An Undesirable Happenstance

by Ben Paddon

Add to AIMShare

“People often make the mistake of assuming that monsters lurk in the darkness. This is not true. No, the real monsters are out there in the light for all to see, not lurking but walking proudly, triumphantly, among the people. They enact their deeds for all to see, and what’s more they get away with it, because for some inexplicable reason people are far more forgiving of a monster in the light than they are of the creatures in the dark.”

“Oh, shut up, Brian,” said Clive. “Bloody Hell, do you have to be so preachy all the time?”

“It’s true,” replied Brian. “We live in a corrupted world. People eating society from the inside out to suit their own ends. Corporations lyi—”

“Will you put a sock in it, please? For just two minutes? I’m trying to get a signal on the radio, and I’d have a much better go of it if you weren’t yammering in my ear like Che Guevara’s parrot.”

But he wouldn’t hear anything. He never did. They were alone on a desolate planet, and had been for decades. Plus the radio wasn’t plugged in.

Prequels

Write a prequel

Sequels

Write a sequel

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 4.0 stars out of 5

  1. An Undesirable Happenstance

    Invisa-girl's Buddy Icon Invisa-girl

    Posted 10 months ago

    Thats really funny! Some constructed critisism would be to end the story on a cliff hanger so it would be easier for people to continue the story.

  2. An Undesirable Happenstance

    Ben Paddon's Buddy Icon Ben Paddon

    Posted 10 months ago

    Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. :)

  3. An Undesirable Happenstance

    Snarky's Buddy Icon Snarky

    Posted 10 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Che Guevara’s parrot, nice

  4. An Undesirable Happenstance

    Crown Me Tarzan, King of Mars' Buddy Icon Crown Me Tarzan, King of Mars

    Posted 10 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I have to disagree with Invisa-girl. This story has plenty of room for a sequel or prequel. How did they get on the planet? What planet is it? Where did everyone else go? And the characterization is stellar. I really want to know more about these guys.
    It was also damned funny. Great work.

  5. An Undesirable Happenstance

    White Hat's Buddy Icon White Hat

    Posted 10 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Inappropriate times and locations are the hallmarks of a good argument, though. It’s the distance from the subject of consideration, both literally and figuratively that helps maintain an objective analysis… or confused ignorance. ~_^

  6. An Undesirable Happenstance

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 8 months ago

    Absolutely hilarious mocking of the character type to have him railing against corporations and governments ten years after civilization as they know it has come to an end. Beating a dead horse? Arguing the moot point? Yep, and he’s not showing any signs of stopping.
    LoA

Want to comment on this ficlet? You need to sign in!