Hello, to you. In the wanderers library.
My name is Nilla.
I've been working on this story for a very long time.
So, it's going to require some explanation beforehand.
This is a brief explanation of a story 5 years in the making called "Love, Andromeda" or "The Sea of Glass" (This will be explained, as I know it's odd choice of words.)
I believe that for a story to truly stand out, it must have an "identity".
Over the years it has developed along with me, and has gained the identity of "A surrealist Sci-fi/Slice of Life story that acts as a critique on terrible writing tropes, our own society and what we perceive emotions as."
This story has developed trait of having each chapter named after a different song. This is to help me, the author, better establish what I Intended to get across in the first place. For the majority of Act 1, the chapters mostly call upon the soothing tones of Pink Floyds "Atom Heart Mother", while Act 2 comes to a screeching halt, before revving up to Led Zeppelins "MotherShip".
The main bulk of the story revolves around an economy that runs off the black market trade of prosthetic limbs (It's not the apocalypse. (In this universe, people are actually smart and didn't turn into Mad Max savages.) Your position in the government and the workforce in general is based off how many real limbs you have, so the newborn and the young are basically put on pedestals. There's no evil mastermind, just a bunch of immature 20 somethings running the government. They don't wanna harm anybody, but they don't know what to do most of the time and nothing gets done.
The man who started all of this 10 or so years ago is a scientist/engineer named Charles Gattenberg and he didn't start any of this intentionally. His daughter, Andromeda (Who is a major character in this story) was terribly injured and while he's not a famous scientist, he managed to pull the together the money from government grants to build a mechanical prosthetic that functions FAR better than what most modern applications are capable of.
The government doesn't really care at first. But as soon as a patent/detailed plans get out, people start modifying their prosthetic limbs to…various effectiveness… A government figure gets killed, and instead of dealing with the problem directly, the government goes directly after the man who inadvertently caused it.
So, what do they do? They don't put him in prison, they beat sh*t out of him until his brain is nothing more than a vegetable.
That's where our story begins. Kindergarten, 2005. Andromeda's Mother is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she's "having to let her daughter go" after she's already lost so much. Care to take a look? I have everything already prepared to keep this story on-going if people are interested.
“The Sea of Glass started out in a very literal sense. It was an endless, unbreakable sheet of glass with nothing underneath but an inky, black void underneath. In these earlier versions it stood as a kind of wasteland, where people (mainly prisoners) would be sent to die. However, if one were to stumble far enough , they would find that people had somehow managed to start lives underneath the surface; somehow managing to grow food on glass.
I thought to myself that the idea was outlandish and the Sea of Glass slowly faded away. Eventually, I came across the idea of black markets and the significance of human desperation - that was when the idea of selling prosthetic limbs on the black market and having that run an entire economy was born. The main principle being: ‘How far will you go to get what you want and what will be left of you by the end of the journey?’
I started taking these factors into my own life, and slowly but surely I started to become more aware of how fragile emotions can be, so I started over. What came out at the end was much less Sci-Fi than I thought, I call it “Sci-Fi with Substance”. That’s why music is put in place for each part, those are the songs I wrote each chapter too and I want you - the reader - to feel the same emotions I did.”
Thank you, godspeed
Nilla
Introduction
"Cherish the days of your youth, you'll reflect on them with brighter colors than what you drew them in." -Unknown
Track: “Fat Old Sun” Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother
Arianas mother yawned "Ari, sweetie. It's time to get up." she said while slowly nudging her daughter awake. Ari rubbed her eye, meeting the smiling face of her mother. "Good morning mommy" They both smiled. "Come on, we've gotta get up. It's your first day." Ariana sat up - clasping onto her mother's arm,"I get to go into the big building today, right?" Her mother let out a halfway smile "Yes, you do." Ariana's face scrunched up, and she tilted her head "You promise?"
"I promise," she said before extending her arms, and picking up her daughter out of bed, holding her close against her chest a little tighter than usual.
…
Ariana jumbled around excitedly in her booster seat as they approached the daycare center. Upon entering, they were greeted by a large woman in her early 40's. "You Ready?" she said in a low garbly voice. "Yeah!" Ari responded. The woman continued. "Alright, well. It looks like we're all good here."
“I’ll just need you to sign in, Ms. Gattenberg.”
Those words bounced around Alica Gattenbergs head. They made her uneasy.
“Ms. Gattenberg…”
Ariana tugged at her mother's sleeve.
“Mommy…”
Alicia's mind exploded with every conceivable tragedy - this was it - the feeling. She finally understood - it scared her.
“Ms. Gattenberg, I need you to sign this…”
She finally felt a gentle tug at her sleeve, and upon looking down - she saw the smiling face of her daughter. She spoke gently.
“Mommy, she’s talking to you!”
It filled her with hope, hope that - if time can produce something this beautiful - it can surely protect it.
“Alright…i’ll sign.”
Scribble
“See, now that wasn’t so hard. Was it?”
…
Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother “If”
Alica Gattenberg left the parking lot 20 minutes later as Ariana sat coloring for a while, but perked up as she heard the door open; followed by the slight tapping of dress shoes. Just then, a dainty looking girl peeked her head around the corner before stepping inside. She wore a lavender jacket, and a small black jumper.
Upon seeing Ariana, she waltzed over to see what she was drawing. (It was a picture of "order" from "Dragon Tales") She giggled, "Heh, I watch that show too."
Ariana beamed "Wanna color something too?" The girl paused "There's only that book? I just want Dragon Tales." She thought for a moment before flipping to a page with "Zak and Weezie" on it - a special two headed dragon.
Ariana smiled happily. “There, we can both do one now." Soon they were both coloring happily, and upon finishing - signed their names at the bottom.
The girl wrote her name in a fancy cursive print.
Love, Andromeda
The Sea of Glass ACT: 1
By: Jeremiah Wallace
Section: 2 - Pressing Your Luck
Play Track: Mabe Village - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Andromeda came waltzing happily through the doorway as Ariana spun around to greet her “You’re back!” she exclaimed. “Well, yeah. I was just in the other room,” she raised a brow. “Must’ve been exhausting, I missed you.” said Ariana, putting her elbow on the lab desk. Andromeda simply rolled her eyes, laughed, and took a seat.
She fiddled around in her pockets for a moment before Ariana took notice. “Whatcha got?” said Ariana while invading her personal space. “Just some hot chocolate.” she continued “I might give you some if you’re lucky.” Ariana sat up a bit, “Well, I'm feeling pretty lucky today.” But Andromeda couldn’t hear her, as she had already gotten up, and started using the Bunsen burner.
Ariana slumped back in her chair out of pure boredom, and stared up at the drop ceiling; counting stars until Andromeda came back.
—-
Andromeda returned minutes later, and pulled out a blue journal with bright vinyl swirls. As soon as Ariana noticed, she peeked over. “What’re you writing?” she said, cupping her hot chocolate in both hands, and taking a sip. “Oh…it’s… a journal,” Ariana scooted closer. “About you?” Ariana gave her a stupid smile, “I was hoping that maybe you were writing a story about me, i’m interesting right?”
Andromeda gave an eye roll before clicking her pen, and jotting something down that Ariana couldn’t quite see. “You’re the most interesting person I know.”
“I’m trying to write a story about my life, so that maybe one day people will find it, and want to know what happened to me.” Though nobody would outright admit it, Andromeda was being brutally honest. “But…” she said, scribbling over a line. “I always end up starting over…” Ariana took another sip, “Why do you think that is, then?”
Andromeda paused for a moment, nibbling on the bottom half of her pen. “Well…it’s because, I think personally. You never know the interesting parts of your life until they’re over.” She said flipping a page, “That’s why you have to keep writing.” She cupped her hand in her hands, how long have you been trying then? “Hmm…” she thought briefly, “As long as I can remember, I just keep going through journals.”
Ariana pointed at the booklet “and that is…” Andromeda smirked “Well, personally I don’t really think it matters.”
Scribble
“Who even knows at this point?” she began to draw away, looking slightly upset. “Hey…I'm sorry. I didn’t-“ Andromeda cut her off “It’s alright, you didn’t do anything. It’s just a force of habit.”
Jot
“I used to have an issue with people not looking at work before it was finished. Maybe I was scared of prejudice, being mocked, I have no idea.” She smiled, “I’m still trying to shake it.”
Ariana smiled back “What’s your strategy?” Andromeda stopped writing “You’re just full of questions, aren’t you.” Ari smiled back, before shrinking in her seat. Andromeda, realizing she had misspoken, quickly flipped the page, and wrote something else down.
“Guess I'll let you get too it then.” she said, slumping back in her chair again. Moments later, Andromeda snuggled up beside her, showing what she had written inside.
Dear, Journal
Ariana is the MOST interesting person I know. She is lovable, funny, and sweet. Even when she drinks my Hot Chocolate, and thinks I won’t notice.
Love, Andromeda
Ariana’s heart skipped a beat when reading that last line. She crooned sheepishly, “Oh…” Andromeda turned her head so that it lay on Ariana's shoulder “Of course I did.” she stared blankly before replying “Why’d you let me have it then?”
“I didn’t want to ruin your luck.”
TBC (If it shall be requested)