On the lookout for happy endings
"They were being crushed so bad they should have been kooks, but somehow they were holding it together by just like... loving each other?"
Begin the Type 1a arc of the Pre-Solar saga here.
Last episode: Carbon saves a mentally ailing Oxygen from death once again in the cramped, degenerating world. Hydrogen tells them of his plan to bring them into a new life via stellar nuclear fusion, and Oxygen assures him he’s ready. Hydrogen bids the couple farewell and promises to see them again soon.
Helium waited for Hydrogen to return from his “reconnaissance” mission. She sat on the outermost fringes of the Carina Nebula, one leg tucked beneath her, the other dangling free, perched atop the highest reaches of one the protruding columns of gas that characterized the shape of the nebula – a fleet of massive rotting warships, draped in moss and vine. The cosmic pinnacle, shaped by hurricane-strength stellar winds, reached light-years tall. It grasped outward into the nothingness of space like a massive spindle of hands, clambering atop one another futily searching for a forgotten memory in air. Beneath her the tempestuous soup of huge young stars crackled and popped like crisped rice in milk. She imagined the fever of the elements inside and felt a touch of nostalgia.
Her mission had been easy. She knew the universal landscape well enough and a starburst galaxy was the obvious choice if you’re looking for young and hot. It doesn’t get younger and hotter than M82. All the older stars there had ripped limb from limb been torn apart due to gravitational interactions with neighboring M81. The horny cosmic mess that ensued was something like an exchange between neighboring high schools at that shitty local nightclub that catered to kids sporting fake IDs – uncivilized, sporting a stench of barf, piss, and sex plus probably blood too. In pursuit of ecstasy, these young stars had upended their parents’ bank account, tearing through their supply of hydrogen in no time flat, maybe just a few million years – 10 or 20 max. The mess and mass meant that you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a star burning helium or something heavier around here. Plenty of CNO-cycling stars, and larger beasts to boot.
Hydrogen was scoping out dumping rights and the perfect galactic neighborhood to redirect the youthful fervor of M82. His mission didn’t make sense to her, but she rarely questioned him when his mind seemed fixed on something. Her sibling was at least three times more powerful than her, at least on the scale of the universe. Besides, the more diplomatic task was a better fit for him, being the more diplomatic of the two. She waited for what felt like an eternity.
In a flash, her perch, the entire last lightyear of her cosmic pinnacle, crumpled like a soda can and she tumbled. As she reoriented herself, she saw the matter of the pinnacle coalesce into a tiny glowing dot.
The dot stretched upward and downward and then folded into a loop. Light branched off of the loop in branching distributary networks like some kind of radiant arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. Around this scaffolding Hydrogen’s body took shape and became material. The golden loop of light crystalized into the familiar black line tattoo that split his centerline. Orange, gold, blue, and green light radiated from a nearby nebula, casting color onto his white hair which flipped gently in the solar winds. He smiled stupidly and waved to Helium, flipping up the hood of his sweats. “Found you!”
“Fuck I know that you know that I hate when you do that.” She shouted across the cosmos at him. She blinked and suddenly he was standing before her. “You don’t need a godsdamned yottaton to manifest here.”
“I don’t know. Rough neighborhood you picked out here. Maybe I will.”
“You were gone for ages. I found this spot years ago.”
“Come on, years? It couldn't have been that bad. There’s not that much relativity with white dwarfs right?” He kicked back, pondering. “Yeah, no. I guess I got distracted.”
“What took so long?”
“There are about 20 billion white dwarfs in M81. That should be good enough for what I’m envisioning.”
“What did you do then, visit each one? You could have sensed that information the instant you came into contact with the galactic halo.”
Hydrogen bubbled as though Helium’s rising temper warmed him, “Okay, there a star I spent a while at. The Carbon and Oxygen there put up one of the realest domains I’ve ever seen. The guys legit served me raspberry pie.” His smile was wide and his eyes wider.
“What?” Helium’s nose wrinkled in disbelief.
“Raspberry pie. You know, like ascorbic acid, triglycerides, glucose – “ He rattled off.
“I know what raspberries are, idiot.” Helium tried to cut him off but Hydrogen plowed through.
“Right, but how would a stellar entity know what raspberries are? Maybe the star ate an inhabited world when it was a red giant?”
“It’s nice that there are still some mysteries in the universe for you. What’s the point of your little quest? Did you want to make friends with every old bumpkin in M81 so you’re familiar with the faces of everyone who you’re about to blow up?”
“I told this couple what would happen to them. They said they were ready.” She felt Hydrogen’s constant vibration slow for a moment. “I was really impressed with these two.”
A moment of silence passed as a gust blew by them, tousling loose parts of clothing and warming their exposed skin.
The cool light of the universe reflected off his eyes as he spoke plainly. “I’ve met millions of carbons and oxygens – tens of millions. Each manifestation, every planet, every ocean – they’re all so different.”
He paused again, thinking. “But the story of carbon and oxygen is as old as time and it’s usually one of struggle. It’s all tied up in the life stuff I’m working on that always goes to shit. But these two – they were happy. They were being crushed so bad they should have been kooks, but somehow they were holding it together by just like… loving each other. It was kind of like seeing the happy ending to a story in real life. I’ve seen a lot of the universe and it’s fucking cold and brutal. Sometimes you have to be on the lookout for happy endings.”
That wraps up this weird little arc within an arc. You might noticed I’ve renamed everything. This story is set within the Pre-Solar saga, which aims to retell the origin of our star system. This arc is called the Type-1a arc, in reference to the type of supernova event that produced most of the universe’s battery metals.
There’s obviously a lot going on in the story thematically. The Type 1a arc, along with many of the other piece from the Pre-Solar saga to come, is trying to humanize lessons about stellar nucleosynthesis, the origin of the elements, and the prevention of a carbon apocalypse. The first real stop in the story of Type 1a tale is a white dwarf. The human analog in this cosmic phenomenon I saw most clearly is a story about dementia and the pain that the condition can inflict on loved ones.
Thanks to everyone who read these last seven posts. I thank you for wading through the trappings of a novice writer: typos, inconsistent characters, and sporadic posting. Your support as I’m trying to deepen my practice with one of my oldest passions — creating bizarre worlds and characters beyond belief — means everything to me.
Exciting news is coming in the world of Elements. Expect a message soon!
Great work! Can't wait to see what primordial gumbo your cooking up next!