Week 7: The Voyages of Sinbad: Space Captain

After becoming a captain of my own ship, I took off from earth and quickly left the atmosphere, piloting my ship on a well-known trading route to various planets which were friendly toward earth and toward exchange. We carried with us all sorts of things, that though common to us, were novelties where we were going.

Everything was fine until the ship stalled. The maintenance workers were sure they could fix it but in the meantime, as we were passing a small planet which appeared to be uninhabited, I gave permission to send a small ship down so the crew could look about. 

I joined them and fairly soon we were down on the rocky surface of the planet. We hadn't gotten far when the ground beneath us jolted and we were thrown off our feet. There was another shudder and I realized we were not standing on a planet but on a giant monster! I even glimpsed its head before it lurched again. 

Several of the crew members were launched off the monster's back; the rest of us scrambled toward the ship. The monster, obviously aware of our presence continued moving and more of the crew were flung into space. I had nearly reached the landing ship when it too was dislodged and launched off. 

Realizing I was going to be also hurtled into space, I grabbed onto what must have been a scale or spike on the monster's back but what appeared to be a rock jutting out of the surface. Using my belt I secured myself to the rock and therefore, avoided the fate of several of my crew. I could see the launching ship, a speck now, returning to the main ship. They wouldn't know I was here, they would think I had also been flung into space. I was alone now. 

I despaired during those hours when I could do nothing but cling to that spike. Finally, I realized the monster was approaching a planet. We got closer and closer until I realized it was massive, over a hundred times bigger than earth. I didn't know what planet it was or how far away we had gotten but as the monster approached the surface, I realized there was hope. 

When the monster landed, I quickly detached myself from it and slid down onto the ground. Unfortunately, the monster had landed in a pit of smaller monsters and after scooping one up to eat, it shot off into space once more, leaving me surrounded by massive, wriggling snake-like creatures with sharp fangs the length of my arm, dripping with venom.

They had scattered at the sight of the space monster but they were beginning to venture forth once more. Quickly, I scrambled to the edge of the pit but the sides were too steep to escape from. The ground was littered with large diamonds. I picked up some of the biggest in order to throw them at the beasts which were now approaching.

I readied my aim but before I threw the first diamond, I heard a cry from above me and, looking up, I saw a few people gathered around the rim of the pit. Already, they were lowering a rope. I dropped the diamonds into a pocket and climbed up just before the snakes could attack.

The people who found me were natives of the planet and after giving them each one of the diamonds, leaving several for myself, they allowed me to travel with them to the nearest trading station and spaceport.

I learned that the planet we were on was so massive and rotated so slowly, that it took a year to go all the way around. During that time, the dark side got so cold nothing could survive for long. The people of the planet were all nomads, forced to travel in order to stay ahead of the darkness.

The group I was with happened to be merchants who took goods from station to station where people gathered to trade. I traveled with them for weeks and during that time I learned more about their way of life. Once a year, a group of farmers traveled as quickly as possible all the way around the world to the edge of the darkness in order to plant crops to sustain them.

Other groups traveled a little bit each day in order to maintain a steady distance away from that encroaching darkness. Still, others traveled for a few weeks and then settled for a few weeks in order to do trade at the trading points or to accommodate some other occupation.

Most people traveled in groups, with their family and friends, though every once in a while we would come across a person alone. Sometimes people joined our groups, sometimes people left to join others for a while, promising to meet up again at some distant point.

After weeks of traveling, we arrived at the next large trading place where I was able to sell my diamonds for a great profit. Three days after our arrival, a ship landed and I was surprised to realize it was my own crew. I met my first mate and found that he didn't even recognize me. I asked him what he was doing and he answered in a sullen voice.

"My captain has perished and I am here to sell his wares in order to take the profit back to his family. It is the least I can do."

At first, he didn't believe me when I told him that I was Sinbad but finally he realized I was telling the truth and apologized profusely for leaving me behind but I did not fault him for it. I took my wares from the ship and sold them for an immense profit and then I sailed home where I gave generously to the poor and lived happily for a time until once more I felt restless.  

Photo Credit: imgur

Author's Note

I chose to write an adaptation of the voyages of Sinbad this week. The story, which is told by Scheherazade in Arabian Nights, is of a merchant named Sinbad who is telling the story of his travels. He sails to other lands to trade but in my story I had him go to other planets. In one, he must tie himself to the foot of a giant bird to escape a deserted island which is where I got my inspiration. 

The Voyages of Sinbad from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang