Ghanima had thought long and hard about her options for this semester before declining to teach and taking a few weeks break on Dune. But now she was back in Fandom, and ready to dig in to her latest project ( Read more... )

Somewhere behind the fog, the sun was setting. The Fandomites had long since lost track of time, but Leland knew, instinctively, that day had turned to night. The way he knew that all of the items he had sold those wretched humans had been destroyed. They would come for him, now, content in their victory ( Read more... )

Leland Gaunt's hold on Fandom might be weakening, as more and more people were delivered from his thrall, but you couldn't tell just by looking. The fog was more sinister. The boarded-up doors and windows of the storefront were more foreboding. And the sign out front remained, as creepy as ever:

YOU SAY HELLO
AND I SAY GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
I ( Read more... )

Evil things lurked in the heavy fog -- the rustle of feral creatures lurking just out of sight, waiting to pounce, the distant inhuman cry of something dying in the Preserve, the thick, liquid slurping of foul black waves crashing on the beach... and the incessant yammering of friends and loved ones on the wrong side of the whole standoff going on ( Read more... )

The thick, black fog still hung, dark and sinister, in the air around the island. The doors and windows of Leland Gaunt's humble storefront were all boarded over, and a very important sign hung out front:

YOU SAY HELLO
AND I SAY GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU SAY HELLO
I SAY GOODBYENeedful Things was closed. You are, of course, ( Read more... )

The fog was thick and black by the time anyone reached Leland Gaunt's humble storefront. What they might notice was that the doors and windows were all boarded over, and a very important sign was hanging out front:

YOU SAY HELLO
AND I SAY GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU SAY HELLO
I SAY GOODBYENeedful Things was closed. But please, do ( Read more... )

All was proceeding according to plan. This island had its complications, but the web he had spun was growing thicker by the moment. The poison was deep, and the island herself was faltering ( Read more... )

Having had (most of) a day off yesterday, Leland was quite looking forward to getting back to work today. Perhaps he'd be able to sell more quality merchandise. Perhaps somebody would pleasantly surprise him by coming in with more goodies to call his own.

NEEDFUL THINGS
A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORE

You Won't Believe Your EyesAnd if nothing else, he ( Read more... )

Every good boy deserved fudge, was that how the music scale went? And every bad Leland deserved a day off, though he was generally enjoying himself too much to need many ( Read more... )

Leland Gaunt's plans were progressing quite nicely, indeed. He could easily have closed the shop and waited out the next few weeks, but what fun would that be?

NEEDFUL THINGS
A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORE

You Won't Believe Your Eyes