Veiled Soul Contents

Scene 1-- you are here

Scene 2-- http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/post303495.html#303495

Author's note: I hope to publish this (in a thousand years), because I like the idea but must maximize it's potential. This novella contains no chapters, only sections. The story is an allegory to another. Kudos to whoever catches on!

Veiled Soul

section 1

It began like anything else: with restlessness. I became weak, you see, if I settled down too long in any one location or occupation. Like a planet, I wandered incessantly from one life to another, because, as a human, I discovered joy only in novelty. Not being among the rich bastards who both run and ruin society, I could not afford to purchase new things to conceal the monotony of life. No, I hunted such things. I hunted distractions.

And so, driven by a familiar hunger, I went looking for new prey. It is hazy now, but I must have been gazing out the window of my hole, watching as starships passed smoothly by, when the idea to captain such a ship hooked me. It had been a childhood dream that was forgotten amidst the truths of reality, but now I questioned why I hadn't pursued it yet in these, the later days of my career. I had the credentials. Over the years, I'd piloted more ships than I could count--mostly small, corporate operations, shipping freight from one greedy company to another. Occasionally, when disharmony bred between two companies, I would pilot a fighter craft for one or the other, incinerating flesh for a good profit. But do not judge me; even amongst the broken bottles and empty cigarette packs that littered my floor, this was a foolish time when I had faith.

I set up a video conference with an old acquaintance who had set me up with a job years back. When I punched in his number, the window dimmed and produced a live video feed of a corpulent man, his thick hands folded neatly over his belly. He had grown notably fatter since our last correspondence and easily transcended the dimensions of the screen. "Keith, you old son-of-a-bitch, how are you doing?" he said.

"I need a job, Calanus."

"I can see that."

A major disadvantage to video communication is that the other party has a accessible view to your face, of course, and your surroundings. In this case, my beard was as unkempt as my apartment. But I didn't care what the man thought of me or my habitat.

"I have some listings from MinTech--mostly solo mining operations," he said, inspecting an electronic tablet that was minimized by his oversized hands.

"No. Something bigger this time, Calanus."

"Like what?"

"Something bigger."

He raised his thick eyebrows. "If you think you can--"

"I can manage it."

"Then your timing couldn't be better," he said gleefully. "I have something big you might be interested in--some important operation from MinTech. They're looking for a man--low profile--to go on some mission in deep space."

"Low profile?"

"I quote them directly."

I shrugged. It was enough for Calanus. "I'd be willing to connect you," he said. His voice trailed off, as if expecting me to say something.

I must have forgotten how the world worked, because I looked at him quizzically for a few seconds. "I'll send you ten credits," I finally said, feverish with my own stupidity. The fat hanging loosely from the man's jowls ballooned as he nodded, and he made the same grunt that I imagined pigs make when rolling in mud. With a few keystrokes, the transaction was made, and the conference ended.

With that, I trudged through the garbage to my bathroom, and when I emerged I had washed away the stench of booze and smoke that clung to my body and shaven away the gray sheets of hair that had concealed the splotches of youth that still lingered in my face. I set to organizing my apartment until Calanus' pudgy figure befouled my vision once more. "You didn't need to shave. There's no women where you're going--no real women, at least." I glared at him. "His name is Vargus," he continued hastily. "Meet him at the MinTech divison at Onari Seven. You have three days."

I gazed through his obtrusive image, through the semitransparent viewcreen, through the duraglass window, and into the blackness of space that laid innocently beyond, beckoning me like a lover in dire need of a touch I alone could convey. I sighed. "All right," I said. The man clapped his hands and vanished from the viewscreen, leaving unfiltered darkness in his wake.