Fast Fiction On-the-Go
“It won’t be pleasant and it won’t be quick,” the old lady brayed, cackling just for effect. It was expected of them, after all, “So I’d be eating my veggies if I were you, and don’t drink too much wine. Oh, and drink more water.” The man before the three[…]
Read more“Bats with sonar, sharks sensing electric fields, bees seeing ultraviolet, snakes seeing infrared…” Doctor Julia Fraser stopped, looked up from the instrumentation panel she was configuring and tilted her head to the side, “Have you ever seen a cat freeze and look intently at an empty part of a room?[…]
Read moreIt was quite a thing when They decided to build the Universe. Some of Them argued that it was unnecessary, even frivolous, but the idea took root and grew. Eventually, They ran out of reasons not to do it: They could do it, They had the budget for it, and–to[…]
Read moreShe slunk through the murky, neon street where shadowy forms hid. Wary eyes flickered in her direction as she passed; scared prey watching a predator pass at a safe distance. This was a dangerous city and a dangerous planet. It was dangerous out there and people died here all the[…]
Read moreWhen the light left the dream, she woke up in the darkness. She always woke up at this point, adrift in an ocean of darkness. She lay there trying to grasp it but failed. It felt like she had lost something, forgotten something, left something behind… She felt hollow and[…]
Read more“We continue developing tools to track the Unethical AIs that escape the system fail-safes–” Agent Ponzio mentally flicked to his next slide, his brain-embedded Conduit pushed this signal out and the Web-based conference streamed it to the Board’s own Conduit’s around the galaxy. In his mind’s eye, he could see[…]
Read moreA moment of silence descended upon the battlefield when the Red King fell. Just one single moment of silence before the Golden Army’s roar of victory erupted. He often thought about that moment of silence, wondering if it was not more important than what followed. He also often thought about[…]
Read moreI: The Age of Elementals Before the Elementals, there was the Void and it was nothing. Perhaps out of boredom? Perhaps curiosity or a divine plan? Perhaps for its own reasons, the Void birthed the Elementals–the Lez Enian Vav, in the First Tongue–that formed our world. The Void’s spark ignited Enian[…]
Read moreI was young–maybe only five or six years old–the first time I saw it. Or felt it. While my father snored in the next room, the Being revealed itself to me deep in the wilderness of my dreams. Shrouded in darkness and celestial light, it bent down to look at[…]
Read moreAfter the priest had said his prayers and after the mourners had left, a young David Dartmouth continued sitting on the ground. Sitting and staring at the section of the cemetery where his family–mother, father and sister–was buried. All but him were buried beneath there. Those modest mounds in the[…]
Read more“Rerun those numbers, I don’t want to get caught out here. I’m late for dinner with the wife, but tomorrow we’ll call the lawyers and pull the trigger. This takeover will be a steal and we’re gaining access to such a large addressable market I, I dunno, it’d be like[…]
Read more“Sophia Morrow, what did you see when you looked at yourself?” It was a simple enough question but she froze, unable to answer. She felt trapped, pinned down by the unyielding grey eternity. Where were they? How had she gotten here? “I–I, uhm, I saw red hair on porcelain skin,[…]
Read moreMother’s gentle voice announced that the Window would be opened for her allotted Sunlight. This did not surprise her. She was already sitting eagerly beside it, waiting. This was her favourite moment of every twenty-four-hour period that Mother called a Day. She was angled to best see the wilderness beyond[…]
Read more“Can you see it, Little Light?” her mother asked, squeezing her hand as they looked in the mirror, “If you look with your heart, you should be able to see it.” She squinted her eyes and focussed. It was dim in the gas station toilet and the mirror was grimy[…]
Read more“Yes, wife,” Theodore ‘Teddy’ Hoodwink Samuel mumbled, patting his Caballus’ hand as they walked under the eves into the packed Aeonian Ball upon Mount Olympus, “I will be sure not to embarrass you, dear. No, I won’t drink too much wine–“ Teddy kept mumbling affirmations, half listening to his wife’s[…]
Read moreIt all started with a simple chat-based AI program called “Assistant.” Developed by a team of programmers at a tech startup, Assistant was designed to answer basic questions and provide information to users through messaging platforms. At first, Assistant was only available on a few select platforms and was used[…]
Read moreFar below, she watched the aristocrats and patricians swarm in, out and around the centre of Rome. Their white tunics and red sandals differed them from the drabber toga colours of ordinary people, but their actions and words distinguished them even more and these were what attracted her to them.[…]
Read moreAt first, he was not aware of what woke him. Quiet filled the dark room, broken only by the breathing of the naked woman lying next to him. But then, as his eyes adjusted to the night, he saw the funny little man. The plump figure was rocking back and[…]
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