Cirque du Phasma - A Short Story

Disclaimer and Introduction

Before we get started, I feel the need to warn you: this is a long story. Technically, it’s not even a short story, it’s a “novelette,” but since no one knows what that means, I’ll put it a different way:

If this story were printed, it would be about 40 pages. The “estimated reading time” for this story is about an hour and a half.

Additionally, it’s too long for email, so if you’re reading this in your inbox, it’s going to cut off/truncate partway through the story. I r...