Another Friday, another story unearthed from the archives. This week it’s “Lunatic Pandora,” a story about what happens when the sky begins to fall. Literally. First in little flakes, then in larger shards. The story’s more than 10 years old, so there are a few dated references, but it’s a humorous, surreal story that I’ve always enjoyed.
Then, one day, the sky began to fall.
No one noticed at first except the scientists. Soil samples indicated trace amounts of sky, which was first regarded as a lab error, then as a scientific prank. Victor Von Frank, a man with three doctorates and no sense of reality, was the first to announce that he had isolated the “sky particles.”
A year later, after many duplicated tests, Time and Newsweek announced the results to the public. The tabloids had done so six months earlier.
It was not considered an immediate problem. There is plenty of sky, the respected senator from Montana argued. A few flakes drifting away here and there can’t hurt.
The title, by the way, is stolen from the Final Fantasy 8 song that inspired the story.
Download it, read it, share it, enjoy –> Lunatic Pandora by Nick Hayden