometimes known
      as the  ghost
     and         the

    shell    what
            no-one
      seems to ask is can
        you can have a 
       shell     without
      its           ghost

             or a ghost
                without a shell

Leaving Adrian’s office, it was too late to finish her shift and too early for dinner. Nothing else particularly drew her, so Lillian decided to go back to her room. She was going to have to have to deal with that briefcase sooner or later.

read more...

              there
            exists an
    old Chinese saying: may you
     live in interesting times
        but sometimes, things
       can get       just a 
      little           too 
                         interesting

Lillian awoke from her dream full of bittersweet memories. It had been a while since she’d dreamed of her mother. Since she’d felt the cool touch of her hands on her faces. Heard the soft voice, reading to her before bed. But the memories of after were terribly bitter. They had found some of the men directly responsible for the bombing, but never those in charge. And no reason was ever given. Truly, that was the worst-it being just a random act of violence.

read more...

          at              
          our             
    core all that we       made
      know and all         from
       that   we    the places that we
      are      is       have seen
                       and     the
                     people     that
                we
          once
    knew

The morning began just like any other. Lillian awoke to the sounds and smells of frying bacon and the delicious aroma of homemade pancakes. She jumped out of bed–Mom’s cooking! she thought to herself–and threw herself out of her door. She was in such a rush that she nearly collided with her father just outside the door, jumping aside bare centimeters from impact.

read more...

            the
          absolute
    best of lies are those
      hidden between two
        two grains of
      what        could
     only            be
            truth

Adrian had a small office in the command section of the ship, just off of a central area shared by all of the security staff. He took all four of them there, leaving his partner to examine the wreckage of the kitchen.

read more...

          the
         human                 land
    being is truly the        for no
     most dangerous      other would so be
    animal       in         so willingly
    all          the       to       lose
                          every     thing
               for
             naught
        but the slightest
         chance of some
        future        hope

Lillian woke with tears on her pillow. Even taking the strange nature of time dilation from her years on the gateships into account, Lillian had lived off Earth longer than she’d lived on it. But she still remembered that quiet house in a city by the beach and thought of it as home. But it was all long gone. Destroyed by what was believed by some to be both the single greatest proof of intelligent extra-solar life ever. And known by everyone to be the single greatest act of devastation in the history of the human race. And perhaps the worst part was that there had been next to no warning.

read more...

             a
           moment
         is all it
    takes for the entire
      world to change
      for       better
     or             for
           worse

Once they were in orbit, a sort of quiet anticipation settled over the ship. For several moments, no one spoke. Finally, several of the more adventurous passengers started whispered conversations.

read more...

           deep                 
         in your                special
       heart, you             someone and
    never truly forget     know that nothing
     that moment when          could ever 
        you first             be       the 
      meet     that          same       again

Lillian jumped and spun to the door. She didn’t recognize the voice and, as she finished her turn, realized she didn’t recognize the face either. Which meant that it had to be someone that had just arrived. With only a few dozen crew members it was hard not to know at least everyone’s face–even if Lillian tended towers horrible with names.

read more...

             the 
            deep
      dark secrets of the 
        human soul are
       nothing     when
      faced   the   with
            needs
          of
        a
      true
    friend

Lillian and Madeline reached the observation lounge with only a few minutes to spare before the gate was scheduled to be activated. They weren’t the only ones either. Hans and Jacobs had already claimed one of the tables on a raised platform in the center of the room. Jacobs was waving his arms wildly at the girls.

read more...