driftfleet | [ audio ]

Entry tags:

[ audio ]

Who: Clark Kent and you.
Broadcast: Fleetwide.
Action: Aboard the Marsiva.
When: The week of his arrival.

I don't suppose I could click my heels three times. . . [ Only Clark gets his little joke. ]

I'll keep this brief. My name is Clark - I'm from Kansas.

[ He's been the new guy at work often enough to sound chill about this, but he is feeling a little shaky having woken up here in the middle of his workday. To top it off, not being able to hear his mother's heartbeat is jarring.

There's some stress baking in Clark's future. ]

What do you make of this place? I'm curious to know how it compares to where you come from.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We might not be in the same galaxy.

What's your name? [ To a talking skeleton. This could be weirder. ]

CERTAINLY NOT. I WOULD HAVE SENSED IT BY NOW.

YOU MAY CALL ME DEATH. EVERYONE DOES.

[ Clark just stares. ]

Oh. . . all right then. [ He looks exactly like every depiction of Death, but that would be stating the obvious. ]

How long have you been here, Death?

A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU. AND I DO NOT BELIEVE VERY LONG. PERHAPS A MONTH OR SO? MEASURING TIME IS NOT A PARTICULARLY STRONG SKILL OF MINE.

The pleasure's all mine. [ He thinks. . . ] And are you still. . . ah, employed? Here.

OH, NO. NOT IN THE OBLIGATORY SENSE, ALTHOUGH I COULD GIVE IT A TRY IF THE SITUATION CALLED FOR IT. THUS FAR, I HAVE NOT BEEN NEEDED.

That's a relief to hear.

This must be like a vacation. . . How do you usually spend your day, then?

HMM. GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE. MY KIND OF WORK DOES NOT AFFORD MUCH TIME FOR REST, SO I MAKE THE EFFORT TO EXPLORE HOBBIES WHEN I CAN.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS CAN REALLY BE A VACATION. IT'S NORMALLY A BAD THING WHEN I'M RELAXING.