The End of Everything

By: Rebecca Keene

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Regardless, I was still screaming, because screaming isn't what we do for attention. It is rather an involuntary release of immense unbearable pain. Screaming into the void is therefore a perfectly logical behavior. It doesn't matter at all that no one will hear. Screaming into the void of open space is where I find myself now, but I digress. To tell my story correctly, we must begin at the beginning.

4.6 billion years in the past, God said, "Let there be light." and the first photon appeared. This was followed by a big bang throughout the void. Dust, rock, and debris flew out in all directions. Among that debris there was me.

I have no memory of the explosion or anything before it. Suddenly, I was just there conscious and flying off through the void. I was much bigger then, and I didn't know who or what I was. I flew through space at unbelievable speeds, and I passed many amazing things. I saw brightly colored gasses of green and red, huge explosions that were so loud I was shaken off my path, and bright gamma rays bursting forth in every direction annihilating everything in their path. They were beautiful but I was careful to keep my distance. Even then, I was well aware that those who meet with Gamma rays do not live to tell the story.

I wanted to continue moving through space at this intense speed watching as the universe formed around me forever, but fate had another plan. As I flew past a large cloud of gas with a huge red raging storming giant at its center, I felt a tugging at my body. I tried to pull away, but the force threatened to rip me in half and soon I could fight no more. This huge gaseous giant, I would come to know as Jupiter, had taken me prisoner. I thought I was never to be free again. I kept spinning around this gaseous giant, around and around in the same path, never anything new. All the freedom, speed, and wonder that had been my life before had been stolen by this Jupiter, god of order. I despised him, but I had no escape plan.

When I came closer to the red raging giant he would grow and strengthen. I reasoned this was why this beast had taken hold of me. It needed me for energy. Yes, you could say that Jupiter was the very first energy vampire, but at that time I had no such understanding or language. If this was the reason the giant had taken me prisoner, I would never be free. Nothing willingly gives up its energy source. The red giant stared at me constantly. His huge blood shot eye was forever watching. "Why?" I wondered. There was no hope of escape. I had tried many times. The Giant's grip was much too powerful. I prayed for the day he would sleep and by accident loosen his grip, but sleep was not necessary for the evil god of thunder and lightning, law and order. So, around and around I went, every rotation like the day before. I don't know how long this went on. One rotation bled into another, and time had no meaning. I remember trying to sleep, but there was no sleep to be had with the "master" pulling on me at all times.

To pass the time, I made up stories about the burning balls of gases and rock nearby. I named each of them: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. I imagined Mercury to be greedy like my master. My stories about Venus were always about love and beauty for Venus was the most beautiful of all the things in my vision. I imagined one day Venus would be my bride, if I ever escaped the fury of Jupiter. After Venus, Earth was the most beautiful and I imagined Earth to be like a great warrior queen. Mars was red like my tormentor, so I imagined Mars to be an angry god of war. Saturn with it many rings of debris terrified me. How many things like me had this giant taken prisoner? Yet, though I feared him, I also imagined that someday Saturn might bring about my liberation. He appeared to be the only thing in existence with the power to defeat my captor. Therefore, in my stories Saturn was always a great liberator. Uranus I usually imagined as the god of all the sky, for he was powerful but beautiful and more peaceful than the others. I imagined him married to the warrior queen Earth. They would balance each other well. Pluto was far from me and quite still and stern. I imagined him, therefore, to control death and the dead. These stories were only entertaining for a time.

I was slowly losing consciousness, just existing. Then one day, I heard a noise. I listened carefully and I heard it again. "Happy Christmas Eve 1906" The voice said. What is Christmas Eve? I wondered. 1906? I was sure it had been more than 1906 rotations since I was young and free seeing the universe for all its beauty. Then there was another sound. It was beautiful and entertaining with a repeating rhythm and soft melody. The voice said it was called violin music. I wanted to listen to violin music forever. Who was this voice? Where were they? Perhaps they would come to save me from the master's evil grip and the never-ending stare of the red giant who feasted so happily on the energy produced by my imprisonment.

Sadly, this was not to be the case. Many rotations passed, and no one ever came, but the rotations became easier and easier to withstand now that there was something to listen to besides my own miserable thoughts and imagined tales. I longed to see this place the voice spoke of called Earth. I wanted to meet Lucy. Her and Ricky made me laugh. Ricky reminded me of the master. Lucy must be stronger than I. She often escaped the grasp of her master. It mattered not that she was captured again. What I would give for one fleeting moment of freedom. Like Lucy, I wanted to be the star of the show just once. Lucy was my hero. I wondered what she looked like. Was she solid like me or gaseous like my master? I imagined she was solid like myself, and Ricky was a gaseous horrible beast who held her captive.

Suddenly, one day I saw a speeding rock flying nearby. It was coming closer and closer. What a punk! I thought! I had heard that word punk from the voices that entertained my every rotation now. I liked the word Punk! "Yeah, you're young and free now but just wait you! The good years come to an end. I used to be like you and look at me now. Why don't you speed your way over here next to this giant and see what becomes of your punk freedom. Come on I dare you!"

The punk kid took me seriously Closer and closer he came. "No, you stupid kid! Don't! I was just joshing you." Joshing, another word I liked. "You're going to end up a prisoner like me if you come any closer. Look find a way to get me free will ya?" The punk just kept speeding closer. He was going to hit me!!! This brings us back to my original point about screaming even into the void. I flinched and the pain split my body into two halves. I screamed in the horror of the pain! An awful whistling crashing roar rang out in my own body, whether or not anyone else could hear it. When the mind-numbing pain passed, I noticed I was free, what was left of me anyway. I looked back where half my body was still imprisoned with the master. "But how am I alive if half my body is missing?" I wondered. At least I got away with my mind and thoughts. The rest didn't really matter. Anyway, I was moving a lot faster now that half of me was missing and the voices were getting closer. I was going to meet Lucy after all!!

Ahead I saw the blue Queen, Earth, solid like myself, but covered in a beautiful blue. The voices were coming from her! I sped towards the Queen at immense speeds. Somewhere on that Queen was Lucy which was a lot better than having a giant evil master. I hoped the queen wouldn't take me hostage like the master had. Still, it may be worth it if I could be closer to my Lucy. Perhaps I could free her of the evil Ricky. Who was I kidding? I couldn't even free myself. I had to wait for some punk not watching where he was going kid to ram into me before I was free. Still, I could try. Maybe I would have to ram into her. She would be angry at first to lose half her body, but she would later realize I had freed her from captivity.

I'd like to tell you that I landed safely on the warrior queen, Earth, rescued Lucy from Rickey, and everyone lived happily ever after. However, that is not my story. My fantasies of being a great liberator like Saturn were only that, fantasies. Instead, this is the story of how I became the most hated villain in all of creation and left all of creation screaming into the void. For at this very moment in my life, unbeknown to me, a creature called human was preparing to shoot me out of the sky with something they call a nuclear bomb. This is the story of how my freedom brought about the end of everything.