James Pyles's Blog, page 217
February 12, 2017
World Under Glass
The history of Biosphere 2, supposedly the world’s first self-contained biosphere, was always surrounded by scandal. The first mission couldn’t scrub the CO2 out of the air and illicitly vented it. The second ended with a horrific battle in upper-management. Biosphere 2 entered the 21st century under the guidance of Columbia University, using it for climate […]
February 11, 2017
Huastec
Humberto waited until the rest of the workers knocked off for lunch. Then he went back to the part of the lot they were working on where he had found it. His mother was Aztec and named him Xochipilli after the god of feasting. His father forbade the ancient ways, so over the years, he met with other Aztecs […]
February 10, 2017
The Mysterious Mummy
The Tenth Story in the Adventures of the Ambrosial Dragon: A Children’s Fantasy Series Landon had been bored and sleepy until the plane began its final descent toward Cairo International Airport. Then his face was glued to the window taking in every detail of a city that was over a thousand years old. Grandpa was […]
February 9, 2017
The Mystery of the Fifteen Scrolls
“This exciting excavation is the closest we’ve come to discovering new Dead Sea scrolls in 60 years. Until now, it was accepted that Dead Sea scrolls were found only in 11 caves at Qumran, but now there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave,” said Dr. Oren Gutfeld, an archaeologist at the Hebrew […]
February 8, 2017
The Chair On The River
Bill and Betty enjoyed walks along the river. Usually, it was beautiful and unremarkable, that is, until the chair. It was standing on the water as if waiting for someone. “That’s impossible, Bill.” “Probably not. Bet there’s a sandbar and someone in a boat put it there as a prank.” Just then, they heard a […]
When Sean Met Sally
From the Unlife and Curse of Sean Becker This is an open police investigation, so why am I involved? Because my boss, private detective Aidan Burke is paying me to be involved. More to the point, Conrad Grey, a wealthy commercial real estate tycoon, hired Burke to find his only granddaughter, thirteen-year-old Marianne. The kid […]
February 7, 2017
Why Should You Write Superversive Fiction?
About the time I started my latest stint at writing fictional short stories, I discovered something called Superversive Fiction and particularly Superversive Science Fiction. According to Russell Newquist, here’s generally what we can expect from Superversive Fiction: If subversive is about tearing down the structures of society, superversive must be about building them back up. […]
The Final Resting Place
“I know you’ve seen better days, old girl.” 78-year-old Frank Parker patted the rusting hood of the ’49 Chevy. Replacing the faded American flag hanging from the passenger-side door with a fresh one, he remembered. “I was just your age when my Pa first bought the Daisy May. Saved up for over a year to […]
On Tuesday the Time Traveler Saw Red
I’m back. It’s a place that’s not exactly a place, and a time that’s not exactly a time. I have an idea what this all means, but I could be dead wrong. This is where I left them, the passengers and crew of the ill-fated Flight G-AGLX originating from the U.K., and most recently departed […]
February 6, 2017
Ill-Gotten Treasure
“This is junk, Sydney.” “You’re an idiot Jerry. It’s treasure, not junk. You know how much these old bottles and trinkets are worth on eBay?” “A buck ninety-five?” “How did I get such a lunkhead for a brother?” Sydney regarded her twin with disdain. “Okay, If you say they’re worth big bucks, they’re worth big […]
