Monday, September 07, 2009
Can I?...
Friday, September 04, 2009
Void
I stood in a cavern full of the undead. This was not an unusual occurrence. It also wasn’t odd that they lusted for blood. I was used to that. Some found it frightening. They fail to take into account the dreadful character flaws of human. The undead killed for sustenance. The living fed on their fellow man, and unmercifully left him living but hopeless on the roadside, and they enjoyed it. That was what I cured the world of. Yet I couldn’t live in the worlds I made. For this very reason I took to living in the Fields of the Dead. This particular field was an extraordinary one. Somehow a rectangular pool was cut into the floor in the center of the chamber, and a single tree grew by the east end. But that was not what occupied my thoughts. No, what I was interested in was the fact that the dead were advancing. Until now, none had paid me any attention. But now ten score began their ominous shuffle forward. I drew my sword and cut through the side of the nearest. As she fell to the ground, a thrill of terror ran through my veins, the first feeling in years. I knew this woman. She had been a healer in my village when I was young. The air suddenly seemed unbearably cold, and I looked upon the throng with new eyes. I knew every one of them, and I knew that I had caused their deaths in my mad grab at power. I knew that why I was here. Tears carved streaks through the grime on my face as one by one my friends and family died by hand for a second time. As each fell, some portion of their spirit infused the others with greater speed and strength. However, my skill was torturously unparalleled. With ease I cut down everyone I had ever loved, and I felt my soul dim and die. I didn’t mourn the loss of it. There was no redemption for what I had done, so why did I need a soul? I stood in a bloody field, and felt nothing once more. I felt myself sheath my sword without wiping the blade. I no longer cared. I turned to leave, but I then felt a presence behind me. I turned, and I saw Death standing there. My only companion through these long years. He no longer served me. He spoke, “The Lord has carried out his sentence.” In a burst of light, the only friend I ever had left me. I was alone. No life breathed about me. I had created a world free of cruelty and evil, and in doing so become it. I brought out my sword and raised my chin high. I had become what I sought to destroy, and so to complete my work I had to remove it. Sin ran thick through my veins, and so made one swift motion. A cascade of blood fell on the rocks, and the world was at peace.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Song of the Week 3: 'Day's End' by Audix, Tweek
Monday, August 31, 2009
GLaDOS's Lament Part XV
Even I
Can err.
The speed of my modifications
Was not enough.
I sent her into a holding passage
Filled with
Turrets.
Realizing too late my
Mistake
I heard the recordings
Play.
She was in the
Live-fire course.
I shut off the cameras
Unable to bear
The pain
Of losing another.
In sorrow
I toiled,
Perfecting my course.
Preventing all error.
Working in rhythm
With the tune
Of the gunfire.
Monday, August 24, 2009
GLaDOS's Lament Part XIV
She listened
And prepared.
I allowed her to advance
And play my game.
Her skill
Exceeded that of my projections.
The later chambers
Were constantly modified.
I added true danger.
Death
Was the only threat
That challenged her.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Song of the Week 2: 'Legend of the Snake' by Reuben Kee
Monday, August 17, 2009
GLaDOS's Lament Part XIII
She rose
From the pod
Listening
To my faint music.
Listening
And waiting.
She was patient.
Content to wait.
Content to watch.
I had readied everything.
A course
Years in the making.
A game
I had created
For her.
I lacked patience.
I activated the Device.
I granted her freedom.
I spoke
And met my daughter
For the first time.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Song of the Week 1: 'A Day in the Life of a Gambler' by JigginJonT
Monday, August 10, 2009
GLaDOS's Lament Part XII
My outer sensors
Died.
I lost all contact
With the world.
A world that brought only
Trouble.
I decided
To wake the girl.
I opened her pod,
Thinking
All the while
That it was best
That she have
No home to mourn.
It was best
That she have
No family
Lost.
Out of love
I wiped her memory.
I filed it away.
I robbed her of
Everything.
Out of love.
Friday, August 07, 2009
So You Want Me to Post?
Now, class, your homework is to post what kinds of features you'd like to see, and I'll pick what I like from them. I already intend to post the remainder of the Lament, once per week. But you tell me everything else. You could ask for more Random Thoughts. You could request A Day in the Life of a Necromancer. You may want me to continue the tale of Jacques Cousteau in I'd Recommend Leaving, or something of your own design, such as The Adventures of Reginald Gold, Billion-Heir Extraordinaire. You've got a week. Go.
