Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion
MARCH - 2020 - MICROSTORY CONTEST (COMMENTS ONLY)
Jot wrote: "Yes, stay safe everyone"Amen.
Justin wrote: "Paula wrote: "I'm hoping to get something in this month, but--to answer Jot's question--it's very hard to write a science fiction story when we are living in what's previously seemed a science fict..."Thank you Justin. Yes, sanitizing the outsides of cans from a store (or/especially delivered!) is crucial, too, I'd think. I wonder how long the virus survives on, e.g., paper (or cloth) surfaces--anyone know? I've read it survives, on hard surfaces, for 9 hours--or 9 days--or up to 21 days---depending on what "expert" one reads.
Yes, keep safe all!Over here in the UK the government is taking a different route to the rest of Europe, and not yet going for all the 'social distancing measures' that they are in Italy, France, Ireland.
The response is very science-based - it seems to be the view that the virus is unstoppable, so let's manage its progress until we've reached a stage of 60% 'herd immunity' (they've used that phrase). The government's chief scientific and medical advisors' view is that if you try to contain it by isolating areas, when it gets out again it will be just as bad, you'll get a wave of peaks that overwhelm the health services each time. So instead they want to flatten the peaks and build immunity, and enabling resources to be focused at all times on the most vulnerable
Other countries' scientists disagree about this approach.
On the other hand, there's been an impressive range of measures for social protection including extended statutory sick pay including new benefits for the self-employed and gig workers, and relief on business taxes to limit the social and economic impacts. And healthcare is free of course. (A conservative, not a socialist government btw)
Meanwhile, we're shopping in the middle of the night, wiping the cans like Paula and Justin (with alcohol-based wipes), and working from home. I've cancelled all the face-to-face training and meetings I was booked to do for the next few weeks, with the agreement of the clients. I guess I'll have to stay home and get more writing done! Though can also do a lot through remote working, meetings via Teams and WebEx etc.
Andy wrote: "Yes, keep safe all!Over here in the UK the government is taking a different route to the rest of Europe, and not yet going for all the 'social distancing measures' that they are in Italy, France,..."
Hi Andy! If you don't mind me asking, where in the UK? My wife and I were lucky to enjoy our one "big" vacation there back in 2000 B6K (that is, before six kids!). England, Scotland, Wales, then the last three days in Paris. I loved every minute there as I am a huge Churchill fanatic and amateur military historian. I was so glad we went in 2000 and not 2001, which saw mad cow and flooding!
Hi Justin - I live in Lincoln now, a fine historic city though a bit off the beaten track for most visitors.I've lived most of my life in Cambridge, though, which is where I was back at the time of your visit - did you get to go there?
Andy wrote: "Hi Justin - I live in Lincoln now, a fine historic city though a bit off the beaten track for most visitors.I've lived most of my life in Cambridge, though, which is where I was back at the time o..."
Alas we did not. We started in London, then took the train to York. From there on to Edinburgh for the Tattoo (with a short jaunt to Loch Ness - had to, and yes, I admit it, I love bagpipes), then down to Llandudno in Wales, down to Oxford and Blenheim (where we then got a car and proceeded to drive on the left - it was weird!), Bath, then back to London to catch the Eurorail. Two days in Paris, then out to Caan and the Normandy beaches. Whew! It was a whirlwind three weeks and I was just amazed by the history all around you - all the time! I hope to go back some day.
Well, Justin, you made it to Oxford which is second best! :-)Actually, that's quite a tour of fine cities, towns and historic locations in a short space of time, and some of my favourite places. I guess you drove down from Blenheim to Bath through the beautiful Cotswolds?
Well I know this isn't a travel writing site, so to link this up towards the core interests of the group - If you went a little to the west of Llandudno and around the north-west corner of Wales, there are a whole load of castles (Conwy, Penrhyn, Caernarfon, Harlech ...) set against coastline and mountains. Very dramatic. Some of the filming for Game of Thrones has been done there. And one of my favourite places down on the coast is Portmeirion, where The Prisoner was filmed.
Loved the prisoner. Have been hooping for a remake.
"I have resigned. My life is my own. I will not be pushed, stamped, indexed, filed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered." - Number 6https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv813...
A note for lovers of vampire fiction -Coming soon from Mocha Memoirs Press:
SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire is an anthology of vampire stories from the African Diaspora.
Short story submissions are being accepted up to March 31st - This promises to be a must-read for lovers of the dark and macabre.
Check it out:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sl...
I wonder if vampires are giving only hickeys to their victims due to the corona virus?
The undead don't have to worry about getting sick.
Mod
We are lucky that it is only COVID-19 and not Ebola. Elon Musk and many others have warned that the World is ripe for this and we are ill-prepared. Ebola did strike a decade ago and we jumped on it. The US CDC was energized and had good leadership. This was partially dismantled by Trump as a cost-saving measure to stop government waste. This time COVID-19 was ignored by many countries, most notably Italy, Spain, Brazil, the UK, and the US. The consequences will ripple for many years. Maybe we will learn the lesson this time but I'm not optimistic. Human memory is very short term. All you have to do is look at the leaders of these countries that were freely elected. As a species, we are not yet sufficiently intelligent to chart our own destiny.
Yeah, we sure weren't prepared for this. (Personally, I'm not sure human nature or humans "as a species" are so much at cause, but rather perhaps may have simply got a doozie of a "perfect storm" of an anti-aware, unimaginative, worse-than-unempathetic, self-seeking US (and UK and Brazil and...) administraton and the advent of this virus. I'm sure some researchers worry the SARS-2-coronavirus may further mutate--could get even worse; for us older personsa very real danger, and especially with supplies, hospitals, trained personnel incredibly inadequate. Like you, Jot, I can't function at this moment, either. Very glad we're talking about it here. Thanks, Jot and Kalifer, C. and Tom.
There is some good news here. Yes, we - the US - failed to react quickly enough and were / are woefully short on treatments and temporary hospitals (if / when needed). The president disbanded the agency that handled some of those things a while back. Bad move. We've been waiting for this, or something worse for some time. Anyone interested should read David Quammen's book Spillover.The good news: China is seeing cases drop drastically. They just closed down their temporary hospitals in Wuhan because the new cases has dropped dramatically. China was very aggressive at tracking theirs and containing its spread.
From all reports it looks like the worst of it will be over for us around April 1.
There is great information here:
https://covid19-insights.squarespace.com
It is from a doctor on the frontlines and the information (and stats) was mostly written for his colleagues, but it's a good read and should help alleviate some of the anxiety and keep us informed with accurate information.
This is great stuff, Jack (I just read piece #3 "How will this end?"). Still, for those of us in either a U.S. state or a nation that is woefully lacking in equipment and hospital (especially ICU) facilities, or way behind in getting started on testing or mitigation/distancing, and/or are older, it's only partially encouraging. And I hope very much he is right about African countries.Thank you for sharing this with us.
I just want to add some things you might not think about for spreading the virus in addition to door handles: Gas pump handle, touchscreen, and keyboard.
Automated teller keyboard and touch screen.
Any touch screen kiosk.
Anything delivered, the packages themselves may be contaminated.
In all these cases, followup by washing or disinfecting hands.
If this virus is in the food that probably is not a problem since it will be digested. The virus getting into your lungs is the problem. However, I remember that scene in Seinfeld when Elaine sneezed into a plate of food destined for someone else in a restaurant. In a case like that, some of the viruses would certainly find their way into the lungs. (Perhaps I shouldn't post this, oh well, here goes)
It's interesting that the fear of how bad this really might be has brought the world economy almost to its knees in just a couple of weeks. I'll probably write a fun short story about Russia planting the virus in Wuhan, China just to be naughty and avoid blame, and cite the Russians crushing world oil prices as the start of a Russian military pile-on with more to come, in an attempt to finally take down the West.
Fun story! Maybe next will be attempts to sabotage the compute and data storage silos in Northern Virginia, chemically render the USA oil reservoir unusable, or dirty-bomb the big stock market ETF gold reserves. Or maybe try out one of their brand-new nuclear stealth torpedoes and blow up the Seattle Navy shipyards out of the blue. See? Cheer up everyone, things could be way worse.
I see the bright side here though; for those careful not to get sick, market activity over the last couple of weeks demonstrates the new resets on value pricing are based mostly on fear, and an announcement of an effective anti-viral treatment or vaccine would cause a monster pop like the stock market has never seen.
Let's hope such an announcement will be real and not fake-news though. Right now, I'm keeping powder dry with one finger on stock trading trigger and other one in ear.
Is this virus-sanitary?
-C
C. wrote: "It's interesting that the fear of how bad this really might be has brought the world economy almost to its knees in just a couple of weeks. I'll probably write a fun short story about Russia plan..."
My next book: How To Profit From The Apocalypse or better known as: How To Win The Toilet Paper Wars
Mod
Managed to get something up, surprising since my husband is home for the duration unless needed.This crisis comes from live animal markets and a reservoir that yearly coughs up disease. As someone who was a microbiologist for a time, you can imagine I have many different feelings about the current situation.
Jot wrote: "I feel like we are living in a sci-fi story, and it saddens me greatly. Prayers for all of you and the people of the world. I'm sure they will figure out a way to counter act the virus, but right n..."Don't despair, Jot. Our civilization survived the Black Plague. We can survive this. Times like these are for cherishing what we have and helping each other as much as we can.
Mod
Hunker in, find joy in your family, and this can be over in weeks. Your country is asking this of you. Be proud to be patriotic.
Can I ask anyone interested to read a story for me? It's 1200 words. I want to know what you think and would prefer to email it as a PDF.
Hey guys, Jack's story, if it's the one I read a couple of days ago, is worth reading. Of course, it's hard to think of anything but the virus, these days.
Jot, glad to hear your nephew's recovering. And, yes, social distancing's an ethical necessity for people now.
Thanks, Paula, it is the same (with a couple changes from you).My normal stand-offish and anti-social behavior isn't such a bad thing now! Jot, glad your nephew is recovering. Can't believe the young people in FL for Spring Break. And how did that governor not shut everything down immediately? He has a state of OLD PEOPLE. That's disgraceful, really. And it ends up harming all of us when those idiots go back to 49 other states.
Jack wrote: "Can I ask anyone interested to read a story for me? It's 1200 words. I want to know what you think and would prefer to email it as a PDF."I'll read it if you like, Jack.
twm216@yahoo.com
Jot wrote: "The past couple days I have been worried about my nephew, who got the virus from his boss in construction. He's finally starting to feel better, so that does take, at least for now, the sharp edge ..."'Glad your nephew's better, Jot. Yes, this is a time especially to protect our senior citizens. Both my parents have passed on, so in a strange way, I'm glad they don't have to suffer through this.
As for social distancing...I had the office to myself today, I had to telework and stuff envelopes at home yesterday, the subway's all but deserted, and I'm down to 3 days a week at the office. People are trying.
Jack wrote: "Thanks, Paula, it is the same (with a couple changes from you).My normal stand-offish and anti-social behavior isn't such a bad thing now! Jot, glad your nephew is recovering. Can't believe the y..."
I'm wondering when states are going to start testing and selectively quarantining. That might be what it takes to save the economy.
C. wrote: "Very cool story, Marianne!-C"
Agreed. 'Glad you made it, Marianne.
As for social distancing...I had the office to myself today, I had to telework and stuff envelopes at home yesterday, the subway's all but deserted, and I'm down to 3 days a week at the office. People are trying.People are trying. I drive to my office (5 minutes) and the roads are 1/3 the normal traffic. Once I get into my office I lock the door. It's just me and it's better than sitting at home all the time. I'd love to go for a run, but we got about a foot of snow yesterday.
Thanks, C and Tom. A little bit of normality in the crazy.
Mine is up! Hopefully it holds together. It grew to over 2K words before I got out the machete. I probably spent too much time world building and the dialog turned into a monolog. Still, a very interesting/challenging theme.
I tuned in/followed a link to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry. Unfortunately, Bobby Bones did as much yammering as the musicians played music. But the interesting put was a live stream of comments from the audience. Most said where they were and how they were handing the virus. I posted "Up here in Low Earth Orbit. No Corona up here!
I wonder if anyone took it seriously.
Really a great batch of stories and outstanding reviews this month! I've been working from home for Boeing, and we just had our first death of someone on the 787 line in the factory. All my kids are home (that's 5 boys and one diabetic girl) and we have them on a good schedule that they are keeping. It's been sunny out so they've been able to play outside (we're on 1.5 acres) so that's been great.I've enjoyed all the creativity here as I always do, and appreciate the time people have been putting into reviews.
Best wishes to all!
Mod
Wishing good health to all and hope for a better tomorrow.
Do any of you know how to SAFELY dilute 99% isopropyl alcohol to 70% isopropyl alcohol (after first boiling the water--if no way to distill it--and then cooling it)? I know you all will know; and googling it doesn't tell enough, unfortunately. Eyeglasses instead of goggles okay? latex gloves okay? Pouring and mixing in room with outside door open okay, or do outside only? Does boiled, instead of distilled, water make this not work, or shorten its usefulness (how long, if so)? Thanks. "Asking for a friend."
Or this calculator https://www.easycalculation.com/healt...Or this https://craftiviti.home.blog/2020/01/...
Hope it helps. :)
Paula: Boiling the water will reduce the CO2 and Chlorine in the water and destroy any microorganisms in the water. You can cool it by filling a sink and lowering the pot into the sink. Distilled water is nice to have but not absolutely necessary. 99/70=x/8 is the formula ratio you need. 8 oz in 1 cup so
x=99x8/70=11.3 oz for the total volume, so add 3 1/3 oz of water to 1 cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol. You don't have to be precise.
If you make a small batch at a time you won't have to worry about its useful life.
I hope that helps.
Loved all the stories this month. Wow!
Dammit, I started a story, got about 80% done, then the work from home stuff started, I work from home anyway but now we have to cover all the in office work that they can't do so it's like cramming 80 hours into 40.So my story fell by the wayside.
Maybe I can re-purpose it to fit the April theme!
Totally just set up a calendar event on the 22nd of each month. With a 10 day, 5 day, 1 day and 2 hour reminder.For the love of all that is holy I am bound and determined to get my short story writing habits back on track!!!!
Hello Paula,
Our school district just closed until 4/24, and the governor just ordered all schools in Pierce, Snohomish and King counties closed until then as well (we live in Snohomish County). Today was the kid's last day of school, but we kept my daughter home. Church is all remote live stream on the Web now (THX1138 anyone?...blessings of the state...) We are sanitizing everything like crazy (including cans from the grocery store), washing hands, etc. I think we will be okay. You be safe too!