During the night a multitude had crept out, one by one, some still sick from the ultra-light fusion that had made them capable of the trillion-mile journey. They tested their wings in the bright autumn sunlight, found food in the nearby vineyard and, after treetop scouting, a secure location to camp.
By twilight, vineyard laborers were walking home complaining of preternaturally large mosquitoes.
“Left me alone mostly,” Cheeky Murgatroyd boasted, spitting out tobacco juice.
By the next night none of the intergalactic party had survived. As she lay dying, one of them muttered, “The wise space-travel only in their imagination.”*
*With apologies to Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote: “A wise man travels only in his imagination.”
Genre: Science Fiction Word count: 100 written for Rochelle's Friday Fictioneers click on the frog for more tales of a hundred words or less. And join the fun!
This Jolly Beggar 
The dangers of space travel. I would moan about the mosquitos too! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! One of the best things about fall is the absence of mosquitoes. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder what we would have learned from them… maybe they were coming in peace to save the earth,,,
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I know. And how many times has this scenario transpired? So many missed opportunities . . . . Let’s not think about that, Björn.
LikeLike
A shame to travel all that way and then be mistaken for a mosquito
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did feel a twinge of guilt about that.
LikeLike
Such a tragedy that none survived 😦 I like the world-building you did here Dora.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was just a fluke of nature that they didn’t. Thanks Lisa 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most welcome, Dora.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no 😦 We come in peace, we bring science, medicine… thwack 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite a rather shabby end to say the least! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That explains the blood suckers. Enjoyed the story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe a smaller scouting expedition next time, somewhere else. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
A sad end, after a journey of that length. Send the message back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure they had time to do that.
LikeLike
Unexpected indeed. Loved the little apology at the end 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading, Jude 😉
LikeLike
Team Dora here✋🏾
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
Delightfully different Dora, I wonder what RLS would make of your interpretation were he alive today!
Here’s mine!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He would definitely take issue with Cheeky 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
And here I was thinking the tobacco juice would save us all from aliens from outer space 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading, Linda 🙂
LikeLike
if anything, they didn’t morph into vampires. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s another story! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Dora,
Extraterrestrial mosquitos? EEEEEEEW! Imaginative storytelling.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rochelle,
Thank you, and good riddance to ’em, right?
Aleichem shalom,
Dora
LikeLike
Ouch! To survive interstellar travel and then reach a planet just to get a ‘thwack’. Meanwhile on Earth the search for intelligent life continues….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Extremely disheartening, and more so than ever.
LikeLike
There’s a risk with all exploration, but we’ll never make it to Vulcan without it. I love the name Cheeky Murgatroyd.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed! Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great story 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The adorable pup on the top of your blog page makes me smile every time I visit, Dora. It’s too bad none of the intergalactic travelers survived after so much effort. Entertaining tale!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Brenda. She’s a very sweet pup. She’d like the thought of making you smile!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent take on the prompt, Dora. We don’t often have SF on FF!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Too much Star Trek and Twilight Zone in my formative years, some would say! Thanks, Penny.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Inventive take on the photo prompt! I like it. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Susan 😀
LikeLike
ooooooo I have dark thoughts about mosquitoes! But in this case, those poor things. It was a long way to travel only to die.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Armchair traveling is much less riskier! Thanks, Laurie.
LikeLike