Christopher B. Wright's Blog, page 43

A Somewhat Unorthodox Birthday Request

July 2, 2013: I am 42 years old. For the record, that means that for an entire year I get to be the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. I’m looking forward to that. When I turn 43 it means I will have moved beyond the question which is also kind of cool, but for now I’m going to revel in my Douglas Adams-inspired cosmic awesomeness.

This year I actually have something of a birthday request to you, my readers. It doesn’t involve spending money (though if you’re inclined to go...

Allies and Enemies: Part Four

Crossfire Safehouse

David spends the first few minutes throwing up on the floor. It’s not the same floor—the cheap vinyl tiles of the diner have been replaced with cool, slightly grimy concrete.“Are you OK?” Manuel sounds worried.

“No,” David says, and takes a deep, ragged breath.

“Sorry the trip was so rough. I’m not used to pushing around that much mass.”

David nods wordlessly as he tries to pull himself together.

The table and both chairs are there—wherever “there” is—and so is David’s cane. Th...

Allies and Enemies: Part Three

South Bronx, Morrisania

David sits in a window booth in a small, run-down diner, trying to eat a cold cut without throwing up. It’s not that the food is bad; he can’t tell if it is or not. Everything tastes like cardboard. The problem is that his doctors warned him he needed to stay in the hospital to recover, and his body is sparing no effort to tell him that they were right.

It’s mid-afternoon. There aren’t too many people in the diner, but the ones who are stare at him furtively when they th...

Allies and Enemies: Part Two

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital

David wakes up because someone keeps shining a light in his eyes. He doesn’t like it. He turns his head, mumbling a protest, and sluggishly raises one arm to push the light away. Immediately he feels a sharp pain in his side. He drops his arm and sucks in air through his teeth.

He hears laughter—a low, soft, chuckle—then a woman says “well, that’s a good sign.”

He’s in a hospital. He knows he’s in a hospital because the sheets on his bed feel too thin and the walls are sal...

Allies and Enemies: Part One

New York City, South Bronx

David Bernard stands in line at the corner grocery, awkwardly holding the handle of a plastic basket as it bangs arrhythmically against his legs. The air conditioning is out, and bags of ice line the meat and produce isles, adding to the already considerable humidity. It’s uncomfortably warm and damp. David tries to suppress his agitation as he waits his turn.

“And they say they can’t fix it until tomorrow…” Nirmala is a small, animated Indian woman with long, glossy...

Issue 11: Allies and Enemies

Story: Christopher Wright
Cover: Garth Graham
Logo: Garth Graham

Happy Birthday Schlock Mercenary

Today on Twitter Howard Tayler announced that Schlock Mercenary had turned 13:

For Schlock Mercenary's 13th birthday I totally forgot to do anything special. WELCOME TO BEING A TEENAGER OH AND THX FOR HELPING WITH RENT.

— Howard Tayler (@howardtayler) June 12, 2013

Schlock Mercenary is one of my favorite webcomics, and Howard is a pretty cool guy. Congratulations Howard!

An Experiment in Present Tense: The Points Between Chapter One

The Points Between is on hiatus until July (and hasn't updated since last November) but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything with it. I actually have part of Chapter 26 written (just not all of it) and, since it is a story that is radically different from anything I've ever tried to write before, I spend an awful lot of time brooding over it and tinkering on it. I often wonder how I will rewrite it, when the time comes.

Enter Curveball. This prose comic is very different in style an...

The Sickness Within: Part Four

Last Friday

It’s 6 AM and Doyle is getting ready for work.

He stands in front of the bathroom sink, wearing a pair of brown slacks and a white t-shirt, meticulously shaving. He can hear his wife Clara in the kitchen, making breakfast, his son Doyle Junior in a playpen in the living room, and the TV, turned down low, buzzing with some morning show nonsense in the background.

Doyle finishes shaving, washes his face, then steps out into the hall, making his way to the kitchen. Clara’s making pancak...

The Sickness Within: Part Three

Last Thursday

The Haruspex Analytics situation room isn’t like the board room. The board room is intended to intimidate; one of its primary functions is to distract people who aren’t accustomed to it. The situation room is set up to minimize distractions while accessing information and making decisions. It’s a long, narrow room with a long, narrow table sitting at the center. Paneled display screens are set into the walls, and each place at the table has its own computer and monitor, tied into...