Baron's Dream

Author's Forward:

At this time I would like to unequivocally state for the record that the following in its entirety is completely Taron W.'s fault! This story was written under protest and extreme duress; I finally had to succumb to the extreme pressure of Taron's constant questioning "Is your contest entry done?", "Where is your contest entry". As a result of his constant badgering I wrote this story last night in three minutes of course the fleshing out and minor editing took much longer. So if you have any complaints or criticism, please send them to Taron W.

It was a warm and gloriously sunny day along the coast of Alta Califerne on the csup of autumn. The days were still wonderfully warm and the nights crisp and cool but not yet frosty. The foliage was just beginning to turn into what soon would be an amazing riot of color. Baron was of course at his normal perch overlooking the Baía of Bodega. On the hillsides around him the brilliant crimsons and glorious golds and yellows were just beginning to replace the vibrant greens of the normal foliage. Of course Baron was virtually immune to the majestic splendor around him; he had eyes only for the rolling surf splashing rhythmically upon the shore far below.

'Is this the day of my dreams? Is this the day new life arrives to share my home, my life?'

Those were the thoughts going through Baron's brain this day as they had for previous days uncounted. Baron went through his normal checks; the levels of CH4, NH3, H2S, CO2 P043- were all within acceptable limits. He then proceeded to check the necessary Essential an Nonstandard Amino Acids; Histidine, Arginine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine, Selenocysteine and Pyrrolysine. They were all present and in the correct proportions necessary.

What Baron had neglected to take into account was that Creation, like Time itself, worked on its own timetable and there was nothing he could do to speed the process up. Baron sighed to himself and shrugged and then uncharacteristically allowed his attention to be diverted by a school of dolphins cavorting just outside the breakwater. Seeing how much fun the dolphins were having brightened Baron's day slightly until his thoughts returned to his regular depressing mantra.

'Is the the day of my dreams? Is this the day new life arrives to share my home, my life?'

Something out of the corner of his perception broke him out of the doldrums; just outside the breakwater to the left of the dolphins, a mother Sea Otter was trying to teach her young pup to crack open oysters on a rock. The young pup kept missing the rock and when the oyster finally connected with the rock it flew out of the pup's paw and hit the stunned pup on the forehead. The resulting squeals of pain and indignation frightened even the most voracious and tenacious Seagulls away. The underwater vibrations were even enough to scare away a Carcharodon Carcharias that had been cruising along the Continental Shelf feasting on Lutjanus campechanus and Lotella rhacina.

Baron soon tired of watching the antics of the Sea Otters and returned his vision to the surf breaking upon the pristine sand of his favorite unsullied beach. As the majestic Sun began setting with a stunning display of red and orange, soon morphing into majestic indigos and purples; Baron began slipping into slumber after another depressing day awaiting creation of new life.

The following morning began in a most depressing fashion as the fog that had rolled in the previous evening remained in a blanket nearly as thick as the oceans were deep. The usually magnificently glowing orange ball of fire that was the normal vision of the Sun was just a pale milky glow in the sky. Baron mechanically on autopilot went through his daily checks and yes all of the necessary chemical components were in their optimal concentrations. The only 'fly in the ointment' so to speak was the temperature it was woefully inadequate for the creation of a new life.

Once the testing was completed, Baron spent some time internally contemplating his existence; after several hours of such non productive thinking, Baron decided to concentrate on something else. Baron's thoughts turned to deciding what his favorite places in nature were. Although Baron thought that the cerulean blue waters of crystal clear Crater Lake were worthy of consideration, he decided that it didn't compare to the Azure Jewel that was perfection itself what would come to be know as Lake Tahoe. Baron's thoughts then changed place of a grander scale; The forming Grand Canyon although mammoth in proportion, paled beside the Primal and Pristine Beauty that was Yosemite, home to Sequoiadendron giganteum and a plethora of voluminous and ephemeral waterfalls. Due to Baron's concentration on the wonders of Yosemite, he nearly missed what he had been waiting what seemed aeon's for.

Floating in the surf were small glowing blobs of translucent protoplasm glistening slightly in the available light. Baron tore his concentration away from his retrospection and began taking in the miracle before him. Baron watched in complete and utter concentration as the blobs of protoplasm began washing ashore quivering in the contractions of creation. Before Baron's amazed sight, the blobs of protoplasm began ambulating towards one another. As Baron continued to view the amazing sight on the beach below, the blobs began to increase in size as three and four and sometimes up to ten of the blobs assembled themselves into larger bodies of life.

As the time slowly passed, the blobs of protoplasm began to solidify and take on definition, appendages began to protrude and soon they began to move further ashore in stumbling first steps. Baron was beginning to become apprehensive though, because other than mobility, the new objects showed no sparks of intellect. Baron was about to give up and count today as another one of a thousand failures, when the smallest of the hominids turned and waved a vestigial hand towards Baron. The hominid then began walking slowly over to Baron's cliff and very jerkily began to climb towards Baron.

Baron's joy knew no bounds and his overwhelming excitement resulted in a physical display of joy. As the sun began to set and the darkness of night overtook the light of day an Amazing thing occurred. The sky over the poles brightened almost as if the Sun and Moon had both risen but that wasn't the case, as Baron's joy and excitement manifested itself as the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights and Aurora Australis – the Southern Lights.

Baron was so happy because now he, the planet, was lonely no more.

Author's Note:

Well here it is short, and I hope sweet. I hope the twist wasn't obvious until the end. Remember please send all complaints to Taron

You may send word of praise to The Story Lover

The Story Lover

Editor's Notes:

Well, that was short but sweet. I must admit that you caught me off guard. I didn't expect that Baron was the planet. I did feel sorry for him, not having his love, and someone to share his life.

Should I ask where chapter 2 is and how long I have to wait to read it? Ouch! He slapped me with a frozen trout.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Author's Response:

Unequivocally NO!

This is a one shot deal I am not able to write than three stories at one time simultaneously! I will leave that honor up to Str8mayb and MultiMapper.

TSL