stringertheory (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stringertheory) wrote2011-04-24 09:15 pm
stringertheory) wrote2011-04-24 09:15 pm
The Way the World Ends
Title: The Way the World Ends
Rating: PG
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Keenin
Word Count: 921
Categories: drama, angst
Spoilers/Warnings: Prologue to Season 7 episode, "Lifeboat".
Summary: The path taken by the people of Talthus, as seen through the life of Keenin.
On the day Keenin was born, the world burned.
A rebel group—political dissenters, religious zealots, the deranged—managed to gain access to one of the great ships the people of Talthus had already spent over two decades building. The Althena was the flagship, barely completed. She blazed like a second sun against the horizon as people watched from the city. The fire threatened to spread to the other three ships still under construction in the docks and to the settlements beyond, but was finally contained after a day of battle.
In the city, the fire burning outside her window, Keenin’s mother gave birth to her only child.
The fire made people uneasy. There were whispers, rumors, gossip. When Keenin’s father arrived hours later, sooty and weary, worry had drawn new lines around his eyes. He stumbled to his wife’s side and stared down into the face of his son. His finger left behind a streak of ash where he ran it along Keenin’s cheek. Through the window behind him, the sun began to rise.
---
When Keenin was little, his father told him stories about the future.
Talthus will not last forever, he would say, and we will have to leave before too long. But we are going somewhere wonderful.
His father told him of Ardena, the home they would one day have. Ardena would be beautiful—green and full of life and safe. They would arrive there and start a new life free from worry or danger. The stories were happy and hopeful and his father told them with a sort of fierce belief.
Keenin couldn’t help but think of how they all began with the end of the world.
---
Keenin was frightened the first time he saw the ships that would take him away from Talthus.
His father led him through the dockyards, past groups of busy workers, towering piles of supplies, and massive equipment that looked more like monsters than machinery. Keenin stayed close to his father’s side until they reached the Stromos, the ship his father would crew on their long journey. She towered over Keenin. He could see his reflection in the ship’s hull and the sunlight glinted off her brightly enough to make his eyes water. The noise and the lights and the activity made him anxious and he shivered, even with the sun hot on his back.
Then he stepped inside where it was dark and cool and quiet. His father led him through the small control room, down into the engine rooms, and back up into one of the many halls that ran the length and breadth of the massive ship. They stopped midway down one of the halls and Keenin’s father knelt beside him. There he explained to Keenin about the ships, about the stasis pods lining the hallways and how they would take them away to Ardena while everyone was asleep.
Keenin stared at the pods with wide eyes. They reminded him of nothing so much as caskets, like the one his uncle, Hallin, had been buried in. He asked his father if they could go home.
That night, Keenin dreamed of being buried alive, awake inside one of the pod caskets while everyone else slept around him and the Stromos sped through black space.
---
His parents fought over who would live.
They never said it that way, but Keenin knew the truth. There was not enough room on the ships for everyone. Many would be left behind. Many would die.
His parents argued loudly one night over what should be done, who should be chosen. His mother was determined that Keenin would go on the ship, despite his father’s protests. She would wait for the lottery, she said. Luck was on her side; she would be chosen. But they had to make sure that Keenin was not left behind.
Nothing his father said would change his mother’s mind. Eventually their conversation faded into the sound of her crying.
Keenin lay in his bed and watched the moonlight dance across his ceiling.
---
Keenin forgot to say goodbye.
There was a great rally before the ships left. People from the city and many other towns nearby gathered at the shipyard to bid farewell to all those who were leaving. The Sovereigns spoke, telling the people left behind that they were brave and noble and proud and would never be forgotten.
The crowd was very quiet. There was no cheering, no applause, and little movement. From where he stood with the other voyagers, behind one of the speech platforms erected at each ship’s entrance, Keenin searched the crowd for his mother. She was standing close enough to see, but not close enough to speak to. Her face was pale, but she returned the wave Keenin gave her with a small smile. The Sovereigns finished speaking and there was a moment of silence that seemed to echo through the small valley that housed the ships. Then they began to move aboard.
As his father turned Keenin toward the Stromos, Keenin realized that he had not told his mother goodbye. She had hugged him and told him that she loved him, but he had not told her goodbye.
It was too late to turn back. The sun was high in the sky and they were already stepping through the doorway and onto the ship. Keenin turned to look back at Talthus one last time.
It was the end of the world. He took hold of his father’s hand.
Rating: PG
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Keenin
Word Count: 921
Categories: drama, angst
Spoilers/Warnings: Prologue to Season 7 episode, "Lifeboat".
Summary: The path taken by the people of Talthus, as seen through the life of Keenin.
On the day Keenin was born, the world burned.
A rebel group—political dissenters, religious zealots, the deranged—managed to gain access to one of the great ships the people of Talthus had already spent over two decades building. The Althena was the flagship, barely completed. She blazed like a second sun against the horizon as people watched from the city. The fire threatened to spread to the other three ships still under construction in the docks and to the settlements beyond, but was finally contained after a day of battle.
In the city, the fire burning outside her window, Keenin’s mother gave birth to her only child.
The fire made people uneasy. There were whispers, rumors, gossip. When Keenin’s father arrived hours later, sooty and weary, worry had drawn new lines around his eyes. He stumbled to his wife’s side and stared down into the face of his son. His finger left behind a streak of ash where he ran it along Keenin’s cheek. Through the window behind him, the sun began to rise.
---
When Keenin was little, his father told him stories about the future.
Talthus will not last forever, he would say, and we will have to leave before too long. But we are going somewhere wonderful.
His father told him of Ardena, the home they would one day have. Ardena would be beautiful—green and full of life and safe. They would arrive there and start a new life free from worry or danger. The stories were happy and hopeful and his father told them with a sort of fierce belief.
Keenin couldn’t help but think of how they all began with the end of the world.
---
Keenin was frightened the first time he saw the ships that would take him away from Talthus.
His father led him through the dockyards, past groups of busy workers, towering piles of supplies, and massive equipment that looked more like monsters than machinery. Keenin stayed close to his father’s side until they reached the Stromos, the ship his father would crew on their long journey. She towered over Keenin. He could see his reflection in the ship’s hull and the sunlight glinted off her brightly enough to make his eyes water. The noise and the lights and the activity made him anxious and he shivered, even with the sun hot on his back.
Then he stepped inside where it was dark and cool and quiet. His father led him through the small control room, down into the engine rooms, and back up into one of the many halls that ran the length and breadth of the massive ship. They stopped midway down one of the halls and Keenin’s father knelt beside him. There he explained to Keenin about the ships, about the stasis pods lining the hallways and how they would take them away to Ardena while everyone was asleep.
Keenin stared at the pods with wide eyes. They reminded him of nothing so much as caskets, like the one his uncle, Hallin, had been buried in. He asked his father if they could go home.
That night, Keenin dreamed of being buried alive, awake inside one of the pod caskets while everyone else slept around him and the Stromos sped through black space.
---
His parents fought over who would live.
They never said it that way, but Keenin knew the truth. There was not enough room on the ships for everyone. Many would be left behind. Many would die.
His parents argued loudly one night over what should be done, who should be chosen. His mother was determined that Keenin would go on the ship, despite his father’s protests. She would wait for the lottery, she said. Luck was on her side; she would be chosen. But they had to make sure that Keenin was not left behind.
Nothing his father said would change his mother’s mind. Eventually their conversation faded into the sound of her crying.
Keenin lay in his bed and watched the moonlight dance across his ceiling.
---
Keenin forgot to say goodbye.
There was a great rally before the ships left. People from the city and many other towns nearby gathered at the shipyard to bid farewell to all those who were leaving. The Sovereigns spoke, telling the people left behind that they were brave and noble and proud and would never be forgotten.
The crowd was very quiet. There was no cheering, no applause, and little movement. From where he stood with the other voyagers, behind one of the speech platforms erected at each ship’s entrance, Keenin searched the crowd for his mother. She was standing close enough to see, but not close enough to speak to. Her face was pale, but she returned the wave Keenin gave her with a small smile. The Sovereigns finished speaking and there was a moment of silence that seemed to echo through the small valley that housed the ships. Then they began to move aboard.
As his father turned Keenin toward the Stromos, Keenin realized that he had not told his mother goodbye. She had hugged him and told him that she loved him, but he had not told her goodbye.
It was too late to turn back. The sun was high in the sky and they were already stepping through the doorway and onto the ship. Keenin turned to look back at Talthus one last time.
It was the end of the world. He took hold of his father’s hand.
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