Current location:	Mauerbach
Entry tags:	127.0.0.1

127.0.0.1 - Part 1 of .. 1? 2? X? Up to you!
Well this is certainly new for me.

I've been working on this story, in one form or another, for some time. Mostly in another form, but I recently started writing it out as a "proper" story. I haven't written, properly creatively, for almost a decade ... and there are some very good reasons for this.

While I know I have some people on my f-list interested in ... amateur fiction ... in one way or another, I have no idea if anyone on my f-list is interested in fiction of this sort, especially when its quality is severly lacking. Though English is my native tongue, my education with it has been pathetic, and I got to spend all that time "normal" anglophones spend reading Shakespeare ... reading Goethe. Also, while I am trying to write international English (neither clearly American, British, or Jamaican) .. it might be more American than it should at times.

I will just be seeing if I can find a "market" for it here or not. If not, no big deal :-D

If anyone is *really* interested, I would be extremely thankful to have an "editor" - ergo, a person that hits my fingers with a big pointy stick and says "DON'T DO THAT!" whenever I commit Austro-American crimes on the English language.

Anyways .. the story. Don't want to say too much about the genre, as it would give away things yet to come.

I

The first rays of sunlight coming through the room’s solitary window illuminated his silent companion’s face, finally enabling him to identify his unexpected visitor. It took him a few seconds to fully process it before he managed to talk again.

‘Well that’s certainly a surprise’, he noted. ‘I mean, I half expected that they’d be so foolhardy as to completely disregard my warning. And to be honest, as sincere as my plea was at the time, as much as I knew deep down that death was my only clean way out of here … a part of me was hoping that they’d prove me right on my belief that they’d never learn.’

Taking a few heavy breaths, he noticed just how out of shape his vocal cords were. When, exactly, had the last time been that he had got a chance to actually talk? He had stopped keeping track of time a very long time ago. At first, he had stopped counting the days. By now, he had long stopped counting the winters passing before the room’s solitary window, his only access point to the outside world.

‘It certainly is good to see a friendly face again. But I will admit … even when I let myself hope that I’d get to see a, shall we say … moderately non-hostile face again in my life … I was not expecting it to be yours.’ His companion chuckled for a moment. So he had not actually gone deaf or stupid since they had last met.

‘I still don’t know, though, how you actually got in here. Or who sent you.’ He was hoping that this would tempt his companion to say something, now that he had proven himself capable of giving some sorts of signs of life aside from sitting there, in the corner, staring. When exactly his visitor had arrived, he could not say, having slept through his arrival. He prided himself about the fact that he still slept at nights, and still was generally awake during the day. It felt like the only spark of his human dignity that was left to him. Though he had forgotten how long he had been here, what year it was, what time of the year it was, he still knew when it was day, and when it was night. He still could pretend that it, in any way, mattered when he slept and when he was awake. Now, however, this spark of humanity of his had for once been a horrible nuisance. Had he been up at night, he might have noticed his companion’s arrival. He certainly wasn’t going to have any luck finding out how he had got here by asking him...

‘Well, I assume it wasn’t General Chatchaniva that sent you then, was it? Surely I can’t have been here long enough to give him time to grow a sense of humour, without which he surely wouldn’t have sent you. From what I can tell, my hair still has some streaks of brown.’ His partner’s snug expression seemed to fade a bit. “Confusion” was too strong a word for the emotion his new expression seemed to spell out – his personal dignity would never have permitted that kind of facial expression. ‘What the blazes are you on about, man?’ was definitely a better expression. ‘General Chatchaniva. Surely, you must have at least heard of him?’ His partner shrugged his shoulders. Though getting the hang of conversation again, he took a few moments again to catch his breath. ‘Have you actually been in contact with any of my people?’ Again, his conversation partner shrugged.

‘I guess I have credited you with too much knowledge of my situation. As you came for me, personally, I assumed that they had contacted you after I … became hard to trace. Who else but the council of elders would have had the means to both locate me, and to actually get to me? I seem to have underestimated your own resources and your determination.’ For the first time since the start of their conversation, his companion broke something almost resembling a smile. And for the first time since his mysterious arrival in the dark corner of this dark room, he opened his mouth to speak, if only for three words. ‘Errare humanum est.’
He chuckled. It didn’t seem like he would be getting anything out of his companion but platitudes he could have learned off those good old Earth beer mats of days gone by that he had read of. Yet, as tedious as the conversation was, and as unable as he was to figure out why they had yet to leave if his visitor, obviously, knew of a way in and out … he still appreciated the company.

‘Tell me. Why are we still here? If you could get in, surely, you must have a way out.’ His companion fell silent once again. ‘Surely, you cannot stay here. You’d starve. I barely manage to stay alive myself on the food I can get my fingers on here. And for another, as little attention as I am given here, sooner or later, they will notice you.’ His companion’s facial expression did not show any sign of fear. Not surprising, considering the things he had faced. But considering the life he had lead, it was not conceivable that he would be so daft as to just sit there, in the corner, tranquillity personified, if he did not have one hell of an ace up his sleeve. If he was not waiting for something. Anything. It just wasn’t him.

Yes, that had to be it. He had a way out. He had to. But it was something out of his immediate control, at the moment. Maybe he had help coming by air. Maybe it was coming from underground. Maybe it was tanks, who could know? But in any case, his companion would not have any choice but to wait for help to come, whatever form it might be in. That was the only plausible explanation for a person of his character to be so very serene in this place. He was waiting for something to happen. And telling what it was would be an unacceptable risk to the rescue operation, whatever it might have been. He did not actually know if they paid as little attention to him as it seemed. And he knew how much pride they put on the fact that no-one got out. Ever.

‘Well, I am impressed that you came for me without having been in contact with the council. And I feel honoured that you considered me important enough to deserve this kind of attention, for whatever reasons. I mean, you can’t even know how I got here in the first place if you haven’t talked with them, can you?’ Again, he shrugged.

‘Your knowledge of my story must be quite rudimentary.’ His companion gave a solitary, silent nod. ‘I guess I owe it to you to fill out the blanks. And it’s not like we have anything better to do right now.’