No opening credits
no long shots
no CGI or model spaceships flying
Just interiors
engine rooms
galleys
bridges
at war in space
Men and women
children and aliens
hurting
hurting
hurting
It’ll end soon, I thought
Victory
rescue
everafter
Clean, American
In my dream, a capsule
empty with yellow light,
bulkheads full of untouched
instruments
One voice: a little girl’s.
If I don’t breathe, she said,
within three-quarters—
The screen went black.
The credits rolled:
COMPRESSION
The director’s name
Another name
Another name
Another name
First published in Creatrix 64, March 2024
Jackson 