Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

Edited at 2014-10-13 09:12:09

It's been a while since I wrote this, but I thought I'd post it up here. It's based on a game which is hosted here on Newgrounds, among other places. I contacted the author of the game before writing it and he seemed encouraging enough, but when I sent the finished thing back he never responded :(. Anyway, I'm posting it below, so please let me know what you think.

Babies Dream of Dead Worlds by Arceus

Inspired by the game by Gregory Avery-Weir http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/526456)

I

The childless couple sat in the dark, closely nestled together but neither of them able to sleep. Not wanting to disturb any of their neighbors, they spoke in hushed whisper, masked by the gentle chirping of crickets, coming from some direction in the darkness.

"What do you think babies dream of, before they're born?" the wife asked. They had tried for years to conceive, but unsuccesfully. They did not blame each other, neither verbally nor in their heart, but it was certainly far from the first sleepless night they had suffered because of it. They tried to keep it a tightly guarded secret-and out of some sort of respect, the rest of the community tried just as hard to hide the fact that they knew.

"Will we ever, know, baby?" the husband replied, as she could almost see him turn his head downward in disappointment, despite the complete absence of light. They were so close that their emotions easily permeated the darkness, if only for each other. "In any case, they're just babies. What do they have to dream about?"

"They must dream about something...maybe being in the womb?"

He shook his head, not agreeing with her and still struggling to understand. "Still...they don't know what this world is."

She thought about it for a moment-what the world was, and what they had done. With only the two of them, they had began construction of a physical therapy course to help rehabilitate the injured. Soon children flocked to help them, eagerly enlisting themselves in every task from hammering nails into the signs to painting the white-lettered instructions on them. And although a sign might be slightly crooked here and a 'd' might look more like a 'q' there, the job was coming along nicely. The omnipresence of other children cheered up the couple slightly, yet envy of their parents still held them prisoner. Would their world, she thought, ever be ours?

"I wonder what we dreamed about when we were babies," she said aloud, but mostly wondered to herself. Then they cuddled together in the warm night air, and tried once again to get a bit of sleep.

II.I

Fuzor flapped her wings hurriedly as she darted around. The cool air refreshed her, whipping past her face as she slingshotted herself from one end of the neighborhood to the other. A soft whizzing noise accompanied her as her friends watched in astoundment and admiration. She was fast, so fast that many people swore she was the fastest they knew every time she zipped by.

It was not just horizontal speed Fuzor had mastered, but the art of slingshotting as well. Through the middle of their planet ran a gravitational beam, tugging at everything from both sides. She had no idea how it all worked. Her older sister Mel was the one doing research-maybe she explain it to her sometime? She made a mental note to ask her about it later. Fuzor flapped her wings to lift herself up as gravity pulled her back toward the center and until she drifted upward, then reversed. With each cyle up and down she generated more momentum, the thrill running through her as the air rushed over her wings. Then she spread them open fully, being flung completely by gravity, soaring gracefully with her wings spread wide open.

Fuzor may have been only three years of age measured in Earth years, but by the standards of this race, she was nearing adulthood. It was a day not unlike many others, but there was a certain crispness in the air that she breathed. As she turned back to circle around again, she saw her mother and eagerly flapped over. "Wow Fuzor, you're fast!" she exclaimed as Fuzor landed on the smooth, greenish ground, her wings sparkling in the sunlight as she landed gracefully, gently tucking them away.

Fuzor smiled at her mother, beaming with almost as much pride as there was sunlight bathing the sky. "Fuzor, I want you to go through this course as fast as you can," her mother told her, pointing to a series of obstacles in front of them. As her eyes traced the objects in front of her, Furzor's heartbeat quickened-she loved to race and her mother knew so and encouraged her. It looked like she had spent half the morning constructing an obstacle course for her.

She had always dreamed of participating in the annual racing event, dubbed most creatively "The Race." The mock course her mother had constructed looked nearly identical to the real thing. By the time the next one came around, she would finally be old enough to participate, and she was training harder than ever. Even though people had started to talk about her chances of perhaps winning, she dismissed them all as little more than rumor. The graveyard of child prodigy racers had long run out of space on this planet. But Fuzor was not doing it for the fame or anything else aside from the pure joy of it.

So after thanking her mother, she kicked firmly off the ground and immediately opened her wings, dodging, jumping, and slingshotting at breakneck speed. Inches seperated her and the walls as she cleared obstacle after obstacle, minimizing the margin of error to optimize speed. There was just one final wall to dive under, and then gently coast to the silver rod marking the end of the race. Fuzor kicked off a ledge to prepare for descent. She didn't get much liftoff as the strong force of gravity quickly took her downward. Tucking her wings down, she sped downward like a bullet, her whole surroundings a blur. But as she sped past the center and gravity began to work against her, the look of concentration on her face turned into a frown.

Kick as she might with her legs and open flap her wings, she had come up just short, and even with a full effort she knew she could not make it. Instead she opened her wings to slingshot up again, easily clearing it over the top edge instead. She coasted to the finish line without any difficulty, but that extra manuever had cost time, and in The Race every second would be critical.

It was not long before her mother came over, timer in hand. Of course, it was not an official measurement, but it was the best estimate they had. Fuzor saw the time and looked down, slightly disheartened. The qualifying round for the race was very strict. With the world record standing at 24.98 seconds, any entrant wishing to qualify needed a time of under 32. Fuzor's time had been 33.60, well too high. "Keep training dear," her mother encouraged her gently, "You'll make it. I know you can."

---

It's been a while since I wrote this, but I thought I'd post it up here. It's based on a game which is hosted here on Newgrounds, among other places. I contacted the author of the game before writing it and he seemed encouraging enough, but when I sent the finished thing back he never responded :(. Anyway, I'm posting it below, so please let me know what you think.

EDIT: I've got a problem: it won't let me double-post, but my story is far too long to fit in one post. I'll see if I can ask someone for help but in the meantime enjoy this as a teaser I guess :P.

Babies Dream of Dead Worlds by Arceus

Inspired by the game by Gregory Avery-Weir http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/526456)

I

The childless couple sat in the dark, closely nestled together but neither of them able to sleep. Not wanting to disturb any of their neighbors, they spoke in hushed whisper, masked by the gentle chirping of crickets, coming from some direction in the darkness.

"What do you think babies dream of, before they're born?" the wife asked. They had tried for years to conceive, but unsuccesfully. They did not blame each other, neither verbally nor in their heart, but it was certainly far from the first sleepless night they had suffered because of it. They tried to keep it a tightly guarded secret-and out of some sort of respect, the rest of the community tried just as hard to hide the fact that they knew.

"Will we ever, know, baby?" the husband replied, as she could almost see him turn his head downward in disappointment, despite the complete absence of light. They were so close that their emotions easily permeated the darkness, if only for each other. "In any case, they're just babies. What do they have to dream about?"

"They must dream about something...maybe being in the womb?"

He shook his head, not agreeing with her and still struggling to understand. "Still...they don't know what this world is."

She thought about it for a moment-what the world was, and what they had done. With only the two of them, they had began construction of a physical therapy course to help rehabilitate the injured. Soon children flocked to help them, eagerly enlisting themselves in every task from hammering nails into the signs to painting the white-lettered instructions on them. And although a sign might be slightly crooked here and a 'd' might look more like a 'q' there, the job was coming along nicely. The omnipresence of other children cheered up the couple slightly, yet envy of their parents still held them prisoner. Would their world, she thought, ever be ours?

"I wonder what we dreamed about when we were babies," she said aloud, but mostly wondered to herself. Then they cuddled together in the warm night air, and tried once again to get a bit of sleep.

II.I

Fuzor flapped her wings hurriedly as she darted around. The cool air refreshed her, whipping past her face as she slingshotted herself from one end of the neighborhood to the other. A soft whizzing noise accompanied her as her friends watched in astoundment and admiration. She was fast, so fast that many people swore she was the fastest they knew every time she zipped by.

It was not just horizontal speed Fuzor had mastered, but the art of slingshotting as well. Through the middle of their planet ran a gravitational beam, tugging at everything from both sides. She had no idea how it all worked. Her older sister Mel was the one doing research-maybe she explain it to her sometime? She made a mental note to ask her about it later. Fuzor flapped her wings to lift herself up as gravity pulled her back toward the center and until she drifted upward, then reversed. With each cyle up and down she generated more momentum, the thrill running through her as the air rushed over her wings. Then she spread them open fully, being flung completely by gravity, soaring gracefully with her wings spread wide open.

Fuzor may have been only three years of age measured in Earth years, but by the standards of this race, she was nearing adulthood. It was a day not unlike many others, but there was a certain crispness in the air that she breathed. As she turned back to circle around again, she saw her mother and eagerly flapped over. "Wow Fuzor, you're fast!" she exclaimed as Fuzor landed on the smooth, greenish ground, her wings sparkling in the sunlight as she landed gracefully, gently tucking them away.

Fuzor smiled at her mother, beaming with almost as much pride as there was sunlight bathing the sky. "Fuzor, I want you to go through this course as fast as you can," her mother told her, pointing to a series of obstacles in front of them. As her eyes traced the objects in front of her, Furzor's heartbeat quickened-she loved to race and her mother knew so and encouraged her. It looked like she had spent half the morning constructing an obstacle course for her.

She had always dreamed of participating in the annual racing event, dubbed most creatively "The Race." The mock course her mother had constructed looked nearly identical to the real thing. By the time the next one came around, she would finally be old enough to participate, and she was training harder than ever. Even though people had started to talk about her chances of perhaps winning, she dismissed them all as little more than rumor. The graveyard of child prodigy racers had long run out of space on this planet. But Fuzor was not doing it for the fame or anything else aside from the pure joy of it.

So after thanking her mother, she kicked firmly off the ground and immediately opened her wings, dodging, jumping, and slingshotting at breakneck speed. Inches seperated her and the walls as she cleared obstacle after obstacle, minimizing the margin of error to optimize speed. There was just one final wall to dive under, and then gently coast to the silver rod marking the end of the race. Fuzor kicked off a ledge to prepare for descent. She didn't get much liftoff as the strong force of gravity quickly took her downward. Tucking her wings down, she sped downward like a bullet, her whole surroundings a blur. But as she sped past the center and gravity began to work against her, the look of concentration on her face turned into a frown.

Kick as she might with her legs and open flap her wings, she had come up just short, and even with a full effort she knew she could not make it. Instead she opened her wings to slingshot up again, easily clearing it over the top edge instead. She coasted to the finish line without any difficulty, but that extra manuever had cost time, and in The Race every second would be critical.

It was not long before her mother came over, timer in hand. Of course, it was not an official measurement, but it was the best estimate they had. Fuzor saw the time and looked down, slightly disheartened. The qualifying round for the race was very strict. With the world record standing at 24.98 seconds, any entrant wishing to qualify needed a time of under 32. Fuzor's time had been 33.60, well too high. "Keep training dear," her mother encouraged her gently, "You'll make it. I know you can."