More Microstories

My experiment with posting ten tiny "stories" on Twitter the 10th of each month has fizzled, but because it's 10/10, here's the set from last month. I made a few small edits.

In the firelight the shaman told of lost Atlantis: "It fell, but one day we will rise." He raised an ancient plastic toy, winged and white.

We shattered the Moon to make the LuneNet that enmeshes us, giving up tides for technology. Silver songs we sing, in our cage.

Jesus: "Love thy neighbor."

Humans: "Eh? Speak up."

Jesus: "Love thy enemies."

Humans: "Ah, our neighbors are enemies."

Jesus: [facepalm]

Ours and myriad other universes flew into existence like bubbles. The Children who made us now reach out their hyperspatial fingers...

The horde torched the civilized lands. Dying metropolises whispered, "Revenge." Now nomads' children are born with the souls of cities.

The Teddy bear AI comforted generations, wore out a thousand plush skins. It knew the family secrets, where the bodies lay. It spoke softly.

On a bet I wrote Finnegans Wake and Zombies. I had to burn the manuscript to save the world.

2011: Lost my contacts, so I can't drive. 2021: Lost my contacts, so I can't signal my car to come get me.

Under the swollen red Sun, the last descendant of trees produced the last fruit. To the alien visitors it whispered Earth's last word: Eat.

Phaeton leaned from the sun-chariot and snagged Icarus, who joined the struggle with the reins. They lived to surpass their sires.

Tweetable Tales

Snowflake via electron microscope. Source: USDA via Wikimedia Commons

Last month I fired off ten fiction snippets via Twitter. It was a fun exercise and I think I'll try it again this month. I don't think I can manage anything like a "story" at this length, but I hope these amuse. Here's the August set. The first one originally appeared at @outshine, edited by Jetse De Vries, a Twitter-zine of optimistic near-future science fiction.

The Lunarcade! For shiny full-moon quarters you remote-drive lunar rovers. Can you master 1.28 second delay? Tag lunar ore, get high score.

The ad men tested DreamTouch with the meat campaign. All NYC woke from red dreams hissing, "It's what's for dinner." And so we have zombies.

My augmented toddler grabbed my credit stick and ran into the public teleport booth. I hate hide and seek.

A lonely ghost tried to keep us inside with scary "street" noise. Didn't work. It entered our tv, inventing its own local news. That worked.

In Universe1, time travel is impossible.

possible. In Universe2, time travel is

.sdrawkcab snur emit 3esrevinU nI

inUniverse4alltimeisone

But, officer, I have sentient AI installed in this car. Surely I can drive in the high-occupancy lane.

The liner returned before it left. I asked myself about the trip. "Terrible," I told me. I let myself get bumped for credit. I love FTL.

The supers defeated Lord Retcon. In a flash it was 1938. The First smiled. "One life, one chance, is all I ask." He ran to block the train.

The alien conquerers made us choose a King from Earth's history to rule over us. But we shall overcome. We picked MLK.

After centuries Cupid reemerged over Toronto. Startled, he shot wild at the biplane and hit a young woman watching the show. Fly on, Amelia.