Microstory 2175: Belly in the Saucer

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A few weeks ago, I had a bird problem. House sparrows were nesting above my balcony, and a few of the baby birds almost died, so I first had to save them so they could grow up and fledge away. Once they were gone, I sealed up the gap underneath the next ceiling to prevent them from nesting there again. Today, an adolescent sparrow perched on the railing of my balcony. It sat there for a pretty long time, jerking its little neck around, looking for either food or danger. There’s no way to know this, but I felt like it was one of the nestlings that I stuck back up with their brothers and sisters, come home to see the old place. I know that birds can’t feel nostalgic. At least, I think I know that, I don’t know for sure. Do they? In all likelihood, it was a completely unrelated bird who just wanted to be there in that moment. But perhaps not. Perhaps it could remember my scent (even though I wore gloves) and knew that I was not a threat to it. I opened the door to see how close I could get, pretty confident that just the sound of the latch would be enough to scare it off, but I was wrong. It stuck around, and just watched me. I shut the door, once again sure that it would be too startled by the noise, but when I turned back around, it was still there. It might have hopped over a few centimeters, but other than that, it was totally chill. I sat down at my little table, and took out my phone to catch up on the headlines. That’s pretty much all I do, just skim the news stories without reading any of the stories in depth. If it’s a good headline, it tells you all you need to know, and if it’s not, the full story probably isn’t worth reading anyway. If it’s a topic that I’m particularly interested in, then I will tap on it, though. The bird, meanwhile, stayed there. At one point, I reached behind myself to the corner where I keep one of my plants, and removed the drip saucer from underneath. It was totally dry, which probably means that I should water the plant, even though it looked fine. I set the saucer on the table, and scooted it away from me, closer to the bird. I don’t know what it’s like to be a bird, but their legs and feet are so tiny. I would think that they would get tired of standing on them, and even more tired of perching. I thought maybe it could rest on its belly in the saucer. It was a stupid idea. It didn’t understand that that’s what I intended, so it didn’t get in, but that would have made for a cooler story, wouldn’t it have? There’s really no point to anything I’m saying. I thought that it was just a nice little innocuous anecdote to tell you while I’m on my mini-vacation. If you didn’t like it, maybe my next post will be more interesting. Oh, and speaking of which, I now have a million subscribers to my blog, so there’s that too. Okay, talk later!

Microstory 599: How PROSAIC Took Over the World

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What began as a vampire uprising years ago transformed into something more sinister than anything anyone not involved could have predicted. I write these words knowing that my life is forfeit, but if I can open even two people’s eyes to the truth, than I believe it to be worth it. Besides, I am one of the last remaining people who were alive when the vampire plague hit, so I know what was like before that. And I know that we can find that world once more, but we’ll have to to do it together. Rather, you’ll have to do it. Even if they don’t catch me, I’m old, and won’t be around much longer. First, you’ll need a quick history lesson.

When the first vampire plague hit the shores of a remote island chain, the small group of heroes who quashed it thought that it would be over. What they didn’t realize was that this was merely a test run, and that the instigators of this horror would later tweak their formula using unexpected data from this test, and deploy another wave. The second wave was global, but it spread so gradually that people didn’t think much of it. Sure, it affected nearly the entire vampire population, but the symptoms were minor, and the effects not lasting. A few isolated vampires discovered that following the recovery from this pathogen, they were afforded new abilities. Upon drinking the blood on amber, a vampire could enjoy heightened strength, increased speed, and a deeper resilience to the light and heat. Of course, for most vampires, this was a nice gift, but it wouldn’t make them any more dangerous to the world than they already were. Afterall, if they wanted to hurt someone that bad, they could just use a machine gun. The stringe vampires, however—those with a history of criminal recidivism—saw this as an opportunity, and some began making plans to exploit their new advantages. But still, their uprising was not as violent as it could have been. The stringes wanted to take control of the world’s resources, but they didn’t want to hurt anyone. What they didn’t plan on was a completely unrelated group of people deciding to carry out their own political exploits.

Following the usurpation of many of the world’s leaders by vampire criminals, a secret organization made itself known to the world, and took this power for themselves. They were known as PROSAIC, and up until this point, their existence was only rumored within the confines of conspiracy message boards, and basement units of intelligence agencies. As it turned out, the PROspective Social Adjudication Invocation Contingency was very real, and—as I might point out, since I’m not long for this world—a ridiculously named group more concerned with acronyms than reality. PROSAIC was formed at an unknown period in history, long before the vampire plague ever began, with one purpose: to infiltrate governments, and establish secretly amadesin high members in positions of leadership. They succeeded in this endeavor, but could not have done it without the help of one man. One crazy old man.

Ronald Grump (real name) “served” as the oldest president of Usonia in history. Documents would later reveal that he suffered from severe age-related neurological complications which resulted in a number of poor policy decisions. He won the office due to a division in the country. There were those who wanted to progress and bring the world together, but there was also a group of isolationists who wanted to close the nation’s borders. These were thought to be the bigoted fringes of society, but what Grump’s opponents did not understand, was that about half the country felt this way, if only to a small degree. Ronald Grump wasn’t as odious as his constituents...but he knew he could prey on their stupidity to gain their votes. What the world did not know at the time was that Grump had formed a secret agreement with the amadesin faction that would later take over the world. Though he was not technically one of them—his faith being relegated to the pure accumulation of wealth—he helped them. He allowed them to make decisions for him while he spent most of his time playing golf on the southeastern coast of the country. He set a number of bad precedents, corrupting the office of the presidency by ignoring diplomatic measures. In the end, he was the worst president in history, and would have been even if he hadn’t gotten into bed with the amadesins. To understand what happens next, you’ll have to read Part II of this three-part series, which will be posting next week...if I’m still alive, and my servers remain intact for lon

Microstory 598: Group of Ambers Provide Aid Following Disaster; Form Paramilitary ‘Brigade’

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In the days following the unexpected onslaught of Hurricane 905-11 on the coast of Carolina, a record number of volunteers traveled from all over the country—and even internationally—to provide aid to those in need. Hundreds of people were killed, thousands of people were injured, and millions of people suffered damage to their homes in the most damaging tropical cyclone in recent historical memory. The people who gave up their time and money to help perfect strangers who lived hours away from them are, without question, heroes. Experts believe the high number of volunteer aidsman can be attributed to the invention, and proliferation, of the home radio receiver, but this does not take away their bravery. It has shown the world that humans are probably inherently good, and that those who can help, likely will. But a special group of these people did more by taking this horrendous event, and turning it into something good. The Usonan government and its military were unable to engage in their rescue efforts in a timely manner. We are still so technologically inadvanced that organizing and mobilizing an entire national guard in times of crises is difficult, at best. Fortunately, there were those in the area who could fill in for official rescuers until they could arrive.

Roloff Hopson formed The Amber Brigade two years ago in order to create an amber community in northeastern Georgia. Though ambers have generally felt no hostility from the standard human population, many appreciate having a place they can go, knowing that everyone around them has at least this much in common. The name was meant to be more a joke, with plans to rename it based on suggestions from its then-current members, but this never happened, and they all just agreed to keep it. As it turns out, they couldn’t have picked anything better. Up until now, the Brigade has met two or three times a week at an abandoned theatre that Hopson’s late aunt had bequested to him upon his death. Hopson and his new friends, which numbered a few hundred now, were at one of these meetings when news of Hurricane Eleven broke out. A few of them immediately wanted to spring into action, and do whatever they could for the victims. These few possessed abilities that gave them each an advantage against water, wind, or debris...but they were not the only ones who wanted to take action. Soon, a dozen more followed, then another dozen, and then more...until only children and single parents remained. Nearly all of them caravanned to the most dangerous areas affected by the storm, and began rescuing people. Totals for their rescues have not yet been calculated, but it’s estimated that they saved the lives of at least as many people as they had in their own group.

For the rest of the month, the Amber Brigade continued to support the survivors of Hurricane Eleven, working in shelters, transporting people to families in other regions, and searching for anyone who may be trapped or stranded. Meanwhile, Hopson and the rest of the organization’s leadership began talks for transforming the Brigade into an actual paramilitary agency. Details have not yet been finalized, and they still have a long way to go in order to comply with all national laws, but we already know a few things. This new Amber Brigade will allow membership from anyone; including regular humans, vampirs, and werewolves. Though still to be based in Augusta, it will include chapters in multiple major cities, and be expanded on an as-needed basis. The ultimate goal of the Brigade is to create as many chapters as possible, spread out across as much of the country as possible. While the military branches of the government cannot possibly be stationed in all places, the Brigade will supplement their forces with volunteers. It will also require far less of a commitment than that of an aidsman, and be focused primarily on relief and service, rather than military strategies. In fact, Brigade leadership is currently working with government representatives in order to determine whether any military training should be added in the at all. An official announcement will be held over the radio today from the capital. New information, including the steps necessary to join, is expected to be provided at this time.

Microstory 597: Last Giant Dies

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The shortest-living intelligent species in the world was the giant, and the ultimate consequence of this fact was realized yesterday when the last giant died following a life of heart disease, along with other health complications. Wizards first drew up the plans for giant humans centuries ago, though never actually created them, likely due to the problems they eventually endured. Unfortunately, the fairies ended up getting their hands on this information, and had no problems acting on it. The average human is about 7.5 sheam in height, with the upper limit sitting right around 10 sheam. Species that are related to humans, like elves and veratope, tend to fall within the same range. Meanwhile, werewolves and dwarves are generally shorter. Giants, on the other hand, average twice the size of the standard human, towering over the ground at 20 sheam. Prehistoric avians, of course, could get much larger than that, but they evolved with certain biological characteristics that prevented them from experiencing the same issues as giants did. The first thing to understand is that scaling up a creature does not require a linear formula. Though giants were twice the size of us, they were eight times our mass, which meant that they weighed upwards of two shemratra, which is equal to 2,080 sheamtra. This made them the heaviest beings living on land at the time. Cetaceans only survive as heavy as they are by benefiting from weightlessness perception in the ocean. This is what causes beached whales to die; their organs can’t withstand the weight of each other. Land animals do not possess this advantage, which means that giants were literally unable to move.

Giants were discovered in the Bogs of Linctavia decades ago, having apparently been left there by the fairies, which are notorious for abandoning their experiments and creations. The water and mud of the bog allowed some movement, but not an adequate amount. The giants had somehow managed to develop some kind of symbiotic relationship with the marble fintys in the area. Marble fintys are known for their evolutionary quirk wherein they never learned what their bodies were capable of consuming, which means they eat just about everything, and regurgitate anything that their digestive system can’t handle. These strange birds figured out that they could do this near the giants, and that not only would the giants not harm them, but other predators would avoid the area for fear of them. Sadly, not even this was enough to keep giants alive as their numbers experienced diminishing returns over a few short generations. The last giant was named Kirabo Endison, and his last words were, “take care of my [pet marble finty] Faven.” He was seven years old, and is survived by all of us.

Microstory 596: Claims of New Anomaly Revealed Erroneous

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It has been decades since someone with a special anomaly ability has been born. The majority of anomalies belonged to the first generation, with very few of them bearing children with abilities of their own. Even fewer of those gave us third generation anomalies, and a fourth generation anomaly is completely unheard of. Scientists and believers hoped this was changing following reports of a man displaying superhuman qualities that was spotted around Los Angeles, Usonia. Though some anomalies remain today, including those in the first generation whose abilities grant them extended life spans, all are considered inactive. The primary organization responsible for anomalies, Bellevue was designed to study anomaly abilities so that they could better the world through technology. For the most part, this has happened, and any individual possessing such power isn’t really needed anymore. They’re generally left to live their lives as they choose. But there are those who believe the bloodlines remain strong, that there are more out there, and that they have simply chosen to return to a status of anonymity. This theory was tested this week when Bellevue agents were dispatched to L.A. in order to investigate the rumors.

The man in question has been seen all over the city, and its surrounding suburbs, as a vigilante against petty crime. Global crime rates have dropped dramatically since the first anomalies stepped into the light last century, with the help of equalizing technological, medical, and political improvements. Still, some highly concentrated metropolises continue to experience an unsettling amount of violent crime. Cities like Hudon, Tokyo, Paris, and the aforementioned Los Angeles seemed to rely heavily on the interventions of high profile Bellevue operatives like Pantera, and Garner. Like our new subject, Garner possessed no abilities of her own, instead using ancient alien technology to battle criminals and terrorists wherever she could find them. A man whose true name has yet to be released by the authorities, but who calls himself Capacitor, has recently been taken into police custody for vigilantism. Witnesses first believed him to be a new Bellevue operative, or at least a new anomaly, since he exhibits similar traits. Seemingly out of his own body, he can propel bolts of electricity to stun his targets. He can also absorb them into what appears to be artificial simplex dimension, before depositing them at the nearest law enforcement building. He carried with him no obvious equipment that would allow him to do such things, but once Bellevue apprehended him, they were able to learn some things. He was evidently a gifted engineer, but also a lucky one, having uncovered evidence of ancient technology not dissimilar to the kind once protected by Garner and historically, her family. He adapted these plans and instructions into his own designs, miniaturizing and flattening the components so they could fit within the confines of regular clothes. Though without a current public identity beyond his codename, Capacitor has been allowed to release a personal statement. “I meant no harm to my beloved nation’s justice system. I saw a need, a void, an opportunity...and I took it. I do not regret my desire to help, but I do wish I had handled it better. I should have contacted Bellevue before jumping into this with so few resources. I’m just glad they stopped me before I hurt myself, or did something irreparable.” It is not known at this time if the city, or the national government, intends to press charges against Capacitor, or what his destiny is as a whole. Perhaps they will allow him to resume his activities, but this time under supervision. The city of Los Angeles declined to comment. Bellevue declined to comment. At the time of this publishing, the Usonian government has not responded to requests for comment. At the time of this publishing, the Confederacy expressed a reiteration of their policy against commenting on the business of lower governments, and external agencies.

Microstory 595: Atlantis Will Sink

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When our people first came to this world, it was by accident. Our ancestors found themselves trapped in a scary new universe, with primitive technology, and superstitious inhabitants. We wanted to live in peace with them, but this was not possible. We would have to reveal our scientific understanding to them at a time when we felt it would not be appropriate. Or we would have to live like them. Of course, since then, Priority Two has altered our perception of best practices around the rest of the universe, but for this world, the rule remains. We must not come out to the natives, or we will face consequences from several authorities. Long after the first accidental trip, we came upon a large island in the ocean. At the time, the natives were barely venturing out to the sea, so we knew we would be safe so far from the mainland. Over time, more of our people came through the tear in spacetime, sometimes accidentally, but not always. We monitored these crossings, tracked their movements, and read them into the situation. Since then, our established culture has grown on this island, which has been named Atlantis. Unfortunately, the rest of the world has advanced to the point that we are no longer a secret. Already rumors are spreading across two continents, telling of the City of Atlantis, with its powerful magic, and its dangerous army. We know that we remain here in peace, but we’ve found it next to impossible to convince the natives of this. So a choice was made, and soon, it will be realized.

After long deliberations, and input from all current residents, our leaders have decided to hide Atlantis from the rest of the world. This will be the largest project Atlantians have ever attempted, and it will not be easy. A number of plans have been proposed, all of them with their faults. Some want to drop Atlantis into a simplex dimension, but the power requirements would render life inside difficult. We would need to take drastic precautions to protect ourselves from plex radiation. To avoid this, there are those who say we should phase ourselves out of perception, but this is a class of technology we do not possess, and we do not feel it to be in our best interests to ask for it from our allies. Some say we should build a dome that covers the entire island, and then sink it into the ocean, but the construction alone would be noticed by outsiders. This we cannot risk, but the suggestion did give us an idea of what we could do. The new plan incorporates the best aspects of all other ideas, but removes most of the dangers. Make no mistake, this will be dangerous as well, but experts believe it to be the safest choice imaginable. We are going to sink the island, but instead of building a dome, we are going to keep the waters at bay using a series of redundant telekinetic fields. Scientists have begun work designing TK field generators to be placed all along the border, and later on our tallest buildings. To make up for the gaps, and before the buildings can be raised, witches will use their learned telekinetic gifts. The best witches can secure telekinetic fields with little effort, and walk away. Others will have to operate in shifts. They will take turns maintaining the protective barrier until something more permanent can be installed. Scientists are still working on the details of this mission, with no intention to reach our goal for at least another half year. Within one week, our progress will be released to the public. We are asking for help from anyone and everyone. Even if you do not have the educational background to understand the plan from an engineering standpoint, we urge you to speak up with any thoughts. We welcome all perspectives, for if we do not get this right, only the vampires will survive. Instructions will be sent out by email in time.

Microstory 594: Miscalculation of Largest Particle Accelerator in the World

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The Adnington Joint Global Accelerator was designed to be the largest in the world. Sixteen nations came together to draw up these plans, with five more agreeing to sell, donate, or lease the land necessary for the completion of the project. The Adnington Institute also needed Confederacy approval to operate across the ocean bed in international waters. The AJGA, affectionately nicknamed Aggie, was hoped to be not only the largest particle accelerator in history, but also the largest manmade structure in the universe. At a length of just over 145 shemko, Aggie would circle the entire globe. Due to geographic constraints, it is not possible to build her at the planet’s equator, but it will still be a milestone ingenuity, and a testament to the human spirit. Noted slipstream fiction author, Jeloni Jax first proposed the concept in her mid-16th century novel series The Chronicles of Pastel, though only in the third book. The series relates the fictional future development of the human race, symbolized by the ever-increasing size of our particle accelerators, the largest of which circles the whole galaxy. The series is notable for its fairly accurate prediction of technological advances, and has been used by scientists as roadmap to that end. Unfortunately, it’s possible that this particular dream of hers may never be realized, as least not by Aggie.

The accelerator was not started in one place with plans to move ever Eastwards. Instead, each participating nation began construction simultaneously, with the intention of eventually connecting the multitude of sections. Engineers spent years prior to this construction surveying the land, and designing the structure. Ever minute detail matters. Even a slight perturbation in the construction could result in a complete failure of the experiment. This type of ring must be a perfect circle if it is going to be able to accomplish what Adnington proposes. At the moment, it’s estimated that about 31% of the construction is finished, with sections from two nations having already joined together. However, a surveyor has recently discovered there to be a literal disconnect between two other locations. Still thousands of nayko from each other, it’s already been discovered that the Usonian and Moroccan sections will not match up perfectly when they meet in the middle of the ocean. Both teams are off in their calculations, resulting in each one already heading in conflicting directions. A few suggestions have been made by the scientific community, one being that both countries could remove the offending sections and start again. The problem with this is that Usonia would have to rebuild over one hundred nayko, while Morocco would be responsible for about four nayko. Neither country is sure at the time whether this will be a financially feasible option. The Adnington Institute has begun an audit of the process, and will make a determination as to the fate of the project in a month. For now, nine of the other countries have put their construction on hold, while the remaining five have continued under the assumption that these issues will be resolved. Some say that this venture is too soon, citing Jax’s estimation of an accelerator this large not being built until around 1915. The future of particle acceleration may be uncertain, but lead researcher at the current largest accelerator, Megarelativstic Ion Collider (Mick) in Greenland put in his two cents. “We’re happy to keep the lights on, so to speak, until the globotron is completed, in whatever form that takes.”

Microstory 593: Prophet Warner Clemons’ Death Ruled Murder

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This world has seen a great many Prophets over the years. They arise outside of any pattern, and they cannot be predicted. Anyone can be born a Prophet; be it a king, or a beggar, or salesman. They come with a wide variety of skills and educational background. Some are teachers, some are poets, some are musicians, some are journalists. The one thing that binds them together is their drive to spread their spiritual message to everyone willing to listen. Prophets hold the world together, providing its peoples with unconventional perspectives when they’re needed most. One of our more recent Prophets, Warner Clemons decided to take his message as high as he could by pursuing a life of politics. He started out small, as most politicians do, running for class president every year of grade school. He didn’t always win, but he always learned something new, and this was when he began to form lifelong friendships with people who believed in his words. He started out officially in local government, making sure his neighborhood’s voice was heard, and soon started to make waves on larger scales. The Council of Prophetic Scrutiny officially certified Clemons as a High Prophet amidst his first senatorial campaign, fittingly on his thirtieth birthday. This pushed him over the edge in the polls, with some detractors claiming this tactic to be unfair to his opponents. In true Prophet Clemons form, he ended up absorbing all of these opponents into his advisory board, ensuring that they retained their own voices in the government. Prophet Clemons went on to become Ambassador to the Confederacy seven years ago, but did not hold the position long, for he was soon chosen to be the organization’s Chief Mediator. He used his words to spread peace and understanding between the most unstable of enemies. His works have not been met with total support, which is to be expected. Factions of Amadesins opposed his position on world government, leading the Chief Mediator to carry with him a higher number of personal bodyguards than usual. Unfortunately, one of his own men has turned out to be the perpetrator of his murder.

Brandis Cunningham started his short life as a common criminal, robbing convenience stores with his uncles and older siblings. Over the years, his crimes became more violent, ultimately resulting in a charge of attempted murder when he was only seventeen years old. The justice system gave him a choice: go to prison, or join the Usonian military, and learn how to channel his rage productively. Interviews would later reveal him to have become a model soldier, instinctively protecting the weakest in his group. He even took the fall for misbehavior that had actually been carried out by others. But not even this was enough to keep Cunningham from going back to his old ways. He was dishonorably discharged following an altercation with a superior officer that left them both in the intensive care unit. It would have seemed that his career was over, but Prophet Clemons saw something in him. He used different tactics, and channeled Cunningham’s skills once more. He focused less on the rule-following, and more on the protector instinct, quickly fostering his aptitude for private security. It wasn’t long before Cunningham became the Prophet’s primary guard, protecting him at literally all times. They not only lived together, but slept in adjoining rooms. There were even unverified rumors that Cunningham, Clemons, and Clemons’ wife were in a polyamorous relationship with each other. Investigators do not wish to speculate, nor does this publication, as to the motives for Prophet Clemons’ murder. It has only been confirmed that Cunningham was the culprit. Shortly after inflicting fatal wounds against Clemons in front of his wife in the Chief Mediator’s office, Cunningham attempted to escape. He was met with his former comrades in arms, who apprehended him, and tried to take him into custody alive. He continued to fight, however, eventually the point of being gunned down by an unconfirmed member of his own security team. The police will be releasing further details at the appropriate time.

Microstory 592: Surviving AMF Platoon Primarily Incipiants

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News brief: following the attack on our galactic military force, a small group of soldiers were left standing amongst the rubble. Only they remained of the Astral Military Force’s once great numbers. Several organizations are attempting to run independent investigations in the matter, but this small contingency has pushed them back every time. We still do not know what happened to the vast majority of AMF soldiers, but we do know that even those on other planets were affected. This led some to question how it is that anyone survived, but there is a logical explanation. The survivors are primarily, and possibly exclusively, incipiants. These are the newest recruits, having been just recently introduced the day of the initial attack. They have not even been there long enough to receive their standard-issue medical implants. This is what sets them apart from the others, and explains why they alone survived. Their authority over the galaxy is questionable at best, but for now, they maintain power of all interstellar transportation. More details to follow.

Microstory 591: Visitors Have Yet to Leave Ship

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Hundreds of years ago, our ancestors found a way to travel from their homeworld to this one. They didn’t necessarily have to. Sure, there was some water here, but not as much as there was on the eighth planet in the solar system, Aziïr...or on two of the moons of gas giant, Polavia. At the time, Keres was uninhabitable, but it had a lot of potential, and so they set about a journey to transform themselves into an interplanetary civilization. Over time, they were able to actually become an interstellar culture, but Keresites have generally remained here. The Great Flood brought this planet the greatest exodus humans have ever seen. We’re descended from those refugees. Since then, we have made this world beautiful. Gardens spread all across the surface, with new life being created by the Azi water. This is now our home. No one living today has ever been alive at the same time as anyone who was alive during The Great Exodus. Now there appears to be some kind of new possible exodus that we can’t explain. A massive black ship, large enough to blot out the sun, has arrived in our atmosphere. After coming out of the green simplex dimension, it has done absolutely nothing. We have attempted to communicate with it, and even tried to access the vessel, but have found no success. We don’t know if they are humans from an exoplanet, or aliens from another galaxy, or even our own descendants from the future. The fact is that we know nothing about them, and this has caused a stir amongst our populace. Already the government urges civilians to remain indoors. Every city has deployed an emergency fleet of armored vehicle drivers to deliver rations to every household. Please note that each and every household will be serviced by this network. Do not leave your residence without true necessity. Anyone with educational backgrounds in engineering, electronics, plex mechanics, physics, rocket surgery, anthropology, xenopology, linguistics, or related field is being asked to contact their local representative for the possibility of assisting with our exploration into this development. We still don’t understand what we’re dealing with here, but if Keresites work together, there’s nothing we can’t get through.

Microstory 590: Operator Halts All Ploutonic Enterprises Operations

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Our new overlord, proclaimed by some to be the incarnation of God, has decided to cease all operations at Ploutonic Enterprises. Ploutonic began in the early-to-mid 20th century with one goal: to give the people what they wanted. Their slogan was the same yesterday as it was when it first began, “Always there, hands open.” What exactly does this mean? Well, as time marches on, society and its peoples develop different priorities. At times of war, Ploutonic manufactured uniforms, munitions, battle transport, etc. At times of great peace, such as following the Stockton Nuclear Disarmament, Ploutonic designed innovative toys. Their original toy factory remains standing today, and has occasionally been used as a Bellevue outpost. They have had their hands in a number of wildly different industries, sometimes overlapping each other, but often after shuttering one division in favor of the next. Their unorthodox strategy has led to great profits, but have recently seen a decline in success. A quote from business analyst Riva Holsten, originally posted on her newsblog, is below.

[Ploutonic] always positioned themselves to take advantage of relevant opportunities. No one could accuse them of not understanding the future, that’s for sure. They’re always one step ahead of the trends, leading some to believe its founder to possess anomaly abilities to actually see the future. This would certainly explain their deep connection to Bellevue. But all the future studying in the world can’t help you if people begin protesting your brand. The fact is that Ploutonic has had to lay off more of its workforce than most companies of its calibre, and it’s done so in order to make room for these new opportunities, not because it had to. And their aggressively passionate stance in support of disloyalty finally caught up to them near the end of the millennium. Few employees were sticking around past a year, and even fewer people were applying for the vacancies. The enthusiasm just wasn’t there anymore. What always baffled me was how baffled they were about this turn of fortune. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. I surmise that the only thing that kept it afloat was the number of people who were able to stay on board based on their qualifications, regardless of what direction the company went in. Accountants and marketers, for instance, can account and market for any industry. Unfortunately, many jobs aren’t like that, and this made people angry. If the organization didn’t close artificially anyway, I would have estimated their longevity at three years.

Godlike anomaly Operator—who possesses the ability to manipulate the physical movements of anyone and everyone on the planet simultaneously—has finally decided that enough is enough. Ploutonic Enterprises, and all of its divisions, have been completely shut down, effective immediately. Most people still working there have been transitioned into Operator’s universal basic income program, which draws its fund from the no longer necessary defense budget. Most recent president and CEO of Ploutonic declined to comment in detail regarding the new development, saying simply, “I didn’t want it to end at all, but I definitely didn’t want it to end this way. Operator was able to make my fingers type the email blast that laid off my entire workforce at once, but she couldn’t stop me from crying while I was doing it.” Early reports suggest that Operator will convert Ploutonic Enterprise’s headquarters into a reformed education academy.

Microstory 589: Extinct Human Civilization Discovered on Exoplanet

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For thousands of years, our people believed humans to be the only species in the universe. But as we were progressing towards enlightenment through astronomy and computer science, we started questioning this belief. Scientists of the day thought it unlikely that, out of the trillions and trillions of stars in the observable universe alone, we would be, well...alone. Not too long later, we developed the ability to travel beyond our lonely star system, and visit other planets. On one such of these trips, we encountered a race of aliens. But they were not what we expected. We assumed they would have more than two arms and two legs, be able to fly, or breathe underwater. Some of them actually can do these things, but then again, so can we, but that’s just because of science. Strangely, these aliens were human, having evolved on a planet of their own...at about the same time we did on ours. The only reason we were even likely to meet each other that early in our technological history was that their galaxy collided with ours not too long after the humble beginnings of our respective evolutions. They were supposed to be living in a separate galaxy, but it has been scientifically determined that we now belong to the same one. This angered a number of loyalists who did not appreciate sharing a home with outsiders, and so the scientific community came up with a compromise, referring to this single entity as the Justean-Nectean Bigalaxy (for reference, the Necteans call it the Nectean-Justean Bigalaxy).

We didn’t at first understand why humans would evolve so far from us. Simple genetic investigation taught us, however, that we were actually separate subspecies; genetically incompatible with each other, but there is still no denying that we are all in all the same. We would later learn that humans, and their variants, are the most common species in the universe, with very few capable of being excluded from this general categorization. We now know that Justean humans evolved naturally, however, while others are ultimately descended from genetic engineering. So okay, these were all extremely important discoveries, but also rather logical. In simple terms, Justean humans were meant to exist, and others had to be created. Certain terrorist organizations use this as an excuse to provoke war amongst our brethren, but the popular opinion is that we should just leave each other alone. A recent discovery has turned our notions of humanity on its head once more, however, and it threatens our status as the so-called legitimates. Explorers have uncovered evidence of an ancient civilization on a planet that would have been originally counted in Justean territory. Further research has shown that they were genetically identical to us, and evolved completely naturally. There is also no evidence that they are the result of some long since forgotten interstellar migration. After months of investigation, experts have concluded that these Justean humans evolved on their planet simultaneously as we did. The explorers have not yet revealed what happened to them, but their existence has opened a plethora of new questions about why we even exist. How many other legitimate civilizations were once out there, and more importantly, do any of them remain today?

Microstory 588: Outsiders Selected to Crew Theseus

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If there’s one thing this star system likes it’s trying to new things, thinking outside the box, and giving people a chance. I guess that’s three things, which makes sense if you know anything about our culture. In The Core, there are no half measures. We either go big, or we go home to work on something even bigger. We built for ourselves new bodies, modeled upon the old ones, but far superior physiologically. We designed an entire artificial solar system so that we could all live within spitting distance of each other. We fly around in ships despite our ability to teleport to anywhere in the observable universe near instantaneously. And it is one of these ships that’s going to undergo a change in dynamic. The Theseus is a ship that can never be retired. It is one of the oldest in our collective history, having been repaired too many times to count. When the Virgats first learned how to lift off from their lonely rock, and into orbit, they did so with single-use rockets, as most planetary cultures do. Once their technology had progressed enough, they built for themselves a vessel worthy of being referred to as a ship. This would not only take them to the planets beyond their moon, but could also be reused as many times as necessary. An entire field was created to maintain this one ship, and eventually others like it, called rocket surgery. In order to make another trip outside of the atmosphere, the Theseus would need to undergo heavy maintenance. As time went on, and technology greatly surpassed Theseus-class ships, the Virgats decided that they did not want their first to be left behind. And so the repair procedures were enhanced to a degree most would not find worth it. It was far more practical to simply decommission it, and move on to something better. Nevertheless, they persisted. That was many thousands of years ago, and the Theseus remains today, having been bequested to the Core once it was formed.

Also thousands of years ago, a small group of our ancestors were unwillingly shot through time, landing in present-day Earth. They struggled with their new lives, solving mysteries, battling ancient evil religions, and trying to get their physics homework done on time. They have recently made their way to us, seeking asylum from their pursuers. Of course we obliged their request, but we have decided to give them something else. They have been chosen to lead the crew of the new Theseus. It has recently experience a major retrofit, with all the bells and whistles that our other ships carry today. In fact, it is likely the most advanced and powerful vessel that we have in our ranks at the moment. These outsiders will not be doing this alone, so do not worry for their safety. They will be led by Prosper human Captain Eldon Cross, Navigator Erasteus Milke, Weapons Officer Monrovia Milena Varinia Labriola De La Prada, and Ambassador Keillor Hallenby. As the flagship of the Core, it will not have a mission for itself. Instead, it will remain available to all other travelers and offworld outposts in the case that they run into some kind of trouble. Sporting the largest artificial simplex dimensional elaborator, it will be potentially capable of housing thousands upon thousands of passengers, should the need arise. No one knows if this unorthodox plan will work out for us, but most involve have confidence. Afterall, we have been through so much—as disparate societies, and also following The Melting Pot Migration. The only thing that has gotten us through it is our ingenuity, our quick wit, and our ability to erroneously list three things when necessary.

Microstory 587: ‘Adventures of Conundrum & Treemaker’ Cancelled

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Out of all members of Bellevue, including people with abilities, and those without, perhaps the least likely to be the inspiration for a broadcast series would be Bree Nolan and Connor Higgins. Yet that is exactly what happened more than six years ago. Nolan and Higgins grew up next door to each other, and were the best of friends. They were so inseparable that neither of them knew that either of them had special anomaly abilities. As it turns out, Higgins has the ability to negate other anomalies’ abilities, which means that Nolan’s never actually manifested, because she was just about always standing too close to her friend. Higgins’ ability was an invaluable resource to Bellevue, as it led to many breakthroughs on anomaly genetics, and allowed them to keep a handle on some of the most dangerous anomalies. Unfortunately, Higgins carried with him a level of danger as well. He cannot control the use of his powers. They are always on, always working. As painful as it might have been to some of his more sensitive brethren, it just wasn’t practical to let him stick around. So it was decided that he could, for the most part, better serve the organization as a field recruiter. He would travel the world, finding the best talent for this budding world law enforcement bureau, while maintaining a healthy distance from anyone he might incidentally put in danger. To no surprise for anyone who knew either or both of them, Bree Nolan stuck by her best friend, and signed on for his recruiter team; this despite the fact that her own ability to perceive genetic and hereditary characteristics of others would be in indefinitely hampered.

Bree’s loyalty to her partner spoke to Sterling Serials Network Executive Edelmira Baník, who would later commission the pilot for a new series based on Higgins and Nolan’s lives together. The first season showed the two of them as recruiters, encountering interesting characters, and solving minor crises. This all happened with a background of side characters like Clarity Garner, and Pantera as they battled against foes like the protégé of terrorist The Destruction, or global criminal networks. Adventures of Conundrum & Treemaker took some historical liberties with the second season when Nolan and Higgins began to develop abilities not present in their real life counterparts. The third season deviated even further when the partners—now in a purely fictional romantic relationship—found themselves in an alternate version of the world. This allowed the writers to regurgitate previously defeated enemies while simultaneously alienating many superfans. The fourth and fifth seasons attempted to return to the roots of the show’s source material, but many viewers felt that it was too little too late, and ratings have proven these tactics to be barely enough to keep the series afloat. Largely supported by a small host of advertisers loyal to the Sterling brand overall, a sixth season was greenlit on the 24th of Gaby. Months later, Sterling announced that this season would be its last, and that all remaining episodes would be released to the public, but on a heightened broadcast schedule. Series creator and showrunner Avisen Chen said this of the announcement on her personal weblog, “I was asked to take the reigns on this project after [Ernesto Vargas] left to pursue a rap career. I never thought it would get off the ground, hongestly [sic], but my team and I have been pleasantly surprised year after year. We were even considering a spinoff series involving fan favorite Thumbnail Jones. It looks like that’s not going to happen, but we are hopeful that this will not be the end of the Treemaker and Conundrum franchise. We are already in discussions with the network about a possible film to round out the story and tie up a few loose ends. Six seasons and a movie. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” The series finale is slated to air in seven weeks, at which point it will be replaced by a recently approved series about the founding of the island nation of Federama.

Microstory 586: ‘My Miacid, Sid’ Author Returning to Kansas City

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Twenty-four years ago, a book appeared on the shelves that touched the hearts of many young children, and also their parents. I can’t tell you how many mothers and fathers I’ve met who’ve told me about how their sons and daughters require them to read that book every night before bed. I am, of course, talking about My Miacid, Sid. Before this children’s book was released, there were many others that involved pet care. They were designed to teach our young ones what pets need, and how they become part of the family. They deliver, not so subtly, an analogy for eventually becoming an adult, and a responsible member of society. This is all well and good, but they were missing a key component. Death. Death is one of the two things that unite us all; the other being life. We all come from different walks of life. We’re born at different times, to different guardians, under different circumstances, to different neural wiring, and with contradictory perspectives. But what we all have in common is that we’re alive, and that we know we will one day die. My Miacid, Sid is a surprisingly powerful and moving chronicle of a young girl’s experiences with her pet miacid. Sid grows up with Railly. Together they learn to be gracious, loving, and careful. They learn to not knock people down, and to give others a reason to trust them. And then, as would happen, Sid dies at a time when Railly is just really starting her life. She mourns her lost friend, and honors him throughout the rest of her own days by acknowledging the value of life. She goes on to become a hospice nurse, comforting people when they’re at their worst, and in their final days. We then flashforward more to watch her at her own death, surrounded by all of her loved ones. And as she passes to the other side, the first thing she sees is Sid, smiling and welcoming her to a new beginning. It’s a particularly long children’s book, one that the author has said she worried might deter people from giving it a chance. But we have, and I personally believe that the world is better for it. Carina Cole has not written anything since this book. She has spent her career travelling the world, giving readings and moderating discussions. She does not relegate her trips to primary schools, and in fact receives a great deal of requests from tertiary schools, and even colleges. She will be returning to Kansas City, her hometown for the fifty-sixth time for one such of these events at James Simian Academy on the ninth of Manny this year.

Microstory 585: Aerial Broadcasting Terminals Unsafe, Scientists Say

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When the first land vehicle was invented circa 1694, its hopeful manufacturers faced a problem that continues today for other advances. Why would you buy a car when there’s nowhere to replenish its fuel? Why would you build a refilling station when there aren’t any cars to use them? People figured out this problem eventually, and besides a few hiccups, things ended up okay. Both cars, and their refilling station companions, became ubiquitous across the globe. The second wave of advancements did not come with quite the same issue. Electric vehicles, of course, required a different power source, but at least the infrastructure was already in place. It wasn’t all that hard to retrofit preexisting petrol refilling stations with battery caches. As archaic as it might sound, supercharging was nowhere near possible, and so stations got in the business of trading dead batteries with full batteries, with the ultimate plan to recharge those so that they could in turn be traded with later customers. In fact, statisticians [erroneously] estimated at one point that, if a given individual used the same station for at least a year, chances approach 100% that they used the same battery twice on different charge cycles. Unfortunately for the battery trading trade, this business model was not stable. People wanted to charge their cars as fast as they once filled their tanks, and they didn’t want to lug around heavy batteries in order to do it. Fortunately for them, this was becoming possible, but it also threatened a return to the issue of coordinating rechargeable electric cars with their charging stations. But again, they figured it out. Due to its high cost, only the wealthiest of people were capable of affording electric cars anyway. This allowed for a slower roll-out of charging ports, which were comparatively cheap, and usually worth the lack of business. Electricity, unlike liquid fuels, doesn’t go bad after time, and can be transmitted instantaneously across vast distances, if need be. Once electric vehicles were ready for the middle market, their charging stations were already waiting for them.

When Erebus Heffernan completed his lifelong project of his own form of transportation, he rejoiced. No longer would anyone need to stop and fill up on liquid fuel, or even electricity. It wouldn’t even be necessary to traverse the distance between two points at all. He had created a teleportation device. Passengers step inside the transporter, and indicate their destination. The machine dematerializes them into their composite atoms, and “beams” them to a satellite overhead, which then beams them back down to the planet somewhere else. If you think this sounds fast, but dangerous, you are not alone. Scientists agree with you, and they have the research to back up their claims. In a paper originally published in the scientific journal, Holophrasm, a team of three respected scientists work out the issues with the Aerial Broadcasting Terminal system. It might sound like the setup to a joke, but a molecular physicist, an ethics-centered metaphysicist, and a quantum physicist walked into a conference room at university, and began working together. The entirety of their paper will be accessible to the public in four months time, but as I belong to the industry, I’ve received an early copy. The gist of it is that letting a machine rip you apart, and reassemble you somewhere else...is tantamount to suicide. So many questions can’t really ever be answered, the majority of them posed by the metaphysicist. If something goes wrong while in transit, what happens to you? If one of the machines breaks down and is unable to transmit, or reassemble you, are you dead? If the satellite faces critical failure, and loses power for a time, what are you then? Just a series of data on a logic board. But what if a million years from now, our descendants discover that ancient satellite, and bring you out of it? You’ve returned, but you were probably declared dead 999,999 years ago. Were you? What if there’s some kind of data corruption, and you end up disfigured, or nothing but a pile of goop, on the other side? What even is life?

The reason this article began with an explanation of earlier transportation advances is because Heffernan wanted to avoid these kind of problems by pouring a ton of money in infrastructure, under the assumption that people will flock to this new technology, and begin using it immediately. A trip costs a few dollars, and zero commitment, so why wouldn’t people jump at the chance to ditch their cars and get anywhere they wanted faster? Heffernan invested billions of Usonian dollars building machines all over the world, along with a fleet of satellite intermediaries, the majority of which have not yet launched. It appears that his investments may have been for naught, as this paper has already caused a number of industry experts to warn would-be travelers of the dangers of this form of teleportation, myself included. Only time will tell if the concerns listed in the Holophrasm article are somehow dispelled, or if enough customers decide them to be worth the risk.

Microstory 584: Fairies Leave the Planet

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Around the same time that a group of scientists and SDS detectives were accidentally discovering the inner workings of faster-than-light travel, a transhumanistic woman named Morgan LeFay founded an organization. Archaeologists and evolutionary biologists have long known that the proof of evolution lies in the simple fact that humans are about two feet taller on average than our ancestors two million years ago. There are many advantages to an increase in height. Larger animals can often run faster (to an extent), reach to high-hanging fruit, and combat predators better. They also tend to live longer, while tiny species, like insects, burn bright and die young. Of course, in recent times, our evolution in this manner has had less to do with mutations and survival advantages, and more to do with sexual selection. That is, many humans seem to have decided they prefer taller partners, leaving our shorter brethren single, and unable to pass on their genes. The Fairy Institute, based in Wales, chose to focus their posthuman efforts in a very specific field. They have been looking for ways to make humans extremely tiny; about the size of a standard human’s hand. Why would they do this? Well, as stated above, their efforts began before the discovery of plex dimensional travel, and the fairies were interested in exploring the universe.

There are many advantages to a being tiny when attempting to cross the solar barrier, the most important being that a tiny human would take up very little space, and require fewer resources. A larger ship would require more fuel, most of it being allocated to propelling hunks of material, rather than just the passengers that matter. Though plex travel would theoretically render all this discussion meaningless, the Fairy Institute remained steadfast in their belief. In fact, LeFay is quoted as saying, “the need for this technology is more important than it ever has been. We have an opportunity here, and I won’t pass it up. I am not satisfied with just going to the next galaxy over.” The fairies continued their work, perfecting consciousness transference, while designing the perfect new bodies. They did this in secret, revealing only vague and general information to the public. Earlier today, they held a press conference in the countryside to announce their new developments, but Morgan LeFay never came on stage. Nor did anyone else. Journalists sat in their seats, waiting patiently for the conference to begin. Suddenly the curtain fell, as if broken. It revealed a metallic object, about the size of an average land vehicle, not large enough for more than just a handful of people. It was shaped like a kidney bean, and smooth, with no evidence of any seams. It was presumably entered and exited via astral tunneling. After a few more moments of suspension, the beanship disappeared in astral blue. Space agencies around the world would later confirm that it exited the blue dimension halfway between the planet and our moon, then entered the orange plex, never to be seen or heard from again. Meanwhile, journalists remained in their seats, unsure whether anything else was going to happen. A projector rose from the stage and turned itself on. A recording of Morgan LeFay’s final message to humanity began playing:

Children of C, we thank you for your hospitality. You have given us shelter, technology, and inspiration. We will never forget you, but you will never see us again. We believe that we are seeking the answer to the most important question in the universe, which is, what even is the universe? We are ultimately sending our vessel to the highest dimension possible; one that no one in the world has so much as imagined before. This will allow us to travel to the far reaches of the observable universe in a matter of years. However, we are not stopping there. We will keep going, and we will keep going until we’ve reached our final destination. One day, perhaps in thousands of years, we will hopefully land on this rock once more. Like famous explorer Merrianne Derringer, who’s most known for being the first person to circumnavigate the planet, our intention is to circle the cosmos. We are attempting to find out if this universe is flat, or if it is closed. We may never return. We may never find home, nor may we find anything of note out there, but we’re going anyway. Wish us luck. Again, thank you for everything.

Microstory 583: New Home Hair Management Products

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One thing that everyone deals with is their hair, whether it be the lack there of it, or that it’s too long, or just its general unruliness. While other companies are working on trying to cure cancer, or develop faster supersonic passenger aircraft, one has decided to help with something a little simpler. Antubian Product Co. has created a so-called revolutionary new product line that claims to provide for everyone’s hair needs, whatever they may be. This line involves multiple kinds of products, to be used differently, and sometimes in tandem. A series of microinjections, for instance, can (oversimplistically speaking) jumpstart hair follicles, and engender growth. The irony in this is that the device only works once the subject has first been shaved in all desired areas. Another subsection of products gives its user command of the color of their hair. While traditional dyes have taken time and effort, the new Antibus shampoo goes in during a shower, and is complete by the time you get out to dry. Other products can shorten, and even restyle, your haircut at will through static charges and texturizing gels. Antubian, Inc. has had a colorful past. It began as a scrap metal broker before becoming an entertainment company. It then abruptly transitioned into a pulp fiction publisher, spent a brief amount of time as a ‘supernatural threat eradicator”—where it was tried in court for fraud, until finally landing in the car restoration industry. It has spent the last seven years restoring antique and classic vehicles up to working condition, with as much retention of the original operating functions as possible. It has only been in the hair business for the last seven months, but has already come up with an impressive array of products. Whether any one of these products actually works is something that still needs confirmation from our field reporters. As mercurial as founder and Chief Vision Officer, Lovro Antubi has been known to be, his ventures have proven to be largely legitimate. There is even evidence that his supernatural phase may have shown some level of merit. As time goes on, Antubi tends to move on from one project in favor of another. Instead of selling, or even spinning off each company to start another, he simply sells the patents and intellectual property themselves, and begins to focus on something new. Join us next week when our field testers release their analyses and reviews of the new Antubian haircare line.

Microstory 582: Artificial Gestation Perfected

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For years now, people have been able to conceive children together with a surrogate mother. There are many reasons for surrogacy: same-sex relationship, infertility, or hereditary diseases that they wish to not pass on. One limitation to this, however, was that it always required a woman to carry the child. There is no more hospitable an environment for a developing offspring than that of a female’s womb. In it, the child will find everything it needs to survive the first eight months of its life, and it has historically been the only place available. Until now. Though most would take little issue in using surrogate gestation as a method, it is now possible to achieve the same results with only the two standard parents. Scientists from an extremely small startup in Carolina have recently perfected an artificial womb. Unlike other technological advancements, no version before this one was allowed to hit the market. Any failure could result in the death or permanent brain damage of a child, and so it has not been at all released until now. The team in charge had to prove with near 100% certainty that the womb would work before it can be used even once. Details are still scarce, but president and CEO of Huntington Beach Medical Technologies, Sheila Gonzales is expected to give a presentation on the womb in two weeks. For now, she had this to say, “that surrogacy has traditionally required a third party has not generally been seen as a problem. It was not necessarily something that needed to be solved. Still, Huntington is all about options. Whereas before you had no choice, now you do. You can choose to use the artificial womb...or you can choose not to.” Preordering for the product is planned for one month from now, with orders going out to the first customers in under one year, depending on demand.

Microstory 581: World Leaders Debate Universal Identity

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Every sovereign nation in the world has some way to manage and track their citizenry. In the past, we’ve used ledgers, and other analog means, but now all of this information is kept in a central location. Some nations even share this information amongst each other, for ease of transportation. Others, however, do not. Travel between two countries can become problematic depending on the relationship between those two countries. Who hasn’t experienced a delay at the airport due to customs procedures. And it can get even more complicated if the traveler in question needs to first stop in a third country. One young man born and bred in Bellevue, Kansas believes that he has the solution to this problem, but it’s going to require a lot of cooperation between a lot of countries. “The variables are nearly incalculable for an endeavor like this. There are so many moving parts that no one person could accomplish this, which is why I need so much help. Unicards (working name) can help increase the efficiency of every nation, but it works best if everyone accepts it,” says Ikodo Murdoch, inventor of the new technology. Unicards would be a singular form of universal identity, with room for no competitor. Murdoch envisions a world where literally every person on the planet either carries one of these, or agrees on a subcutaneous implant. It would be used for identity verification, seamless purchasing transactions, and perhaps even tax purposes. Instead of carrying around credit cards, cash, and passports, one would need only this one thing. Murdoch believes that this would make everyday life much easier. Instead of worrying about having enough money, or whether a particular location accepts particular kind of card, everything would just be in one place. World leaders from seventy-three countries are currently debating such a program. Murdoch acknowledges that if only a fraction of countries agree to use the unicards, it might be worth it, but still hopes for growth beyond this. “It’s not an all or nothing thing,” Murdoch says, “but the technology serves the populace better if there’s only one. Now it doesn’t have to be my unicards, it could be something else. But I truly feel that this is the future. We must become one peoples...of one world. Most of our issues can be ultimately traced back to our own fragmentation.” The seventy-three countries that belong to the Wesmandian Alliance will be assembling in Iceland for the annual Northery Summit. The question of universal identity, in whatever form, is expected to be the primary topic of discussion.