It always takes an extra moment or two to orient yourself when you wake up in a strange place: like in a hotel room along the highway, or a cabin on the beach, or a tent by a lake. Then after a few unfamiliar seconds you remember crawling under the covers, or into your sleeping bag the night before. Ah yes, it’s good to be away. Enjoy it. You’ll be home soon enough.
Today Phillip’s morning began as the first streaking lights of dawn refracted through a crystal window in the top of an egg-white dome about six feet above his head. He awoke lying on his back looking for a familiar ceiling, but instead saw only a pinkish-blue sky through the clear round window. As he continued to look up, the window wavered around unsteadily at the top of the dome. He tried to remember going to sleep, but those first unfamiliar seconds didn’t pass. He couldn’t remember the last time he laid down to sleep.
He sat up and looked to the curved wall which seemed to surround him but the window moved down exactly as he looked down. It seemed to cut through the wall, as the wall healed immediately behind it. He found he couldn’t look directly at the inside of the strange room he had just awoken in, because the window followed his gaze quickly and perfectly. As fast as he could turn his head the crystal would slice through the wall. Instead of seeing what he was inside of, all he could see was the outside world: black cliffs to one side, tall yellow grass to the other, and beyond a down-sloping terrain of various small plants, was a sea of grey-green water stretching to the horizon ahead.
Looking down, Phillip could see that he was sitting on a white floor in a small round cell, about seven feet in diameter. The window waited at the base of the wall as he studied the floor, pressing against it with his hands. It felt warm and smooth and soft; soft like Jell-O, or the white of a hard boiled egg. He looked up and reached forward to press against the wall, but the window jumped up in front of his hand. Cool and hard and shifting as his eyes moved, it prevented him from touching the wall at first...
To be continued:
Today Phillip’s morning began as the first streaking lights of dawn refracted through a crystal window in the top of an egg-white dome about six feet above his head. He awoke lying on his back looking for a familiar ceiling, but instead saw only a pinkish-blue sky through the clear round window. As he continued to look up, the window wavered around unsteadily at the top of the dome. He tried to remember going to sleep, but those first unfamiliar seconds didn’t pass. He couldn’t remember the last time he laid down to sleep.
He sat up and looked to the curved wall which seemed to surround him but the window moved down exactly as he looked down. It seemed to cut through the wall, as the wall healed immediately behind it. He found he couldn’t look directly at the inside of the strange room he had just awoken in, because the window followed his gaze quickly and perfectly. As fast as he could turn his head the crystal would slice through the wall. Instead of seeing what he was inside of, all he could see was the outside world: black cliffs to one side, tall yellow grass to the other, and beyond a down-sloping terrain of various small plants, was a sea of grey-green water stretching to the horizon ahead.
Looking down, Phillip could see that he was sitting on a white floor in a small round cell, about seven feet in diameter. The window waited at the base of the wall as he studied the floor, pressing against it with his hands. It felt warm and smooth and soft; soft like Jell-O, or the white of a hard boiled egg. He looked up and reached forward to press against the wall, but the window jumped up in front of his hand. Cool and hard and shifting as his eyes moved, it prevented him from touching the wall at first...
To be continued:
I thought Phillip was a chick inside an egg until I got to the end.
ReplyDeleteGood guess, but no Phillip isn’t a chick… Phillip’s got bigger problems.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Phillip had an adverse reaction to some sort of psycotropic medication.
ReplyDeleteThis is an exciting start to a really good sci-fi story.
Oops! Should be psychotropic. I left out the "h" in "psycho". Tsk, tsk, shame on me.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have NO idea who Phillip is, nor can I even begin to guess the circumstance in which he finds himself. BUT, my wheels are turning, my interest is piqued, and I'll be tuning in for more!
ReplyDeleteAAA
More has just been posted: Phillip is on the move.
ReplyDelete