Bogleech.com's 2015 Horror Write-off:
" Who they are, and why we ignore them "
Submitted by Sarah Cleary
Its fur used to be white. Its body was freezing yet melting. Who knew if this was natural for its kind or some sort of weird side effect from entering our atmosphere. It was hard to gauge the original structure of the beast as its appendages had all been snapped and mangled in the crash, shifted into positions that we assumed (even though we had no proof) weren’t natural. Its Stunted lower limbs, curled into each other, were gigantic yet minuscule compared to the rest of its body. Its body was positioned in such a way that it was impossible to tell if it was lying on its back or its chest.
The dirt and dust had settled on it so quickly that it gave the illusion that it had always been there, a relic from an ancient time that we have only just discovered, but we know that’s not true. Maya Grant who, thanks to narcolepsy and a troubling obsession with recording everything, saw it fall and became a minor celebrity in the process.
The most disturbing part of the creature had to be the extremities that we are forced by ignorance to classify as arms. These appendages jutted out from the gourd shaped stomach at mathematically challenging angles. They were absurd and impractical yet infuriatingly symmetrical. These gangly limbs jutted over and dwarfed the deflated body in an arch that encircled and then converged and collapsed over the head of the being, which had a proboscis that sent scientists into endless debates of whether it should be classified as a beak or a snout. The tree line must have knocked the arms into this unusual position. Alternatively, maybe this was the creature’s last-ditch effort to protect itself. Whatever the reason, there was no denying that the arms of the creature and the way they rested above and completely encircling the head, unmistakably resembled the outline of a heart. Not an actual heart, but the symbol of a heart, the kind you find on valentines card or in childish love letters. Soon, the fact that a giant eldritch alien died in the shape of a symbol for love seemed to become more important than the fact that a giant eldritch alien had crash-landed and died.
The effects it had on the world and human history was like the impact of a sledgehammer hitting ice. Immediate and important breaks in the ice soon give way to small, meaningless cracks. Religions formed and even more disbanded. A Sci-Fi spec script was hastily re written and put out as a biopic “inspired by” the crash. Recording the sky became a full time job for some, desperate to have the same sort of Non-Fame that graced Maya grant.
The alien corpse had a pet name in less than an hour. “Tukky” (named after the small Canadian park where it fell) become the unofficial, and then, official, Valentines Day mascot. The heart symbol soon became known as the “Tukky”. You could get an Official “Tukky” t-shirt for only twenty dollars at Macy’s. As much as the scientist and experts protested, it soon became accepted that “Tukky’s” pose was not random death spasms but an intentional post mortem olive branch. So what if it did not make sense how “Tukky” knew what our symbol for peace was or why they decided the best way to establish contact with us was by plummeting 500 KM to earth. None of that mattered; it was a good narrative, comforting, an explanation devoid of any real explanation. It was impervious to facts. Who can blame someone for wanting to think that the world has meaning? “Tukky” was our lovable space pal who wished us nothing but love and kindness, and was the herald of a whole race of good natured peace wanting aliens who would arrive any day now and usher humanity into a new era of pacifism and good times, or at the very least, make it to earth without dying on impact.
Looking back, the only way this would've ended well was if no one else fell.
But there was more
Two years after “Tukky”, another creature (who’s nickname has been erased from history) fell. Then followed by another, and then another. Twenty of them fell in the time span of a month, all dead. And, most depressingly, frustratingly un-symbolic.
The beasts seemed not to offer even the suggestion of a purpose, no clue of some kind of higher meaning. Nothing about their vulnerable mangled forms seemed intentional. The media tried oh did they try. They spent weeks trying to convince the public that the curled up mass of limbs in Bangkok resembled a thumbs up sign. However, it was too late, the damage was done. Many of the Corpses were attacked, as if it was their fault they did not suit our made up narrative. Even “Tukky” was not safe from the backlash; in fact, “Tukky” got it worst of all. We all decided as a species to remove every indication of them ever existing, as if that would make us forget.
“Tukky”s Carcass, still in that familiar heart shape, only now dissolved, was removed. We do not know how or who, but its body disappeared one day and no one cared enough to find out how. Hallmark distanced them selves from “Tukky” and removed them from all of their gift cards. The “Tukky” movie was stripped of its multiple awards. T-Shirts were burned. History books had large pieces removed. Then, when all evidence of “Tukky” and the others was removed, we all shook each other’s hands and agreed none of this was our fault.
They are still falling. We have learned to ignore them.
The dirt and dust had settled on it so quickly that it gave the illusion that it had always been there, a relic from an ancient time that we have only just discovered, but we know that’s not true. Maya Grant who, thanks to narcolepsy and a troubling obsession with recording everything, saw it fall and became a minor celebrity in the process.
The most disturbing part of the creature had to be the extremities that we are forced by ignorance to classify as arms. These appendages jutted out from the gourd shaped stomach at mathematically challenging angles. They were absurd and impractical yet infuriatingly symmetrical. These gangly limbs jutted over and dwarfed the deflated body in an arch that encircled and then converged and collapsed over the head of the being, which had a proboscis that sent scientists into endless debates of whether it should be classified as a beak or a snout. The tree line must have knocked the arms into this unusual position. Alternatively, maybe this was the creature’s last-ditch effort to protect itself. Whatever the reason, there was no denying that the arms of the creature and the way they rested above and completely encircling the head, unmistakably resembled the outline of a heart. Not an actual heart, but the symbol of a heart, the kind you find on valentines card or in childish love letters. Soon, the fact that a giant eldritch alien died in the shape of a symbol for love seemed to become more important than the fact that a giant eldritch alien had crash-landed and died.
The effects it had on the world and human history was like the impact of a sledgehammer hitting ice. Immediate and important breaks in the ice soon give way to small, meaningless cracks. Religions formed and even more disbanded. A Sci-Fi spec script was hastily re written and put out as a biopic “inspired by” the crash. Recording the sky became a full time job for some, desperate to have the same sort of Non-Fame that graced Maya grant.
The alien corpse had a pet name in less than an hour. “Tukky” (named after the small Canadian park where it fell) become the unofficial, and then, official, Valentines Day mascot. The heart symbol soon became known as the “Tukky”. You could get an Official “Tukky” t-shirt for only twenty dollars at Macy’s. As much as the scientist and experts protested, it soon became accepted that “Tukky’s” pose was not random death spasms but an intentional post mortem olive branch. So what if it did not make sense how “Tukky” knew what our symbol for peace was or why they decided the best way to establish contact with us was by plummeting 500 KM to earth. None of that mattered; it was a good narrative, comforting, an explanation devoid of any real explanation. It was impervious to facts. Who can blame someone for wanting to think that the world has meaning? “Tukky” was our lovable space pal who wished us nothing but love and kindness, and was the herald of a whole race of good natured peace wanting aliens who would arrive any day now and usher humanity into a new era of pacifism and good times, or at the very least, make it to earth without dying on impact.
Looking back, the only way this would've ended well was if no one else fell.
But there was more
Two years after “Tukky”, another creature (who’s nickname has been erased from history) fell. Then followed by another, and then another. Twenty of them fell in the time span of a month, all dead. And, most depressingly, frustratingly un-symbolic.
The beasts seemed not to offer even the suggestion of a purpose, no clue of some kind of higher meaning. Nothing about their vulnerable mangled forms seemed intentional. The media tried oh did they try. They spent weeks trying to convince the public that the curled up mass of limbs in Bangkok resembled a thumbs up sign. However, it was too late, the damage was done. Many of the Corpses were attacked, as if it was their fault they did not suit our made up narrative. Even “Tukky” was not safe from the backlash; in fact, “Tukky” got it worst of all. We all decided as a species to remove every indication of them ever existing, as if that would make us forget.
“Tukky”s Carcass, still in that familiar heart shape, only now dissolved, was removed. We do not know how or who, but its body disappeared one day and no one cared enough to find out how. Hallmark distanced them selves from “Tukky” and removed them from all of their gift cards. The “Tukky” movie was stripped of its multiple awards. T-Shirts were burned. History books had large pieces removed. Then, when all evidence of “Tukky” and the others was removed, we all shook each other’s hands and agreed none of this was our fault.
They are still falling. We have learned to ignore them.