《Toska》 Prologue (Aristotle) TOSKA Prologue
TO FIND CONFIDENCE ONE MUST STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN COURAGE AND WISDOM -ARISTOTLE Reinhart slowly regained his consciousness. He eventually opened his eyes and let out an alarmed cry: ¡°What is this?!¡± The scene he was witnessing bewildered him. He was in the middle of a desolate, moonlit desert. A uncanny flurry of clouds danced above him as he questioned himself: Why does it seem like the starry sky is laughing at me? Out of the blue, he began remembering everything that had transpired. He began gasping for breath. The memory hit him like oceanic tides hitting the shores. Panickedly, he glanced at his right wrist. To his dismay, Reinhart discovered that his watch was broken.
The X-199G was a special space ship. Not only was it capable of interstellar travel but it also possessed an inordinately advanced ion-propulsion engine that was vastly different from its counterpart seven hundred years ago. Although warp-drive--travelling faster than light--was concluded to be a fantasy, the X-199G could, for all intents and purposes, travel at the speed of light. Onboard this ship was a stalwart middle-aged man in white-robes. The embroidery on the robes was so meticulously delicate that even the wearer seemed to exude an opulent aura. ¡®¡¯So, son, tell me. Do you know why it is that I asked you to accompany me?¡± The man austerely inquired. ¡°Yes, father.¡± A handsome young man, seemingly about 17 years of age, respectfully replied.¡° It¡¯s to educate me--to educate me on the paramount importance of social interactions and cordiality in conducting diplomacy.¡± After a slight pause, the youth continued: ¡°But, father, I have been traveling with you for three years already. Wouldn¡¯t it be all right for me to cease traveling and begin learning from books instead?¡± ¡°No. no. It is not possible to learn the nuances of a trade without experience. In order to master dancing, you have to be observe sensational dancers. Thus, you need to be exposed to others who are stupendous at conducting diplomacy.¡± The middle-aged man--who was also the Secretary of the Planetary Discipline Commission--replied sternly as he thought: Reinhart, my son, I am proud of you. You¡¯ve always-- Suddenly, a hurried voice sounded over the intercom: ¡°Sir! We are getting a heat signature from an object which is approaching us rapidly! It seems to be man-made!¡± The Secretary brought his right wrist close to his face and tapped his arm a few times. Suddenly, a holographic display of a very intricate radar appeared to be projecting from the paraphernalia on his wrist. Then, the middle-aged man exclaimed: ¡°It seems to be a missile misfire from an IDR military ship. We are doomed!¡± In a flash, the panic in the man¡¯s eyes disappeared as he looked at his son. ¡°Take him to the evacuation pod.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The man commanded one of his bodyguards. ¡°But sir--¡± The bodyguard attempted a retort. ¡°I am aware that there is only one evacuation pod that we can reach before the missile hits us! My son¡¯s life is incomparably more valuable than mine! Save him! This is a command!¡± The Secretary¡¯s eyes displayed a doting longing towards his son as he hurriedly said: ¡°I am proud of you.¡± Then, Reinhart was dragged by the bodyguard and everything afterward seemed illusory. He vaguely recalled the appearance a dimensional crack caused by a nuclear fission.
Realizing what had happened, Reinhart felt toska. Vladimir Nabokov defines toska as such: ¡°At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels, it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases, it may be a desire of somebody for something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level, it grades into ennui, boredom. ¡± Reinhart felt toska to its completion--from its deepest and most painful stage to its lowest level.
From the moment he regained his consciousness until the sun came up, Reinhart was furrowing his brows. Having given into despair, he seemed not to care about life. The person most precious to him had died, and he was in a barren desert in a forsaken place. No other living organism could be spotted in the immediate vicinity, yet there was oxygen in this planet. Although Reinhart¡¯s mind registered this, he gave the data no further thought because he began cycling through his memories over and over again. He recalled his father¡¯s stubborn refusal to allow him to enroll in the Intergalactic Democratic Republic(IDR) Military Academy; he recalled the exuberance on his father¡¯s face when he heard that Reinhart had been awarded honorary doctorates in Planetary Engineering and Diplomacy for his outstanding research and incomparable contribution to the two fields. Tears dripping down his face, Reinhart closed himself to reality; indeed, this was an action that was quite uncharacteristic of prodigies. Reinhart¡¯s impassioned wailing seemed unceasing. Only when the sun reached its zenith did Reinhart retain some of his usual composure. Because he felt toska, Reinhart cyclically repeated his father¡¯s last words: ¡°I am proud of you, son. You must live on!¡± At some point, he began yelling this towards the sky. After his throat dried, Reinhart launched deep in contemplation of his father again. He recalled the last look on his father¡¯s face. It was not one of fear, but sadness--he was upset that he would not be able to spend more time with his precious and lonely son; the son whose mother had an untimely demise when in labor; the son who had prodigal talent; and, the son who had --------- Thinking to this point, Reinhart suddenly flashed an empty smile onto his grieved face. He had decided to live for his father. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Readers: Slaughter me with criticism in the comments below. Chaper 1 TOSKA Chapter 1: First Attempt At Living READ THE PROLOGUE BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER The Escape Pod--which was hexagonal when viewed from the top--was about five feet behind Reinhart; it had ejected him out after determining the presence of oxygen and the absence of other life forms in the immediate vicinity. This machine was built so as to enable an individual to survive comfortably for seven weeks; of course, with the recent spacial expansion, any precarious human would certainly be rescued in less than 3 days after an SOS signal was sent. It seems that this planet... has a blue sun. After pondering for a while, Reinhart began trotting towards the Escape Pod. This Escape Pod was fairly small in that it could only shelter a single individual. However, at the center of its hexagonal shape was a small power generator that could provide an inconceivable amount of energy. After entering the Pod, Reinhart commanded: "Prepare for locomotion." Immediately, the Pod''s entrance closed and the temperature inside instantly cooled to become a pleasant 294 Kelvin. Reinhart then glued his eyes onto a screen and began typing something onto a keyboard. Suddenly, a mechanical voice squeaked: "SOS signal delivery failed. Current planet cannot be determined. Because this is a blue-star system, it can be concluded that this is not a Class O, Pelagic Planet." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Reinhart sighed. The fact that the planet is not Pelagic meant that the surface had little(less than 80%) water. This, in turn, implied that the planet possibly did not have water on the surface. Suddenly, Reinhart stated: "Begin traveling North." At least the ship''s compass is working. It''s really warm outside. Seems like I am in the equator. The Escape Pod suddenly began rising, and just as suddenly began traveling North after tilting forward a bit. Strangely, not the slightest bump or vibration could be felt within the Pod. Reinhart began relaxing as he munched down on 4 energy bars that were in a pressurized safe. Then, he heartily glued himself into the window, looking at the scenery outside. His complexion was still pale since he still worried about his father. But he had no idea where he currently was either. If an SOS signal could not be sent out, he may very well die here. Thinking to this point, Reinhart began furrowing his brows. His straight black hair had some sand particles glittering. Boom! Suddenly, an alarm noised. "The power generator has malfunctioned. Brace for a crash landing." The same mechanical voice from before indifferently said. As he felt an acute pain on the back of his head, Reinhart suddenly lost his consciousness again. Chapter 1 (cotninued) Slowly regaining his consciousness, Reinhart discovered that he was still in the desolate desert. Yet, he was ecstatic. He seemingly forgot about the nuclear fission that possibly took his father''s life a day ago. Why? Well, the scene that greeted this young gentleman was indeed overwhelming. In the distant horizon, Reinhart could barely discern an array of primitive wagons, and some hundred armed people surrounding the wagons. He remembered learning in one of his history lectures about caravans that people over a millenium ago would put together in order to engage in trade. Thinking to this point, he quickly stood up, and was about to begin walking towards the caravan-- "Beep! Beep!" Suddenly, he looked around to spot a conspicuous piece of shiny metal. It had dropped from his dismantled Escape Pod which was about ten meters behind him. Reinhart began walking towards the Pod which was in shambles. All the metal pieces that had been carefully engineered to meet space readiness were now broken. Nostalgically eyeing his surrounding, Reinhart sighed. Then, he began tepidly marching towards the caravan, recalling memories of his father. Every step he made towards the caravan made him progressively farther away from his father because the semi-disintegrated Pod was his father''s sacrifice; his father had sacrificed his life for him. As Reinhart grew steadily closer to the caravan, he began recalling his pitiful childhood. Each of the memories he thought he had forgotten ephemerally came to his mind in a chronological order. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.He recalled his father''s sorrow at the loss of his mother who had died in labor. He recalled his strict upbringing. He recalled the lessons with his father. He recalled friendlessly attending schools because he was too busy to mind other students. He recalled the indifference with which he treated his previous world. And now the world had gotten back at him by taking his father--the only one he cared about. A world that gives nothing and takes everything--this is its nature! Reinhart had finally transitioned from the first stage of loss--grief and denial--to the second stage--anger and hate. I will take everything from you, too! Just you wait! Anyone who dares hinder me will suffer! Finally, Reinhart lost his sanity and began yelling: "I WILL FIND YOU!? YOU SH*T HEAD WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THIS WORLD!? I STOICALLY ACCEPTED EVERYTHING FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS--ALL THOSE GAZES OF PITY AND THOSE SENTIMENTS OF DISDAIN!? BUT I WILL TOLERATE NO MORE BECAUSE YOU HAVE CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BY TAKING AWAY EVERYTHING I HAVE AND EVERYONE I CARED ABOUT! NOW, I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM YOU!?" After yelling his new convictions, Reinhart lost consciousness for the third time. Fortunately, a group of armed men from the caravan had spotted a suspicious character yelling nearby and were beginning to make their way towards where Reinhart had fainted.
Chpater 2.1 Chapter 2 of Toska (comments are appreciated; criticism is also welcome) Slowly regaining his consciousness for the third time, Reinhart sat up. He was stupefied by what he saw. Indeed, he awoke on a prison floor which had a cloth laid out; it appeared to be a makeshift "bed." But, more importantly, the prison bars were rusty; there were people outside chattering in some incomprehensible language. Everything in his surrounding seemed primitively unsophisticated. The dearth of technology astounded Reinhart. Although the whole prison--all the prison cells and the lobby--was apparently windowless, there was light. Thus, Reinhart''s black hair, and brown eyes, along with his tall and solemnly figure, were dazzlingly illuminated. Where is this light coming from? Reinhart began glancing around to find the light source. But it was to no avail since he could not find anything bright enough to emit enough light to fill the whole interior of the prison. Suddenly, one of the people outside noticed that he was awake and indicated that to his mates by pointing towards the prison cell. As all the wardens--Reinhart had surmised that thosse garrulous people were such--.made their way towards him, Reinhart felt slightly uneasy. He realized that the wardens'' clothes were made out of natural fiber. However, Reinhart''s clothes, which were glossy white and similar to a stormtrooper''s uniform, were made out of alloys formed after mixing metal with synthetic fiber--the clothes were entirely capable of safeguarding the life of the wearer from gun shots and radiation. Even if one tried to stab him, Reinhart''s clothes would not allow for his body to be hurt in the slightest. The wardens stopped before his prison cell slightly touching the prison bars. Each of them had an inquisitive--and a slightly foreboding--gaze. Their eyes analyzed Reinhart from head to toe; it seemed they were intrigued by Reinhart''s appearance. Likewise, Reinhart was intrigued by the wardens'' appearance. Having seen the mutual intrigue in each other''s eyes, one of the wardens said something. Reinhart, seemingly having understood that the warden was attempting to communicate with him, shook his head and said: "I don''t understand you." Despite knowing that the other party would not be able to understand him, he spoke in order to let the warden know that he speaks a different language. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The warden evidently understood Reinhart as he began inquiring the other wardens. One of the wardens suddenly left. The other wardens continued their conversation while occasionally glancing at their prisoner. The prisoner, Reinhart, in turn began pondering about the world. Interestingly, I was able to let the other party know that I cannot understand them. Yet they are still crowding around me. Indeed, it seems like they have a solution to this predicament since they sent an individual somewhere. Maybe they have a translator. But is this one of the undiscovered planets? Although they seem to lack technology, they have light. In other words, these people have a substitution for technology. After about 15 minutes, the warden returned with another person--a well-endowed blonde female, about the same age as Reinhart but shorter than him. This female apparently had a robe and a cane-like stick. The cane did not seem like it was used for walking. Suddenly, she nodded to the wardens and began conversing with them. After about thirty seconds of chatter, she looked at Reinhart and studied him from head to toe. Apparently, she was intrigued by him even more than the wardens. In fact, her blue eyes were glittering. One of the wardens began walking towards the slightly rusty prison door and opened it after chanting something and bringing out a slab. The girl walked inside the prison and brought her hand towards Reinhart''s head. Reinhart stood in gaze. Although the female in front of him was mesmerizing, he was not enchanted by her beauty. Instead, he was pondering why the wardens let this person in. Is this their solution to our inability to communicate? However, Reinhart passively let the girl touch his head. Suddenly, the girl began conducting some ritual as she began chanting something unfathomable while swaying her hand, the one with the cane, in a practiced manner. Reinhart felt dizzy; he was about to loose his consciousness for the fourth time when, out of the blue, everything became clear again. However, he felt slightly different. There was a tingy feeling in his head. The girl then let go of Reinhart''s head and stood in front of him. She said: "So, what is your name?" Reinhart clearly understood what she said. 2.2 Reinhart is gobsmacked by what just transpired. How is it possible that I can suddenly understand them? What is it that I just ate? How could it have such an overwhelming effect? As his ephemeral pondering came to an unsuccessful conclusion, he answers the beauty in front of him: "I am Reinhart Krozhky." The beauty thinks for a moment before inquiring: "Where are you from? Reinhart is clearly not a name that belongs to the Surka Continent. Are you a spy from Iteri?.... or, worse yet... are you a spy sent by the Sects?" Reinhart immediately chortles: "What are you talking about? I am from the IDR. Our ship was hit by a missile from--" Suddenly, the beauty, who seems to be giving Reinhart an empty look, cuts him off: "What nonsense are you spouting!" Then, the beauty signals the wardens: "Proceed with him as we discussed earlier." Saying that, the beauty walks out of the prison cell and towards the exit. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Suddenly, one of the prison wardens--the more muscular looking one--walks into the prison cell with a curious look. He says: "Do you know what we will be doing to you now? We got the report from the caravan that found you saying that you were yelling like a lunatic in the middle of a desert when you passed out. The desert-- of course it''s a giveaway. We know who you are son." Reinhart fails to comprehend the warden''s intentions. "Mmmm.... I don''t know what you''re talking about, but--" The warden suddenly looses his temper: "Quiet! I didn''t ask you a question! We know why bastards like you infiltrate this city! It''s because your Master desires the Martial Scrolls! Martial Scrolls that only Fedora--our beautiful city--has! I will torture you until you tell me the name of the person who sent you! And you will reply!" Reinhart realizes that he might not be able to live long. (Could someone comment please... Should I just drop the project?)