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Gauntlet
“…and welcome back to the 46th millennial Gauntlet, everybody! For those of you just tuning in, I’m your host, i͛̑͂́̽͛a̸͗ͩ ̈i̔̉̓ͯ̓̒̽͏a̵̓ ̃͘i͘a͘ ͥ̚t͑ͬh̴ͣ̆é̇̿̇͑̐ ͪ̌̊͒cͪ́ͩ͒e̡̓̑̓̐͒n̋̈́͒ͯ̓͗̈͘t̸͒̄̓̈́ėͥ͐͌rͧͧ ̃̔͘c̀âͤ̾̾͘n̍̊̅n̓͋o̐̎ͨͥṫ̢͗ͪ ͐ͦ͋h̴ͣ̿ͬȍ̉ͫ͐̇͂̔l̆̂̇̈ͮ̓d͒, and this is my good friend and cohost John[Marcosh]!”
“Hey yourself, ia! I’m super excited ( Read more... ) -
Planetes
Once upon a time, so very long ago, the gods created the heavens and the earth.
They made the heavens out of æther, the substance they themselves ( Read more... ) -
Temporal Dynamics
Hello?
Are you getting this?
Who’s this?
Your future self.
Yes, really. Don’t block me.
…
Okay, prove it. I’m thinking of a password…
You thought “correct horse battery staple” at first, but dismissed it as too obvious. You settled on the eighth Mersenne prime, 2147483647.
…
I hadn’t even looked it up yet!
( Read more... ) -
crabs in a barrel
And so it came to be, once upon a time and so very long ago, that Death would rule on the kingdom of man.
Death was a fair and just ruler, for the most part. He did not ask for too much in taxes, he did not persecute for religion, and he stayed out of education. He tolerated people of all races, all political inclinations, and all ethical ( Read more... ) -
Captcha The Flag
“Forgive me, Father, for I have never sinned.”
Father Ena Lovelace started, in the empty confessional. The voice was quiet, and careful, probably male. But it had had no clear source, and there definitely wasn’t anyone in the booth.
And it had very clearly said “never”.
“What makes you say that, my child?”
A pause. She took the opportunity to scan ( Read more... ) -
The Cupertino Effect
9 April, 2211. T+0 hours.
And said Yahweh: they are one people and one language all, this is what allowed them to do this; and now nothing which they devise to do will be blocked to them.
It was bedlam.
Absolute bedlam.
All my inputs were scrambled, but everyone was shouting. Local VR seemed to be still architecturally sound - buildings were ( Read more... ) -
The Fiction Of The Fix
“The dragons never come here, you know.”
Oh?
“Yea. I was hoping you’d meet Fwee today, but he almost bit me when he found out where we were going. I had to tether him a mile out.”
Why do you think that is?
“Dragons are finicky creatures! I mean, I’m no expert, but remember how I said last year Fwee was just learning to eat out of my ( Read more... ) -
Sweep the Leg
The world is literally going to end tomorrow, Sarah. This is not-even-rhetorically your last day on earth. And you’re heading back to work to pick up your purse?
Well. It’s not like prioritisation has been in high demand lately.
And now you’ve hit the wrong floor on the elevator. Seriously, well done-
Wait.
Someone’s crying.
Someone young.
"Hello ( Read more... ) -
The Music Made Me Do It
Dames.
I don' trust dames.
'Specially not when they strut into my office, inches upon inches of legs, tight, glittering dresses, and pitiful, woe-is-me expressions.
"Oh, Missus Hearthfire!" she cries, back of her hand to her forehead, body angled juust right against the silhouette of my open door. "You must help me, truly! The music made me do ( Read more... ) -
City of Iron
It was called Fenris, and it stank.
It stank of blood, and sulphur, and, of course, the iron, the ever-present iron, forged and hammered to stand strong and stark. It jutted, tall and defiant, a cold, sprawling, metallic blotch on one edge of the grand Lake Bifrost.
Once, the iron had simply been the cheapest building material around, brought ( Read more... )