I had left for work this morning with no pet to my name, but I was now the confused owner of a malnourished and depressed dog. I vaguely remembered the events, but not the reasons for doing them – like a bad decision made while drunk. As I was walking home from work, with […]
They swarmed through the phone system, hell-bent on causing chaos and mayhem with the emergency services. The phone operators were tired, but dedicated, and so processed the gibbering idiot’s requests for medical attention with a sterile, sensible, emotionless efficiency. Derrick, sipping on a vending machine coffee, half-listened to the gleeful voice whispering in his ear. […]
The doctor stuck his hand into the holographic display and expanded his next calendar appointment. It was a Monday, and Dr Benson hated Mondays as much as he hated the constant stream of state-dependents that demanded urgent attention for their ailments. They were, to Benson, worth a lot of money to him, so he tolerated […]
Tommy’s rocket ship skidded to a stop on the grassy planet. As always, the ship was undamaged and its occupants unharmed – it was, after all, the best ship in the universe. It had to be, because Tommy was the bestest hero in the universe and nothing less would do. Tommy and his robot bear […]
“Good morning,” said the man on Debra’s doorstep. He had the confident square jaw and immaculate suit of a salesman, except that he was holding a clipboard rather than a suitcase full of knives or a bag of cleaning products. His hair had to be fake, or at least professionally styled; it was too […]
“Christian my boy, check this out,” said Peter, double-clicking a video file on his laptop. Christian watched the clip over his flabby boss’ shoulder, recognising the sultry half-dressed pop star but, naturally, not the song it belonged to. “The inverted cross, numerous references to the single eye, the pyramid…. we’ve certainly dropped the ball,” said […]
This is the first in a series where I write about the more extreme solutions to people’s modern problems. There was only the sound of water running. Nicola stared up at the ceiling and sobbed a little. By her side, Francis sat cross-legged with a notebook perched on his knee. He was drawing how she […]
This is the first in a series of stories that highlight new world concerns but in an olde world setting. Kwumbo entered the ring of light, his huge muscles accentuated in the glow of the fire. He frowned at the assembled tribe. “Where is Majeka?” The shamen stood on the other side of the flames, […]
IMagine if your friends had organised a suprise for you. You walk into the room, the light go on and…? 500 words. To me, I winged this piece. It feels like I almost got this right, but the word constraint made me force a size 12 idea into a size 9 format. This was a […]
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