h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is something I wrote a while ago and modified slightly for this (let's see if you can guess where)



Jim looked out the porthole of the Lucitania. The pitch black was only interrupted by the constant twinkling of the stars. The sound of the Ion drive was a muted background hum punctuated by the slow beeping of the life support systems in the hibernation module. It looked like they were still many light years from the galactic core.

Jim yawned and stretched, still feeling slightly groggy. The alert lights were still flashing in the hibernation module. He donned his uniform, looked into the mirror. It was still new to him to see the captains’ epaulettes on his shoulders.

He walked out of the module and onto the moving walkway. The ship still had that fresh weld smell that all new ships he’d been on had had. The gunmetal grey walls slid by, illuminated by the fluorescent lights which turned on as he approached. He stopped at the galley to get himself some coffee and moved on towards the bridge.

As he walked on to the bridge he was struck just by how many lights were flashing at all the displays, even though the rest of the crew were still in hibernation.

‘Computer, why have I been woken from hibernation?’ Jim asked
‘We have been contacted Captain. Protocols dictate that human intervention is required in such situations’

Jim did a double take ‘What did you say computer?’
‘Sir we have been contacted by another vessel. It is currently maintaining station at 4.5 parsecs portside’
‘Are they human?’
‘That would be hard to ascertain sir, they transmitted in binary. I have hypothesised that if they are not human, they have translated the data I was transmitting back to Jupiter Station and used it to communicate with us.’


Jim started pacing round the command deck.
‘Can I get a visual on this ship computer?’
‘Affirmative sir, showing on main viewer now.’

Jim looked to the main viewer. What he saw was a silver shark like ship, with a plume of blue ionised particles coming from what looked like an exhaust. It certainly looked as if it could be another human ship. But why? They were in the fastest ship available, on a mapping expedition to the centre of the Galaxy.

‘Computer, what exactly was the content of the message?’

‘It said Sorry but you have no carrier.’

Ooh, very good! What happens next?

I don't know, I haven't written it yet. this was one of those that had no planning and I just sat down and started writing