A science fiction short story by I.M. Gerhi
Semus is a man out of time—literally. In a future where bioengineering and cosmetic modifications have made age and imperfection obsolete, he stands apart with his long hair and untouched features. A spacefaring transporter with a penchant for avoiding trouble, Semus is content making quiet runs to the exclusive, preserved paradise known as Earth. But when he stumbles upon an enigmatic woman buried in the sand, his life takes an unexpected turn.
She is old—an anomaly in a world where youth is eternal. She is unknown—unregistered in any database. And she speaks of things that should not be possible—like another Earth, the real one. Against his better judgment, Semus takes her aboard his ship, setting off on a journey that unravels the truth about the world he knows.
As they travel to the so-called “original Earth,” secrets buried beneath centuries of history begin to surface. Why was a second Earth created? What happened to the first? And who—or what—is this woman guiding him there?
Caught between the past and the present, between illusion and reality, Semus must confront the uncomfortable truth: humanity’s greatest deception may not be what was lost—but what was replaced.
A gripping blend of sci-fi mystery and existential reckoning, An Empty Earth Syndrome explores the nature of identity, the consequences of engineered perfection, and the forgotten roots of a species too eager to leave its past behind.
At the moment An Empty Earth Syndrome is only available as part of the short story collection Night Light Tales.
Read a sample:
Semus brushed the sand from his hair as he sat up on the creamy sand. He really should think about cutting his hair shorter, but chicks just dig a dude with long hair—especially since bioengineering ensured that some men would never have hair again. Having hair made you stand out. It made you look like a real man, Semus told himself.
Anyway, he had been lounging about for long enough. He collected his stuff and sauntered back to his pod. His ship was parked in low orbit, and hanging around too long would most certainly end with a citation. And though he had completed a good couple of runs lately, he did not yet have enough money to throw around.
He had just stuffed everything into the pod and was ready to close the hatch when a faint call drew his attention. He scanned the beach, but he could not see anybody and at first thought that he might have imagined it. But then he heard it again—somebody calling, though he could not make out any words.
With nobody on the beach, the voice must have come from somewhere among the dunes. Semus left the hatch unlocked and walked up a dune to get a better vantage point.
Closer to the top, he could hear the voice more clearly, but the rumble of the surf washed out the words, and he could not tell what was being called. But it was most certainly a voice. A woman’s voice.
It might be somebody in distress, thought Semus. And for a fleeting moment, he had a vision of rescuing a damsel and then being rewarded most gratefully.
Then Semus topped a dune and saw, on the other side, a much older woman than the one he had pictured in his mind. She was buried in the sand up to her armpits. From the scrapes in the sand, Semus could see that she had tried to dig herself out without much success. And clearly, her strength was giving out because her cries had gotten thin.
With apprehension, Semus trotted down the dune and started digging her out. When he reached her, she had fainted and slumped to the side.
…end of sample
An Empty Earth Syndrome © I.M. Gerhi