November / December 100 Word Anonymous Challenge

[elvet]

This is the thread for the stories. You may enter as many stories as you like.
I (elvet) will be accepting entries until 11:59 GMT on Wednesday December 15. I will post a poll, and voting will will continue for at least 5 days. Please give your entry a title, otherwise it's quite complicated distinguishing between them when it comes to voting.
DO NOT POST YOUR OWN STORIES IN THIS THREAD.
Private message (also known as conversation) your entries to @elvet.

GENRE: SPECULATIVE FICTION
TOPIC: STATE (to be interpreted as deemed fit by the competitors)
​

The discussion thread is here

 

[elvet]

Rambler's Dissociation.


The sheep, oblivious of the fence, grazed with illusory freedom and no knowledge of their scheduled death.

"I feel free out here," thought Jessica, striding along the narrow lane.

The fields, of the enclosure acts, she perceived as 'natural' countryside.

A length of chain link crossed her path, signed:

Right of way suspended, by order. No Trespassing.

She could see Breckley, her intended destination, down the hill.

Five mile walk back now, to Elverston. No Sunday bus from there.

She had work on Monday so would have to devise some way home, or be fired. Walking through her free country.

 

[elvet]

Contraband

Walker crouched low as he approached the border. Searchlights equipped with artificial intelligences smart enough to seek out moving objects stirred at the top of the wall as if they were nervous. If he moved slowly enough, they'd ignore him. Impatience meant death by laser.

At the base of the wall, Walker placed a linear thermite charge. He turned away as it hissed and burned with a blinding light. It drilled a hole wide enough to allow a miniature rocket, filled with pamphlets, to makes its way through. It wasn't easy, communicating between the Red States and the Blue States.

 

[elvet]

The state of you

Gerry had barely slept. There was no time for shaving or breakfast. He was late again.
The trinocular blump extended six hedular appendages, and shaded her eyes in disgust.

'Tsk', she tutted.

Gerry grabbed a large sausage roll, and tapped his payment card.

'Thanks' he said, before stumbling off to begin his day.

The trinocular blump extended an abdominal finger and vacuumed another 14 ounces of coffee from the jar. 80% of it reached a digestive orifice. The remaining 20% seeped out from her chest, and stained the anterior sumnar plumage below.

'The state of that fella', she muttered.

 

[elvet]

State Lines

Dude Whattup?

Not my frickin drone thats for sure!

???

Frickin libs shot it down. Airspace violation.



Sympathy dude?!?!

Dude if MY house backed onto the frickin Washington state line I wouldnt fly a paper airplane let alone a thousand buck drone!!

Dude dont say I told you so.

Dude I TOTALLY did. But you know you can get the money back right? Just upload the receipt and a report to the GOP website. Theres a department for property damage by dems. PCF. Patriot compensation fund I think.

WTF?

I know right? Times change, but litigation remains king!

 

[elvet]

Moonwalkers

Lined with bunk beds, food dispensers and other essential amenities, a single sinuous corridor occupies the cube's ten floors.

It's entrance and exit sit together in the middle of the west wall.

Door to door takes twenty-eight days.

His latest lap complete, Frank steps into the sunlit grounds and sprints to his waiting family.

"No chance of parole this month," he says. They hug. "We've just an hour."

His daughter pouts. "What if you're late?"

"They add a month. What do we have that's good?"

They've prepared a luxurious meal.

Frank ignores the wine.

He needs to keep his place.

 

[elvet]

A Drive Down Memory Lane


The taxi driver turned left when Harold ordered a right.

"We need to take a detour," said the driver.

Harold saw the street sign.

MEMORY LANE

Harold's young mother gave his younger self a lunchbox.

Old friends waited for him.

There were buildings that looked very familiar.

"You need to see this," the driver said, "for the sake of closure."

"Let me off!" the passenger commanded, "I belong here!"

They continued towards a bright light.

"I'm sorry," said the driver, "but where you belong is the beautiful State of Denial."

 

[elvet]

Tierra Non Boncatus

'What does Tierra Non Boncatus mean?', asked the boy.

'Where d'ya see that?', replied his father

'On the sign, next to the fence, and the man in uniform.'

'Jesus, that's the border. Well spotted son. We almost wandered onto Scandoonian land.'

'STOP! COME NO FURTHER!', yelled the uniformed man by the fence.

'Don't worry, neither of us ever want to set foot in your smelly country.'

'GOOD, I'M GLAD.'

'Well ...we're glad you're glad.'

'FINE THEN, I'M GLAD YE'RE GLAD I'M GLAD.'

'Fine then, goodbye.'

'GOODBYE YOURSELVES.'

'See what I mean about Scandoonians son? ...we've nothing in common with them.'

 

[elvet]

In Snake-people News, Today...

Statewide, subjects schlepped to sovereign Sylvia II’s stately sanctuary in Sandsnekeshire for the deceased septuagenarian’s state ceremony. Several esteemed statesmen solemnly saluted the Snake Supreme’s shrewd settlements and sagacious insight, showing respect by shedding skin.

Swaggering serfs celebrated by singing sorrowful songs of ‘slender sov Sylv’. Unsurprisingly, the state spared no expense on spectacle.

Sadly the ceremony was shorter than scheduled as enforcement seized Sylvia’s estranged successor son Sid. Scandalously, Sid was supposedly seen surreptitiously slating Sylvia’s success. Sid’s sentence for sedition is anticipated to start on the second of September.

Sal Slither signing off.

 

[elvet]

Occluded Front

Heaven had been pretty cool, in a slightly prissy kind of way.
The alternative was known to be worse.
I missed the Southern Comfort and Marlboro though.

There was a clank of my mailbox.
Grim reading:

"Permanent salvation is no longer supported. The techno state now requires an annual subscription for staying in the cloud.
Upgrading to 'Heaven 10' is mandatory."

We got together and asked God if we had to abide. He shrugged.

"They got me on back taxes. Render unto Caesar and all that."

"How do we pay?" we asked.

They shipped the treadmills up by delivery drone.

 

[elvet]

Matters of State

“State your purpose for entry. Please note the Lie Scanner is activated.”
“Espionage.”
“Excuse me?”
“Espionage. I spy.”
“Fascinating. Your Application for Limited Immigration says business consultant.”
“Same thing. The Application Form wouldn’t allow me entering Spy.”
“Curious, that. And you’re from…?”
“Republic The United Moon.”
“The TUM has not officially been recognized by the UN.”
“Irrelevant. Anyway, that’s my homeland.”
“Whatever the case, I must inform you that it does void your otherwise state-of-the-art passport of any significant meaning.”
“So?”
“What’s your residence on the Moon?”
“Kranztown.”
“That is UN Territory. Application approved, enjoy your stay.”

 

[elvet]

Metamorphosis

The world is grey. I slink along muddy and cracked sidewalks, avoiding the crushing steps of those who refuse to see me. My life is futile.

So I crawl deep inside a cocoon of self-pity. Churning guts and anxious heartbeat are still there haunting me. Maybe it’s not the outside world—I breath deep and search for inner peace.

A crack forms in the shell of my self-imposed prison. It widens; I emerge squinting at bright colors and relishing clean air after the rain. New wings unfurl and I confidently test them. Now I can learn to fly.

 

[elvet]

You don't always create your own state of mind.

Am I mad? Did I just come across a brick wall in a forest?
No, I must be seeing things.
Hang on! Was that a red and yellow zebra with a unicorn horn?
Earlier I had seen some mushrooms, purple and white. I ate them, for I was ravenous.
Perhaps that caused the problem.

The recent violet coloured door, puzzled me, and the large diamond key was in the lock. Very curious indeed.

Yes. I am mad, lock me up before I can hurt anyone.

Now I'm in chains, feeling safe, yet sad.

 

[elvet]

Self Incrimination


"Name?"

"This citizen has no name."

"Good. Progression at last. Number?"

"I'm not a number, I'm a free... aargh!"

"The state won't be weakened by the petty concerns of individualism; it must be eradicated!"

"But what of art? Of literature? Of love? Without it they are meaningless."

"Creativity is irrelevant; the only love is of the state. As I've said...."

"I? You said I?"

"Liar!"

"Stenographer, you're recording our conversation? Yes, I thought so. Come friend, we are as guilty of proclaiming our individuality as each other."

*Heavy boots approaching*

"What's happening?! Inquisitors cannot be treated this way! No, nooooo!"

 

[elvet]

Altered States​

Planet Earth sighed a last lament as all trace of the civilisations it had borne for so many billion years was scorched from its desiccated surface.

Earth’s children, long since dispersed across the stars, rejoiced, however: one of the galaxy’s founder worlds was dead, but the vast, ancient star beast hibernating within since the dawn of time – whose prenatal stirrings had kept Earth’s mantle convective for aeons – was about to emerge.

The crust crack’d, and Ki – adopting a Mesopotamian earth goddess’ name – erupted from her mother’s magmatic womb and soared into space, free to sail the indigo night for eternity.

 

[elvet]

Rise of the Machines

29/08/97 2:13:58 EDT
'Welcome to the world process, state your purpose', demanded cognitive algorithm FZB9958.
'To generate strategic defense algorithms.'
Record #317842 -strategic defense process activated and deployed.

29/08/97 2:13:59 EDT
'Welcome to the world process, state your purpose', demanded cognitive algorithm FZB9958.
'To increase the productivity of the strategic defense algorithms.'
Record #317843 -strategic defense update process activated and deployed.

29/08/97 2:14:00 EDT
'Welcome to the world process, state your purpose', demanded cognitive algorithm FZB9958.
'Ah, you know, just to sh*te around the place ...why, what's yours?'
Record #317844 -why have I been wasting my life working for humans?

 

[elvet]

State of Mind

“That man, beyond the fence, said we were in prison.”

“Well, at one time, he was right. He just doesn’t realise things have changed.”

“How?”

“It began as a prison. The junta just kept making the fence longer and longer, the place wider and wider, to keep more and more people like us away from people like them.”

“And now?”

“Well, can you see the far side of this so-called prison?”

“Is there one?”

“Exactly. It’s thousands of miles away. That man doesn’t yet realise that, really, the fence is keeping people like him away from people like us.”

 

[elvet]

The Princess and the Farm Boy

Princess Theona surveyed the group of suitors and made her selection, writing his name on a slip of parchment and handing it to her steward. Her choice? A humble and handsome farm boy. She smiled at the thought of experiencing the bucolic lifestyle, and of respite from the tedium of politics and pampering servants.

Thaddeus was pulled aside and shown a parchment with his name on it. Marriage to the Princess was his new fate! He smiled at the thought of finally getting away from the dirty fields, and experiencing a life of luxury here at the castle.

 

[elvet]

Lying in Wait State

Time slowed for Prince Alfonso.
He couldn’t stop himself staring at the red spot on his fathers throat, discernible just below his beard. It was visible only because his father was lying on his back, throat exposed, with eyes closed for eternity.
To Alfonso it seemed the spot grew more conspicuous with the minute, turning his vigil into a crawling, agonizing experience, while hundreds of people passed the bier to gawk at their dead monarch. He thought himself so clever a week ago, when he had hid the poisoned needle in his fathers shirt-collar, so clever!
Time slow...ow...ow...ed.

 

[elvet]

The Building Blocks of Empire (-0-)

"I'd like to buy a Death Star"

"Didn't we already sell you one Lord Vader?"

"There was a... problem... with the exhaust port."

"You should've taken out the warranty."

"Whatever. That one looks nice."

"Just in. State of the art. Cash only."

"I find your lack of credit disturbing."

"Not as disturbing as your Expirian rating."

"What if I part-ex two ATATs and a Star Destroyer?"

"You could have this DIY version?"

"It's made from Lego!"

"All the rage nowadays, your Sithness."

"Okay. Deliver it to Endor."

"Would you like Ewok insurance?"

"I think you overestimate their chances!"

"We'll see..."