An Exercise in Translation, and a Story, for the Hive Book Club
This blog was written in response to an invitation by the Hive Book Club to participate in a contest. The contest was for bloggers whose native language is not English. My native language is English, so I don't feel I should compete. However, I did ask permission to participate in the exercise because I found it intriguing.
The challenge in the contest is to find ten words in a story written by @litguru, translate the words, and then write a story inspired by one of them. I translated the words into either Spanish or German. I've studied both languages extensively and love each for different reasons. Several of the translated words are used either explicitly or implicitly in my story.
If you read @litguru's story, The Technologies of God, and mine, you will likely see a thematic relationship. At least I see one.
I enjoyed this exercise, and hope readers enjoy my story.
Ten Translated Words with Deepl
1.system:Spanish, sistema
2.sleep:German, schlafen
3.longevity:German, Langlebigkeit
4.life:German, Leben
5.cessation:German, Beendigung
6.antiquated:Spanish, anticuado
7.eternity:German, Ewigkeit
8.ethereal:Spanish, etéreo
9.brains:Spanish, cerebros
10.anguished:Spanish, angustiado
Credit: Storm, by @justclickindiva, from the LMAC Gallery of Images .
"To sleep, perchance to dream".
The words floated in Chaya's fading consciousness. Serum surged through her veins. She was surprised at her awareness of the organ systems as they slowly succumbed to the drug's effects. She had been informed that the last of her body to relinquish control would be the cerebral cortex, and she had been comforted to learn there would be no fear. The sympathetic nervous system would be affected almost immediately. No fight or flight response. No panic. She was able to note, as an objective observer might, the gradual process of suspended animation.
Would this detachment be what she remembered when she was reanimated--if she did survive the suspension? Ironic if that was so, because she had a zest for adventure, and embraced life passionately.
"Is there no chance?" This had been her first reaction to the cancer diagnosis--squamous cell carcinoma, the most lethal of pancreatic cancers.
"It's a rough road ahead," the doctor advised.
"How rough? I want the truth. I want to deal with this head on and understand my choices."
He regarded her soberly. She was young, not yet thirty. Usually this conversation was with someone older, who had enjoyed a more generous portion of life.
"The chances are very slim, but with aggressive treatment we can extend the expectation to maybe 10 or 12 months. In your case, the cancer has metastasized so the battle will be hard. Of course, there are experimental trials..."
She'd rehearsed this moment for years. Every time a friend or relative received the diagnosis, cancer, she'd imagined herself in that position. "What would I do?" She'd weighed hypothetical options and made hypothetical choices. Today it was no longer an exercise. It was the final performance.
"I've seen my friends go through this, and I'm not going down that road. There is another path, another kind of experiment I'm willing to try."
He considered her words and was about to question her, but she interrupted him.
"Thank you doctor, for the information, but medicine has no effective role any longer, as you have made clear. Now it's a matter of values. I will make a decision based on those."
Experiment? If she was going to be part of an experiment it would not be one with an almost certain course and conclusion. She would pursue another course--Interval, the serum that suspended life in order to prolong it.
There had been mouse trials, tissue experiments, and computer models. These all promised, or at least suggested, the drug might suspend life without ill effect for defined periods. Nothing like cryonics, which Chaya considered grotesque--cutting off the head and returning at an indefinite time when all one knew or cared about would long be gone. Interval allowed suspension without mutilation, for a specific number of years. If a reawakening resulted in a less than optimal physical state, then termination of life would be in the contract.
Fifteen years. All she needed. It was predicted a cure for pancreatic cancer would be discovered in that time. Science was so close, but not close enough to save her, now.
"I want a divorce," she announced flatly to a flummoxed Darin.
He at first brushed the idea off with a shrug and a chuckle. One of her weird jokes, obviously.
"Darin, I've got terminal pancreatic cancer with almost no lifespan predicted. We can spend everything we've saved looking for a miracle in an experimental trial. We can waste the little time left together, struggling. Or we can end this sensibly. I have a plan and it does not involve you, my dearest love."
"What do you mean, it doesn't involve me. How can a divorce and your terminal illness not involve me?"
"I've got money saved from when I was single, $250,000. I'm going to spend that on the life suspension drug, Interval. In fifteen years I may come out of it and have a chance at life. But those fifteen years you are not going to suspend your life. You can't babysit a body that is in a state of suspended animation. We've talked about this drug. We know the score. It's what I choose."
He sputtered, "All of this, and you haven't discussed it with me?" He was crushed. He was processing the cancer, her choice, his life ahead.
Chaya softened her tone. He was suffering, almost more than she was. But she would not let the anguish in his voice soften her resolve.
"We have discussed it, theoretically. Now it's real. You know me, Darin. My mind is made up. There are no good choices and I have the right to make the best one for me. I'm at peace with this path. That's the most I can hope for."
It was a long night. He did come around. He would give her the divorce, but stay with her through the drug preparation and administration. He swore he'd stay by her through the suspension, but they both knew that wasn't going to happen. A five year marriage, in abeyance for fifteen on the chance she would emerge healthy from her experiment?
The day had come. Darin was by her side as the drug took effect. Life termination contracts had been signed. Her eggs had been harvested and frozen, just in case. It was comforting to think some day she might be a mother.
She locked eyes with Darin through the glass tube that would be her home for the next 15 years. Her feet and hands succumbed, as did her face and eyes. She could no longer see Darin, or the room. She felt the serum creep into her brain and she realized seconds remained. She had a final thought, a line she remembered from long ago that had been uttered by a forlorn life form,
"Will I dream"?
Quote in the first line is from Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
Quote in the last line from the film 2010: The Year We Made Contact
Chaya is one pragmatic and admirable character! And so young that I feel sorry for her and more so for Darin. I wished she'd trusted her husband to make the decision of whether to stay married to her or not.
You beautifully capture the emotions involved in making a complex decision in the face of a terminal illness. I admire Chaya because she didn't give up and sought a second chance using Interval. What a poignant story that explores love, life and hope in adversity.
Beautifully written as always! You've given me an idea of how to go about my entry. 😁 !PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@kemmyb just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @agmoore.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
Thank you @kemmyb! Look forward to reading your story. I believe your entry would be more legitimate, because I do believe you speak another language.
This story, told from the perspective of a young person, might take a different direction. Life doesn't look the same to people who are in their 20s and their 70'--beginning of life and end of life.
I would be very interesting to see how @litguru's remarkable story prompts your imagination. Please tag me when you write it (sometimes I miss things 😀)
I hope so! The pressure 😄. I'll let you know when I drop my entry. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Thank you very much @kemmyb. Your path forward in the relationship would have been interesting. I think Chaya had to choose the way forward that she did. Nothing else was tenable. Was a young man truly to spend his youth waiting around to see if an experiment worked out? This was his life, the only one he would ever get. No one has a long term lease. No one knows how long or happy life will be. He had no chance with a woman who was virtually inanimate, a woman who had chosen to go on a kind of journey.
Plus, Chaya needed to know that when she awoke, if she did, it would be with a fresh start. No baggage from the past life. Just a new adventure. It's possible one day the two could look each other up, if she comes out of it OK. Wouldn't that make an interesting sequel. You can be sure of one thing: If I write it, it will not be a soap opera 😀.
I'm looking forward to reading your story. Your stories are always skillfully crafted and intelligent. Please be sure to tag me. Thanks.
This is an brilliant story that touches upon some issues that we might be confronted with in the future, if this technology is ever developed. An advanced technology like this one is not only going to affect the person but everyone else around him/her. Families, friends, lovers, and so on. Some people may object for moral or religious reasons. There are many practical matters, as the wife indicates when she asks her husband for a divorce. Would she even want to come back if her friends and family have passed on? If this ever comes to pass, then we'll need a long list of "bring me back if...but don't bring me back if..."
As the Beatles sang,
Hello @litguru, fountain of all inspiration! After reading your story and selecting the words it was inevitable that I come up with such a theme. The original (yours, was brilliant) and this was just something that was tweaked after I read yours. Mine was more on the ground perhaps, but still highly speculative. The thing about science fiction that some writers loss track of is, it's still about people. You don't lose track of that. No matter how fantastic the scene or plot, there is always motivation. There is always character (though not necessarily human character😄.)
Thanks for stopping by. Good luck with the stories. In a way, I collaborated with you, and I don't collaborate with anyone. Still, it was fun.
This was a fun read because you did approach the idea from a different and perhaps more realistic perspective. We're now experiencing big changes in technology, and I think we'll be asking ourselves some big questions about their impact on us and those around us. Sci-fi authors have to balance the flashy aspects of the plot with the humane aspects, and this is tricky because there's also need to entertain the intended audience. This is why I enjoy when writers, who are not overly familiar with the sci-fi genre, tackle some of those futuristic ideas using the writing tools they're familiar with.
This story does feel like a great collaboration, and I'm happy you took on the Hive Book Club challenge!
It's interesting how your story worked on me. I'm a human inkblot--soak things up. When I was in high school, oh those many years ago, I was notorious for not doing homework, for studying only when it suited me. But when I had to take one of those important standardized tests that would help determine our future course of study, I'd pull out a Dostoyevsky, or Tolstoy and bury myself in the books. I didn't study--I absorbed.
I think that's how your story worked on me. I read it a couple of times and then just went forward comfortably.
I have the feeling your learning style may also be a bit through osmosis.
I also like to absorb information because I never really know what tidbit is going to be useful for stories or other creative pursuits. They say reality is stranger than fiction, and in many ways it is. I'm very glad that the story inspired you to pen down your ideas into this story while experimenting with the translation tools (unless it's your own language knowledge). As far writing and publishing is concerned, what you've done is indeed stranger than fiction, when you think about it. That is, you used a global communication network along with computational tools to create and publish a story in a decentralized financial social blockchain. Very sci-fi!
Good luck, I hope you do more or less well.
Thank you, but I don't consider myself a contestant. Since I speak English, it doesn't seem right to compete with those that don't. I had great fun with this. Spanish and German (language!) are hobbies.
I appreciate your good wishes.
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Were you people told to translate to Spanish or German or you just chose to?
Well, I love how you understand both languages
Those are my languages. That is, they are the languages I studied in school for many years. I'm not fluent but have bursts of fluency from time to time. Language seems to come naturally to me.
Thanks for stopping by.
🤣 Looks like we've got the winner already hehe
Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in the exercise. I am a kind of jack of all trades when it comes to languages-- I know a bit about several but am the master of none (although English is my comfort zone). And I love to write. This was the perfect challenge for me. Plus, I'd already read @litguru's fantastic story so I was ready to go.
Some people smoke weed to relax. Some people run five miles. I find an interesting subject and blog on Hive. Thanks for the most relaxing, enjoyable time.
One of the biggest losses that technology has done is that every person has become busy in their mobile and a person does not have enough time to give to his family or to his friends. He is busy inside his mobile and this is what we are seeing, today we have the same things going on with us. That we have to pay attention to this and restore the relationship.
Somehow I missed the invitation.. now its too late to jump on this! 😜
😞
With or without this challenge, I am still #lostintranslation ;) so I dont feel sorrow!
I'm always a bit lost, in translation or otherwise. Sometimes, it's an interesting place to be ;)