The Egg
Ran across this today on the net, and just wanted to.. ... I dunno, discuss it, I suppose. So, read and discuss:
http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html
Here's a taste:
The Egg
By: Andy Weir
You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And that’s when you met me.
“What… what happened?†You asked. “Where am I?â€
“You died,†I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.
“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…â€
“Yup,†I said.
“I… I died?â€
“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,†I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?†You asked. “Is this the afterlife?â€
“More or less,†I said.
“Are you god?†You asked.
“Yup,†I replied. “I’m God.â€
“My kids… my wife,†you said.
“What about them?â€
“Will they be all right?â€
“That’s what I like to see,†I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.â€
Any discussion there? Sort of zen/not zen/the art of being zen by not being zen...
I think you should only have this read to you when you're under the influence of a at least a substance or two that people with badges would frown at....
Stephen King.
Is that the hint?
I'm not feeling very zen/not-zen about the story. Maybe because the idea isn't really new to me, or maybe because I can't get past the Mormon-meets-Hindu feel to it. It was still a good story; I just didn't consider it to be overwhelmingly profound or anything.
Yeah, I'm not floored or anything. It's a neat starter idea, would have liked a little more meat though. I'm not found of the second person point of view normally but I thought in this case it was not only necessary but cleverly done. The concept was familiar - I also thought it sounded very Mormon-meets-Hindu. Anyway, there just wasn't enough meat to really do a full blown 'whoa' with the ending.
1. Character is being reincarnated
2. Character is a fetal godlike being
3. Character has been reincarnated before
4. Character is everyone
5. Universe is an egg
But I'm not sure how much more dramatic that would make the ending.
What does move you guys? I'm fascinated with Double Rainbow not only for the painful embarrassment of it, but also because if shows a person completely overwhelmed with awe and wonder.
I think of myself as somewhat jaded, but I am more impressed by those who can see the wonder of the world than those who slough it off. What amazes you?
Within the confines of short speculative fiction, there is one that stands out as something that really got inside me, and that's Unaccompanied Sonata, by Orson Scott Card. It is largely for this short story that I am able to come to terms with what he has become as an author. He may have fallen into political punditry, but no one can take away that story that touched me so deeply.