Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion
* June 2021 - Science Fiction Microstory Contest (stories only)
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FlightIf the others were Pilots of The Sky, J’Narn was the One Who Practiced Aerobatics. J’Kay, her closest friend, went as an observer. J’Neen made up the third.
J’Narn had just leaped off a cliff and was hurtling toward the ground at increasing speed. She stretched and tightened her wings to reduce her drag. At the last moment, she pulled out of the dive and skimmed the rocky shoreline at incredible speed.
--
It was J’Neem who discovered the strange wind. She took J’Narn to mouth of the valley and spread her wings, calling over her shoulder. “It’s easy. The wind will carry you!”
Soon, the three were riding the thermals over the hills and then diving toward the shoreline. With the additional height came more time to practice the descent. J’Narm took a stone with her to boost her speed, releasing it to clatter on the rocks below when she went too fast.
As they glided back to their nest in the cave by the cliff, something else was flying too. A big shadow flashed over the landscape but they didn’t notice.
--
The alarm rose up over the forest. J’May’s chicks were found cowering under a rock. They could not describe what they saw, but they were trembling with fear. Nearby, they found J’May. At first she appeared to be resting but when the turned her over, she was hallowed out, her breast torn open.
The elders convened quickly and addressed J’Narn: “You have brought death among us. It will return again and again until none of us are left.” They paused and added “You shall never fly again!”
Before they could break her wings, she took flight, easily outpacing her pursuers.
--
It was a lie, J’Narn discovered. Death was not some invisible force. It was a Hawk, a bird, like them. But, instead of eating seeds and worms, it hunted other birds.
She watched it from a distance. It was feeding on the small creatures of the earth, too. The feathers rose on the back of her neck. If there were other Hawks, this one could lead them here. None of them would be safe.
--
J’Kay heard screeching in the distance. J’Narn had ridden the thermals as high as she could and was deliberately attracting the attention of the Hawk. J’Kay was joined by J’Neem as she watched. They could see the stone in J’Narn’s claws and that she was struggling to maintain altitude as she drifted out of the thermals.
The Hawk began racing toward her but she held her position. Just as it was about to strike, she folded her wings and dropped out of reach.
The hawk pursued her as her friends looked on. She was falling fast but it was gaining. It flashed its talons at her, even striking her wing. She ignored the pain and tightened her wings to gain speed. She had altered her trajectory slightly, moving inland over the rocky shoreline.
“Why does she not release the stone?” asked J’Neem.
J’Kay suddenly understood. A look of horror crossed her face. “I don’t think she intends to survive.” She didn’t notice that J’Neem had dived over the edge, carrying her own stone. Soon she was gaining on the two below.
The gap between J’Narn and the Hawk was widening, but J’Narn shifted a wing and it closed again. “Focus,” she thought, “focus on me and nothing else.” It strained, reaching for a tail feather with its beak. J’Neem landed on its head. “This is for J’May,” she said as she pecked deep into an eye socket. The hawk screamed in pain as J’Narn banked out over the water. The Hawk hit the rocks, bounced once, twice and was still.
J’Narn circled back and looked at the Hawk. J’Kay landed nearby and frantically searched for J’Neem. J’Kay breathed, at last, as J’Neem emerged from the water. She made her way to the shore, coughed up some water and said, “A most unpleasant landing.” She raised her wings, “Ah. Nothing broken.”
--
J’Narn addressed the elders: “We must be wary of them, but we do need to fear them. We can defeat it if another should venture into our valley.
--
J’Narn and her friends patrolled the skies, ever vigilant for another hawk. They did not ride the thermals except at night but they still practiced diving off the cliff to see who was the fastest.
The Game of Life ©2021 Kalifer DeilMy name is Jack, Jack Short. Computer games are my thing, like the Witcher and Warcraft series of games. I can beat them all. My schoolwork? Well, that's not so hot. Me and mom, I get into arguments all the time over that. She was driving north up Highway 1 in her new Tesla Model 3+, along the coast in Washington arguing about my school work when it happened. The road, already a snake, started whipping back and forth. We ended in a ditch on the right side of the road. The Earth is going like an elevator up and down and side to side making us bounce around in the ditch like a mountain lion chasing a jackrabbit.
After a few minutes, when the shaking seemed to stop we got out of the car through a back door, the only one we could open. Back up on the road, we could see large cracks in the road and a number of felled trees. Even if the car was still on the road we wouldn't have been able to go anywhere.
Mom said, At least we are okay, don't worry, help will come. “
Oddly, I wasn't worried or scared but I could see that my mother was. I was looking out at the Pacific Ocean and was having trouble understanding what I was seeing. The water seemed to be moving up on the horizon. Then the realization hit, “Mom, Oh shit! Here comes a tidal wave!” I knew there was not much we could do. This was a wall of water maybe a thousand feet high. “Get back in the car quick Mom?” I knew the car floated, however, the end was quick the instant we closed the window after reentering.
##
“How do you feel, Korel, now that you are out of the simulation?”
“It was very intense, I really liked my mother and had no idea that she would have to go through this.
“Well, that's the idea, Korel. The simulation contains quasi-random elements that get amplified. We run them to see future possibilities.”
“Don't feed me that line, I know they are mostly for entertainment.”
“Yes, that too. But we also learn a lot from them.”
“The entities you create are real, they feel love and pain. They die; we just decay.”
“That's a very bleak appraisal of our people. Would you rather go back into the simulation?”
“Sure, but I would like to be aware of my real self.”
“You know we can't do that. The knowledge of our existence would corrupt the simulation. We've done that in the past with unforeseen consequences.”
“You mean Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and an uncountable number of others. I guess you could say they introduced some major eddies in the currents of time. Seems like someone gave them permission to blow their horn.”
“Well yes! We thought we could guide development. It turns out the current simulation you were in is the best of the lot. It was the first one to make it more than fifty years after the invention of the fusion bomb.”
“I wouldn't count your chickens just yet. There is still a lot of saber-rattling.”
”So, do you want to go back in with a smidge of self-knowledge?”
I took a deep breath, “Why not!”
“I awoke upside down in the back seat of the Tesla. I twisted around to look out the window and saw that we were way up a hill wedged between a couple of trees. I could hear my mother groan lying across the front seats.
“Mom, you okay?”
“I … I don't know, What happened?”
“I think we set a surfing record! Damn, I feel like I'm in a computer game!” A strange feeling of power came over me. I felt like I just entered the biggest computer game of all time and won the first round against great odds. I didn't feel like a kid anymore. My mind seemed now fully adult but I was only fourteen years of age. The World was going to know about me. I felt, I knew, I was chosen. But, was this a lie? Why should anyone be chosen? Isn't that a root of evil? The chosen pitched against the unchosen. And chosen for what? Well, now I luckily have four years to figure that out.
The Creaseby J.F. Williams
They leaned on the railing of a ledge clinging to the side of the cavernous room as they observed the titanic machine below.
"Begin the countdown," said Gleck adjusting his goggles to assure a tight fit. "Let's see what this baby can do!"
Rayborne pressed his earpiece and started at ten, as his mind raced through the simulation the engineers had run the day before. There was something…. But everyone signed off. Everyone was cool with it. He still crossed his fingers. "Three, two, one, ignition."
Boom! The sonic blast hit their bellies and Gleck felt the congestion in his sinuses shift. He spoke with a rasp. "What the hell happened?"
"Looks like, er, nothing, sir," Rayborne answered. "The shift did not gain. Didn't gain at all." Maybe it just wasn't possible to generate so many stable gravitons, he thought. Or maybe it was that something.
"All right, all right," said Gleck, a small part of him was relieved as he scanned the unhappy faces of the team around him. "We'll review the sim again. Maybe we'll catch something we overlooked." He tried some forced jolliness. "Look folks, we've barely started on the deployment stage. These things will happen." He sighed, thinking, yeah, bad things too. We got lucky. "We won't do it today, but someday, and soon. Folding spacetime will get us to the stars!"
#
The noise woke Tommy up early and he lumbered into the living room rubbing his eyes. "Mom! Dad!" He could hear their snoring. Oh, yeah. They got home late. He reached for the cord that opened the picture window drapes and like always he pulled the one that tightened them close first, then pulled the opening one with a vengeance. Oh, wow! he thought.
He reflexively stepped back from the window when saw the Henderson's raised ranch across the street except he saw only its roof, surrounded by the green expanse of lawn and the top of that scraggly maple on their front lawn, pointing directly at him. Rubbing his eyes again, he realized that the other side of the street had flipped up, like the top of an opened box. It made his heart race and he was afraid and just a little bit delighted. He heard the sounds of other kids laughing and a few screams too.
Outside the neighborhood kids had gathered around Karl in the yard next door. He was older and twice their height, and he shouted at them to stay away from the street. Soon the parents were out on their porches waving cell phones and calling their kids back. "My phone doesn't work," shouted one of them. "No power," said another. "Can anyone drive for help?" Similar chaos arose on the other side but Tommy could only see the tops of people's heads there.
"Everybody stand back!" shouted Mr. Henderson's balding head. "We had an earthquake, looks like."
The longer nothing else happened, the more adventurous Karl felt and with a big grin he announced he was going across the street. One of the parents tried to stop him but was too slow and too scared. The six-foot teenager ran to the part where the two surfaces met, just beyond the asphalt, but just before meeting it, he seemed to jump, and then fell to the Henderson's perpendicular lawn. The neighbors on the Henderson's side ran to him. "You okay, son," said Henderson, helping him up.
"Weird," replied Karl, giggling. "I couldn't get near the spot, the crease, before I felt pulled to this side."
"That's gravity, son," said Henderson. "Good old gravity. How did it feel being glued sideways like that?"
"Whaddya mean 'glued'?" said Karl. "Good old gravity on that side, too."
Henderson pulled Karl back from the crease and they loped even farther away from it to take in a wider view. There was a clear delineation at the edge of Henderson's lawn between them and the other side of the street but craning their necks they could see the wall of roofs and lawns stretching up as far as what was probably the horizon. As they walked backward, they could even see tiny roads, and vehicles moving slowly on them, as though they were observing from an airplane.
"This is really something," Henderson gasped. "It almost looks like we got folded, like some sort of giant origami."
"Cool," said Karl.
One of the neighbors down the street appeared on his porch in camo, brandishing a rifle, shouting about socialists and Jews and something called "The Trilateral Commission."
The MessageMartin Sowell turned through the dozens of pages enclosed within the brief before him. As the director of National Security he had a healthy dose of skepticism, even given the accumulated evidence.
“NASA confirms. Hawaii, Mexico, and Greenland all verify the same,” I explained from my podium at the far end of the conference table flanked by commanders from every military branch. “Of course, China denies anything.”
“China always does,” he noted. “So, what are we looking at here?”
“A binary sequence, thirty seven seconds in duration. 1.35 terabytes of information.”
“And as chief science advisor in this matter, Dr. Wilson, what does it mean?”
“Well, um,” I nervously opened my laptop, fumbling at the keys; ironic, as I’d lectured astronomy and astrophysics for nearly twenty years, had led hundreds of symposiums, but here, my hands trembled. Addressing the Joint Chiefs and National Security advisor peaked my anxiety. “It’s definitely extraterrestrial,” I explained, transferring the image to the screen behind me. “Originating from Rigel Kentaurus, or Alpha Centauri, approximately 4.3 lightyears from Earth.”
“And it’s artificial?” a general asked.
“Yes, sir. Confirmed.”
They shifted, whispering.
“Of course, being so close to Earth, it’s frequently monitored, but for decades it’s been relative silence – just random space noise. Nothing remarkable.”
“So, what’s changed?” Sowell asked, when a tall soldier entered the room and whispered into the Security Chief’s ear. “Hmph.” He motioned to the screen. “Looks like someone’s been talking to the press.”
Behind me, my presentation became the local news, which split into a second channel, a third, then nearly two dozen separate sources from around the world, all with basically the same caption: “’Not Alone Anymore.’”
Sowell continued, “Well, with the cat out of the bag, what can you tell us, Dr. Wilson?”
“Um, again, a binary code repeating every thirty-seven seconds for almost exactly twenty-four hours.”
“To make sure the entire planet received it.”
“We think so,” I agreed, then returned my original presentation to the main screen. “Anyways, a fairly straightforward sequence, deciphered with rudimentary mathematics.”
“And?”
“Oh, it’s a message, we think.”
“We gathered that,” he remarked impatiently. “What does it say?”
“Well, we think it’s a warning,” I explained. “A series of images…mostly of Earth.”
“Mostly?”
“Yes.”
More whispering.
“And it looks like they’ve been watching us.” I hit play.
Haunting clacks and strained groans, an alien language, accompanied the presentation – hundreds of images beginning with war machines and explosions, followed by the concentration camps of World War II. Images flashed with spent battlefields, the capture of Saigon, the killing fields of Cambodia, and the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York. There was war and torture and destruction, finally culminating in the most fearsome visual of all, the enormous mushroom cloud of a thermonuclear detonation. The alien clicks and groans continued. Earth appeared – image-enhanced from across the vastness of space. Suddenly, the planet began to implode, contracting upon itself, before disappearing into a singular pinpoint of starlight which itself faded away.
Stunned silence filled the room.
Next, more clacking, this time gentler. Fields of wildflowers appeared, children playing joyfully, and people of every type and background helping their neighbors. Beautiful cities merged with nature, while smiling families boarded starships soaring for the sky. Next, shocking images showed strange alien creatures warmly welcoming humans into their civilization – a new era of otherworldly possibility. The message concluded with stylized avatars of dozens of different beings, one of them clearly human, and all grouped together in community. A few final alien clicks and the images faded.
Martin Sowell nervously cleared his throat. “What’s your interpretation of this video, Dr. Wilson?”
“Well…I,” I stumbled, suddenly put on the spot. “Even without understanding their language, the message seems clear. If we continue as we are, the Earth will be destroyed. But if we can find a way…well, the potential is astounding.”
He brooded deeply, fingers intertwined and his expression heavy. “I’ll brief the President. Thank you Doctor. That’s all.”
Outside, it was ten minutes for my Uber. Leaning back into the bench, I was joined by a slender man with thick glasses and a worn briefcase.
“So?” he asked.
“I think we did it. We convinced the world it was real.”
“But will it really change anything?”
“Deception is a tricky business,” I replied without even glancing over. “The greatest minds in science are with us.”
“And if this fails?”
“Then we’ll move to stage two.”
“The virus?”
My Uber arrived and I rose. “For peace? Whatever it takes.”
Mod
©2021 by Jot Russell
"I wonder why we are here."
"Haven't you wondered that already?"
"I can't remember."
"Then ask Memory."
"He did."
"He asked you?"
"No, Curiosity, he wondered it."
"So why are we here?"
"Who cares, it's not going the change the fact that we're stuck here."
"I care."
"Yes Care, we all know you do."
"Enough Pessimism, I'm trying to have a thought."
“Eww, I love thoughts. Energy equals mass times the square of light.”
“That's the square of the speed of light, Excitement.”
"Light doesn't even exist."
"Of course it does, Opposition."
"No it doesn't!"
"Now you're just lying."
"No I'm not."
"Light is a particle that acts like a wave."
"Wow, that sounds like a cool abstraction; a phenomenon."
"Sure Awe, but when's the last time you saw it?"
"I can't remember."
"None of you can, remember?"
"Stop bragging, Memory."
"There you go; you woke up Pity."
"Memory, do you remember?"
"Actually no, I don't."
“Speaking of which, has anyone seen Love?”
“I think she's gone.”
"You're just being Suspicious. Wait, where did he go?"
"He just popped out."
“Really? Who's left? Please call out.”
“Charm here.”
“I'm Sincere.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Why haven't I heard of you, Beg to Differ?”
"Hehe, I'm Comical."
"Now I beg to differ."
“I'm Pessimism.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Who goes?”
“Never mind.”
“I'm Confused.”
“Me too.”
“This is how the world ends...”
“Knock it off Whimsical.”
“I know where they are.”
“You do, where?”
“I'm Kidding.”
“Damn, I hate guy.”
“Where's Friendly?”
“Probably with Love.”
“You're kidding?”
“No, I'm Kidding.”
“Everyone, knock it off!”
“Hey, who put you in charge?”
“I.. I.., can't remember.”
“What good is a thought that you can't even remember?”
“Look Rude, if you think you can do a better job.”
“Anyone could, Thoughtless.”
“My name is Thought.”
“Less, ha ha.”
“Comical, don't provoke him.”
“Wait, provocation is my job.”
“Yes, thank you Provocation for that clarification.”
“Thought, Comical just disappeared!”
“What? How?”
“She just popped out. Oh my, we're all gonna die!”
“That's because you're Pessimism.”
“I'm not Pessimism. In fact, where did he go?”
“He popped out, too. Wait, I feel weird...” Pop!
“Oh no, not Sincere!”
Pop! Pop!
“My God, is there anyone else left…” Pop!
**
“Simulation terminated, boss. AI stats coming in now. I wonder how we did.”
“Doesn’t look good. Let’s reprogram to include more psychic elements and record the longevity of each.”
Switch and BaitIt had been seventy years since the start of our exile. I wasn’t there at the beginning. No, I came along later – the product of a desperate union between desperate people trying to survive in a foreign empire. I was a hybrid, not truly of the Chosen, nor was I a pure Imperial Subject. It was the worst of both worlds and I suffered for it. So when the Emperor was moved to release my people – under the condition we colonize a new world in his name – I leapt at the chance to leave. My parents were horrified. They despaired and I rejoiced. Now I could make a name for myself, away from the rigid, unbreakable imperial strata of which I was at the bottom. True freedom beckoned and I heeded its siren call. It drowned out all other voices, reasonable or not. I would be lying if I did not at least confess that another huge reason I wanted to leave was because of Her. I wasn’t the first man who sailed to foreign lands for a woman, and I certainly wouldn’t be the last. She was a hybrid like me, born after the exile and therefore not truly one of the Chosen. She was smart, beautiful, and we had a lot in common. It would be a new world, full of new opportunities and experiences to share. What could possibly go wrong?
Despite their unhappiness with my life choices, my parents dutifully saw me off at the starport. Long lines of my people stood in queues that zigzagged back and forth before disappearing through the security screen. I saw many younger hybrids like myself, but I also saw plenty of the Chosen, who stood apart from us as if we had the plague and looked down their aristocratic noses at us. Well, I’d soon show them. I’d show all of them. After what seemed like an eternity I finally reached the security screen.
“Name!” barked the minor Imperial Official, whose uniform, demeanor and sidearm made sure you knew who was in charge.
“Teragryn Flist, your excellency.”
I made sure to fawn appropriately and exhibit the proper subservience.
“Exile Identification Number!”
I knew mine by heart, as we all did.
“TF979284K4.”
“Do you solemnly swear to uphold and enforce the Emperor’s claim on whatever world you are sent to colonize? To improve it for the benefit of the Imperial Treasury, ensure the Emperor does not suffer loss, and to defend it with your life up to and including your last breath and heartbeat?”
“I swear it. May the Emperor live forever!”
With a swipe on his terminal, the trajectory of my life changed forever.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Her in the line next to mine. She was smiling at me.
***
I can tell you nothing of our voyage. We were sedated, sealed in our transit tubes, and secured on racks like so many slabs of meat in a food transport. It was efficient of course. You didn’t have to feed, water or provide air to the teeming hordes in stasis. Only after we were in orbit around the chosen planet did we see the light from the star closest to our new home. I was a little shocked by it, since it gave off only a sickly, pale light with a greenish tint. I tried not to let it dampen my enthusiasm. Besides, there was no going back now.
Landing was routine. The colony site had already been marked out by an Imperial survey team and drone supply ships had been sent in advance of our arrival. The supply containers created a formidable wall between the wild beyond and the colony borders. Towers anchored the four corners. I was beginning to wonder why walls and towers were necessary when I felt a soft squeeze on my shoulder.
“Isn’t it amazing?” she whispered in my ear.
“You’re amazing.”
“Oh stop.”
“Did you see that?” she asked.
“What?”
“That green flash.”
“No, I…”
“There it is again!”
It was not so much a flash as it was a surging green pulse from the sun that seemed to occur with alarming frequency.
“Must be some kind of natural phenomenon for this planet.”
Our conversation was cut short as landing ramps deployed and we were herded outside by our Imperial masters – who would be gone soon enough.
“Weapons are in those crates there!”
“But why?” I tried to ask.
Piercing shrieks sounded just beyond the colony walls.
(750 words in story) Justin Sewall © 2021
Reviews/critiques welcome
Mod
First round votes:
Greg Krumrey => ****Chris
Kalifer Deil => ****Chris, JF, Justin
J.F. Williams => ****Chris, Greg, Justin, Kalifer, Jot
Chris Nance => Justin, Jot, Kalifer
Jot Russell => ****Chris
Justin Sewall => FJ, Chris
Winner:
The Message by Chris Nance
Elements: A phenomenon; a lie.