Would the soldier, afforded an afterlife and a memory of the things they were and the places they'd been, conjure up thoughts of well-placed shots, violent ambushes, victory over the enemy? Would a stockbroker dream of their numbers, their material things, their portfolios? Would a priest recall the moments they stood on the dais above … Continue reading Headland
change
Vestiges
There are people in this world that make it easy for us to to turn the word "human" into something pejorative. These are the people that would have you believe that selfish pursuits are our pinnacle, that greed and lust for power are virtues. These are people that don't see humanity for what it has … Continue reading Vestiges
Day Thirty-Nine – Damnatio Memoriae
"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." - Book of Revelation On Thursdays, Gil Chambers left his place … Continue reading Day Thirty-Nine – Damnatio Memoriae
Day Thirty-Seven – Pampers For All Us Kids
The light was painful and unfamiliar. It nipped at the eyelids and chewed the pupils of the newly awoken. Conditioned air knifed at the fugitive's exposed skin; starched cloth, bright white, irritated the rest of its body. It involuntarily cringed in the chair it was strapped to. The impulse to curl into a ball fought … Continue reading Day Thirty-Seven – Pampers For All Us Kids
Day Thirty-Six – Entanglement
(Artwork: Zdzisław Beksiński) This is the last glorious day. The sunlight knifing through the smoky interior of the building that shelters the last two humans in existence has a distinct redness to it. This is the last fantastic day for the human race and its two final members, together at last, together at the end, … Continue reading Day Thirty-Six – Entanglement
Day Thirty-Five – The Everlasting Mister Rolo
Record 2 – Pushing Daisy The building was small and tucked between more architecturally pleasing constructions. It was bare – grey and featureless, save a small logo positioned haphazardly just next to the building’s single door. When Rolo had first been contracted to perform services for Ulysses Robotics, he had difficulty finding the location. He … Continue reading Day Thirty-Five – The Everlasting Mister Rolo
Day Thirty-Four – The Mysterious Flamingo of the Tundra
They say space ruins relationships. I believe it. I’m not talking about personal space, even though they might be. I don’t mean that his demand for guy time away from her coupon clipping is the spark or spur to the inevitable divide. I don’t suggest that two people perpetually intertwined for twenty-four hours out of … Continue reading Day Thirty-Four – The Mysterious Flamingo of the Tundra
Dreams XI
Change is inevitable. Nothing you do will change that. Paradoxically, the inevitability of change is the only thing that doesn't change. Remain static and the world—the universe—moves on without you. I always slip back into this blog with the intention of making it a regular thing, but I typically only find time at the beginning … Continue reading Dreams XI
42 VI, or The Pleasures of Change
As I sat in my chair today, a mysterious feather-thieving wind whipped through my office. I had been distracted before its arrival—by many things for many measures of time—and came to full attention at its most subtle stirrings. I did not see this wind, nor did I feel its suggestion on the hairs of my … Continue reading 42 VI, or The Pleasures of Change
Day Thirty-Two – Rabbits and Other Lies (or, Rockclimbing for Krakens)
After seventeen weeks of unemployment, and numerous hours of standing in lines at the LRC recruitment facility, Ken Baxter has given up. The Labor Replacement Corps have denied his entry into their ranks, citing over-qualification and a full roster of specialists in his field. "I didn't want to be a Lurker anyway," he tells the … Continue reading Day Thirty-Two – Rabbits and Other Lies (or, Rockclimbing for Krakens)
Day Twenty-Nine – Papercut Moseby’s Left Withered
There is darkness and sound--a repetitive thud and scraping of metal. I feel heat radiating around me, and I feel trapped and claustrophobic. I cannot move my body more than a few inches in any direction. There are walls surrounding me, lined with soft silk. I feel myself pressed against a cushion to my back--laying … Continue reading Day Twenty-Nine – Papercut Moseby’s Left Withered
Day Twenty-Eight – A Message Written in Mustard Beneath a Park Bench in a Secluded Spot Near the Lake Where Maddie Gantt Found the Possum With the Eye Infection
If you were to find yourself so inclined to dive into that mirror, you would likely find me halfway through that diamond maelstrom, regarding you with disdain from some reflective abode - perhaps a corner of shattered glass, an edge, a wink of light among thousands. That's what you want, and you know it - … Continue reading Day Twenty-Eight – A Message Written in Mustard Beneath a Park Bench in a Secluded Spot Near the Lake Where Maddie Gantt Found the Possum With the Eye Infection
Day Twenty – The Last Vestiges of an Inappropriate Man
As is typically the case with events that can be considered to have changed the course of history, through intense and diligent research, and by deconstructing the progression of individual tributaries that, as a whole, make up the entirety of the catastrophic or productive event in question, one can trace the series of cause and … Continue reading Day Twenty – The Last Vestiges of an Inappropriate Man
Day Nineteen – Andrew Lost His Keys While George is Engulfed in Flames
On the third day, the grand and omnipotent entity known as Va'alamyr walked the grounds of his creation. He reveled in the squeakiness of the wet grass beneath his bare feet. He turned his eyes to the blinding sun he had created two days earlier and saw that it was good. The trees were coming … Continue reading Day Nineteen – Andrew Lost His Keys While George is Engulfed in Flames
Day Fifteen – A Public Apology for Events That Occurred on Easter 1993, Wolverhampton, UK
Time is running out and this is the zero hour. For you, the reader, it takes just a few seconds to make a lifetime of difference in the life of someone else, and I am politely asking you, if you are a fan of mad science, cacophony, and imminent destruction, to please donate even a … Continue reading Day Fifteen – A Public Apology for Events That Occurred on Easter 1993, Wolverhampton, UK
Day Eleven – Supplementary Notes on Gergot Maxim’s 352-Minute Film Entitled “Though Babies Wept and Wretches Bent” As First Orally Related to Kimberly, His Wife, Over an Excessive Third Cup of Lapsang Souchong
Andrew Offal, a businessman of some repute - ill in some circles, vague in others - had excessively high hopes for his eldest daughter. This was evidenced in the fourteen million dollars he had spent on genetic optimization while she floated oblivious to his desires in the womb. Offal had also put at least three … Continue reading Day Eleven – Supplementary Notes on Gergot Maxim’s 352-Minute Film Entitled “Though Babies Wept and Wretches Bent” As First Orally Related to Kimberly, His Wife, Over an Excessive Third Cup of Lapsang Souchong
Day Nine – Biggles Splits the Atom and Other Quaint Tales of Death
Daphne rises out of bed, leaving it still occupied as she does so, and drags her toes in graceful steps towards the bathroom. The light was left on through night, and she cannot recall if it was herself--perhaps the scotch-drunk male in her bed--who had last visited the tiled closet. She kicks a pile of … Continue reading Day Nine – Biggles Splits the Atom and Other Quaint Tales of Death
Day Eight – The Dangers of Navigating Safety Nets With Ice Skates
When I was younger, long before the trauma of being devoured whole by the swamp god who protects us had worn off, I had a disturbing dream. I remember how I was situated in my makeshift bed that night. I had found a nice mossy patch to act as a pillow as I rested my … Continue reading Day Eight – The Dangers of Navigating Safety Nets With Ice Skates
Day Five – Wednesday’s Positronic Void
My dreams have taken a turn to the aweless waste. When formerly I could traverse the dreamscape of candywine waterfalls and purple glory sunrises with consistency, the night journeys have descended into the dimensions of the mundane. And excessively so, my waking life begins to beg the attention I normally reserve for the infinite. Long … Continue reading Day Five – Wednesday’s Positronic Void
Day Two – Seguidilla
Extra legs do not make a better dancer. Did you know that dinosaurs are just a figment of your imagination? Do you realize that the Fornax Cluster is just a carefully orchestrated ruse to confuse you into thinking that the Earth is not the center of the universe? The twinkle is a lie. I feel … Continue reading Day Two – Seguidilla
Godhood of the Infinitesimally Small 