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
death
Nightmares IV
I suppose it has been a while since I've written here. I'm okay. Last Thursday at around 0200, I hit my head on my tile floor and woke up bloody and bruised. I'll have a nice scar on my right brow. So, I've got that going for me ... which is nice. But, I'm okay. … Continue reading Nightmares IV
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 Forty – Sword and Shield
Back when it mattered, back when corporations could still lie to your face and politicians weren't the subservient eunuchs they've thankfully become, there was a bit of copypasta making the rounds that really drove home what advocates of gun control had been trying to get across to the rest of the world. It went something … Continue reading Day Forty – Sword and Shield
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-Eight – Gehenna
The impact of the plasma round against the retaining wall sent shrapnel through Cool Monkey Dataskunk's cloak. His stunt flip off the wall had been effective as a dodge, but at the cost of his high dollar accessory. Upon landing, he dropped the canvas bag he was carrying to the ground and angrily ripped the … Continue reading Day Thirty-Eight – Gehenna
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
42 V
I suppose I drifted off there for a bit. Life is currently taffy being pulled on a hook—sometimes I'm piled on, stuck in place and frozen between layers just right on the hook, and sometimes I'm on the stretchy bit and time slips away into distance. Something I feel I need to voice is this … Continue reading 42 V
Day Thirty – Quality Stock Tips From an Okapi (or, Mr. China Has Seven Splinters)
--- TRecTm5.2218.14.11.x.x Rprt -22.22.511.5.5.167.3.7.vv.20491 Earth Interplanetary Logistics and Colonization - Robotic Recon Team - Report - Assmt. 17501.R.TR73 ||\\|| BEGIN REPORT ||\\|| WRECKAGE OF ARTEMIS LANDER : MSN TtnRcn2203 : CONFIRMED ENVIRONMENT SEALS BROKEN ID OF FOUR OF FIVE TEAM MEMBERS CONFIRMED DOCTOR ABRAHAM TOLLE: DECEASED, BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA PTY OFR RAYMOND GILFREY: DECEASED, CAROTID … Continue reading Day Thirty – Quality Stock Tips From an Okapi (or, Mr. China Has Seven Splinters)
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-Seven – We Who Are About to Sigh, Salute You
What follows is a list of things no human knows about me. What follows are instances in the great effluvia of creation in which I have found myself directly in control of God's hand, like a golf instructor reaches around his student as their hips swing in unison. What you are about to read is … Continue reading Day Twenty-Seven – We Who Are About to Sigh, Salute You
Day Twenty-Two – All Aboard for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pancakes
"Yes, Chef," Remi Grismain barks. Chef Garret departs the kitchen to attend to something in the dining room. Remi watches him go, then sighs. With the last of the tomatoes cored and skinned, the apprentice dumps them unceremoniously into a blender and sets it for purée. He takes a moment, as the tomatoes turn to … Continue reading Day Twenty-Two – All Aboard for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pancakes
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 Seventeen – His Most Holy Purveyor of the Remedy to My Madness
"Lift your eyes to the light above you. The cleansing god of ages descends to this mortal coil in fury, and, for our future, he brings tidings of empty joy. This ground upon which we quiver, cowering on bent knee, praying for deliverance is not ours. We came to this land, and toiled in its … Continue reading Day Seventeen – His Most Holy Purveyor of the Remedy to My Madness
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