Match 20993 The Nothing vs. The Monolith

[Culwych1]

In the dim glow of his bedroom, tucked behind posters of Return of the Jedi and Tron, twelve-year-old Jake crouched over his scattered action figures. It was 1985, a year when cassette tapes and comic books felt like treasures. His room smelled faintly of cardboard and popcorn, with his beloved Star Wars bedsheets rumpled under him. Outside, the afternoon sun was beginning to fade, giving everything a soft, grainy tint that made the world seem like a hazy film reel. But Jake wasn’t looking out; he was inside, deep inside, playing out a story only he could see.

Ever since that day, Jake would regularly turn his gaze inwards. Haunted and desperate to cope, this was the only solace he could find. But deep within there were both angels of comfort and demons of torment. 

In Jake's mind….

The Nothing had come again. It slithered into his mind slowly, like smoke creeping under a door, black and shapeless, whispering a familiar chill that settled around his heart. He imagined it as a dark cloud—no, more like an endless, hungry void that sucked in the colour, the sounds, the life around him. The Nothing was strong. It was cold, and it seemed to know his weakest places. It devoured all feelings, all joy, just as it had destroyed Fantasia, piece by piece.

He closed his eyes and pictured the Nothing creeping toward him, swallowing up everything. It devoured the street outside, turning his neighbour’s house, the one with the red swing set, into a shadow. His school, his friends’ faces, even the laughter he remembered from last summer—all of it vanished into the dark, empty stretch of Nothing. In his mind, he could feel it reaching for him, tendrils of darkness slowly curling around his wrists, his ankles, pulling him in.

But then, like a silent sentinel, it appeared.

The Monolith.

Tall, imposing, perfectly black. It didn’t move, it didn’t speak, yet it held a quiet, steady power that felt almost like a whisper of hope. When Jake first saw it, late one night on a scratchy VHS of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he didn’t fully understand it, but something about it—the way it stood against the dark, a beacon in itself—had drawn him in.

And now, as he faced the Nothing, the Monolith seemed to rise from somewhere deep within him, a symbol of evolution, a guide through something unknown. In its own way, it felt like the promise of change, like a path out of the shadows.

In his mind, he placed the Monolith in front of the Nothing. It stood there, solid and still, as the Nothing roared and fumed around it, like waves crashing against a cliff. The Nothing twisted and thrashed, its edges rippling in black fury, reaching out, trying to swallow it whole. But the Monolith was unmoved. It just watched, calm and silent, as though daring the Nothing to do its worst.

Jake’s heart beat faster. In his imagination, he saw himself standing behind the Monolith, like a hero in a movie, safe for now. But he could feel the weight of the Nothing’s cold gaze on him, its endless hunger pressing in. The Monolith wasn’t fighting back. It was only standing there, unyielding.

And in some strange way, he realised, that was its strength. The Nothing could destroy and consume, but the Monolith… it would always remain. It didn’t need to change, didn’t need to resist. It just was.

Maybe, he thought, he could be like the Monolith. Maybe he didn’t have to defeat the Nothing. Maybe he just had to stand, to hold onto that small, quiet strength within him—a strength that didn’t shout or fight back but simply endured, waiting for a chance to grow, to evolve, even in the shadows.

For a moment, the Nothing faltered. He could feel it pull back, just a fraction, as if realising it couldn’t consume something so steady, so constant. It lashed out again, but the Monolith stood firm, a single point of stillness in the chaos. In that moment, Jake felt a little taller, a little stronger.

Yet, as he watched, he saw the edges of the Monolith waver, just a flicker, as though the Nothing’s relentless darkness was starting to sink in. His heart pounded, unsure if the Monolith could hold its ground. The darkness pressed closer, wrapping around the Monolith like a shroud, leaving only a thin sliver of light between it and the Nothing.

Jake blinked, and the vision faded. The room was quiet again, the last light of day slipping away, casting his posters in long shadows. The Monolith was gone, and the Nothing was just a feeling, somewhere deep, waiting for him to let his guard down.

Jake shivered, pulling his knees to his chest as a tear rolled down his cheek. He didn’t know if the Monolith would return the next time the Nothing came. He didn’t know if it could always be strong. But for now, he had this moment. And he held it tight, like a secret.

As he lay there, staring into the gathering darkness of his room, he could almost feel the Nothing, lingering at the edge of his thoughts, waiting for a crack. But in his mind, the Monolith lingered too, standing silent and still—a beacon against the endless black.

And the question hung, unspoken, somewhere in the quiet: would the Monolith remain, guiding him toward something new, or would the Nothing, patient and hungry, win out in the end?
Outside, a streetlight flickered on, and somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. The house was quiet, and Jake was alone. But for tonight, at least, he held onto his small shield, just enough to keep the dark at bay. The Nothing and the Monolith, locked in their silent battle, each waiting for its moment to emerge.

 

[Callisto]

Learn More About
The Nothing
Read more about The Nothing at Wikipedia
Official Site: Warner Brothers Links: Wikipedia

The Monolith
Read more about The Monolith at Wikipedia
Official Site: Arthur C. Clarke Links: Wikipedia AMC filmsite Kubrick 2001

[leroypowell3]

Super good! My vote is for the Nothing. But I could see the Monolith inspiring some kind of ingenuity to stop the Nothing. But that depends on who or what it encounters.  A child is malleable and very creative 

[JohnnyChany]

This is really well done. Will have to think on it a bit.