Diary of a Dead Man (Re-Write) 1

 Some of you may recall a story I wrote a few months back titled Diary of a Dead Man. After a recent talk with an editor I have opted to re-write it with a different style (3rd person past tense). It's evolving into a completely new beast so I thought I'd post it as the re-writes come along. Let me know what you think!

--Mac    

Diary of a Dead Man

1. The Scientist

       Brian stood at the back of a crowded auditorium watching in patient silence as Dr. Coulton’s prominent scientific career ground to a halt. “I have dedicated my life’s work to the field of quantum mechanics, but tonight I want to talk to you about something of a more fantastic nature. For eons the human race has wondered what happens after death. Our final journey is both a mysterious and terrifying one.”

“What if death is not the end? There is a world beyond this one where we can live on if we so choose. Ghosts are no longer a thing of mythology and fear, they are a reality, and one that we must learn to accept, study, and live in peace with. Poltergeists and possessions should not be topics of fear, but of debate and scientific inquiry.”

     The shocked looks of the academics in the audience brought a grimace to Brian’s face. The dark corner cast a sinister shadow over him, but he could not risk sitting out in the open. His attire was not exactly fitting for the company of a symposium. Holes and dirt adorned his long-faded jeans, and while his jacket may have at one point been fashionable, it was now torn and frayed beyond recognition. It wasn’t even recommended for him to be in the theatre at all, but he had waited for the speech a long time.

Dr. Coulton’s theory was very close to the truth, but unfortunately scientific revolution is seldom accepted, and most often met with pitchforks. The silence of the audience was ambiguous. It could have meant rapt attention, or vehement skepticism (it was the latter). Dr. Coulton was sweating profusely and fumbling with his notecards, but straightened his posture and continued. Good on him for trying. Most people would have given up by this point.

“As we are all no doubt aware the effects of quantum observers have long been debated. Can the mere act of observing an object or action change the outcome or meaning of said action? More simply: Does standing next to a falling tree affect the sound it makes? Through my research I have come to believe that the world of the recently deceased operates on a similar principle.” Several of the chief university funders walked out of the lecture hall shaking their heads. Dr. Coulton was determined and continued on.

 “The existence of ghosts or specters is only possible through our own enabling. The mythos and energy we have created around death allows us to continue on afterward.” That was the turning point where Nobel Prize laureate Alex Coulton took a risk and found himself cast out. Ideas that may have seemed profound at the time of their conception, instead turned into tick marks on a pink slip.

He made it for a full twenty minutes on stage before the crowd began to boo. Brian was the only one who kept his eyes on Dr. Coulton the whole time, but unfortunately the opinions of the deceased don’t count for much. In the end, the crowd erupted into a tempest of criticism and Brian could no longer bear to watch. Maybe the next one will get it right. Everyone was so busy shouting and throwing bits of paper that none of them noticed the temporal disturbance at the back of the theatre as Brian faded from view. The theatre disappeared and Brian stepped back into the world between worlds.