Stephen L. Thompson's Blog, page 62
June 23, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #18 – "Land of the Dumb"
Land of the Dumb
As Jeff rolled to a stop at a red light, his wife Ann laughed. "Look at that," she said, pointing out the window.
"What am I looking at?" Jeff asked.
"Those two signs on the telephone pole."
Jeff studied the two signs people had tacked to the pole. The top one read "Gutters cleaned" and a phone number, while the bottom one read "I buy houses" and another number. But the big difference was the gutter cleaner had printed their sign on stiff paper with a deep red ink, while the ...
30 Stories in 30 Days #17 – "Did You Think Otherwise?"
Did You Think Otherwise?
A young boy walked around the corner of the building. Half of the soldiers pointed their weapons at him, while the other half covered them. The boy raised his hands and called, "I mean you no harm."
Lieutenant Harkin lowered his weapon, but the rest of his platoon didn't. "You speak English?" he asked.
The boy nodded. "I do. The men you seek are not here."
"Is that so? I suppose you expect me to just take your word for it."
The boy smiled. "I speak the truth. You...
June 21, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #16 – "Future Tour"
Future Tour
With the pounding beat of The Poison Figs in his earbuds, Eric bounced across the rocky terrain on his dirt bike. The GPS Navigator in his visor was leading him to Station #17. Just as the Navigator flashed "You are nearing your destination" on his visor, Eric topped a rise and saw the fluttering marker flag.
He slowed down and came to a stop a dozen meters from the site. He turned off the bike and waited a minute for the song to finish. When it did, he turned off the player...
30 Stories in 30 Days #15 – "The Time Will Come"
The Time Will Come
"Birth" of a new species?
Oslo, Norway – For those of you still uncomfortable with the notion of people uploading their thoughts and memories to live immortal virtual lives, you may not want to read any further. Researchers led by Doctor Stian Stang at the Norwegian School of Information Technology have announced that they have written a program that would allow two – or more – Uploads to conceive a "child." Much as a flesh-and-blood child inherits traits from each parent...
June 20, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #14 – "Talking With Ants"
Talking With Ants
With the arrival of warmer weather, the end of the school year, and the fact that the grades were already in the system, the attendance in Jason Cole's senior class had plummeted. Today, only three students had showed up. There was Andrea Winters, the class salutatorian who hadn't missed a day in five years, and her boyfriend Chris Chamberlain who never left her shadow. The third was Patricia Wasser, the class misfit, who was probably the smartest one in the class, but...
30 Stories in 30 Days #13 – "Indivisible"
Indivisible
"This is not a good sign," April remarked with a smile. "You're sitting there pen in hand with your eyes glazed over."
"I was thinking," Sam replied.
Sitting down at the table in the bookstore café, April asked, "Should I get you some aspirin?"
"Oh ha-ha."
"But you should get that glazed look off your face before Tony shows up. This is the Writer's Write! meeting remember. We're not supposed to think, just write and fill page after page with words."
Sam shrugged. "I do have an...
June 19, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #12 – "Dust to Dust"
Dust to Dust
As Pete walked from his front door to his car, his eyes never left the screen of his phone. He had already checked and replied to the messages he had missed while asleep, so now he checked football scores, the weather, his stocks. He did glance up when he reached his car and was confused by what he saw. The normally bright blue coupe had a layer of grey dust on it. He wiped his finger through it, leaving a clean streak. Looking around, he saw that the other cars on the...
June 15, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #11 – "From Out of Town"
From Out of Town
"We have arrived at your destination."
"Thanks," Amy said as she passed her hand over the reader, which deducted her fare from her Ident chip.
"You are welcomed," the automated cab replied.
Amy stepped out and glanced around at the grey office buildings. Without thinking, her hands clutched at her stomach. When she realized she was doing it, she forced her arms to her sides, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. After a moment, she let it out and opened her eyes. Calmer –...
June 14, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #10 – "A Bitter Man Can Dream"
A Bitter Man Can Dream
Cameras clicked as the short, balding man stepped up to the podium. He was flanked by the Selection Committee Chairperson Marylise Decazes, who stepped to the side. The man gave a quick smile and said, "Hi. Um, my name is Gregory Sanders. I have just been told by Madame Decazes that out of some ten thousand applicants, I have been selected by the aliens to be their 'connection' to humanity."
Every reporter raised a hand and shouted a question. Almost immediately...
June 13, 2011
20,000 words!
I keep track of how many words I write each day. My goal this year is to write 50,000 words. Well today I hit the 20,000 word mark. If you're quick with math, you notice that I'm 2/5 of the way to my goal about 1/2 of the way through the year. So I better get to work.
