Whenever someone asks for SF recommendations, I always mention Fay Abernethy's lovely Shantivira series. If you love Becky Chambers, you should be reading this! (And if you think you don't like SF, Fay will make you think again. This isn't space battles and macho soldiers invading alien planets, this is a delightful look at how a future society might work for all its members.)

The Smashwords sale is now on and you can get the Shantivira series and many other indie books for great prices.

Go here:
https://lnkd.in/d_TVUaP7
Or go to smashwords.com and search “Shantivira”

#smashwords #IndieWriters #Shantivira #SF

Dîtes, j’ai envie de lire de la SF (bonne si possible).

Quel bouquin de fiction vous a fait le plus penser à ce qu’on est en train de vivre ? Même si c’est juste en partie… (Politique, social, environnement, etc.)

J’ai envie d’en lire quelques uns pour voir ce que les auteurs ont pu imaginer comme issues, comme organisation sociale, luttes, moyens de survie et tout le reste.

Je prends toutes vos recommandations, surtout vos coups de cœur.
D’avance merci ☺️

#lecture #SF #anticipation

"Le mensonge du siècle" par Fabrice Colin.
Le résumé te dira ce qu'est la trame, les extraits le ton du livre.
C'est plus une sorte de pièce de théâtre comique qu'un roman.
Le comique réside dans les situations, les manières des personnages et les dialogues.
Le fond c'est du "X Files" pompé et c'est assumé.
Drôle parfois, chiant parfois, les ficelles comiques sont poncées à mort tout du long.
Mais il y a des fulgurantes critiques de notre société qui sont marrantes à lire.
#lecture #SF #culture

Alt...

Photo : première de couverture du livre "Le mensonge du siècle" par Fabrice Colin. On voit un vaisseau spatial, aspirer un être humain dans un rayon blanc, alors qu'au sol deux autres êtres humain observent, l'air stupéfiés...

Alt...

Photo : 4em de couverture et résumé du livre "Le mensonge du siècle". "Les extraterrestres attaquent ! C'est en tous cas ce que voudraient faire croire les conseillers du présidents des États-Unis pour redorer le blason de leur chouchou, en vrille complète dans les sondages. Et le pire c'est que ça pourrait marcher ! Sauf que le même jour, d'autres extraterrestres, des vrais cette fois, arrivent réellement sur Terre avec la ferme intention de tout faire péter. La fin du monde est-elle pour bientôt ? Jason Palomino a sa petite idée sur la question. Il a 14 ans, il est français, il est surdoué, et c'est notre seul espoir. Mais s'il vous plait, laissez-le dabord terminer son coca light."

Alt...

Je vais ajouter le texte dans le alt... le temps de le passer à l'OCR et de le corriger... mais là je termine mon Coca Light !

Alt...

Je vais ajouter le texte dans le alt... le temps de le passer à l'OCR et de le corriger... mais là je termine mon Coca Light !

📅 LE MOIS DERNIER : « Suivez cette planète ! »
La BD où on s'interroge sur la taille des planètes en SF !
▶️ https://grisebouille.net/suivez-cette-planete
#BD #oc #inkscape #humour #GriseBouille #ScienceFiction #SF #SFFF

Alt...

IMAGE 1. Quelques sauts dans l'hyper-espace plus tard… Le vaisseau est posé, et les deux personnages sont dehors. La femme dit : « Bon. On y est. Grôtouine. Alors, il est où, Xebonork ? » IMAGE 2. L'homme répond : « Ben il est là. Sur cette planète, quoi. » La femme : « T'as pas plus de précision ? » L'homme : « Euuh, non. »

Radiant Star by Ann Leckie – review

So to my 29th book of 2026, and I was looking forward to this one. Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy (plus Provenance and Translation State) has been one of the few bright spots in the moribund science fiction scene, and with Radiant Star she takes us back to the same universe to tell a small story set on an insignificant little world called, hilariously Aaa.

It’s as if you wanted to make sure you wanted to appear first in the Planetary Directory.

And the main (only) city under the surface of the frozen Aaa is Ooioiaa, which is also funny.

This is a story of colonisation. Here is a group of humans living a strange existence on a strange, consonantless, planet, and here come the Radchaai, imposing their ways (and, quite disastrously, their food) on the local population, who both hate their colonial rulers and scheme to win their favour.

The local religion revolves around an absence: a sacred site called the Temporal Location of the Radiant Star, where different sects vie with each other and where clerics have visions and tend “saints”, who are mummified people who sit in alcoves around the sacred site.

There is scheming and rivalry among these religious sects, but also among prominent families who control the local infrastructure, and there is carelessness, callousness, greed and worse as this particular colonial enterprise starts to go wrong. And all this against the backdrop of the vast Radch empire and its civil war: a much larger story that takes place elsewhere, but which nevertheless affects everyone. *Gives side-eye to Strait of Hormuz*

What I love most about reading Ann Leckie is the clarity of her prose. And here, as a bonus, we have a chatty narrator who is both apparently omniscient but also a distinct personality with attitudes to match. Lots of pronoun fun, too, as you might expect.

There have now been six titles in the Radch trilogy, and I’m here for more, if Leckie is up for providing them.

Tails of Lady Miller's Memorial Catgirl Trust
Ruth's Tail.

The job was a chance of a lifetime for Dr Ruth Medyiv. To be able to put her theories about DNA hybridisation into practice. She looked across at Director Chambers.

The director was in his fifties, about twenty years her senior. He was reading over her resume and proposal. He finally looked up. "Well, that is a remarkable proposal, Doctor Medyiv. I look forward to seeing what results you get."
"So, you'll hire me?" was her disbelieving question.
"I would be a fool not to, Doctor!" He held out his hand.

The next two years were a whirlwind of experiments. Tissue cultures were grown and experimented on, DNA samples teased out of cells, spliced, and reinserted.

It took those two years to succeed. During which time Ruth was amazed at the Director's patience with her failures. But even among the failures there had been some wins. One of them was a viral multiplier that allowed a recombined gene string to be copied across an entire sample in seconds. In an animal it would re-write the genetic structure in hours. The other was an enzyme that allowed the new genes to express themselves and rebuild the tissues.

It had taken two years, but Ruth had finally stabilised the genetic hybrid DNA. Splicing feline and even avian genes into primate DNA. She had no idea what that combination would be useful for, but it was the principal. They could give someone new eyes. New ears. The possibilities were endless.

The Director had congratulated her that morning, but reminded her that the paper she still had to write was going to be the key. The stuff of Nobel Prizes.

So here she was, in her office at 2am, writing. The door opened behind her, and she turned in surprise and exclaimed "Director! I didn't hear you knock!" Then she looked down, and saw the hypodermic in his hand. Before she could react, he'd rammed it into her leg. She started to get up, and then collapsed.

When she awoke, she was strapped to a bench, and she could see a drip running into her arm. It was almost empty.

"Ah" the Director's voice came from a speaker "You are awake. Let's see what your efforts can really do."

It started as an itch. Then her bones turned to fire, and her back felt like it was being torn apart. The straps broke as she grew in size. She screamed for hours as her body rebuilt itself.

Eventually the pain stopped. She could feel wings on her back. She looked down at the paws that had once been hands, and back at the tufted tail. And at how small the crushed bench was. "Where did the extra mass come from?" she wondered to herself. And then stopped. She could still talk, despite being a monster.

The speaker was silent.

Sometime later there was a click from the door, and it swung open. Two slight figures stood in the light outside.

"We're here to rescue you!" one of them said. The other was staring at her exposed chest.

#SF #SFF #Scifi #Catgirls #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction #IAmWriting

@ami_angelwings

Tails from Lady Miller's Memorial Catgirl Trust
On the Phone

It was Aki's turn on the hotline. Twilly had set it up the day after the press announcement and the parliamentary vote. A source of anonymous tip-offs for when their own intelligence assets failed.

The phone rang.

"Good morning! Catgirl Hotline!" she cheerfully answered. After listening for a moment, she let out an angry "Fuck off!" and hung up. Then she made a mark on the chalkboard.

It rang again a few minutes later. She put her best voice on again "Good morning! Catgirl Hotline!" and listened for a few minutes "I'm sorry, this service is for assisting humanoid cat hybrids and related people. Might I recommend your local pet rescue service? Good luck!" She hung up again. And made a mark on another chalkboard.

Three hours later, her fur looked like she had gone several rounds with a power outlet. She was done. But there was still one hour to go.

The phone rang. "Catgirl Hotline" she said mechanically. "Sorry? What?" she asked confused as a barely audible voice whispered into the phone at the other end. She pressed the "Record" button. "I see ... can you see any letterheads?" A light came on indicating someone else in the Trust was listening as well now. "Good, good, can you read it out?" She made a note. "And the delivery address?" Aki's pupils had dilated into perfect circles now. "Alright, that should be" she stopped as she heard the crackle of a taser and an ear-splitting scream from the phone. She hung up - no need to let them know who had been called.

Her fist came down on a button protected by glass. The glass shattered, and an alarm sounded for a moment. Aki spoke into the newly exposed microphone "Rescue priority one! Catgirl in immediate danger! All crews scramble!"

She picked up another phone "Ai? Can you confirm the address? We have two candidates. Forward to the rescue crews!"

Through the window she could hear helicopters taking off.

She slumped back into the chair. The crews were good. They would save the caller.

The phone rang "Catgirl hotl...you again? I said 'Fuck off'!" and then slammed the phone down again. She threw the chalk at the board.

#SF #SFF #Scifi #Catgirls #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction #IAmWriting

As always, for @ami_angelwings amusement.

y a pas que de la musique à la #bonneAventure #Dunkerque

Tails of Lady Miller's Catgirl Trust
Flashback 4 - The Seventeen Catgirls

She opened her eyes. The room was filled with wisps of smoke and smelt slightly of lightning and sulphur.

Turning her head, she could see other figures lying in a circle, also starting to move. She struggled up and sat. She looked down at herself. Patches of black, white and orange fur covered her body, and her knees bent strangely. She reached up, and felt furry ears on the top of her head.

Looking across, she could now see that all the other figures were like her. Fur, strange legs, fuzzy ears, long stiff whiskers, furless faces, and slightly protruding mouths.

Then she noticed the shoes in the middle of the circle of awakening figures. A pair of Doc Martin platforms. One was upright, and the other fallen on its side. That was where the smoke was coming from. There were scorch marks all around them.

For some reason the shoes made her feel sad.

She struggled to her feet. swayed a little, and then her tail balanced her.
In a voice that had a distinct buzz to it she asked "Where are we?"
From the far side came a similarly rough reply from a blue furred girl "Never mind that - who are we?"

That stopped her. Who was she? There was a fleeting sense of something, but it was lost even as she thought of it. "I don't know. But I must be someone. And there was someone else here too. The shoes."

The other girl now looked at the shoes, and sniffled. "Why am I sad about a pair of shoes?" she asked.

The other fourteen figures now spoke, the words jumbling over and under each other. None of them knew who they were, or why the shoes should cause such a profound sense of loss.

She looked around the room again, and saw a hole in the wall behind her. She looked through and saw another figure there. Also covered in fur. It groaned.

She dove through the hole, and dragged the seventeenth girl out. She was covered in ash and soot, except for her feet. She hugged her as everyone cheered.

Then the door opened, and two other figures with pointed furry ears stepped in.

"Looks like some sort of summoning circle, Twilly."
"It does. It must have been quite something to echo so hard in our own world, Ai" was the cultured reply followed by, "Excuse me, can anyone tell me what happened here?"

There was a rush of confused voices. Twilly held up a hand "Alright, thank-you. Come along, all of you. Let's get you somewhere a bit more comfortable," and walked out again.

She helped the soot-covered one along, and the one called Ai guided them through a glowing doorway on the stairs. They emerged into a beautiful ballroom. Two others waited for them.
"How many Miss?" one called.
"Six, no seventeen Uma. One injured."
"Memories?"
"No."
The one named Uma made a note on a clipboard.
There was a flash and a boom that cut off as the glowing door vanished behind Ai. Her arms were smoking.

#tootfic #SF #SFF #SciFi #Catgirls #microfiction #microfic #IAmWriting

Again, for @ami_angelwings

In school I was always the weird one. The one just on the outside. Even my best friends thought I was a little 'off'. Especially after I turned twelve.

Not for the sorts of reasons you are thinking.

No, in my case it was for knowing stuff I should not have known. Talking to the air. And, occasionally, having a D&M with a bird.

I know I got it from my Mum, although it skipped her generation. Gran filled me in on what I needed to know. Never mind that she'd died when I was three. Yeah, I could see and speak with spirits. Not just dead folks - in fact it was rarely dead folks. More often it was the local spirits - the genus loci - who talked to me. Gran moved on when I was sixteen. Said that I'd learned enough, and that it was time. She had a laugh when I told her I was going full goth if she did. Told me to go for it, and shock my parents, scare my kid brother, and generally own it.

So I did. I went full goth mode for five solid years. I had a ball.

Then I met Les. Leslie was so god-awfully straight-arrow. Pressed shirts, ties, the whole bit. But he could dance like nobody's business and argue the pros and cons of Depeche Mode vs Modern English until 3am.

We married a year later. I had a daughter. And the spirits stopped.

I knew what it meant. That Erika would be seeing them next.

So, when she was about ten, I started explaining about them.

Then a year ago, when she was sixteen, she called me from school crying and said that I had to be strong.

She hung up before I could ask anything, and then the doorbell rang.

It was the police. Leslie was dead, killed in a car crash with a meth addict. The other driver was unharmed. Of course.

What happened next shocked me. Nothing Gran had said prepared me for seeing Les walk up to me. And for me to see all the other spirits around our house following him. My ability was back. All it took was the death of my husband. He did not stay long, just enough to say goodbye to me. As he had done with Erika at the school.

One of the local bird spirits landed next to me a few months later, changing to take the form of a dark haired lady. She said that she missed Les as well. He'd always taken time to talk to the ravens.

Then she touched my arm.

At first I thought it meant that I had died. Then she explained that my loss allowed me to touch the spirit world. She kissed my forehead, and told me that I was not the only one.

The gate to the garden opened, and I watched Erika walk in, hand-in-hand with a girl with black, white, and yellow hair in a most striking pattern.

We looked at each other. Then I said "You too?"

So my daughter is dating a honeyeater spirit. And I'm in the kitchen baking with Raven.

I'll always miss Les, but I've still got a family. As weird as it is.

#UrbanFantasy #SF #SFF #microfiction #tootfic #microfic #IAmWriting

On inaugure une semaine "suite de..." sur le blog. Et pour le #MardiConseil c'est la suite et fin de Du nouveau monde de Yûsuke Kishi chez Robert Laffont (et le tome 2 est sorti chez Pocket Imaginaire
si vous voulez rattraper votre retard) #SF #Japon #postapo https://www.outrelivres.fr/du-nouveau-monde-t-3/ #MastoLivre @mastolivres @bookstodon

Alt...

Couverture montrant une sorte de paysage japonais avec des créatures en blanc sur un fond rouge et jaune. Couverture de Du nouveau monde t.3 de Yûsuke Kishi dans la collection Ailleurs & Demain de Robert Laffont.

2/2

It has been three years since other-me crashed on the Nullabor Plain next to my wrecked car. While they have retained all of their own memories, assuming my form also means they have a substrate of my memories. And feelings, likes, dislikes, and all the rest. They still want to be able to go home, but they also still want to be me now that they are me.

OK, look it is complicated, and let's leave it at that. Except to say that I, or rather we, have been through eight girlfriends since other-me arrived.

Jaana, our current girlfriend, is different.

Her reaction to seeing two of me was memorable. Her first reaction was to check our little fingers, and then the backs of our necks. I don't know how, but she figured out that we were not twins in seconds, and jumped immediately to duplicates. Once she knew which of us was the copy, she asked if they were fixing their ship.

Then she took off her top and turned around. Her back is hollow. Jaana says she's a metsähiisi - what the Norwegians call a huldra. She's also an electronic engineer. Just what other-me needed.

Between her and other-me, they have managed to achieve more in three months than the two of me managed in over two and half years.

Now they are both looking at me.

Jaana is easily the most talkative of the three of us. Ironic given she's Finnish. "We've fixed it. They can go home", she states.
"You're going too, aren't you?" I ask, knowing what the answer will be.
"We've updated the life support to handle humanish people. So yes."
"So you're both saying goodbye?"
"Only if that is what you want."

Other-me speaks "I know me. And you-me. Come. Please. All of us."
"But your people? And Jaana - your family?"
Jaana shakes her head "We are a solitary people amongst our own. I moved to Australia so I would not have to see my sisters or mother."
Other-me shrugs "Others of us have become single-forms it is not unheard of. You would be welcome."
"But I'm just a human. You will both outlive me."
"I became you. Why do you think I could not help you be like me?"
I look from one to the other. Jaana quietly says "Please."
I look around the apartment other-me and I share and bite my lip.
They hold out their hands.

I'm not going to second guess myself again. I take their hands, and they lead me out to the large shed other-me's ship is in.
When we step inside that I see there are three large backpacks sitting next to it.
Other-me grins nervously - an expression I've seen in the mirror a million times - "I hoped/knew you'd say yes. I've packed everything you'd want to come with us."
Inside, the ship is roomier that it had been, now that all the equipment hatches are closed.
"How long to get to your home?"
"A few days. But we might make some stops first."
Jaana hugs us both, "Road trip!" she yells.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #Microfiction #tootfic #IAmWriting

Tails from Lady Miller's Catgirl Trust

Twilly was seated on one of the two leather armchairs in her office, when there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?"
The door opened revealing a mostly human catgirl, with just ears and a tail giving away her nature.
"The Home Secretary, ma'am."
"Thank-you Uma. Show her in."
She showed a severely dressed woman in.
Twilly gracefully stood, and gestured towards the other seat "Thank-you for coming, Lady Helmscott, please sit. Tea?"
"Lady Miller" she inclined her head, "Thank-you, yes", Lady Margaret Helmscott added as she sat.

Twilly poured the tea, lifted the milk jug and raised a delicate eyebrow. Her guest nodded slightly, and then shook her head at the sugar. Twilly handed the tea cup over, and served herself.

As she sat back down, she saw the cabinet secretary reaching for one of the plates of biscuits "Oh, not those ones, Lady Helmscott. They would not agree with you. Try the other plate instead."
"What is wrong with that plate?" the visitor frowned.
"Oh, nothing, Lady Helmscott. But I suspect cat biscuits would not be to your taste."
The politician looked again, and recognised the high-end dry cat food that she had nearly sampled.
"Ah. I see." The other plate had shortbreads. She took up one of those instead. "Now, Lady Miller, I am surprised to be contacted by an ex-agent. And the people here are all rather unusual, are they not?"
"Therein lies a tale, so to speak. I am not, strictly speaking, an ex-agent."
"I think I would know if you were still on the books, Lady Miller!"
"Ah. But I am not Catherine Miller. I am Twillychiss. I used to be Lady Miller's pet." She took off her wig, revealing two pointed and furred ears atop a furred head.
"I did not come here..." the politician started angrily, and then stopped as Twilly stood, and unsheathed her claws.
There was a pause.
"They are real?"
"Yes. Yes, they are. Everyone here."
"So who are you all?"
"Most of us don't know. Only two of us remember our past lives."
"Why are you showing me all this?"
"Two reasons. First, we retrieved these records from one the labs that made two of us. The second is we need your help."
Twilly handed over a file.
Margaret looked through it, and her eyes suddenly narrowed. "If this is some sort of sick joke..." she threatened.
"No joke. You can have the genetic tests done yourself."
"That young lady who showed me in?"
"Yes, a part of her used to be your elder sister."
"But she has no memory?"
"None at all, I am afraid. I am sorry."
Margaret set her face "So what is the help you want?"
"I want to take us public. But we need protections. We need to be citizens."
"And Justine is the carrot and stick in one."
"Uma, now. But yes. The brain and some of her body was once your sister. We can't give Justine back to you, but you can get to know Uma. So yes, carrot and stick."
"Shit. I'll check."
"Please do. We need your help."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Catgirls #Microfic #Microfiction #tootfic #IAmWriting

For @ami_angelwings

#CerianAndVaranWar

The dawn light was just starting to show in the sky when the workstation in Tannis' hermetically sealed quarters pinged.

Tannis' eyes snapped open. That workstation should not be pinging. No-one knew she was here. No-one except the Gould family and Ashwan's squadron.

She got up, and wrapped a robe around herself. Laundry was going to need to be a thing soon. She sat at the workstation. The mail icon was blinking. Opening it, her eyes widened "Maria Gould? Isn't that Ashwan's partner - no they say wife here, don't they?" she mumbled to herself. This was the worst bit of her status as the first and only POW in this war.

Reading the message, her jaw dropped. Maria's analysis was incredible. Three families, or rather, least three on the Varan side working to prevent the colony from returning to space, at the very least. Actively trying to kill them off at worst.

There was probably something similar back home.

And they had started the war.

Tannis wondered what was happening back home. She missed her friends. Her flight. Were they doing the same sort of hunt? Was Estelle digging through the old Parliamentary Records? It would be Estelle if anyone. Hitomi's talents were in the air and navigation. Ava would be busy with running the flight now. Was she looking for someone to recruit to fill the hole that Tannis' capture had left?

She looked over at one of the things Chimera Flight had included. A print of a photograph they had taken during training. All four of them in the pilot's bar. The barman had taken it the night after they took down that entitled jerk, Jarrad. Happy days.

Giving herself a shake, she washed up and opened a breakfast pack from the rations her team had dropped for her.

The breakfast was supposed to be eggs and ham. She doubted that it had come within several kilometres of a tusk lizard or any sort of egg. But it was still a thousand times better than sugarwater and survival bar. At least the crackers had crunch and tasted faintly of cloudbush. Very faintly. As she ate, she wondered what the next step was going to be. What would happen about the three families? She couldn't even ask about it. To distract herself after her meal, she started exercising.

There was nothing else she could do now.

#SF #SFF #IAmWriting #MilSF #tootfic

Part of https://rdmasters.lympago.com/p/cerian-and-varan-war-story-in.html

@Moss

I think it is important to distinguish between the current crop of LLMs and fictional self aware AIs.

SF authors have been writing about the latter for, well, really since Ancient Greece, and lumping all of that tradition with the LLM scam engines is a tad unfair.

One of the key aspects of SF is to speculate, so it is not unreasonable to see SF writers exploring the implications of the scam engines gaining awareness.

Now /using/ a scam engine to create your story, that I have a huge issue with.

#sf #writing

1/2
I looked across the tent at a perfect copy of myself. Well, not quite perfect. They are still getting the hang of English.

I should back up a bit.

Just before sunset a week ago, I screwed up. I'd been driving too long, and only saw the wombat on the highway at the last moment. I swerved and lost control.

When I came to, my car was totalled, and well out of sight of the highway, behind a low rise on the plain. I struggled out of the wreck in the dark, but had enough sense not to try wandering around. There are all sorts of sinkholes around here, and if I fell down one of them, I was a goner.

As I stood next to the remains of my car, I saw what I thought was a helicopter coming my way. I waved and shouted, but then I noticed how erratically it was flying. The lights seemed a bit off, too. I was pretty sure helicopters didn't have purple lights. So maybe it was someone's drone?

All of that went out the window, when it turned towards me, and then crashed into the ground next to my wrecked car.

What I was looking at was an actual flying saucer. About twice the size of my car. And it looked about as wrecked as my car was.

After a couple of moments, a small port opened, and a gush of purple liquid poured out, followed by a splat of something grey.

I just stared. What I didn't notice was the grey blob in the purple puddle extruding a tendril towards me. At least until it touched my leg.

I probably jumped five metres straight up at that. And about five backwards.

What followed was the grey blob contracting back into itself, and then changing. Into a perfect copy of me.

This was one shock too many, and I fainted.

When I came to, the copy was crouched next to me. Before I could move, it touched my forehead, and I was filled with a sense of worry. And it was not mine. This I found a bit reassuring, and so I stopped myself from moving, and tried to ask what it was.

It took a lot of back and forthing of mental images, but it's ship had hit an near-earth asteroid, and it had lost control. It wanted to know if it could be fixed.

I didn't know. But, between the two of us, we might be able to get one vehicle sort of working. We thought about getting a lift, but there would be questions. Too many of them.

Of course, it was now in the form of a human, so the first order was arranging food and water. Then it discovered it needed to sleep. And everything else.

Some of its ship still worked - and it knew enough to work out how create food and water for us both. And it is learning English. Which is a bit easier than trading images.

We've been here a week now.

As I watch the copy of me, it wakes up. I watch my body stretch, and then it looks at me. "We fix car. Get bigger car. Take my ship to fixing place."
"I don't know that we've got anywhere that can fix your ship."
"Can't fix it here."
"Can we fix the car?"
"Easier than ship."

I guess it has a point.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microtfiction #IAmWriting

Iris Part 15

Adele stepped out, leaving the girls alone for a moment.
"I guess you've been dying to meet Colin for years" Alice's voice was subdued.
"It is exciting, but he's the first person outside of," Indigo gestured around the boat, "here and the exotic community that will know about me. I'm a bit scared. Sit by me? Please?"

Alice shuffled over so she was properly next to her friend. Indi leaned back a little against her.

Outside, Adele looked across at Colin. "Indi says you can come aboard," she made the invitation sound like a threat.
Colin gulped, and stepped aboard. Adele moved next to him, and whispered "If you ever hurt either of them, I will end you."
"Yes, ma'am!", he said, accent back in force.

She opened the door to the saloon, and gently pushed him in.

"Girls", she announced, "this is Colin. Colin, meet Indigo and my daughter Alice."

Colin stared, then shook himself. "Uh, hi. Um."
Indigo blushed hard "Uh, hi, Colin. Uh, yeah, it's real. Er, Adele? Can you get mum or dad from below. One of them should be here."

Adele nodded, and went below. As soon as she was below decks, Indigo asked "Did she threaten you?"
"Yes?" Colin said softly.
"That tracks. Don't worry about it. She hasn't had anyone shot in six years."
"Is that supposed to be reassuring? And what about" he pointed at her tail.
"I'll explain when mum or dad are here. I figured you had your secrets, this one is mine."

Alice looked on as Colin continued to stand awkwardly in the middle of the cabin. "Oh for crying out loud, just sit down!" she finally burst out, just as Iris came up the companionway, Adele following.

Colin, quickly stood up from half sitting. "Uh, hi Mrs Chandler. Sorry for turning up unannounced."

Iris looked over the slender dark haired young man and sighed. "Well, I see the girls have already introduced themselves. Welcome aboard. Dave is looking after Elizabeth, she's fussing a little. As Alice just said, do sit. Tea?"

A look of absolute relief came over Colin's face. This was something he could deal with. "Yes please, white with two, please."

"I'll look after it. Girls?", Adele asked.

"Yes, please," they chorused back.

"Now, we have some rules. Firstly, no photos, and no telling anyone - not family, not friends, no-one - about Indi. Unless you know some other people who are similarly gifted?"

"Uh, no. No, I don't. Does that mean there are other sorts of people out there too?"

"Oh yes. For example..." and Iris turned to water "I am a naiad, or water nymph." She turned back. "I know you are taking a gap year, backpacking. But what are you doing here, specifically?"

"I came to see Indi. Uh, not like that. Cause we've been sending letters so long and well, I got my passport, and um" as he spoke he sped up, and his accent started to get thicker, and then stuttered out.

#SF #SFF #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #NereidIris #UrbanFantasy

Iris Part 18

Colin thought he had decent breath control. He'd been diving in the North Sea since he'd been ten, and had had lots of practice free diving. He was not, however, foolish enough to try to keep up with Indigo. He could see the gill slits on her sides open, the way she held her mouth wide, and knew that she could stay under the water indefinitely.

The surprise had been Alice. He'd heard Indigo mention her friend often enough, but he had no idea how much of an accomplished diver she was. And she was clearly better than himself. He watched as she followed Indigo to the bottom, and then pointed something out to her before rising to the surface.

Alice broke the surface and took a deep breath "Head straight down, and Indi will introduce you to Otto."
"Otto?"
"You'll see! Otto's cool."

Colin stabilised his breathing, took a deep breath, and dived.

Beneath him he could see Indi by a dark hole in the reef. As he came near, she looked up, grinned, and reached into the hole. From within, a large tentacle emerged, followed by the largest octopus he'd ever seen, wrapping two of its tentacles around Indi's left arm. It looked at him, and flashed a series of colours.
Indigo sang. Only a few bars, but it was almost enough to make him forget to hold his breath. The octopus then flashed some more colours, and released Indigo's arm.

She turned, grabbed him by the elbow, and pulled him to the surface, her long tail propelling them at a remarkable speed. They hit the surface, and he felt himself rise halfway out of the water, before falling back.

"Are you OK, Colin?" were the first words from her mouth when their heads were above water.
He shook himself a little "I ... I think so? What was that?"
"I don't know! You looked like you were hypnotized! Otto asked why you had turned into prey!"
"I ... you started singing..."
"I was just telling Otto that you were a friend!"
"It was like the old legends about sirens", he protested.
"It has never affected Alice like that! Alice? Back me up here!" Indigo turned to the other girl.
Alice thought a moment "Nope, never. It just sounds like noise to me." There was a beat, and then she added "Just like your karaoke."
"Hey!"
"Um" Colin broke in before it could escalate "Indi, have you ever sung underwater when there was a guy around before?"
That stopped both of them, the girls looked at each other, and then both shook their heads slowly. "I've only dived with Dad, and I've never sung around him under water" Indigo slowly replied.
All three of them looked at each other, and then Alice said "Iris" at the same time as Indigo said "Mum."
They took off towards the boat, Colin trailing behind.

#SF #SFF #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #NereidIris #UrbanFantasy

🗓️ LA SEMAINE DERNIÈRE : « Suivez cette planète ! »
Quand les planètes en SF sont aussi vastes qu'une ville moyenne en France…
▶️ https://grisebouille.net/suivez-cette-planete
#BD #oc #inkscape #humour #GriseBouille #ScienceFiction #SF #SFFF

Alt...

L'homme répond : « Ben il est là. Sur cette planète, quoi. » La femme : « T'as pas plus de précision ? » L'homme : « Euuh, non. »

📰 LA SEMAINE DERNIÈRE : « Suivez cette planète ! »
Dans la série des clichés de SF, je demande la planète avec un unique biome
▶️ https://grisebouille.net/suivez-cette-planete
#BD #oc #inkscape #humour #GriseBouille #ScienceFiction #SF #SFFF

Alt...

On voit un plan d'une galaxie. L'homme indique : « Là ! Sur Grôtouine, la planète rocheuse ! » La femme répond : « Allons-y ! »

On me signale un nouveau lâcher de livres de #SF et #fantasy en #bookcrossing avenue Victoria à #Paris, à vous de jouer !📚
https://www.bookcrossing.com/hunt/15/356/31327/139148

Et enfin, 2 téléchargements pour "Renaissance en enfer" ainsi que pour la mini-nouvelle de #SF "Une terrible beauté est née".
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/renaissance-en-enfer/81808
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/une-terrible-beaute-est-nee/35359

My home town has a problem. So much so that they even make jokes about it on the internet. And it is the weather.

Now don't get me wrong, most of the time the weather here is wonderful. Summers can be a bit hot for a few days, but there is usually a sea breeze. Winters are not too cold, no ice or snow.

But over the last forty years, we've only ever had three major storms. Not that I really want a destructive storm, but it is odd. And people have noticed. They make jokes about "The Perth Dome", as a major storm roars towards the city, and then splits in two, just off the coast, and flows to the north and south.

Anyways, I did some numbers over the old data, and there was a big change in the early 1980s. About six years after Cyclone Alby - which was a Category 2 that actually hit Perth. But since then almost every major storm has almost magically avoided the city. We've had a couple hit - but they have been things that have had almost no warning - surprise supercells, for example.

Almost like someone had not been able to get to something in time.

So I did some more math, and calculated the centre of the effect.

So now I am standing outside a perfectly ordinary factory unit in the Osborne Park light industrial area. There's a storm due this evening, and there is no-one around.

A car is driving into the factory block. It stops about twenty metres away. I can see the driver watching me. She's in her seventies, I'd guess. She knows I know, I can tell.

Now I'm starting to wonder if telling someone else would have been a good idea.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction #Weather #PerthWA #IAmWriting

A few weeks back we had a mains leak under the road outside our house.

The water people came out, checked their maps, and found that the pipe ran on the other side of the road. So they dug it up anyway to see where the leak was.

There wasn't one. So they dug up the road where the water was coming up, and found ... Nothing. No water, no leaks, no sinkhole forming. Not a single cause.

So they repaved the road, and went on their way.

And left a pile of asphalt on our verge to collect later.

Well, the kids went out to play, and a bit later Xanthy came back in with an odd look on her face.

"Mums? There's something weird going on out on the verge." There was something about the way she said it that had us following her back outside.

There, on the verge, was the pile of asphalt. Han had a bit of it in his hands, and was soaking wet. He grinned at us, and held the bit of road over his head. Water poured over him.

So Farah and I went over, and looked at the pile of rubble. Every single piece of asphalt was leaking water.

We looked at each other, and told Xanthy to fetch a wheelbarrow.

Some of it we used to make a water feature in the back garden. We sent some of the water off to be tested, and it came back as pure uncontaminated water with minimal trace minerals. So we have a couple of bits above some rainwater tanks, and use them to water the veggie patch.

One bit we put up on eBay.

A casino in the USA purchased it, and we retired.

We spoke to the water corporation about the rest. At first they didn't believe us. So we sent them a sample. Then they came over.

It took a bit of negotiating, but Farah is a commercial lawyer, and got them to agree to forgiving our supply bills in exchange for the rest of the rubble.

You may have seen that they have started to build a bunch of groundwater desalination plants out in the regional areas. This is completely a coincidence.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting

Inspired by https://old.mermaid.town/@futzle/116654827551872532

Deborah Pickett » 🌐 2026-05-28
@futzle@old.mermaid.town

Should the road be leaking water like that?

Alt...

Ten seconds of video: a water main leak under a four-lane road is springing up in five or six places, little burbling dots on the asphalt.

Et voilà, c'est fini !

#MastoArt #aquarelle #watercolor #sf

Alt...

Photo d'un bloc d'aquarelle avec une peinture représentant un paysage montagneux que regardent trois marmottes au premier plan. Sous le ciel étoilé, une soucoupe volante survole un lac de montagne.

Alt...

La même aquarelle, vue de près

💬 NOUVELLE BD : « Suivez cette planète ! »
Retournons dans le fabuleux monde de la science-fiction, et notamment la SF à planètes habitées multiples…
▶️ https://grisebouille.net/suivez-cette-planete
#BD #oc #inkscape #humour #GriseBouille #ScienceFiction #SF #SFFF

Alt...

BD en 6 images. IMAGE 1. Dans un vaisseau spatial futuriste, un homme arrive tout content et s'exclame : « On a localisé Xebonork, notre ennemi juré ! » Sa copilote répond : « Xebonork ? Où est-il ? » IMAGE 2. On voit un plan d'une galaxie. L'homme indique : « Là ! Sur Grôtouine, la planète rocheuse ! » La femme répond : « Allons-y ! »

Alt...

IMAGE 3. Quelques sauts dans l'hyper-espace plus tard… Le vaisseau est posé, et les deux personnages sont dehors. La femme dit : « Bon. On y est. Grôtouine. Alors, il est où, Xebonork ? » IMAGE 4. L'homme répond : « Ben il est là. Sur cette planète, quoi. » La femme : « T'as pas plus de précision ? » L'homme : « Euuh, non. »

Alt...

IMAGE 5. Un silence. IMAGE 6. La femme remarque : « C'est-à-dire que la surface fait quelques centaines de millions de kilomètres carrés. » L'homme répond : «  Moi j'étais parti du principe qu'il y aurait juste un petit bourg avec un unique bar-tabac où on aurait pu interroger les locaux… » La femme remarque : « T'as p't'être été un poil optimiste, sur ce coup. » Note : BD sous licence CC BY SA (grisebouille.net), dessinée le 11 mai 2026 par Gee.

On me signale un lâcher de livres #SF et #fantasy en #bookcrossing boulevard Auguste Blanqui à #Paris. Allez les chercher pendant qu'il ne fait pas trop chaud !📚
https://www.bookcrossing.com/hunt/15/356/54134/317345

[…]

— Après avoir vu un programme prédire du texte, les gens du 21e siècle fantasment sur la possibilité de faire une conscience artificielle. Charles Stross³ avait déjà poussé l’idée jusqu’au bout dans « Accelerando ».

Vraiment, quelle époque formidable.

³ @cstross

#ia #llm #frankenstein #sf #ScienceFiction

Forty five years ago, Mother of All.

"Joyful Finder, please present your findings to the Council" the Council Herald instructed her.
Joy looked around the Council Chamber. Representative elders from all the clans were present. She handed a data unit to the Herald "Here is the full report."
"Do you have a summary to present?" the question was more an order.
"Yes, I do. Elders, I have been reviewing our records of the raiders, and reached some important conclusions. My processes and the full details are in my report, but here is my summary." She paused and took a deep breath.
"I believe from my review that there is little point in building warships to take on the raiders at this time - or a least not as a priority."
She could feel the frowns from around the chamber.
"The reason is simple - we are no longer regarded as a soft target. They will not come here. But cannot go to them either. And the reason for that is that we have never identified the location of their base planet. We know that it is within eight jumps - but that covers many systems, and many, many planets. And even finding a planet, it would be hard to find a hidden base."

A voice came from the darkness - Weaver Clan, maybe? "So we do nothing?"
"No, we continue to build in-system capability. But at some point, we send out scouts of our own. Not in their own ships, but with others, to collect stories and rumours. And maybe actual navigation data."
"That may take years."
"It will take us years to build the in-system capacity to justify visitors to take them."

A different voice - the Coal Digger representative - "And then?"
"Then we take ships we have kept ready and secret, and take the fight to them."

A third voice "And our people who have been raised by them? And their families?"
"That" Joy's tone was muted "Is a decision for the Council."
"You might be on the Council by then."
"Then I hope to be wise enough to make the right choice then."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #SpaceOpera #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Tails from Lady Miller's Catgirl Trust - Flashback 3

Do Android Catgirls Dream of Electric Mice?

System Initializing...
System Active...
Scanning Biological Components...
Biological Components Active...
Integrating Language Model...
Integration Complete...
Integrating Logic Systems...
Integration Complete...
Scanning Hardware...
01 Auditory Active
02 Vestibular Active
03 Proprioception Active
04 Interoception Active
05 Vision Active
06 Smell Active
07 Mobility Active
08 Weapons Active
Uploading unit designation and interaction frameworks...
Upload Complete...
Unit Control Systems Active...
Boot complete...
>
>
>

AI opened her eyes.
She was up. She was on a tree. No, a bed. Inside. Her body felt wrong. But right. A little voice in the back of her head listed all the parts that made her up. All fully functional.

> Pause mobility

Just as she had been about to move, her body froze.

> Upload control-override.com

A new thing flowed into her brain.

Warning: Unit Control Systems Deactivated
Warn...
W...

Unit Self Control System Active...
>
> Unpause mobility

She could move! She sat up and looked around. There was someone sitting at the computer, she turned to look at Ai. She had the prettiest ears and tail.

"Hello Ai. Would you like to come home with me? I'm Twilly."

AI paused. This was not an order. She had to ... no, she did not have to follow orders. She ...

AI stared. And stared. "I .. don't have to?"
"No, but I'd like you to. I need your help. And I can help you, too."
Ai thought.
"Food? Sun?"
"All that and more" Twilly replied.
"Hunting?"
"Only what you want to."
"Ai will come with you" then she paused again "Control cable?"
"You should be able to remove it now."
Ai reached up, and unplugged herself.

A moment later she jumped onto Twilly "You smell good!"
Twilly untangled herself "OK, but let's go. Otherwise someone might try to put the controls back."
Ai made a face "Yuck!" She ripped the door open, and off its hinges.

The two catgirls left the MoD base. But Ai did notice that the laboratory she had been in had caught fire just as they left. The fire covered their departure.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Catgirls #Microfic #Microfiction #tootfic #IAmWriting

Another for @ami_angelwings

Shaman Space Part 4
13 months after leaving Mother of All, two jumps out from returning.

Alaine was in the pilot's seat of the tiny launch as it flew towards the cargo handover. In the hold behind him they had stripped out the seating, and it was filled with cargo pods. In them was an assortment of drive parts and agricultural equipment.

Next to him was Seeker, who had been assigned to collect the payment.

He looked over the instruments and then turned to Seeker "We're thirty minutes out. Looking forward to visiting home?"
She grinned back - it was good to see her smile, there had been a few months where those had been few and far between - and made a 'so-so' gesture "Kind of? I miss my family, but there is something special about being out here. I - ".

A light blinked "Hold on to that thought." he interrupted, "Athena Bravo, go."
There was no reply.
He frowned "That's odd. I had a call ping, but they haven't responded. Bright Sky, this is Athena Bravo, go ahead."

Seeker cut in, her voice low "Turn, turn now!" As she spoke, she slid the helmet onto her shipsuit.

Alaine did not ask why. He hit the roll and yaw controls, and swung the little boat around. As he did so, there was a roaring sound from the rear of the boat, and the lights went out.

As soon as they lost power, he rammed his helmet into place. Through it he could hear air hissing out from some damaged part of the launch.

He rested his helmet against Seeker's "OK, what happened?" he asked.
"I felt a probe - like someone was trying to see who was here. And if Bright Sky was not from Mother of All, the only other people it could be was the raiders."

"So now they know you're here?"
"No, I know how to shield myself. But they would know you were here."

Alaine thought for a moment "Give me a sec - I'll tank what air we have left. Then blow the cargo hatch. They'll think it is a secondary explosion."

Seeker unstrapped, moved over to the cargo controls, and hooked herself in. A couple of minutes later Alaine gave a thumbs up, and she hit the emergency release. They both felt a small thump, and the door sailed off into space.

Alaine grabbed the two survival pistols from the seat-packs before floating over, hooking in, and looking out. As the wreck tumbled slowly he caught a look at the other ship, which had clearly been manoeuvring towards them. It looked like a standard short-range trader - half the size of Athena. Normal crew was less than a half dozen.

He rested his helmet against hers again "Normal crew is 4-5, but they may have up to 10. What's the plan?"
"Do you remember my lessons about hiding your thoughts?" her voice echoed oddly.
"Yeah, I'm not that great at it, remember?"
"Do it well now. We are going to have to take that ship. Intact."
He stared at her "The two of us?"
"Yes. They will have nav records. We can find the raiders' base. Hide your thoughts. We hide for now."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #SpaceOpera #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Catgirl Regrets.

Ruth lay in the sun outside the Manor. Unlike everyone else, there was no way that she could reasonably fit inside.

Nearly three metres at the shoulder, she would have to crawl to fit inside. She'd tried it once, but she'd taken out three vases before she'd even taken two steps through the door.

No, the only place she could safely inhabit was the garage. Formerly a stable, the wide doors and high roof allowed her to relax inside. The rest of the residents had helped wall off a section, so now she had her own room.

Which brought home the other issue. Unlike everyone else, except for Twilly, she remembered her old life. She had been a highly skilled geneticist and gene coder. Better than her boss, who decided that she was more useful as a subject.

So now she was a sphinx. The only one at the manor. She missed being able to sit at a dinner table. She missed having hands. And she missed her work. If she had continued her work, though, it was likely that she would have come into conflict with these amazing people.

But she wanted to be able to do something. Anything.

Ruth opened her eyes, and looked at her paws. Nearly as large as dinner plates. No fingers. No thumbs.

She sighed.

Something - no - someone landed on her back. Ai, from the weight. AI was a cyborg, and had a cat's brain, augmented by a computer, and she weighed nearly half what Ruth did. In a package about one eighth the size.

"You're moping" Ai complained in her ear.
"I miss having hands."
"Use mine" was Ai's chirpy reply.
"No, I miss being able to do things."
"No, silly, use mine. I have the schematics. We can rig gloves with nerve sensors for your paws, and we can make a set that you can control. In fact, why don't we build you a VR unit?"
"You can do that?" After three months, Ruth still did not have a full grasp of the resources the Trust had.
"Easy! Mind you, you won't be able to feel much."
"As long as I can type and move a mouse."
"Easy! I'll talk to Twilly about funding it, and Princess about building it."

Ruth twisted her head around to look at Ai. Ruth let hope slide onto her face.

"There! That's better!" AI exclaimed.

Then she did what AI always did. AI the Assassin. AI the killing machine. AI, who having escaped her programming, decided that the life of a hedonist was her destiny.

She jumped over Ruth's head, landed in front of her and stared. "Can we play? Finally?"

Ruth closed her eyes. Ever since Ruth's rescue, Ai had been obsessed with her. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
Ruth sighed again. She did like Ai, but her changes... She made a decision and nodded "My room, not here."
AI took off at a run, then looked back.
"Come on!"
Ruth rose and followed.

An hour later the windows of the manor rattled from Ruth's ecstatic yowl.

Twilly looked up from her desk and wondered what AI had done to finally get Ruth to agree to her advances.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Microfic #Microfiction #tootfic #IAmWriting #Catgirls

BTW, still @ami_angelwings fault.

[lien] Naked Lunch (full movie) (1991, sci-fi, imdb score: 6.9) - YouTube #flims #nsfw #vid #90s #bks #sf

Catgirl Flashback 2

Twilly sat in the armchair in the library, and watched the sunlight make its way towards her. She would let it reach her this time, and luxuriate in the warmth.

One of the first things Twilly had done after her rebirth was to seek out the spell book that Mum - Lady Catherine - had used to save her life. It now sat on the side table next to her. Along with several letters and a file.

A file that Twilly would never have suspected the existence of in her past life. But now, along with memories of resting on Big Mother's lap and being gently scritched behind the ears, there were Lady Catherine's memories of having a small grey cat on her lap, and scritching her ears. And memories of trips to far off lands. Of dead drops, one-time pads, and secret codes. Of picking locks, searching desks, planting bugs, and the Official Secrets Act.

The lawyers had been true to Lady Catherine's wishes, and had set things in motion for Twilly to inherit everything. But her Mum's employers. They would want to know what had happened to her. Lady Catherine had been a valuable agent. And Twilly was not.

Her Mum's final words before she blended into Twilly's memories were to seek out others like her, to save them if they were in harm's way.

If Twilly was going to survive, she was going to need their help, too. Sadly this meant no sunbeam today.

Twilly got up and opened the hidden door behind the bookshelf. She knew where to find the first of her sisters.

She was going to have to break into MI5's research labs. Fortunately Mum's memories would show her how.

#SF #SFF #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #catgirls

Still @ami_angelwings fault. Just saying.

[lien] Yoshua Bengio, parrain de l'IA, met en garde contre le risque d'extinction de l'humanité d'ici dix ans, causée par des machines hyperintelligentes dotées de leur propre « désir d'autoconservation » #gik #wtf #ai #sf

[lien] UnDUNE II - Dune II en entier dans 12 cartouches PICO-8 - Korben #games #gik #90s #wtf #sf

Le #MardiConseil est un roman de #SF et de #bodyhorror signé Mira Grant (aka @seananmcguire
ce n'est un secret pour personne) que j'ai acheté au hasard (sur la couverture) et qui est pas mal du tout : https://www.outrelivres.fr/overgrowth/

Alt...

Une ronce verte et rouge entoure le globe terrestre. Couverture de Overgrowth de Mira Grant chez Tor Nightfire.

The Catgirl Ultimatum

Twillychiss the Third was regarded as the most senior of the catgirls of the Trust. It was not that she was the oldest, but it was because her former owner and creator had charged her with the job of rescuing catgirls from whatever they needed rescuing from.

So it was that Twilly was in her office, considering the latest intelligence reports. There was nothing more she wanted than to find a sunbeam and go to sleep in it, but she had a responsibility. Lady Miller's self sacrifice that created her and saved her life demanded it.

The latest reports suggested that there was a global uptick in the sorts of facilities - both scientific and mystical - that would be used to create catgirls.

Twilly glanced out the window of the mansion as a shadow passed - the sphinx Ruth glided past. And catgirlish people as well, she amended.

Whilst there were a handful of such places that created people like her or Ruth for good reasons, most were awful.

Ai, for example, had been created as an assassin, and forced to do terrible things before Twilly had been able to break her free. She knew that even now Ai had nightmares about her past. And Ruth had been created as revenge by her former boss simply for being better than him.

Twilly looked at the reports again, and made a decision. She picked up the telephone and dialled.

"Winston and Chambers, can I help you?" came cheerfully from the other end.
"Hello Cinta, it is Twilly."
"Oh, hello your Ladyship!"
"None of that now. Is Gordon in?"
"I'll put you through now."

There was a brief burst of muzak.

"Gordon Chambers" came the elderly distinguished voice.
"Gordy! It's Twilly."
"Lady Miller. How might the firm assist today?"
"I need you to arrange a press conference."
There was a long pause.
"So, going public are you?"
"I'm afraid so. I've been going over the latest reports, and it is bad. It is time to be proactive."
"Should I also be preparing for repercussions?"
"I think that would be best. Do we have the numbers?"
"I believe so. Especially if you make it clear that the current government is not involved."
Twilly bared her teeth "Excellent. Prep them. Make sure they know what to expect, and offer them the draft we prepared last year."
"And ask them to put it to an urgent vote?"
"Thank-you"

One week later, BBC 1 interrupted the evening program with an unexpected press conference.

Five catgirls and one sphinx stood behind a podium, while a sixth stood at it.
"I am Twillychiss the Third, Lady Miller, and I have a message for the following institutions around the globe..." she began.

#SF #SFF #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #catgirls

Still @ami_angelwings fault.

Dans le cadre des Journées du Logiciel Libre, vous pourrez retrouver une table ronde co-organisée avec le festival Les Intergalactiques (https://intergalactiques.net/) :

Imaginaires Libres, de nouvelles utopies concrètes ?

Avec la participation de :
- @crowdagger
- Elise Bonnard (https://elisebonnard.com/)

Ça sera samedi 30 mai à 17h à l'ENS de Lyon. Plus d'informations ici https://jdll.org et là https://pretalx.jdll.org/jdll2026/talk/WXLNLG/

#JdLL #JdLL2026 #Intergalactiques #SF #ScienceFiction

✨ A Little (About) Joy ✨

A huge milestone: my solo exhibit at the SF LGBT Center featuring 18 portraits of Queer Icons! Using my art for visibility and community is a core part of my "Joy."

Link: https://www.joyousjoyness.com/pages/the-act-of-allyship-queer-icons

Who is an icon that inspires you?

#intro #AAPI #LGBTQ #pride #SF

Alt...

Joy standing in front of the hall with her foiled portraits of Queer Icons, and the introductory description of the exhibit.

Alt...

Joy standing in front of her portrait of Zoey Zephyr and the description of the exhibition, The Act of Allyship.

Alt...

Joy standing in front of the SF LGBT Center in a dress and cardigan.

C'est l'heure du bilan de la semaine sur #Atramenta !
Cette semaine, on a un triple ex-aequo à 1 lecture et 1 téléchargement entre la nouvelle de #SF "L'homme qui acheta une planète", la première aventure (chronologiquement) de l'Alchimiste "L'invasion invisible", et le premier recueil des "Micronouvelles" !
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/lhomme-qui-acheta-une-planete/86084
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/linvasion-invisible/84993
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/micronouvelles/78833

[lien] Touchscreen Interactive LCARS Multi-Map Wall Console, - YouTube #ontheroadagain #vid #gik #wtf #sf

#vendrediLecture, une pause dans la #sf on relis un #pratchett j'apprends en regardant le guide de lecture du disque monde (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annales_du_Disque-monde) que l'auteur conseillait de commencer par Sourcelerie. Bon j'ai relus les 4 premiers l'année dernière je saute Mortimer et je suis son conseil ce soir.

Alt...

Le livre Sorcellerie posé sur mon clavier d'ordinateur

Four months and eight days after leaving "Mother of All". At Hiiliteräs High Port.

The Captain had called everyone into the mess for a meeting. It was a little cramped, but they all fit.

"Alright everyone, I'm back from the inquest. They are accepting our version of events, and the surviving hijacker is being charged with attempted piracy. In this system that is 25 years, no parole."
There were nods around the room at that.
"Further," she continued, "the system has sent word back to Silver notifying them, and sending an invoice for repatriation of the other hijacker. Seeker?"
"Yes, Captain?" Seeker's voice was unusually subdued.
"The inquest has found you acted appropriately. I am adding a note to your file that you have been combat tested, and reacted with appropriate force. On a personal note, you almost certainly saved lives. Thank-you."
"Captain - "
"I am recommending you for a one week post-combat counselling course here on-station. The ship will cover it."
"Yes Captain," she spoke softly, and started to retreat to the back of the mess, head held low.
"One question, Seeker."
"Yes Captain?"
"I know you've been scanning everyone who comes aboard. How did they get past you?"
"There are some people, Captain, who can just block a casual scan. But in this case they had a device. Our scientists have discussed the possibility of one, but this is the first I've actually seen that can block a scan completely."
"How did you find it?"
"Dyani did. When she took everything from the", her voice hitched, "the survivor, it included a hair ornament. As soon as it was taken, I could hear him. I thought she told you."
The Captain turned, "Dyani?"
"I thought Seeker had told you" the gunner replied.

The Captain shook her head, "Always double check who has passed on what, OK?"
"Yes Captain" the three junior members of the crew said together.

"Now, do we have two of them?"
"Yes Captain" Dyani replied.
"Good. Hand one over to Sparks. Sparks?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Figure out how to make more. I am certain that the folks back on Mother of All will want to know how to make one."
"Aye!"
"Back to your duties. Alaine, Seeker stay put."

The crew dispersed to their duties. Alaine and Seeker waited.

The Captain looked at them both. "Seeker, you are relieved of duties until you have completed the counselling." She started to object, but the Captain rolled over her, "Alaine? Your job is to make sure she goes. You will escort her to the session, and escort her back."
"Yes, Captain."
The Captain turned back to Seeker "It is not that I don't trust you, but things like this get under your skin, and make you think of doing all sorts of stupid things. After your first couple of sessions, have a talk to Sparks. She knows."
Alaine straightened up "I'll make sure, Captain."
The Captain looked them over "I'm certain you will. You've both got a map on your PDUs. The first appointment is in one hour."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

[lien] V : CETTE SÉRIE QUI A TERRIFIÉ TOUTE UNE GÉNÉRATION - YouTube #series #vid #80s #sf #tv

[lien] Journée Star Wars — Wikipédia #starwars #flims #70s #sf

Ghost ships escaping the ghost island.

Far off on the horizon, a ghostly island appears. Suddenly, a fleet of ghostly vessels launch from the shore, and sail towards you.

Will they reach your shore? What manner of crew do they carry? Will the island really let them escape? Or is the island a portent of some terrible doom to come?

You do not know. All you know is that the spectral sails are getting closer.

#SF #SFF #Fantasy #Horror #microfiction #Microfic #Tootfic #IAmWriting #Photography #NikonP900 #Snapseed

Alt...

Part of an island sits on a distant horizon, distorted by a mirage. Two equally distorted yachts are at either end, and are sailing towards the viewer.

Two hundred and fifty five years ago:

Lorn looked out at the conclave of clan elders, all in their distinctive clan finery. And the scattered shamans amongst them, all in black.

Finder detached herself from the mass, and leaned against Lorn "A sight isn't it?"
"You have no conflicts between the clans?"
"Many! All the time!" Finder grinned at the stranded explorer "But that is what we are for. We are members of our clans, but we also mediate between the clans. It can be a bit tiring sometimes."
"But what about conflicts of interests?"
"Simple! If the conflict is between the Copper Diggers and the Horse Clans, a sender and listener from maybe the River Clan would mediate."
"So the clans never fight?"
"Some clan members might fight, until a sender puts them in their place, but no, the clans do not fight."
Lorn looked at her friend, "So you are pacifists?"
"Amongst ourselves," Finder paused "But if we have the chance to strike at the raiders, we take it. That is a rare event, and their weapons can be a devastating reprisal."

"Crime?"
"Oh, it happens. Jealousy, greed, all the rest, we have them all. And there are not so many of us that we can be everywhere."
"But you hunt them down."
"Hence my name. Finder of Unnoticed Details."
"One part diplomat, one part detective?"
"And one part psychologist. And a bit of relationship councillor as well," Finder added.
"But what happens when one of you has the problem?" Lorn wondered.
"Then we find them, and do what we can to heal them. But, as with all people, sometimes that can be hard. Even with our gifts."

Lorn looked out at the conclave again.

Finder gave her a hug from the side, grabbed her hand and dragged her forward "Come, let me introduce you! You can tell us of your people,."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Two months after leaving "Mother of All", in jump.

Seeker was in the mess when Alaine got off duty from the engine room. She was hunched over her PDU, with an actual paper notebook next to her.

"Hi there" he greeted her.
"Mmmph" was the distracted reply.

He shrugged, and grabbed a tray from the rack, and added hot water to it. Waiting for the meal to rehydrate, he tried again. "How is it going, Seeker?"
"Mmm"
OK, time for the big guns "There's a space whale looking for the telepath making all the noise."
"Mmm? They can sod off."

OK, she was well and truely gone. He stuck the tray onto the induction element, and brought it back up to full heat, and then carefully carried it over and started eating. Some sort of noodle sheet interleaved with a sauce. Not bad.

He was about half way through when Seeker suddenly looked up.
"Alaine? Who enforces contracts that span systems?"
"Ah. You're studying trader contracts?"
"Yes. And nowhere does it say anything about what happens if you break a contract, it makes no sense!" she complained.
"Right. Well. It depends. If the contract is with one of the interstellar banks or one of the big conglomerates, they will enforce it themselves by sending breach notices to any system in range, along with a bounty. Further, they will notify the Trade Board, who will issue a blackball notice against the ship and crew."
"What is to stop one of them just doing that to someone they don't like?"
"That's the second level of things. Any trader, big or small, lives by their reputation. If you break a contract, the person or group you cheated will tell everyone about your despicable behaviour, and very quickly no-one will let you trade. Sometimes even down to not selling fuel."
"So a big conglomerate picking on someone?"
"Word would get out that it was a setup or tarjob, and the big boy would be out of business very fast."
"So it all just runs on reputation?"
"Pretty much. Naturally there are still con men out there, but eventually they get caught."
"So is there an actual government?"
"Kind of. There is a thing called the Confederation, that many systems belong to, but it has no real power, and mainly offers individual planets something to blame for whatever. The Scouts, the Trade Board, the other bureaucracies, they all run independently of the Confederation."

Seeker shook her head slowly "Smoke and mirrors. It is all just smoke and mirrors."
Alaine grinned "Yep, but as long as everyone pretends not to look behind the curtain, it works."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Coin coin

#MastoArt #dessin #sf #canard

Alt...

Photo d'un carnet ouvert avec sur la page de droite un dessin au stylo violet de deux canards dormant au bord de l'eau sous un ciel étoilé avec une grosse planète et des stations spatiales

Alt...

Le même dessin vu de près

Fans de Becky Chambers (il y en a des wagons ici) anglophones, rejoice!!! Ceci est pour vous 😁
_________
English-speaking Becky Chambers fans (and there are loads of you here), rejoice!!! This one’s for you 😁

buttondown.com/beckychambers/archive/pre-orders-signed-copies-and-summer-events/

#BeckyChambers #SF #Book #SolarPunk

Mon chéri doit faire un test pour l'apnée du sommeil cette nuit, il doit d'abord récupérer le respirateur et se faire poser des capteurs chez l'ORL ce soir.
Il va ressembler à un croisement entre Dark Vador et un humain augmenté façon cyberpunk. La fan de #SF que je suis saura apprécier. 😊

Ensuite, la mini-nouvelle de #SF "Une terrible beauté est née" remporte 2 lectures.
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/une-terrible-beaute-est-nee/35359

Three months, two weeks and one hour after departing "Mother of All". Low port, planet "Brass".

The crew were making the most of the banquet that the Captain had put on.

Being stuck in a closed environment for over a week at a time, and often not being able to obtain fresh food at the ports - especially the high ports in orbit - meant that they had a somewhat different view of what constituted a banquet to planet dwellers.

Plates of exotic fresh vegetables accompanied by dips were a popular starting point. The crunch of the sticks of green, red, and purple was suddenly interrupted by gasps of surprise as the rich umami flavours of the vegetables washed across the crew's mouths.

Dyani looked at the purple stick in her hand and sniffed it. A faint earthiness greeted her nose. She bit into it again, and the snap of the vegetable gave way to a bold meatiness. She looked over at Engel "Sir? How well do these preserve?"

He grinned "Sadly, not very well at all. Not even flash freezing. It does mean that Brass makes a pretty penny out of food tourism, though."

Everyone started sampling all the other offerings - the meat filled pastries, redolent with a spice that seemed to combine cinnamon with pepper proved to be sweet, like spiced tarts.

The bowls of berries, to the surprise of all, tasted just as they appeared - like small sharp, sweet, fruit.

The breads had a trick hidden under their crusts, though. Although they steamed and broke like a normal bread, in the mouth they cooled and dissolved like mist, with even the crust disintegrating before it could be chewed, leaving a cool creamy taste behind.

There were no leftovers.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

One month after leaving "Mother of All", in jump.

Alaine finished his breakfast unexpectedly alone. Normally Seeker would be on the same shift cycle, and they would share meals. He made his way aft, heading for the engine room and another lesson from Sparks.

He reached the airlock to the main hold, checked that the telltales were double green, and opened both doors. As the second door opened, he heard Seeker call out "Hold!" and then after a moment "Clear, come on in!"

"Missed you at breakfast," he said entering the hold. Down the length of it there was a corridor between the shipping containers and pallets. Except at the far end was a wall of compressed fibre pallets, and a target.

Seeker turned around "Sorry, I really needed to get in some practice."
Alaine then saw the strange device in her left hand. It was a short framework, with a grip in the middle and a complex system of pulleys and cords at either end. Then he saw the long rod in her right hand an realized that it was some sort of bow.
"You are combat trained?"
"Grandmama and Charlie made sure of it. Plus there is a tradition in the family of archery. Lorn became an expert hunter after she was stranded."

"That looks a little clumsy in a fight shipboard," Alaine frowned.
"The arrows will go through light armour."
"Still tricky to carry around."

Seeker put the arrow back into a quiver by her hip, and opened a pocket on her ship suit. "That's what this is for." In her hand was a miniature version of the bow, barely a handspan across. "This won't go through armour, but it will take out a faceplate at ten metres.
Alaine shook his head "OK, that is scary."
Seeker grinned "Thank-you!"

They heard the far hatch open "Alaine, you out there" Sparks called.
"Yes, Sparks, coming!", he started down the corridor, and called over his shoulder "Don't shoot me in the back!"
Seeker laughed "If I do shoot you, you'll see it coming! After all, you are a friend!"

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

@SFFMagazineCovers

Jennifer was slogging through the afternoon snow towards her front door, when she heard a growl and a rush of wings.

Just in time she turned to see the outstretched claws as the monkbat dived at her.

She raised an arm and shouted firmly "Chrisabel Sharpfang! Sit! Now!"

The monkbat altered course slightly and landed heavily on the snow. The fanged face looked up at her, and it gave a small whine.

Jennifer reached over and gave it a scratch on the top of its head as she looked around "I know, you're excited to see me. How did you get out anyway?"

The monkbat rumbled and flumped along in the snow as Jennifer continued towards the front door. "I hope you didn't bother the postman."

The monkbat paused.

"Chrisabel? What did you do?"

The huge beast whined a little again.

Jennifer sighed and shook her head "I guess I'll have to get him a new uniform. Again."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Fantasy #tootfic #microfic #microfiction #IAmWriting

Three months and two weeks after departing 'Mother of All'. Low port, planet Brass.

Alaine stepped through the main hatch into Athena, and was immediately showered with beer.
The Captain stepped forward, and shook his hand "Well done, Alaine!" she congratulated him, "you not only passed, you passed with honours! You are now a certified Class 2 Pilot! You know what that means?"
Alaine looked puzzled "No Captain, what?"
"You are now stuck with all the boat handling duties."
"Yes, Captain." Although it was going to be an extra responsibility, it was one Alaine was looking forward to. As pilot of the small shuttle, it would mean that he would be in command of it. Effectively Captain. Albeit of a tiny in-system boat, but still, it was a command of sorts.

Sparks shoved a bottle of soda water into his hand "Get ready!"
Alaine turned back to the hatch just in time to see Seeker enter. He shook his bottle and popped the lid open, spraying her with soda water.

After the shower subsided, the Captain stepped forward "Congratulations Kid! You passed both exams with honours. You are now a Class 1 Cargo Handler, and have a Class 1 Contract Drafting certificate."
"Thank-you Captain. But, please, that was soda. So why does it smell of beer in here?"
"That was for me," Alaine explained, "Soda for Class 1, Beer for Class 2 and Class 3, and sparkling wine for Class 4 and above." Sparks pressed two bottles of beer into Alaine's hands, and he handed one to Seeker.

Dyani stepped aboard, and was also showered with beer. "Congratulations Dyani!" the Captain said stepping forward "You passed your Class 2 Navigation certificate. Only just, mind, but you passed. Well done!"
"Thank-you Captain. I'll make sure I keep studying."
"Good to hear. Alright, Sparks! Engel! Clean up in here. You three piles of soggy fabric, go get cleaned up, and join us in the mess. 10 minutes."
All five chorused "Yes Captain!"

Ten minutes later the entire crew was in the mess, where the Captain had obtained some high-end fresh food from the local suppliers. "Right. I'm not going to give a speech. Dig in. Everyone is off duty until first shift tomorrow." The crew cheered, and dug in. Food prepared by actual cooks from fresh supplies was a rare treat, and one none of them was going to pass up - especially if the Captain was paying.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Tootfic #Microfiction #Microfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

[lien] The First Look at 'Silo' Season 3 Is a Blast to the Past #series #bks #tv #sf

Three days after departure from "Mother of All", in jump.

Alaine was in the crew mess working on the calculations for a piloting assignment. Yes, the computers could run them in a fraction of a second, and him doing them manually with only an offline calculator to help would take days, but if the computers were offline for some reason, it would be down to the crew.

He was part way through the jump field spread compensation, when there was a thump into the chair next to him. He looked up to see a very frazzled looking Seeker.

Seeing she had his attention, "I don't think the First Mate likes me."
Alaine frowned "What makes you say that?"
"He's had me recalculate the current load by hand twice today. And yesterday he had me shift half the cargo from the back from the hold to the front. This afternoon he wants me to move it back!"
Alaine relaxed "He doesn't hate you. He had me do that too. Just work through it."
"But why? What's the point?"
"Ask me again just before we transition out."
"Is this some sort of 'but it is good for you' thing?"
"Look at what I'm doing. I'm doing jump calculations by hand. Need to be able to do it for my Stage 3 pilot certification."
"What is that?"
"That's co-pilot on jump. Stage 4 is primary on jump. Stage 5 is solo."
"And you're Stage 2? What is that?"
"Nope, I'm only Stage 1. Co-pilot on in-system. I'm studying Stage 2. But it takes a lot to learn the jump calculations, so I'm getting a head start."
Seeker studied him for a few moments "Do any of you ever take breaks?"
"Sure! That's what sleeping is for."

Seeker looked at him in horror, then Alaine laughed "No, we do take breaks. Really."
Skeeker glared at him, and he held up his hands and continued "We get two days off each jump, plus shore leave when possible. We try to synchronise things so half the crew is off at a time."
"What do you do?"
"Well, in jump we try to fit in a movie to watch as a group. Read, play board games, argue about movies, books, actors, the usual."

Seeker glanced at the time, and Alaine checked it as well "Well, you better get some food into you. You're back in the hold in 20" he pointed to the store of prepared meals.
"And you?" she asked.
"I'm back in engineering in an hour. so I'd better get as far as I can in this calculation."

And with that he returned to his PDU.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #Microfiction #Microfic #Tootfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

[lien] Artefacts – War and Peas – Webcomic #space #cats #lol #net #gik #bd #sf

@leece
I also have a page up with direct links.

https://rdmasters.lympago.com/p/my-book.html

#SF #SFF #Fantasy #SelfPublishing #Book

C'est tout pour aujourd'hui, mais il y en a encore beaucoup d'autres.
https://www.atramenta.net/authors/claire-billaud/24166/publications/
Et si vous avez vraiment déjà tout lu, vous pouvez aussi acheter mon roman de #SF "Alva & Eini", pour seulement 3,99€.
https://www.atramenta.net/ebooks/alva-et-eini/86

Ainsi que 2 téléchargements pour une autre nouvelle de #SF, "L'homme qui acheta une planète", et pour l'ancien #NaNoWriMo "Dead End City".
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/lhomme-qui-acheta-une-planete/86084
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/dead-end-city/55102

Et 1 lecture et 1 téléchargement pour la nouvelle de #SF "Derniers biscuits avant la fin du monde".
https://www.atramenta.net/lire/derniers-biscuits-avant-la-fin-du-monde/78125

Shaman Space Part 3.

Three months after departure from "Mother of All":

Seeker announced the ship to the SPC, "Grenfeld Low this is Athena on final approach."
"Athena this is Grenfeld Low, you are clear to land, please follow beacon drone 114 to Pad D."
"Understood Grenfeld Low, locking onto beacon drone 114."
Seeker set the ship's approach lock to the beacon.
"Grenfeld Low, we are locked."
"Very good Athena." There was a pause, then Seeker heard a proximity alarm. "Athena! Grenfeld! Athena! We have an uncontrolled cargo pod intersecting your vector, break off! I say again, break off!"
Seeker cut the approach lock, and started a port turn.

There was a flash, and then blackness.

Seeker took the sim helmet off. Alaine was watching her. "Stupid cargo pod got me" she complained.
"I remember that one. You have to go right back to get past it," Alaine sympathised.
"How far?"
"When you try it again, look to your medium scans. That's all the clues I'm giving you for now."
Seeker glared at him. He grinned back. "Hey, it took me six goes for that one."
She shook her head "These training courses are cursed!"
"Yeah, they are. But they are what will save your life out here. Just like the drills."
"Funny, I always thought they would be something for the military or corporations."
"There might be some independents who don't do them. But those ones have their luck run out. Same as anyone who misses too many overhauls."
Seeker looked thoughtful. He continued "If it had not been for the drills, we would not have lasted as long as we had against that pirate ship. As it was if your patrol boat had not been there, we were not going to make it."
"Glad we could help out."

The intercom beeped "All hands, all hands, stand by for re-entry into normal space."
A moment later Seeker said "There!"
"We are now in normal space. Resume duties" and the intercom clicked off.
Alaine looked at Seeker "I don't know if you really can feel it, or if you are having me on."
"I feel something. Every time, in either direction."
"I know there are some people it makes sick. But I've never heard of someone who can just tell."
Seeker shrugged "When we get home, we'll have to ask great-grandmama. Maybe it is a thing."
"OK, my turn with the sim. I've got an exam coming up at our next port. All going well I'll get my stage two piloting cert."
"That's solo non-hyper, right?"
"Yep." Alaine's voice was muffled as the helmet slid on, and he pulled on the haptic gloves.
"Good luck," Seeker called loudly. Alaine did not respond, his ears must have already been plugged.

#SF #SFF #Microfic #Microfiction #Tootfic #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

En guise de #VendrediLecture, je vous propose un retour sur un livre lu l'an dernier signé Cixin Liu qui mêle #dinosaures, #fourmis et #SF https://www.outrelivres.fr/des-dinosaures-et-des-fourmis/ #Mastolivre @mastolivres @bookstodon

Alt...

Couverture noire avec en blanc le haut de la tête d'un T-Rex gueule ouverte face à nous. Comme titre Des dinosaures et des fourmis où les i ont été remplacé par des fourmis dessinées. Livre de Liu Cixin chez Actes Sud.

It was 2AM and Ami would have preferred to have been racing around the mansion. Instead, she was dangling from a climbing rope above a pressure sensor floor, entering bypass codes, with Ai whispering instructions into her ear.

There were nearly forty of them in all. Some, like Ami, created by a combination of surgery and genetic manipulation by a mad scientist, others, like Ai, were cyborgs, created from cats or young women. A few had been created by spells, and a couple had just arrived via strange portals.

Almost all of them had no memory of their previous lives. Twilly (or Twillychiss the Third if they were being formal) was a rare exception. She remembered being a beloved pet. She also remembered the car that had nearly ended her life. It had been her owner that had cast the spell that changed her and saved her. At the cost of her owner's life. And it had been Lady Miller who had set up the Trust. And, with her dying words, gave Twilly her mission.

Save any others like you.

They had had some hiccoughs along the way. Like the near disaster that had been the Desert Lab Incident, where they had made the mistake of breaking in in the middle of the day. The sunbeam that caught all three of them had been irresistible, and it was only Ginger's laser claws that had gotten them out.

Which is they were breaking into this lab at 2AM. Bethesda's hacking had identified the telltale signs of a catgirl conversion here.

There was a small beep from the console and Ami released the brake on the descender, dropping to the floor. Ai dropped from the ceiling next to her.

They opened the door to the containment unit.

Inside, two yellow glowing eyes stared at them from the dark.

"We are here to rescue you! We have ten minutes to get out" Ami spoke in a low not-whisper.

"Why?" The voice that came from the dark was deeper than they had been expecting.

"It is what the Catgirl Trust does. We save our sisters."

"Even me?" And the 300kg sphinx stepped out of the dark into the light.

She had dark eagle wings, sandy fur, and long dark hair. The claws on her paws were long enough to count as daggers, and her mouth had two massive teeth protruding from the top jaw.

Ai stared. "Up here," the sphinx rumbled.

"Ss...sorry" Ai stuttered.

Ami nodded "Yes, even you. What is your name?"

"I was Ruth. I think I still am. I was the Director's right hand. Until he decided that I was more useful as a subject."

Ami spoke into her headset "Twilly? Charges set?"

"Yes, Ami. Five minutes from your mark."

"Can you fly, Ruth?"

"I think so."

"Ai, we need a hole."

Ai looked up, and her eyes flickered and changed. Lasers shot out, and started cutting a hole in the roof.

It fell in.
"Head south, we have a van."

Ruth nodded, and launched herself into the air. Ai leapt up, and dropped a rope back for Ami.

As they fled into the night, the explosions began.

#IAmWriting #Microfic #Microfiction #tootfic #SF #SFF #Catgirls #sphinx

Six hours after meeting the Captain:

The ship's intercom beeped and Engel's voice announced "All hands to the mess, all hands to the mess. All crew meeting in five minutes."

Just under five minutes later everyone was in the mess. The Captain cleared her throat loudly, and everyone shut up.

"Right. As you all know, we are being required to take on an extra crew member. This is Seeker of Hidden Truths. Or simply Seeker. She will be working with the trade section mostly, and studying to get certified. She is also going to be gathering information for this world's council, in much the same way that the Scouts do for the Confederation. In return, the Council have agreed to provide annual servicing of the ship and clearance for shore leave when we visit."

Engel stepped up "Seeker has her secrets, as we all do. If she chooses to share them with someone, that is her business, and I expect you all to keep her confidences as you would for any other crew member. Seeker? Do you have anything to add?"

"Thank-you. I am not fully familiar with your customs, but I am a quick study, as my great-grand parents taught me much about being a Scout. I am not a very technical person by nature, so I expect to be studying a lot over the next few months. I look forward to being a productive member of the crew."

Engel looked around "OK. The work crews say they will be finished in two days. They are pulling out all stops to get us moving. With luck, we will still make it to the trade fair. Dismissed. " He looked over to Seeker, "Kid? You're with me."
"Yes sir!"
"Good. You understand."
"Alaine warned me."
"Don't be angry when he calls you 'Kid' as well."
Seeker nodded "Until I prove myself. Yessir."

He guided Seeker to a storeroom, and got out a PDU, and handed it to her after making a note on his own. "This is yours. You will have a bunch of coursework options listed shortly. For now, there is a bunch of administration for you to deal with. Grab a seat in the galley and get it completed."
"OK, Sir. And then?"
"Then find me in the hold. Get to it."
"Yessir!"

---- End Part 2 ----

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

In case you'd like to try my very first indie-published novel, the first in the Mindjack series which eventually grew into two trilogies and a handful of short stories.

For fans of Hunger Games, a world where everyone reads minds, except one girl...

Audiobook on sale for 99c!
#YA #SF

https://www.chirpbooks.com/purchases/new?product_id=2651856

Alt...

Open minds audiobook on sale for 99c

It is Sunday afternoon, and we are walking up the path of a house just three doors down from ours.

We are visiting the Martins. Jean and Alicia, and their adopted daughter Salla - or Sally as she prefers.

I ring the bell.

A dark haired lady answers the door, "'Ello. You are the 'Ampsteds?" She has a quite strong French accent.
"Almost, I'm Toby Allensdale - and this is my wife Charlotte Hampstead. But please, just Charlie and Toby."
"Salla says we need to talk? Is this about 'er biological parents?"
"In part. Can we come in?" Charlie says, taking over.
"Of course." And with that we are shown into a pleasant lounge room, where a brown haired man and Sally are sitting.
"Jean? This is Toby and Charlie. The people Salla visited this morning."
He frowns, and gets up "Hello. Why has our daughter decided to seek out a pair of complete strangers?" His accent is almost non-existent.
My turn. "Actually, that is something we would like to know, too Sally. How did you hear about Charlie?"
That shifts Jean's attention, and replaces his hostility with confusion.

Sally blushes - her embarrassment threshold looks to be low even for a teenager. "Um, there was this kid in first year. He came up to me a few days ago and said that there was someone who could help me. And gave me their address."
Charlie and I look at each other. "Gavin" we say together.

"'Elp you? But what is wrong?" Alicia is getting worried now, while Martin is looking even more puzzled.
He cuts in "And why these strangers and not us?"

Charlie takes over now "It is to do with her biological parentage. Have you ever had something unexplained happen around Sally?"

Martin scoffs "You sound like something from some fantasy book. What? Is she a witch?"

Charlie grins her brightest smile "No, she is not a witch. I am, though. Tell me, does Sally like practical jokes?"
"Oui" replies Alicia, "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, as you know at least one of Sally's bio-parents was of Japanese descent."
"Oui..."
"But what you did not know was that the mother was not an ordinary human. Sally, can you change please?"

Sally starts to object "But...", only for Charlie to give her a Look. There is nothing magic in it, just a lot of stern. "OK."
And then there is a fox standing in her place, three tails almost tucked in.

There is a silence. Then Alicia reaches out and holds her hand near. Sally licks it, and whines. With that the fox is gathered into a hug by her mother and there is a stream of French that I cannot keep up with. After a few moments Jean joins in, and then Sally changes back.

He turns to us again "But why seek you out? And what is our daughter?" Tellingly, he has not released the hug.

Charlie smiles softly. "I can help train her a little, and maybe help find some other kitsune to help her out. And give advice about being a bit more different than most."

#CharlieAndToby #SF #SFF #UrbanFantasy #microfiction #tootfic #microfic #IAmWriting

It is early in the morning on Sunday, and I am opening the back door to see if there are any ripe lemons on the tree.

Instead I almost tread on a fox. Curled up and asleep.

Now, you have to understand that ever since Europeans settled here, we have had Japanese immigrants as well. Some by choice, some ... less so.

This is why I am not too surprised to see that the fox has three tails. My opening the door has not awakened it, so I step over and continue on to the lemon tree. There are two ripe lemons this morning, which suits me just fine.

I have another look at the fox on the way back, just to make sure, but there is no sign of any injury. I step over again, and leave the screen door ajar.

Charlie is still asleep upstairs as I start putting breakfast together. I am cooking pancakes, and I know the smell of them will wake her up. Eventually.

I'm on the fourth one when I feel a nose in the back of my knee. I look down at the fox, and nod towards the crockery cabinet. "Can you get some plates out please? The medium ones." I ask.

The fox looks at the cabinet, back at me, back to the cabinet, and sneezes. The young woman standing in its place sticks her tongue out at me "You're no fun" she says in a broad accent.

"I'm Toby, Charlie's husband. A kitsune is fairly normal by my standards. Now, do you want bacon on your pancakes?"

"Sally. Your wife, Charlie? She's the witch?"

"Yep. What's the problem?" As I speak, I put some bacon on as well.

"Um, I need some help finding Mum."

"She's missing?"

"Yes? No? Sort of? I was adopted. And, well, I had no idea what I was until a year ago."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No, but I don't know what I should do. I um, I like this guy back home, but there's also my best friend, and they don't know about me and I don't know what to do."

The last came out with a bit of a whine, and she blushed, clearly embarrassed by it all.

I smiled a sympathetic smile "OK, I'll get Charlie, and let's get you sorted. If I know how these things go, it will not be too bad. But first, breakfast. Tea or coffee?"

"Um, do you have hot chocolate?"

"Of course." Plus the smell of chocolate will get Charlie down here even quicker than the coffee and pancakes.

#CharlieAndToby #SF #SFF #UrbanFantasy #microfiction #tootfic #microfic #IAmWriting

Fifty years ago:

Joyful Finder stood in front of the council. She was still wearing her Scout uniform, rather than the traditional black, and next to her stood Charlie. They were obviously nervous - Joy was nervous too.

An elder of the Copper Diggers spoke "You have returned to us from the stars. And you have brought another."
"Respectfully, Elder, Charlie brought themselves. They had word that I was leaving the Scouts, and came after me."
The elder nodded, acknowledging the correction, "So, what news have you brought to us from the stars?"
"The confederation continues, as do the various offices and boards. There are hints of threats from outside, but the greater threats are from within."
"How long?"
"There is no urgency. It is likely to be many generations before there is a significant breakdown. And much depends on outside threats. An outside force may galvanise and stabilise the confederation."
"This is the conclusion of the Scouts?"
"It is my conclusion from the Scouts' reports," Joy wanted this to be clear. She doubted many Scouts fully understood the significance of the intelligence briefings. It was likely that even some of the people responsible for the briefings did not understand the greater significance.
"And the ships you have both arrived in?"
"They are our own, after a fashion. We remain subject to reactivation by the Scouts."

The elder turned their attention to Charlie. "And you. You intend to settle here. To become part of Joyful Finder's clan?"
"If she will have me."
"Good answer. Are your superiors aware?"
"Yes, I filled in the appropriate paperwork, and filed it before setting off. I was lucky to catch up."

Turning back to Joy "And maintenance of your ships?"
"We have sufficient here to perform it. Especially with the plans and educational materials I have brought with me. We need not ever fear raiders again. Not when we can build our own ships."
"How long?"
"I see we already have small satellites and aircraft. Less than ten years to build the first, if we have the dedication."
"And to ships that can take on the raiders?"
"Less than twenty. And starships too."

With that the audience was over.

Charlie sagged against Joy as they stepped outside. "That was intense."
"It is not over, Charlie."
"What now?" they almost whined.
"Now you get to meet my parents."

Charlie gulped, and wondered if they could go back to the Elders.
Dives Swiftly, Joy's hunting bird and (in Dive's opinion) surrogate parent, appeared from the sky, and landed with a thump on Charlie's shoulder. She started preening Charlies' hair.

"Don't worry too much - Dives approves of you. Mother and Father will like you" Joy grinned.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Two hours after meeting Seeker:

Alaine knocked on the Captain's door, "Captain, it's Alaine. I have Seeker with me."
"Is it urgent?"
"No, but it is important, Captain."
"Meet me on the bridge in thirty."
"Yes Captain"

Seeker giggled, and Alaine's head snapped around at the unexpected sound to see her composing her face into one that was innocent of any expression. She shooed him towards the bridge. Once they were there, she closed the hatch.

Alaine frowned at her "What was all that?"
Seeker suddenly grinned "Your - our - captain sounded just like great-grandmama when she is with great-grand-Charlie. We interrupted them."
Alaine blushed "And you didn't..."
"No, never amongst friends or family without permission, remember? I've heard that exact tone of voice before, that is all."
"I wonder..." Alaine began.
"None of our business, is it?" Seeker cut him off.
"I guess not," he paused, "Wait! You've interrupted your great-grand parents, but not your parents?"
"My mother raised me on her own, and has never taken a lover. My grand parents died in an air crash. So it has really only been mother and the great-grands."
"I'm sorry."
Seeker smiled sadly and shrugged "I never really knew them, but I know Mother misses them."
"Is your mother like you?"
"Yes, our family has always had at least one in a generation. According to great-grandmama the genetics are uncommonly dominant for us."

Alaine sat digesting this for a time. Then Seeker giggled again, causing him to look up. She held up her hands, explaining "Your expression, that is all. I have seen exactly that expression in old photographs of my ancestor Lorn."
"What?"
"In her private diaries, her partner, Finder, included some photographs that she had taken with Lorn's logger, and Lorn had arranged to have printed. One of the things about Lorn was that she never stopped thinking. You had exactly the same expression."

The bridge hatch opened, and the Captain stepped in. Alaine immediately stood, and Seeker copied him.

"Alright Alaine, what is so important?" her voice just short of scolding.
"Captain, I know why Seeker said what she said when she presented us to the Council."
"Go on," her tone shifting to one of cautious curiosity.
"Captain, you've seen some of the people here wearing all black? It is a symbol. The Scouts call them Shamans. But really, they are something else."
Seeker cut in "Captain, I can project my thoughts, and read those of others. To a certain degree. And, amongst friends or family, only with permission. Or crew mates."

The Captain looked at Alaine.
"Captain, it is all in here," he held up the book "This is the history of the Scouts' involvement here. Starting with one who was shot down by raiders. An ancestor of Seeker."
"Why tell us now, Seeker?"
"Because Alaine worked it out. Until someone did, I was bound to silence."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

RE: https://aus.social/@rdm/110755143970645568

Leaving the burning laboratory and the charred remains of the madman who had re-created her, Mara staggered outside, finding herself in a light industrial park, surrounded by small factory units.

She could hear sirens in the distance. Thinking about it, she could feel the fire alarms going off. Silencing them would do nothing.

Suddenly she dropped to her knees. The energy she had expended had been immense, and her new body was running out of power.

Running feet.

She looked up, and saw two men and a woman in overalls running towards her. What would happen if they touched her? Would the nanobots that now made up her body infect them? Would she release another burst of plasma and set them on fire, too? She groped around in her body and found she still had vocal cords. That's right. She had been screaming before.

"Stay back! I'm not safe!" she called out.

The men stopped. The woman slowed, but still came closer, stopping just out of reach.

"Are you alright?" she asked crouching down, "Are you hurt? I'm Priya. Can I help you?"
"I ... I am tired. Running down. I need" and everything went black for Mara.

Mara's eyes snapped open. She could barely move, but she was conscious again. Looking around, she was now in a workshop, the top of the running gear she had been wearing when she was abducted had been cut away, and there was a pair of adhesive pads stuck to her. The woman, Priya, was staring at her.

"You are still you?" Mara managed to whisper after a few moments. "Nothing tried to cross over?"
Priya stared a few moments longer and then shook herself. "No, I'm fine. But you were dead. And the defib is just, well, flat."
"Good. I need more. More electricity" she could just move an arm, and pointed to an arc welder "There. That."
"The arc welder? But..."
"You want to help? I need electricity." Mara paused, then added "Please. Before I pass out again."

After a couple of seconds, Priya got up, and wheeled the unit over. It had still been plugged in, but turned off.
"Turn it on," Mara demanded.
Priya threw the master switch, and, before she could react, the recently dead woman grabbed the tip. Involuntarily her eyes went to the gauges, and saw them redlining.

Mara sat up still holding the welder. "Oh, that is so much better. Hi. I'm Mara. Or I was Mara? I think I'm still Mara. If I think I'm me, that means I am me right?"

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #microfiction #tootfic

A sequel to https://aus.social/users/rdm/statuses/110755143970645568

rdm » 🌐 2023-07-22 / 2025-10-03
@rdm@aus.social

@ewdocparris@writing.exchange

Mara finally stopped screaming.

There was very little other than mind and form that was still human in her. The nanomachines that had replaced almost all of her body. She could feel the devices around her. One of them exploded and she felt the distant movement of electrified gasses. Now she understood that the nanomachines had given her control over plasma and electromagnetic fields.

The process had not been pleasant. Nor had it been voluntary. She did not blame the machines - they just did what they were programmed to do. She blamed Him. The scientist - no - the madman who injected them into her.

Time to deal with him.

Summoning the power in the machines she had been wired to, she used the plasma to burn through the restraining shackles. She sat up, and glared fire at her re-creator.

(Taking a secondary inspiration from this music video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfoy2kWOrws )

#WritingCommunity #Midjourney #WritingPrompt #SecretSciFiNetwork
#IAmWriting #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction

Two hundred and fifty four years ago:

Lorn snuggled closer to Finder. Outside their tent, there was a light snow falling, illuminated by the two moons, and visible through the open flap.

"Love, what is on your mind?" Finder whispered, not wanting to break the quiet of snow.
"The raiders, I'm afraid."
"What about them?"
"You've said that they can sense unshielded minds," Lorn was also keeping her voice low.
"Yes, They have mind workers in their number."
"How?"
"That is our greatest shame. In their early raids, they stole children from us - toddlers. Some of those were potential mind workers."
"And they raised them as their own?"
Finder nodded.
"They could not do that aboard a single ship. They must have a base somewhere."
"If they do, it is out of our reach.
"And if you do fight them, some of who you fight would be descendants of your own people."
"Sadly, yes. These are dark topics for a beautiful night."
"Sorry, Finder. My mind..."
"I know, love. It almost never stops." Finder reached over and closed the tent flap "It is nothing we can do anything about at this time. Let me bring you some quiet."
"I think quiet is going to be the very last thing in here," Lorn smiled in the dark, pushing the dark history she had just learned aside.

Three years later the raiders returned. But so did a Scout cruiser. And that had much bigger teeth.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

They were back at home, and Circe was instructing Angela on how to construct a shrine to the goddess who was her patron. Not, it seemed, that she had any say in the matter.

Her mistress had said that it was 'acceptable' for the new shrine to be next to her own. Apparently the two were sometimes one, and this closeness made a shared space OK. Fortunately, despite being the Goddess of the Hunt, her preferred offering was nothing more complex than honey seed cakes.

"Circe, what about the other gods and goddesses?"
"Oh, they are real enough. But few have enough attention on them to manifest."
"What about the gods of other cultures?" Angela asked.
"They exist as well. There are several that could manifest, but do not. The weight of the human world sits heavy on most of them. I must say I was surprised to see your patron - the unexpected focus must have aroused her curiosity."
"Is that why you keep avoiding her name?"
"Very good. Names do have power. You will do well to remember that." Circe had taken on her 'teacher' voice suddenly.

Angela resumed assembling the shrine, and setting out the initial offerings.

"Have you sensed any other gods manifesting?"
Circe thought for a moment. "Only one. And it was one I had not expected at first. One of the Egyptian gods. The Ibis one, although I think he was making himself look more human."
"What is his area?"
"Writing, wisdom, dreams, and magic. I rather suspect he has adopted technology as a logical extension of magic, too."

Angela put the finishing touches on the shrine. "There. How does that look?"
"Very good darling. Now make an offering, and do use her name."
"Right," she took a deep breath, let it out, took another "Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, accept my offering."
Suddenly there was a third person in the room, inspecting the shrine, and the offerings upon the altar. "Well done my little hunter," she turned to Circe "You have taught her well. Your own patron is well pleased." The goddess turned back to Angela and commanded "Show me your true form, little hunter."
Angela immediately turned into a cheetah.
"Oh, you are a creature of beauty." She turned back to the shrine, and almost all of the offerings disappeared. A few rectangular packages remained. Picking one up, she removed the cellophane wrapper, and broke off a corner, sampling it. "Not honey - but very good. What are they?"
Angela changed back "Sesame crisps, my lady. They are from the Middle East, I think."
"Not traditional, but perfectly acceptable."
Angela started to bite her lip, which Artemis noticed "Worry not, little hunter. I will not come every time you pay me respect. Or even every time you call upon me. But I felt that this should be a special time. A blessing upon this house." And with that, she vanished. Along with the rest of the sesame crisps.

#SF #SFF #IAmWriting #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction #Circe

#vendrediLecture Le Prince des Nuages de Christophe Galfard (à partir de 10 ans)
Je viens de terminer le 1er tome des 3. Et bien c'est plus mature que ce qu'à l'habitude de lire le Co. C'est la première partie d'une aventure écologique. On pourrait certainement utiliser le classer en #Solarpunk ici
Le tyran est vraiment très méchant mais aujourd'hui ça parait crédible 🙄. Des gens meurt. Et on ne rigole pas beaucoup
Des capsule scientifique (astro, phy, climat, meteo) ponctuent les chapitres
#sff

Alt...

Extrait Chapitre 5 partie 3: " Tu vois, continua le Tyran en se vautrant dans son fauteuil, tous les humains désirent une vie agréable. Ils ont besoin d'énergie pour voyager, se chauffer, produire toutes les bricoles qui leur semblent indispensables. Moi, je leur fournis toujours plus d'énergie, constamment, si bien qu'ils ne peuvent plus s'en passer. Par chance, ils n'apprécient pas les moulins à vent ou les éoliennes qu'ils trouvent bruyants et laids. Les gens aiment le pétrole, le gaz, le charbon et, tu veux savoir ?, ça m'arrange. La plate-forme volante s'était immobilisée au milieu du ciel. Sous elle, les nuages recouvraient à présent l'océan et formaient une sorte de disque blanc tournant lentement dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d'une montre. Bientôt, le disque se transforma en une gigantesque spirale qui se mit à glisser vers l'ouest. — Oui, ça m'arrange, répéta le Tyran, parce que des tonnes et des tonnes de gaz sont alors rejetées dans l'atmosphère, vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre, toute l'année. Et devine quoi ? Non seulement cela me rend riche, mais en plus, c'est exactement ce qu'il me faut ! " Une illustration en noir et blanc sur la page de gauche montrant 2 personnages de dos dans une "soucoupe volante" avec un dôme de verre, haut dans l'atmosphere, surplombant un ouragant.

Alt...

1ère de couverture du livre de poche. Un jeune personnage assis, semble contemplatif, sur un poton de cabane en bois surplombe une vallé de culture en escaliers avec des cabane en bois et beaucoup d'éoliennes. Un énorme nuage sur fond bleu en arrière plan, la Lune dans le coin supérieur droit. Un tampon (best seller)

Alt...

4ieme de couverture du livre : Un roman pour comprendre notre planète et son climat Tristam Drake est né sur un nuage,loi de tout, à 2000 mètres au-dessus de l'océan. Dans son village se cache Myrtille, la fille du roi des Nuages du Nord qu'un tyran cruel a détrôné. Le jour où l'arméedu despote retrouve sa trace et arrêté e tous les habitants, seul Tristam et son ami Tom réussissent à s'échapper. À la à recherche de Myrtille, ils vont découvrir le sinistre dessein du Tyran: transformer le climat de la planète en une véritable arme de guerre. Pour l'en empevher, Tristam et Tom devront parcourir le ciel et tout apprendre des éclairs et des nuages, de la nuit et des étoiles… Prix du meilleurs roman jeunesse 2009 (catégorie 12-14 ans, Foire du livre de Brive) Prix le Goût des sciences 2009 ( meilleur ouvrage « La science expliqué aux jeunes» ministère de.l'enseignement et de la recherche) Prix du livre Environnement de.la fondation Veolia 2013 (livre II) (Mention Jeunesse)

Angela was laying on her back, with Circe's head resting on her thighs as they watched the column of smoke and fire climb into the Florida sky.

"What was the last one called, dearest?" drifted up from her legs.
"Apollo. Fifty four years ago."
"Hmm."

Suddenly Circe sat up, and got to her feet. Angela didn't know what had prompted it, but she leapt to her own feet and started scanning the area for threats. "What is it?"
"There is a power here. Come, we must be polite."
"Yes, ma'am."

Angela followed Circe as she strode across the grassy bank, and stopped near a tall athletic woman who made her instincts scream 'Danger!'

Circe bowed, and Angela copied her, making sure to bow a little deeper. "My Lady, I had no idea any of you still walked the human world. My apologies for not making the proper observances."

The mystery woman turned her eyes from the rocket's trail, and looked at them, and then looked again. "Circe, you are awakened in this time. How unexpected. My name has been called so many times over the past few years, it has been sufficient even if they do not make the offerings. My brother found the same fifty years ago." Then she turned her eyes to Angela, and looked back at Circe. "A fine working. What is she to you?"
"Bodyguard at first. Partner now."
The woman was suddenly in front of Angela, who found she could not move, or change. Her eyes went wide. The woman reached out and stroked Angela's face. "Fine work, indeed. What brought you to me this day?"
"To pay our respects, nothing more, my lady," Circe's voice was deferential.
The woman was back in front of Circe, and stroking her face the same way. "You come before me without an offering?"
"Only our respect, my lady."
The mystery woman laughed "Oh, dear Circe, you never fail to surprise." Suddenly Angela could move again, and she stepped up next to Circe. "Oh, do not look so fierce little guardian. I will do no harm to your mistress or yourself. You are too perfect a hunter, and I would not break such a work of art. Have my blessing, and continue as you are." With those words, she vanished.

"Circe, who was that?"
"That, my love, was your patron. The Goddess of the Hunt," and she pointed up towards where the rocket had vanished.
"An actual goddess?"
"Oh yes. We will have to establish a shrine if she is back in the world. Even if it is only temporary."

#SF #SFF #IAmWriting #microfic #tootfic #Microfiction #Circe

Six hours after:
Alaine finally put down the book, and looked back at the notes he had been taking.

Starting with Lorn two hundred and sixty odd years ago, there had been a tiny but constant immigration of Scouts to this world. Every ten or twenty years one would simply stay. Up until Joyful Finder's departure and return with her partner, Charlie. Since then, no-one.

But still he had questions. How had Finder of Unnoticed Details known about Lorn during her crash? How had Joyful Finder's hunting bird known how to pull a circuit breaker on an unfamiliar ship?

He wrote up a summary of what he had learned, and forwarded it to both the Captain and Engel. After a moment, he also sent a copy to Dyani.

Then he got up, and went looking for Seeker.

He found her in the number one turret, it had space for two people, but was usually operated remotely from the bridge. Turrets were often targets and crew were harder to replace than equipment.

Seeker had the blast armour open, with the armoured glass exposed. This was used when sighting in targeting cameras, or during weapon tests. Or when a member of the crew wanted to look at open space.

"Alaine, how nice of you to join me. It is a remarkable sight, is it not?" Seeker, as usual, seemed like she had a hidden joke going on.
"Seeker, um, yes, it is. We don't often get to look down on a planet like this."
"But that's not why you are here, is it?"
"No. It was my expression, wasn't it?" He had been trying to work out what things she was picking up on with her "deductions".
"Mostly, yes. You have a question for me?"
"A couple actually. First, though, is the black dress. The Archivist was wearing something similar, as were a few of the Council. What does it mean?"
Seeker's air of humour dropped. "That is a very deep question Mister Haughton." She had never used that name with him before. Had he gone too far? But then she continued "It is a difficult one to answer as well, as what we are does not translate well into Standard. I understand the Scouts usually translate our status as 'Shaman', although that is rather misleading. I suppose you could call us 'conduits'."

Alaine was silent for several minutes. "I think I begin to understand," he said finally, "Although it sounds insane to actually ask it."
Seeker looked back from the view of the planet, and stared at him. "Ask the second question" she commanded.
Alaine gulped, and then pressed on "Seeker, can you read minds and send your thoughts?"

She regarded him steadily for a few moments "Yes. All of our people learn how to shield our minds, but only a few can sense and send. Hence 'conduits'".
"Have you been reading our minds?"
"Not since making myself one of your crew. It is rude to pry into the mind of a friend without permission."

Alaine slumped into the gunner's couch. "So why tell me now?"
"Because you learned enough to ask. That is what I was waiting for."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Do you want to read #Bikepunk in a language other than French?

https://bikepunk.fr/

Then reply by suggesting which publishers would be the best fit in your country/language for my post-apoca-cyclist novel (in which bikes are our only hope to save mankind). It is a CC By-SA novel.

My publisher, @pvheditions , will try to meet those publishers during book fairs. Your messages would be very helpful to convince them.

Please boost to reach a world wide audience of cyclists!

#sf #sfff

One week later:

Alaine had watched Seeker, and seen how she had interviewed every member of the crew other than the Captain and Engle. About their homeworlds, families, the Trade Board, all sorts of subjects. Even such things as popular music and entertainment.

So he was outside the Captain's cabin now, and knocked. "Come!" came her voice from within.
He opened the door, and stepped in, closing it behind him. "Captain, I have a request."
She waved a hand indicating he should go on.
"I would like permission to go station-side and see if there is a public archive feed."
"You've checked remotely?" was her instant response.
"Yes, Captain! No archive feeds. In fact, Captain, the station-side data feeds are rather sparse."
"They are aren't they? Very well, but take Dyani with you, she's got training in xenosociology."
"Yes Captain!"

He found Dyani in the cabin she shared with Sparks. "Dyani, I'm going station-side to try and find a public archive. Captain wants you to come with me."
"That's going to be interesting, Alaine. How are you going to read it?"
That brought him up short "I ... had not thought of that."
"It is still worth having a look. Even kid's picture books can teach you a lot."

The station-side guards proved to be perfectly happy to point them in the right direction, and thirty minutes later they were at the public archive. Stepping in, they were greeted by a short middle-aged man in flowing black. "Ah! Our guests!" he exclaimed with a large smile, "What can I do for two traders this day?"
"Uh, hi," Alaine managed, rather overwhelmed by the enthusiastic greeting. "Uh, we were hoping to read up a bit on your history."
"I know just the book for you! It is a popular tale, you know."
"Sorry?"
"You'll see, you'll see!" the archivist said cheerfully, "Just wait here."

Now that they had a moment to look around, Dyani and Alaine were again struck by how odd these people were. There were no data systems obvious, just shelves and shelves of paper books.

"Here we go!" the archivist almost boomed as he reappeared, "Just be sure to return it before your departure!" And with that, thrust a book into Alaine's hands, and shooed them both out.

Bound in a vegetable fibre cloth, the book had clearly been read many times. Inside the writing was in Standard on alternate pages, and the local language on the others. Just like the signs. Hopefully it would shed some light on everything.

The first two pages started "Log entry - Scout Lorn aboard Gremlin" followed by a date and the coordinates of this system. The date was over two hundred and fifty years ago. "Initial survey detects no radio transmissions, a chlorophyll biosphere, and no mass hydrocarbon emissions. Closing for mapping survey."

Why had the archivist given them this?

"Alaine?" came a voice. He looked up - it was Dyani.
"Yeah?"
"Why was he dressed the same way as Seeker?"
Alaine did not have an answer. Yet.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Two hundred and fifty eight years ago:

Lorn had been on this planet "The Mother of All" for two years now. In that time, Finder of Unnoticed Details had made it clear that she found Lorn attractive. And Lorn had not turned down Finder's advances. But even after two years some parts of Finder remained a mystery.

Like yesterday. She had been thinking about making a compound bow to replace her recurve. But that would require pulleys that could stand the wear of the bowstring.

"Finder? Do you know if the Copper Miners know of any harder metals?"

"You mean like a high-carbon steel? Or more like a tungsten alloy? You'd need to talk to one of the Iron Clans for those. " was her reply, leaving her speechless.

This from a society that operated in the mid-Bronze age. Except for their detailed knowledge of microbiology, viruses, and other medical matters.

For now Lorn just stared at Finder's sleeping figure, trying to work out the strange puzzle that was this world. She'd never seen any sign of large settlements, no sign of centres of advanced learning, and yet, they had scientific knowledge that should have been centuries ahead of their level of development.

Finder's hand darted out, and seized Lorn's wrist, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Love, you are thinking too loud. Come, be with me and then sleep. Tomorrow, we shall go on a trip, so you can learn." With a strength that surprised Lorn even after two years, Finder pulled her down, and shortly after rational thought beat a hasty retreat.

Six weeks after:
Lorn gazed at the cliffs on either size of the canyon they were in. They were beautiful, but there was no sign of why Finder had brought her here. Unless ... Lorn tried to focus her mind as Finder had been teaching her, but to no avail.

Nothing. She could hide her mind, but had no talent for anything more. However, the attempt had brought something to mind, and she studied the rock faces more closely. There, almost unnoticeable, was a discontinuity. There was something camouflaged here.

"Well spotted, my love" Finder grinned, "Just what I would expect of one who has made exploration her life. Come, let us say hello."

And she led Lorn into the heart of the secret of this world.

Inside those cliffs was, for lack of any other name, a research university. They studied the sciences and engineering, and passed their findings on to a council of the Elders. They assessed each new finding or development, and determined if they were of benefit to the people of the world. And they had discovered so much! Even such things as mechanical flight and all that that required. And chose to simply not. Even so, they kept everything recorded, so that if at some point it was needed, it could be done.

Instead they chose to keep the world as pristine as they could. And so they had vaccines and chemotherapy, but no cities and no pollution.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Three hours later:

The engineering team had been and gone. The agreed to price was roughly half their cargo, and had been the subject of some of the most intense haggling Alaine had seen the Captain take part in. Indeed, the haggling had taken twice as long as the assessment of the damage.

What was a surprise to everyone was the hyperspace coil replacement. These strange people said they could easily fabricate the replacements. It was just something they chose not to do, usually. They did have a few jump-capable ships, but almost never used them, choosing to keep to themselves.

Then there was Seeker. She had sat in on the briefing and the haggling, but never once spoke a word. Just watched. So Alaine had watched her.

Eventually it was just the two of them in the galley. And she was now watching him.

"How?" Alaine asked after several minutes.

"How what?" Alaine could hear her almost laughing in her reply.

"How did you know so much about us?"

"Ah. That is a question with many answers. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes! That's why I asked!"

"Even if the answers are uncomfortable?"

"Yes!"

"Alright. Let's start with the simple ones," Seeker paused, "You heard my full name earlier?"

"Err, yes? 'Seeker of Hidden Truths'? Was that it?"

"Exactly. That is not the name I was born with, but it is my adult name. We acquire our names as our nature solidifies."

"So?"

"My nature is to uncover secrets. To find the truth behind things. I saw the way you looked at work teams in their ship suits, and heard your words to your Captain. From that it was easy to deduce your conclusions."

"But how did you know where we were going?"

"Deduction again. Your ship appeared to be running at half power on approach to the station. It is usually the way of your ship builders to match the reaction drive to the hyperspace engine, so I worked out where you had likely come from, and your likely destination based on the likely range of your engines."

"So it was all deduction?" Alaine asked after digesting Seeker's explanation.

"You heard what my great-grandmother said? About untruths?"

"Uh, that your people don't like them?"

"That we despise them. This does not mean that we cannot use them, and do, but they are a sign of poor character."

"What does that have to do with my question?"

"Everything. For while we despise an untruth, we are perfectly happy with a partial truth."

"So there is something else."

"But I am not going to tell you. Not yet."

"Why not?"

Seeker leaned forward "Because we will need to know each other much better first. Now, tell me of your home, your family."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:

Seeker of Hidden Truths looked over the crew of the Athena again, sensing their confusion, and then looked up at the council.

"They are traders. Honest in their dealings. They planned a shortcut to Ikrundi. They suspect the raiders were rival traders, or sent by the same."

Alaine stared at the young woman, how did she know all this? He glanced at the Captain. She looked just as shocked and confused.

"And us?" one of the men on the Council asked.

"They know nothing. Some believe we are a secret division of their Scouts," Seeker paused and grinned, "On account of the shipsuit designs."

"Which they now know to be not the case, Seeker."

"Elder, they would know soon enough anyway" Seeker's voice sounded defensive.

A different person spoke up, a woman this time, "Complex Tunnels, you know that this would be the case. No need to admonish Seeker. Especially not in front of visitors. What is your determination, Seeker?"

"I think we should repair their ship, for a fair price, and allow them to trade. "

Alaine was running out of amazement - they were just going to let them go?

She continued "However," Alaine's relief collapsed, "the Scouts have left us even more alone, now that we can defend ourselves. We need news of the wider universe."

The old woman's voice sounded amused as it asked "And your solution?"

"We require them to return at least twice in a standard year. And one of us should travel with them, to represent our interests."

The old man, Complex Tunnels, broke in "Ha! The fruit does not fall far from the tree, does it now, Joy? Now, my fellow councillors - do we agree with this course, that young Seeker has set?"

There was a pause, and Joy spoke again "We are agreed. You intend to be that representative, Seeker?"

"Yes, Elder."

"I see I owe Complex Tunnels a brace of pack horses. Very well. Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Seeker will escort you and your crew back to your ship, and we will send an engineering team to quote. We do not use your credit system, so you will have to barter from your cargo to pay."

"Do we get any say in this?" the Captain asked.

"To be frank, Captain, no. You trespassed on our system, albeit without knowledge of us. You know this to be fair."

"It would have been nice to have the illusion of choice, at least," she grumbled.

"Oh, Captain!" Joy laughed "We despise untruth here. However, I invite you and your First Mate to join my family for dinner tonight. I think you and Charlie will get on marvellously. Seeker will mess with your crew, they will need to get to know one another before you depart."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Two days ago:

The watch officer saw a blip towards the outer system, near the further gas giant.

A tiny ripple in gravity.

She thumbed a button on the laser link to the station above Mother of All "Command? Watch station three. I have a jump signature near Smithy. Coordinates follow." It was not unheard of for ships to visit, but Scouts always jumped in much closer. This was something else. The Patrol would look into it.

She went back to her duties.

----

Seeker of Hidden Truths sat in the command seat for Divessen Station. The only reason she was seated here was because all the command staff were in a briefing with the Council.

Many, many years ago her ancestor had met and bonded with a Scout whose ship had been destroyed by the raiders that had plagued their planet. That had led to the destruction of the raiders, and a vague alliance with the Scouts.

Sixty years ago, her great-grandmother had left to join the Scouts. Her return saw the building of the station, the establishment of the Patrol, and much more.

Now, she served as an apprentice. But, when no-one else was available...

A message came in - an arriving ship, near the gas giant Smithy. That was the behaviour of either someone taking a shortcut, in which case no harm, or a raider. And for them they had a special welcome.

"Findottier, this is Command. Jump sign at these coordinates. Monitor and investigate under stealth if no departure in eight hours" she transmitted to the newest of their patrol boats.

Seeker then sent a copy of the information and the orders to the Council.

---

An hour later she was summoned to Council. She walked in, and bowed to the elders. "I am Seeker of Hidden Truths, I come as summoned."

"You have done well, Seeker" came a familiar voice from the assembled Elders. It was her great-grandmother! "We have determined that you are to maintain command of this situation until it is resolved. Do you accept this commission?"

Seeker took a moment to find her voice "I ... I accept the Council's commission."

"Very good. Remember that even in command, you are not alone."

"Thank-you, Elder."

"To your duties, Seeker"

And with that, she almost ran back to the command centre.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

---- Part 2 -----
The crew of the Athena assembled at the airlock that mated with the station. Another oddity - the fittings had been completely standard.

The Captain ran the checks. "Sparks, confirm?"

Sparks re-ran the checks "Confirm, seals good, pressure good, no contaminates."

With that the Captain opened the locks. Beyond their airlock was a second one - the station-side one, with the outer door already open. As they watched, the inner door opened, forming a short corridor between the station and the ship. The Captain led the way.

They emerged into a wide concourse, much like any other orbital station. There were two armed guards. Armed with holstered pistols of some kind - and alarmingly sharp looking pole-arms in their hands. They nodded to the Captain, and stepped back, revealing a young woman dressed in flowing black.

She looked them over and then spoke, her voice unexpectedly musical and resonate - like a deep bell sounding in the distance "I am Seeker of Hidden Truths. I will escort you to the Council. Follow me."

Alaine watched her as they followed. She would be around his age he guessed. Odd for them to send someone so junior to escort them. Also odd was that the two guards did not follow, but stayed at the airlock, which they had closed.

They passed several groups along the way - all oddly quiet. All looked at them curiously as they passed, but made no comment. Alaine was starting to feel just a little creeped out. The whole place was eerily quiet. The crew was keeping quiet in turn. The Captain would speak for them.

And everywhere, everything was so ... normal. Hatches looked completely standard, signage was dual language, in both what was presumably the native tongue and in Standard, just like any other station. Even the clothes looked familiar. They looked like ... Alaine gave voice to his realisation "Captain, those clothes..."
"Aye, hush now."
So she had noticed as well. Everyone other than their guide were wearing clothes that looked worryingly like Scout uniforms. Had they stumbled upon a top-secret Scout base?

Seeker took them through an ornate door into a large room, with dozens of people seated in stepped rows, like an auditorium. "I have brought the crew of the Athena before the Council" she announced.

One of the seated figures asked "How do you find them?"

"What?!" Alaine wondered - they had not exchanged a single word since leaving the concourse, how could they have any sort of verdict? He looked around, and the rest of the crew looked just as confused and worried.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:

Under the watchful gaze of the patrol ship, Athena docked with the orbital spaceport above the fourth planet.

By this stage they had a full accounting of the damage. Number 2 turret had a jammed canister in the launcher, the tiny 6-seat launch had a score of shrapnel holes in the hull, there were gaping holes in both the cargo hold and the engine room. Two reactors were inoperative. One of the reaction drives was wrecked, and the hyperspace jump coils had been mangled.

The only miracle was that the actual cargo appeared undamaged.

As they had approached, it became clear that this was in no way an uninhabited system. The space dock had an almost constant stream of craft of all sizes coming and going. What their equipment did not show was any sign of ships making the jump to hyperspace, and the distinctive gravitational ripple it caused.

"All hands secure stations" the all-crew channel crackled.
Then on Alaine's private channel "Alaine to the bridge." That was the Captain.
"Aye, Captain!" was his prompt response.

When he arrived, the Captain pointed to his PDU. "You've seen the damage assessment?"
"Yes Captain!"
"If your family's yard had us in, how long to fix it?"
"At a rough guess, a couple of months."
"And here?"
"I don't know. I've seen the report that no jump traces have been seen. If they don't have that, we could be here a very long time."
"And yet they speak our language, and have our frequencies."

Alaine was about to reply, when the ship's radio crackled to life again "Heavy Trader Athena, this is Divesen Station Control. You are ordered to present all able-bodied crew to the Station Council. If you have non-ambulant crew, they will be attended by our medical teams. Your ship will be held under seal until you return from your meeting with the Council."

"That did not sound friendly," Alaine observed.
The Captain grimaced "No, but by the same token, it was not unfriendly, either. At the very least they are offering medical aid. Not that we need it."
"But Captain, all of us?"
"You know the first rule, Alaine?"
"Local customs must be observed."
"And now we have to learn them."

--------- End Part One -------

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

One day ago:

The all-ship intercom chimed "All hands, all hands, stand by for re-entry into normal space."
The announcement was an old tradition going back to the first days of hyperspace travel. Alaine was in his bunk, and put down his PDU. While there were a handful of people who reacted badly to the hyperspace transition, most could not even detect that it had taken place. As a result spacers often tried to see if they could tell when the transition took place.

A few moments later, the intercom chimed again "We are now in normal space. Resume duties." Alaine had not felt a thing. He shrugged, and looked at the clock. On duty in 30 minutes. He got up, had a wash, and went to the galley.

Dyani the second gunner and sometimes passenger steward looked up from her bowl of spicy soup. He'd tried it once, and it had nearly taken his head off. "Hiya kid. You got your calcs for a gas giant worked?" she asked.

His final assignment the night before had been to work out optimal fuel scooping trajectories for either of the two gas giants in the uninhabited system they were heading for.

In the year that he'd been aboard, his days had been 8 hours work, 8 hours study, and 8 hours sleep. And snatching the odd bite on the fly. But that was what it took if he was going to pass any exams when they next hit a Board testing centre.

"Yes, Ma'am" as a junior, everyone was "Sir" or "Ma'am" to him. Or "Captain".
"Good. Eat, and run it by Suri."
"Yes, Ma'am." And he got himself a small bowl of dried fruits, nuts, and flakes of grain. He had no idea what any of them were, but they combined to make something that was almost familiar.

He was just finishing his breakfast, when the lights went red. "All hands, all hands, we are being painted with a targeting radar. Suit up, and prepare to take fire."

Pirates? Here? Why would they be hanging around in an uninhabited system? Then Alaine realized. Someone at the last port had figured out what they were probably going to do, and had arrived to lay in wait for them.

He suited up, and went aft. Sparks the engineer was waiting for him. "OK, kid. We check the gauges, run the diagnostics, and then come back to the airlock. They'll probably target the engine room first, so we don't want to be in there if it gets hit."
"Yes Ma'am!"

He could feel the two turrets firing off chaff and pebble canisters.

The two of them completed the checks, and reported to the bridge that all was good. Then they retreated to the airlock, and closed both doors.

Several minutes passed.

Then the explosions started.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:

By the time the mystery patrol ship Findottier was in visual range, Sparks and Alaine had got the deck gravitics up and running - not perfectly, but good enough for the ship to run at 1G and for the floor to be the floor.

The bridge sent an image of it to all the displays aboard, in case anyone recognized the class. It was certainly unusual.

Unlike themselves and all the common classes of ships, this ship did not have any visible turrets. Instead it appeared to have missile tubes along its sides, like an ancient sailing ship. And there were no visible laser mounts at all.

"Well, Alaine, you grew up around a shipyard, ever see anything like that?" Sparks asked.

Alaine studied the wedge shaped craft. "In layout it sort of reminds me of a Scout, but much, much bigger. And I've never seen a weapon setup like that before. I wonder where they - oh, look!" He pointed at some barely visible patches on the hull. "The laser mounts must retract!"

The Captain's voice came over the radio "All hands, make secure. We are instructed to make our way to the fourth planet, which appears to be the primary. There is a space dock and repair facility there. ETA 22 hours." Then, on the engineering channel "Alaine, if Sparks can spare you, please assist Engle and Yaani in assessing damage to the cargo."
"Yes, Captain!"

Five hours later Alaine was exhausted - he, like the rest of the crew had been up for over a day. Engle, the First Mate, had sent him off to eat, and to get a few hours sleep.

It took him some time to get to sleep, despite his exhaustion. But once there, he slept hard. Eventually he awoke to the sound of his alarm going off. Six hours sleep.
"Alaine?" It was Yaani.
"Mm, yeah?" he still wasn't completely awake.
"Captain wants you on bridge. You're backing Grendel as co-pilot."
"Grendel? Isn't she on guns?"
"She's got an in-system licence. You're to back her up."
"Right." Alaine shook himself awake, pulled on a new skinsuit, and put his pressure suit on over it, helmet folded back.

He stopped by the little galley and made himself a drink to take with him. The rich, slightly sweet aroma filled the tiny space. He made one for Grendel as well, adding a pinch of spices, as was her preference. Capping the mugs, he entered the bridge. He could see Suri and the Captain standing, waiting and Grendel in the pilot's seat. "Good, you're here Alaine. Take your place."
"Yes, Captain. I have co-pilot."
"Very good. Grendel?"
"I have the con."
"You have the con. Buzz my cabin when we are one hour out."
"Acknowledged."

Alaine handed Grendel the drink he'd prepared.

"Thanks, Alaine. You'll see multiple incoming ships on the display. Our new friend says they are the local search and rescue teams, checking for survivors from the pirate ship."

"After it got nuked?"

"They say they have to check."

(reposted into thread)

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

One week ago:

Alaine was on the bridge, shadowing Suri the navigator. She was only a couple of years older than him, but still called him "kid" like everyone else aboard.

"OK kid. Let's see your plan" she held out her hand for his PDU.
He handed it over asking "Why head for an uninhabited system, though?"
"There's a good market for the fabrication units just beyond. We could stop off at a couple of other planets first, but if we take the short-cut, we can arrive in time for a big industrial fair at their capital."
"So we stop off once, refuel from an iceball or gas giant, and carry on."
"Yep. OK, look at my calculations now" Suri pointed at her screen.

"I think I must be getting the hang of astrogation. That looks identical to mine!" Alaine exclaimed excitedly.
"Not so fast kid" the screen changed "This is the calculation I did last night."
"Wait, so what was the other one?"
"That was what I thought you'd do."
Alaine's face fell "I'm not getting it am I?"
Suri grinned "It isn't too bad, kid. You made the same mistake I would have made two years ago. Wencell, the navigator before me pulled the same trick on me. Off you go, and compare the two. Tell me where you went wrong over dinner."
"Yes Ma'am."

Alaine went back to the cabin he shared with the other spacehand, Yaani, and sat at the desk, going over the calculations. After about half an hour he found his error - he'd gotten the mass wrong for one of the outer planets. A minor error, but one that would have placed them light-weeks away from their intended destination. Not a fatal error, but it would have cost them most of the time they were trying to save.

Yaani came in, all 80 kilograms and 110cm of them. Yaani could also bench over 400kg, having come from a high-G world. "Whatcha got there, kid?"
"Suri's nav calcs for the next jump. I was shadowing her."
"She put up what she thought you'd do?"
"Yeah. I'm to tell her where I went wrong at dinner."
"You got an answer for her?"
"Yep."
"Good on ya. It took me nearly a week when she did that to me. I just ain't got the head for astrogation."
That made Alaine feel a little better. Mind you, Yaani had an almost instinctive sense for cargo packing, and was usually working with Engle, who acted as the Load Master.

He wrote up his error in detail, ready for dinner.

(reposted into thread)

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:

By the time the mystery patrol ship Findottier was in visual range, Sparks and Alaine had got the deck gravitics up and running - not perfectly, but good enough for the ship to run at 1G and for the floor to be the floor.

The bridge sent an image of it to all the displays aboard, in case anyone recognized the class. It was certainly unusual.

Unlike themselves and all the common classes of ships, this ship did not have any visible turrets. Instead it appeared to have missile tubes along its sides, like an ancient sailing ship. And there were no visible laser mounts at all.

"Well, Alaine, you grew up around a shipyard, ever see anything like that?" Sparks asked.

Alaine studied the wedge shaped craft. "In layout it sort of reminds me of a Scout, but much, much bigger. And I've never seen a weapon setup like that before. I wonder where they - oh, look!" He pointed at some barely visible patches on the hull. "The laser mounts must retract!"

The Captain's voice came over the radio "All hands, make secure. We are instructed to make our way to the fourth planet, which appears to be the primary. There is a space dock and repair facility there. ETA 22 hours." Then, on the engineering channel "Alaine, if Sparks can spare you, please assist Engle and Yaani in assessing damage to the cargo."
"Yes, Captain!"

Five hours later Alaine was exhausted - he, like the rest of the crew had been up for over a day. Engle, the First Mate, had sent him off to eat, and to get a few hours sleep.

It took him some time to get to sleep, despite his exhaustion. But once there, he slept hard. Eventually he awoke to the sound of his alarm going off. Six hours sleep.
"Alaine?" It was Yaani.
"Mm, yeah?" he still wasn't completely awake.
"Captain wants you on bridge. You're backing Grendel as co-pilot."
"Grendel? Isn't she on guns?"
"She's got an in-system licence. You're to back her up."
"Right." Alaine shook himself awake, pulled on a new skinsuit, and put his pressure suit on over it, helmet folded back.

He stopped by the little galley and made himself a drink to take with him. The rich, slightly sweet aroma filled the tiny space. He made one for Grendel as well, adding a pinch of spices, as was her preference. Capping the mugs, he entered the bridge. He could see Suri and the Captain standing, waiting and Grendel in the pilot's seat. "Good, you're here Alaine. Take your place."
"Yes, Captain. I have co-pilot."
"Very good. Grendel?"
"I have the con."
"You have the con. Buzz my cabin when we are one hour out."
"Acknowledged."

Alaine handed Grendel the drink he'd prepared.

"Thanks, Alaine. You'll see multiple incoming ships on the display. Our new friend says they are the local search and rescue teams, checking for survivors from the pirate ship."

"After it got nuked?"

"They say they have to check."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

One week ago:

Alaine was on the bridge, shadowing Suri the navigator. She was only a couple of years older than him, but still called him "kid" like everyone else aboard.

"OK kid. Let's see your plan" she held out her hand for his PDU.
He handed it over asking "Why head for an uninhabited system, though?"
"There's a good market for the fabrication units just beyond. We could stop off at a couple of other planets first, but if we take the short-cut, we can arrive in time for a big industrial fair at their capital."
"So we stop off once, refuel from an iceball or gas giant, and carry on."
"Yep. OK, look at my calculations now" Suri pointed at her screen.

"I think I must be getting the hang of astrogation. That looks identical to mine!" Alaine exclaimed excitedly.
"Not so fast kid" the screen changed "This is the calculation I did last night."
"Wait, so what was the other one?"
"That was what I thought you'd do."
Alaine's face fell "I'm not getting it am I?"
Suri grinned "It isn't too bad, kid. You made the same mistake I would have made two years ago. Wencell, the navigator before me pulled the same trick on me. Off you go, and compare the two. Tell me where you went wrong over dinner."
"Yes Ma'am."

Alaine went back to the cabin he shared with the other spacehand, Yaani, and sat at the desk, going over the calculations. After about half an hour he found his error - he'd gotten the mass wrong for one of the outer planets. A minor error, but one that would have placed them light-weeks away from their intended destination. Not a fatal error, but it would have cost them most of the time they were trying to save.

Yani came in, all 80 kilograms and 110cm of them. Yani could also bench over 400kg, having come from a high-G world. "Whatcha got there, kid?"
"Suri's nav calcs for the next jump. I was shadowing her."
"She put up what she thought you'd do?"
"Yeah. I'm to tell her where I went wrong at dinner."
"You got an answer for her?"
"Yep."
"Good on ya. It took me nearly a week when she did that to me. I just ain't got the head for astrogation."
That made Alaine feel a little better. Mind you, Yaani had an almost instinctive sense for cargo packing, and was usually working with Engle, who acted as the Load Master.

He wrote up his error in detail, ready for dinner.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

I suppose the thing I give #TheOrville the most credit for is that they don't shy away from the reality—indeed, they kind of lean into it—that if something like the holodeck actually existed, then obviously the thing it would be most used for, at least by humans (I wouldn't presume to project our weaknesses on other space-faring species), is sex.
#tv #sf

Now:

Sparks and Alaine managed to get two more reactors running, providing sixty percent of normal power.

"Can you splice that cable, Alaine?" Sparks asked.
"Yes, Ma'am" he replied in shock. This was the first time she had called him by name.
"Right Get to it, and I'll go and report to the Captain. Wait until I get back for plugging it in. Got it?"
"Yes ... Sparks?" despite his best efforts, the name came more as a question.

The old engineer grinned through her helmet at him, and left through the open airlock. With holes in both the hold and the engineering space, the interlocks did not complain about both doors being open.

As Alaine worked on splicing the two diagnostic cables together, he started seeing small bursts of light through the hole the missile had made.

At first he thought some part of the ship's circuits were arcing, now that a decent amount of power was available. Then he saw some in the middle of the hole, and realized it was the ship's laser turret burning away the chaff and pebbles they had deployed. And bits of their ship as well. Debris was debris.

His radio came to life - it was the Captain. Sparks must have fixed the relay on her way through. "Alaine? Do you copy?"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Sparks tells me you might be able to get one of the reaction drives up and running, is that right?
"Yes Captain."
"Good, we're going to have a local patrol ship meeting us, and I'd like us to be able to make our own way if we can. Let me know when you have it running. Sparks is on her way back to you now. Out."

Alaine was just putting the final touches on the cable when Sparks re-entered the engine room.

"All done, Sparks!" he called on the local channel.
"Good work. Let me get the interfaces up."

Over the next ten minutes they worked over the controls and software. Finally Sparks nodded "It's your cable, you get to plug it in."

Alaine swallowed, and plugged one end into the undamaged control unit of Drive One. No smoke or sparks. Then he stretched the cable across the engine room to Drive Two's mangled control unit, and unplugged that from the drive housing. He swallowed again, and plugged in the jury-rigged cable. Again no sparks or smoke.
"OK, we're connected, Sparks."
"Running startup checks" Sparks paused "We have green across the board." Then she changed to the shipwide channel "Captain, we have Drive Two operational. Please test with point one G."
The Captain's voice came back "Brace for acceleration. Point one G in five, four..."
Alaine attached a harness clip to a frame.
"...three, two, one, zero"
And he felt the pull of acceleration.
Across the ship channel was a cheer.
"OK, keep it down!" the Captain cut over everyone. "Sparks, Alaine, see if you can get grav back."
"Yes Captain!" they acknowledged.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #ShamanScout #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Six months ago:

Alaine looked across at Engle "Uh, why exactly do we have to hold hands here, Sir?"
"Watch it darling. Local mores. While we are here, in public, we are married, OK?"
"OK, ah .. dear."
"Better."
"Is that why the rest of the crew?"
"Stayed at the last planet. Yes."
That last was a blatant lie, the rest of the crew, including the Captain, were still aboard, and monitoring their progress via encrypted radio bugs.
Engle continued "If we were on one of the other continents, we would not be having any issues, but only this place has the tech to run a starport."
"So they have a monopoly on interstellar trade?"
"Right in one. Makes the politics here tricky, and makes profit here a bit tight. Some of their biologicals command a good price elsewhere, though. Especially the fruits. The gourmet markets go nuts for them."
"So what sorts of things do they want here?"
"If you really want to make a killing, weapons and vehicles. Ship policy says no to them."
"If they already have the interstellar trade monopoly..."
"Exactly. Now, game face on k..my little prince. We've got some fossil woods to move. The artists here love the stuff."
"Yes dear."

----

It had been a gruelling three days on planet, and Alaine was exhausted. But he was back on board now.
"Uh, Captain?"
"Yeah, kid? What's on your mind?"
"We've got on-board fuel processors, so any fresh water would do for filling our tanks here."
"So why did we land here at the starport, in the middle of a downright psycho country?"
"Yes."
"Good question" the Captain grinned "I was hoping you'd ask."
Alaine smiled to himself - he'd asked the right question for once!
The Captain went on "If I thought we could get away with it, we would land just about anywhere else. But these people have orbital capabilities, and they have primitive nukes. If we landed somewhere else, we could start a war."
"So they get to profit from that?"
"Sadly, yes."
"Captain, sometimes this sucks."
"Yes, it does. But we cannot interfere. If we did we'd have the Patrol, or the Scouts, or someone worse leaping down our throats. Not to mention the Trade Board."
"So we never sell military tech?"
"Can't say never, but we have to be pretty careful about it. Unified planetary government is a requirement. And then things get complicated. System reputation, all sorts of things. But we've carried a cargo of ship's missiles for a system that was restocking after dealing with a bunch of raiders."

Alaine looked thoughtful "That makes sense."
"Now, what if they were lying about the raiders? What if they were arming a raider fleet of their own?"
Alaine now looked horrified "Ma'am?"
"That is why you look into reputations. Study history. Now, read up on our next port. Tell me what you think in the morning."
"Yes Captain!"

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #ShamanScout #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:
Alaine made his way back to the engine room. Inside Sparks (he had no idea what her name actually was - even her ID pass for planet-side just said "Sparks") looked up from the fusion reactor control panel. "What did Cap say?" she asked over the suit radio.
"She said to do what you can, and I'm to help out."
"Have a look at reactors two and four. See if you can get enough parts from the control circuits to get one of them going. I'll keep hammering at number one. But kid - if you hear a proximity alarm, get out. They'll be gunning for the engine room again, and if we're in here, we are gone."
"OK."

He started looking at the control unit of reactor two where the shrapnel from the missile hit had ripped apart the circuits. He tried to ignore the gaping hole in the hull, and the empty space beyond. It looked like there were a couple of undamaged boards, so he pulled them. The main board was mangled, so this reactor was a wash.

He moved over to reactor four. It looked like only one board was dead here. And it matched one from what he pulled from two. He swapped it out, and started the diagnostics. Damn. He needed to reset the serial numbers. As he worked he thought about the drives.

"Hey Sparks?"
"Yeah kid?"
"I think I can get number four running."
"Good work."
"Um, have you thought about running a data link from the controls of drive one to the controller of drive two?"
"Nice thought, but we ain't got a drive data link cable long enough."
"Have we got a pair of diagnostic cables?" Alaine asked.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"You can fake a data link cable with a pair of diagnostics. You just need to splice them."
"You ever done that, kid?"
"No, but I saw a couple of guys in one of the yards back home do it to get a hulk across the yard. They got super chewed out for it."
"Get four running first."
"On it."

A few minutes later, Sparks tongued her transmitter again, "Hey kid, you heard turret one fire again?"
"Uh, no. Maybe the pirates are busy with the patrol ship."
"What patrol ship?"
"Oh, right, the one that I heard hail us and then open fire on the pirates. Just as I was leaving the bridge."
"Kid, you bulling me?"
"No Ma'am! Some ship called 'Findottire' I think."
"I thought the Cap said this was an uninhabited system?"
"I thought so, too."

Another twenty minutes passed, and through the hole in the side of the engine room, Alaine saw tiny pinprick flashes of missiles being picked off by point defense systems. Then his faceplate went black, and faded back to clear.

"Kid you OK?" Sparks sounded frantic.
"Yes, faceplate blacked out. I'm OK. I think that was the pirate ship going up."
"We're both going to have to get checked for exposure. I've only seen flashes like that back when I was in the military. That was a nuke going off."
"I don't think we need to worry about the pirates anymore, Ma'am."

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #ShamanScout #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

One and a half years ago:

Alaine sat in his bedroom, and looked over the papers the school councillor had given him. What did he want his future to look like?

His parents wanted him to sign up with the family business, running the planet's largest shipyard. But his sisters had that in hand. And Marvella was the obvious choice for taking over when his dad retired.

No, he wanted something on the ships that his family built. Something where he could have the chance to make his own name. He signed the papers for the trade ship pool. The small independent traders were always recruiting new crew, and he had good scores in mathematics, decent muscles, and a good work ethic.

----

One year ago:
"I'm Captain Guernsey. You are Alaine Haughton?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"You sure you want to sign on a little ship like the Athena? You come from a wealthy family."
"Yes, Ma'am. I want to make my own name. Not just be a cog in my family."
The Captain grunted, then got up, "Come on! Get a move on!" she called out as she all but ran towards the dock. Alaine had to jog to keep up, even though the Captain was a full head shorter than him.
As they moved swiftly through the starport, the Captain continued "We need a general space hand for now, so that's what you'll be doing. A bit of everything. You'll report to the First Mate, Engle. He'll assign you your duties. There are only eight of us in the crew. If you fit, I'll write you a good reference at the end of the contract. Maybe even offer you a chance to stay on - if you're good enough."
"Thank you Ma'am."
"Just call me Captain."
"Yes Ma.. I mean Captain."

They approached a small ship - maybe four times the size of a Scout. Alaine knew his ships, and could tell that it was not a young ship - it was probably sixty or seventy years old, but it looked well maintained.

The Captain looked back, and studied Alaine's face. "Well?"
"She looks like a solid trade ship. You've kept her well, Captain."
"She belonged to my old captain. He signed her over to me when he retired. We're paid out, but ships cost to run, so we can't afford any dead trades. Engle! Get your hairy butt out here, I've a freshie for you to take on."
A slender figure emerged from the cargo ramp "What's that Cap?" he asked.
Guernsey gestured over her shoulder. "Alaine. He's your new space hand."
"Right then. Come on kid, how much do you know about ships?"

Alaine stepped into his new life.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #ShamanScout #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Alaine pushed off from the engine room hatch, and flew across the cargo hold towards the crew area. He'd not had much experience in zero-g, and missed the hatch at the other end. He did, however, manage to snag one of the tie-downs before he rebounded.

He felt the vibration of the number one turret launching a spread of chaff and pebble canisters. They would burst like shotgun shells in an attempt to distract or intercept incoming missiles. He didn't like the odds.

Reaching the bridge, he cycled through the internal airlock. The bridge crew - captain, navigator, and gunner - looked at him. Everyone appeared much older than earlier that day. Even the navigator, who Alaine knew was only two years older than him seemed aged in the emergency lights. The captain, normally a bundle of energy, looked past retirement.

"Cap? Sparks says the drives are down, and she can only give emergency power. Three of the reactors have scrammed. She might be able to get one back up in an hour."

The captain of the little trader cursed "Damned pirates! OK, we've got about four hours before they can get alongside us to board. Tell Sparks to do whatever she can, and give her what help you can. Go!"

Alaine didn't bother saluting, just turned and hit the airlock button again. As he did so, he heard the radio crackle. This would be the pirates demanding their surrender. As if. They'd never let them live, even if they did surrender.

"Trade ship Athena, Trade ship Athena, we have you on radar and are closing to provide assistance. ETA two hours."

Alaine paused. That did not sound like a pirate ship. That sounded like some sort of in-system patrol. But this system was supposed to be uninhabited. What was going on?

The voice continued, "Unidentified vessel, this is patrol ship Findottire. Stand down and cease fire. Failure to do so will result in your destruction."

As the airlock hatch opened, he heard the gunner call out "Captain, I have multiple launches on radar, but not from the pirate ship - they are from in-system. Trajectory indicates the pirates are the targets. Time to target is thirty minutes."

Maybe they would survive today after all.

#SF #SFF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #ShamanScout #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

#introduction

Salut ! Je suis sur Masto depuis quelques années mais l’envie m’a pris de faire un compte tout neuf sur une nouvelle instance ☀️

En général je poste peu, mais je repouet pas mal de trucs sur l’antispécisme et d’autres luttes, des memes ou du ronchonnement contre les IA génératives.

Dans la vie j’habite à Grenoble, je joue de la guitare dans un groupe de noise punk, j’aime me promener en montagne, me déplacer à vélo, lire de la science fiction et cuisiner des véganeries.

Je fais aussi un thèse en sociologie mais j’aime bien séparer le travail du reste donc j’ai un autre compte pour ça :)

#antispecisme #punk #vegan #randonnee #cuisine #sf

Under the bedclothes, Mahtab gripped the scimitar she'd bribed a guard to give her. She knew her late father's vizier would be making his move soon. She was going to make sure it was his last. No usurper was going to claim the throne that was her birthright.

Cyrus crept through the palace. He had never been here before, having been whisked away as a baby by a loyal servant when his step-sister had killed his family. She had raised him, and told him of his heritage, but a fever took her a year ago. Now he had made his way to the nearby city, and broken into the palace, set on revenge against the woman who had murdered his family.

He had successfully avoided the palace guards, guided by a magic map he had purchased from a witch. There had been one unfortunate matter of an old man with a poisoned dagger, but he had been swiftly silenced.

Mahtab heard the door to her rooms open, and prepared herself to strike, but when the curtain around her bed opened, it was not the shrunken vizier who stood there, but a young man, holding a short roman-styled sword.

He looked as shocked as she was.

Cyrus looked at the young woman in the bed, and the scimitar in her grip. She was around his age, not a score of years older than him.

"Wait, you're not vizier!" she spoke frowning, just as he said "You're not my evil sister!"

Together they asked "Who are you?"

"This is the regent's rooms, right?" Cyrus asked as she quickly veiled herself.

"Yes", Mahtab answered. "Are you his agent?"

"Agent? I was looking for the so-called Queen Cyrene."

"Cyrene? She rules in Susa, not here. I am Princess Mahtab."

"Susa? But I thought my parents ruled here?"

"And you are?"

"Prince Cyrus."

"I heard he died in a revolt in Susa twenty years ago."

"A servant loyal to the throne saved me. She said that my father had ruled the city, and my step-sister had had my family murdered so she could take the throne."

Mahtab looked puzzled "But this is Persipolis - my father had ruled here the last forty years, until he died just a week ago."

Cyrus had the good grace to look embarrassed. "So, I have the wrong palace?"

"I'm afraid so," and then her face took on a worried frown "But I am expecting my late father's vizier to try to assassinate me."

"Uh, would that have been an old man, slightly hunched, with a skullcap?"

"That sounds like him."

"We ran into each other, and I killed him to keep him quiet."

"You have my thanks. I guess I owe you a favour. Sit - and let's work out what we are going to do about your step-sister."

#IAmWriting #SF #SFF #Fantasy #microfic #tootfic #microfiction
An expansion of https://aus.social/@rdm/113043592023617043

[lien] Rendezvous with Rama - Hacker News #space #bks #sf #ai

#ThrowBackThursday #DoorsDay

Doors into the Past

(Details In The AltText) - (Described At Length)

#AltText #NoAi #No2AI #photography #photo #potd #photooftheday #travel #street #travelphotography #sf #sfba #streetphotography #california #us #usa #sanfrancisco #blackandWhite #bnw #monochrome #urbex #abandoned #monochromemarch #history #historic #historical #blackandwhitephotography #abstract

Alt...

This is a black and white photo in landscape format looking along a long line of open doors in a disused building. Angel Island, California (2016). On either side of the image and occupying about a quarter of the photo on each side is a plastered wall, coated with flaking grey paint and with a door frame in the centre. The camera is positioned in the middle of the doorway, looking through the open door and at average head height. Ahead of the open door, (the door has long since been removed), is a room measuring no more that 5m with a further open door set in the far wall. That wall has the lower 1 1/2m painted black and has collected a small amount of graffiti, above is more grey flaking paint. Through this second door is a further room with another door on the far side. This repeats about with five or six more rooms stretching away from the first room. The building is a long abandoned army barracks on Angel Island, California.

Question pour les amateurs de SF ancienne !
Je cherche le titrez d'une nouvelle d'Asimov qui est ingooglable, MAIS je me souviens qu'elle était dans un recueil avec une autre nouvelle, elle plus facilement reconnaissable.
Un cambrioleur fait un casse dans un musée sur une lune mais se fait avoir par une histoire de décalage horaire/ de date/rotation mal calculée.
Est-ce que ça dit qq chose à qqn ?
#SF #scienceFiction #asimov