Assorted Cogitations

Okay. I admit it. I wrote this for school. But, though it was the last paper of the year and I didn’t really need the grade that comes with hard/good work, I applied the latter nonetheless. I don’t like wasting time. So I might as well write science fiction that passes for a term paper if given the opportunity. The assignment was to observe, analyze, or explain the death of Old Ben in The Bear, a short story by Faulkner in Go Down Moses. So I made it a science fiction story. If you know the work I speak of, check out the parallels. If not, I hope you can enjoy it as a stand-alone piece. Read on…

 * * *

Beep…beep…beep…

Private Josh Kalder turned over underneath his blanket, simultaneously inhaling a lungful of crisp, faintly metallic-smelling air. Of course, he no longer sensed any variance from conventional air; the erstwhile tellurian had long ago become accustomed to the conditions of an interstellar lifestyle. It had been a good fourteen years, give or take a month or two, since his childhood departure from Planet Earth, and recollections of all but the most visceral aspects of mankind’s shared homeland had slipped away with the time.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Kalder laboriously dragged himself from the depths of somnolence to sit up and press the small orange button on the side of his bunk which deactivated his personal alarm. 0600. Time to rise and shine. It was today that they would go after The Bear.

* * *

Josh Kalder no longer missed the earth. True, he occasionally found himself longing for the feeling of an organic breeze in his hair, or sand between his toes. But the constant pining had ceased many years ago. Now he could consider the earth that was with an unaffected viewpoint, and realize that what became of it was the inevitable and inexorable resultant of the exponentially growing parasite known as humanity.

Though environmental issues had once been of greatest concern, by the third decade of the twenty-first century socio-political tensions had become paramount. Not that the ecological crisis didn’t contribute; indeed, faulty apportioning of the earth’s dwindling resources had played a penultimate role in fostering contentions between adversaries. But at the heart of the budding third world war was an ideological debate: should an individual be more concerned with his spiritual or fiscal well being? Though the first world wars had been sparked by group concerns, nationalism and imperialism respectively, the third was founded upon a base of personal beliefs. Few contemporary pundits were sage enough to realize that, by virtue of this unstable footing, an unresolvable argument had been encountered. No, there would be no equivocation when the ostensible mores of an entire populous were at stake. And so mankind divided into two factions while proceeding to destroy not only each other, but the earth as well.

It was thus that the earth, exploited to no end by its denizens, ultimately met its demise. With the planet’s surface devastated by thermonuclear weaponry, the remnants of humanity were forced to evacuate the world upon which they had developed. By the magnanimity of chance, space technology had grown much more sophisticated in recent years, though the initial advances were concealed by the government for political reasons. From both sides of the conflict, the Easterners and the Westerners as they were known, groups of roughly fifteen hundred survivors escaped to carry on the chief motive of their factions: destruction of the other.

The war had raged on over subsequent years, first limited to the desiccated earth’s solar system, but then spreading through space as the opposing factions grew. But soon, partly due to many successful raids upon the Easterners, the Westerners achieved both qualitative and quantitative advantage over the tired and diminished forces of the enemy. Finally, only one obstacle stood in between the Westerners and total domination: an old and battered ironclad known as The Bear. Though possessing no threat of resurgence, The Bear had repelled many an attack, and had become a psychological as well as physical barrier to the Westerners.

And so it must die.

* * *

Josh Kalder was the auxiliary pilot of one of four ships in a special reconnaissance and attack squad, a subsidiary of the Westerner fleet. But his squad, successful in all previous endeavors, was not embarking on the quotidian hunt and destroy mission. No, today they were equipped, both mentally and physically, to destroy the most elusive of targets: The Bear.

Kalder was not doubtful of success, nor frightened of failure. He and his companions were objectively the best, and they knew that their firepower vastly surpassed that of the older ship. After taking seat in front of the bank of controls and holographic displays, Kalder turned his head to the left and nodded to the other pilot; he was ready.

They had long known the precise location of The Bear, but now they were just beginning to establish visual contact. As they neared the enemy, the hunting party fanned out into attack formation. The Bear had grown from a mere glint in the distance into a scarred and hulking mass before a shot was fired.

And then it happened. A single, ominous, white hot rocket emerged from The Bear and streaked towards Kalder’s ship. A loud crack was heard throughout the vessel as the ship’s shielding absorbed the explosive shell, and Kalder skillfully manipulated his controls to counter the change in trajectory introduced by the missile. And the battle commenced.

It was quick, but not clean. The Bear’s shields were strong, but its weapons were weak, and it was only a short matter of time before it lost the battle of attrition. All four attacking ships lent to the gradual destruction of the enemy, but only two, The Lion and The Woodsman contributed to its ultimate demise. The Lion moved in close to The Bear, and, in a tactic they had used before, drew a concentration of enemy fire while The Woodsman approached from the opposite side. But the maneuver took a few seconds too long; by the time The Woodsman could issue the final and fatal blow, the shields of The Lion wore through, and its raw metal flesh was raked by incendiary shells. Hastily, but still a little too late to save The Lion, The Woodsman emptied its missile bays upon The Bear. And after the smoke had cleared, they could see that The Bear was no more.

* * *

As the three remaining ships traveled back to the local Westerner base with the eviscerated Lion in tow, Kalder was considering what had just transpired. Though he had not played a large part in the battle, it was a victory even for those who had not fought. Finally, the ascendancy of the Westerners had been undeniably solidified, an ascendancy that would reign eternal. The Easterners had lost only one ship, but in doing so they had lost their last bastion of hope for survival. Small, disparate groups of Easterners would continue to exist, but they would never again amass enough power to pose any significant threat to the powers that be. And not only had Josh Kalder participated in the conquering of an entire breed of humanity, he had consequently contributed to the culmination of the war. Humanity was at peace once again.