Atlantis

Photo by Sean Tan, used for three line tales week fifty one, microfiction prompt. Warning of deep water on a pier.
Photo by Sean Tan

The emphasis on political discourse rather than scientific rationale in arriving at 2C was my first experience of the compromises that my degree had not prepared me for; sure, we had the Monte Carlo method to deal with uncertainty in numbers, but no amount of elegant code could model the unpredictability and irrationality of my species.

Months before the inauguration of the Leader of the Free World, my department was earmarked for the puppet show it was to become, strings dangled in wait, to be tied as soon as the acceptance speech concluded; I couldn’t bear to make any more compromises so I resigned and now,  years later, as I wade through my submerged island home, occasionally diving in to retrieve mementos of my sunken world, that decision haunts me more than the sight of a bloated corpse, for I could have been the change that I so desperately wanted to see.

I write this in the hope that if it is found, the world I inhabited is not shrouded in mythology; it happened, we were here, and perhaps our failings can be lessons for whatever or whomever is to come.

 

Inspired by Sonya’s Three Line Tales Week Fifty-One.

40 thoughts on “Atlantis”

    1. Thanks Daniel – if it raises questions, my job is done! As for the pace, I have to confess it was my attempt to keep it to 3 lines as per the prompt that dictated the compressed writing, but I think it lends itself well to the urgency of the narrator’s message.

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      5. No problem i don’t mind my name is partly Paul, it is a name i like.
        i think young writers fall into the trap of going overboard with length as they have something to prove but quickly realize they need to refine.

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      6. Yes, and going into un-necessary detail about things that do not move the story or contribute to the character arc…I’ve learnt the importance of letting go of attatchment to vacuous pretty words or phrases

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      10. p.s. you may want to have a look at a new comment on my authenticity post…I haven’t had a chance to reply yet because I want to do so when I have a little more time, but it adds to the huge volume of dialogue we’ve had on the topic…

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  2. A dark premonition of the future? I do hope not. An interesting and heartfelt exhortion to us all to realise that we count and that we can make a difference. It seems most of us – including myself – have taken the dark route this week. Great writing

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    1. Thanks Lynn. A warning of what could be, but so glad you saw the hopeful, optimistic message in it too. The picture does evoke tragedy, mystery or something sinister…I’ve read a few of the entries so far, and yes- Sonya has masterfuly led us in that direction with this pic.

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  6. Yes. I see this as a call for hope and action. I have so many colleagues and friends who plan to bury their heads deep in some metaphorical sand, ignoring our new president. It seems we’re either overly hopeful or overly hopeless. The in between is where we should all live, where we realize that all of our actions matter, no matter who’s “in charge.”

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  7. Hopefully…we can find a way to work together for the good of ALL. It is always sad that mistakes are made, but if we are wise…we can learn from those mistakes. No one gets their way all the time…compromise is necessary in all walks of life.

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  9. how amazing! I use the Monte Carlo method too – running thousands of algorithms a day and always coming to a millimeter of tolerance. Loved this piece – so different from the rest including my sad tale. you killed it in my opinion.

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    1. Ha! that is cool! and so glad I didn’t come across as an imposter in making that reference! I am fresh off python training (5 days last week) and in covering numpy, one of the examples was estimating pi using the Monte Carlo method. So what area do you work in? Thanks so much for your feedback and very kind words 🙂

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      5. Haha! I push a lot of buttons and bang away at keys more like it. We do some predictive work but its mostly using the program to map out treatment volumes from Hounsfield numbers off a CT scan or MRI.

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      7. Not at all – they are poles apart! My writing is all fantasy except if i write about my dogs or travel stuff. the rest are all figments of my wild imagination that’s strangled at work.

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