-
Graduated
Three years. Just like a proper apprentice learning a reasonable craft. I spent three years on a predetermined writing schedule: One short story per month One episode of my series every four months One dime novel per year The idea behind the commitment was to improve my writing by means of practice, because this is…
-
Shit Happens
„Tap water? Never no way. You‘re kidding, right?“ Liam has to ask, because honestly. And he has to look up at his boss to check if Joshua is once again trying and failing to make a joke. The senile sucker considers himself funny. It’s a total misperception, an insult to anyone with a real sense of…
-
Black Friday
Gorsus taps his left temple to switch off his interface. It’s been a good forty-five minutes, half a day’s worth of linked work, he’s overdue a break. “Never more than thirty consecutive minutes” says the sky above his reclined operator armchair, in a psychedelic 3D whirl of colors. As if someone had thrown bags of…
-
Health SCare
A syringe? They are proposing to use this big fat monster of a syringe, on him? Adam is upset. It says 5 ml on the ampoule, but this is one big blob of yellow stuff. Big and yuck. The whitecoat is pulling it into the syringe, slowly, slowly, as if to emphasize the danger. He…
-
Bad Timing
„Phase two, step one, engage.” Olu wouldn’t mind Samaria’s voice to be a tad softer. He’s all in favour of lady bosses, because diligence, resilience, morale, and whatever else got praised in last years stupid gender awareness training session. In Olu’s school days, gender blindness was all the rage. Only as far as curriculumdom was…
-
Tag Trauma
“And that’s you, SP all topped up, sir. And to the very top. Big Small Puchases for you, if you don’t mind me commenting. What a jolly number. Don’t get to see that every day…” Giving the fin operator his kiss-my-ass look, through sunglasses worthy of a much more fancy occasion, Joha urges to get…
-
Jerks and Perks
“Now this is rich. Is this still 2119, or what? Ever heard of the age of respect? Feels rather like the new waste age to me. Yesterday, it was stuff that got discarded. Now it’s mind output we’re throwing away. Full speed backwards, futility power to max, is that the idea? If that is what…
-
Veblen* Vacation
Only ten minutes until pick-up time! Not prone to panicking, Ako takes a deep breath and sits down at the kitchen table. First things first now. He activates the screen mode of his implant by double pressing the first phalanx of his left pinkie with his right thumb and index to check his travel documents.…
-
Anecdotal Value Day
Ring. Ring. Ring. No answer? Ring. Ring. Something must be wrong. Ring. Ring. Sheila never takes that long. Ring. Ring. She usually answers before Aslan even has a chance… Ring … to think about how she manages to be on the line so fast. Ring. Ring. Ring. Time to give up and activate the please-get-in-touch.…
-
Class Reunion
„… and what happens next? Believe it or not, the value of the lot tripled. Not increased some. Not doubled. Value of the lot full effing tripled. And me of course to sell, sell, sell. Faster than noon lightning strikes. And the wife to complain, the way effing wives do. Went on moaning about how…