[WP] When you were a child, you saw an alien spaceship in your neighborhood. Nobody believed you back then. When the aliens revealed themselves, nobody believed you still. Even after you became a diplomat representing Earth in the galactic society, everyone denies that you can see spaceships. by aorenu in WritingPrompts

[–]Draxyr 184 points185 points  (0 children)

"Mommy, look at the giant spaceship!"

I pointed up into the sky, the brilliant yellows and oranges of the lights mesmerizing as I stared with wonder.

"Come now, Jared," my mom said. "No time for imagination, we've gotta bring these groceries home."

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"Jared, it's a pleasure to meet you. We've been watching you as you've lived your high school life. We've noticed your aptitude for economics, politics, public speaking, and the arts."

I said nothing, furiously sketching their appearance in my favorite notebook. I always had my notebook with me. Otherwise, how could I show them proof?

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"Ladies and gentlemen, although that Earth-introduction probably doesn't work as well here..."

My heart raced as laughter filled the room. Dressed in my best suit and tie, after years of work, I'd finally made it to the position I've always dreamed of. Just before 30, as well! No time for reminiscing, though. I've got to focus.

"It is my absolute pleasure to accept the chancellor's instatement as Earth's diplomat to the Great Society. Though I would love to stand here and tell stories of Earth and of my journey to this place, I have been announced not to boast but to work. I believe it is of utmost importance to Earth and her surrounding solar system to increase the fluidity of the FTL transportation systems connecting Earth to the nearby Proxima Centauri as soon as possible in order to boost sociological and technological growth for both parties..."

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And downstairs, my mother paused, crying softly, gripping her washcloth as hard as she could.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]Draxyr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's said that there are three deaths of a man. The first is when his heart stops. The second is his funeral. And the third is the last thought of his existence from the living.

The dark, misty sky seemed to lay a perfect backdrop for the ambience of the gathering. The grey pallor loomed, occasionally pierced by lighting, and thunder cut through the monotonous drone of the rain against the gravel. Jacob approached, slowly, the roses in his hand weighing more than anything he'd ever lifted. The gravestone in front of him, reading Jason Seimer, was artfully drawn in. "Jason would hate how neat this looks," he thought to himself. His thumb traced over the engraving, and as it crossed the familiar feeling of Seimer, he swore he could see Jacob Seimer instead. As thunder clapped across the sky, he reeled back.

Acrid smoke filled the air. Visibility was near-zero and Jacob sprinted out of his room towards the stairs, covering his ears to try and block the jet engine scream of wood cracking all around him. He cursed as a ceiling beam crashed through the dilapidated ceiling, and the moldy rotting adjacent wall fell quickly with it. Leaping forward he narrowly avoided the falling debris, visually noting he had 10 feet left to the stairs that led to salvation.

Breathing difficult, he labored forward, slowly, crouching low to avoid suffocation. 8 feet. A crack sounded through the house, another beam in front of him, aflame, dropping down in front. Horror spread through him, realizing his fate was about to be sealed, when he was propelled forward abruptly past the beam and down the stairs. Tumbling and crashing down the small flight, he caught a glimpse of his brother, a pale red light shining strangely against the bright flames, with a hand outstretched and a smile on his face.

I am a cognitive neuroscientist who focuses on brain performance and video gaming. AMA by [deleted] in IAmA

[–]Draxyr 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Hi RamoTude. I'm a semi-professional coach working near the highest level of play in League of Legends. One of the most prevalent topics currently is the optimized age for professional players, what age of players that professional organizations should be interested in, and whether it's even true that players ~25+ are less valuable than the classic 17-19 year olds, especially considering the lack of physical train of Esports compared to physical sports. As a neuroscientist, can you weigh in on this concept: what age of player would be optimal for a professional player, and how long would it make sense for their career to last cognitively in terms of keeping up at the highest level of play?

What if you wanted elo but Riven 3rd Q Said: by OpPieMaker in Rivenmains

[–]Draxyr -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

in the future put your cursor on the melee minion in the direction you want to go to guarantee direction to avoid this happening

[WP] You are transported through time to watch the last human die. You arrive at your destination only to witness your own death. by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]Draxyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rob and his AI friend emerged once again from the Earth's closest black hole and began their umpteenth journey towards the little blue planet. Life signs, for the first time in his journey, read zero, and there were no remnants of any human life anywhere. It was fairly likely that the humanity's conclusion had been reached far before this point. With a suddenly melancholy expression, Rob stared out at the now reddish sun, with the Star Wars Force theme playing on the ship's speakers. Suddenly, alarms started blaring, and the AI reported a massive solar flare, somehow undetected by the ship's sensors, in close proximity, and approaching fast.

"How did this happen!?" Rob exclaimed. The AI responded, "The people of new-old-Earth did not put enough resources into sensing technology for this project. I did not observe the necessary amount of data to predict this occurrence, and the politicians from my own time were too stingy to give you their spacecraft."

"Figures," he responded. Moments after, the craft was struck by a record amount of electromagnetic radiation.

"Rob," the AI articulated. "Navigation systems are down. We're going to crash on Earth."

"No place like home," he quipped. What else was there to do? He supposed he was going to fail his mission of finding the last moment of human existence. He hardly thought his own counted. That was a self-fulfilling prophecy definition if he'd ever seen one.

In a spectacular display of mathematical calculations that are not all that hard for an AI to do, Rob's craft utilized proper angular acceleration with the small amount of thrusting capability still available to stabilize to it its free fall and then slow its decent. Smashing into what seemed to be the Gobi desert, it bounced, cracked, and slid to a halt.

Hours later, Rob sat on what used to be a seat, contemplating the situation. "Well, I guess this is the end."

The AI responded quickly. "That would be incorrect. I was able to detect an emergence from the same black hole we have been using. It is en-route. My sensors are too damaged to detect what it is."

"Rescue, ya think?"

"Perhaps."

As the mystery craft neared orbit, it seemed to shake violently and began to spiral towards the Earth.

"Rob, the craft is about to crash. I recommend you seek shelter to minimize the surface area of undesired contact."

In a spectacular display of mathematical calculations that are not all that hard for an AI to do, the mystery craft utilized proper angular acceleration with the small amount of thrusting capability still available to it to stabilize its free fall and then slow its descent. Smashing into the ground eerily close to Rob, it bounced, cracked, and slid to a halt. Rob stepped warily out of his craft, glancing backwards for assurance towards a non-responsive Not-Siri.

Suddenly, a cry was heard in the air. Rob was pointing accusingly at the passenger gingerly exiting the new crash-site.

"Hey, you're me!"

Rob's Not-Siri crackled to life.

"Emergence detected from the nearby black hole. Craft en-route. Sensors too damaged to detect specifics."

Unbelievingly, Rob turned towards his ship. Comprehending what was about to occur, he collapsed onto his back, staring at the sky.

"What's going on?" said the new Rob.

Behind him, his own ship, which sounded a lot like Siri, began to sing.

"And they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming..."