Stephen L. Thompson's Blog, page 56
April 25, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #24 – “Rambling with Purpose”
Rambling with Purpose
Out of desperation – after staring at his computer for an hour – Malcolm picked up his dictionary and opened it at random. With his eyes closed he pointed at a word. He opened his eyes to see he had picked “merciful.”
“All right,” he said. Turning back to his computer he wrote “Merciful” on the top of the page and began writing whatever came to mind without bothering to correct any mistakes:
mercy Ming the Merciless some alien overlord someone asking for mercy from some ale...
April 23, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #23 – “An Improvement”
An Improvement
Sliding the door to the balcony closed, Eric let out a sigh. He loved Ron and Thomas dearly, but get them a few drinks in an election year and the never-ending political argument would flare up yet again.
He turned around and found he was not alone on the balcony. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize anyone else was out here.”
The woman smiled and replied, “It’s okay. I’m not surprised I’m the only one needing to escape.”
Eric chuckled. “You’re April’s coworker, right?”
“Yes. Cindy.”...
April 22, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #22 – “W. A.”
W. A.
“Hi, my name is Joe.”
“Hi Joe.”
“I’m a … I’m a writer with too many ideas.”
“That’s why we’re all here Joe. Why don’t you tell us about your problem.”
“Okay. Um, I started writing stories in high school, usually just silly things concerning my friends. Once, I wrote a … And Then There Were None sort of story involving the teachers. Of course, this was back in the day when kids could do that sort of thing without being arrested and charged with a hate crime or whatever. I’d have an idea and I...
April 21, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #21 – “The Sophias”
The Sophias
Tom kissed his wife Barbara and watched her get on the escalator to the bookstore’s second floor. He turned to the right and walked into the café area. Several of the tables held students highlighting textbooks or typing furiously at their laptops, and a few more had silent couples drinking coffee and looking through magazines. There was also a bigger table that could easily hold six people, but for now only held two women and a man quietly talking. A simple paper sign on the table...
April 20, 2012
20 Stories in 20 Days!
Twenty days into my 30 Stories in 30 Days Challenge and I’ve written twenty stories! Although it was pretty close with that last one. Not only am I still on track to succeed with my challenge, it also means I’ve beaten what I wrote during last year’s Challenge. As I’ve explained, I was in the process of moving then, so you have to cut me some slack with that. I admit, for this past week or so I’ve been stressed and tired and wanting to quit, but I think now that I’m charging towards the end,...
30 Stories in 30 Days #20 – “Backup”
Backup
“I don’t understand why you fight me on this.”
Jacob shrugged. “I just don’t like it.”
His mother shook her head. “It’s a simple procedure you do everyday like brushing your teeth and taking a shower.” After a pause, she asked, “You do brush your teeth everyday, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, come on then. If you didn’t fight me this would take less time than brushing your teeth.”
Unable to argue with her, Jacob followed his mother to the family’s backup unit with his head hanging low. He sat in...
30 Stories in 30 Days #19 – “Faulty Programming, II”
Faulty Programming, II
Deflating his air sacs, Veop made himself as small as possible before entering the Commander’s chamber. He found the chamber dim with the Commander relaxing in his pool of klexan juice. Veop slowly walked up to the edge of the pool with his datacube and waited for the Commander to notice him. Veop waited so long he began to wonder if the Commander had fallen asleep.
Suddenly, the Commander stood up in the pool on his back legs. Facing Veop he demanded, “What problem have...
April 19, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #18 – “Faulty Programming, I”
Faulty Programming, I
Stepping from her hibernation chamber, it took Huytr a few moments to notice the time readout on the console. “Ship,” she asked, “why did you wake me thirty-seven cycles early?”
“One of the bio-simulates on Planet 764978-03 is not acting in accordance with its programming.”
“It what fashion?”
“One of the sub-groupings of sentient beings on Planet 764978-03 governs themselves through a primitive representative democracy. The bio-simulate in question has been elected to the hi...
April 18, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #17 – “Quieting the Voices”
Quieting the Voices
Veronica sat at her desk staring blankly at her computer screen. Closing her eyes she rubbed her temples and stated, “I’m too tired to write. Why won’t you be quiet?”
No answer came. She sighed. With her eyes closed her hand opened the lower drawer of her desk and – by feel – found the specialized screwdriver. Opening her eyes, Veronica looked at the screwdriver for several moments.
She shook her head and said, “I need to sleep. You’re making me do this.” She inserted the scr...
April 10, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #11 – "Priorities"
Priorities
"… Those are my Christian values, and I will not stand for anyone taking them away. God bless America."
The auditorium erupted in applause. Once they died down, the moderator said, "Senator Cole, same question."
Senator Cole thought for a moment, then began. "Governor Bilton, I have never discussed your personal religious beliefs – other than to say I don't share them – for two reasons. The first is, I really don't care. I feel that people can believe whatever they want, as long ...
