short fiction · 2026-10-15

The March of the Electron Legion

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the inner membrane's quiet stadium, the electron legion lines up, NADH and FADH2 hand over their torches to Complex I, where electrons step in rhythm, passing the baton to ubiquinone, then to Complex III, where the beat quickens, protons pumped like drumbeats, building a gradient, the final cadence at Complex IV, where oxygen waits, accepting the last electrons, forming water as the peace treaty, while ATP synthase hums, turning the gradient's tension into the currency of life.