The Last Contact [TOC]
Observe the protocol!
Table of contents
The story
The Last Contact is a four-part piece I originally wrote for Protocolized Magazine’s call. It didn’t make the cut, yet the story itself, months later, is still dear to me.
It combines subtle humor and absurdity of bureaucratic overhead with A Canticle for Leibowitz vibes, and even contains a sex scene, which is a massive cringe trope for me to write, but somehow worked here.
Each of the four parts is sized at 1000ish words for easy consumption, and is released on Thursdays starting 04/16/2026.
Curious facts
I took to Sanskrit for the inspiration for character’s names. Some are verbatim, some distorted for artistic purposes.
The nobility have a second name — a denominator which indicates their status in the hierarchy of the dystopian society. Those are mixed Latin/Greek/English to highlight the absurdity of the ruling class.
Pramukha Prime — a supreme leader of human race — a prime.
In Sanskrit: pramukha प्रमुख — a chief, respectable man, sage.
Muni Alpha — a member of the top-rung of the governing body — Prime’s inner circle.
Sanskrit: muni मुनि — a Brahman of the highest (eighth) order.
Prajna Beta — a man of status, a scholar, just one step below Alpha ring.
Sanskrit: prājña प्राज्ञ — a wise or learned man.
Mūrkha — our protagonist. Too low down the ladder to have a designator.
Sanskrit: mūrkha मूर्ख — stupid, foolish, silly, dull, which depicts the view of the high society for anyone deemed not important, even though our character is probably the smartest person on the planet.