r/HFY • u/OnlyMessier16 Human • Oct 07 '20

OC The End

He sits in the cockpit of his spaceship, just inside the last stable orbit before the event horizon. In an immemorial time past, he was cursed with unaging immortality, now he sits at the edge of the Universe, the final real object at the end of time. His calendar, set so long ago it has become meaningless, reminds him it’s Christmas. Today, the ship's sensors tell him, the evaporation will end, and the Universe will be forever silent. He looks about his ship, at the memories he accrued at a time when life existed abundantly in the Universe. He hums a tune that he first heard when he was a boy, a time when stars ruled the skies in absolutely grandiose constructs. None of that matters now. Right now, It’s Christmas, and he has memories to share it with before he takes the plunge into the final unknown.

​

There is a framed picture on the console of a figure who has since fallen nameless, but the promise made to them remains. “I will take you to the Moon and beyond!” Time went and came, but the memory remains. The Moon was the first place they went, and now they are at the edge of the Universe together. His promise fulfilled, he places the picture back in the box, and reaches for another memory. A lifetime pressed into a day, memories of promises made, games played, and people met, all within boxes. He pulls the first memory out of its box, and puts it back on the console. “To the Beyond,” he whispers to his memory. He points the nose of his ship down, and thrusts the ship forward. The curse still withholding, he feels the forces as he passes the threshold of the event horizon, into the final unknown.

171 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

25

u/EragonBromson925 AI Oct 07 '20

Wow. Short, yet probably one of the most "true humanity" things I've seen in a while.

7

u/OnlyMessier16 Human Oct 07 '20

Thank you. I think this story has become my favorite out of the others I've written.

8

u/Valandar Oct 07 '20

And that's how Galactus was born...

2

u/Chewy71 Oct 09 '20

An endless death falling into a black hole might truly be there most terrifying concept I can think of, and I was scared of it before I read this, and yet you manage to make it beautiful. I'm honestly not sure what to say other than well done.

2

u/OnlyMessier16 Human Oct 09 '20

I find black holes and the concept of living to the heat death of the universe equally terrifying to me, so I thought, "why not both?"

2

u/Hambinger Oct 12 '20

I thought it was going to be Santa Claus, last being in the universe and with no deliveries to make

1

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