Last Supper on Saturn

It was 2024. The universe was quiet except for a bubbling in the heart of Saturn. She was about to explode and Thelonius knew this. That’s why he decided to take his lunch on her outer rings that evening.

As he flew towards the rings, the millions of icy rocks reflected the sun making it look like a small light show. Her final curtain call he thought. He sat down on that icy rubble so that Saturn was directly in front of him. The first deep breath he took was to rid him of his stress from work. The second was to take in the beauty of the scene. He placed a hand on his lunch tin, but didn’t open it. He wanted to watch Saturn a bit longer.

Giant clouds swirled on her surface. It was the same storms that ravaged her every hour of the day over the past billion years. No one caught in one could survive, but from space on the edge of her rings, everything was quiet and these terrible storms looked like nothing more than a dance. To Thelonius it looked like a waltz. She always was the most cultured he thought.

Thelonius opened a square Flintstones lunch tin. It was a relic from his treasure hunting on earth. Over the years Thelonius has shown Saturn countless objects and artifacts, but he packed his lunch in this tin today because it was the first. The scene of a younger self played in his head. His eyes were wide with excitement as he showcased the artwork and craft of the Flinstones lunch tin to his pal Saturn. His eyes watered.

From the tin he pulled a bottled green substance. He raised it to her for a moment and closed his eyes. He took a long drink. Next he took out a fluffy substance of no known texture, and heated it up by an unknown means so that the tips were just so subtly charred. Once again as he did with the drink, he held up this galactic marshmallow to her as a toast before making it disappear.

It wasn’t the only galactic marshmallow he had eaten with Saturn. They shared many over the years. He often came to this spot for inspiration. When he felt most stuck, and most overwhelmed he would find himself here as if some unknown force brought him. It was Saturn’s calmness and beauty despite the raging storms on her surface that allowed Thelonius to find hope.

He knew this day would come. He didn’t know when, but he knew. It was a feeling he always had, and maybe that’s why Saturn was his favorite. She possessed a finality that demanded attention now.

As he finished the galactic marshmallows Saturn began to cry. The strong planet that was always balanced began to weep. The weeping was in the form of gravitational waves that radiated from her body. They couldn’t be heard only felt, and as they passed through Thelonius they offered thanks. With this thanks he knew it was time.

He thought it was strange how even now to the visible eye she looked calm, but soon the dancing storms grew choppy and the swirling clouds dissipated. The atmosphere shook and Thelonius packed up his lunch tin. A battle raged on beneath him. A battle whose outcome he could not change. He stood to leave. His eyes lingered on her for a moment to say goodbye. She wasn’t going to get an open casket.

As he flew off she exploded. Behind him was nothing but silence, as there always is in space, as the proud planet broke apart into millions of pieces. He didn’t look back. He didn’t want to see her in her worst way. He wanted to remember her as that quiet planet that always stood strong during the storms.