B. Morris Allen's Blog, page 12
April 30, 2019
Beginnings 030 – Shadow
In the highest room of a dark tower in the hills, a raven croaks angrily as the cold winds ruffles his feathers. A clap like thunder drowns his complaint. Sigils flicker on long, fluttering streamers as air rushes to fill a sudden absence at the center of the room. A stray feather swirls below the ceiling, and falls at last on one of the lines chalked onto the paving stones.
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“Shadow”
Red Bug Books
Published 26-Jan-2015
About the story: A hero story in which the heroes never appear. A grap...
April 29, 2019
Beginnings 029 – Hivernaculum
I hold the egg carefully before me with my mandibles and my forelimbs. The egg is smooth and white and beautiful. It is light, but I have just received it from the Queen, and it still glistens with mucus. I must hold it with care. The egg is paramount!
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“Hivernaculum”
BMorrisAllen.com
Published 23-Feb-2013
About the story: A hyperlink story about alien visitors.
April 28, 2019
Beginnings 028 – Maison d’Etre
The house stands foursquare on the corner of Thurman, a stolid, enduring presence of granite and slate. It has been there ‘forever’, the neighbours say, and the earliest photographs of the town back them up. Before that … the Atfalati and Wappato tribes scattered long ago, and I’ve never run across a member I could ask about it.
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“Maison d’Etre”
Tocsin and other stories
Published 27-Feb-2015
About the story: Are you living someone else’s life? Should you be?
A visit to NW Portland inspired...
April 27, 2019
Beginnings 027 – The Matter of God
I was never very religious, though I went to church with friends when I was young; I liked the singing. But my parents were agnostics, and I was too, once I was old enough to think about it. Henry, though… Henry was a deep-down, committed atheist. He knew there were no gods. He admitted that without proof, it was an unscientific attitude, but he just didn’t like the idea of a superior power. He always asked ‘What has god ever done for me?’ More of a DIY guy, I guess, you’d say.
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April 26, 2019
Beginnings 026 – The First Assembly of God
Science is all about trial and error. It’s hard to get the balance right.
“Insert knob A in hole B, it says here.” Ulayk held up the detailed instruction manual with one claw as he pointed out a diagram with his longest antenna.
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“The First Assembly of God”
Weirdyear
Published 08-Jul-2011
About the story: Putting together a god is a delicate business. Especially if you don’t read the instructions.
I’d wanted to write this story for years.
April 25, 2019
Beginnings 025 – The Speed of Winter
The average speed of winter is 5 meters per second in the steppe and in the desert, but only 2 meters per second in the valleys. When I first read those words as a girl, I did not understand what they meant. I was in the high plains of my life, had I but known it, and winter was approaching at great speed. Now I am old and grey, and winter drags on interminably as I wander these pale, silent valleys.
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“The Speed of Winter”
Speed of Winter
Published 08-May-2012
About the story: I read a not...
April 24, 2019
Beginnings 024 – One Fine Day in Asgard
“Just blow the thing already!” The speaker, a muscular young man in a bright blue tunic with a broad yellow belt, tossed a large hammer impatiently from hand to hand.
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“One Fine Day in Asgard”
Metaphorosis: a collection of stories
Published 22-Jun-2013
About the story: What happens before Ragnarok comes around.
April 23, 2019
Beginnings 023 – Curiosity and the Zombie Cat
She opened her eyes, groggy and disoriented. She blinked several times to no effect. She climbed unsteadily to her feet, falling several times as she explored the small space. It was, she determined by bumping her tender head into hard walls, a contained area, about one cat length by two. At one end was a small step or box. There was nothing else, and she lay down again to sleep.
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“Curiosity and the Zombie Cat”
About the story: Why Schroedinger should never have been allowed near animals.
April 22, 2019
Beginnings 022 – The Maze of Luned
In the air above a world called Xwre, an eagle named Ethon circles vigilantly. She is vigilant because she has been slain once, and she has no wish to experience that fate again. She circles because she is waiting, as she has waited for aeons.
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“The Maze of Luned”
About the story: The Chancery is a portal to a random place.
April 21, 2019
Beginnings 021 – Shear Terror
The old man sitting at the bar smiled cynically at the young barbarian by his side.
“Don’t smile cynically at me,” complained Glurg.
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“Shear Terror”
About the story: Epic fantasy can be funny!
