Monday, July 13, 2009

Entry #95

The Last Gasp
by Richard Weeks


"It's beautiful. The depth of colour, the way it pulls light in. Frank, I forgot it could be like this."

Frank put a steadying hand on his friend of 70 years’ shoulder.

"I know Arthur." That's why I brought you here one last time.

The red wine occupied the glass the way a statue occupies a plinth. There was a mesmerising quality to the liquid. It drew the two men’s gaze and held it rapt.

"Thank you, my dear friend. I will never forget this moment, its perfect." said Arthur.

His reverie was interrupted by a rough voice.

"You've had your minute, move along. Let someone else get a look."

Arthur winced.

"Please, you don't understand... this... my life... my last…"

"I said MOVE!" The guard thumbed the catch from his assault rifle. Behind, two other guards paused from frisking an elderly woman and dropped their hands to their side arms with practiced movement.

"No," sighed Frank, his shoulders slumping. "No, we're going. Thank you."

"Thank you, citizen. Next up, come on, look sharp. Get your look at the last glass of wine on the planet."

Frank and Arthur wrenched their eyes away from the atmospherically controlled display case.

"It's funny but everyone always thought it would be global warming that did for us." said Arthur. "Not some stupid bug."

"I heard they're down to the last strain of resistant wheat." said Frank.

“My last memory will be a happy one.” said Arthur.

“Me too.” said Frank.

20 comments:

The Preacherman said...

This is a cracker! The last glass of wine on earth guarded by armed guards as humanity withers and dies.

Great piece of SF writing!



Four Dinners

Laurel said...

Cool setting and concept! This is tight. Good read.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Pure genius. What a fun take!

Your imagination sure runs wild my friend!

Enjoyed reading this a lot. Left me smiling.

Adisha said...

hehe.. Most of us Do think it'll be global warming that'll be the death of us ... Who knows !!

Wonder what else we would miss should it al lbe taken away ?? :)

Lovely writing ...

wrath999 said...

Unique and interesting,very well done

alex

Catherine Vibert said...

Completely original. It is refreshing to read original right about now! I really enjoyed this.

Bebo said...

This somehow reminds me of Soylent Green... wonderful post-apocalyptic feel.

Good job!

laughingwolf said...

so it ends... a whimper, not a bang....

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Very cool! The last glass of wine! Oh my gosh! And I loved these two characters! well done.

Beth said...

I really enjoyed reading this. Interesting take and well written.

JR's Thumbprints said...

My only concern has to do with evaporation. Geeeeshh, I'm like the guard trying to protect a glass wine that'll one day disappear. Interesting concept.

Hoodie said...

You tread the path of this piece well, giving us just the right amount of information at just the right time.

Interesting concept and very well written.

Therese said...

Wow, what an idea.

Well written, Richard. Good work.

BernardL said...

LOL! Very good.

PJD said...

Who gets to drink it at the very end of humanity? And will there be a last bit of brie to go with it?

Deb S said...

Another good entry!

Chris Eldin said...

Loved reading this!! A dystopia, at last! This could be titled "The Drinking Games." heheh small joke. But really liked the writing in this piece.

Terri said...

This actually makes me want to go and open a bottle of red wine right now and savor a glass... And I don't even particularly enjoy red wine!

JaneyV said...

The last glass of wine left - that's actually sadder than anything I've read. It's almost as if humanity's downfall will be its inability to let its hair down and really enjoy living. Thoughtful piece, very nicely written.

Anonymous said...

Such a fatigue in this piece. The planet giving up. Except for the guards. They seem chipper.

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