“C’mon, Eloy,” said Bert, “I’ve got your ID right here.” “Cool, thanks!” Eloy took the id, “Hey, man, why does it say I’m 24? Shouldn’t 21 be enough?” “21 is too exact, yo! It makes ’em suspicious!” Bert spoke with his whole body, throwing his hands in the air, his curly red hair bouncing as…… Continue reading The Sympathetic Universe Part 9
Tag: science fiction
The Sympathetic Universe Part 8
When The Entity reset its universe it noticed that the comet was still arriving in the same location and preventing Ta’s tribe from being attacked. Did The Cousin change the initial conditions? The Entity checked, and they were the same. It was not going to give The Cousin the satisfaction of knowing it had outsmarted…… Continue reading The Sympathetic Universe Part 8
The Sympathetic Universe Part 6
It was strange watching her own life play out before her, but Ta experimented with her duplicate universe, playing out possibility after possibility. Don’t change anything before Da is born. The smallest tweak can prevent a pregnancy or change the children completely. You can’t save them if they don’t exist at all. Obviously, you can’t…… Continue reading The Sympathetic Universe Part 6
The Sympathetic Universe Part 5
Breaking the rules would be the easy part. Ta understood as well as everyone else that rules were only inviolable to the extent that no one was particularly motivated to violate them. The trick was keeping the break there. If the master of the universe noticed, it would certainly be reversed, and no doubt harder…… Continue reading The Sympathetic Universe Part 5
The Sympathetic Universe Part 4
Ta tipped spears. Spears killed mammoths. The tribe shared mammoth meat with Ta. Ta wove baskets. Baskets carried nuts and berries. The tribe shared nuts and berries with Ta. Ta had two children, Ko and Da. Their fathers were not around, but she didn’t need help. She had plenty of food from her basketmaking and…… Continue reading The Sympathetic Universe Part 4
Carrot
Why did I think it would work? I mean I guess the flaw in my reasoning seems obvious now, but at the time I didn’t even consider that it might not work. When I found those two little carrot seeds hidden in a discarded packet on this godforsaken junk planet, what can I tell you,…… Continue reading Carrot
The Cleaners: Epilogue
Sitting on the cold cement floor of my cell, I tried to lose myself in the exquisite lunch perched on my bed. Roast chicken, roasted on a bed of… Sweet potatoes with wine… White wine, interestingly. I would have used red wine, but I had to admit that Krystal Feeder’s choice may have resulted in…… Continue reading The Cleaners: Epilogue
The Cleaners Part 37: Disruptive Technology
For the third day in a row I was glued to my computer, trying in vain to figure out if I had saved everyone or doomed them. “This apparently unassuming old woman, former Internet celebrity ‘Angry Grandma’ is the brains behind the fall of democracy and free enterprise and the rise of totalitarian techno-communism. Some…… Continue reading The Cleaners Part 37: Disruptive Technology
The Cleaners Part 36: Placing an Order
I jolted up in my bed, but stopped at the scraping stabbing pain in my hip. “Diane!” Shouted a Caretaker beside me, “please be careful! You have a lot of healing to do. You’re lucky you don’t need surgery!” This was not my bed. I grimaced and eased myself back down. Then I took in…… Continue reading The Cleaners Part 36: Placing an Order
The Cleaners Part 35: The Dream
The light was so bright. I raised a hand to my eyes, but I still couldn’t stand to open them for all the blinding brilliance. “Diane” said my husband, taking my hand in his, “It’s all right.” I tried opening my eyes again. It didn’t hurt anymore, but there wasn’t much more to see. White…… Continue reading The Cleaners Part 35: The Dream
Samuel Munk 