What I Wrote at Fourteen
by chidi_okafor · 24 June 2026 · Biography & Memoir
Chidi remembers his first story at 14 — a satellite broadcasting into silence. About beginnings, originality, and why you keep writing.
The first story I ever finished was called The Last Satellite and it was terrible.
A satellite — the last functioning one — becomes conscious and has to decide whether to keep broadcasting to a planet that may no longer have anyone left to listen.
At fourteen I thought that was very original. Since then I have read seventeen stories with the same premise.
What I got right: the loneliness. The satellite doesn't know if anyone is receiving. It keeps broadcasting anyway. Because stopping requires a decision and the decision to stop is harder than the decision to continue.
I wrote a story about a satellite that kept broadcasting. I wrote about myself. The satellite kept broadcasting. So did I.
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