Fast Fiction On-the-Go
“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“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 moreFrozen, he watched the little bird die. Its fragile chest rose and fell. Wild eyes staring out towards oblivion as its fluttering heart mechanically pumped its blood into the earth. He was surrounded by withering sunflowers–his family’s old farm–and their brilliant explosions of yellow contrasted against the dark land beneath[…]
Read moreThe plumes of cosmic gas stretched for light-years across space and, from this distance, appeared majestic in their reach. This was the illusion of scale. He knew that closer to the nebula the sheer weight and violence of the gas would consume anything down to an atomic level. It would[…]
Read moreHe got out of the car. It softly chimed at him, reminding him to close the door behind him. He did so and barely noticed the empty, self-driving vehicle roll away into the vast city night. “Welcome, welcome,” the man at the front door gushed, a hint of red wine[…]
Read moreShe raised her eyes to the mirror and saw the mascara running down her cheeks. For some reason, it made her smile. It might have been the wine or the day’s events, but she was done crying and ready to move on. However brief that future may be. She walked[…]
Read more“Isn’t this wild?” “I’m well, and you? You want a drink?” “Great, yes, why don’t we have a shooter as well?” “Great idea! I’m dying–” “Hey! Hey, sorry, dude, can we get a round of tequila? Yes, yes. Yes. Thanks!” “Uh, yes, isn’t this wild?” *** “No. No, I can’t[…]
Read more“We have to do it.” “I know we have to do it. It’s like this every time.” “Fuck, I hope it works…” “Just make sure. We have no other option than to win, and I’m as tired of doing it as you are. Now or never.” “But if it doesn’t[…]
Read moreThe Sanctuary was on an Outer Planet on the edge of a chilly galaxy. This did not seem to bother the monks who lived there. Bot-deliveries from various benefactors across the galaxies kept them going with things like food, water, and clothing. The Sanctuary was started by Thera Simon after[…]
Read more“Back then you knew who your enemy was, but now… Now, it is different. How can I fight what I cannot see?” she begins venting the moment she sits down. We are sitting in a quiet corner of a coffee shop that I use for these sorts of interviews. I pull[…]
Read moreAfter we have sex, she sits upright in the bed and I see her transferring most of my Units somewhere. “It’s an app my pimp forced me to install in my Conduit,” she says over her shoulder, “It’s some behavioral mod that makes me pay him his cut. Sorry, I have[…]
Read more“I tell you, I heard something.” “So what if you did? You talk too much.” “Don’t you ever wonder?” “Hmmmffft…” “No, don’t ever think that there is more than this water and these rocks and–” “Whatever. You talk too much. You should focus on eating.” “Didn’t you hear that?! Please[…]
Read moreThere was something off about that part of Nobbs Road. When I stood there in the day, it felt like home. Yes. Indeed, I had lived there for a number of years in a creaky old house with beautifully kept wooden floors and a large, ornate, green gate made of[…]
Read moreWhen the Dream Gate was first invented, the scientists heading up the project used it to record the dreams of their subjects. It was only much later when a number of corporations and private individuals began trying to reverse engineer the patent, that these people discovered that the Dream Gate could[…]
Read moreThe Priest noticed that in one of the church’s back rows there was a strange man. He had not noticed the man there before, but he could well have slipped in at any time. People did that sometimes. Some people preferred doing that. Besides, it was a big church with[…]
Read moreIn the woods, there is a small, overgrown path. This path leads to a small, overgrown clearing. In this small, overgrown clearing lies a weathered, moss-covered gravestone. There is no name chiselled onto it nor any flowers or gifts on the grave. Only after a few drinks will farmers in[…]
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