FF – Cure
Here is my contribution for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by CE Ayr.
I’m a bit late this week. A combination of too much work and lack of ideas. So I ended up with this one in the end. Don’t you just hate it when you have ideas for lots of stories, but can’t think of any actual endings…?
Copyright CE Ayr
He listened to the trickle of the fountain. The only sound.
Alone. All alone. Maybe the last human?
Virus had spread panic. They they came. Visitors.
From another world.
Promised a cure. Governments agreed.
They delivered the cure. People got better.
They had saved us! Cured the virus.
Their virus.
Then people stopped giving birth. Slowly. Surely. The population dwindled.
Hell of an invasion plan. Virus, to “cure”, to sterility, to… a nice empty planet, ripe for colonisation.
His breathing slowed, stopped. The last human?
If a fountain trickles and there’s no-one to hear it, does it make a sound?
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Friday Fictioneers
draliman on life 
I can’t quite decide if this is typical D-man, or D-man being extra inventive. Nice work.
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It’s D-man not being able to think of anything funny. I’m glad you liked it!
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Smart aliens. Always hard to fight someone who’s not in a hurry
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Yep. Patience pays.
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Those pesky aliens!
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It’s like they’re everywhere these days!
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Lovely job, but wait! Who’s that orange man gesticulating in the corner?
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He seems to be suggesting some bigly solutions to the current situation…
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So relevant in our times… who knows… truth is stranger than fiction😉
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It certainly is 🙂
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That is quite the well thought out plan…
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They’re a very patient bunch, these other-worlders.
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Stupid governments. They already fell for one “friendly” alien invasion in “To Serve Man,” and now they screw up and let another race take us over again. You’d think they’d learn by now and just use the damned death ray anytime a ship beams down….
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Shoot first, that’s my motto. I was thinking of a Stargate SG-1 episode where something similar happened.
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Nice one, Alistair! Of course, I knew all along that the orange one was an alien!
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He’s not fooling you! Or anyone else.
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You know, I can believe that story and that is scary.
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It could happen so easily. Even by us by accident.
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This is scary stuff, Ali!
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Scarier than an all-out invasion battle, as we don’t even realise it’s happening until it’s too late!
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Very sinister. We’re all more than sensitive to such thoughts right now.
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We are indeed.
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You would write this in the middle of a pandemic, Ali. Some people will probably wonder if they should take an inoculation if one comes. They’re going to see aliens in their soup. Good job though. 🙂 — Suzanne
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They do like to hang out in the soup 🙂
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That’s it then, we’re doomed! Never mind.
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Oh well, what’re you gonna do…
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A really interesting tale, one that could add another arrow to the quiver of folks who oppose immunization. Don’t let this post go viral! 😉
As for an alien source — are you very sure the ducks in WingKwak aren’t hatching some plan like this as we speak? Maybe they want to take back the world?
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They look like ducks, but… 🙂
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Dear Ali,
Scary biscuits to quote a certain Scot among us. A different take on the virus for sure. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
Ali
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You began, continued, and ended perfectly 🙂 Kinda creepy, but effective.
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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Spooky last line, makes you think. One day this may indeed be how the world ends
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I worry it will…
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Yikes. :O
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Yikes indeed. It’s all over for planet Earth!
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Interesting how sometimes the stories we’ve struggled with are the best. This is both original and well written. And, in answer to your question, yes, a fountain does make a sound when there’s no-one to hear it, as the word sound refers to vibrations in a fluid medium and not the human perception of the same. And nuts to Bishop Berkeley!
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
Hmm, or does the fountain expel water at all if no-one observes it, or is it in a quantum superposition state of both expelling and not expelling water until someone notices and collapses the wave function? Makes my head hurt. Good job I did my PhD in laser rather than quantum physics 🙂
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Good plan!
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For sure. So slow you never see it coming!
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So that’s how God will do it. Nice prophesy!
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Ooh, I hope it remains fiction!
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Good one!
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Thanks!
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You did a great job with the prompt ~ late or not. You took the picture and ran. The ending was spot on. Kudos!
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! It was my only idea that even had an ending 🙂
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Dark times. The narrative sounds so plausible
God save us all…
Welfare unto all
Rab rakha
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Let’s hope it remains fiction!
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The fountain wouldn’t make a sound if no one listens.
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I reckon that depends on your definition of sound – the act of detection, or the compression wave transmitted through the environment… 🙂
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the act of detection is more like what I meant. When there’s no one to hear it there’s no sound. 😊
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Ooh… a serious one this week. Love the ending! (Pun intended.)
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I like to do a serious one once every few months 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
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Parinod, now I’m looking for aliens.
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I would. They could be anywhere!
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I can hear it…it’s all in the fountain, right 😉 Pawkisses🐾😽💞
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It is 🙂
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