Parsec to Earth
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The sun was already sinking below the horizon, and before nightfall, Richard decided to head back home before he got completely lost. It was getting harder for him to walk. When he reached his house, he greeted the neighbors, but no one greeted him in return.
When he got home, he decided to take a warm bath and shave. A very old man was looking at him in the mirror.
Gestures
All the people suddenly didn't understand each other. It is clear that at first this caused confusion and fright, but soon turned into real chaos. People have isolated themselves, avoiding all communication, hoping that this is a passing crisis. However, the hours turned into days and the days into weeks, but the situation did not change.
At the same time, animals – dogs, cats, birds – began to communicate with each other without any difficulty. It turned out that they had long understood each other, but simply did not have the opportunity to say it out loud. Understanding and co-ordination enabled them to actively discuss current events and even plan their actions. The animals gathered to listen to each other, understand the reasons for the strange state of people and decide what to do about it.
Thus began the real era of animal diplomacy. The animals held peaceful conferences, argued, and developed strategies and action plans. They managed to find a common language and cooperate with each other, despite the diversity of species.
The longer the animals gathered and discussed their plans, the more it became clear that they were decidedly anti-human. Their anger and indignation increased with each new day of indifference and misunderstanding on the part of people.
Finally, the animals decided to start a war against humans.
The war began unexpectedly and mercilessly. Animals used their instincts, speed, and strength to fight humans. They knew how to complete their mission, and they were determined to reach their goal.
People, in turn, lived in fear and fragmentation. They had no understanding of why the animals went to war, only misunderstanding and fear. They tried to organize a defense, but they did not have unity and coordination of actions. There was only panic and confusion.
The war continued for several years, and with the destruction of the city and the worldwide panic, almost nothing was freed from the influence of animals. People realized their helplessness before the animal world. They finally realized that the impact of the animals was so strong that they can no longer control what is happening.
People tried to communicate with each other with gestures and somehow arrange resistance to animals, but this was a bad idea, because animals that saw people waving their hands at each other passed this information to predators.
People had to escape from predators, pretending to be animals, dressing in their vestments. But one day everything changed, as it turned out, one animal decided to stand up for people and started a rumor among its relatives that people are just like them, they just don't grow hair.
One day, frightened people began to feel that they wanted to talk, and it happened so suddenly that for a long time they were silent and started talking loudly to each other.
The beasts who found out about this quickly agreed to pretend that they couldn't speak, and everything went back to the same place, when people communicated, the beasts were silent.
Box
In the gloomy world of humans, sleep enveloped my consciousness, my hands and feet were cold, but I needed to sleep, and I began to doze off.
…angry birds with distorted faces and a feathery mane danced clumsily around me, pressing in with their sharp beaks. Something in the area of my knee was biting excessively, like a bee pretending to be a flying fly.
But suddenly I woke up abruptly and saw a man approaching the garbage can.
– Why do they throw it in that bright box?" And where do they get food on this cold day, now nothing grows and it's hard to hunt? I thought as I watched the car pull out of the yard.
I sat quietly by the side of the road, like a grown manthrowing out bags that smelled like food. "They probably print it at home, since it's not a pity to throw it away," I thought again, remembering my own planet, where they worked very hard for food and in the end we had to move to this planet to save ourselves from starvation.
At the time of the flight, as my parents told me through the tradition of generations, the dogs quarreled and swore to get to the blue planet, which was the third in a row from the bright star, to stop communicating with each other, and everyone will continue to survive in their own way. Yes, we are dogs.
So we lost the connection and secret knowledge of our progenitors, and nowwe are forced to beg in towns and villages in search of food. We continue to communicate through thoughts between other dogs, without making any sounds, occasionally barking, pretending in front of people who occupy a supreme position here that we do not know how to talk.
Parsec to Earth
– Aloise, I don't even know how to say this, but I'm quitting my job, – Jessica said in an uncertain voice, trying to hide the worry in her eyes. She worked in the company's labor dispute department.
– What? Are you serious? Aloys looked at his colleague in a daze, – but why? You recently got a job with us, I think it was just last spring.
Jessica sighed, trying to find the right words.
– Aloise, this job is just not for me. All those long hours spent in front of the computer, soulless reports, endless meetings, – her voice dropped to a whisper, and she slowly turned her head in different directions, for some reason, although you could tell if she was mentally denying what was happening or just stretching her neck, it was impossible to say for sure.
– But we both know that this job is chosen not because of our own desires, but because of the inability to find something better. The economy isn't at its best right now, – Alois said, trying to find a common language with Jessica.
– I want to become a writer, I want to create and share my ideas with people. This is something that really excites my heart, not the processes and documentation and not the sad faces when hiring and firing from work.
– You're going to fire yourself now, you're the head of human resources, – Aloys laughed loudly, and Jess joined in.