The Artifact

David Sheley
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  • Science Fiction

The Artifact is a collection of original short stories written by David Sheley. Most may be categorized as science fiction or speculative fiction. theartifact.substack.com

  1. 05/17/2024

    Warning from the Void

    It was obvious that the station had been abandoned for some time. Its hull appeared to be covered in corrosion and some of the hull plates were visibly damaged or missing. The husk of a lifeboat floated in space nearby. Half of the craft was missing and its interior was open to the harsh and unforgiving vacuum of space. Station 09 was a deep space research station that sat at the edge of the Tempest Nebula. Long ago, telescopes had imaged what appeared to be a wave-like behavior in the dusty clouds of the nebula. The station had been constructed in what was thought to be a safe zone, but now, it seems clear that this was not the case. Without warning, wave after wave of cosmic dust and radiation had washed over the station. The corrosive gases ate away at the station’s hull and the seals that kept the crew’s precious air supply inside the station began to fail. The order was given. Evacuate. The station’s emergency beacon contained a message: They came for us when we were at our weakest. They didn’t fire on the station, but they destroyed several of our lifeboats and captured the rest - the boats that held our children. I alone remained on board to send this message. Stay away! Don’t lead them home! SIGH - Their voices filled our channels, but they were unintelligible. There was no way to know what they were saying. No way to know what they wanted. There was one word they kept repeating. I can only assume it's what they call themselves: Xl’ti. If you enjoyed this piece of flash fiction, it would be encouraging to me if you shared it with a friend. There’s more to this nonlinear story. Check it out here: Thanks for reading The Artifact! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com

    3 min

  2. 05/03/2024

    Vapor Trail

    Chuck  stifled a yawn and disengaged the drive. Geez, six hours of continuous burn was exhausting! Enormous chunks of ice flew past the canopy at incredible speed, making them appear like a solid sheet. The boredom of the last few hours clouding his judgement, Chuck rolled the craft over twice, ending the maneuver by pointing the canopy at the field of ice, and nudging the craft closer to the massive chunks that were silently flying past the canopy. "Let's cut the hotdogging, Chuck!" said a disembodied voice within the cockpit. "Don't forget that this is a flight test, not a show." With a sigh, Chuck rolled the craft back over to its previous position. "Copy that. A roll is necessary prior to the return run." "That's correct, but the test card states the roll is to occur at the beacon, not before. We don't rewrite the test cards mid-flight, Chuck." At the moment, Chuck’s craft, the XLRS-11, was skirting a line on the planet’s icy rings that divided light from shadow. Eight hundred eighty six million miles away, the Sun cast its light toward Saturn. That light, after traveling through the vacuum of space for nearly an hour and a half, was now blocked by the gas giant. A light on the instrument panel illuminated - a five minute warning before Chuck would reach the beacon that indicated the test-flight's half-way point. Suddenly, the ice was no longer a blur outside the canopy but a receding cliff, and the XLRS-11 was was in the empty space between Saturn and its rings. Chuck would be approaching the beacon in 3…2…1… Chuck pulled on the stick to perform the prescribed roll while simultaneously firing the drive again. Only this time, the craft did not roll. There was no response from the flight controls and the XLRS-11 was now burning hard and fast straight down the barrel of the gas giant's gravity well. Instantly awake and his heart in is throat, Chuck pulled at the stick in vain. The attitude jets were not responding. He reached forward and killed the engines. “System reboot. Authorization Charley Bravo XP-86.” The lights in the cockpit went dark and the small craft continued to fall toward Saturn. Chuck lifted a safety cover and flipped the power back to the “ON” position. The cockpit lit up again, but it took Chuck a moment to realize that the light was coming from outside the craft. His small spacecraft had begun to enter Saturn’s upper atmosphere and the friction was causing the outer skin of the craft to glow. “Status report!” The voice from the radio again. “I’m a little busy here!” Chuck pulled on the stick gently, attempting to re-orient the craft so that it was descending into the clouds tail-first. He could feel the drag. It wanted to roll him over like he used to lie down and roll down the hill at his school when he was a boy. But this sort of uncontrolled roll was likely to rip his ship apart. Without leaving time to talk himself out of it, he pulled hard on the stick, flipping the craft over nose to tail and jammed the throttle forward. At once, the engines ignited and his descent slowed. A glance out the canopy provided a view unlike any Chuck had ever seen. The clouds were magnificent! They were enormous. The flames from his engines had ignited the cloud directly beneath him and fire danced away in the powerful winds. As the craft began to climb out of the well, the sky darkened and the wall of ice loomed in front of him again. “Let’s see what this baby can do.” Chuck pressed the throttle the rest of the way forward, pushing the engines to their maximum capacity. Within moments, the ice wall flew past him and he was once again blazing a trail across the icy rings, the heat of his engines melting the ice as he passed, vapor rising up away from the rings and then slowing falling again like snow. Thank you for joining me in The Artifact. Share this post with a friend you think might enjoy it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com

    5 min

  3. 03/08/2024

    Day Trip - Part III

    Part One | Part Two | Part Three The ball bounced off the concave disc in the center of the room's floor, the shape of the disc naturally returning the ball to play. Aaralyn Roth dove to the floor, her arm outstretched, and whacked the ball with her racquet, sending the ball up toward the concave disc on the ceiling. Aaralyn was teamed up with Lillian Evergreen, a tall fourteen-year-old girl with long blonde hair that had been pulled into a ponytail. Lillian circled the room with long sidelong steps, keeping low to the floor - well, as low as she could in the low gravity of the Taurus 1 station. The girls were opposed by sixteen-year-old twins Silas and Griffin Emberheart. Silas elbowed Lillian as he pushed toward the center of the room, positioning himself to return the next volley. "Hey!" Lillian cried out in frustration. "We're not going to let you and your little freak friend win again," said Silas. The ball bounced off the disc on the floor, and Griffin returned it with a backhanded strike that directed the ball back to Silas, who pounded it off the floor disc so hard that it nearly hit the ceiling disc. It just missed, however, and Aaralyn, who had anticipated the aggressive play by the twin brothers, had run to the back of the court, up the curved wall, and leapt back toward the center of the court as though she were jumping from a high dive into a pool. The racquet caught the ball just as it bounced off the ceiling, returning to the ceiling disc and bouncing off at an angle the boys could not hope to hit before it hit the far wall of the court. "That's game!" said Aaralyn with a cheesy grin that she knew would irritate the two brothers. "I don't know what you're so happy about." Griffin directed his comment at the girls who were high-fiving one another. "It's not like you'd be able to win if you weren't cheating." "We didn't cheat!" Lillian shot back. "Just because you guys are too big and slow doesn't mean we're cheating." "Every time you play with that freak on your team, you're cheating!" Silas was still trying to catch his breath from the match, and he wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel. "Don't listen to them, Aaralyn," said Lillian. "They're just jealous that they'll never be able to beat us because of how awesome we are. Well, how awesome you are." "Don't you need to, like, recharge your batteries or something?" Sarcasm dripped from Griffin almost as heavily as his sweat. Coach Endo Kasumi opened a section of the transparent court wall. Coach Endo, a small woman from Japan, had moved to the Taurus Triplet to teach and coach the children of Aion Bio Robotics who live aboard the station. She was a master in several forms of martial arts, had experience in several sports, including baseball, soccer, and basketball, and could coach just about anything. And though she was a tiny woman, when she spoke, the students listened. Those who made the mistake of talking back or failed to follow her instructions found themselves sparring with her one-on-one - and no one ever beat Coach Endo - ever. "OK, that's all for today. Hit the showers and go home," Coach Endo said, addressing the group of teens as she stepped into the 360 Ball court. Silas and Griffin stepped out first, heading for the boys' locker room. "Good match today, Lillian." Coach's stern face didn't match the compliment, but Lillian knew that was just how Coach Endo was. She dipped her head in a short bow and stepped out of the court. Aaralyn was about to follow suit, but Coach put a hand out to stop her. "I know those boys are giving you a tough time, but when you pull crazy stunts like you did today, you're simply giving them more to harass you about." "Coach, I'm sorry that they are too immature to accept that I'm better at sports than they are. Well, actually, I've seen their grades. I seem to be better than them in a lot of areas." "I understand, but you don't need to rub it in their faces. You'll never make friends that way." "I'm not going to apologize for who I am. It's not like I chose this," Aaralyn said as she gestured with both hands, waving them down in front of her as though indicating she meant the whole of her body. "I know, Aaralyn. I'm sorry about what happened to you but don't use your uniqueness as a weapon against others. You're going to have difficulties with people because of your physical differences. I'm telling you not to intentionally use your differences to inflame conflict." "So you want me to tiptoe around everybody's feelings? You want me to hide what I am so people don't get upset? Is that what you're saying?" "No, not at all." "I have to go. I promised Aunt Naamah I'd be home on time today." Aaralyn turned sideways and stepped past the coach through the door, cutting the conversation short. "Carl is coming over for dinner." Aaralyn rolled her eyes. "I think they like each other, but you didn't hear that from me." Aaralyn left Coach Endo in the 360 Ball court, exited the gym, and walked into the central corridor of Taurus 3, the residential and commercial level of the Taurus Triplet. She turned to the right and walked past the entrance to the locker rooms. Silas was standing in the doorway of the men's locker room with nothing but a towel around his waste. His hair was wet, indicating that he had likely just come from the shower, though Aaralyn knew he hadn't been gone long enough to take a real shower. "Hey freak," Silas called out to her, not moving from the doorway. "Why don't you head back down to the lab where you belong, you freakin' lab rat!" Aaralyn tried to ignore him, but this jerk, standing there without a shirt, had these chiseled abs that were impossible not to notice. How did he do it? Maintaining muscle mass on board the station was notoriously difficult, but Silas made it look easy. Wait. Why was she thinking about this? Sure, Silas had great abs, but the guy was a jerk. She kept walking, fully intending to ignore him completely. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" Silas growled as he stepped away from the locker room door and grabbed her elbow. "You should let go of me right now," said Aaralyn, keeping her voice low. "Are you threatening me?!" Silas said too loudly for how close he was. It was like he wanted other people to hear him. "Why don't you go put some clothes on!" Lillian called from the other side of the station's hall. Aaralyn looked in Lillian's direction and noticed her coming out of the small cafeteria next to the gym. She held a smoothie in each hand. "I figured you would head straight to the showers after our match," Aaralyn said to Lillian. "Yeah, well, I wanted to celebrate our 11th consecutive win by getting a smoothie. Here's one for you. It's strawberry banana, your favorite." Aaralyn accepted the smoothie with her left hand. In one swift move, she brought her right hand around in a circular motion, first bringing her hand to the outside of Silas' arm, then pulling back, breaking his grip on her. Then her right hand shot out, palm open, hitting him in the sternum just hard enough that Silas stumbled back toward the locker room door. "Don't touch me again," Aaralyn said as she whirled away and walked down the corridor with Lillian practically skipping beside her. "What was that for?! You better watch your back, freak!" "That was awesome!" said Lillian between sips of smoothie. "I wish I had moves like you. Those jerks would think twice before messing with me." "You know, Griffin really isn't all that bad. He's just dumb and goes along with whatever his brother wants. I think he might actually be afraid of Silas." Aaralyn took a long sip of her smoothie. "Ah! Brain freeze!" "Don't take this the wrong way, but is it even possible for you to get brain freeze?" "Of course it is! I'm one hundred percent human from the shoulders up." "That's right. I'm sorry." "You've got nothing to be sorry about. What happened to me was awful, but I'm trying to make the best of it. Did you see that move today? I basically flew from the back wall to score that final point!" "I know, it was awesome!" The girls slowly walked past the entrance to West Hall and stepped up to the door of Naamah and Aaralyn's cabin, number 3114. The door slid open despite usually requiring the tap of a key card against the near field reader. "How did you..." Lillian began. Aaralyn's goofy grin betrayed her little secret. "I programmed the door to open when I wave my hand within six inches of the card reader. Watch this." Aaralyn waved her hand again, and the door closed. She waved once more and said, "Open sesame!" The door slid open. "So cool!" "I know, right?! I dissected my key card and attached the NFC chip to the inside of my palm." They stepped inside the small, two-bedroom cabin, and lights turned on, a warm glow making the small space feel cozy and inviting. Lillian plopped down on the small couch. "Hey, remember, you haven't showered yet!" "Oh, that's right. Sorry!" Lillian stood up and placed her empty smoothie cup in a trash receptacle in the wall near the cabin's door. "Hey, what's this?" A message on a small whiteboard was attached to the wall outside Naamah's bedroom. The message read: 49 27 6C 6C 20 62 65 20 68 6F 6D 65 20 6C 61 74 65 2E. "What do these numbers and letters mean?" "That's a secret code my aunt uses when she leaves little messages for me. Well, it's not really a secret. It's just a text message converted from ASCII to hexadecimal." "Hexa- what? Is that some magic spell?" "It's math, silly!" Aaralyn glanced over at the message briefly. "It says, 'I'll be home late.' That's weird. I thought Carl was coming over. Thursday is usually game night." "How did you do that?! You did that conversion in your head?" Lillian smirked. "OK, so I feel like I've been seeing Naamah and Carl together a lot lately. Do they have the hots for each other?" "Eww! I don't want to think about that." "You should spend the night at my place tonight. Give the love birds some space." "Stop it! You know, I don't know abou

    28 min

  4. 12/30/2023

    Day Trip - Part II

    Part One | Part Two | Part Three As the space elevator car rose into the sky, it gradually accelerated until it reached its maximum speed, a comfortable 700km per hour. The initial rate of acceleration was so gentle and so quiet that the passengers hardly noticed that they had left the terminal. The ground swiftly fell away, and it wasn’t long before clouds obscured the view from the windows located over each seat. Aaralyn sat back in her reclined seat, headphones on, watching as the clouds passed by the window over her head. As the vapor around the elevator began to thin out, Aaralyn could see a storm rolling in today. Huge cumulonimbus clouds appeared in the distance - their massive forms reaching miles into the sky. The early morning sun cast a beautiful, golden glow over the ever-diminishing horizon onto the giant cloud formations. I wish I were out there, flying among the clouds, Aaralyn thought to herself. I would fly up to the top of that cloud and pretend to jump down like jumping from a cliff, and at the last moment, I would burst through the billows at the bottom. “What are you working on?” Aaralyn’s father, Ted Roth, was already reading a book. Her mother, Leah, was unpacking her laptop from her bag. “I need to send Naamah that test data I promised to analyze for her,” said Leah. “I’ve never had very good luck connecting to the internet from the elevator, but maybe these business-class compartments have a priority connection.” “I should at least try. I know she’s waiting for the data, and I’d like to review it with her when we see her on board the station later today.” “Good luck! I hope you can get through to her,” said Ted, returning to his book. Leah glanced over at her daughter, who had her headphones on and eyes closed. “What are we going to do about Aaralyn’s outburst?” Leah directed the question to Ted, who replied with a simple, “Hmm?” Aaralyn wasn’t listening to music, though. She was listening to see what else her parents might say while they thought she was distracted. His eyes still focused on his book, Ted said, “Has Namaah made much progress with her neural connectivity tests?” “You know I’m not supposed to talk about it,” said Leah. “I was just curious, that’s all.” “It really is very exciting!” Leah’s quiet voice dipped to nearly a whisper. “The data from the simulation I ran for her indicates that her new compound may allow neurons to connect directly to silicon-based technology without rejecting it. If that’s true, this is an incredible breakthrough!” “What exactly does that mean for Aion?” “It means we will be the front runner in providing human-machine interfaces for the next several decades. It’s going to revolutionize the field of prosthetics, and as much as this sounds like science fiction, it means we will be finding new ways to incorporate technology into the human body.” Leah’s enthusiasm for the topic was contagious. “You mean, like cyborgs and that sort of thing?” asked Ted. “Well, I don’t know that I would call it that, exactly. It will be a combination of the biological and the synthetic, so maybe we could call it bio-synthetic, or bio-synth for short.” “You guys are putting me to sleep with all this boring stuff. I’m going to go find a bathroom so I can flush myself out into space,” Aaralyn said with characteristic sarcasm that only a teenage girl can muster. Aaralyn pulled her headphones down around her neck and stood up. “I was able to connect to the Aion VPN, so I’m sending Naamah the data and my report,” said Leah, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop. “I’ll be back in a little bit,” said Aaralyn as she stepped into the aisle. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. She raised up on her tiptoes, her fingers reaching for the ceiling, which she still couldn’t reach. The compartment must be more than two meters in height because her father, who often made good-natured jabs at how short she was, was just over two meters tall. Aaralyn looked at her father, who was intently reading his book. Then she looked at her mother, who was furiously typing on her computer. It seemed like they always had so much going on. Did they really have time for her? Would they even notice if she were gone? Like, gone - gone? She rolled her eyes at the thought and started heading for the inner corridor where the lavatory was located. The elevator cars were like train cars stacked on top of one another. Aaralyn and her family were in a relatively spacious compartment, seating twenty passengers. The seats were wide, and there seemed to be plenty of legroom, even for her father, who normally complained about being uncomfortably cramped on public transportation. Curious about what the other decks looked like, Aaralyn slid open the door to the spiral stairwell that ran the length of the elevator car on the side of the car closest to the main structure of the elevator. In this small, enclosed space, the electrical hum of the vehicle was much more noticeable. She reached out a hand and placed it on the wall of the stairwell, and while she knew the elevator car did not make physical contact with the elevator’s superstructure, she could feel tiny vibrations in the wall resulting from the passing of air around the car. Aaralyn climbed the stairs from the Business Class deck to the First Class deck. The door to the compartment was locked, so she cupped her hands against the small, circular glass window and then pressed her face to her hands, cutting out the reflection of the stairwell lights, making it so she could see into the compartment. Her view wasn’t great from here, but she could immediately tell that this part of the elevator car was much nicer than Business Class. The ceiling looked like it was much higher. Aaralyn was fairly certain that her tall father wouldn’t even have to lean over to keep from bumping his head if he were to walk through this compartment. The Ceiling was dome-shaped, like half of a sphere. A ring of lights around its circumference slowly transitioned from one color to another, and currently, it was a very pleasing shade of green. There must also be fiber optics in the dome because she could just make out small pinpricks of light that looked like stars. She couldn’t see any people because each passenger had a privacy partition around their seat. Just how rich do you have to be to afford this? Aaralyn continued up the stairs and past a door marked Authorized Crew Members Only. She assumed it must be the cockpit. A few more stairs and the stairwell opened up to a compartment with the most incredible view she had ever seen. This compartment also had a domed ceiling, but instead of color-changing lights and fiber optics, this dome provided a crystal-clear view of the sky and elevator above. Her eyes were drawn first to the elevator itself, stretching out above her as far as she could see. For a moment, she felt disoriented as her brain tried to determine if she was still looking up or if the path they were on stretched out infinitely in front of her. If not for the acceleration of the elevator car and the decreasing but still present pull of Earth’s gravity, she may have toppled over. She reached out and grasped a handrail that circled the room's circumference and stepped onto the previously unoccupied observation deck. Eight tables were arranged symmetrically around the room, each with six chairs. A circular console occupied the center of the room - its displays provided information about the current speed and altitude of the elevator, and the number had just passed 85,000 meters. The screen indicated that the boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere from space was located at 100,000 meters. She guessed that they would reach space within the next couple of minutes due to the rate at which the numbers were increasing. As she walked around the display console, a voice reached out to her from the direction of the stairwell. “Good morning, young lady! What do you think of this view? Pretty incredible, isn’t it?” said a young man who had just stepped up onto the observation deck. While he spoke, he turned and inserted a key into a small panel on the wall just beneath a flap in the wall marked Trash. “I just don’t get why the night shift never empties this trash receptacle. I mean, I guess people just don’t come up here that often anymore. Can you believe that anyone could get used to this view? Blows my mind.” “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome,” Aaralyn said as she continued to walk around the console, putting it between her and the man. “Is this your first time riding the elevator?” asked the young man. “Yes.” Aaralyn didn’t feel inclined to encourage conversation with the man, but she noticed his brown jumpsuit, and for a moment, he seemed familiar. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. My name is Colin. I’m a Utility Maintenance Engineer.” “I’m Aaralyn.” She paused. “So, Utility Maintenance Engineer… is that just a fancy title for garbage man?” A strained smile crossed Colin’s face. “I guess you could say that, but I’ll have you know that I do more than take out the trash. Well, I mean, I think I will. This is actually my first day working for Elevate Corp.” Colin pressed a button in the small trash compartment he had just opened, and a quiet motor pulled all of the air out of the trash bag before heat-sealing it. The trash bag was simply a long plastic tube that would be sealed in intervals as the bag was filled. When it reached capacity, a signal was sent to Utility Maintenance, and someone would come to the unit, evacuate the air from the bag, and seal it off. Then, the unit would spool out another couple of feet of plastic, and a new trash bag was ready for use. As Aaralyn watched this process from across the room, she thought this unit was similar to the one in her famil

    30 min

  5. 11/27/2023

    Day Trip - Part I

    Part One | Part Two | Part Three It was too early in the morning. Thirteen-year-old Aaralyn did not enjoy getting up at two in the morning. The viewscreens in her room in her family’s apartment could simulate any time of the day or night or any scene from pretty much anywhere mankind had sent probes or people in our celestial neighborhood. Right now, Aaralyn’s walls were programmed to show a small cabin in the woods, with the early morning light casting the sun’s rays through the leaves and branches. It was a nice, warm view. Not a bad way to wake up really, but still… it was only two in the morning. Way too early. “Hurry up, Aaralyn! We need to be going in a few minutes so we don’t miss the train to the elevator station,” said Leah, Aaralyn's mother, from the other side of her bedroom door. “Uggh…” Aaralyn groaned as she flopped out of her bed onto the floor. “Lilly, dim the lights.” Lilly was the name Aaralyn had given her personal AI. I’m sorry, Aaralyn, but your mother has already overridden that command this morning. You have 13.7 minutes remaining until the recommended time of departure, said Lilly. “I hate you so much right now, Lilly,” said Aaralyn. I’m sorry, Aaralyn, you’ll need to get dressed quickly so that you don’t cause your family to miss their departure time, Lilly said, sounding apologetic. Aaralyn and her parents would take the elevator to Taurus 3, a low-gravity station that encircled the space elevator. Taurus 3 was primarily a laboratory space and contained, most notably, a large lab for Aion Bio Robotics. Aion used the low gravity lab for experiments they were doing with connecting human neural tissue to robotic devices. Aaralyn’s parents, Ted and Leah Roth, were considering moving the family to Taurus 3 for three years. Her parents had both worked for Aion since before she was born. Her mother was a lab tech and had been nominated as a candidate for a special assignment aboard the sub-orbital station. Her father was a pilot and had been selected as a shuttle pilot for Aion, transferring employees and materials between the elevator-based stations. They said it was a great opportunity for them. The pay would be great, and the assignment was only supposed to last three years, and they would be able to return home after that. Aaralyn didn’t buy it. They were going to force her to move away from her friends, her school, her clubs, and sports activities. Basically, they were ruining her life! She had no intention of going quietly. The Roths hurried out the door of their apartment at exactly 2:15 am, rode the elevator to the ground floor of their building, and crossed the street, descending another two stories into the subway. The train ride lasted roughly an hour and a half due mostly to the frequent stops. By four in the morning, the train was pulling into the station at Elevate Corps’ Terminal C. Despite her irritation at being dragged along on this sightseeing tour so early in the morning, Aaralyn couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe at the size of the terminal at the base of the space elevator. She’d seen it in net vids and on the news, but she’d never seen a structure so large in person before. This place was awesome! Aaralyn pulled out her phone and took a selfie with the glass roof above her and the space elevator extending up and out of the image. “I’ve got to send this to Jillian! She’s going to be so jealous!” said Aaralyn to herself. “What’s that dear?” asked her mother. “Nothing, Mom,” Aaralyn bit back. “I’m just taking a photo to make my friends jealous.” Ted rolled his eyes and gave Leah a knowing look. “We need to keep moving if we’re going to make it through security in time,” he said as he continued to walk toward the security gate. The lines were fairly short this morning, probably due in part to the early hour but also because scanning technology had come a long way in the last few years. Instead of having to pass through a security scanner one at a time, whole crowds of people could be scanned as they walked through an X-ray curtain. There was a line on the floor, a one-foot wide yellow line that marked where the curtain was located. The overhead announcements were continuously reminding passengers not to stop on the yellow line due to the risk of receiving too high a dose of X-rays. As long as you kept moving, you received a dose less than what you would getting an x-ray at the doctor’s office. Aaralyn surveyed the large terminal, taking in the grandeur of the high glass ceiling and watching as thousands of people seemed to be heading for one of the elevator gates and just as many seemed to be moving toward the exits, heading back to their lives on the ground. As her eyes traced the curve of the ceiling down to the floor, she saw a young man in a brown jumpsuit heading toward an employees-only security gate, and she wondered what it would be like to work on one of the massive elevators. She imagined it was similar to being a flight attendant. After passing through the security zone, they climbed aboard yet another elevator. This one would take them up two stories to Gate 29. Aion had really pulled out all the stops for this little trip. Well, almost all the stops.  The tickets they purchased were for business class, not first class. Aaralyn knew that her parents would never have spent the extra money for business class on their own, let alone first class. “I thought Aion wanted you to enjoy this trip,” she said to her parents. “Why didn’t they put us up top in first class? I really wanted to see the stars as we left the atmosphere.” “Oh, I think you'll see more stars today than you've ever seen before,” said her father. “Just before the launch, our seats will recline back and you'll be able to look right out the window above you. You should have a great view as the atmosphere thins out.” “Yeah, I knew that,” Aaralyn retorted. She wasn’t going to let her parents think that she was enjoying any part of this trip, though inwardly, she was struggling to contain her excitement. She didn’t want to leave her friends, but she knew that riding the elevator was something that most of her friends wanted to do, and here she was, boarding one of the elevators bound for low Earth orbit! This is so cool, Aaralyn whispered to herself, careful not to let her parents hear. Ted, Leah, and Aaralyn settled into their seats, which were several inches wider than the economy seats and provided ample legroom. “I could get used to this,” said Ted, stretching his legs out in front of him and reclining his seat back so that he could look out the windows that wrapped up over their seats. The view wasn’t as good as it would have been in first class, but this wasn’t bad. The elevator car itself blocked much of the view of the elevator above them, but the view did allow them to see the sky above them. While Aaralyn stowed her day pack under her seat and latched her harness, she looked around to see if there were any other kids in this compartment. It looked like she was the only one. Everyone else appeared to be either the same age as her parents or older. She couldn’t quite decide if that made her feel special or awkward. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the lab!” said Leah. “Carl has been working up there since last year, and he said he’s loving it. The low-G environment has made it really easy for him to get around the lab. In fact, he hasn’t used his wheelchair in something like six months.” “It sounds like making the move was the right choice for him,” said Ted. “I’m actually really looking forward to cutting down my commute time. Not having to ride the elevator to the Taurus stations each day to get to the shuttle bay is going to give me a lot of family time back.” Leah turned to Aaralyn, “Did I tell you about the theatre they have on Taurus 3? It holds about fifty people, and it’s got a screen that starts off as a window that looks out at the curvature of the Earth, and then they apply an electric charge, and it becomes opaque just before the show starts. Doesn’t that sound cool?” Aaralyn could feel her temper flaring as she listened to her parents rambling about how awesome it was going to be to live on the Taurus stations. “Can you please pretend for one second that you understand what I’m going through?” Aaralyn said a little louder than she had intended. “You’re talking as though the decision is already made. I thought we were going up there to see what it was like and to decide as a family what we thought was best?” “Well, honey…” her dad started. “I’m not finished! You’re tearing me away from everything and everyone I’ve ever known and loved. You’re forcing me to leave my friends and all my teams that I’ve worked so hard for. You’re being so selfish, and you don’t even care how this move will affect me. You haven’t thought about it at all! I hate you! I hate you for forcing us to move! Can’t I just live with Aunt Naamah?” Heads were turning and looking in their direction - some with a shocked expression, others with clear distaste that a child would be allowed in this compartment. “Honey. Aaralyn,” her father tried again. “All you care about are your careers! You don’t even care that you’re ending my life. I hate you!” “Sir. Ma’am. Is there a problem?” said a member of the flight crew who had approached their seats. “No. No problem. Just a little misunderstanding,” said Leah. “I have to ask you to keep your voices low inside the compartment out of respect for the other passengers,” the stewardess said. “Yes, ma’am,” replied Ted. Aaralyn let out a breathy “Humph” and turned her head away from her parents, crossing her arms dramatically across her body. The lights dimmed twice, indicating that the launch would occur in one minute. “Young lady, your attitude is u

    12 min

  6. 11/12/2023

    First Day on the Job

    Colin pulled his car into the Elevate Corp parking garage. His designated parking spot was twelve levels down in the underground facility, so he began the slow descent, preferring to keep his vehicle in neutral most of the way, allowing gravity to do the work. He watched as beam after beam of concrete passed mere inches over the top of his car as he went deeper and deeper into the structure. Today was Colin's first day on the job with Elevate Corp, well, the first real day. He had gone through a weeklong training course to prepare for today, his first-day going solo. He queued up for the elevator that would take him to sub-level four, the level where his department called home. The fill-to-capacity elevator car was mostly silent this morning during the brief ride. The young lady standing in front of Colin wore a backpack that pressed uncomfortably into his gut. On sub-level four, Colin followed the colored lines on the wall that led to the locker room. The lockers were small, only about 30cm wide and 90cm tall, and they were stacked two lockers high. His locker was #3087, an upper locker. No one else seemed to be in the large locker room. He supposed that was one of the benefits of his day starting so early in the morning - it was only 4:30 in the morning. His launch time was promptly at 5:00 am. Due to the nature of his work environment, he was highly motivated to be early for his shift. If he were late, he would be left behind. After donning his dark brown jumpsuit, Colin walked the long hall, pressed open the door to the stairwell, and ascended to ground level. He exited the stairway to find himself in Terminal C. He looked up at the glass ceiling and caught his first glimpse of the elevator. Of course, he'd seen it before. You'd have to live in a cave not to have seen the elevator, but he'd never seen it from this angle before. It looked like a busy train station with tracks spaced out just far enough to allow the trains, or in this case, the elevators, to pass by one another. The tracks covered nearly the entire surface of the structure, which rose up into the sky as far as the eye could see. Despite the early hour of the morning, there appeared to be thousands of people in the terminal, some waiting for their departure, others leaving the gates and heading for the garage or the tram that would return them to the city. Colin followed the wall to an employee-only gate. He presented his badge to the woman at the turnstile, who waved the badge over a magnetic reader while giving him a bored look, her eyes only half-open. "You're good to go," she said. "Have a nice day." Her tone seemed to indicate that she didn't really mean what she said. "Thanks," said Colin as he passed through the turnstile and headed toward Gate 26. A loud whoosh overhead signaled an approaching elevator, and Colin looked up just in time to see the bullet train-like elevator descend into its cradle. Each elevator was composed of a single car, but that car was over three stories tall and lined up with five corresponding gates. The lowest gate was where low-level crew like Colin would board. That way, they could board the elevator without being hindered by the mass of passengers waiting for their turn to board. The middle three gates were for passengers, with the lowest and largest gates designated for economy passengers. The next gate was for business-class passengers, and the next was for first-class passengers. The final and highest gate was for the elevator's captain and "flight" crew. Colin entered Gate 26 and approached the hatch that led to the lowest level of the elevator. He pressed his badge to the reader, eliciting a beep and green light from the small box, and the hatch hissed as it slid into the wall. The lower deck was dimly illuminated, but it was a warm light, easy on the eyes this early in the day. It was now 4:50 am. The launch was in ten minutes. Colin found his assigned seat and fastened the harness around him securely. He looked around but didn't see anyone else. Was he going to be the only lower-deck personnel on this flight? That seemed odd. Where were the engineers? Security? As Colin settled in for the launch, a few crew members finally trickled it. A chime sounded, and the lights dimmed twice, warning that the launch would occur in one minute. They are really cutting it close, thought Colin. He recognized the newcomers by the color of their jumpsuits. Gray for security, red for engineering. Colin's jumpsuit was brown, designating him as part of the Utility Maintenance crew. Thanks for reading The Artifact! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Colin pulled on the straps of his harness, tightening them once more. His training had been in a classroom and a simulator, so this was his first time riding the elevator, so his nerves were a bit on edge. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath. A young woman in a red jumpsuit harnessed herself into the seat next to him. "First flight?" she asked. "Yeah," Colin replied. "I'm Sam," she said, reaching out a hand. He accepted her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Sam. I'm Colin." "There's nothing to worry about, Colin. You'll hardly feel a thing - after the first 15 minutes or so, that is. You'll feel like you weigh 200 kilograms for the first leg of the trip, but once we reach microgravity, we'll stop accelerating, and you'll be nearly weightless," Sam explained. "Thanks," said Colin. Colin hadn't been sure about taking this job with Elevate Corp at first. He really wanted to be an engineer, but the Elevate rep explained that the training program was currently at capacity, but she would put his name on the 18-month waiting list. He couldn't wait 18 months. He needed a job now. So he accepted the Utility Maintenance role, thinking that at least he'd have his foot in the door. "Seriously, you look a little green. Do you need an anti-nausea patch? I have an extra you can have," said Sam. Colin couldn't help but notice the absence of a ring on Sam's finger. Maybe being an elevator garbage man wasn't going to be as bad as he had thought. Related: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com

    9 min

  7. 11/04/2023

    Handle With Care

    “Do you even hear the way you sound when you talk?” Aubrey's voice took on a high pitch when she was getting angry with her husband, Eddie. The snow hitting the windshield of the car seemed to hold its shape for far too long - a testament to just how cold it was tonight. It was late, and the snow glistened in the car's headlights, making it difficult to see the road ahead. Eddie had driven this stretch of highway many times, but tonight, when visibility was near zero, he was especially thankful for the long stretches of straight highway. "All I said was that I'd rather listen to Christmas music! We're on our way home from a Christmas party, and I kinda wanted to stay in the spirit of things by listening to Christmas music," Eddie replied, struggling to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Well, I'm sorry. I'm just not in the mood for Christmas music right now." Aubrey's phone screen lit up as she unlocked it and scrolled to her podcast app. "How can you not be in the mood?" Eddie said, his own voice climbing in pitch as he reached for the volume knob, hoping to crank it up just a little more. Maybe all she needed was a little more volume to get in the mood. Seriously though, when had that ever been the case? Aubrey swatted his hand away from the volume controls and connected her phone's Bluetooth to the car's radio. So much for Christmas spirit. Eddie could feel his frustration building. He didn't want to listen to Aubrey's podcast about the ethical ramifications of inserting neural implants in infants, which resumed playback mid-sentence. ...a lot we need to learn about the long-term consequences of altering a child's developing brain. Neural implants could have both positive and negative effects on cognitive development, personality, and behavior. Eddie gave Aubrey a sidelong glance. He could feel his temper flaring and his temperature rising in spite of the freezing cold temperatures outside. That's the thing. We just don't know yet. We need to conduct more research better to understand the risks and benefits of neural implants before they are used in infants. "Can’t you just take a day off?" said Eddie. "Why are you insisting that we listen to this crap right now?" "I already told you I have to give a presentation at work about this next week. I'm trying to stay familiar with the content," Aubrey said. Eddie was looking at the reflection of Aubrey's phone in her eyes when his attention was suddenly redirected to the swirling snow in front of him as an air horn blared and a snowplow barreled past them on the highway. The truck's amber lights pulsed brightly as the truck moved into their lane, just at the edge of visibility, and as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared into the snowy maelstrom. "Aubrey, I don't want to fight with you. It's just that you don't seem to know how to disconnect from work," said Eddie. Eddie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, regaining his composure. He reached over and put his hand on Aubrey's arm. "Please, Aubrey. You need to be able to take some time for yourself. Ever since Ezra..." At the mention of their late infant son's name, Aubrey jerked her arm out of Eddie's reach. "Don't be like that!" Eddie said, turning toward Aubrey, searching again for her eyes in the darkness. The lights appeared out of nowhere. Eddie's gaze whipped back to the snowy scene in front of them, and he grasped the wheel with both hands, knuckles turning white with the strength of his grip. He twisted the wheel to the right in a vain attempt to swerve around the snowplow no more than three feet in front of them. The car lost its grip on the road with the sudden change in direction, and the vehicle began to spin, once... twice... three times. The spinning car slid across the right two lanes and plummeted down the embankment and into the snow-filled ditch, where it came to a wrenching halt. Everything was silent. There were no horns blaring or sirens peeling. The car lay still, its front end firmly embedded in a snowbank. The headlights were completely obscured, so the only light came from the car's dashboard, and the red glow of the tail lights reflecting off the snow. For several long minutes, neither Eddie nor Aubrey spoke. They simply sat, staring at the snowflakes that landed on the windshield. Eddie forced his hands to release their grip on the steering wheel. His heart was pounding, and he could feel the adrenaline burning in his arms and legs. "I... I didn't see... the plow must have... Are you OK?" said Eddie. "What happened?" Aubrey asked as she raised her hand to her head, touching the spot where her head had impacted the window when the car started spinning. There wasn't any blood. That was good. "Aubrey, I'm sorry," said Eddie. "It's not your fault," said Aubrey. "No. I'm sorry I called your podcast 'crap' I didn't mean it. You're really good at what you do, and it's because of the extra effort you put in," said Eddie. "It was selfish of me to insist that we listen to music instead." "I was being selfish too," said Aubrey. "I guess I've just had a really hard time taking a break ever since Ezra passed. I feel like I always have to be busy because if I slow down for more than a minute, I just can’t stop thinking about him." "I know. I’m sorry," said Eddie. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don’t wonder what our lives would be like if our little boy was still here with us." His voice was quiet - almost a whisper. Aubrey turned in her seat to face Eddie and reached out her hand, which he took in his. "I’m sorry for fighting with you," said Aubrey. "I realize now just how silly it was." "You're right. I'm sorry too," said Eddie. "Tonight has reminded me how precious our time together is because we don't know what tomorrow holds. Our lives could be snuffed out in an instant, and tonight, they almost were!" said Aubrey. Silence enveloped the car once more. They sat in the cold car, hand in hand, both thinking about how insignificant their argument now seemed as they faced the reality of life's fragility. Neither could feel the cold, which might have been shock, but both felt warmed by a renewed sense of love toward one another. Until tonight, they hadn't admitted that they had been growing apart since the death of their infant son. But, with this second chance, Eddie and Aubrey realized that they still had so much to live for. They still had each other. Eddie broke the silence. "GPS indicates that there's a gas station less than a mile down the road." "Let's walk down there, warm up, and call for help," said Aubrey. Eddie and Aubrey stepped out of the car into the pristine snow. The storm had cleared, and the night sky now sparkled with stars. They looked back at the way they had come. Snow was already covering the highway again. The tracks the car had made while spinning off the road, a reminder of the argument that nearly cost them their lives, had been erased by newly fallen snow. Hand in hand, Eddie and Aubrey carefully ascended the embankment and began to walk down the dark road toward the safety of the gas station. As they walked, they agreed to leave their argument in the past and embrace the true spirit of the Christmas season: love, forgiveness, and the promise of a fresh start. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com

    9 min

  8. 10/17/2023

    Wallflower

    Alden hated his name, which he was told meant "a friend to everyone." Nothing could be further from the truth. He usually found himself on the outside of every social circle. It wasn't that he didn't want friends. He didn't try to purposely separate himself from others - at least, he didn't think he did. It just always seemed to end up that way. "Hey Alden, come join us at the party!" One classmate would say. "Alden, join our club," another offered. But he didn't know how to insert himself into the group whenever he arrived at these gatherings. It always seemed like the social order had already been set, and he wasn't a part of it. Alden would enter the room and sit at the back, careful not to make any noise for fear of disturbing the already hopping party or the deeply engaged conversation of the club meeting. He made himself small. He made himself invisible. Later, his classmate would ask, "Hey, I didn't see you at the party. Did something come up?" "No. No, I was there. It was great! I'm sorry I missed you." Alden's smile and cheerfulness were fake. I was there. You didn't see me. You never came up to me or introduced me to your friends. What Alden wasn't willing to admit was that he was afraid. He was scared of being rejected, so he never initiated a relationship by saying the first word or offering a handshake. He never introduced himself, thinking that letting others make the first move was better. And by doing so, he perpetuated his loneliness. At the end of the day, he would return to his room and don his VR helmet. Alden had convinced himself that real people took no interest in him and that he could only be liked by his virtual friends. Tonight's VR session began like all the others. The helmet's interior was dark, and then a thin line of light would blossom before his eyes into a realm of his imagination. He saw rolling hills and tall grasses blowing in the wind. In the distance, he could see the forest, whose trees were as tall as skyscrapers. The trunks of the trees were dotted with wicker basket-like homes, wooden stairways, and rope bridges. He looked down at his arms and saw the thin covering of fur and the porcupine-like bristles that started just behind his wrists. About fifty yards before him, a group of young porcupine people were foraging for berries around a large bush containing the most delicious-looking purple berries. I need to think of a better name for these people than 'porcupine-people,' Alden thought. "Hello!" He called out to them, waving. "Hello, friend!" Oliana called back. "Join us as we gather berries, and you can ride back to the village with us on our new winged contraption." Isaak and Tavis stood apart from the group, holding long spears. They were clearly standing guard. They barely looked at him but kept surveying the grassland behind him, obviously wary of some unseen danger. As Alden approached, he could see their "winged contraption" sitting in a clearing not far from the large berry-laden bushes. The craft was an intricately woven machine made of what appeared to be no more than sticks and leaves. Its wings were covered with translucent paper. The vessel was moored to the ground in several spots, and it was good that it was because it looked light enough to be easily blown away by the wind. "Welcome back, Alden!" said Oliana as he drew near her. "It's so good to see you again." "I'm happy to see you too, Oliana," Alden said. To himself, Alden wondered, Why is it so easy to talk to Oliana? Whenever I'm with her, I don't feel any of the anxiety and fear I usually do when interacting with others. What is it about her that makes me feel differently? Is it because Oliana isn't real? She can't reject me because she's just a computer game following her programming. Is that it? He stood there watching his virtual friends gather baskets of berries when he had a sort of epiphany. It's because when I'm here, I take charge of my destiny. I accept that I am responsible for my actions and that nothing gets done without me having initiated things on my own. If only I could do the same in real life. "System, pause program," said Alden, and the scene around him froze. He removed the helmet from his head and held it in his lap. The glow of several computer monitors was all that illuminated the real world around him. Alden ran both hands through his hair and let out a sigh. "System, call Naamah Katz." Calling Naamah Katz. "Hi, Alden! I was just thinking about you." Naamah had always been kind to Alden. On several occasions, she had expressed an interest in participating in extracurriculars with Alden, and it seemed like he had always found a reason to decline politely. It wasn't that he didn't like her or didn't want to be around her. Quite the opposite. He'd been crushing on her for a while now, and he was afraid that if she got to know him, she wouldn't like him. He knew the time he spent in front of a computer could be off-putting. He knew that sometimes he got so wrapped up in creating his virtual worlds that he could forget his basic needs like eating or hygiene. "I... I was wondering if your club was still meeting tomorrow after class." It was a shaky start, but he made sure to finish confidently. "We are! We'll have a short meeting at 4:15 to discuss our goals for this week, and then it's heads-down as we work through coding needed to get our arm functioning," Naamah said with barely contained enthusiasm about her project. Naamah's club was working on a robotic arm with a human-machine interface. They hoped to have several patents on the design of the arm and the code needed to translate neural signals into motor functions. There wasn't much she could share with him until he signed their non-disclosure agreement, but the little bit that she had shared hinted that they might be on the verge of a breakthrough in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Her team of engineers had already won numerous awards in the field of robotics, and they had grand visions of bringing their technology to the field of prosthetics. The arm they were working on now would look nearly indistinguishable from a real human arm, but they needed help training it to respond to neural activity. "Alden, your work with brain-computer interfaces would be a real asset to our project, but more than that, I think it would be great to have you on our team," said Naamah sincerely. "I admit, I'm not great at working with a team," he confessed. "Well, you can't stay cooped up in your room wearing that headset forever! It would make me really happy if you would work with us. Can I count on seeing you tomorrow afternoon?" Her voice was still kind and had a playfulness to it, but he could tell she wasn't just saying this - she really wanted him to be there. "Let me think about... No. You can count on me. I'll be there." As their conversation ended and the call was terminated, Alden couldn't help but feel like he was turning a corner. The fear was still there, but he felt reassured knowing that Naamah wanted to include him in her work. Then, a strange thought crept into his mind: he looked forward to seeing her. He wanted to get to know her better. He knew about her scientific and engineering accomplishments, but he wanted to know her - as a person. As a friend. Alden smiled and placed the VR helmet back on his head. He knew he had a lot of work to do to overcome his fears and to reduce his social awkwardness, but he was tired of playing the victim. Tomorrow, he would embark on a new adventure. He wouldn't let fear keep him isolated in his apartment. He would become part of something that mattered. And most importantly, he would start this journey with a friend. Did you enjoy this work of flash fiction? Send it to a friend or family member that you think would also enjoy it. I was inspired by this image that I found on Tumblr. Nerd Stuff: * Using Brain Waves to Control Computers and Machines * Towards Brain-Computer Interface Control of a 6-Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Arm Using Dry EEG Electrodes Thanks for reading The Artifact! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com

    10 min
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About

The Artifact is a collection of original short stories written by David Sheley. Most may be categorized as science fiction or speculative fiction. theartifact.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    David Sheley
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © David Sheley
  • Show Website
    The Artifact