It was so hot last night that I actually slept with my fan. No, not like that, like this:

I had just done laundry earlier in the evening, so I didn’t even bother putting sheets on the bed. I figured the bare mattress would be a bit cooler, and it was. All things considered, I give last night a 6 out of 10.

The Limited Edition contest (previous entry) ends TODAY at 11:59:59pm CDT!

Below, a continuation of the short story I started writing a while ago… if it sucks, let me know and I’ll stop.

Legend has it that the planet entered a state of instant, permanent peace when the news broke. All forms of struggle just ceased. Two of the biggest factors in human history, money and religion, became obsolete overnight. We had finally buried God.

One of the big, collective fears the human race shared as we approached the milestone of infinite life (people saw it coming for some time) was that it would be available only to the super-rich, people who could afford a stake in eternity. Essentially, the worry was that nothing would change: if everyone gets to live forever, clearly the planet would be overcrowded in no time, so they must be planning on regulating it or making it monstrously expensive or something. Hell, the place was already overflowing long before they discovered the treatment. I’m not too clear on the specifics, but I guess the Global Assembly of Superiors was one step ahead of us all — they rolled it out smoothly, and everyone got their forever injections.

I finished getting dressed, swallowed my breakfast, and carefully descended the stairs from my apartment down to the street. It was one of those summer days that instantly negates your hygienic routine upon your first step outside. It didn’t help that every nerve on my body was tense, but I’m certain the humidity would have had no problem working alone — my clothes clung to my damp skin as if they were just as scared as I was to go anywhere.

The sole regulation imposed by the GAS was that all citizens must reach age 30 before eligibility, and they must receive the treatment on their official day of birth. And, as I said, it was my 30th birthday, so just like everyone else I was scheduled to claim my reward for making it that far.

I watched my fellow citizens as I strode up the hill toward the medical center and was reminded why I was so frightened. These people were all so, very bland. The immortality treatment successfully rid us of death by old age and terminal illness. No more heart attacks, strokes, cancer, peaceful goings-in-the-night. People still died, though, “naturally” — no injection’s going to stop you from getting flattened by a bus or choking on your own vomit. The result? Our entire planet is covered with the most boring, play-it-safe people who have ever lived.

I’m writing this story as it comes to me, and posting it here, so it’s probably not going to be very polished. Fun experiment though.

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Birthdays never meant much to me. Well, that’s not entirely true. I am sort of an only child, so I got great presents and lots of attention back when I was a kid. Lately, though, I haven’t had much to be excited about. I’d say the past 5 years or so have passed me by without the slightest hint of circumstance. Today I turned 30.

I counted spots on the ceiling as my alarm clock nagged me to my senses. I think I had been dreaming about the end of the world. What a relief. I had an early appointment with the immortality people. It’s not really my style to wake up before noon but I wanted to make sure I could get in and out of there before … I don’t know. Maybe I had hoped I’d still be groggy and wouldn’t pay attention to what was actually happening. I don’t like to think about it very much. Naturally, it’s been on my mind constantly. Anyway, I had some serious, pathetic self destruction to tend to later on in the day… “Let’s get this over with,” I said to nobody.

I know how ridiculous that must sound, but let me assure you that people used to do that. I’ve read lots of old books and listened to lots of old music. I even found some old cookbooks. I’m sort of an authority on stupid, reckless behavior. Relatively speaking, of course. As far as I can tell, the human propensity for risk taking was all but obliterated when they figured out this treatment. I had to work pretty hard to learn what I have; it’s as if learning stuff is dangerous in itself.

Obviously, the world we know today is vastly different from the one left behind by our past, mortal selves. And it’s been that way for a while. But as I stared myself down in the mirror, I still couldn’t wrap my head around what I was about to do. Weird notions wafted through my skull like that weird, pleasant stench coming from my sink. (I could never figure out what that was.) I pushed everything aside and thought about the future. “Tonight,” I said to myself. I found a guy who could get me anything I need: speakers with no volume limits, a trampoline, beer, even pizza. Yes. “Tonight I’m going to fucking party.”