When I woke up that morning, Akayla wasn’t at her post. She should have been monitoring the rhodium miners and scanning the maps for possible new mining locations. We had automated systems for that, but sometimes the automated systems were wrong and human input allowed us to catch costly mistakes. Redundancy was important. Redundancy wasContinue reading “Redundancy”
Category Archives: Mostly Fiction
“Thanksgiving” at Eyedrum Periodically
“We give thanks for the sun, whose energy feeds this great Earth, which, in turn, feeds us. “We give thanks for the ocean, whose purple waters support our many-limbed body, providing the bed on which we sleep and the platform on which we work. “We give thanks for the pale green sky whose beauty inspiresContinue reading ““Thanksgiving” at Eyedrum Periodically”
Everything in between
A short comedy-horror story, now available as a Kindle eBook. Hellhound and graveyard guardian Grimur fell asleep on the job. By the time he woke up hundreds of years later, the graves were gone and humans had developed automobiles. He had two options: check in with Beelzebub for his next assignment — never pleasant —Continue reading “Everything in between”
“Making the List” at Metaphorosis
“It started with a routine-sounding letter from my health insurance company. I opened it quickly because I was in the mood for a snack, and there was a little picture of cherries on the lower right corner of the envelope indicating that they had used cherry-flavored paper, my favorite. I learned that I would needContinue reading ““Making the List” at Metaphorosis”
Polly
My shtick had admittedly gotten stale. I would say, “Hello! Woooo-oooop!” Then I would sway from side to side, rub my beak on my perch and say, “Whadaya mean, crazy?” Bodean got a kick out of that the first, oh, ten times I did it. But still, what a fuss they made over that cat.Continue reading “Polly”
Pulling Weeds
“Good morning, Brother Chris. Your tomatoes are spectacular.” “Praise be to God.” “Would you like some help weeding?” “Thank you, Brother Jacob, I would love some. My knees are killing me.” “Are they? You always look so content here, working in your garden.” “I am, in mind and spirit, but the body does have aContinue reading “Pulling Weeds”
Dear Diary
Word of the day: tertiary, adj., of the third order, rank, stage, formation, etc.; third. Okay, diary, get ready for this, I know I’ve been throwing a lot of poop your way lately, but today was actually a good day. I know. Weird. It didn’t start out all fluffy bunnies and rainbows. There were noContinue reading “Dear Diary”
Why I Don’t Sign Petitions Anymore
“Sir! Do you realize that your state senator is a murderer?” “No thank you.” “Did you hear me? Senator Smith is a murderer! He must be brought to justice!” “What? The guy with the …” “Yes, the one with the big ears. He killed four people, and he’s not fit to represent our state!” “HaveContinue reading “Why I Don’t Sign Petitions Anymore”
A Fresh Start
The bees were getting restless. They had been waiting for over an hour for the humans to arrive, and they began eyeing the pretty yellow meadow flowers. “Couldn’t we …” began Fluzz, “… I mean it seems stupid to sit around doing nothing … couldn’t we collect some nectar while we wait?” Guzz had beenContinue reading “A Fresh Start”
Dixie
The sideshow acts had been run-of-the-mill. I saw a bearded lady and a man who ate glass. At the end of a line of tents sat one with no sign. The barker invited me in and I asked what I would see. “Something that must be seen to be believed.”
David Hammond 