musing for fun – caeblogs

It has been nearly 18 months since I last posted on here (Oct 2017, whaaat?)! Gosh, where has the time gone? I wish I could say I have spent all this time writing an epic bestselling novel, meeting with Netflix producers over a glass or two of champagne and generally refining my writing skills but, sadly, real life got in the way and I’ve pretty much done NONE of that. A few life changes have been recently made so I hope this means I’ll be able to get back into writing with some sense of joy, something that eluded me over the last couple of years.

In that spirit of optimism, I decided to enter a short story competition that was due this week but (shock of all shocks) I didn’t quite meet the deadline. Probably for the best because I suspect the story I came up with may not have been the sort they would have been looking for anyway. The best thing about it though was that, despite its (very) short length, it kept me up late for the last couple of nights so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it.

Here’s to 2019 being way more productive and to that future bestseller finally getting written!

CARBON CONTENT

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?”

Rahe’s response came after a full minute and an almost equally lengthy sigh but Mante didn’t press her. Certainty was more important than a few wasted seconds. Or minutes, as it was turning into.

“If I am being completely honest, I could spend another month thinking about all this and I still won’t really know for sure,” another weighty sigh escaped her thin rouged lips, “so I’m going to bite the bullet.”

Barely able to conceal her relief, Mante smiled and nodded before leaning forward with a black conical device in her right hand. She raised the object towards Rahe’s face which now bore a perturbed expression. “For the record and for absolute clarity, can you please say the words? Just as we practised.”

“Oh sorry, I forgot about all that.” Rahe cleared her throat and edged closer to the device. “I, Rahe Vicki Drowe, consent to the use of the carbon content of my body by Blue Pharmaceuticals In the event of the expiration of my mortal body. Anticipated expiration date being sixth of October twenty seventy-eight. And I confirm that I have not been coerced in any way to come to this agreement. Is that alright, love?”

A firm nod from Mante was enough to erase the frown from the older woman’s face.

“Now, if you could please open your palm for the scan, we can finalise the process and I’ll be on my way.”

This was always the part Mante found trickiest, even though it was what the subjects all seemed the least concerned about. That is, at first. Continue reading →