Short Writings

What if aliens didn’t land in the first world?

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“To this day, there’s still arguments about how they chose their landing site. I mean, clearly, we can throw out the whole mumbo-jumbo schtick about the aliens listening in on our television broadcasts. If they’d been listening, they would’ve just come crashing down in the middle of Times Square.”

“Hell, if they did that, it’d probably take hours before anyone even noticed them. Someone would toss spare change at their spaceship. Now that would be a hell of a welcome to Earth.”

“Whole thing’s immaterial, now. They chose where they did, and now we all have to deal with the consequences.” Continue reading →

Planetary Reflections, Part III

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Start from the beginning.

Continued from Part II, here.

Before long, more Queen’s Guards came pouring into the Dauntless, their red uniforms and gleaming brass buttons at odds with their stern countenances. They quickly found Tycho Brahe, although their first attempt to approach was met by a stern glare from Watson.

“Keep back!” he commanded, his respect for authority momentarily buried beneath the physician’s natural protectiveness. “He’s severely injured and unconscious, and doesn’t need you lot crowding around him!”

The harsh tone of his voice made the men pause. They didn’t back down, but instead remained in a standoff as they looked back at Watson, perhaps waiting for some order to come through from a superior.

Less than a minute later, that superior officer arrived, strolling in casually on light feet and looking around like he’d entered a rather dusty and unclean antique shop. Short, his head barely reaching Watson’s shoulders, he still carried an unmistakable air of command.

He was, to be frank, not at all what Watson had expected. Continue reading →

Planetary Reflections, Part II

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Part I can be found here.

No one knew which of the three explorers might emerge first, and indeed, several clubs of debatable repute set up private wagers on the topic. So when a figure appeared in the entrance to the Dauntless, all eyes (and telescopes on roofs) trained their gazes upon him.

The man turned out to be Walter Raleigh, eliciting a groan of disappointment from many; given as how Tycho Brahe funded the expedition, a good number of bettors had expected him to step out first, claiming the lion’s share of glory.

As Raleigh stumbled down the ramp, however, murmurs broke out among the assembled crowds. The man didn’t carry himself with the confidence and assuredness of a triumphant explorer. He looked haggard, his eyes wide and darting back and forth.

“Send for aid!” he shouted out, his voice ringing out over the discomforted crowd. “Brahe is hurt!” Continue reading →

Planetary Reflections, Part I

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Balloon day!

The phrase bounced around the halls like a child’s rubber ball, jumping from lips to lips. It hid in the presence of work, but emerged from the corners, creeping out like a playful cat.

Balloon day!

For weeks, the topic dominated all idle conversation, speculations flying wildly back and forth. Just a month, half a month, a week, less, until the return of the gallant explorers and their tales of what lay beyond!

Astronomy, that noble pursuit of staring up into the night sky, exploded in popularity. Enterprising street vendors hawked cheap telescopes, selling out their stock in minutes. At night, the roofs were covered with people, all of them staring up into the twinkling blackness and searching for that bright spot of Luna, our sister planet, rushing back to greet us. Continue reading →

Apocalypse Love Story, Part II

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Part I is here.

Took me two months to track her down. Would’ve gone faster, if she hadn’t stolen my damn horse.

Of course, that was what got her in the end. Horses are worth their weight in plat, these days. Hell, more than that. I’d gladly trade a king’s ransom in plat for another Goldy, although I wouldn’t mind if my next steed didn’t have quite the attitude problem. And maybe a little more loyalty, too.

But when I finally hauled my ass into the next little collection of broken-down shacks that someone decided to call a town, I asked around, and sure enough, they’d seen my horse. Continue reading →

The CIA’s first brain swap…

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This, Jimmy Brodes thought miserably to himself, was really bad.

Like, so bad. Like, worse than he even imagined that getting fired would be, which – until recently – had been up there in his list of top fears. Now, however, it barely even made the list.

His fingers trembling, Brodes ran through that list again. Jameson Brodes’ Top Ten Emotions of the Moment – all fears, as usual – included: Continue reading →

“We started dating thanks to Autocorrect…”

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I remember this feeling from the very first time that I got onto a rollercoaster. The train slowly made its way up the first, biggest hill, and I felt my stomach being left further and further behind. With each foot that we ratcheted along, I knew with more and more certainty that I’d made a massive mistake. I could see the drop-off, the disaster, growing closer-

-and I couldn’t do a thing about it.

Now, sitting in my bed and staring at my phone’s glowing screen in the darkness, I felt that same pit opening up in my stomach, that same sense of disaster.

“Oh, shit,” I murmured to myself. Then again, louder: “Shit! Shit!” Continue reading →

Toasted bread vs. breaded toast

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I frowned down at the menu. “Breaded toast?” I read aloud.

The waiter, a skinny, animated little fellow who bounced around like he physically couldn’t stand still, smiled at me. Or rather, he flashed his teeth at me. It seemed almost like a rictus instead of a true smile.

“Indeed, sir. It’s available as a side dish with any item, or included with many of our entrees.”

“Yes, but… what is it?” I asked. “I mean, you can toast bread, but what’s breaded toast?” Continue reading →

Running.

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He stepped out into the mist, watching the swirls coalesce around him. He drew a deep breath into his lungs, tasting the moisture, the hint of decay that drifted from the massive trunks around him, craggy bark rising up into the sky to occlude the stars.

He stepped forward, blinking his eyes. All around him, the trees rose up – but out in front of him, a clearing opened up, pale moonlight shining down through the hole in the canopy. The dim light painted the scene in black and white and innumerable shades of gray, a monochromatic masterpiece.

The boy sighed, feeling tension ebb from his limbs. No one else knew about this clearing but him. He nodded when the elders warned him not to venture out too far beyond the limits of the village, not to stray into the darkness.

He nodded – but inside his head, he clung fiercely to this place, this private retreat.

His field. Continue reading →

Let me sell you this pen…

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Sir, sir, don’t go walking by! Oh boy, it’s your lucky day – I’ve got a hell of an opportunity for you!

Yes, I knew that you’d stop. I see it in your eyes – you have that drive, that desire to be the best. You, sir, are a man of great taste, of conscious fashion, of wanting to have all the best things in life – but not be over the top about it, no sir. Am I right in my assessment of you? Do I have the right man?

Yes, I see that glint in your eye. You are a man who will succeed! And that’s why you need this. Continue reading →