Moshe Sipper's Blog, page 3

Combinatorics

CombinatoricsbyMoshe Sipper
“Seventy-nine?!” cried Linda Ryan, Head of the Planetary Survey. “You're sitting here with a straight face, telling me the Takeinians have seventy-nine different sexes?”“Yes,” replied Mark Yang tersely and undauntedly. Head of the Contact Team, he was always terse and undaunted. But damn competent, thought Ryan. She knew he had much to do with the success of their mission. They'd already got to a point where they could carry on halting conversations with the Takeini...

Accessories

AccessoriesbyMoshe Sipper
As Stewart was about to descend the final rung he heard a shout on the helmet radio: “Yee haw!”Which engendered the unfortunate consequence that the first words uttered by a human being on Mars were: “Who the hell was that?”Years of planning. Months of travel. This was not how things were supposed to unfold, thought Commander William Stewart as the realization sank in: he was standing on the planet surface. On Mars. A small step, et cetera, he brooded. Damn.Stewart wa...

Elementary

ElementarybyMoshe Sipper
It was a tranquil Sunday afternoon, a rarity I savored greatly but which annoyed Olmes to the utmost. It did not last long, though. The calm was suddenly interrupted when Olmes sprang like an arrow and proclaimed: “The King’s emissary shall present himself at our abode within the moment.”“I suppose some amazing explanation of this deductive feat of yours is forthcoming?” I said, trying hard to stifle a yawn.“Elementary, my dear Atson,” said he, “I simply recognized the...

Shore

ShorebyMoshe Sipper
The head of the Special Presidential Task Force was not pleased. Not pleased at all. “Let’s recap again what we know,” said Aaron Sloan in a voice revealing his state of near-exhaustion, the result of three intensive and frustrating months. “John, why don’t you begin?”John McFinley, Head of the Physics Group, cleared his throat. “Well,” he proceeded at his habitual slow pace, “we’ve established beyond any doubt that the objects are not of natural origin. They are artifacts,...