Stephen L. Thompson's Blog, page 57
April 9, 2012
Nine days in, ten stories down
I am nine days into my 30 Stories in 30 Days Challenge and I've written ten stories. I'd say that's pretty good. But I think I'll take the rest of the day off and let my creative juices refill.
30 Stories in 30 Days #10 – "Job Security"
Job Security
"And that is five minutes ladies and gentlemen. If you'll say your goodbyes – for now at least if sparks flew – the gentlemen can then move on to the next lady on their list."
Elaine smiled as Jon left her table, both on the outside as courtesy and on the inside for seeing the last of him. She had dated guys who lived for football or video games before, but she'd never dated someone as dumb as a brick and she had no desire to start.
The next man to join her was rather average...
April 8, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #9 – "One Question"
One Question
"Hello and welcome to our panel discussion on how to better use technology to solve the problems society faces. For those of you who don't know me, I'm John Lemke the Chairman of the Physics Department here at the university. I specialize in making very fine tuned laser pulses that have a variety of uses, but the one I'm focusing on now is using them in the production of nanomachines, which will almost certainly play a large roll in our lives in the future.
"But I'm sure you...
30 Stories in 30 Days #8 – "Stuff Happens"
Stuff Happens
"That is why in my first term I have worked so hard to-"
The President stopped speaking as an aide walked quickly from the side of the stage. His opponent looked from the President to the debate moderator and back again.
The aide whispered something in the President's ear and the President announced to the audience, "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me." He then followed the aide away from his podium.
The audience exploded with muttered questions and once the President was off the ...
April 6, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #7 – "Bad Scifi is Universal"
Bad Scifi is Universal
With his lower hands, GleTha spread the branches of the bril exposing the central trunk. Several kass grubs were attached to the trunk sucking on the sap. Using the claws on his upper left hand, GleTha plucked the fattest grub and returned with it to the living space. He closed all of his eyes and was just about to eat the grub to savor the chilling effect it had on the mind, when his mate oThen walked in.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
His arms sagged and GleTha...
April 5, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #6 – "Free Crap"
Free Crap
Shaking her head, Sue put a bookmark in her book and laid it on the bed beside her. She looked over at her fiancé Mike and asked, "Problem?"
He looked up from his Kindle. "Hmm?"
"You've been muttering."
"Oh." After a moment he explained, "The other day I saw some guy on Facebook promoting his self-published collection of scifi stories. To try to build up buzz about it, for one weekend it was free. I figured I should check out the competition, and the price was right, so I...
April 4, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #5 – "A Cabin Under a Cloudy Sea"
A Cabin Under a Cloudy Sea
The airlock from the garage cycled through and then opened into the habitat's living area. "Lights on," Tamara called into the dark. Once the lights turned on she quickly carried her luggage and crate of supplies inside. She then closed the airlock and dogged it.
The habitat was a hemisphere seven meters in diameter buried under four meters of lunar regolith. Back in the old days, it had served as an emergency shelter for those constructing the Collins Highway...
April 2, 2012
30 Stories in 30 Days #4 – "An Eye for an Eye"
An Eye for an Eye
"It's outright murder!"
"It's war!"
The show host just sat back and let the two guests yell at each other over the phone.
"Nuking Tamark won't bring back the tens of thousands who died in Miami this morning or help the thousands more still trapped in the rubble."
"But those responsible for the tragedy this morning need to be shown that we will fight back."
"By killing civilians who had nothing to do with this morning?"
"The President doesn't want civilian casualties, which is why h...
30 Stories in 30 Days #3 – "Is That How it Works?"
Is That How it Works?
"Next question."
A middle aged gentleman walked up to the microphone at the front of the auditorium. He cleared his throat, then said, "Senator, on the campaign trail you have often stated that the rich and powerful – both individual and corporate – should receive tax breaks because they are the job creators."
"That's correct."
The man took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "Sir, I've been unemployed for twenty months now." He held the piece of paper up s...
30 Stories in 30 Days #2 – "Black Market Books"
Black Market Books
"Problem?" Cindy asked as she walked into the store's office.
"Hurry," Dave said, waving her over to the TV that showed the security camera feeds. "I thinks she's going to do it again."
Cindy stepped closer. "What?"
"I was eating my lunch," Dave explained, indicating the half a sub on the desk, "and I saw her out of the corner of my eye." He pointed to a young woman on one of the screens. "It looked like she put a book in her purse. So I paid attention to her and saw her d...
