Easter bunnies and Inversion 1, excerpt 6

#spshow #erotica

Hi
Another day and another brief extract of 'Inversion 1', my sexy sci-fi novel. There may or may not be sex in this bit; I'm not saying either way, because if I do, and the answer is negative, you won't read it, will you? Easter bloody Sunday bloody morning and all you can think about is porn... haven't you a church to go to, or something? Some bizarre service recounting the raising of the Easter Bunny to attend, featuring that famous Christian icon, risen from its grave so it can lay some more eggs and hide them in your bloody suburban garden? What utter rubbish we teach our children! How gullible they are, that they believe something so utterly bizarre and brazenly mercantile. Such decadence surely indicates the impending End of Days you so desperately crave so you can tell us all how right you were all along. 

If you think I'm grumpy now, wait till bloody Christmas. And pass me another Cadbury's Creme Egg.

Inversion 1
Beginnings
Excerpt #6

Lights activated automatically, filling the hard cold space with a brittle brightness. The alarm punched my head with its jagged broken blare. I cringed, clamped palms to my ears and prayed for it to stop while collecting and piecing together fragments of shattered thoughts. Hold 19 contained only females, as did all the odd-numbered holds - in stasis, the sexes are separated and maintained in slightly different conditions. The alarm stopped and died away. In the sudden silence, the central control panel winked regularly and reassuringly, though my recent experience told me it could not be trusted. Was Hold 18 a tragic anomaly? Dashing between the rows of upright chambers that hung like sleek blue seed pods from the hold's supporting girders, I clung to that thought. Incredible. Unbelievable. Hope burst from me. Two hundred serene, extant, beautiful faces and not a single casualty.

Keith was still in his pod when I got back, but the other pod was empty. Where was he? I couldn't believe he was gone. I had to find him and quickly; such a nightmare could scar a man for life. I heard whimpers, soft crying like a child. I followed my ears. There, curled in a corner, arms covering his head. He was shaking. I knelt next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up, brown eyes staring manically. Though it was chilly in the hold, perspiration shone on his smooth black skin. With some effort, I recalled the red lettering I'd seen embroidered on his suit.

'Michael? You know who I am?' He nodded warily. I spoke even more softly. 'As you can see, something terrible has happened. I'm sure it's restricted to this hold. The women next door are all fine. Hear me? All fine. I want you to wait here with Keith.'

He shook his head and raised a crooked pointing finger. His eyes were wild and streamed with tears.

'Dead... all dead! Oh, my God!'

I shouted over my shoulder.

'Keith! Get over here. Look after him will you?'

Keith lurched towards us, his features twisted with fear and confusion.

'Sir, what the fuck's happened?'

'I don't know. I'm going to wake the Wakers. Stay here! Do nothing. Remember: none of the ship's systems can be trusted. I'm going on foot, so I may be a while.'

I left them huddled together. There was so much to do my head spun. Michael and Keith were the least of my problems.

The Wakers were in Holds 1 and 2. Two hundred men and two hundred women specially trained in stasis revival and its associated mental and physical side-effects. 

I burst into the deck's long central corridor. Lights flared into life ahead of me as I started running. I questioned the computer as I ran. Whether I could trust her or not, I was going to need her.

'Computer. What is the status of Stasis Deck?'

Her voice was unrecognisably high-pitched and excited.

'Captain? Is that really you? Oh, wow!'

'Computer?'

'Oh, sorry. But it's so good to hear your voice! It's been...'

'Report, please!'

She checked her childlike enthusiasm, but could still barely contain herself.

'Three pods open in Hold 18, otherwise all are sealed and functioning correctly.'

'Computer, check that data. It cannot be valid. I have seen...'

'Check completed. Three pods open in Hold 18, otherwise all, as I said, are sealed and functioning correctly... Oh, but yes, I see what you mean - visual data is at odds with that conclusion. How strange!'

'Holds 1 and 2. Report on Holds 1 and 2!' Plimsolls slapped against the metallic floor as I ran. The echoes rang like gunshots. My breath was rasping and ragged. 'Report!'

Again her voice rose in pitch as incredulity algorithms engaged.

'Dear me! How could I have been so wrong? So incredibly wrong...'

'Computer!'

'Sorry, Captain. Hold 1 appears normal. I say "appears" - not a word I would normally use, of course - simply because of my recent errors of judgment. Statistically speaking, I would expect ninety-nine point seven-seven-four percent of the occupants to be alive.'

'Hold 2?'

'One hundred percent fatalities.' She mistook my silence for misunderstanding and rephrased her report. 'Captain, Hold 2 has no survivors.'

I reached the massive white sliding doors to Hold 1. After my mad rush to get here, I paused. Several deep breaths helped me regain some composure. I spoke quietly and calmly.

'Computer?'

'Yes, Captain?'

'Statistically, how many of the whole crew would you expect to be still alive?'

'That's a hard one. I really wouldn't want to commit...'

'Computer!'

Her response was immediate.

'Fifty-one point zero five percent.'

My heart stopped. The enormity of my task overwhelmed me. I spoke as calmly as I could.

'Which holds are worst affected?'

'The even numbers.' Shock stole my tongue and again she began to explain. 'You know? Two, four, six...'

'All the male holds?'

'Yes. Female casualties, zero. Male casualties, one thousand, nine hundred and fifty-six. No, wait. Pod one-two-seven in Hold 14 appears to...'

My hands clasped to my ears. I couldn't bear to listen. A stasis pod of grief surrounded me; time stood still. The casualties were too great to imagine. The computer's insistent, almost jolly voice cut through.

'Casualties are now one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven.'

The doors to Hold 1 fizzed open. I dashed inside and began to rouse the Wakers.

More soon...