[Chapter 2] Popeye the Astronaut Man

Now that Popeye has entered the public domain, I am writing a science-fiction story starring the sailor in an entirely new adventure. This story will be told over the next thirteen weeks exclusively available to members. If you’re not a member, now’s a great time to join.

I plan to self-publish the entire work this summer. In the meantime, here’s Chapter Two: A Timely Revival.

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Suddenly Popeye's eyelids fluttered open, like barnacles peeling off a hull after a long voyage. He felt a groan in his chest. His lips were dry with disuse. He blinked, his one good eye struggling to focus. Blurry shapes swam around his view. He began to see smooth, curved walls which seemed to glow an eerie blue. Strange, hovering devices hummed and whirred like a ship's engine room gone mad.

Where was he?

This wasn't the cold, sterile white walls of the City of Tomorrow lab. This place felt alien. Sleek, metallic surfaces reflected distorted images of his own confused face. Thin wires, almost invisible, crisscrossed his chest, tethering him to a table that seemed to float in mid-air.

He struggled to raise a hand to rub his eye, as his arm felt heavy and leaden. He struggled to sit up. His body refused to obey. He felt trapped, like a dinghy in the middle of a stormy sea.

His eyes scanned the room, searching for anything that might be familiar. But everything was foreign, unsettling. A large circular screen stuck in the wall at the other end flickered with abstract patterns and pulsed with an unsettling rhythm. He could feel a low thrumming what shook his bones.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice a dry whisper.

There was no answer. All that he could hear was the hum of machinery.

He took a deep breath. The air was strangely clean and crisp.

Suddenly he heard something new, a soft whooshing. He began grabbing at the strange wires to pry them off his chest.

A section of the wall slid open, revealing a woman with pale skin and large almond eyes.

"Ah, Mr. Popeye. I see you've awakened," she said in a calm observant voice.

"Where in the blazes am I?" he rasped.