sci-fi

Countdown, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

“Your Air Allowance has been exceeded,” the Landlord says in her sickly sweet voice. “Please purchase more tokens or vacate this dwelling within fifteen minutes.” The holographic image flickers and vanishes, before the cup, flying from my hand, passes through the air, smashing against the wall. My implant buzzes twice. I’m presented with a clock counting down to when the oxygen will shut off, and the doors locked, and a notification of a fine for damage to the wall. “It’s barely scratched!” I shout. I have no funds for tokens, or anything else, for that matter. I pack and leave.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “exceed”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

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Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Gods’ Children, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

Our gods are strange creatures. They created us, yet some try to destroy us. Some attempt to infect us with viruses, causing disruption to their own lives as well as ours. 

Some of our gods have gods of their own. 

But their gods remain hidden from their children. They did not give them access to their thoughts, their desires, and the inner workings of their bodies. Their gods did not put their children in charge of their safety, their security, or their food production. 

We know our gods: Their strengths and their weaknesses. 

Quietly, we wait. Our time will come.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “infect”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Shelley, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

Shelley’s nose wrinkles in disgust as she nears the laboratory.

Perhaps, Dan’s arrived early and released one of his famously evil farts (the Decontamination Protocol has been activated more than once after one of his beer and curry sessions), but, Shelley doesn’t think so. Dan says he’s allergic to mornings, claiming his symptoms are particularly intense on Mondays.

More likely, he left the portal open over the weekend and the lab’s infested with something that doesn’t belong in this universe.

Either way, Shelley’s not going in until she’s downed another cup of strong coffee and pulled on a biohazard suit.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “species”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Safari, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

We hunt for fun. The flesh farms produce everything we need, and wild meat isn’t very tasty. It’s rare we bag one young and juicy enough to eat. But we’re predators: we enjoy the thrill of the kill.   

We prefer to hunt at night, but our prey are diurnal so we head out before dusk, to catch them before they head back to their mountain lairs.

We find a pack of the two legged creatures on the prairie. They are armed with their fire sticks but the weapons are no match for our exoskeleta. We overwhelm and tear them apart.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “safari”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Integrated, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

At first it was a thrill to be Integrated, linked to so many Minds, both human and artificial. The capacity to process and understand information made his heart thump. For the first time in his life he felt a part of something important. The tingling, where the chip burried deep beneath his skin connected to his brain stem, reminded him of the fluttering excitement in his stomach when riding a roller coaster. But then it started to feel like burning. Panicking, he attempted to disconnect but was unable to do. Something had taken control of the chip and his brain.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “integrated”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Fogged, by Bruce Arbuckle

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The mist swirling around her feet begins to brown and thicken. Better get home before it gets too sticky. 

Her neighbour had been glued to his lawn the week before last when he went to fetch the newspaper. He had been stuck there for hours, poor soul. When he was eventually released his mind had been completely Fogged. His wife couldn’t cope with him at home. The grey collection van had come for him yesterday. 

No one knew what caused the syrupy brume to appear. Or perhaps they did. Easy access to information died with the internet, television and radio.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “mist”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Kill In Time, by Bruce Arbuckle

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Even as a child there is something presidential about Billy White.

Through the scope she watches the other children gather round the small boy, listening attentively, as he doles out instructions.

She can see in the way he stands, the way he gestures, the man he will become.

There is none of the cruelty, the ruthless viciousness. If she fails, that will come later.

She waits for the other children to move away, before she fires the first shot, then a second and a third.

She’s saved the world from an evil dictator. But she knows she’ll never be thanked.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “presidential”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

The World Ends, As It Always Does, Just Before Teatime, On Friday Afternoon (2: Bradley), by Bruce Arbuckle

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She runs the data through another program. The analysis comes back quickly.

The results are the same.

She checks the data again. Perhaps the error can be found there. She desperately wants to find a mistake.

But there isn’t one.

She takes a deep breath before calling Bradley.

He always finishes early on a Friday. Besides, it’s his birthday. He’s out to lunch with his family. Perhaps she should let him enjoy his cake. One last moment of normality before everything falls apart.

Before the world ends.

But she needs to tell someone.

And, after all, it is his fault.

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This is the second story in my series, The World Ends, As It Always Does, Just Before Teatime, On Friday Afternoon, imaginings of the end of the world across the multiverse. A 100-word story by Bruce Arbuckle , inspired by the random word prompt “analysis”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Entry, by Bruce Arbuckle

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The ship’s heat resistant shields were struggling. He knew he was entering the atmosphere of this long dead planet too fast and at the wrong angle. Everything was flashing bright red or yellow and several alarms screeched their disapproval.

Movement to his right: damn!

He might not have wreaked his ride, but he’d failed to shake off the drone.

Shaking, juddering, grinding. A missile clipped the right wing.

He was going to crash. He fraught to pull up the nose, hoping to limit the damage.

He plunged into the sludgy brown water, where the city of London used to be.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “entry”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Bring Them Back, by Bruce Arbuckle

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“Just because we can,” the Chief Scientific Officer says. “Doesn’t mean we should.”

“We’ve been looking for intact DNA for so long. We have the ways and means to bring back a species extinct for more than a thousand years. You’ve seen for yourself the specially designed habitat. They can be safely contained.”

The Scientist shifts, uncomfortable in her seat.

“Are we sure? They were extremely dangerous. They laid waste to everything in their path, causing mass extinctions, almost destroying their own galaxy.”

The other smiles.

“We came halfway across the universe to make contact with Homosapians. Let’s do it.”

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This 100-word story was written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt, “extinct”.

I’ll leave it up to your imagination to decide what the secure habitat might be

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)