Challenge #02019-E195: Lost and Found in Space
Wait, what happens to the poor guy in space in “Show Me the Way...”???
Does he find his way home or does he make space into his new home? I’m so curious now. -- Anon Guest
[AN: The prompt throws back to this story for those who don't want to go on an archive crawl]
Personal journal: Stardate... I don't even know by now. Everyone has a different way of counting and the standard year is something I can't even figure out. These folks have pretty much given up on keeping me away from shit, and now I have some of the basic gear. In this case, it's an information thing. These folks have given up on phones and have gone for tablets.
Well. Sort of tablets. These ones are bendy and can be used to just like... read your arm. And they take dictation so you can fart around and write your journal at the same time. Hearing my own voice has helped me stay sane. Well. More sane than I should be by now.
Likewise, learning some of the lingo has helped. I'm no expert by a long shot, but people aren't critiquing my handle of GalStand Simple any more.
The only downside to this is my reputation. Attempting to get home by pissing people off has lead to a lot of critters not talking to me. I've... kind of given up on that now. And I'm touch starved enough that. Um.
I'm renting my body.
Turns out a lot of lizard folk like having a mammal around to be a kind of hot rock. It's all PG. Our plumbing doesn't match, but both sides like touching the other. The only real drawback is getting woken up by an ice-cold Tyxxo slowly crawling onto my unprotected hide. Talk about rude awakenings.
But they're otherwise nice lizards and rewarding in a tactile way. It's not so bad. Awake or asleep, I always have someone there. Most of the time wrapped around me like some kind of living comforter. It's... surprisingly nice.
Good news, bad news. Good news, there are other humans. Bad news, there's some kind of temporal paradox going on so that contact is either impossible or unlikely in the extreme. Plus they're so distant from where I am that they might as well be aliens too.
I'm good with the lizards. Homesick, but good.
I'm okay. I'm doing okay.
I think.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / zabelin]
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