6 Billion A.D.

6 Billion A.D.

Synopsis: Rigel, by chance immortal, witnesses the collapse of the universe over 10,000 years.

Call to Action: besides the basic plot above anything is fair game. We have 10,000 years to cover so there is much freedom to explore subplots. Feel free to edit, change, improve, delete, add to the story. Even a sentence or two would be helpful. If a large enough number of people committed to contributing in this way; producing material daily, weekly, monthly, this could be a great project. Jump on board and help create an open-source novel.

Chapter 1: (...)

The evening sky illuminated the landscape and dazzled the entrance to the cave. (need more description). What a marvel. “Once in a hundred years!”

“Do you want me to extract Rigel?” Gine asked. “What’s so special about those little (lichens) anyway?”

“Everything. There’s a pattern here, extremely rare. And no we’re not going to extract, just observe.”

“For how long?” Gine asked. “I honestly don’t know, however long it blooms. A botanist must be patient.”

“If you say so. What a way to spend your birthday.” Gine grinned.

How the years pass. I was young then. A ripe 64. This was the beginning, before things started to slow down. I’m surprised I remember. Has it really been 10,000 years?

...

The galaxy was in crisis. A conference was called (concerning) all 1000 members of the League. The top minds of the quadrant were to convene on the planet (...).

...

This more than anything, was the impetus of my tale, for if not for a chance ...

...

I received a transmission from my father. He was a stern and serious man. (better description). He was a general in the League. The League was (description). I had not seen him in years. “Happy birthday son. “ his angular, horse face (need better description). (Add random dialogue). “I will be passing through your sector, and was hoping I could (scoop) you up, so that we might spend some time together.” What brings you through the (backwoods)?” I asked. “A matter of the utmost importance, and urgency, but seeing my son is equally important. It’s been too long.”

The cruiser (...) was passing through the (...) nebula on its way to...

I arrived at the lift. The ship was massive, (...) class. Its black (shell) sparkled, bright and dark, translucent and opaque, sinister and beautiful.

...

The scientists were perplexed. "How did we not see this coming?" replied a (young) ... We should have known about this decades ago," interjected an older (description). A ... man at the end of the table stood up. "It seems, surprisingly, that the speed of light has slowed down. This could have well started thousands of years ago" "That's preposterous! The speed of light is a constant." "Or so we thought," replied the (description) man (at the end of the table).

The general looked over the room, "I am not after theories, what are we to do about it?" "We're not sure, we project hundreds, if not thousands of galaxies have already been consumed. And it seems to be speeding up. I interjected, without thinking, "how long do we have?"

"And you are?" the ... scientist queried. "That's my son," the general replied. "He's a scientist of sorts." "But why is he here?" The general raised his voice, he's here because I want him here!, and that's that" "If you insist," the ... scientist replied.

The meeting went on for hours. I hardly grasped any of it. But it became clear that the first effects of the (rift) would be here in decades, if not years. A hundred, a thousand years, before things became completely inhospitable; no one really knew. Would the world really be destroyed? Was it an elaborate hoax? In all honesty, at the time, I didn't care much, when it really came down to it. I would be long dead before it happened.

...

... At the request of my father I went to get a long overdo physical exam. The ship doctor ...

...

... I had been diagnosed with a rare (genetic disease). I only had six months to live, at best...