Short Story (Cerpen)
Gliese 581g (Part 1)
Category: Fiction Fantasy Short stories
Title: Gliese 581g (Part 1)
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I'm Glisa. I live and live on the planet Gliese 581g. Sometimes I get curious about the name my parents gave me. My name is almost similar to the planet I live on.
When I was 50, my mother always told me about other creatures that lived and were not much different from us. My mother also said that far away in space there is a civilization that is almost similar to our civilization. So did my father, he once told me about a planet as cool as the air in our atmosphere, and many more stories were circulating about otherworldly civilizations like us. However, I have not been too trusting of the existence of other things and creatures on other planets so far away with us, which I know only that legend is very popular and well known in our society.
Since childhood, many people who tell civilization and stories that are still a mystery to me, they always say that later I will take care of Gliese 581g. And I don't think I'm so sure I have the power to protect the entire surface of this planet, nor do I feel unworthy that I'm just a girl. I was once given a gold pendant with red and blue crystals there. As I clasped the pendant and put it on, I saw a tinge of red and blue light emanating clearly on the ceiling of the house. I was very small at the time, because I didn't understand anything. Maybe I was fifteen, so I didn't know anything. But I remember when I saw a planet that was almost like mine and I heard one word, whether it was true or not because I was so excited to hear it. I remember that word was HUMAN.
—
Tomorrow I will be one hundred and seventy years old. This means that I will soon grow up. The elders gave me a lot of input on what I should do when I'm released. Yes, on our planet every soul that has reached the age of one hundred and seventy years will be released from its parents and allowed to live independently. And starting tomorrow, I'm gonna move house and find my own job. But there was something strange when my parents and my guests were discussing matters about me. I don't know what they're talking about, but they seem to have been deliberating for so long.
“But how can we release Glisa? The comet came this year, but it is uncertain when it came. The thing that will come from space is really big, it will destroy us!” elder Vad told my father.
“Then we will pollute the customs of our ancestors?” ask Dad.
“This is for the safety of Glisa, if Gliese 581g goes extinct, what will we do? We know that everything that Bola Zogo says is always true, and Bola Zogo has said it. We can not do this release, for the safety of Glisa,” said elder Vad reassured.
“But Vad, this routine we have been doing for a long time, this is a mandatory thing for us!” said elder Johan.
Everything's silent. They finally decided what they should decide. Elder Vad came up to me and hugged me.
“Prepared to do your duty, you will be sent to your new home tomorrow. It is very good if you go home and clean up the things you will bring tomorrow,” said elder Vad softly. I nodded and immediately went home. After I passed, they re-negotiated me.
“Quiet Vad, I will send a protector for him,” elder Johan said as he patted the back of elder Vad. Elder Vad walked slowly with his big green robe dangling down. His silver beard glittered and the folds of his old face showed emptiness. Maybe he's over a thousand years old.
“I will not be responsible, Johan. It's not my choice.”
—
This afternoon I will be heading to my new area soon. I'm going to part ways with my parents and I'm going to support myself soon. I need to be independent and I need to be able to adjust.
“Dad, Mom,” I said as I hugged them. My father smiled at me, I smiled back at him. My mother cried a little and I hugged her.
“Mom don't have to worry about me, everything must be fine,” I said soothingly. Mom nodded and wiped her tears.
“Yes, be careful on your trip, Glisa.”
Mom waved her hand at me. I'm replying to that wave. Soon I entered the small plane I was about to drive for the trip. Put the bag back and start the engine. I picked up the machine and immediately set off for my new home. Sad to have to accept the fact that I had to part with my parents, but this is what I have to do.
—
I'm out of my house tonight. The place I just stayed was a little uncomfortable. I like the place I used to be, maybe it's because I just got here.
I look at the black sky tonight, there hang a lot of stars and the moon that looks luminous. Before I moved, elder Vad gave me a parchment scroll. He said this parchment was a gift from elder Hoshi, he died when I was twenty-seven years old. He said elder Vad was ordered to give it to me, and he gave it to fulfill his duty.
I opened this parchment strap. The scroll I unfolded so that black letters stained the brown color of this parchment. Slowly I began to look and I tried to understand and read the contents. The letters in this parchment look foreign to me, but I don't know why I feel like I can read them.
“Twenty years ago we sent it. We sent it to your planet, maybe you don't know the name of the planet you're on, Gliese 581g. That's what we call you. Take care of this child by you, we do not know when you will receive this letter, we do not even know if this letter will reach you and this child is really alive. But someday we will come, we will go there.”
That's about the letter. I don't know what it means, judging from his appearance, this letter is so obsolete. Perhaps this letter has been preserved for decades.
I kept the letter back, it was weird. In the past, I had dreamed of seeing a world that was far better than the land I visited. The world is full of plants and water. Almost similar to what is in Gliese 581g, but the world feels more soothing. I'm still wondering if the world exists or if it's just some kind of dream, or maybe it could be a world my parents always tell me about.
Tonight the wind blew like never before. I could feel his gusts firmer and more piercing than before. Also I feel my chest hot, my pendant, I feel my pendant burning. Slowly my pendant began to emit a tinge of fiery red light. Then after that the blue color shimmered over the sky there. I didn't understand the weirdness of my locket, but the longer it went, the more it became blurred and the paler it became. I clasped my locket tightly, it shook violently and it was like there was life in it. I seemed to hear the cry of powerlessness that finally disappeared along with the ear-splitting sound of twoars. My locket broke and I was pushed back. My gaze was disguised and I saw steel hurtling towards this land. After that everything was dark and unfolded.
—
I blinked my eyes and looked around the room. I was in my house. I saw a strangely dressed man carrying a helmet. He looked at me with his eyes pale blue.
“You okay?” asked him he looked so anxious, but I didn't know him very well.
“Who are you?” ask and get up a little. When I move my body, I feel a little pain and pain in my body.
“No, you sleep here, you're still weak. Your left hand was injured and your head hit last night. I will take care of you here, my name is Raffles,” he said as he put me back to sleep.
“Are you from here, Raffles?” my question and he looked up.
“You could say no, I'm from Earth. Do you know my planet?” ask her. “What is it full of greenery and water? I had a dream to see the world like that,” I said a little thought and remembered my dream.
“Yup, you're absolutely right. By the way, are you a carbon creature?”
“You mean? I don't understand what you're saying,” I said.
“Yes, creatures that can produce carbon dioxide, I mean do you breathe oxygen? Since I think I can breathe quite smoothly here, I also feel that the gravity of the planet is quite large. Here I can walk upright,” he said. I kept looking at him, he raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. Suddenly I felt that there was something strange in me, when I looked at him, I liked him.
“How old are you?” my many. “Twenty-three.”
“Oh, is that young? I can't believe you're that early, I'm a hundred and seventy, and soon a hundred and seventy-one,” I said and he chuckled. “The rotation and revolution of the Earth are different from Gliese, on Earth one year equals 365 days, while in Gliese it is only 37 days, it results in our age being the same but different ten times,” said then sighed.
“If I stay here, I might be 235 years old, I guess.”
“Yes, I understand. What about the land of the earth?”
“Better than here possible, but not much different. To me, you are an alien,” he said.
“I am not an alien, you are an alien!” I said argue. He's laughing. Seeing her laugh, I felt sure that I was starting to like her.
“You and I are aliens,” he said. “Oh yes, why are your clothes like that?”
“This astronaut outfit, it's cold here anyway. I have to warm myself, does the water here often freeze?” he said while hugging his body.
“Sometimes, but I've used to live here. What about earth?” I said while staring around.
“I think the earth has a very fitting position, you would like maybe to stay there,” he said sitting next to me.
“Oh yes, what food do you usually eat? I want to try to taste it, later I make food earth,” he said offering.
“Your father is quite good, I want to try tasting earth food, it may taste quite the same.”
—
Three days I knew Raffles. Those three days I didn't leave the house because Raffles took care of me. Now that my left hand is better, it's all because of Raffles. I think Raffles is such a nice and friendly guy. I can get to know him so closely for these three days. In fact, I can be sure that I have loved her, Raffles was my first love.
“Glisa,” said. I looked up and looked at him.
“Ya?”
“Can I say something?” he said and I nodded. He approached me, who was still sitting at the dining table. He sat in front of me and held my hand with his hand wrapped in a thick costume. His eyes were a little hot and confused me.
“I'm sorry, I love you,” he said as he clasped my hand. I looked at his hand, then I put it in his eyes. His pale blue eyes glittered, my heart as if racing hard past its usual limit.
“I love you too, love you more than you know. I love you from the beginning we met,” reply me. She smiled a little. His eyes showed a look of uneasiness. He pulled me up and out of the table, then he hugged me tightly with an awkward hug.
“Promise that we will stay together, you and I are one. Even if we are different, you are part of my life. I know that, everything seems clear in my dreams.”
She hugged me tightly and immediately let go of it when her words were done. He smiled at me and walked out of my house. With the helmet covering her face, I just looked at her confused and clueless. What happened to Raffles? What made him so changed?
Raffles passed from my sight. I walk towards my bed. Right now I'm still trying to digest Raffles' words, words I don't understand.
Immediately I sat on my bed, but I caught a glimpse of a small fold under my pillow. I pulled the paper and I took it, there are writings and words that are strung together into various sentences.
“From: Raffles.
To Glisha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Before I never thought of this, I never thought that I would be interested in you. I'm sorry I did this. Actually, I wouldn't be able to come to this place without the sophisticated tools my father created. Also a time machine invented by my father's friend. At first, my father was looking for a planet that would later be used as a substitute for Earth. It is estimated that the next few hundred years of civilization on earth are wiped out, this is all due to global warming and the greenhouse effect that occurs on the earth and other damage. At that time, my father's friend found a planet that was said to be quite similar to the state of the earth, that planet is the planet you now live on, Gliese 581g. Gliese 581g shows enough that there are signs of life, as well as enough gravity. Although the condition is cold, but this is quite supportive for human life. At that time, exactly twenty years ago, my father was looking for a child who could be sent and used as information when he grew up. And finally, my father found a little girl from an orphanage, when she was only three months old. And then with the machine my father built, my father put the girl on the plane. With my father's device, the particle-changer, my father turned the plane and the boy into particles of light and hurtled off into space to Gliese 581g. However, the baby was launched twenty years earlier, meaning they used a time machine twenty years ago when sending it, as the journey to Gliese 581g was roughly 20.5 years at the speed of light, so by the time my father returned to his time, the baby had been sliding for 20 years.
Right now, my dad's going to Gliese 581g, but with me. We set out twenty years later waiting for the size of the baby to be delivered. We set off in numbers, with ten planes to fly. But that departure was pushed back to twenty years ago, due to a long journey. My father is waiting for a big baby while he waits for more information about Gliese 581g. Everything will be easy with a time machine. And at that moment, we set out in particles of light to Gliese 581g. We do not experience aging because we are in the form of light. So we came to this planet with the same age as before, without aging 20 years.
A few days ago, we landed safely. Here, I was assigned to look for information about a baby that was sent here many years ago. I knew the baby right away because he was different from the others, and I was sure that the baby was you!…”
I stopped when I read that sentence. It's really hard to digest, is Raffles now giving her all the stories I've told her about the planet? Maybe he told you everything? What does that mean, Gliese 581g will now be under human control and our civilization wiped out?
