Sci Fi Flash Fiction: Amott’s Hearth (Analysis)
The 21st entry in the Sci Fi Flash Fiction series Amott’s Hearth, we have some soul searching and heart tugging moments as Craig wrestles with what happened up to this point. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The bright glow from the various monitors hanging on the city streets cast Craig’s face in a ghostly light, making him feel as though he were a phantom in a world that never knew him. His mind was reeling from the recent changes he experienced as he wrestled with the idea that he was not real. The worst part of it all was that he remembered everything that was supposed to be a lie. He could remember his daughter’s birth, remember her first tooth, remember his wife.
Could he remember his wife? What was her name? He hated her so much for leaving them alone, could he even recall a syllable of her first name? He shook his head and sighed as he stopped in front of a three-hundred-foot monitor built into the wall. He turned and watched the aerial highlight reel from his bout with his new-found compatriots. He heard the buzzing of the banal analysts as the fight unfolded.
“. . . As you can see here, in this unprecedented move, three fans came down from the stadium seating and evened the odds. I can say that is a first for us at the Arena Sports Promotional Networks. What was the best part? The god allowed it to happen. He watched and nodded his head in satisfaction, as you can see here.”
The camera cut from its zany music over the fight in the arena to a ridiculous loop of the god nodding his head to even more zany music. Craig restrained himself as he wanted to punch the monitor to make the stupidity stop, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. He closed his eyes and turned away from the monitor. As he mouthed silent numbers to himself, he felt a familiar tug at his mind. “You are putting too much value in what our people had to say. Even if they were right, they were trying to get into your head. You are letting them have more control over you than you want.”
“That’s easy for you to say; your life wasn’t a lie.” Craig retorted.
“Do you think it is easy to be a goddess anywhere in this universe? When the one god took over for us after all that time on Earth, it was hard to be discarded like so much refuse. Some of us decided we needed more, so we adapted to the world and started manifesting inside humans. Other gods went to other worlds and started it all over again, garnering mentally deficient worshippers, requiring sacrifices, and making their new creation.“ Tiamat’s voice stressed the last word with so much vitriol that it sent waves of nausea through Craig’s mind. “Trust me, kid. If you were in my shoes and found a way out, you wouldn’t want to go back. They’d have to drag me kicking and screaming to be a goddess again, though I can say I miss the perks. The orgies were great. . .”
Craig grumbled as he glanced down the street. The pathways were empty save for a few staggering figures. His eyes scanned the area to make sure he wouldn’t be bothered when he spotted a shimmering blue skinned alien skulking near the shadows. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the female drew up the collar on her flowing black coat and sped past him. “Hey.”
. . .You’d be surprised how flexible virgins are when they have it for the first time. Of course, that is both physically and mentally. Once you break them of their “I need to be pure for the god” habits, they are quite the –”
Craig pressed his hands to his temples as he hissed. “Shut up and listen to me. Look across the street.”
“It isn’t every day you get to hear me talk about my exploits, kid. I thought you might be a little more appreciative of an old woman telling you her sexual tales.”
“I’ve heard the orgy stories more than I care to, you mumble when you sleep. Would you humor me and look across the street?”
He felt something shift in his mind and watched as his vision dulled for a moment, rendering things murky and watery. He heard the goddess inside him grumble and writhe around his core, squeezing his heart tight enough to make him spasm. “I know that body, where have I seen it before?”
Craig turned around to face the monitor at the same time the zany music switched to a sorrowful tone. An image flashed on the screen of a very familiar face as the commentators eulogized her. He waited for the thoughts to connect, thinking of his daughter when she would put together a puzzle. He wanted to help her, but knew it was better for her to figure it out alone. His head swiveled to look at the figure disappearing down the street at a hurried pace before it swung back again to look at the monitor once more.
“Asudem?”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
“What in the multi-dimensional hell is going on here?”
“It looks as though the goddess doesn’t know everything in the universe. Isn’t it obvious? The Asedum we saw in the arena wasn’t her. At least it wasn’t the real her.”
“Stop speaking in riddles and start making some sense before I take over your body and go find out myself the hard way.”
Craig exerted control over the situation as he felt his spirit pushing the goddess back to his core. He wondered how much more powerful she would have been if she had someone to believe in her. He dreaded the thought as he walked across the street, but couldn’t help feeling bad for her at the same time. “She used a clone or a cyborg double to save us. I thought that stuff was a tired trope for science fiction pieces and bad B-movies. Come on, we have to hurry, or we are going to lose her.”
