From time to time a creative excercise will show up with a random topic. Basically an attempt to keep/get creative juices flowing. This is the first of these.
TOPIC: Vanishing Animals
It was all that I could think of, it consumed me. What I had seen was playing on the movie reel inside of my head until the scent of burning celluloid overtook my senses. How any of this could be happening was beyond my current grasp and the more I thought about it the more monosyllabic minded I became. The animals of the world were vanishing and I now knew why.
It all started on a Monday morning or at least that is when my television was courteous enough to enlighten me upon the subject. Alaska was the first to take note that their Polar bear and Caribou seemed to be missing many days prior to notifying the news. The incident seemed odd enough, how could two species in a given geographic region just simply disappear? That was until the rest of the residential wildlife suddenly began to follow suit and seemingly take leave of the area altogether. Within the course of two days every goat, sheep, moose and variant of bear just vanished from the area. Fans of Douglas Adams may take interest in the fact that all the marine life remained intact, at first anyway. The Alaskan government decided to contact anyone they could in any field dealing with wildlife; everyone was “stumped” in their professional opinions.
Within a matter of days many areas all over the world began reporting the same occurrence of animals just simply vanishing. The news broadcasts became torn between what events to focus on; the looming possibility of a third world war, the vast amount of wildlife suddenly going AWL, or the many instances of violence in neighbourhoods and streets throughout the world. It was a strange mix of news that provided little to no hope on a daily basis. I couldn’t stop watching. I found myself gorging myself on the depressives of everyday happenings; I hooked up three televisions side by side and kept my laptop constantly searching, always hoping to decode anything that may help me gain some understanding of what was occurring before my very eyes each day. After weeks of this odd new lifestyle it happened, I found the pattern.
The other day while searching the net, tuned to three different news broadcasts at once, it began to come together when I looked up from my laptop to see the contrast of animals vanishing and people being killed on different screens. It was simple enough to see, but could it be linked? I had to find out. Within days I managed to find many sources that recorded when wildlife had last been seen based upon park Rangers, tourists, etc., as well as tracking the timelines of the violent occurrences on the news. Before long my little theory became more plausible than I could have imagined. The fact of the matter became inexplicably real to me; as the brutality of the human animal increased, the number of the wild animal decreased. This astonishingly unfathomable truth chilled me to the core. I wept at the implications.
I sat there speechless, still reeling from the discovery. I shut off the projector in my head; I could not bear to see it any more. The answer to the mystery was not hiding under a rock or buried deep somewhere secret. The answer was reflected to us each and every day. It was us, we had...are causing this. It’s as if the human animal has become so unstable that it requires the full attention of God; just to maintain a focus upon us any distraction must be removed from the equation. How far gone are we now? As I jumped to my feet the laptop crashed to the floor. I smashed my fists through each of the television screens and dropped to my knees. I clasped my glass ripped, blood soaked hands and hoped that it wasn’t too late for redemption.
It doesn’t matter now, my wounds are too deep and I can feel myself slipping away...
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“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”- George Orwell
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Day 56: I feel like I am close to knowing the answer, finally. My rations are running out and so is my will-power, yet I can’t give up. Not after going this far. The climate here is unlike anything I have experienced before; I fear I may freeze to death if I am not careful. I have made myself a makeshift shack from anything I could find, should keep me warm for the evening. Must get some sleep.
Day 62: I have made it to the water’s edge, I can go no further. There is a strange fog blocking any view, but somehow I know I must get out there. I can feel the answer lies just beyond that fog. I must try and walk around the edge of the water, maybe there is some way across.
Day 67: I can’t believe my luck! I came across an old shanty with a wonderful old man living in it. He has an aged boat, but he assures me that it will carry me. He has heard noises in the distance, says he is not long enough for this world that he cares to venture for answers. In this weather I can’t say I blame him. I will warm up some more and prepare to journey tomorrow. Be it answers or death, my journey will end soon.
Day 74: I am not sure what has heaved the most at this point, the boat or me. I won’t be using the newly gifted rations until this water calms a bit more.
Day 76: The most amazing thing has just occurred. I have just come through the wall of fog and the temperature rose instantly. I can see so clearly in front of me. I think the distance is revealing an island; it will take a while to know for sure. I feel blessed to be so warm again.
Day 77: My boat is rocking and not from waves. The amount of marine life here is astonishing!
Day 89: I have never seen anything like this, how can it exist?! This island is so large, yet any map I have shows nothing of it. This island seems to be a sort of ark/Eden; all of the animals are here and even more amazing is how certain areas of the island have varying climates and foliage appropriate for each of them. The world is dissecting itself with violent interludes and imbecilic crescendos, yet while here these wild animals are all coexisting and none have minded my presence. I feel like Adam. I feel like never before!
Day 93: I can’t bring myself to leave. We blame the world, yet the world in itself has done no wrong. I choose the wild, so that I may become civilized.
Word count: 1140 (I know I went over a bit)
-j.g.smith (03/08/09)
3 comments:
First reaction:
I MUCH prefer the dated entries as stand-alone story. I think the first part is unnecessary. There is so much more impact in the dated entries part (after the Orwell quote). Really good.
I'll read over it some more and give a more measured evaluation later. :)
To be honest I prefer the journal entries as well, although I wanted to show different sides of the same occurance...not as successful as I hoped, but the Orwell quote on I think came close to what I wanted. The first part needed more fleshing out, or a more skilled writer than I to condense perhaps. Oh well, not a bad start :P
I think showing different sides is a good idea . . . but I think you're right. The first part needs more fleshing out (as for the skilled writer part . . . well, that's what we're practicing for right! :D . . .).
Yep, not a bad start. :)
I'm still going to think more on it and give you a more intelligent response to the first section . . . talk about what I think is working and what you can build on.
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