Tricia Aykroyd peered over her glasses at her audience and away from the book from which she’d been reading – her latest. One or two people smiled in appreciation of the last paragraph, which described the strange creatures she’d encountered during a trip to XN-1079, an exo-planet of the star Castor in the constellation of Leo.
If Tricia had advertised her book as a work of fiction, it is doubtful the small room in the bookshop would have been so crammed, but no, she’d insisted it was fact and what’s more, she was going to demonstrate its authenticity to all those selected to attend.
She closed the book. One person giggled nervously and a man at the back who’d been standing alongside others who’d arrived too late to grab a chair, turned to go, but found the door locked.
‘Rather than read further, I’d like you to experience life on XN-1079,’ Tricia said. ‘You will remember it forever.’ She took the book from the rostrum and tossed it into the air.
You’ve probably guessed by now, that I was in the audience and am able to vouch for everything that happened. I remember glancing at the clock on the wall behind the rostrum, seeing 10:55 and wondering what gimmick would be next and how much longer the reading would go on for. The book seemed to explode, or maybe it triggered an explosion, I couldn’t tell. The room had gone. I was standing on what looked like a swamp of bright blue mud. My four feet were huge and webbed. I turned my head from side to side, and although my back was parallel with the ground, I could see everything around me, including about 150 creatures that, I can only guess, were similar to me. Each was covered in fur, some like me were brightly coloured, others a deep brown. I was sexually attracted to the brown one next to me, but I couldn’t describe the feeling accurately, even if I wanted to. On a hill to my left, I could see more creatures. They were eating from tall bushes covered in orange snakes that looked delicious and I couldn’t wait to get there. I was about to run and join them when a flash of light obliterated the entire scene. I was back in the room. I looked at the person next to me, she looked back and reached for my arm, then quickly withdrew and unsuccessfully tried to stifle a scream, as if she’d received an electric shock. Tricia was smiling. ‘I’ve given you a taste of life on another planet. I hope you enjoyed it.’
I looked at the clock. It was still five to eleven.
H. E. Roffey.