Understanding (Short) (Fin)

[Zero]

571-1448

 

What would you say if I told you that you would die tomorrow? What if I said you would die in five years, seven months, eleven hours, four minutes and forty-eight seconds? Which would make you more uncomfortable? How would you feel in five years, seven months, eleven hours, four minutes, and forty-five seconds from now? Forty-six? Forty-seven? The unshakable feeling that something horrible is about to happen to someone you know. Little do you know, it's a person you know better then you think, a person you don't pay enough attention to. This revelation I have brought to you will haunt you for the rest of your days until three... two... one... zero. Nothing happens, and right before you exhale from the tension, you can't remember anything. You wake up in the emergency room and you don't know how you got there.

 

Are you positive that you'll wake up though? Will this day looming in your future just be a near-death experience? You can hope for the best, but what if I'm right? You need to ask yourself when was the last time I was wrong. Does your death clock drive you to madness? Do you see it's representation everywhere you look? Would you prefer to die tomorrow to keep you sane, or would you spend the next five-plus years living your life to the fullest? Stop, before you answer. What if you get into an accident next month? You could be paralyzed for five years, six months, eleven hours, four minutes and forty-eight seconds? What's your answer now?

 

Five years later, you're diagnosed with cancer, you have approximately seven months left to live. Do you remember what I told you? More now then ever, I'm sure. You didn't even here the doctor say how effective treatment could be because you know it will do you no good. You are going to die and there is nothing you can hope to do about it. You wake up in a cold sweat. Your fantasies of how your time line is going to end has penetrated your dreams in a very real fashion. You've taken your wrist watch off of military time because you can't stand 2:48 in the afternoon anymore. After a night at the bar, you'll throw away a girl's phone number if 571-1448 is in it, no matter the sequence.

 

Would you prefer to die tomorrow, or would you live your life the best you could? What if I told you that you would die tomorrow? What if I said you would die five years, seven months, eleven hours, four minutes and forty-eight seconds from now? Don't know? Neither do I. All I know is, is that I live one second longer than you. Sucks to be you.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Guest

[Durandal!]

I feel like i've just stuck my finger in the death clock.

 

 

Bravoz

[Silas]

Amazing...That's all I can say. It made me think about things I haven't taken time to think about before.

[Galadriel Kenobi]

Interesting.

 

Umm... I don't know what else to say, exactly. You caught my attention from the first sentence, which is definitely good. I didn't notice any spelling or grammatical errors, which is also very good. Sometimes spelling and grammar mistakes are so blatant that it's hard to see the story through them (and I'm not talking about anything I've read on jedi.net, in case you were wondering).

 

The content of this story was very good. It reminded me yet again of the things that all too often get taken for granted, including life itself.

 

All in all, I'd say this was pretty good. I am curious, however, as to what made you choose those particular numbers.

[Zero]

Completely random.

[Amidala Skywalker]

Lol...I should have expected something like this to come from you, Zero.

 

Not bad. Interesting concept for a short story, that's for sure. Of course, I know what I would do if I had a set amount of days to live, and I don't think it'd bother me that much. But that's just me.

 

One grammatical thing I noticed:

 

You didn't even here the doctor say how effective treatment could be because you know it will do you no good.

 

It should be "hear" not "here".

[Avararda Dinn]

Muy bien. It reminds me completely of Fight Club.

[Tiana Calthye]

I salute you for the ability to write a short short story. x_x It was good, that's all I can say.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Wow. That's about it.

 

Good stuff, Zero. Ami caught the one error I noticed, and Galadriel covered the question I had about if there was a particular reason for the numbers picked.

 

So that leaves me just to applaud the smooth way you hounded this "what if" scenario home and the almost paralyzing reaction it might have on people Was there anything in particular which inspired this? And is this the entirety of it, or an intro with more of the short story to come?

 

Excellent, thought-provoking piece!

[Zero]

I've considered expanding on it, but there's a genre barrier with that. I just felt like writing something, and I started and went as long as I could without dragging on. Usually I won't finish a story unless it means something to me. The idea of knowing when I'll die isn't exactly important to me, so I'm not sure if I could expand on it or not.

[Zero]

Understanding

 

Do you know the difference between understanding and interpretation? Do you understand that interpretation is more important in your life? You understand that two plus two is four. You understand that there are eight planets in the solar system, only because Pluto fell short of what a planet is interpreted as. Ask yourself what the most important things in your life are, and if they are things you can understand. Do you understand politics? Do you understand religion, family values or the meaning of life? These are all things that you interpret. The understanding of Newton's laws or the order of mathematical operations will not be vital to most people's survival. In most circumstances, your ignorance to the understood will not put you in a social disaster. The world is flat. Cigarettes have no negative effects on your health. We are alone in the universe. Understanding is everything. Understanding is nothing.

 

You should really be careful about the things you claim to understand. Understanding changes with time, as do interpretations, but the latter is expected. Changing understanding holds hands with hypocrisy. Understanding is everything. You understand what day your birthday falls on, you understand right and wrong. Interpreting the consequences of doing wrong is what drives your motivation. Understanding is nothing. You understand that you will one day die, but potential hazards are left to your interpretation and will ultimately hold more bearing on your decisions then the things you understand. You understand drinking and driving is dangerous, but you've interpreted that you are sober enough to get home in one piece. Understanding is everything.

 

You interpret that God exists because this is something you cannot possibly understand because it is not a universal interpretation. Things that are generally accepted as interpreted become understood. You cannot understand politics because politics are a concept of the human mind, like all things that you must interpret for yourself. Values and beliefs cannot be understood because the things in your life that have effected you; past, present, and future; molds your interpretation of them. Enlightenment is a lie because only through universal interpretation, can all things be understood. Only in a perfect world are such things as perfection. Perfection is impossible because even the most perfect of things will cease to be. The perfect fly will ultimately find it's way into the perfect deer which lay dead at the feet of an imperfect hunter to feed his family, which is perfect in his interpretation. Interpretation is nothing. Interpretation is everything.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Guest

[NavyGal]

Both of those stories are interesting Zero.

 

The second one was thought provoking.

 

I haven't read anything in here for a while but I liked what I read just now.

[DarthBrendo]

That was deep...I had to stop and think about things after reading that.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

I have to admit that I had a lot harder time following the second one (although that could be due to the amount of sleep I got last night and not anything on your part). Again quite thought provoking, but it felt a little more forced than the first one.

 

Good stuff, but I like the first one better.

[Amidala Skywalker]

Nice new one, Zero. I think I understood that one a bit better than the first. Interesting perspective. If I may ask, is it your perspective, or just something you were thinking about for the sake of the story itself?

 

Nice work.

[Zero]

I was just brainstorming one night and wrote it down.

[Silas]

That was amazing. Made me sit and think about life, and what I'm interpreting and what I'm thinking I'm understanding. Definatley a very good story.

[Galadriel Kenobi]

Another interesting idea. I had to re-read it a couple of times before I could understand it (or would that be interpret it ? ), but it was very thought-provoking.

[Zero]

I recited 'Understanding' today during speech class. While I didn't get a grade yet, my teacher commented that she could listen to me talk all day.

 

 

 

 

 

And she ain't too bad lookin either

[Silas]

My speech teacher was a 70 year old black lady who looked like a fat monkey and hated white people.

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Deep stuff.

 

Thinking.