MidReal Story
Galactic Odyssey: Mark's Interstellar Journey
Scenario: Start on Earth in a reality based galaxy. Your name is Mark Fisher. You are a 58 year old human male. You have never traveled away from Earth before. All star names and locations are identical to real life. The year is 2799. Spaceflight is commonplace. You can only travel to the three nearest stars from whatever star you are near at the time. You can travel to all of them as long as you go from nearest star to nearest star. Alien civilizations are everywhere and they interact. Even more alien civilizations exist without the advancement of space travel. All civilizations behave different with governments, currencies, trade agreements, alliances, factions, wars, etc.
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Mark Fisher
novice space traveler, no specific relationships, middleaged with greying hair and a curious expression, adventurous and cautious.
Jorlax Prime
leader of a powerful alien alliance, acquaintance of Zara'keth, imposing with multiple limbs and a regal demeanor, strategic and diplomatic.
Zara'keth
seasoned pilot and guide, friend to Mark, tall with iridescent scales and sharp eyes, wise and brave.
I was a middle-aged man when I first left Earth.
I’d never been on a spaceship before, and I was excited.
I’d read about the galaxy my whole life, and now I was going to see it for myself.
I couldn’t wait to meet aliens, see new planets, and learn about new cultures.
The ship was huge, and there were so many people on it.
Some of them were human like me, but most of them were aliens.
There were tall ones with scales and sharp eyes, and short ones with fur and big ears.
There were some that looked like giant bugs, and some that looked like floating jellyfish.
There were even some that looked like robots!
I didn’t know where to look first, so I just stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot.
A tall alien with iridescent scales and sharp eyes came up to me.
“Mark Fisher?”
she said in perfect English.
“I’m Zara’keth.”
“Hello,” I said.
She had to be at least seven feet tall!
I felt like a little kid shaking hands with my teacher.
Zara’keth was a pilot and guide, and she was going to make sure I got safely to Proxima Centauri.
I could tell right away that she knew what she was doing.
She had an air of authority and confidence about her, and I immediately felt reassured that I was in good hands.
After a few minutes, she turned to me.
“I will show you to your quarters,” she said.
“But first, you need to board the ship.”
Right, I thought.
I need to get on the spaceship!
We were standing in a big open room that looked like a giant garage.
I could see the spaceship behind us, just waiting for me to climb on board.
I couldn’t wait to see what it was going to be like inside, but first I had to actually get on the damn thing.
I started walking towards the ship, and Zara’keth walked beside me.
The spaceship was huge!
It was longer than a football field, with wings that stretched out into space.
It looked like it was made of shiny gray metal, and it gleamed in the sun.
There were windows all along the side, and I could see people sitting inside.
I felt a little dizzy when I looked at it, and I had to remind myself to keep moving forward.
Zara’keth led me around to the front of the ship, where we came to a long metal ramp that led up into the cargo bay.
We stopped at the bottom of the ramp, and Zara’keth turned to face me.
“Are you ready?”
she asked, her expression unreadable.
She seemed like she was waiting for something, but I didn’t know what it was.
“Yes,” I said.
I hoped my voice didn’t sound too shaky.
I didn’t want her to think I was scared or something.
She reached out with one of her long hands and put it on my shoulder, giving me a gentle nudge forward.
“It’s time to board the ship,” she said.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Okay,” I said.
“I’m ready.” She patted me on the back and stepped back to give me some space.
“I will meet you in the passenger lounge in an hour,” she said.
Zara’keth was going to show me how to put on a spacesuit and get settled into my quarters.
I was really glad that she was here.
She’d done this before, and she would make sure that I didn’t mess anything up.
I nodded and started making my way up the ramp towards the ship.
I gripped the railing with both hands and tried not to look down as I climbed up into the spaceship.
It was dark and cold inside the cargo bay, and the metal walls were covered in scuff marks and scratches.
It smelled like old rubber and diesel fumes.
As soon as I made it up the ramp, there was a loud hissing sound and the door swung shut behind me.
The bay was dark for a second, and then there was a loud clang as the door locked into place.
I stopped in my tracks for a moment, just so that I could take it all in, before Zara’keth nudged me forward with a gentle push from her long fingers.
I stood at the threshold of the spaceship, staring up at its sleek metallic hull looming above me.
The artificial lights of the docking bay glinted off its surface, illuminating every square inch of its gleaming exterior.
The ship seemed to stretch on forever, its wings outstretched like a bird of prey, its hull shimmering in the light of a thousand distant stars.
I felt myself trembling with excitement as I took in its sheer size, its massive engines, its superstructure bristling with weapons and sensors.
Beneath my feet, the floor of the docking bay trembled with a deep, resonant hum that seemed to come from deep within the ship itself.
This wasn’t just a spaceship; it was a city unto itself, a vast, sprawling metropolis that housed thousands of beings from countless planets across the galaxy.
I turned to Zara’keth, who was watching me with a bemused expression on her face.
She seemed to be waiting for something, and when I met her gaze, she nodded at me, as if to say, “Go on.”
I took a deep breath, then stepped forward into the docking bay, following Zara’keth as she led me towards the ship’s entrance.
As we drew closer, I could see that the hull was covered in intricate patterns of alien glyphs and symbols, each one etched into the metal with astonishing precision and care.
I had read that this ship had been designed by a coalition of alien races from all across the galaxy, each one contributing its own unique perspective and expertise to create a vessel that was greater than the sum of its parts.
Now, as I traced my finger along the smooth metal surface of the ship’s hull, I felt a sense of wonder at what I was seeing, a reminder of all that lay beyond my own narrow human perspective.
We reached the ship’s entrance and Zara’keth held out her hand for me to take.
I took it, then followed her up the ramp and into the belly of the vessel.
The first thing I noticed was how dark it was inside the ship.
The lights were dim and the walls were painted a dull gray color that seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it.
I could see a long row of windows running along one side of the ship, but they were covered with metal shutters and I couldn’t see anything outside.
A long metal ramp extended from the ship’s belly down to the docking platform below, and I could see a line of passengers snaking its way towards the boarding area.
Zara’keth handed me a small device with an electronic display and a flashing light, something she called my boarding pass.
Head to my quarters
she said, pointing down the corridor to our left.
Then come find me when you’re settled in.”
I nodded, then watched as she turned and walked away, her long tail swaying gently behind her as she moved down the corridor and disappeared from sight.
I hesitated for a moment at the top of the ramp, feeling the weight of my decision to leave Earth behind and embark on this journey into the unknown.
In that moment, I could have turned and gone back—I could have said that it was all too much for me to handle and I needed more time to think about it—but deep down, I knew that wasn’t what I wanted.
The pull of the unknown—the urge to take that next step forward into the darkness—was stronger than my fear of what might happen if I did.
With a deep breath, I stepped across the ramp and into the belly of the ship, feeling a surge of adrenaline as I did.
This was really happening—I was really boarding a spaceship to travel to another star system and begin an adventure beyond my wildest dreams.
Now all I had to do was take that next step forward and see where it led.
Inside the ship was a maze of corridors and compartments, far more extensive than I would have thought possible from looking at the ship from the outside.
Zara’keth had warned me that it would be easy to get lost in here if I wasn’t careful, so I made a point of paying close attention to our route as I followed her through the ship.
We passed several other passengers on their way to different parts of the ship, as well as a few crew members who seemed to be engaged in maintenance work or other tasks.
There were no windows in this part of the ship, and without any visual reference points to guide me, I quickly lost track of where we were in relation to the docking bay or any other part of the ship.
We arrived at my living quarters a few minutes later.
The door was labeled with a small metal plaque that read “Deck 7, Section C, Room 42,” and I made a mental note to remember it for later.
Zara’keth had told me that my room would be on Deck 7, so at least I had gotten that much right.
She keyed in a code on a small keypad next to the door and it slid open with a soft hiss of air.
“Here you go,” she said, stepping aside to let me enter.
“Make yourself at home.
I’ll be around if you need anything.”
I stepped inside and looked around.
The room was small but comfortable, with a bunk bed against one wall, a desk and chair against another, and a small viewport that offered a good view of the stars through its thick transparent glass.
I could see other spaceships and stations parked nearby in the busy dock, as well as a few distant stars twinkling in the dark void of space.
It was an amazing view.
settle into my quarters
I turned to thank Zara’keth, but she had already left, and I was alone.
With a sigh, I set my bag down on the bed and began unpacking my few belongings.
Once I had everything put away, I sat down at the desk and tried to collect my thoughts.
The past few hours had been a blur, and I knew that I needed some time to process everything that had happened before I could move on to whatever came next.
For better or worse, my journey had only just begun.
It took me a while to get settled, but eventually I made my way back out into the corridors to look for Zara’keth.
I walked up and down a few different hallways before finding her, but when I did, she greeted me with a friendly smile and an expectant look in her eyes.
“Is everything all right?”
she asked, noticing my expression.
I nodded, then followed her as she led me through the winding passageways towards our first stop—a large communal area that served as a kind of central hub for this part of the ship.
The spaceport was a hive of activity, a bustling metropolis of beings from across the galaxy who had come here to trade, explore, and conduct business.
It was a chaotic scene, with ships of all shapes and sizes coming and going from every direction, each bearing the markings of their distant origins.
As I made my way through the crowd, I found myself surrounded by a cacophony of alien languages and sights that I could hardly even begin to describe—beings of all shapes and sizes, from tiny insects to towering giants, and everything in between.
To my left, a group of Draxians passed by—reptilian beings with long tails and sharp claws who walked on two legs like humans but had scales covering their bodies instead of skin.
To my right, a pair of E’thari floated past—a race of ethereal energy beings who resembled glowing orbs with long, delicate tendrils—and I marveled at how they were able to move without any visible means of propulsion.
Despite the diversity of the crowd, there was a certain uniformity to the technology that I saw.
Everywhere I looked, I saw signs of advanced technology—energy weapons, force fields, anti-gravity devices—and cultures that were far more advanced than my own.
It was a humbling experience, to say the least, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the sight of so many wonders in one place.
I had always known that the galaxy was a big place with many different civilizations and cultures living out amongst the stars, but seeing it for myself was a completely different experience.
It was one thing to know it in theory—it was quite another to stand here and see it with my own eyes.
As I tried to take it all in, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a figure standing behind me—a tall humanoid being with iridescent scales covering her body and sharp eyes that seemed to bore into mine with an almost predatory intensity.
“Mark Fisher?”
she asked in a low voice.
I nodded slowly, still trying to shake off the effects of the sensory overload that had come from seeing all these new sights for the first time.
