20 May 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2378: draw every day - New Hope
This post was inspired by today's 5-minute writing prompt in the Freewriters Community - "Draw Every Day
Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
The colony ship "Hope's Wings" loomed over the spaceport and city beyond. It was probably the largest structure in this world.
Below it, a huge crowd surged, ebbing and flowing like the tide, held back by a line of Gendarmes in black uniforms. The police were terrifyingly liberal with their use of batons and tear gas.
Behind the police was a podium on which stood a small group of officials. In charge was Governor Habbin, and it was his amplified voice that made the announcement.
Habbin called out a list of numbers; the personal identity numbers of certain citizens. Those called pushed to the front of the crowd, using elbows and even fists to do so. Once there, the Gendarmes checked their identity and, if it was correct, let them through to begin the walk up the ship's long boarding ramp.
Today, twenty people were called. Just twenty. Out of a crowd of maybe forty thousand. One in two thousand was all that were selected. There was an angry undertone to the crowd's pressure against the law enforcement line.
Habbin's voice boomed out over them, amplified to the point of deafening distortion.
"Come back tomorrow good citizens. You can have a fresh chance at winning the prize of a new life on the colony of New Hope. There are several weeks before Liftoff. Until then, there will be a draw every day !"
Big oof. Always such a desperate undertone about people that need to get off WORLD. Even worse than trying to leave a country.
Whatever leads a person to the decision to leave a planet means absolute death and a lack of a future.
Good job!
Yeah, but there are always two elements to it. Where they are must be bad enough one way or another that people desperately want to leave. It might be a bad economy, poor standard of living, tyrannical or oppressive government, overcrowding or just ideological (like the Pilgrim Fathers).
But on the positive side, the pioneering spirit has been strong in humanity since at least the days of Homo Heidelbergensis. There are always those who wonder what opportunities they might find over the horizon, starting a new life, or just want to explore out of curiosity knowing they'll be the first humans to see what's out there. So it's not all bad !
Indeed.
I was thinking more a case of... what if they really need to get off world because they are all going to die, sort of vibe. Lol
Ooooh, I like that - there's a definite story there waiting to be written 😁
Right?
So this would turn into quite the despair... and then revolt... and crowd control. Knife-edge type of thing. 😁
Wow just 20 people out of the many.... There's definitely going to be a riot 😂😂😂😂 what a lovely picture man... It perfectly described the story
Thank you ! Something which occurred to me after I posted the story is that it's pretty good odds; just think about the miniscule % of people on Earth who get the opportunity to be astronauts, cosmonauts or taikonauts !
You know what, now that I think of it 🤔 you're right... It is pretty pretty good odds...
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