Andrew Moore's Blog, page 10

Castle of Bones

The master of the Castle of Bone went out into the world. To the assortment of bones, hundreds of thousands, he intended to add one more of a type not yet used, just as his predecessors for centuries had done. He traveled from city to cemetery, not by any means ignoring pastures or the wilds where strange beasts chose to die. In every instance, the catalogue informed him the material had been used already.
Down rivers, across lakes, and over mountains he ventured, under them too, though none of their names did he trouble himself to learn. Outside one city, a funeral was underway as he passed. The matter had no interest for him since nothing but a man and woman were being interred. He inquired nevertheless on account of propriety, something necessary for the castle's master to guard. He was informed that he witnessed the funeral of a local man and his wife, both blameless. Hearing that, he requested a bone from each and was not refused by the heirs because the master's influence extended even as far as that, and farther.
He returned and increased the castle's size with materials he thought impossible to acquire, the bones of blameless people, whereupon the Castle of Bone vanished. With his powers he perceived immediately the castle was becoming the foundation of a new world, and from that he realized the proportion of sin and virtue is even such in every world there is.
Finis

Sad Fifth of July

It's time to turn the keys back over to the English. We probably should have tried to get a better deal, but I suppose we shouldn't judge too harshly in hindsight.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to all Americans, and to all non-Americans, you get a day too. It just won't have as many explosions in it.

Patriotic Fantasy

Can't say I know of any unless wuxia counts, which means there's a gap in the market to exploit. Get going, fellas!

Microsoft News

Now that videogames are dead, can literature thrive again? Or is this the new age of genre radio? Here's the newest thing: A news podcast that presents news reports about a fictional universe all written by AI and lightly edited by someone who has a vague grasp of the continuity.

Addendum

Maybe they have such integrity that they refuse to find terrestrial substitutes for ingredients which will be discovered only in the distant future.

The Missing Element in Science Fiction

There must be one somewhere, but I've never read any science fiction that Redwall's it up with lengthy feast descriptions. Don't these authors want to sell cookbooks?

Province of the Muses

A hundred earthly kings and princes convened for the concert of the musician, a legend though alive, who had returned from the divine court after receiving superhuman instruction. His first chord caused all to shiver.
After hundreds more, the listeners suffered not shivers but rather impatience. One among them, a crowned head known far and wide for his unwillingness to feign affection for the arts, asked how long this first composition could possibly be.
"Eight years," the musician answered.
Because of that, the earthly kings and princes understood what before they had only been told, that the things of gods are not meant for man. In their piety, they slipped away.
Finis

Addendum

We used to go to game shrines for hints and tips, but now we watch a video. When will this diminution of the sacred end?

Oblivion's Vast Realms

Dragon Blaze and Schoolgirl Strikers 2 are shutting down, and I never knew they existed. How wide a world exists outside our comprehension. People are still streaming on Kick, too. For a short time the internet made the world seem small, back when we were all on the same webrings, but now it seems bigger and less knowable than ever.