Stephen L. Thompson's Blog, page 63
June 12, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #9 – "Mercy"
Mercy
Turning a page, Tom muttered, "A 'time travel maze.' What the hell was that?"
"As I recall, it came from a dream where a man was trapped in a dimensional maze where he kept meeting older and younger versions of himself."
Tom groaned. "That's helpful." After a moment's thought he added, "It's interesting, but I don't remember what I was going to do with it, if anything." With a sigh, he put an 'X' next to that story idea.
He silently read through the next few in the list, vaguely...
30 Stories in 30 Days #8 – "Fluid History"
Fluid History
July 1
My dearest Anna,
There looks to be a battle today. We've been chasing the Rebs for days, but we've finally caught up to them outside this town named Gettysburg. In case I don't survive, I wanted you to know of my undying love for you and that I will await you in the next world. All my love to my mother and the kids.
Joshua
July 4
Anna,
The Rebs broke through the line yesterday cutting us in half. I doubt I will survive the battle today. I love you.
Joshua
July 9
My dearest...
June 9, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #7 – "Give it Time"
Give it Time
As Champ67 selected which of the cows in his herd would be transferred to his T-Rex pen, he heard a buzz. It took him a moment to realize it was the bell to his virtual door. Who the hell still uses doors? he wondered. In a blink he was at his door, which open to reveal the avatars of two, plain women. "Who are you?" Champ67 asked.
The one on the left smiled and replied, "I am Gamma 015282, and this is Beta 005879. We are here to ask if you've ever considered joining the...
June 7, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #6 – "Prophets"
Prophets
Matt walked along with the other morning commuters leaving the subway station rubbing his jaw. I probably should call Doctor Cantando, he thought. I really don't want another root canal.
He glanced up and saw an attractive, college aged woman standing on the sidewalk about ten feet from him. She saw him and smiled. A knee-jerk reaction made Matt smile back. Then he saw the fliers in her hand.
She held one out to him and said, "Here's our prediction about the end of the world."
With...
June 6, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #5 – "Eyewitnesses to History"
Eyewitnesses to History
"We're starting to lose some cameras."
Roduit looked over at Preston and said, "I thought they were supposed to be nearly indestructible."
"Emphasis on the nearly," Preston replied with a smirk. "I don't know how many tons of high explosives are going off down there, but it's enough to knock some out."
"Are we going to lose coverage?"
Preston shrugged. "The naval bombardment is about to start, so we might get a few thin areas."
Roduit shook her head. "At least they're...
June 5, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #4 – "Unkilling Your Grandfather"
Unkilling Your Grandfather:
How to Sidestep That Pesky Paradox
The best way to prevent the paradoxical death of an ancestor (commonly known as the Killing Your Grandfather Paradox) is to never kill them in the first place. Despite all the warnings in every model time machine, every year scores of travelers kill an ancestor either by accident, trick, or for the adrenaline rush. Know your ancestry and either avoid your ancestors or be careful.
If – for whatever reason – you do kill one of your a...
30 Stories in 30 Days #3 – "A Downside to Success"
A Downside to Success
"What'cha reading?"
Sean glanced at his wife April and answered, "I had a little time to kill, so I searched for 'The Final Death' to see if anyone was talking about it." Pointing at his computer screen he continued, "I came across this Annabelle's Blog. She has this fantastic overview of The Dead Man's Chest and Corpse House, and then she started making predictions about The Final Death."
"How accurate are they?"
"Pretty damn good." Sean scrolled up the page and pointed...
June 2, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #2 – "Worst Foot Forward"
Worst Foot Forward
Galactic Life Survey Group 03112
Preliminary report on species 01142.13021.22344
A Class 4 Survey Probe was sent to star system 32213.44110.21111 to observe the native emergent intelligence. The probe successfully integrated with their planetary communication network and has returned approximately 32100.00000.00000.00000 information units.
Almost all of the data returned remains incomprehensible, due in large part to our limited understanding of their culture. We do...
June 1, 2011
30 Stories in 30 Days #1 – "In the Name of Ideological Purity"
In the Name of Ideological Purity
"That's an interesting bumper sticker you have there," Ken told Nick one morning.
Nick shut his door and joined Ken standing behind his car. He waved at his bumper sticker which read "Don't vote, both parties suck" and said, "Yeah, when I saw that I just knew I had to buy it."
The two began walking through the parking lot to their office building. "Do you really think both parties suck?" Ken asked.
"Yeah. It's obvious."
"They both have their problems," Ken...
May 31, 2011
Stephen L. Thompson's May 2011 Newsletter
Howdy,
Welcome to my electronic newsletter, covering May 2011.
My publication news for the past month:
None.
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This month I wrote 3,184 words, giving me a total this year of 16,169. Again my goal is to write a total of 50,000 words this year, so I need to get busy.
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Here is my story board at the end of May:
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Just a reminder, in June I will once again be challenging myself to write 30 Stories in 30 Days. This year I'm doing things a bit differently by posting my stories here on my blog...
