The Giant
by Matthew Spence
Matthew Spence was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His interests include writing and art.
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Chazz found the giant in the plains underneath the iron sky. At first he wasn’t sure what it was, covered as it was in shiny metal and thick white cloth. It wasn’t until he dared to get closer that he saw the giant’s face and was startled to see how much it resembled those of his own tribe. After tentatively prodding its neck with his gas spear, he determined that the giant was dead. Thus satisfied, Chazz took a sample of its cloth from its shoulder, which for him was like scaling a small cliff, along with a piece of its hair, and returned with them to his village.
The elders were skeptical, or course. The village healer took the hair and looked carefully at it. “Definitely not animal,” he said. “So that part of your story, at least, seems to be true. And I have never seen cloth like this. It’s thicker than a winter bed sheet, yet surprisingly light.” He handed it over to one of the village’s more well known cotton growers. “What do you make of it, sir?” he asked.
The somewhat younger man frowned. “It’s very fine-finer than any I’ve ever made. Our own wool don’t grow like this.”
The senior elder pondered what they’d said. “I will have the local alchemists examine it. We will send an exhibition to study this giant, assuming someone from a rival village hasn’t found it first. No, young Chazz,” he said, to Chazz’s great disappointment. “You will remain while more experienced soldiers and doctors examine the giant, if it exists. We must learn more about what we might be dealing with.”
Chazz frowned, but eventually nodded and bowed. “As you wish,” he said. But at least he could still say that he’d found the giant first…
The expedition left early the next morning, with one of the elders at its head. After several hours, they returned, but their mood was somber.
“What happened?” the senior elder asked.
“The giant was indeed there,” the commander of the expedition finally said. “I can’t really describe it…”
“Was it in fact dead?”
“We thought so at first,” the commander replied. “But then it moved…it was like nothing Id ever seen. It opened its eyes, seemed to struggle for a bit, then slowly sat up and looked directly at us. My own men were tempted to run, as was I, but we followed the elder’s orders and stood our ground. It looked at its shoulder and realized that someone had taken some of its clothing. It tried to speak to us, but we couldn’t understand its language.”
“What happened then?”
The elder who had led the expedition spoke up. “It didn’t seem surprised or angry to see us. Instead, it simply stood and…went upwards, to the iron sky, where a hole opened and swallowed it whole.”
The elder stared at him. “Go on,” he said.
“I know it sounds insane, but the giant had some sort of metal bottles on his back that lifted him into the air. It all happened so quickly that it was over before we were able to regain our senses. The hole closed, and he was gone, as if he’d never been there.”
“We debated what to do next,” the commander added. “Should we wait for him to return, or come back to the village? In the end we decided to return.”
The elder looked at all of them, as if looking for any signs of deceit. Finally he said, “This incident will not be recorded in our histories. It would simply be too unbelievable. The hair and clothing will be kept for further study, but we must allow this to become a thing of legend. Perhaps someday…”
He didn’t get to finish. A low rushing sound, like an approaching storm, came from the direction of the plains. All of them stood and stared as not one giant, but three and then more, appeared from the iron sky as if they had been dropped by giant, invisible hands. Chazz saw that the giant he’d seen earlier was with them, not as dead as he’d thought after all.
Everyone waited as they came forward. They didn’t seem threatening, but they were there, and Chazz knew that things would never be the same…
Field mission report from Ceres colony mission, standard date, standard year 2277
Have successfully made contact with the descendants of original Ceres colonists that were believed to have been lost to volcanic activity and solar radiation two hundred standard years ago. Reports of their slowed growth and diminished stature caused by several generations of low level gamma radiation have been confirmed. Culturally they have regressed to a tribal culture at a level comparable to that of early Middle Ages Europe. After initial shock at our appearance, talks were initiated between Lieutenant Stevens and one of the locals with whom he had encountered earlier while in an unconscious state due to failed environmental equipment, using rudimentary hand gestures to communicate. After contacting Earth, it has been decided that the colonists are no longer in any danger to the radiation that they have become acclimated to. They will be left to develop on their own under non interference directives until such time as they are able to make formal contact. From our own observations, the prospects of this happening sooner rather than later are very favorable.
-Mission report, Commander Alice Parker Reynolds, reporting, Earth Survey Team Commander
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