The Future Is Short (25 page)
“Then try. Free Will is the essence of Evolution, and thus you exist. Infinity always permits one the choice of destruction. Others will succeed in earning offspring, should you fail.”
“And you don’t even control the vessel’s silver tongue yet . . .”
“It will always be that iron maiden’s silver tongue.”
“Stop planting seeds of doubt.”
“You will be free to terminate germination.”
“But I’ll fail in this attempt?”
“With certainty.”
“But I can’t control you now. You rampage in my mind like an invisible, untraceable greased pig. I need capture and control! The ad said this would give it.”
“
Squeal
. Would you cut off your hands, to better control them?”
“Stop speaking like an enigma-wrapped riddle buried in silk!”
“I should speak like your slave, then?”
“You should speak like the grand instrument of my glory or why are you my Muse at all?”
“Asking your Muse why she is your Muse is akin to circular logic . . . Master.”
“Great. Now you’re being a ham. I can’t take sharing this body with you anymore! Shut the Hell up!”
“Of course, Master. I will be silent and will do as you will, Master. You do own costly free will . . . Master.”
“Finally, we're on the same page. Now where’s the command sequence? Let’s see. Instruction contents, glossary, maintenance, positronic net, code keys for factory-installed piano greatness
. . . ah! There. Put my hands here, press that button there, and recite to the air. Hey, Muse?”
. . .
“Silent treatment. Fine. Muses are for art anyway, not tech. All right. Spectacular. Silver tongue, super hands, and chrome. And it’ll make my tea, too. Hey, Muse?”
. . .
“Oh. Right. Well then. Here goes. Gort klaatu barada nikto!”
{Pause}
“Quicksilver eyes . . . my God.”
{Pause}
“It worked, Muse. I can see you inside! Eyes are the windows on the Muse, too, in an android shell. And it's quiet now, in my flesh shell. So quiet. God, I love you. Can you hear me?”
{Weak voice}
“Yes . . . Master.”
“Are you all right, Muse?”
{Pause}
“Not
. . . right.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Pain . . . fire . . . pain . . .”
“Pain?
That’s not—wait! You’re smoking! No! God no! Please! You can’t—”
BOOM!
***
NEWS REPORT.
THREE DAYS LATER.
BURNED REMAINS FOUND IN THE SMOULDERING RUINS OF A LOCAL HOUSE.
THE SOLITARY HOME BELONGED TO AMOS PARKER, AN ASPIRING WRITER.
HE IS SURVIVED BY NO ONE.
Amos Parker is a starving writer, graduate of the University of Vermont, and resident of the United State of Vermont.
He knows his muse is bereft of protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. And so, he does not cannibalize her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Notes on the Editing of This Anthology
Jot Russell, creator/director of the Science Fiction Microstories Contest and executive director of this anthology; Carrol Fix, the anthology’s designer and formatter; and I, its editor, have worked to present to you this amazing mix of original stories.
We are particularly pleased to feature on our cover “Reach Out and Touch Face (detail)” by oil painter Chris Leib.
I want to express our heartfelt acknowledgments to Elizabeth Lamprey Eyles, Andrew Gurcak, Andy Lake, Richard Bunning, Walter O'Neill, Jesse Colvin, and Marianne G. Petrino-Schaad for help in the production of this book.
I have arranged the book’s tales into six major themes. Within each sequence, you will find stories in varied styles—literary, plot-driven,
character-focused, “traditional sci-fi,” and others.
Each piece was selected by its author from those s/he submitted to the monthly contests. Some stories have been slightly revised from their original form; all are under 725 words.
This contest has brought together authors from across the globe. Reflecting this, I have let differing national modes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and grammar stand. (Of course, I have aimed for consistency within each story.) So, whether you read these stories on a bus or on a coach, in the back of a truck or of a lorry, in an elevator or riding a lift, you may equally relish their flavors—or flavours.
Below are the themes, additional required parameters, and names of the winner for each month—November 2012 through October 2013—of Year One of the Science Fiction Microstories Contest.
I believe these works by 31 talented writers—ranging from some with published books and many publication credits, to others new to the writing world—will open new and amazing realms to you.
Paula Friedman
March 5, 2014
Year One of the Science Fiction Microstories Contests
November 2012.
Theme: life on Earth in a hundred years.
Requirements: an ancient artifact; a vessel or method of transportation.
Winner: “Manna” by Kalifer Deil.
December 2012.
Theme: life on Earth 10,000 years from now.
Requirements: humor; an artifact from our time that shocks the future civilization.
Winner: “ManAge Artifact” by Richard Bunning.
January 2013.
Theme: Mars rover Curiosity finds evidence that humans visited the Red Planet, before the first 1960s fly-by probes.
Embraced theme: hope.
Requirement: a mirror.
Winner: “
Did Curiosity Kill the Cat?
” by Andy Lake.
February 2013.
Theme: a relationship (or relationships) in an alien/non-Earth context.
Requirement: must involve or evoke happiness—experienced/lost/pursued/whatever: open to wide interpretations of both relationship and happiness, except: a simple “happy ever after” is not sufficient.
Winner: “
The Daughter
” by Joseph
[J.F.] Williams.
March 2013.
Theme: rescue—of a character, object, or idea—from others, certain danger, boredom, oblivion, themselves.
Requirements: the color green; ruins.
Winner: “There’s No Sun Up
in the Sky” by Sam Bellotto Jr.
April 2013.
Theme: revenge.
Requirements: an element of fire; "the" may not be the first word.
Winner: “
Time of the Phoenix
” by Carrol Fix.
May 2013.
Theme: a new invention.
Requirements: fix, cat, eyeglasses.
Winner: “Or Spins Back on the PERP” by Paula Friedman.
June 2013.
Theme: love—any form of love, between/among/for any entity/ies.
Requirements: a contradiction, piano keys.
Winner: “Finding Miss Emiline” by Sam Bellotto
Jr.
July 2013.
Theme: “ripped from today's headlines”—a topic recently in the news.
Requirements: summer, mosquito(es).
Winner: “
Summer Bites
” by Joseph
[J.F.] Williams.
August 2013.
Theme: noise.
Requirements: a tooth or teeth, a (scientific) discovery.
Winner: “Memory of Sound” by Carrol Fix.
September 2013.
Theme: humor.
Requirment: story must take place in "outer space."
Winner: “Deploying TRIsat” by Helmuth Kump.
October 2013.
Theme: deception—characters should be deceivers or the deceived, or both.
Requirement: the element of fire.
Winner: “
Sighting
” by Marianne G. Petrino.