Moe Lane's Blog, page 625

SPECIAL HOLIDAY KINDLE SALE ON MY CHAPBOOKS!

Starting Friday and continuing until Christmas Eve, pick up Kindle copies of my illustrated chapbooks ANAGNORISIS, REVISIONARY, and DECISIONS for only 99 cents! Each chapbook has four stories, each with its own illustration. Perfect for casual reading!

Anagnorisis: Four Tales of Transformation: HOLDOUTS speaks to the aftermath of the Vampire Wars; THE HOUSE matches a unsettling location with an unsettling protagonist; OLD LOU examines what it’s like to have a barely-controlled monster in your head; and NOTHING LIKE A GOOD BOOK introduces the occult investigatory team of Cosgrove and Stewart!Revisionary: Four Tales of the Mythos: In SIMMON’S BOOK, learn why you shouldn’t listen to anything you read. In POLLY WANT, thrill as a human being faces down a terrifying alien deathworld monster. In WICKED WHY, get it through your head that ‘Why’ is always the wrong thing to ask. And in IMPURITIES, discover some of the perils faced by the small businesswoman in a unique business environment.Decisions: Four Tales of Choices: See a card sharp play a high-stakes game of bluff and blood in PIGEON! Participate in a final funeral in LE ROI EST MORT! Watch a man battle ruffians and himself in RESCUE FROM CHATEAU D’ALÉATOIRE! And marvel at the unique fate of a man who learns too much in DEEP IN THE HEART OF SEX FISH!

#commissionearned

Tweet of the Day, I’d Watch It At Least Once edition.

Even though, as somebody in responses said, we’re now the rat. …It’s probably true, that. (Via @calvinjluther.)

Please god pic.twitter.com/loCekQp76a

— Chumpy! (@chump_dick) December 15, 2021

12/15/21 Snippet, THE DOOM THAT CAME TO LUNA CITY.

DECONTAMINATION IS PROCEEDING TO ITS SECOND STAGE.

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The airlock was beeping instead of cycling him through, and Tobias couldn’t figure out why. His suit was in order, and so was the airlock diagnostics — but all he got was that stupid beep. It was damned loud, too: loud enough that he felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his head in mixed frustration and discomfort…

…and then he realized the problem. He had his helmet open! Of course the airlock wasn’t going to cycle him through. God, Tobias thought, I’m more tired than I thought. He sealed up his helmet, feeling an odd twinge as he did so, and keyed the cycling sequence again. This time it proceeded normally, which was a relief.

Still have that headache, though, he thought as he stepped out onto the Lunar surface. And there’s this odd taste in the canned air. Asenath, can you look at my suit information?

I am already monitoring it, Asenath immediately replied. Decontamination is proceeding to its second stage.

Decontamination? — And then Tobias suddenly couldn’t move. Well, he could move — but the joints in his suit locked up. He instinctively called out, “Mayday! Mayday!” on the radio, and got nothing. Not even the hiss of static.

12/15/21 Snippet, THE STARS ARE WRONG.

Damn, I might actually finish this story! Weird. It’s been rattling along in my head for so long…

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I never cared for the night watch. There is more order during the day. People do not interfere with each other as much. This suits me. The gloom is different at night, too; chilly, and weak. I had to wear an extra shirt under my Guardian tunic and longcoat. Those who like that kind of gloom are not to my taste, either. Even the Guardians who prefer to work the night act strangely, all too ready to allow their enthusiasms to distract them. Many nocturnal disturbances of the peace are resolved when a pursuing Guardian gets distracted from the chase. But I thought one night would not hurt, and it was a favor to Jak. Favors were valuable things to have. It was rare when his impulses led him to think things through, or plan for misfortune; it was in my own interests to encourage him to do more of that.

At least, that was what I told myself as I trudged through the darkened streets. I even believed it; my thoughts were different, then. The idea that I might have been willing to help someone, for no reward? Surely I would have laughed at that!

Surely.

The first I heard that things were amiss was when the iron bells started their clamour. The bell of a Guardian can be heard anywhere in Seacity, and they ring until help arrives. I could hear first one, then another, then a dozen, all calling — and all in the direction of the Razor District. I ran towards their sound, for I had no choice. I was a Guardian, summoned by the bells, whether I wished it or not. No one can say that I wished to. No one.

‘We Three Kings.’

We Three Kings, Alexander Jean

#commissionearned

12/15/21 Snippet, THE DOOM THAT CAME TO LUNA CITY.

Hrm.

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“Good news and bad news, Commander,” Jilly said. “The good news is, we have comms back. Internal and external with Heinlein base. The bad news is, communications are running on backup power, and it’s an energy hog. We’ll need to limit contact with Heinlein Base.”

“Understood. Squirt a check-in back over the landline, and with the bus. Let them know they might as well button up and get over here.” Tobias looked over. “How are the elevators doing, Yu-Wu?”

He didn’t notice the informality, and neither did the staff sergeant. “They’re not, Skipper. Not on emergency power. Even the portable batteries we brought wouldn’t power the elevators long enough for the job, not that we can use ‘em for this. It’s hardwired in, for safety reasons. We’ll need main power back up to use them.” Yu-Wu smiled. “But. The reactor’s still operational; it’s just on minimal mode. And it’s down on the same level as maintenance. All we have to do is turn it back up to get the elevators back. Heck, the whole damn station, if we wanted.”

“That’s a good idea,” mused Tobias. “Since we’re down there anyway, let’s get the power up and running. What’s the harm?”

A bit of a freak-out in my county tonight.

Not going to get into it – but rest assured, nothing personally happened to us – but it was alarming. I should still be able to finish my wordcount tonight, but it’ll take longer than I expected. Just how it goes.

12/14/21 Snippet, TINSEL RAIN.

Almost at 73K!

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“What the hell happened, Mira?” Although I could make what you’d call an educated guess. This alley had that slightly dazed look you get when something really hot goes screaming down one for a few seconds. The cooling bits of garbage were another clue; if you squinted, you could still see the trash golem they were before. It reminded me of my own date with a fireball, except the happy ending was different here.

Mira had been poking the trash golem with a stick, scribbling a few things down in her notebook, then poking it again. She didn’t look up as she said, “Hey, Tom. What do you think I should call this one? ‘Spontaneous unstable spirit manifestation?’ Or ‘rampaging foreign mage?’ Neither really sings to me.”

I looked at the obviously destroyed construct, then looked at the obviously glazed lines on the wall where the fireball had arced. “With a new ambassador in town? Nah, you go with the classics. This,” I intoned, “was obviously Old Man Cruz in a rubber suit, trying to scare away the alley owners.”

“Of course! It was the only way he could retrieve the Crystal Skull of Cibola! But what about the lines, Tom?”

“Two torches on wires. Don’t you remember, Mira? Old Man Cruz was a circus performer when he was younger. That’s how he knew where the Skull was: the circus owner brought it here when he retired. But he couldn’t get to the secret passageway in the alley, because of all the foot traffic. So he came up with the trash golem costume to scare people off.”

I poked the trash golem myself, with my foot. “Hey! You forget your lines? You’re supposed to say how you would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for us.” I then looked over at the cop looking over the scene. “You write that all down, kid?”

The “It’s a Shame It’s Dreamworks” THE BAD GUYS trailer.

THE BAD GUYS almost had a chance there, you know what I mean? But, well. You know how it is. More miss than hit, over at Dreamworks (although KUNG FU PANDA was very good). Still, it’s a cute concept.

12/14/21 Snippet, THE STARS ARE WRONG.

Getting there!

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But he only truly spoke of it once. Or at least, only once to me. We were taking a prisoner to the Yards, and such work is dull, if done properly. I never minded it, but Jak was more frenetic than I, and silences oppressed him.

I suppose that is why Jak returned to the bones of our earlier discussion. “Say, Ward: do you remember that Butcher Osco fellow? The one who sold the stolen offerings?”

It took me a moment. “I did. That case is solved, though.” I had picked out a dead Kee during the riots, and had him formally charged with the crime. He was hardly able to object, and Goody Blem would be compensated by the sale of the corpse. And… I saw no reason to pursue the case further. It was too late to use the offerings for Festival, so why not make everything tidy? Besides, no-one truly cared, either way. Or so I thought.

Jak snorted. “The case is solved, Jak. The punishment is yet to be meted out.” He grinned. “Osco is ready to take a slap at the Kee over his humiliation, especially that high-and-mighty Jefsin-Fankin. He’s gotten a mort of men from his neighborhood to go in with fire and iron, and make the gallows-trees bloom on the first night of the month of the Emperor. Good fun — and good pay, too, if you’re interested in a little gloomlighting. Osco wants as many professionals as he can get.”