Stories From a Distant Galaxy Volume 22

A Note From a Cosmic Drifter

The galaxy is in the palm of my hands, so I pet her carefully with love. Every day is a new day, and the stars dictate the tracks my feet leave behind. Currently, I find myself sitting next to a rusty crate in the cargo hold of a massive cargo ship.

It’s a Carasora C-679 Interstellar Transport. Those are my favorite ships to stowaway on, because the cargo hold is big enough for me to hide from workers, and there are windows. I have no destination, no goal, and no plan.

They call people like me Cosmic Drifters. I’ve been a Cosmic Drifter for 14 years now, and I’ve never felt more connected to the cosmos. When people decide to become a Cosmic Drifter, they give up all worldly possessions, give up their name, and embark into the void.

Usually we’ll carry a backpack with food and survival equipment, but that’s it. Our path depends of the good graces of others, and our ability to sneak onto cargo ships, transports vessels, and any other ships. Sometimes we even hitchhike.

Cosmic Drifters always travel solo, but sometimes we run into each other. When this occurs, we take a moment to socialize and trade, but it goes against our code to travel more than 2 trips with another drifter. To sustain and survive, we steal food from cargo crates, or panhandle.

Many people of this galaxy look down upon us and shame us for our choice of lifestyle, but there are a handful of people that look up to us and help us on our path. We are more content and peaceful than most people in the Outer Rim, and that is because the galaxy nurtures and caresses us, for we are her children.

Earlier, I found a blank notebook and a pen on the ground in a shipyard, and took it upon myself to write about my life. I believe the galaxy placed the notebook in my path for this very reason. Maybe my message will reach a soul in need of peace.

So, who am I? To be honest, I forgot my name about 4 years ago. Us drifters don’t need names anymore. I am a pink-skinned Tressatorian man with a braided red beard and no hair. My pink skin is more purple than pink now, because of my tan. We do hang out in the sun a lot when we reach habitable planets.

What is my story? Well, I sort of forgot what I did before this life, but I’m pretty sure I was an architect. Throughout my life, I have traveled all across the Outer Rim and have visited over 150 solar systems. When I travel in a cargo ship, the journey usually takes three days to a week, and I don’t quite know where I’ll arrive.

Sometimes it’s at a mining refinery, and sometimes it’s at a beautiful tropical world. When I arrive at a beautiful planet, I take it as a gift and will spend up to two months there living off of the land and the good graces of bystanders. One time, I was able to sneak on to a star-cruise.

That was a fun few days filled with beautiful sights, good food, and exotic drinks. Cosmic Drifters love a good drink. One of my best days was spent on a pink sand beach on a research planet in system RS00443. The sand was so soft and possessed a light pink hue, but glistened in the blue sunlight. The tropical trees came in an array of colors ranging from purple to crimson red.

I spent an entire week eating fruit from the trees, drinking liquor I stole from a researcher’s basement, and swimming in the fresh, warm, ocean water. During the night, I would fall asleep to the sight of three glowing moons dancing around the sky, and the sight of a fabulous nebula.

You can’t experience that while working a 9 to 5 on a colony world. Even on my worst days, I find myself cured up next to a cold window on an even colder cargo ship, staring out the window at the beautiful stars. A year ago, I was extremely sick and laying down next to a stack of cargo crates. I was throwing up everything I ate, my head has burning up and I thought I was a dead man. When I though I was done for, I looked out the window only to witness one of the most beautiful events to take place in the cosmos.

The cargo ship was using a black hole as a gravity boost to save fuel. Cargo ships will do this sometimes to save money, because the gravity boost helps reserve light-fuel. I overhear a lot of conversations between crewmembers, so I know a lot about what they do. I gazed off out the window and watched as this black hole devoured every particle of light it came across.

Black hole occupied solar systems are extremely off limits, and the only ships allowed in its celestial space are ORA, research, and cargo vessels. It blew my mind to see such a destructive force of nature display such elaborate beauty. I will never forget the way the strings of light wrapped around the dense, compressed void, and danced as if light was praying to darkness.

I knew the moment I saw that, everything was going to be okay. Soon after, one of the crewmembers found me. Instead of yelling at me and throwing me in the brig, they immediately rushed me to the infirmary and fixed me up. The doctor said I was a day away from death.

When the ship docked up, they kindly escorted me off the property with a bag of food and medicine. The universe heard my call for help and saved me. One would be foolish to deny divine intervention during a moment like that. When you take on the life as a Cosmic Drifter, your life will be hard, but the universe will nurture you and care for you like a mother.

You will experience stressful times and agonizing hardships, but you will be rewarded with unforgettable beauty and fruitful days. Where am I headed now? Well, I overheard a worker say something about MS1106, so I would assume that is our destination.

I’ve been to that system a few times. There’s a dusty planet with a really cool trade station, so I’ll probably find myself traveling there. For anyone reading this note, I hope I was able to open your heart to the truth about Cosmic Drifters. Some say we are a mysterious group or a dangerous cult, but in reality we are just kind people who give our life to the stars in the sky.

Please be kind to us, for we are children of the cosmos. If you are kind to her children, she will reward you. This letter may find its way across the galaxy, or may wind up buried in an empty desert, but whatever happens was meant to happen. The pen is almost out of ink now, so that is my sign to end the note. Good luck out there, and may the stars shine in your favor.