Nice to see you.




Order Lone Wolf World via Amazon or above
2018 Best New Talent - Short and Sweet Festival Sydney
2014 Pushcart Prize nominee. (more)

Books:



Get a weekly post delivered straight to your email. Email Subscribe to anthonyjlangford2@yahoo.com.au

Story - The Purger

The Purger was my first published story in 2007 and again in 2008. It is presented here for the first time.



The Purger

Yakob³ was a traditional flesh chemist. He was proficient, but not because he enjoyed helping others. He didn’t care about flesh people. They could not afford biomechanical enhancements and were therefore, sub-standard. Flesh disgusted him.
What he treasured was the purification of the individual. It was his prescriptions which purged patients of their impurities. Converts came to him every day to cleanse the tiny evils that dot the interior, like specks of old cancer. It was Yakob³'s dream to purge the entire Starbase. He was no fool. Nearly half of the population were without biomech aides. It would take him a lifetime, but with every case, he garnered new pleasures.
He had discovered that with so many flesh vermin passing through his confined business, impurities would find their way into the circulation. Minimising his oxygen intake had proven to be unsuccessful. By the end of each day, his thought processes had begun to decay. He would rush home and seal himself into his pristine cublica, circulating a purifying concoction of his own design. From there he began the ritual of cleansing. He would follow it with a dose of proto-pellets and in most cases, this would see him true until rejuvenation.
Nevertheless, he would dream of extraordinary filth. Transported to a dark world, stumbling naked and dirty through mountains of rubbish; toothless flesh people slithered on piles of effluent and decaying tissue. Toxic rain sizzled on his skin. Jets of vomit fell from his stinking orifice. He sank into the slush until he was submerged where multitudes of hungry parasites sucked the meat from his bones...


When Yakob³ woke before First Call, he was trembling, withdrawing. He sprang into action. He barely arrived at the sanitiser before the structo-organisms could drain his glands. Afterwards came extraordinary relief — a euphoria, almost sexual — a throwback to sapien days. He cleansed his smooth and hairless body for an hour. He dressed, ate, and with the greatest relief, once again felt purged.
Everyone should feel this way. He'd purge them all. And he had only just begun.
He opened the business, fantasising about new conquests for the day.
Minutes later, a clownish figure strolled in, targeting him. It beamed a toothy, decaying scrawl: ‘Death to biomechs!’
Yakob³ was more confused than alarmed.
The clown raised a handmade tool, jagged, and slammed it into the sinews between Yakob³’s shoulder and neck. As it withdrew, blood and bio fluid gushed.
Yakob³ staggered. The tool came down into his body again, and again.
‘Release the flesh!’ The clown scrambled for freedom.
Yakob³ stumbled to Central Terminal. He sat. He vomited.
Onlookers converged.
His body liquids ran — murky and multitudinous. He defecated. He urinated. He had become the flesh mountain of his nightmares. His head swam. Colours seeped into luminous white. It was oddly soothing. He felt almost…tranquil. Almost.
An inner voice, a throwback sapien voice, spoke truths. He had been wrong. Bioenhancements were the stuff of pollution. The flesh was meant to be free.
At last, he was truly purged.

the end.




My Books



8 comments:

  1. A great reminder of " purifications " of the past, and perhaps an insite of the ones to come. Great job Anthony! Hope you and familly are well. I miss the Tilly cam!

    Big hugs! Arielle.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Many sci-fiction elements to this story. Lots of descriptive purging; very graphic, very visual, very sensory. One would think that it was a lived experience.

    There is a glimpse of a future where sapiens are a mix of blood and bio fluids. You're right though, "the flesh is meant to be free." I wonder though, with bio-technics a reality, how long would it be until the flesh is made corrupt with all these things? A debatable subject, I'm sure.

    Gina

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really good Anthony! Who knows what the future holds for us?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much Arielle.. miss the Tilly Cam.. lol.. I get to see her everyday, so i am lucky.. besides, she's too heavy to carry in one arm now! lol

    Thanks Gina.. youre analysis is deep and accurate as always. I appreciate your insight and feedback. It's fantastic.

    Cheers Patty! It's a possiblity!

    =]

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good story. It's a bit of a polemic against medical science.

    It reminds me of vegans, who limit their calorie intake in the hope of extending their lives.

    Purging children of germs, ie not letting them play in dirt, is one reason they reckon asthma is on the increase. Refrigeration and less germs has been blamed for ulcerative colitis.

    But I have bio-enhancements in the form of artificial lenses in my eyes after cataract surgery and crowns on a couple of teeth.

    So I reckon total commitment to a way of life, like your characters, cuts out the ability to experience many other beneficial aspects of life. It also limits the ability of the mind to expand.

    Was the story submitted to a flash fiction publication? Is it an example of your normal writing?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cheers for your comment Graham. I'm totally with you on parents who 'cottonwool' their kids. I loved eating dirt as a youngster, and I'll be letting my daughter do the same. She licks the floor already. lol

    I agreee with the rest of your comments too..the story is almost a metaphor for cutting off your nose to spite your face. I don't like to discuss meaning too much though. I dont like it when authors 'explain' their work.

    It was a flash fiction. People are impatient for longer stories these days I find.
    Here are some of my other shorts...
    http://www.anthonyjlangford.com/search/label/stories
    ..though I save the best for submissions.

    It's not a true indicator of what I write. I have written two YA sci-fi novels and one that is more for adults in a near future, a dystopian novel I suppose. And one fantasy novel for children. But nothing this 'hard.'

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Like what you read? Please Share. Without you I is nothing.