Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Microstory 2479: Glaciadome

Generated by Google Gemini Pro text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3
Brr, chicken! That’s what my dad used to say. Brr, chicken! It’s cold up here. There is not much dihydrogen monoxide on Castlebourne—compared to say, Earth or Europa, but there is some. Some of it is in the form of water ice, and some of that in the form of glaciers. The largest of these is called Sanaa Glacier. I’m not sure where the name comes from, but I’m guessing this Sanaa woman isn’t too happy about it. The Sanaa Glacier is up there in the northern hemisphere, not too far from Aquilonian Deep. It’s about 2.16 million square kilometers in area, which makes it the largest region on the planet that is not covered by domes. That is for an obvious reason, which is that glaciers, by definition, are always on the move. They move very, very slowly, but they are not still. They’re never still. You can imagine that erecting a dome on top of one is difficult at best, and quite risky. Yet they did it. Glaciadome sits right in the middle of Sanaa, which is the most stable part of it. It’s not immune to the glacier’s movements, but it’s your safest bet. It’s unlike any other dome on the planet. It’s totally unique. Instead of being made out of the usual graphene composite, its frame is instead composed of carbon nanotubes, which can be made to be more flexible. That’s why we use them for space elevator tethers. Instead of diamonds, the panels are made out of a more flexible polycarbonate. This allows the dome to shudder and shake as the glacier flows, and against the extremely heavy winds outside. There’s an old saying, if it doesn’t bend, it’ll break, and that’s true. Glaciadome will survive over time because it’s designed to withstand the stress of movement without buckling. It’s not completely impenetrable, and it’s not nearly as strong as the other domes, but it does its job, and it does it well. You can tell that it works too, because while you can’t physically feel the glacier’s flow unless you’re an advanced lifeform with the right onboard sensors, you can certainly hear it. It’s always screamin’ at ya while the ice breaks and slides. Why do this? Why build a dome on top of something so unstable, in such a hostile environment? Well, what the hell are we doing here if we’re not engineering megastructures for the sake of the challenge. Do you need any other reason? I surely don’t. Researchers live here to be closer to what they’re studying, such as the geologic history of this planet, the composition of the water and ice, and of course, the glacier itself. There are also some winter sports here, like dog sledding, and cross-country skiing, but it’s not as comprehensive as Winterbourne Park. A lot of it has to do with the novelty of the experience. You can live in an igloo, or an ice palace. You can go cold-weather camping, or just make snow angels. It may not be as exciting as one of the adventure domes, but it gives you what it promises. And for me, that’s enough.

Monday, June 23, 2025

Microstory 2436: Tundradome

Generated by Google Gemini Pro text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3
It’s just a big tundra, what do you want from me? It’s even worse than one of the desert domes, because it’s cold. I know, that’s obviously the point, tundras are supposed to be cold. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there’s just nothing here. They don’t even have animals running around, which you would find in a real tundra. I did get the sense that this dome was unfinished, but also not a priority, but there wasn’t anyone around to explain it to me. The vactrain stopped here, I walked through the doors, and I was outside. I went back into the lobby to see if I needed to sign in, or something, but there really wasn’t anyone around. They didn’t even have a help button on the wall. Surely they wouldn’t have let me come here if it was legitimately closed to visitors. There were others who showed up a few minutes after me. We didn’t talk, but they seemed pleased. They stopped a few hundred meters from the entrance, and I guess admired the beauty before them. Then they picked up their gear, and walked away. I assume they went off to camp somewhere, but I don’t know for sure. I doubt they went far, because they were carrying their stuff in their hands, instead of in packs. Listen to me, reviewing the other visitors as if that matters. I should have asked them real quick if maybe I missed something. Like, maybe there’s a different entrance where they went to first, or they messaged someone ahead of time. I could contact customer relations, but I think writing this review is as far as I’m gonna take it. It’s clearly only meant to be a tundra as that’s the name. They’re never going to add activities or adventures, so no matter how much they work on it, I’m never gonna wanna come back. I don’t suggest you do either. If you want to camp, try Foggy Forest. At least they have trees there.

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Microstory 2404: Winterbourne Park

Generated by Google VideoFX text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 2
I understand that there are plenty of mountains, and plenty of snow, on Earth. I understand that you can go on the most dangerous terrain in one of those places, and program your consciousness to jump to a new substrate if something goes wrong. But there’s something really special about being under a dome that’s designed to be the largest ski resort anyone has ever seen outside of a simulation. That’s another thing, you can do all of this more in a virtual construct, if that’s you’re thing, but there’s nothing quite like knowing that this is all happening in base reality. This place is huge. Hundreds of hills, dozens of mountains. Sledding, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice luging. Is that how you spell it? You know what I’m talking about. They also have fat biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, climbing, sled rides. I think the animals are animatronics, but who knows? I didn’t ask. There’s a train that goes all around one of the mountains. You can jump over it on your skis or snowboard, or you can ride the train instead, and watch people do that. It’s funny when they fall, because you know they’re gonna be okay. There’s one mountain, and it’s a toughy, where they intentionally trigger an avalanche, and you have to ski or board away from it. That one’s a little scary. I didn’t do it, and plus, you have to wait for it to be reset. They have to shovel the snow back up to the top, and collect all the dead bodies. It’s not like you can just go up there whenever you feel like it. The indoor areas are just as good. The various resorts have everything you could want, like saunas and spa treatments, hot cocoa, tons of fireplaces to read next to. There are remote cabins for you to sleep in, or you can stay in the main town. They have igloo hotels, which I think I’m gonna go back to try. Didn’t have time to do it all, but everyone who was doing the things that I never got around to seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Monday, December 2, 2024

Microstory 2291: Went Over the Edge

Generated by Google Gemini Advanced text-to-image AI software, powered by Imagen 3
This is a hard post to write, for obvious reasons. If you read Nick’s blog, then you must already know that he’s dead, and Dutch is missing. To throw you off the trail, and preserve some privacy, he told you that we had gone to Florida, and that we left Thursday evening. In reality, we left mid-afternoon, and went to San Francisco, California to enjoy one of the amusement parks out there. You know the one. We decided to drive all the way there in order to avoid all the airport hustle and bustle, and the fan scrutiny. We never stopped, except to use the facilities, or fill up the vehicles. That’s the benefit of having a security team. They could share the driving responsibilities, and we were able to sleep whenever we needed to. We had a great time on Friday, Saturday, and a little on Sunday morning. I’m grateful that he at least went out on a high note. On our way back, we were driving through the mountains of Colorado when Nick and Dutch’s SUV slipped on some dark ice, and went over the edge. I was in the other car at the time, so I could sprawl out to sleep. I believe that Nick and Dutch were both asleep at the time as well. At approximately 4:00 in the morning today, rescuers discovered Nick Fisherman IV’s body. They were actually working for our security firm, who has an office in Glenwood Springs, which wasn’t too far away. Both drivers were found dead as well, and the search for Dutch continues, but in this freezing cold winter weather, it’s not looking good. You may have noticed that this post is very straightforward, and unemotional. I can’t let my emotions out, or I’ll explode. I just needed to give you the information. I’m sure I’ll be a wreck once the truth really sets in.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Microstory 2076: About My Weaknesses

Generated by Google Bard text-to-image AI software, powered by Imagen 2
Obviously, since it’s winter, most of the work we do at the nursery has been in the greenhouses, but that’s not all we can do. Apparently, since there are fewer customers, we’ll be spending a lot of time cleaning, and doing inventory. When I first started, the weather was unseasonably warm, so I was able to get a taste of what it’s like in the spring, but now that the temperature is dropping again, things have started to slow down, at least in terms of customer service. Like I said, there’s plenty to do, but it’s not as stressful, because there’s not as much of a timing issue. Soon enough, our busiest time of year will begin, and I’m getting anxious about it. They do a lot of workshops here, to teach the public about how to care for plants, and which ones to choose for their needs or wants. I can learn all I want about the industry, but I’ll never be good at teaching others about it. I come from a family of teachers, including my paternal grandparents, my aunt, my father, and my sister. I was not born with that gene. I just don’t explain things well, and I have such a shoddy memory that I forget whether I’ve said something already. More often than not, though, that doesn’t result in me repeating myself. I end up skipping crucial information instead because I think I’ve already said it. Then the whole thing just doesn’t make any sense. I was clear with the boss about my weaknesses, though, so I think they’re just going to keep me away from the students. At least I hope that I was clear. Maybe I skipped over crucial information. And anyway, we don’t have to worry about that quite yet. We’re still in the winter slowdown. Peace out!

Saturday, September 10, 2022

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: July 8, 2398

The stranger was just as nervous as Team Matic was, because they were strangers to him too. They didn’t have much time to get to know each other before The Olimpia started suffering from some major problems. They started falling out of the sky, causing them to become weightless, making it harder for Ramses to reach the controls that he needed. He was able to slow them down long enough to keep from crashing so hard it killed them, but they still hit the ground hard. They might have indeed died if they hadn’t landed on snow. As it turned out, they were very close to the North Pole, which wasn’t exactly the plan. Ramses was just trying to get out of Birket airspace. Navigation using the temporal engine is still a little difficult.
They’ve been here since yesterday, doing everything they can to stay warm despite failing systems all over the vehicle. The doors are still closed, and since it’s summer, the solar panels are at maximum efficiency, but they won’t survive here forever. “What do you know about this area?” Ramses asks their new friend, Amir.
“I don’t know much,” he replies.
“Well, are there any research stations nearby, or what? I don’t see anything on the map, but there’s gotta be something.”
“Why would they build anything all the way up here?” Amir asks. He’s trying to wrap his mind around this whole thing. One second they were in the Middle East, and now they’re on the top of the world. He explained how he met Leona and the rest of the team, but they never clued him into all the time travel stuff. Well, they mentioned a few things, but he just figured they were talking in metaphor, or something. He didn’t take anything they said seriously. Now he does. Now he has proof. Now he can’t deny it. And he’s implied that it’s opened his eyes to a few things he experienced in his youth. “It’s too cold.”
“Well, that’s—” Angela begins, confused. “That is why they would be studying it. They would want to understand the cold.”
Amir is even more confused than she is. “Cold is cold. This place has snow and ice. I mean, what more do you wanna know?”
They don’t know how to respond. Mateo definitely can’t explain the purpose himself. When he’s heard about Arctic and Antarctic bases in the main sequence, he has always just accepted that the scientists in question have good reasons to do what they do. The fact that the people in this reality don’t seem to value such study isn’t inherently problematic, though I’m sure Leona would have some choice words to say about it. The real issue is that Ramses didn’t sleep last night as he was trying to figure out how to get out of here, and if they’re all alone, their situation may ultimately prove helpless. Shaking his head, Ramses gets back to work, but has to take a break after only another hour.
“I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room.” They’re sitting in the main cabin together.
“Who, me?” Amir asks, thinking it’s obvious.
“What? No, you’re cool. Leona trusted you, we trust you. I’m talking about that stuff out there.” He looks at the viewscreen, which is showing them the horrid winterscape outside. All the real windows are closed to insulate them better. They won’t freeze to death anytime soon, but every little bit they can do to save energy is best.
“Well, we have plenty of water. As long as we can melt it, we’re fine,” Angela says.
“Not that either,” Mateo replies. “I’m talking about the special water, which is about eight kilometers that way?”
“Oh, Invincibility Water,” Ramses says.
“Does invincibility mean we can’t get cold, or does it just mean we can’t get hurt.”
Ramses narrows his eyes. “Neither. Invincibility means that you can’t get injured. Body water, I realized, means that you wouldn’t feel pain. As for the cold, I’m not sure if any of the waters do that. The pain and temperature receptors in the body are different things. Perhaps that would go away if you combine them properly?”
“Oh,” Mateo utters.
“It doesn’t matter, Matty,” Ramses goes on. “Invincibility water only works on the winter solstice. We’re nowhere near that date.”
“But you’re out of the Energy water that Leona threw us, aren’t you? Every jump seems to use up all you have, but you could synthesize Invincibility water to replace it.”
“I have a few samples left, though you’re right, not enough to help us. I don’t think the Invincibility water would help either, as I’m not sure the Olimpia can make it all the way to civilization in one piece, via teleportation or air travel.”
“We don’t have to get the Olimpia to civilization,” Angela offers. “We just have to get ourselves there. You don’t have to inject the Invincibility water into the engine if you can inject it into us.”
“Yeah, that was a plan I had a long time ago,” Ramses begins, “when I first began my research. The problem is that I’m not a doctor, I’m an engineer. Building the engine from scratch was easy, but figuring out how to bind the temporal energy to our cells is entirely different, especially since something stripped us of our powers.”
“You did it before,” she points out, speaking of their clone bodies.
“I had a lot of resources in the Fifth Division,” Ramses counters. “Time travel is all but impossible here. I’m not working from scratch. I’m working with one hand tied behind my back, and the other only has one finger left, and I’m blind and deaf, and—”
“We get it,” Angela stops him, “it’s hard.”
They sit in silence for another few moments. “What is the nearest spot of civilization?” Mateo finally asks.
Ramses sighs, having trouble keeping his eyes open. “That would be Vertegen, Norway. It’s about eleven hundred kilometers from here.”
“You say we can’t fly, but can you make this thing float?” Mateo questions. “Even if it’s slow, can you get us down there eventually?”
“Yeah, maybe with some help with the manual labor.”
“I can do that,” Mateo promises.
“I as well,” Amir volunteers.
“We’ll follow your lead,” Angela adds. “We’ll start after you get some sleep.”
Ramses struggles to stand up, but he can’t even get out of his seat. “No, I can do it. Just give me a second.”
“Okay,” Angela says understandingly, because she knows it won’t be an issue. Once Ramses falls asleep, Mateo takes a sip of the Energy water, and uses his slightly heightened strength to carry his friend up the steps, and into the real bed. He then goes back to his cubby to get some sleep himself, as do the other two. Come the next day, they start to work on effecting repairs. They’re in this for the long haul.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Microstory 1783: Big Bear

One thing to know about me is that I prefer the cold. I live in a midwest state with seasons, but I hate the summer. I could work in retail anywhere, but my parents had me when they were already pretty old, so I’m kind of obligated to stick around. Still, I blast the air conditioning when it’s hot, and keep the windows open. Is that illegal? I don’t know. Is it wrong? I guess we just have different definitions of morality. The A/C stays on during a lot of the winter, and I still at least have my bedroom window open while I’m trying to sleep. I say all this in preface, so you’ll understand that I don’t know how long I was outside on the ground before I even realized it. Had it been my sister, it would have been a different story. She keeps her house like a friggin’ sauna, I can’t stand it in there. She would have noticed right away if she had suddenly found herself in the spring air, let alone this freezing cold place. I finally wake up, and that probably has more to do with needing to relieve myself than anything. I might never have noticed until the sun came out, and maybe not even for a long time after that, because my alarm clock didn’t accompany me. I have no idea where I am, or how I got there. I see trees and dirt, and that is pretty much it. I see pine needles instead of leaves, which I find unusual. I like the cold, but not the outdoors. I would never go camping in a million years, so there’s no chance I got so drunk last night that I made this choice on my own. Someone would have had to bring me here against my will. They might have left me to die because they underestimated my ability to survive these temperatures, or maybe something went wrong, and they had to scrap their original plans with me. Either way, as okay as I am like this, I know I’m no superhero. I will die out here without shelter and clothing.

I start walking, hoping to catch the scent of a campfire, or the rumble of late night traffic. I could be moving even deeper away from civilization, but there is no way for me to know. I don’t have those lizard brain instincts that normal people have kept. Walking is warming me up, if only just a little. If I don’t come across someone’s tent, or a cave, staying in place would still be foolish. Besides, if someone did leave me, but planned on coming back, I’m better off as far from the drop site as I can get. I can see a lake in the moonlight, but I don’t know if I should go for it. Am I more likely to find salvation there then elsewhere? I’m proud of myself. I’m not too keen on walking either, but I haven’t stopped once to take a break. Maybe this ain’t so bad. I spoke too soon, or rather thought it. I finally do stop when I run into a gigantic creature. It’s dark as all hell, but my assumption is that it’s a bear. It was low to the ground, but now it’s raised itself up, meaning that it started on four legs, and now it’s on two. That’s something I know bears can do. It doesn’t growl, or even seem that menacing. Maybe it’s just trying to get a good look at me. I also know that you’re supposed to pretend to be bigger, and make a lot of noise. I don’t think I’m gonna do that, though. I just adjust my heading, and walk away. It doesn’t get mad or try to follow. I doubt it eats people, and it can tell that I’m not a real threat. Lights. I see lights through the trees. As I approach, I see that it’s a cabin, and it’s occupied. This could be who took me, but this is my only shot at survival. I knock on the door, and a scruffy old man opens. He’s not surprised to receive a visitor, even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, and I’m completely naked. He lets me in, and I ask him where we are. “This is Big Bear Lake, son. California.” Yeah, that tracks.

Friday, December 10, 2021

Microstory 1775: Shield Ring

I think the first hint I had that the stories I was writing were real came in 2010 when an object from my stories fell into my lap. Three years prior, I started working on a story about a group of people with special abilities. My computer contracted a virus at college, and was completely nonfunctional for at least a week, so I had a lot of time on my hands to work on the story manually. Coming up with the characters was the easiest thing to do in this manner, because it didn’t require much research, and it was mostly just a list. I ended up with one character who wasn’t born with abilities, but used found technology to complete her missions. In particular, she wore a ring that protected her from physical attack. It wasn’t something that other people could take from her, and use for themselves. It demanded constant charging from another dimension, so she had to keep injecting herself with something called indigo therapy, which kept her connected to this other dimension. Maybe about a year before my maternal grandfather died, we were at his house, looking through some of his possessions. I found a few things of his that I liked, including a basketball necklace, an Eagle Scout ring, and the shield ring that my character wore. It looked exactly as I described it, and it’s just so unlikely that I had ever seen this thing before. His mother reportedly gave it to him as a gift when he graduated from high school, but it didn’t fit his fingers anymore, so I would have never seen him actually wear it. Still, I figured that it must be a normal ring, and a coincidence, because what else would I think? I started to wear it, and it pretty soon became a part of me. It felt wrong whenever I took it off, so I never did. Remember that this thing was useless on its own, so I was fully capable of jamming my toe, and suffering a paper cut with no intervention. Otherwise, I would have realized what I had long ago. It wasn’t until 2016 that evidence really came to light, and to say the least, it was a shocking revelation. I would have died if not for this little ring. What might have killed me is actually what gave the ring the power it needed to work, and prevent the incident from killing me.

January 18, perhaps the coldest day of the year. I’m up by 6:00, and decide to go for a walk, because I guess I’m insane. I was working as a sorter for a package courier, and while I didn’t work Monday mornings, I was used to being awake that early. I also had a habit of going on urban hikes alone, because I didn’t have my dog yet. I decided to go in a different direction, and essentially let myself get lost. I could always pull up the GPS on my phone if I really needed to find my way back. I ended up at this sort of pond that looked more like a puddle. To my surprise, it wasn’t frozen over. I sat myself on a rock to rest, and enjoy the quiet. And it really was quiet. I couldn’t hear trains in the distance, or cars driving by. The only reason I could tell I was still on Earth was because of the power lines that hung overhead. There was no precipitation, so I still don’t know what happened, but one of those lines snapped, and started flailing about like it was trying to sell me a used car. I leaned back, hoping to avoid getting hit by it, and slipped. I slid and rolled right into the puddle pond. I remember it not feeling cold at all, I imagine because of all the adrenaline flowing through my veins. Hypothermia likely would have gotten me in the end, but I incurred a huge boost in temperature when that powerline decided to land itself in the water, right in front of me. The electricity burst out of it, and tried to wrap itself around my body. I didn’t have time to fear for my life. All that energy found itself channeled to a single point. My ring. My shield ring was absorbing it all for me, stopping it from stopping my heart. The amount of power the ring needed to shield me was exactly as much as it was getting from the powerline. Not knowing whether this would last, however, I didn’t just sit there in awe. I stood up, and got myself out of the water. Then I ran. I ran back to my house the long way around, because the water and the shock damaged my phone beyond repair. I never told anyone what happened to me, and to this day, I cannot find that pond, or the power lines above it.

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Microstory 1572: Honest Eyes

Prompt
My car broke down in the middle of the road, and there was no cell service, so I tried to flag down another car, but the only person who answered was...

Botner
...you guessed it. Joe. He was driving a brand-new Mercedes, and the song on the radio was about partying until dawn. So we went to the Sunset. And that’s when I discovered the first little side effect. Joe isn’t normal. He’s supernaturally enhanced. I knew it at first sight when he was throwing back shots and hooking up with other girls. But I figured it out later; he’s got these—what do they call them—veins in his neck, and when he’s all strung out and drunk, his eyes go silver. You think they do that with meth addicts? I mean, it’s genetic, right? He knows everything about me, because, right after we met, he dug deep into my past, and I was too afraid to tell him my full name, or where I went to high school or if I ever drank vodka in my bedroom as a teenager. Instead, I told him that I grew up in Seattle, and that I was in college, studying journalism, working on a story about SeaTac, the airport outside of Seattle where most of the charter flights go. And then I told...

Conclusion
...him that I worked for a reputable newspaper, which contradicted what I said earlier about being a college student. So he caught me in a lie, but he was fine, he just told me I had to tell him the truth from now on. That’s his power. I don’t know if the first and only lie was what bound me to his demands, but I’ve been telling him every little thought that pops into my head ever since then. There are no secrets between us, at least not from my end. He claims he tells me his own thoughts as well, but they could all be fabrications, or embellishments for all I know, because I’m not the one with a special ability. I’m ashamed to tell Joe that the reason my car broke down was, not because there’s something wrong with it, but because I purposefully let it run out of gas. I honestly don’t know for sure why I did it. I imagine it’s self-sabotage, because I have a really important meeting with my boss tomorrow and I can’t lie to her either. If I tell her I can’t make it because my car doesn’t work, my car has to actually not work. I remember one day in high school when I didn’t feel very well, but could have probably pushed through, and gone to my classes. I didn’t want to, though, so I blasted the air conditioning on what would turn out to be the coldest day of that winter, and then stuffed my face with doughnuts once I arrived. If I was feeling all right before, I sure as hell wasn’t now. Now I really did have to go home, and instead of being able to enjoy my day off, I retched every couple hours, and came this close to accidentally making my mom think I should go to the hospital. Joe says it’s okay...that’s it’s not a problem to lie to other people...that I’m just not allowed to lie to him. I couldn’t if I wanted to, I joke with him, and he responds by turning his eyes silver. “We are now equals,” he tells me, and I think he’s not wrong, because I can feel my own eyes change as well. They’re probably just as silver. “Now you can compel others to be honest. What are you gonna do with that?” I smile, and say, “I’m gonna spread it around. One day, the whole world shall tell the truth.” He smiles back, and then he drives us off to find our first convert.

Friday, February 19, 2021

Microstory 1565: The Snow in Texas

Prompt
It’s been snowing for two weeks straight, which is strange for Texas. I’m starting to think my great aunt is right, and God really is angry with us.

Botner
I hope he gives us a good snowfall to make up for it. In case you haven’t heard, Today’s Church of Christ has put out a press release announcing the “end of days”. The holy-rollers are taking over the white wood chairs. Arguably the biggest “Christian” publication on the planet, Christianity Today, had a front page story yesterday saying that the world is at “the end of days”. In fact, they suggested that it is already here. Well, get a load of this guy: If the Bible is accurate, these are the end times and, if so, Jesus is the only one who can save us from all the evil in the world. The question is, if there are some who don’t believe it, what do they believe? What a perfect way to answer that question: Saint Peter, shut the door. I told you so. I love the idea that God would get that upset with us for going around unregenerate people. But it seems kind of random that the desire for knowledge is a sin? It seems to me that the more involved in the Word of God you are, the...

Conclusion
...less likely you are to accept the diversity in others. There’s a lot of intolerance in organized religion, and I have no interest in being part of it. The snow in Texas has nothing to do with God, or the “end of days”. It’s the climate, and the climate is because of us. People don’t want to admit it; not because they’re stupid, but because doing so would force them to acknowledge that we have not done enough to fix it. We’re leaving lights on, and driving too much, and using too many straws. Things won’t magically get better on their own, but if you lie to yourself, and pretend like there’s nothing you can do about it—that the climate is the way it is exclusively due to natural patterns—then you’re off the hook. You can keep doing whatever it is you’re doing without changing any of your behavior, or making more work for yourself. It’s true that there are a lot of greedy people out there who have no stake in the future. They’re old, and they’ll die soon, and they don’t think they’ll have to worry about the consequences. By helping destroy the environment, they’ve not only doomed the rest of us, but they’ve also built up enough wealth for themselves so that, should the consequences appear while they’re still around, they’re better equipped to deal with them. Ted Cruz is a senator from Texas who rejects the idea of climate breakdown, and he’s made a lot of money upon that platform. Funny enough, he’s completely free from the snow storms ravaging his state. He literally left, and took a nice vacation in sunny Cancún. I wrote the prompt for this installment weeks ago, long before this happened to Texas, which doesn’t prove that I’m prescient, but that this was inevitable, because unlike Cruz, I accept scientific facts as they are. These rich people in power aren’t going to do anything about the environment, because it doesn’t matter to them. This means that it is up to us. We have to remove them from their roles, and elect decent leaders, who believe in the facts, and willingly work towards the greater good, rather than their selfish, unsustainable, despicable priorities.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Microstory 1443: First Gasp

On July 17, 2132, a man was dished a deadly blow on Earth. His name was Keanu ‘Ōpūnui, and he developed his powers in a very similar way that the source mages did. The Springfield Nine, as they were called, were a group of people from Springfield, before it became the one-horse town that it was when the Deathfall occurred the better part of two decades later. Precisely who was part of the Nine, and who was merely associated with them was a little confusing, and everyone you ask will give you a different answer, but either way, most of the people in it were friends. The source mages were given time powers because they were at certain points in the process of prenatal development. The Nine were elementary school children when they received their powers, but both groups got them from the same thing. A pocket dimension that once existed as a bridge between Earth and Durus messed with people’s minds, and their DNA, and was capable of changing both on a fundamental level. This dimension was shattered during the Deathfall, but these twenty people were already permanently affected by it. The source mages ended up living on Durus, but the Springfield Nine stayed on Earth, and often caused problems there. Keanu had what he called time meshing. It was like filter portaling, except that the filter was much finer, so it was better used to alter the temperature of the environment than anything else. He was basically taking the weather from one place in time, and sending it to another, which sometimes balanced out both. Dioxygen could pass through, but transporting water was always a little more difficult for him. Keanu didn’t use his powers for good. He could have kept protesters cool in the summertime, or warmed a homeless camp in the wintertime. Instead, he looked for ways to capitalize on what he could do, and he hurt a lot of people along the way. It wasn’t morally good, but it also wasn’t surprising when one of these people hurt him right back. For trying to kill his daughter, a man named Horace Reaver stabbed Keanu in the chin with a sword. He didn’t die instantly, though. He had one more move.

Since the Springfielders first appeared on Durus, many tried to figure out where the breathable air came from. It wasn’t physically impossible for a rogue planet to maintain an atmospheric shell, but this phenomenon wasn’t particularly easy, and the chances that it would be conducive to human life were negligible. Through seers, philosophers, and other experts, the people finally had their answer. Or rather, they had a pretty good idea when the air first appeared on the surface. They still didn’t know about Keanu, or his power, but they did know that the year 2092 was going to bring trouble. With his last moments falling upon him, Keanu attempted to take his enemies down with him, even though it would also kill some of his friends. He tried sending all of the oxygen in the cave they were in to the vacuum of outer space, where it would be wasted. But since he was so badly hurt, he was incapable of focusing his power. He ended up sending himself to Durus instead. It was a one in a million chance, but then again, so was everything else that had ever happened on the planet. The fact was that if this hadn’t happened to Keanu, no one would have survived long enough on Durus to wonder why not. It was Keanu ‘Ōpūnui who quite literally breathed life into the world, which was great, but it came with a catch. His death sent air from Earth in both directions of time, so that Savitri could use it in 1980, and later Durune had it in 2204, but for thirty seconds in the middle, it didn’t exist at all. Everyone on Durus during that time would be totally without air. Now, some believed that all they would have to do was hold their breath for that amount of time. They knew it would be coming, and most people—even children—had the lung capacity to survive this. Unfortunately, it was a lot more complicated than that. Oxygen wouldn’t simply disappear from the outside, but also inside their bodies. This would cause a lot of health issues. The only solution, in some people’s minds, was to skip over this short moment in time altogether. While families huddled together, preparing for the pain, a certain young woman with time powers saved them all once again, and she never even took credit for it. Sadly, there was nothing she could do about the buildings that were made of concrete and metal. When they returned to the timestream a minute later, the towns of Springfield and Splitsville were utterly destroyed.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Microstory 1289: The Man and His Breath

A satyr was walking along the path in the dead of winter when he came across a human doing the same. The man looked cold and weary, and he explained that he had many steps yet to go, so the satyr offered to let him stay in his little hut for the night. The satyr led his friend along the path, towards his home. As they were walking, the satyr noticed the man breathing into his hands. “Why do you do that?” the satyr asked.

“This keeps both my hands, and my face, warm.”

The satyr believed he knew what the man meant, even though the temperature didn’t bother him much. He was built for this kind of weather. When they arrived at his place, he sat his new friend at the table while he started a fire, and prepared a nice meal for them to eat together. Once the porridge was ready, he sat down himself, and started to eat. He didn’t even notice how hot it was. The man, however, first blew on his porridge, just like he had when he was outside. “Why do you do that?” the satyr found himself asking again.

“This cools the porridge down,” the man explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” the satyr complained. “Why not one hour ago, you did the same thing to make something warm!”

“Yes,” said the man. “It’s called the second law of thermodynamics. My breath is about the same temperature as it always is. Which means it’s warmer than the winter air outside, and cooler than the porridge that was heated by fire. When my breath mixes with these things, they make each other change temperatures. Which direction that temperature goes—colder, or hotter—depends entirely on which end of the spectrum they are to begin with.”

This story was inspired by, and revised from, an Aesop Fable called The Man and the Satyr.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Microstory 1279: The Ladybug and the Ants

One summer, a ladybug was merrily flying about, enjoying the day, chewing on some aphids, and hiding from birds under leaves. As she was finishing her meal, seemingly an entire army of ants came marching towards her. They were carrying large bits of food to their colony on the other side of the hill. The ladybug stopped one of the ants and asked what they were doing. “We’re taking food to our colony, so that we can have it over the winter.”

“Why do you need to do that?” the ladybug asked. “The food is already here. Why, you should just eat it now. That’s what I do with these tasty aphids. Why, there are plenty here for all of us, as long as you stay out of my way, we’ll have no problem!”

“There will be no food in the winter,” the ant replied. “We must store it up every year.”

The ladybug scoffed, and moved on. She was too young to know the cold. Weeks later, winter came indeed, leaving the ladybug with no food to eat. All the aphids were overwintering as eggs. She flew over to the ant colony, and begged them to let her in. “Please, I did not understand. Do you have room for a humble lady bug? I am so hungry, but I promise not to eat too much!”

“Of course you can come in,” the ant said to her, “but just this year. Next year, you must learn to fend for yourself.”

This story was inspired by, and revised from, an Aesop Fable called The Ants and the Grasshopper.