Summary

A young adult confronts the revelation that space travel is a hoax, orchestrated to provide hope to a disillusioned society, as revealed through their great-great-uncle's notes, a former NASA founder and astronaut.

Abstract

The narrative unfolds as a young individual, eager to explore space and join the fleet, faces a reality check when their mother presents them with a booklet containing notes from their great-great-uncle, a key figure in NASA and an early astronaut. The booklet exposes the truth behind a societal hoax: the illusion of space travel, created to offer hope in the face of economic downturns, rampant greed, and a loss of faith. The revelation leads to a moment of vulnerability and a rare gesture of affection from the mother, who admits to the deception as a necessary measure during desperate times. The story is a collaborative satirical piece by Fox and Smillew, marking their 22nd tale together, and invites readers to engage in a creative writing exercise called "Two Headed Horse Tails."

Opinions

The protagonist's mother is portrayed as a pragmatic individual who uses literal interpretations to teach life lessons.
The protagonist initially rejects the idea of the space travel hoax, indicating a deep-seated desire for exploration and independence.
The mother's decision to reveal the hoax suggests a protective instinct, despite the harsh nature of the truth.
The story implies a critical view of society's willingness to accept convenient falsehoods in exchange for hope.
The authors, through the character of the mother, seem to comment on the manipulation of public sentiment during times of crisis.
The creative exercise proposed by the authors encourages reader interaction and emphasizes the importance of collaborative storytelling.
The narrative hints at a generational divide in understanding and accepting the realities of the world.

Two headed horse tails

Flattened Dreams

And Other Military Conquest

Here it goes, another lecture from Mother. She’s going to tell me how to live my life again.

“Space, Space! You always talk about space as if it was somewhere far away, something different. But you understand we’re already in space, right? It’s always around us. It’s even in us.”

Mother’s a literalist. I say “Can I go to the movies?”, she replies “I don’t know, can you?”. I say “yes” and trespass the door, she stops me, reminding that I haven’t gained permission.

When I reference “Space”, she conjures gappish real estate between certain things — as the word denotes.

“Well, I need space, Mother! Figuratively and literally. I need a lot of it between us. I’m eighteen now. I can join the fleet. I need to see the stars. Don’t you understand?”

She leaves the room without a word and comes back a few minutes later with a box.

A small deep-brown booklet lies inside. I pick it up.

“Read it,” she says. “It’s your great-great-uncle’s notes.

That man was a NASA founder, and an early astronaut.

“It’s all in there” she says. “Our world was never left. There is no fleet. It’s all a hoax.”

It can’t be! I slam the door on my way out, but I take the book with me. My great-great-uncle has always been my hero. Three hours later, Mom finds me under the poplar in the back of our garden. I just finished reading.

“But why?” I ask.

It’s the first time in memory she brushes my tear away.

“We had to,” she murmured. “Markets crashing, greed abounding, Street-envy rampant — no one believing any longer in the Christ. People demanded hope requiring nothing of them.

We offered Space Travel — a ticket to Mars. And every fool bit.”

This story was co-written by Fox (the artist) and Smillew (top writer in satire).

It was our 22nd tale! Here are the previous ones:

We call the concept the Two Headed Horse Tails.

As Fox (poet and digital art expert) describes it, Two Headed Horse Tails can be a tug of war. Two people (one of them could be YOU) are trying to get a tale into the corral, sometimes even against each other’s will.

Here are the rules (follow them or break them):

300 words total.
Someone starts and writes 50 words. Then the other takes the lead and writes 50 more. Till the 300 count is reached.
You can switch back and forth as to who starts the piece. (or not! We do.)

What about finding yourself another horse writer and giving it a try?

Follows us on Twitter, we follow back! Except for Fox, he’s not on Twitter.

Anyone read so far? Hi! [Paul’s note — no, I’m the only one that has to read this far.][Smillew’s note — so it seems.][Paul’s note — keep your chin up. Then left hook lands better that way.][Smillew’s note — I tried with my cat, didn’t work.][Paul’s note — never fight a cat. They’ll skin you alive][Smillew’s note — Mine is so cute and fluffy, he gave me a second chance]

Tell us a tiny tale, filled with heart.

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