While You Were Sleeping

This piece was in response to a writing challenge that we had in my writing group, where we had to use a closed form of pre-established communication to create a story, which delivered enough of a story to intrigue the reader or listener, but without establishing the scenario beforehand; it lets the story unfold as the conversation unfolds.

Image of a lone astronaut inside a deep space ship, looking through a large circular porthole window at Earth in the distance. The planet is visibly dying, a vast, dark, irregular blemish covers much of its surface, unlike any natural storm, with jagged edges and a deep, impenetrable centre. The ship interior is cold and clinical, lit by dim blue lighting, with a cryo chamber visible in the background and a soft holographic AI display glowing nearby. The mood is silent, isolated and deeply melancholic.

Jane*: “Clara, are you there? Respond.”

Clara**: “Yes, Captain, I’m here.”

Jane: “How long have I been out? Respond.”

Clara: “93 years, 46 days, 11 hours and 53 minutes.”

Jane: “Almost 100 years? Wow, it’s literally felt like hours. Respond.”

Clara: “Not quite 100 years, Sir, if you want to be accurate. But, yes, Sir, that is the point I guess, Sir.”

Jane: “So we’re in what year now? Respond.”

Clara: “The date is Sunday 26th April 2119, Captain.”

Jane: “So what did I miss, in very brief terms, Clara? I don’t think I’m awake enough to process too much detail. Respond.”

Clara: “In very brief terms, Sir, your fellow companions misjudged exceedingly I’m afraid. There has been little to report on for the last 47 years.”

Jane: “What? What do you mean? How can there be nothing to report in all that time, Clara? I know I said brief, but that sounds a bit extreme. Respond.”

Clara: “There was an explosion, Sir. In fact, 3 in total, that were fatal. If you take yourself to the starboard porthole, Sir, you will see for yourself a surface feature which is visible at this moment. It looks a little like an eclipse on your planet, or an intense dark spot. This is the cause of the lack of reported material for the last approximate 47 years.”

Jane: “Hang on, Clara. You’re telling me that a vortex storm on Earth’s surface is the reason why you haven’t been able to collate any data and report? I mean it looks pretty crazy down there and wider than you would expect, but we’ve seen these before on our travels and you’ve not had an issue in assessing before? Respond.”

Clara: “Well, Sir, it’s not quite as it seems.”

Jane: “Right, well let’s have it then, what is it? Respond.”

Clara: “From the shape of the planetary blemish you will see that…”

Jane: “And another thing, Clara, you’re telling me you let me sleep in the chamber for all that time without telling me that there was an issue with your comms? Respond.”

Clara: “Instructions not to wake, Sir… And, as I was saying, you will notice from the shape of the planetary blemish that it does not lend itself to the usual text book and evidenced storms or dark spots. This one has a deeper colouration, a more sporadic perimeter and has not moved since the last assessment report.”

Jane: “Oh… Well, what is it, Clara? What’s happened? Respond.”

Clara: “I’m sorry to report, Sir, there’s nothing left. You have no home to return to any longer.”

Jane: “What? Nothing? No life at all? How could this have happened? Respond.”

Clara: “Human greed and possibly error of judgement I would surmise, Sir. Shall we set another course?”

 

*Jane – Captain of Spaceship Starfinder; mission deep space exploration and recordings for research and development project.

**Clara – Starfinder’s ‘Continuous Log & Atmospheric Reporting Assessor’; superior onboard AI companion.

 

10th March 2026

©Joanna Long