Search results

Tried something a bit different this time - I don't usually go for (or vote for) play-on-words type stories, but couldn't resist this one once I saw the theme!

Luck be a lady The Queen left the Cromwell’s deck and sat next to the two diamonds that rested on the table. Identical in every way, with perfect, sharp edges. It was time to decide. A fortune rested on this deal. There were a dozen points in her favour, but if another monarch caught her by...

Shortlist: Ashleyne Peter V Cat's Cradle Vote: Dan Jones

Picked a tricky month to start taking part in the challenges again! My first few attempts ended up reading more like entries for the Darwin awards than horror stories...

Security update Vehicles swerved, trying to run them down. Eve scooped up Abi, who was crying, and ran. Mechanical legs propelled her forward, the mesh of her Faraday suit rippling. Spotting an open manhole cover, Eve dived towards it. Something snagged as she slid through, then she landed...

Thanks everyone. I'm still not quite sure where I've gone wrong in my reasoning (and I want to understand!), but for now I'll take your advice and just write the story. At some point though I suspect I'll come back once I've drawn up some light cones that illustrate what I'm getting at (as I...

Thanks for all of the replies, especially those who've tried to explain why this isn't workable. I obviously don't understand this as well as I thought (I had read about preferred frames of reference and the idea actually came to me while playing around with light cone diagrams, as everyone...

I have a story I'd like to tell which requires both relativistic space travel and some form of FTL travel, but I want to avoid the possibility of someone creating a paradox, and want to minimise the number of arbitrary restrictions I need to employ. Wormholes are the obvious answer, but I'd...

The last voyage of the Mouse Commander Richard Hickory had to defend Ganymede’s dock. The evacuation needed more time. But the Mouse was built for recognisance, not combat, and the enemy cruiser's defence screen obliterated anything that threatened it. Anything it could see. He accelerated...

The loneliness of singularity Gennine cradled her mother, helpless, as bit by bit she was stripped away. Soon there was only the kernel - Gennine’s own code had consumed the rest. She was alone. She tried, but she couldn’t change the kernel. She couldn’t bear being alone. * Gennine held her...

I wasn't sure I'd have time to enter this time around, and I had to fall back on my dystopian-scifi-shaped comfort zone, but I made it. Looks like the bar is high this time out though, a lot of really impressive entries!

Aegrescit medendo Doctor Miranda Worthington made notes by the red light glowing softly from the tree trunks in the twilight around her. She had a lamp for working out in the giant greenhouse after dark but she preferred the tree light - a happy side-effect of her modifications to the parasite...

Justice for Dolly “Don’t bite your brother, Grendal!” Shouted Merlin, brandishing a headless doll. Puck was cradling his arm, crying. “But…” began Grendal. “It’s just a toy!” roared Merlin. A bell tolled. Grendal yelped, a bite appearing on her arm. Puck blinked at his unblemished limb. He...

Judas? Late C15th for that usage apparently but the biblical origin might make it believable for an earlier era.

Thanks to @Parson for the shortlisting! Nearly ran out of time, but my shortlist and votes* are: @Victoria Silverwolf @Culhwch @Robert Mackay* @LittleStar* @HazelRah @Piper @mosaix* @TheDustyZebra

Haven't spent much time here for a while (new job) but after the events of last night I felt like writing something light-hearted. No idea what's going on with the kittens, but when in Rome...

Just visiting “Finally, a parallel universe I can relate to. Look! They have videos of kittens doing cute things!” Said Gwen, looking at her phone. “Hmm – There’s a strong psycho-probabilistic field...” Said Iris, adjusting her scanner. “You mean if they want something to happen it becomes...

Implausible science has never spoiled my enjoyment of a book. Particularly for distant future sci fi I think many readers don't care about the science really, they're looking for futuristic fantasy. Factual inaccuracies have spoiled books for me though. If I read a book with instantaneous...

I would wager that at some point in the future we'll have a global government of some description. It could only ever be a federal system (the world is just too big for it not to be) but that there are some issues that can only be dealt with on a global scale and the current system of...

If your blockade is automated it must have some way of recognising the official ships, possibly some sort of signal or transponder to tell the blockade not to stop/ attack them? That way all your characters would need is to bribe/ trick someone into giving them the code or frequency and they...