Chatterbox: Inkwell

Mission To Mars Solo Write

You flop down on your bed, bored. You’ve read every book on your shelf, twice, you’ve scanned numerous websites and apps on your computer, and you’ve scrolled through your phone for what seemed like hours, with no avail. You sink into the bed and pull the covers over you. Maybe a nap will relieve the boredom. 

You’re about to drift off into the heavenly blackness of sleep, when a large book falls off the nightstand next to you, creating a large thud. What was that? You think, flipping the blanket off you with a large sigh. Another book falls, landing perfectly on top of the first. You flinch and hesitantly move over to the books. A third book falls, but you catch it before it can land on the pile. The Complete Ender’s Saga, The title reads. This confuses you. You’ve never owned the whole saga, just the first one, Ender’s game. You look over at the two other books, curious to what you might find. One is titled Star Wars: The Complete Collection, and the other, The Martian. You’ve never owned those, either. 

Curiosity overthrowing the confusion, you take the three collections and sit in the basket chair you built; your personal reading nook. You choose The Complete Ender’s Saga, find the second book in the saga, and settle in, attempting to immerse yourself in the world of Ender. But the words aren’t there. Only a blank page, holding a neatly folded, crisp white paper. You slide it out of the page protector and unfold it. The paper is empty. No words, ink, colors. Nothing. Deflated, you cast the paper aside, and flip through the empty pages of the book you were trying to read. 

Suddenly, a bright light flashes in front of your eyes, temporarily blinding you. You feel the sheet of paper rise from beside you, floating towards the center of the room. The light grows brighter and then flickers out, taking your lamp light with it. The paper is gone, the only remnants of it is a glowing, pixelated, blue outline. There is a brief static, then a steady whir. You stare at it, unable to look away. The outline begins to shift, and before you know it, there is a face before you.  A holographic face, that is. 

“Hello, Listener.” They say, their voice monotonous. “You have been selected to join a crew of astronauts on our first ever voyage to Mars. We know of your boredom. We can help you. With us, you will be able to explore beyond the confines of Earth. You will go on to places that some will never even get to dream of. All for the cost of nothing but your presence. If you choose to come, there will be a form waiting for you to sign, after our departure. Bring only the necessities in your packing. The rest will be provided for you. Once you fill out the form, you will be escorted to our launch site and trained accordingly. We hope to see you there.”

The hologram disappears without waiting for a response, and like promised a form along with a pen flutters down into your lap. You scan over it. Going to Mars has been something you’ve always dreamed of. You uncap and recap the pen about five times before actually putting it on the paper and begin to fill out the form.

***

Welcome to my Mission to Mars Solo Write! I’ve been planning this out for a while and I’m really excited to finally write it all down. If you would like to go to Mars through the world of words, please fill out this form:

Name:

Age (Somewhere between the 15-25 range would be nice):

Gender/Pronouns:

Long, Thorough, Appearance:

Personality in 10 words: 

Luggage:

Favorite Food:

Favorite Color/Least Favorite Color

What would you do with zero gravity?:

How do you react to being left behind?:

Are you a Leader or a Follower?:

There is space for 10 people on the spacecraft (no pun intended heh-). I hope you can join us on our Mission to Mars! Oh, and feel free to guess my identity. :)

See you soon,

The Martian