# Station 85



## AtleanWordsmith (Sep 30, 2015)

Is there anybody out there?
This is Station Eighty-Five.
We're still here on the airwaves,
Wondering if you're alive.

Are you getting our signal?
We haven't got a trace.
If there's nobody listening,
We're broadcasting into space.

Our situation's desperate,
Our supplies are running low.
We have no news from out there,
We have nowhere else to go.

Our tower's still receiving,
But our power's running out.
Please send us a transmission!
Someone please give us a shout!

Is there anybody out there?
This is Station Eighty-Five.
We're signing off for now,
Hope you manage to survive.


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## Mesafalcon (Sep 30, 2015)

It gave me the feeling of being isolated. It would make a good start to a short story actually IMO.

I enjoyed it.


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## Arthur G. Mustard (Sep 30, 2015)

Nicely done. Well written, well worded and the rhythm was just right for me. A good story told of desperation and isolation iced with touch of a classic Sci_ Fi movie. Maybe this could expand in to a short story?


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## LeeC (Sep 30, 2015)

Loud and clear, on multiple levels ;-)


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## AtleanWordsmith (Sep 30, 2015)

Thanks, guys.



Mesafalcon said:


> It would make a good start to a short story actually IMO.





Arthur G. Mustard said:


> Maybe this could expand in to a short story?


I dunno, I think it tells the story well enough on its own, haha. Sometimes this is all you really need.

Just a bit of catharsis on my part, really, not really anywhere else to go with it, though I did write a follow-up called "We Read You, 85"


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## TipGrundlefunk (Sep 30, 2015)

There is a fantastic story in Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man called Kaleidoscope, it's about a group of astronauts directly after their ship malfunctions and they are drifting out into space in different directions, all still in radio contact with each other until one by one they drift out of range.

Your poem has that narrative feel to it. I also read this as a metaphor for the breakdown of a relationship. 

I enjoyed it a lot.

Tip


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## kbsmith (Sep 30, 2015)

*heard this over an intercom*
with cracks in the static and noisy transmission.


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## AtleanWordsmith (Sep 30, 2015)

TipGrundlefunk said:


> There is a fantastic story in Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man called Kaleidoscope, it's about a group of astronauts directly after their ship malfunctions and they are drifting out into space in different directions, all still in radio contact with each other until one by one they drift out of range.


That actually sounds quite depressing... actually, come to think of it, I've never actually sat down and read anything by Ray Bradbury.  I think it might be high time that I change that, since I generally hear his name thrown around in a positive light.



TipGrundlefunk said:


> I also read this as a metaphor for the breakdown of a relationship.


Now that you mention it, I can see that.  I've fallen out of touch with a couple of friends, and attempts to contact them have yielded little response, and I never know whether they're getting the messages and ignoring them or if they're just not getting them at all.  Eventually, you just stop transmitting and hope that one day they'll contact you... but they usually don't.

So, yeah.  The breakdown of a relationship.


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## kbsmith (Oct 6, 2015)

"We read you, 85
We are here to hear you
We see you, 85
We stand here right beside you
Come in, come in, come in, 85!"

Pulls gun from side pocket (I don't know why he has a gun in space) and shoots the man operating the radio. He turns it off. 

Man with gun: I'll never let you break my solitude.


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## Sonata (Oct 7, 2015)

AtleanWordsmith said:


> ...  not really anywhere else to go with it, though I did write a follow-up called "We Read You, 85"



I hope you will post it.

EDIT - I see you already have, sorry for not having noticed it.


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## Firemajic (Oct 7, 2015)

Fabulous... I love the drama and tension in this poem.. what was NOT said added a sense of mystery and drama to this unique and powerful poem...You are a natural story teller...


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