Vichstation-1: The New Colony

[UncaringNonchala]

[b]This is a short story I wrote in three hours. The basis was given to me by Stonecycle, MasterAenox, and T.F.W.O.[/b]

[QUOTE=Stonecycle;44584829]1. Geraldo McSmith.
2. [b]On a moon colony[/b] similar to pre-founded United States (visited before, but now endeavors to conquer it).
3. [b]Victorian 1800s[/b].
4. Yes, on a [b]Victorian era moon colony[/b]. This would need a touch of Jules Verne to match the style. Maybe said character could be part of some organized crime thing?[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=MasterAenox;44584810]1- [b]Ivanovich[/b]
2- Russia
3- 1943
4- A Russian army guy that throw bottles of vodka filled with piss at the enemy :v:[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=T.F.W.O.;44585115]1. [b]Donavon Markowitz[/b]
2. New York
3. 1951
4. [b]Must include body horror[/b] (think David Cronenberg), and proto computers.[/QUOTE]

[b]It may not be that good, and have some useless bits and confusing plot holes, but I tried. Here it is...[/b]

[quote] The moon. Man has glanced at the moon for centuries, wondering what mysteries lie beyond the skies on the crater-riddled grey ball that has revolved around us since before we ever even existed. One man dared to dream big and follow through with his wild ideas of traveling there, discovering what it may hold. Gabriel Ivanovich - dreamer, inventor, entrepreneur. Gabriel had created a machine that could take people to the moon, and he wanted only one thing. He wanted to create a colony where people could live, to expand the areas in which human beings could survive, to leave the planet we all called home - yet were not in love enough to take care of it. The earth was slowly dying, and Gabriel had seen this through the wars, the destruction of land, the constant spewing of chemicals into the air from the factories riddled across the land.

AE-2, the second vehicle powered by electric and powerful enough to break the hold of gravity, was filled with people of many different skills. Painters, survivalists, musicians, merchants, athletes. The only type of people Gabriel would not allow access to his electric flying machine were politicians... the men who were the cause behind the death and destruction on our mother planet. AE-2 was filled with ten people, all holding these different skills and excited to start life anew.

Gabriel Ivanovich had sent the first vehicle, AE-1, full of architects and construction men, to build the colony in which the new settlers would live. Not many had heard much about the first flight, and that was on purpose. Gabriel did not want governments to hear of his plans, he wanted to make the first colony outside of our planet to be a colony of the people. A colony ruled by true democracy and rich with culture.

AE-2 had had a successful flight. After a week of drifting through space, making its way to the moon, it connected to the docking station. The people on-board were mesmerized at the way all of this colony looked. It stretched for miles. Buildings were a slight brownish hue, some as tall as a skyscraper. They could see grey areas in between the buildings, the actual surface of the rock. A maze of external hallways connected the many buildings to one another. It seemed impossible that in one short year, Ivanovich would have been able to build such an amazing city. Lights were strewn across the exterior of the buildings and hallways, creating an almost magical feeling inside. As the ship finally finished its docking procedures, the new residents filed out, ready to start new lives.

Donovan Markowitz was one of the new residents. A painter who had known life on earth to be petty and hateful. Nobody had ever understood the paintings he created. He would dump the blood of pigs on a canvas and then smear the blood with sticks, creating portraits of men without ears, eyes, noses. He claimed the paintings were his view on government rule over the people. Men who didn't [i]see[/i] the pain they caused, didn't [i]hear[/i] the cries of the poor, could not [i]smell[/i] the plagued streets they claimed power over. Gabriel Ivanovich understood the meaning behind Markowitz's painting though. That was the reason Markowitz was invited to this new colony - to remind the people of what they left behind.

All of the residents were led to their rooms to unpack and rest. Many would stop in the connecting hallways to look out the thick glass separating them from the void of space. "Can you believe we're now able to look upon earth," one of the new residents said, "as if it is our own moon now?" Donovan smiled slightly at this. He felt like a boy again, ready to tackle a new place and become appreciated, to once again feel security among others. [i]Fear would be an old emotion in this new place. Fear is of the old world. Only hope exists here.[/i]

Months had gone by since settling into Vichstation-1. Although the name of the colony had Ivanovich's name attached to it, nobody had had any quarrels with it. The man had paid straight from his own pocket to make this place, and he was giving the power to the people. Gabriel Ivanovich only worked as an advisor to the people, but would rarely intervene in public affairs. The only thing that seemed odd, was that over time, Ivanovich would show his face less and less. He would spends days inside of his building. People just thought that maybe he was working on more inventions, more ways to improve the colony. Donovan was a bit more curious though...

Donovan had requested a meeting with Ivanovich to talk about the matter of distributing his paintings across the colony. It had been at least a year, and he had filled only his room with his paintings. Ivanovich had promised to display his paintings across the colony for all to see, as a reminder of what they left, yet this had not happened yet.

A knock at the door. Donovan jumped up from his bed and briskly made his way to the door.
"Mr. Ivanovich!" Donovan exclaimed.
"Donovan." Ivanovich said, seeming absent.
"I was wondering when my pa-", Donovan was cut off, "Donovan. These paintings of yours, I'm afraid they may emit fear still. The people need to forget what they left, not be reminded."

Donovan was appalled. He could not understand why Ivanovich would change his mind on this. That was the entire reason he was there, to help people [i]remember[/i] the horrors on earth, to [i]remember[/i] that it will not happen here.

"But... my paintings, they are a reminder. We cannot just forget the past and not expect it to repeat itself!"
"This is a new era." Ivanovich said. He calmly nodded his head, and turned to leave.

[i]Something isn't right[/i], Donovan thought. [i]Why would Mr. Ivanovich change his mind like this...[/i]

Time kept passing. Paintings kept building up within his quarters. Nobody showed interest in him in this place. Ivanovich once did, but no more. Donovan could feel that slow creeping of dark tendrils making their way up his spine. The chills were back. He needed to be who he was, he felt suffocated here. At least on earth, he was able to speak out, whether people listened or not.

Donovan came up with a plan. He would find out what the real purpose of this place was. He knew it could not be the utopia everyone had been promised. This was just not in human nature. Men with any power will always abuse it. He felt so disgusted with himself for believing in lies he had spent his entire life calling out against. [i]This place is a lie[/i] he kept thinking. All he needed to do was make his way to the building Ivanovich lived in. Nobody but Ivanovich was ever seen entering or exiting that building, yet he knew others had access. People who knew much about science.

As more months went by, and Donovan was trying to perfect his plan, people had begun to go missing. A woman was one of them. A light-haired woman with the brightest blue eyes that he had spent hours talking to one day - about the beauty of art, the wonders of music, and how the endless void of space right outside their walls was beautiful, yet dark and silent. He had never gotten the woman's name, figuring he would see her again around the colony. More people had shown up since they had first arrived, but he knew the schedules of the people who had landed with him. Everyone followed the same schedule, everyone was punctual. The woman, along with some others, had stopped showing up in their usual destinations. For every fifty people that came to the colony, at least one would disappear.

Donovan was crouched in the lobby leading to Ivanovich's towering building. He had to time this right... getting into the tower was a one-shot deal. He knew that if he did not succeed this first time, he would be caught, and may end up one of the missing colonists.

The door opened, and out walked Ivanovich. He took a few steps forward, stopped, and gathered in his surroundings. He took a large breath of the recycled air in the lobby, let out a sigh, and started to walk again. Donovan was hiding behind one of the plants in the corner of the lobby, and as soon as Ivanovich was close to the exit, ran silently toward the entrance of the building. As he drew closer to the door, two rods extended from the door-frame and let out a zap of electricity directed toward him.

Donovan awoke in a clean room. Blinking constantly to adjust his vision, he shook his head a few times. The first thing he noticed was a jar on the table beside him, the second thing was that he could not move. He could feel his muscles strain, but he could not move any part of his body. As he tried his hardest to move, fear began to set in. [i]Fear[/i], the one thing that wasn't supposed to exist in this new place. He turned his head to the other side to see someone else in the room.

It was the woman.
She [i]was[/i] taken.

He opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. He didn't know if it was from fear, or if something had been done to his vocal chords, but his ability to speak had been taken from him. The woman was sat upright in a chair similar to his, strapped down tight. Her golden hair was gone, and her eyes closed. He noticed tubes running from her body, stuck in tightly in random spots around her arms, chest, and thighs. What was Ivanovich planning? What could possibly be going on in this place? Donovan tightly shut his eyes, hoping it was but a dream. It wasn't.

The door opened, and in walked a man wearing a long, white robe. This was not any attire Donovan was familiar with here. Everyone else had worn the same clothing that they wore on earth. The man had a mask over his face, not unlike the ones worn by doctors in medieval times. The nose was long. The eyes were black. The man carried a clipboard and walked unnaturally. Donovan began to panic. He didn't want to be some specimen for whatever sick projects were going on in this building. He only wanted to go home. Home, where war plagued the land and rich men ruled. At least there, he had [i]some[/i] freedom. Donovan felt the quick prick of a needle sticking into his arm, as the beaked man stared down upon him.

Donovan awoke in the market, the central building of the colony. He stood with others, all completely shaven, all standing at attention. He could see what was going on, but still had no control over his body. Feeling his legs extend, he thought he had gained control once again. This was not so, as he noticed that everyone else around him were also walking forward. He could see tears streaming down the faces of the others, and he knew that he wasn't the only one conscious - yet out of control.

The voice of Ivanovich blared above them all, "Tonight, my friends. Tonight, we voyage back to our home and fix what had thought to be lost!" It had finally snapped in Donovan's head. This was not a colony. This was a training facility. This was where Ivanovich was planning his work - to end all wars on earth with one final war. He had somehow found a way to fully control people. Donovan understood why Ivanovich had shown such a liking toward his paintings, he despised the powerful men on earth, and he wished to end them all.

The vehicles were filled and started to set off toward earth. Donovan could see from the corner of his eye through the window... hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles like the one he was in were all making their way through space. Human puppets, disfigured by science, all of them. Ivanovich's plan was being set into motion. Donovan had succeeded in finding out what Ivanovich was planning, but he did not succeed in the way he thought. He succeeded by walking straight into his end.

Donovan Markowitz saw as the black outside of the window changed to blue. His eyes were all he had control of, and all he could feel anymore. He knew if he kept them shut forever, he would be spared the visions of what was to come. Closing his eyes, he felt the rumble of the vehicle landing. He never opened them again.[/quote]