PRIME MEMBER EXCLUSIVE | 3 Months Free Trial

Auto-renews at INR 199/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026.
This Long Vigil cover art

This Long Vigil

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER
3 Months Free Trial
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
1 credit a month to use on any title.
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks.
₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Download titles to your library and listen offline.

This Long Vigil

Written by: Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Get this deal

₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.

Buy Now for ₹539.20

Buy Now for ₹539.20

After 25 years serving as the human Monitor of the Interstellar Ark, Hermes, Orion is scheduled to be placed back into hibernation with the other crewmembers.

Knowing he'll die there and be replaced before the ship's voyage is over, he decides that he won’t — can’t — accept that fate.

Whatever it takes, Orion will escape Hermes and see what's beyond, even if it means defying the regulations of his only friend — the ship-wide artificial intelligence known as Dan.

From the Washington Post and number one Audible best-selling duo, Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, comes a harrowing science fiction short story that will leave you questioning exactly what it means to be alive.

©2021 Aethon Books (P)2021 Audible, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Short Stories Space Exploration
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
A dark sci fi, limited imagination. Why would the ship designers not planning mission alternatives while planning a mission involving such a long duration.

The emotionless Dan, the ship's computer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very moving. I only wish it had been longer. If you are a sci-fi lover you'll love this beautifully crafted short story.

Brilliant Story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the story, despite the slow and melancholy atmosphere. Ray Porter does a great narration job to keep me listening through to the end - I do wish the story went on longer.

Slow, poignant, well performed, ended too soon

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dear Mr. Bruno/Castle ... I have a question ...
So let me get this straight ... you had under 60 minutes (with double the brain power as there are two of you) to explore the genre of science fiction where the only limits are your imagination/s and the best you can come up with is "boy meets girl?"
I have been consuming science fiction for over 30 years and my one-word review is this ...
"Meh ..."
Ray Porter gave his talent to this title. Why exactly?

Can I get my hour of life back please?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.