Option 1: The secret to immortality has been found! All you have to do is smell coffee and never drink it. Scientists are baffled by this. No wonder the answer was so elusive! Tell us what you will do with this new information and what your life looks like after.
The Inner Circle
The high ceilings were so beautiful that I often found myself staring at their intricate detail for hours on end. My job as bodyguard to Exoterra, the Marshal General of the Inner Circle, involved hours of standing outside closed doors while meetings were in progress. The elders said that the engraved, intertwining images depicted our history, giving life to a world without slavery or immortal masters.
Usually, all I could hear from my station outside the massive wooden doors was the hum of subdued conversation. Today, however, the doors actually shook with the vibration of a heated discussion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear what Exoterra was saying, but the cadence of the echo told me that it was his voice, and it rang with urgent tones of belligerence.
The meeting came to an abrupt end, and I noticed that Alfonso wasn’t among the Saints as they filed past me to make their way to lunch.
I’ve always been way too curious for my own good, and the aura of trouble among the Saints whet my appetite for a little danger to spice up my sedentary life. I left my station and made my way to the kitchens. From my vantage point behind the swinging kitchen doors, I’d be able to get a better understanding of Exoterra’s mood and gain a bit of insight as to what was afoot.
To my surprise, I saw Exoterra beckon Zenith forward. He was standing, unseen by the others, behind their chairs. Silently, he motioned for the other man to follow him.
My heart rate blinked, and I sped out after them. Sabotage was obviously on the cards, and I was dying to be the first with the news for the underground resistance. The resistance was made up of a ragtag lot, but they had ideas that appealed to the masses despite the fact that the Minions were genetically engineered to do the Inner Circles' bidding at all times. Born to serve, Minions held pre-programmed traits that made them perfect for their jobs, but for nothing else. Fortunately, the scientists were better at keeping the Sainted alive than they were at genetics, so questions arose, and people dreamed of a day of revolt when the Minions would be free of their immortal masters.
I followed them to Alfonso’s suite of rooms. The opportunity to listen in on their plans was far easier in the informal, casual living quarters, where secrets seldom surfaced.
"Where is Alfonso?" Zenith’s voice carried clearly across the divide from Alfonso’s rooms.
"I’ve sent him to discover if the rumors of an underground resistance are true. I’ve sent him to find out if there’s anything to the notion."
"Why him, though, Exoterra? Surely you should’ve sent me? Alfonso sympathizes with the Minions. He’s in favor of better conditions. You’ve heard him go on about preventing an explosive situation before it occurs."
"Sometimes I wonder if you’ve got any brains in that immortal head of yours. Obviously, I don’t care. No, we shouldn’t care a hoot about an underground resistance. We shouldn’t care about Alfonso’s soft attitude. What we must listen to, though, is his idea of preventing trouble. Alfonso has to go. The resistance, if there is one, will come to nothing without a Saint’s voice behind it."
"That’s going to be rather difficult considering that there’s no method of banishing a Saint by order of your own decree, Exoterra."
"The decree is there to protect us all. I’m not thinking along the lines of banishment. Oh, no, I’m thinking about coffee."
"Shhhh… Are you mad to say the banned word?"
"There are only the two of us here."
The pompous reply made me cover my mouth with a fist to prevent giving myself away. I wanted to shout the word to the four corners of the earth. Obviously, this "coffee" stuff had something to do with the Inner Circles’ hold over us.
I snuck closer.
"Coffee keeps us alive. How do you intend to use it against Alfonso?"
"It’s the aroma of coffee that gives us eternal life. Once immortality is achieved, a single sip is death."
Silence radiated from the chamber toward me. I could almost hear Zenith’s thoughts as he considered Exoterra’s malevolent plan. My thoughts, on the other hand, were like a song playing to a dance tune. I felt alive for the first time. I had their secret. I had them. I could hardly wait to alert the underground.
But then I heard Zenith’s voice once more.
"He knows the danger. He’ll never drink it."
"He will if he’s already fairly drunk when he gets back from his travels, and we put it in his liquor carafe."
The weight of Exoterra’s words hung in the air like a charged weapon. The utter calm before the storm
I’d never heard of coffee, but I guessed that it must be pretty awesome stuff if it could keep a malignant dude like Exoterra alive indefinitely. All I had to do to discover coffee was keep following Exoterra.
In the aftermath. When Exoterra and his followers were locked up and denied their coffee (without their daily sniff, they began to decay naturally), Once the dust of the revolution settled and the resistance confiscated all the coffee, Once things became ordinary, The Minions were allowed to test the coffee. It didn’t kill you if you hadn't yet achieved immortality.
Of course, the only thing to come out of the tests was the realization that the Saints had to be some seriously disturbed oddballs... After all, what kind of person could be exposed to the delicious aroma of coffee without taking a sip?
You make it seem so easy.
It's always an uplifting experience reading your writing. You are amazing 🙌
Thank you for the beautiful flowers. 💐❤️❤️🤗❤️☕️☕️☕️
Greetings, dear friend, I really enjoyed reading you this afternoon, I certainly agree with you that the saints had to be something rare, I do not understand how someone can be exposed to the aroma of coffee without tasting it, that is a terrible torture. Fortunately, that treacherous bodyguard of your boss and the resistance in the shadows would plant the seed to change that apocalyptic world. Great job. Sending you a hug.
!pizza
🤗❤️☕️☕️☕️
I loved your story, very well constructed. A mixture of fantasy and intrigue, with a good dose of suspense. The ending was superb: "After all, what kind of person could be exposed to the delicious aroma of coffee without taking a sip?" Congratulations, a great text. Thank you for sharing, dear @itsostylish . A big hug from Maracay.
Thank you. It’s great to know that you enjoyed the story. ❤️💕🤗
Hello friend, a great writing, as I was reading I imagine that scenario loaded with a lot of action and be there trying to listen and solve each clue, no doubt not everyone can resist that great smell of coffee, as it becomes something fundamental for each person. A pleasure to read you.
Thank you. It’s great to know that you enjoyed the story. ❤️💕🤗
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🤗💕❤️☕️☕️
Nice story,greetings!
🤗💕❤️☕️☕️
My thoughts exactly 👀
To only be able to smell that aroma and not be able to take a sip sounds like torture
🤗💕
hehe this felt like something different from you. Always the storyteller, my Stylish. How you manage to come up with something for every prompt going, I have no idea! But somehow you just create and create. Magic! And like @millycf1976 says...
What a curious collection of characters - nice to see you delving into sci-fi/fantasy adventure hehe (closest I could describe it).
I think the best discovery made here for coffee lovers was that you could savour the flavour without risking death or forgoing immortality - just get the order right!!!
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