In my spare time I like to write. I mainly write novels, but I also write poems, short stories, and scripts. I’ve been creating stories for as long as I can remember.
When I was about 10 I wrote a 30 minute TV script for the opening episode of a TV show. It featured something called a “reality machine” which, when used on something like a book, could take something from that book and make it real. This script featured a monster, which I simply called “The Ultimate”. He was a giant, green, humanoid monster, who could instantly change state from a solid to a liquid to a gas.
I wrote this script by hand – this was c.1991 and, whilst we did have a computer, we didn’t have a PC. The computer we had [an Amstrad CPC 6128] and the software we had for it wasn’t ideal for script writing. Sadly, I have since lost this hand written script, and only have limited memories of it...
Around two years later I started high school. I was 12 going on 13 then – I live in Harrow, and, at the time, Harrow schoolchildren started high school in Year 8, completing Year 7 as the last year of middle school, as opposed to starting high school at Year 7 like the rest of the country. I started high school on 7th September 1993. On 6th September 1993 I wrote the first chapter of a story called “The Ultimate Power”, which was set on 7th September 1993, and featured a young boy called Karl S[REDACTED] Green, who was starting high school that day. He met a nice girl called Sarah, but then The Ultimate turned up, and caused some trouble. After a shock revelation about Sarah, our characters went on an adventure to defeat The Ultimate...
I’m not going to be sharing that story with you today. Oh no, it reveals a bit too much about various things! It’s remaining under wraps – for now at least.
About a year later for English class we had to write a short story. We were given free rein to write about anything we liked. I decided to write a prequel to “The Ultimate Power”, called “The Creation of The Ultimate”, and that is the story which I will be sharing with you today. It still exists on my computer, and I will be presenting it here in its unedited form – complete with spelling errors and grammar fails.
When reading it, please bear in mind that I was only 13 going on 14 when I wrote this. I know that it is not great writing! My writing has come on a lot since then. [I’m also aware that it breaks a few scientific laws...] There are also bonus points on offer to anyone who’s able to spot what video game had influenced me at the time...
As to what happened next with my “Ultimate” stories, there was a brief, one-page, third section written which took place after “The Ultimate Power”, and this still exists on my computer. I had also started work on a fourth section, called “Regroup”, but this fourth section has since been lost. Part of me had always intended to go back and finish my “Ultimate” stories, but I never did. And, considering how bad they are, I doubt I ever will.
But, one day, I may have a character in one of my novels who’s about to start high school, and, on the day before he starts, he decides to write a story about what his first day might be like. One quick cut-and-paste job later, and people will be praising me on my unique ability to capture the voice of a young teenage boy...
And so, without further ado, from deep within the Karl S. Green archives, I present to you “The Creation of The Ultimate”...)
THE CREATION OF THE ULTIMATE
In Earth’s 30th century a terrible event occurred in the inky voids of deep space. A nightmare whose name would be feared for 1,000 generations throughout the Universe.
A strange green substance had formed. It was an event as rare as the Big Bang, it would only happen once in the whole lifetime of the Universe. There was an enormous explosion. The substance had a conscious.
A humanoid body began to form. Two arms and two legs began to take shape. They were to be the strongest limbs ever to ever have been encounted.
Following the fingers and toes came the terrifying face. Few were to see this face and live to describe it. Everything about it was totally evil.
It’s brain started to pulsate. Already evil schemes started to form. Some strange force was feeding the brain with all known knowledge...
Slowly, it grew bigger. The arms, legs and face slowly disappeared from view. No more of the substance was formed. It was turning into a gas, a gas that could move and think.
Satisfied, the creature turned back into it’s solid form, arms, legs and face visible again. With its superb vision it could see a populated planet in the distance. The planet Earth. It started to move towards it at a speed faster than the speed of light.
It didn’t notice that not all of the substance had formed it. There was another, smaller creature. It had a similar brain but wasn’t in a humanoid shape. On one side it had what looked like a mouth. It was rimmed with a number of small, sharp teeth. It could sense the larger creature moving off. It followed like a baby after its mother...
A short while later, Earth defence Station VI spotted the larger creature. Captain John S. Riterson knew something important was going to happen when he went into his general’s office. As soon as he entered, General William S. Piercy said, ‘John, Defence Station VI has spotted a large green “giant” heading towards Earth at an incredible speed.’
‘A giant?’
‘That’s what they said. Your mission is to try and make contact with this life form. If it’s hostile, you destroy it. I know you can do it.’
‘Sir, how would I destroy it? My ship only has one fairly weak weapon.’
‘You will fly the new XJ-742. It’s slightly smaller than this thing and has all the latest weapons, including the brand new plasma beam. If that won’t destroy it, nothing will.’
‘Isn’t the XJ-742 in prototype stage?’
‘Yes, but the next best thing is a soppy pussy cat compared to that. Now go to Airlock 412. Good luck.’ John saluted and went to Airlock 412.
John was a little scared on the way to Airlock 412. He had only dealt with a new life form once before, the Kimbar. They had come to Earth to seek out other sentient beings like themselves. They were currently helping Earth to improve it’s ships, the XJ-742 being the cream of their work. John was lucky then, this time lady luck may be elsewhere...
When he went into flight, the creature was about 15,000,000 miles away from Earth. John headed towards it at full speed.
When he was close enough, he turned on the outside speaker (the sound could be heard in space, thanks to the Kimbar’s technology). He said, ‘I am captain John S. Riterson from Planet Earth. What do you want?’ (Normal procedure was to speak in English as most planets had developed some form of language translator. The Kimbar had sent out data that contained the whole of the English language to all sentient beings they had met, deciding that it was the most common language on Earth).
The creature had somehow developed a biological language translator and thus was able to understand John perfectly. It said, ‘I wish to destroy it, for my amusement.’ John wasted no time in firing the plasma beam. The creature quickly turned into its gas form. The shot passed harmlessly through it.
The creature turned back into its solid form and laughed, ‘NOTHING CAN DESTROY THE ULTIMATE!’ The Ultimate laughed even more now it had chosen it’s name.
Suddenly the smaller creature ‘bit’ into the Ultimate’s head. The Ultimate tried to pull it off but it was gripping on too tight. The Ultimate couldn’t even turn into his gas form, something was preventing him from doing so. John fired another shot. Some of the Ultimate’s body was separated from the rest of it. It formed into another creature like the one attacking the Ultimate’s head.
John kept on firing and more of the smaller creatures were formed. They all started to attack the ‘Ultimate’. No matter how many times John shot at the thing, it was able to replace the lost substance in no time. ‘Come on,’ John thought.
All of a sudden, by some twist of fate, a random, short term worm hole appeared. There were loads of these that kept springing up all over the universe. You went in one end and you came out the other in another time and another place. But they only lasted a few minutes before they collapsed. The Ultimate headed towards it. The other creatures were afraid of the worm hole and disappeared off into deep space. Then the Ultimate vanished into the worm hole...
After John had explained what had happened to his general, he went off to make an official report. He finished it by saying, ‘The Ultimate could be anywhere, in anytime, from now on I suggest we keep alert for him, if he hasn’t gone back in time when the Earth was weak, like the 20th century, because he could easily destroy it.’
John had made a lucky guess. The Ultimate was in the 20th century...
(Next Week: A Love of Retro Games Consoles)
1 comment:
Thanks so much for sharing this Karl.
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