Categories > Original > Sci-Fi
Short Story
Letters
London
England
23rd April 2050
Dear cousin Indiana,
I very much enjoyed my stay at your home in Australia last week. I do not remember much of Australia, because, as you know, we moved away when you and I were only one. That was 12 years ago now!
Your home in Bridgetown is so much different to mine in London. For instance, in London, the traffic is absolutely horrendous, While in Australia, many people are using contraptions you call bicycles, and catching trains and buses, instead of using those vehicles that you call electric cars.
There are so many animals in your country, and also a plentitude of trees and plants. We have very few trees at home. I especially loved visiting the forest near your home. It was beautiful.
I was quite intrigued by the wind turbines on your farm. I am glad that you were able to explain to me how they work. They are quite odd-looking, and remind me of the pinwheels we got at the fair on Wednesday. You also have those black things on your roof, which I now recall you told me that they are called solar panels. What do you use these for? I also recall the colossal tanks around your farm for collecting water. We have none of these at home, and have to import our water from other countries.
I am looking forward to seeing you again.
Your cousin,
Michael.
P.S. Happy Easter.
Bridgetown
Australia
30th April 2050
Dear Michael,
Happy Easter to you as well.
I am glad you enjoyed your stay with us. You shall have to come again sometime. You would remember that when I came to visit you when we were eight, I couldn’t breathe from the smog. It was a shame I had to go home straight away. I would have loved to have been able to stay for longer and see your home.
I was also amazed at the lack of animals in England. I remember sitting in the airport terminal and seeing only one tree and no birds at all in the sky. The tree looked half dead and it saddened me to know that people who live in your country may never get to see the true beauty of nature. Your helicars (which Granny informs me run on petroleum) are very strange contraptions. They are look nothing like our electric cars, as they have weird looking rotors on the top. I wouldn't feel safe in one of them.
Granny said you wouldn’t be used to wind turbines. She said that’s because England have nuclear reactors and use coal power, instead of more natural alternatives, and she says that she is very happy that the countries in our hemisphere switched to wind power over 40 years ago. Granny believes in a cleaner world for future generations.
I also look forward to seeing you soon.
Love, your cousin,
Indiana
London
England
9th May 2050
Dear Cousin,
Grandad says that England wasn’t always this bad. He said that there used to be many birds here and that the smog wasn't so bad. Grandad also says that there were less people getting asthma and that it actually used to snow here! I wonder what snow looks like? I feel I must have gotten used to the smog a long time ago.
Today there was an article in the newspaper about a town in Scotland being poisoned by toxic chemicals in the air. Methane or something. It said that the chemicals were caused by coal mining, and that there were people getting really sick and even dying. Do you think that is true?
Your cousin,
Michael
Bridgetown
Australia
16th May 2050
Dear Michael,
I am not sure your newspaper is telling the truth. I told Granny about it (and she said not to tell you this so you don't worry) but she thinks that it might be true.
Jelly just passed away. I’m awfully sorry. Mum says she was old, especially in dog years, and that everyone’s time comes eventually. Dad says we are going to bury her under the big gum tree in the backyard. It was a good idea of granddad's to send her over here, away from the smog. She definitely lived longer here than she would have if you had’ve kept her in London. But I remember that the smog did make her sick, still, even though she wasn’t in England for long. She didn’t have much fur when she first came over, and it took ages for it to grow back.
Love,
Indiana
London
England
21st May 2050
Dear Indiana,
I do worry a bit about the article, because England is so close to Scotland.
You are right about Jelly, she was quite old. We got many years of fun from her didn’t we? I will miss not being able to see her next time that I visit.
There was another worrying article in the paper today. This time it was about babies being born with two heads! That’s quite a scary thing to happen. The paper said that scientists are trying to figure out the cause, but they don’t know it yet. This happened in Canada. I really want to know your opinion.
From your cousin,
Michael.
Bridgetown
Australia
28th May 2050
Dear cousin Michael,
You seem to be getting more worried about what you are reading in the newspaper. And anyway, since when have you read the paper?
Granny remembers her mother telling her that something like this happened a long time ago. She said it was something about a drug that they were giving the mothers, called thalidomide, which made the babies born with no arms and stuff like that. Maybe this time it is to do with the radiation from your nuclear reactors? Because Granny also said that there was a big accident in this place called Chernobyl, where something happened to a nuclear reactor, and people were being born with deformities as well.
I hope nothing worse happens. Maybe you should move back here?
Love,
Indiana
London
England
7th June 2050
Dear Indiana,
I like your idea of moving back, but mum won’t hear a word of it. She loves England no matter what the papers say. So much for that idea.
I have been quite unwell lately, so dad took me to the doctor and he said I have a cancerous tumour in my lung. He also said I won’t live until the end of this month. Maybe it would have been better if I had come to live with you when we sent Jelly over? Maybe I would have lived longer, like her?
Mum says we can visit you one last time before the end of the month.
Love,
Michael
BIG BANG KILLS ALL
Last night, at around 1am Perth time, something happened that most of us still can not begin to comprehend.
In the middle of the night, a massive chain reaction explosion ripped through the northern hemisphere leaving no survivors.
The extent of the damage is only on the surface of the earth and will not greatly affect the southern hemisphere, although the explosion left nothing behind as far as we know.
According to scientists, who have been working to figure out the cause of the explosion since it happened, say it was caused by one nuclear reactor in America (similar to the one pictured). The scientists are still working on why this happened and why now.
“My fellow scientists and I have been working since two this morning trying to figure out the exact cause of this tragedy,” says nuclear scientist, Dr. P. Donnelly. “This occurrence is indeed a tragedy and one that we hope will never again happen, whether in Australia, or the rest of the world.”
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And I feel fine
-R.E.M.
Short Story Rationale
Letters
My short story is about young people, in the world how it could be, depending on the choices we make as countries and individuals. Choices relating to our environment, like will we go solar or nuclear? Will we use our recycling bin, or just throw it all in the rubbish? These choices may seem simple now, but they will have an enormous effect on our world in the future. The target audience of my story is teenagers, to show them what could happen to this world if the wrong choices are made. And because we are the future, we need to be informed.
By telling my short story in a post-modern style (through letters, a newspaper article and song lyrics), I feel that I have made it more interesting to read and prevented it from becoming cliché. Also, the letters helped me to show the true feelings of Michael and Indiana, and how they reacted to their situation.
I didn’t use poetic techniques (such as metaphors, alliteration, etc.) in my story, as I wanted it to reflect letters that would be written by real 13-year-olds. The main characters in my story are young teenagers, as I felt that this would make it easier for the target audience, being teenagers, to relate to the experiences of the children.
There is an allusion to another idea in my story, however, for in the newspaper article, the very title (‘Big Bang Kills All’) reminds the reader of the Big Bang Theory. So the end of the world as we know it was caused by a Big Bang, in much the same fashion as it was started.
Letters
London
England
23rd April 2050
Dear cousin Indiana,
I very much enjoyed my stay at your home in Australia last week. I do not remember much of Australia, because, as you know, we moved away when you and I were only one. That was 12 years ago now!
Your home in Bridgetown is so much different to mine in London. For instance, in London, the traffic is absolutely horrendous, While in Australia, many people are using contraptions you call bicycles, and catching trains and buses, instead of using those vehicles that you call electric cars.
There are so many animals in your country, and also a plentitude of trees and plants. We have very few trees at home. I especially loved visiting the forest near your home. It was beautiful.
I was quite intrigued by the wind turbines on your farm. I am glad that you were able to explain to me how they work. They are quite odd-looking, and remind me of the pinwheels we got at the fair on Wednesday. You also have those black things on your roof, which I now recall you told me that they are called solar panels. What do you use these for? I also recall the colossal tanks around your farm for collecting water. We have none of these at home, and have to import our water from other countries.
I am looking forward to seeing you again.
Your cousin,
Michael.
P.S. Happy Easter.
Bridgetown
Australia
30th April 2050
Dear Michael,
Happy Easter to you as well.
I am glad you enjoyed your stay with us. You shall have to come again sometime. You would remember that when I came to visit you when we were eight, I couldn’t breathe from the smog. It was a shame I had to go home straight away. I would have loved to have been able to stay for longer and see your home.
I was also amazed at the lack of animals in England. I remember sitting in the airport terminal and seeing only one tree and no birds at all in the sky. The tree looked half dead and it saddened me to know that people who live in your country may never get to see the true beauty of nature. Your helicars (which Granny informs me run on petroleum) are very strange contraptions. They are look nothing like our electric cars, as they have weird looking rotors on the top. I wouldn't feel safe in one of them.
Granny said you wouldn’t be used to wind turbines. She said that’s because England have nuclear reactors and use coal power, instead of more natural alternatives, and she says that she is very happy that the countries in our hemisphere switched to wind power over 40 years ago. Granny believes in a cleaner world for future generations.
I also look forward to seeing you soon.
Love, your cousin,
Indiana
London
England
9th May 2050
Dear Cousin,
Grandad says that England wasn’t always this bad. He said that there used to be many birds here and that the smog wasn't so bad. Grandad also says that there were less people getting asthma and that it actually used to snow here! I wonder what snow looks like? I feel I must have gotten used to the smog a long time ago.
Today there was an article in the newspaper about a town in Scotland being poisoned by toxic chemicals in the air. Methane or something. It said that the chemicals were caused by coal mining, and that there were people getting really sick and even dying. Do you think that is true?
Your cousin,
Michael
Bridgetown
Australia
16th May 2050
Dear Michael,
I am not sure your newspaper is telling the truth. I told Granny about it (and she said not to tell you this so you don't worry) but she thinks that it might be true.
Jelly just passed away. I’m awfully sorry. Mum says she was old, especially in dog years, and that everyone’s time comes eventually. Dad says we are going to bury her under the big gum tree in the backyard. It was a good idea of granddad's to send her over here, away from the smog. She definitely lived longer here than she would have if you had’ve kept her in London. But I remember that the smog did make her sick, still, even though she wasn’t in England for long. She didn’t have much fur when she first came over, and it took ages for it to grow back.
Love,
Indiana
London
England
21st May 2050
Dear Indiana,
I do worry a bit about the article, because England is so close to Scotland.
You are right about Jelly, she was quite old. We got many years of fun from her didn’t we? I will miss not being able to see her next time that I visit.
There was another worrying article in the paper today. This time it was about babies being born with two heads! That’s quite a scary thing to happen. The paper said that scientists are trying to figure out the cause, but they don’t know it yet. This happened in Canada. I really want to know your opinion.
From your cousin,
Michael.
Bridgetown
Australia
28th May 2050
Dear cousin Michael,
You seem to be getting more worried about what you are reading in the newspaper. And anyway, since when have you read the paper?
Granny remembers her mother telling her that something like this happened a long time ago. She said it was something about a drug that they were giving the mothers, called thalidomide, which made the babies born with no arms and stuff like that. Maybe this time it is to do with the radiation from your nuclear reactors? Because Granny also said that there was a big accident in this place called Chernobyl, where something happened to a nuclear reactor, and people were being born with deformities as well.
I hope nothing worse happens. Maybe you should move back here?
Love,
Indiana
London
England
7th June 2050
Dear Indiana,
I like your idea of moving back, but mum won’t hear a word of it. She loves England no matter what the papers say. So much for that idea.
I have been quite unwell lately, so dad took me to the doctor and he said I have a cancerous tumour in my lung. He also said I won’t live until the end of this month. Maybe it would have been better if I had come to live with you when we sent Jelly over? Maybe I would have lived longer, like her?
Mum says we can visit you one last time before the end of the month.
Love,
Michael
BIG BANG KILLS ALL
Last night, at around 1am Perth time, something happened that most of us still can not begin to comprehend.
In the middle of the night, a massive chain reaction explosion ripped through the northern hemisphere leaving no survivors.
The extent of the damage is only on the surface of the earth and will not greatly affect the southern hemisphere, although the explosion left nothing behind as far as we know.
According to scientists, who have been working to figure out the cause of the explosion since it happened, say it was caused by one nuclear reactor in America (similar to the one pictured). The scientists are still working on why this happened and why now.
“My fellow scientists and I have been working since two this morning trying to figure out the exact cause of this tragedy,” says nuclear scientist, Dr. P. Donnelly. “This occurrence is indeed a tragedy and one that we hope will never again happen, whether in Australia, or the rest of the world.”
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And I feel fine
-R.E.M.
Short Story Rationale
Letters
My short story is about young people, in the world how it could be, depending on the choices we make as countries and individuals. Choices relating to our environment, like will we go solar or nuclear? Will we use our recycling bin, or just throw it all in the rubbish? These choices may seem simple now, but they will have an enormous effect on our world in the future. The target audience of my story is teenagers, to show them what could happen to this world if the wrong choices are made. And because we are the future, we need to be informed.
By telling my short story in a post-modern style (through letters, a newspaper article and song lyrics), I feel that I have made it more interesting to read and prevented it from becoming cliché. Also, the letters helped me to show the true feelings of Michael and Indiana, and how they reacted to their situation.
I didn’t use poetic techniques (such as metaphors, alliteration, etc.) in my story, as I wanted it to reflect letters that would be written by real 13-year-olds. The main characters in my story are young teenagers, as I felt that this would make it easier for the target audience, being teenagers, to relate to the experiences of the children.
There is an allusion to another idea in my story, however, for in the newspaper article, the very title (‘Big Bang Kills All’) reminds the reader of the Big Bang Theory. So the end of the world as we know it was caused by a Big Bang, in much the same fashion as it was started.
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