June 2017 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO MOSAIX!

[TheDustyZebra]

RULES:

Write a story inspired by the chosen theme and genre in no more than 75 words, not including the title

ONE entry per person

NO links, commentary or extraneous material in the posts, please -- the stories must stand on their own


WHEN WRITING YOUR STORY, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A FAMILY-FRIENDLY FORUM

All stories Copyright 2017 by their respective authors,

who grant the Chronicles Network the non-exclusive right to publish them here


The complete rules can be found at Rules for the Writing Challenges

Contest ends at 11:59 pm GMT, June 23, 2017

Voting Ends at 11:59 pm GMT, June 28, 2017


You do not have to submit a story in order to vote --

in fact, we encourage all Chrons members to take part in choosing a winner



***SPECIAL VOTING NEWS FOR THIS MONTH ONLY***
From time to time, we will be announcing
various surprises for given Challenges.
For this month's Challenge, you will have three votes!
Happy voting!



The Magnificent Prize:


The Dignified Congratulations/Grovelling Admiration of Your Peers

and the challenge of choosing next month's theme and genre



Theme:

Murphy's Law

Genre:

Science Fiction or Fantasy


This thread to be used for entries only.

Please keep all comments to the DISCUSSION THREAD

We invite (and indeed hope for) lively discussion and speculation about the stories as they are posted, so long as it doesn't involve the author explaining the plot.


** Please do not use the "Like" button in this thread! **​

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Better Late Than Never

Professor Anna Kaiser raised a glass of champagne. “To our success. Global warming has been stopped.”

The scientists and diplomats gathered in the headquarters of the United Nations cheered. Through the towering windows a scene of verdant beauty seemed to reflect their joy. Brightly colored birds soared through an emerald forest.

“It might have been a little sooner,” Kaiser’s husband whispered to her. He gazed at the tropical island that had once been Mount Everest.

 

[Culhwch]

Best Laid Plans

‘Where’d it all go wrong?’

‘Well…’

‘That was a rhetorical question.’

‘...shouldn’t’ve trusted them gnomes, fer starters. Shifty buggers…’

‘Stop.’

‘...and going with the lowest quote for the mercenaries was probably inadvisable…’

‘Don’t.’

‘...Tim warned you dragons couldn’t be tamed…’

‘Shut up.’

‘...right before that dragon et him.’

‘...’

‘Remember that?’

‘...’

‘Pretty ironic, huh?’

‘...’

‘But you still took the castle!’

They looked around the charred ruins.

‘Just needs a little ... sprucing, is all.’

 

[Cathbad]

The Cat Wore Prada


“Well, Mr. Whiskers, you think it’s ready?” I caress the tubes; flexible ones filled with coolant, the solid ones dark, but soon filled with light, sending trillions of bytes a second – a new age of computers!

Mr. Whiskers squirms. “Yes; I’m impatient too!” I flip the switch.

Nothing happens.

My heart sinks. I look over everything, getting frantic!

The I find it. A single cat hair glued into the motherboard.

Mr. Whiskers looks away.

 

[Luiglin]

Private Investigations

Here I am, a dwarf, perched precariously on a roof muttering coochy coos to a cat that looks to have gone ten rounds with a troll... and won.

Easy money? Yeah, right.

The cat, with evil nonchalance, claws his way onto my shoulders. The gutter I'm holding gives, swinging me down to land on my arse.

The cat, naturally, disappears.

Perfect, just... the last nail squeals in release, the gutter drops with typical precision ...perfect.

 

[Wruter]

Never Be Disappointed Again

Starting a new relationship? About to do something you might regret?

You need the new PERSONAL PROBABILITY DETECTOR from Predictech!

Utilizing quantum processing, online data and biometrics, this portable, ergonomic accessory can predict the likely outcome of all your social interactions.

Meet the right people! Avoid embarrassing situations! Save time!

Available in stores now.

Note: results may vary. Predictech accept no responsibility for humiliations, arguments or personal disasters which may occur during use.

No refunds.​

 

[Ashleyne]

Kitty Apocalypse

Habgwa stands before the camera. "Mighty humans, we desire kitties. Give us one of each sex, and we shall teach you teleportation."

#

Trump watches the transmission. "I can't understand a word, but it looks like a threat. Activate the missiles."

"But sir-"

"Do it or you're fired!"

#

The missiles glide toward the ship, then bounce off of the force field.

#

"They've blown themselves up" says Habgwa, wiping his eyes. "I'll never have a kitty."

 

[HoopyFrood]

No Exceptions

I've reached work on time. No traffic jams, no roadworks, no sudden floods. It's a minor miracle.

So now I'm cowering in my cubicle, waiting. I avoid the shocked stares of my colleagues, all arriving safely late.

I even prayed for a meteor. Anything.

They'll be here soon.

Why did it have to go so well?

Footsteps behind me. “You're under arrest-”

“I know.” I numbly stand. “I broke the Law.”

 

[Lumens]

The Inverse Domino Idiosyncratic Orbital Time Effect


"Success, Captain! Just as predicted, by ourselves from the future."

"That was easy, once we knew how."

"Unfortunately, the core has become unstable."

"Engage failsafe."

"Secondary substitute reserve backup failsafe is missing. We gave it to our future selves."

"Drat! Solutions?"

"Go back in time, take it from ourselves, in exchange for info on how to travel to the past. We must go further back than our future selves ever did, though."

"Excellent! Do it!"

 

[Antimon]

Murphy's Sandwich Law


These ants are especially delicious. I guess such a statement might shock people of the past. They ate cows, you know.

They can be hard to catch if you don't know the trick; the perfect "Amaro Ants" meal is prepared by employing the old "accidental" tabletop sandwich drop technique. Mathematically proven to always land upside down on the floor, the slice of bread traps the poor critters in its wonderful, homemade, sticky butter. Yum!

 

[Danny McG]

Get it right.

##YOUR MODIFICATIONS WILL ENSURE YOU PASS AS AN EARTHLING, NOW STEALTHILY INFILTRATE THEIR SOCIETY##

“Murphy’s Law eh?”, it muttered to itself, “I can do this, I can triumph over these Earthlings”

It duly submitted it’s story to the Chronicles challenge and finally the results appeared.

“No votes! But – but my amusing star drive story was the very epitome of Murphy’s Law?”

“Perhaps; sadly however, it didn’t mention cats”

##PRIORITY RECOMMENDATION – IMMEDIATELY OBLITERATE THIS UNWORTHY PLANET!##

 

[Zoe Mackay]

Incident On Station Summer Breeze.

In space, paranoia is a survival trait.

When Murphy arrived, we were terrified.

“Everything that goes wrong,” Jenkins said, drunk, “will be his fault.”

“I don’t care if he is a great hydroponicist. We’ve got to deal with him.”

First walk’s always dangerous. And the umbilical is very vulnerable to stray edges. Goodbye, Murphy.

Two days later, blight struck the hydroponics tanks. We’ve got a week’s air left. Murphy’s replacement arrives in a fortnight.

Damn.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Publish And Perish And Publish

Ghost Writer Publishing was a subsidiary of Kitties’ Publishing. If they’d published ghosts, or even kitties, maybe civilisation would still stand.

They published posthumous novels. A new Jurassic novel by Michael Crichton. With zombie dinosaurs. A new Middle Earth novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. With zombie hobbits.

An infinite number of zombies chained to an infinite number of typewriters wrote an infinite number of stories that got into their readers’ heads.

Into their braaaaaaaaaaiiiiinnnss…

 

[Travis Woodward]

Just visiting

“Finally, a parallel universe I can relate to. Look! They have videos of kittens doing cute things!” Said Gwen, looking at her phone.

“Hmm – There’s a strong psycho-probabilistic field...” Said Iris, adjusting her scanner.

“You mean if they want something to happen it becomes more likely? That explains the kittens.”

“Actually, the opposite. We should leave before it affects our equipment.”

Gwen sighed. “Fine, take us home.” She took a last look around. “Poor sods.”

 

[Calliopenjo]

I Aced It

I perfected the spell. I practiced it. I memorized the words. I even looked up each word so I understood what they meant. What could go wrong?

The day of the final, I cast the spell. Let me say, I flunked it. Instead of creating a tornado of moths, the professor turned into a flower petaled purple snail. Not my fault somebody sneezed. The book said nothing about that making a difference.

 

[ErikB]

Above and beyond.


"It's the only way!"

"The drought cannot last! Don't pay them."

The elder sighed.
"Without water the crops will die as will we."

He pointed to the village.
"Our people and livestock must drink. Their aquifer is the only hope. We will pay Kuanok for water."

Terex shook his head as payment was made and irrigation ditches flowed with water.

In the distance darkening skies unleashed rain.

The elder grumbled.

"Oh, now it rains!"

 

[Joshua Jones]

Man and Beast

Holstering his spear, Charles entered the shelter after the others were safely inside. The tribe desperately needed respite, which the structure promised.

Fate decreed something else. Without warning, an enormous feline charged, swatting the metal lattice walls and injuring Frank. Charles drew his spear and joined the hasty schiltron.

As he dug the wooden point into the creature's paw, Charles marveled that the monster was formerly his pet. Perspectives change upon becoming 2 inches tall.

 

[Peter V]

WANTED Dead or Alive: Mr Tibbles



“Professor Sigurdsson?” Excitement on the other end of the phone.


“Speaking.”


“You should have received the package we discussed. I can confirm it is genuine.”


“Schrödinger’s Box?”


“Yes. Besides having Eigentum von Erwin Schrödinger stencilled on it, DNA backs it up.’


“I received a package. The delivery docket says it’s from you. But...”


“Fantastic. You deserve the honour of opening it.”


Sigurdsson hesitates. “It isn't a box. It's a cookbook.”


“What? NO! Damn you FedEx.”

 

[Shyrka]

However Improbable

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?!” Ramone’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

“I mean gone. As in vanished. No longer there,” said Mary with exaggerated calm. It was going to be a long day.

“You said the vault was impenetrable! Nothing could get in! How?!”

“Tunnelling.”

“Tunnelling?!” he shrieked. “The chamber is surrounded by thirty feet of neutronium alloy! It cost billions!”

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose. “How much do you know about quantum theory...?”

 

[Vaz]

Tesseract


Being inside a black hole is like holding the seashell of space to your ear.

I'm coming back, Murph.

I smile at her copper hair that smelled like citrus. She cannot see me. I am her ghost.

I transmit the data. The Tesseract is collapsing. I get one perfect glimpse of the horizon before it smothers itself like an oyster hiding its pearl.

We are the ghosts of our children's future.