Discussion Thread -- APRIL 2022 75 Word Writing Challenge

[Luiglin]

But it's nearly always speculative fiction, because people cba to think of a specific genre,
As a genre it is pretty nebulous, as the wiki page implies. This is good allows both sides if sf-f camp to have a fair shot each month
This leads to a very diverse and interesting gaggle of stories.
I just treat it as 'general' and let my imagination go on the given theme.

As long as you include something not in the real world then that meets the genre in my humble opinion. So, let imagination run wild through fields of neon daisies

 

[Ashleyne]

I may have been stretching the genre a little, but I'm hoping that threatening to stab people is horror enough to be considered under the umbrella of speculative fiction.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Astro Pen: A powerful allegory of the uses and abuses of power, and how the powerful may be powerless, appears in this futuristic fable.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Daysman: This clever tale reveals how an underestimated talent can be of great use.

worldofmutes: A look at the grind of daily life reveals that all workers have value.

 

[Parson]

@Daysman .... Light Show .... There are opportunities for those who can see what the past might be worth.

@worldofmutes .... Just Desserts .... When your food talks the dishes are a mess.

@Christine Wheelwright .... Starship .... Leaves asking whether the dying deserve to hear what they really want to hear.

@Peter V .... Peace Talks .... Pressure is an important piece of information if you don't want to make a splash.

 

[Parson]

@Guttersnipe .... Combined We Rise .... What happens when the past controls the present, which of course effects the future.

 

[Justin Swanton]

Fun theme as pressure can mean so many things. In with my 2c.

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

people cba to think

I'm a little disturbed by how good I'm getting at deciphering internet acronyms I've never seen before....

 

[Parson]

@Justin Swanton .... The Last Factory .... Sometimes the best thing to do is to ignore the pressure and follow your heart.

@Aknot .... Pressure .... Nature abhors a vacuum, pressure demands to flow out.

 

[Parson]

@Iwroteathing .... Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em .... Sometimes it's best not to listen to your mother and her voice of experience.

 

[worldofmutes]

I'm a little disturbed by how good I'm getting at deciphering internet acronyms I've never seen before....

I suck at it. What is ‘cba’?

For me the setting is very important. It needs to be a "speculative" setting.

As to what fiction which would not be considered speculative fiction that would be stories that are set in the present day or in an actual historical setting. So works of romance, intrigue, thrillers, etc. with ordinary settings would not be speculative fiction.

I sort of think the present day is very speculative. I agree about setting. Throwing out a platitude here but Franz Kafka wrote pretty speculative stuff. If we weren’t speculating about the future, where would philosophy, or religion, come into the picture?

Say I wanted to speculate about the scattering of the Zionists from and likewise gathering back to Jerusalem, and for the sake of speculative fiction, they are Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot Jews from Kepler-452b. But, in the present day, they have discarded their Keplec heritage and is altogether forgotten, so they are among us and blend right in totally unawares of their roots. Uh, what was I saying… ?

 

[Astro Pen]

I suck at it. What is ‘cba’?

can't be arsed

 

[Parson]

Uh, what was I saying… ?

I'm not sure either.

But I think you asked if present day could be speculative, and of course it could be. The setting in my mind isn't only, or simply, time. It also has to include something that isn't or at least isn't comprehended yet. Let's go to one of the classic works of SF "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne. In my mind that book was speculative fiction of the S.F. variety because although the setting of the work was Jules Verne's more-or-less present, the Nautilus (the submarine) certainly wasn't. Most of the technology was at the cutting edge of what was likely possible with some breakthroughs, but still solidly a fictional ship. So your wild "Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot Jews from Kepler-452b" who have lost the knowledge of who and what they are would still be a story which would fall for me in the speculative fiction category.

 

[Luiglin]

I'm not sure either.

But I think you asked if present day could be speculative, and of course it could be. The setting in my mind isn't only, or simply, time. It also has to include something that isn't or at least isn't comprehended yet. Let's go to one of the classic works of SF "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne. In my mind that book was speculative fiction of the S.F. variety because although the setting of the work was Jules Verne's more-or-less present, the Nautilus (the submarine) certainly wasn't. Most of the technology was at the cutting edge of what was likely possible with some breakthroughs, but still solidly a fictional ship. So your wild "Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot Jews from Kepler-452b" who have lost the knowledge of who and what they are would still be a story which would fall for me in the speculative fiction category.

Another good example is the first Captain America movie. Standard WWII flick of everyday soldier saving the day. Like any other war movie. However, adding weird science of super soldier serum and alien tech makes it speculative.

 

[Peter V]

So your wild "Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot Jews from Kepler-452b" who have lost the knowledge of who and what they are would still be a story which would fall for me in the speculative fiction category.

I may have some information which casts some doubt on this.

Yesterday, whilst working out of our London showroom, I met a friend in a local hostelry for lunch. Whilst there, enjoying a pie and a couple of pints of Neck Oil (highly recommended), a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot sat at the next table. This is admittedly quite an unusual occurrence and as I like to engage with tourists, we got to talking. I asked its name and where it was from and it replied that sadly, it and a couple of friends, it was meeting later, had forgotten, having suffered damage to their memory chips. On a hunch, I picked up my UV light scanner, which is a convenient tool when checking for stolen property and just so happened to be in my coat pocket, and quickly passed it over my new Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot friend.

Luckily it had been security etched and it turned out that it was the property of Armin Cohen, 23 the Sidings, Milletsville, Eastern Frivell, Kepler-452b

I suspect therefore, that any story based around this individual, or his friends, probably no longer falls under the category of speculative fiction.

Sorry for being the party pooper.

Peter

 

[Elckerlyc]

I may have some information which casts some doubt on this.
I suspect therefore, that any story based around this individual, or his friends, probably no longer falls under the category of speculative fiction.
Sorry for being the party pooper.

Peter

I wonder...
Your tale of meeting this Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot, property of Armin Cohen, 23 the Sidings, Milletsville, Eastern Frivell, Kepler-452b, fails to be clear on the means how you, Peter, managed to recognize the person sitting at a table next to you as being in fact a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot. All the more curious as the Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot itself sufferend from memory loss and wasn't aware of its origins.
I therefor suspect you made use of some obscure speculative ability or apparatus to be able to note the difference between a (humanoid) person and a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot from Kepler-2452b, but are unwilling to disclose the used method.
The UV light scanner you fortuitously were carrying (in a pocket of your jacket?) sure came in handy, but was applied only after the person had already been identified by you as a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot.
I will refrain from casting doubt on your 'information' by calling it 'fiction', but it does provide ample room for speculation.

 

[Peter V]

I wonder...
Your tale of meeting this Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot, property of Armin Cohen, 23 the Sidings, Milletsville, Eastern Frivell, Kepler-452b, fails to be clear on the means how you, Peter, managed to recognize the person sitting at a table next to you as being in fact a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot. All the more curious as the Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot itself sufferend from memory loss and wasn't aware of its origins.
I therefor suspect you made use of some obscure speculative ability or apparatus to be able to note the difference between a (humanoid) person and a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot from Kepler-2452b, but are unwilling to disclose the used method.
The UV light scanner you fortuitously were carrying (in a pocket of your jacket?) sure came in handy, but was applied only after the person had already been identified by you as a Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot.
I will refrain from casting doubt on your 'information' by calling it 'fiction', but it does provide ample room for speculation.

I am of an age and experience and have a mind well versed in science, of both fact and fictional varieties, that it was immediately obvious.

Have you never found yourself in the presence of one of the more prevalent Nominal-zombie semi-synthetic robots? Whilst immediately less obviously human, they all have the same unusual walk.

 

[Bowler1]

If however this Quasi-zombie Proto-synthetic robot had been carrying a pitchfork, I would have believed Peter V despite my well founded suspicions.

 

[Parson]

@Le Panda du Mal .... Untitled .... Living in a fantasy pool might just give a person frog powers.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm glad the pressure is now off me, as I have submitted my story.