MAY 2022 -- 75 Word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO THERAPIST!

[Christine Wheelwright]

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 2022 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, 23 May 2022
Voting ends at 11:59 pm GMT, 28 May 2022


We ask all entrants to do their best to vote when the time comes but you do not have to submit a story in order to vote as we encourage all Chrons members to take part in choosing the winning entry.
​

The Magnificent Prize:​

The Dignified Congratulations or Grovelling Admiration of Your Peers and the challenge of choosing next month's theme and genre

and

The option of having your story published on the Chronscast podcast next month!​

Theme: Infinity​

Genre: Speculative Fiction​

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, as long as it doesn't involve the author explaining the plot.

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

 

[THX1138]

The Wormhole

The perpetual loop wormhole was a success! As its ends closed, the crew of the starship now sealed inside it were filled with excitement and anticipation on this historic event.

But something went wrong. The starship now trapped inside, instantaneously traveled the wormhole an un-countable number of times. Always passing itself, yet never at the end. While its crew experienced an ever-increasing feeling of Déjà vu. Forever...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Escher Continuum

I have walked these stairs forever, and I will walk them for eternity. Others walk in parallel, or opposite, or orthogonally, in defiance of gravity. I always walk in the same direction, yet I always return to the same place. My tedium is assuaged by the murmur of a waterfall that flows to its own source.

The left hand draws the right hand that draws the left hand. Art creates the artist that creates it.

 

[Karn's Return]

Spiraling​

Stairs.

Up and down, both as far as stabbing light and absorbent darkness allowed.

How long? Where?

Up or down. Up…climb…climb…

It’s nowhere. Just stairs. Endless spiral.

Down? The dark holds secrets. Light was hopeless.

Down…down…

Where am I? This is familiar.

Floor 1. No hallways. I climb.

Hours. Thousands of steps.

I stop.

Floor 1.

I laugh. I freeze.

I cry.

Down…down…

Floor 1.

 

[StilLearning]

Disappointing revelations:

Officer Crooker handed the djinn a cold compress.

"So, this incident sir - you were granting three wishes?"

"Exactly - client asks to ‘know infinity’. No specifics."

"I see sir."

"So I says: Extend your finger. Before it's half extended, it's a quarter extended, and before that an eighth, and so on - there are infinite fractions before it’s even half way. Infinity’s in everything".

"And…?"

"And he said 'Nah mate, look closer’, and bloody punched me."

 

[magpie Asylum]

Knowing too much

I shouldn’t have done it.
I shouldn’t have peaked behind the curtain, but I couldn’t resist.
The glistening event horizon of a black hole captured by science.
I had to look.
When my eyes finally fell on it everything changed.
I saw everything.
All of time. My birth, my death, and all points in between.
Now there are no more surprises.
I know what happens now.
Why should I even bother doing anything at all?

 

[worldofmutes]

Being the Known
The world is still very strange. If we scan through the mind flay that erupted 12,000 years ago in our mythical event, the matter smasher, most traces have been lost- And the rest has been known.

It’s not much use sorting through recycled memories. It’s good to build new ones- so when our society forced experential hypostatis, we became a new breed of human. We became insects. We built infinity.

 

[Astro Pen]

Saved

"I'm scared of dying," I said.

"Don't worry," you replied.

"Why not?"

"Because we never die."

"But we must."

"No, there is no future, or past."

"But I remember it."

"Ah, that memory is always the same. You just 'think' it updates."

"But I remember the start of this conversation."

"That is the magic of the deception, the memory of remembering."

"So I cannot die?"

"No, There is only this moment, for eternity."

 

[jd73]

Bunny Head

No metal implements, only an oversized, white-fur rabbit’s head. The thing’s hallucinogenic properties swirled behind the device’s eyeholes in a malevolent and galactic endlessness of black.

Terror tweaked his chest. But why? What could happen? This punishment might even be enjoyable. But wasn’t there something purely awful about the eternity of it? No. He’d run, choose death. Too much. He spun, and flung open the door to the next room.

Where the bunny head awaited.

 

[johnnyjet]

Cats Chasing Their Own Tails

Why do cats chase their own tails?

They see something moving. They don't know it's part of them.

Do they ever catch it?

Sometimes.

It's like an infinite loop from a programming error. You can't exit the loop.

No escape.

Some say our universe is infinite. Maybe its creator forgot to program an exit.

Endless.

Until all resources are consumed and the computer crashes.

...

This is the part where we laugh out loud.

 

[viraltwit]

When the cancer finally killed me and the bright lights faded to black, there was nothing at all. Not even a figment.

Then Elly bounced me awake like before, her giggles filling the room. My bedroom.

“You’ll be late for work,” Dana said. I cried. They were perplexed.

The city was different. My hair was back. I was an oncologist, in this dimension. Cosmic hilarity.

“Come here,” I said, and hugged them both fiercely.

 

[Luiglin]

The Space Between​

Here at the edge, the universe sings to me.

Beyond the pinging of the ship’s sensors, the creaks of the superstructure, the purr of the scrubbers; even beyond the beat of my own heart. To the depths of my soul, I hear it.

Such a comforting refrain as of a mother to her new born. A welcoming hum that calls.

Crimson flashes, sirens bleat, people scream; I smile as the airlock opens upon the infinite.

 

[SRDFrench]

Just Press Repeat


“Professor? If you’d just like to initiate the experiment.”
Roberts shook himself from his reveries and looked around the control room.
“Now we’ll show those naysayers” he thought. “This’ll be the first man made black hole . And all those who said it would distort space-time can go …” He jabbed down on the button.
“Professor? If you’d just like to initiate the experiment.”
Roberts shook himself …

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

The infinite escalators of Andromeda

'Andromedan shopping centers have incredible escalators.'

Raja woke bleeding. Something must've gone wrong with the hyperdrive.

'Each step's a different colour, spent my childhood on those escalators.'

Raja tried standing. 'Did our ship make the jump?', he asked.

'I miss Andromeda ...sorry Raj, what?'

'Did we hit lightspeed?'

'No idea, I was just reminiscing about home.'

Raja felt:

• his head spin.
• his body wobble.
• his universe dim, and blink.

'Andromedan shopping centers have incredible escalators.'

 

[Marvin]

Told you so

‘I’m sorry Dr Teller, but you can’t simply ignore it!’

‘I most certainly can!’

With that, the highly respected Doctor of theoretical mathematics, reached up and wiped the offending recumbent number eight from the white board, with a triumphant and satisfying squeeeeeeek.

His fellow, less respected colleague, flounced away in an academic huff.

pop

An entity of pure light had materialised.

‘Congratulations crude being you have passed Basic. Now please accompany me to Level One.’

 

[Bren G]

Starburst Wishes

Dad explained, mother was now Earth. Stella doubted this. Aside from the blue tinge they shared, Mother looked unlike them. But Mr. Neutron, being old, had witnessed it. Said she basked in the Red Dwarf’s light, sheltering many creatures.

When Stella died, would her dust scatter upon solar winds? Like mother, would she be born again? Perchance give life?

Mr. Neutron couldn’t say. Nor Dad.

Upon her countless constellation mates, Stella wished, hoping she would.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

The Tyranny of the Blank Page

Rainbow mists swirled and glowed above Jeanie’s head, threatening to become shapes: Stars and planets, great cosmic systems. As soon as they appeared they were gone.

“I can’t do it!” said Jeanie and dropped the holophone.

“Hmm. You’re thinking too big.” said Miss Tyque, “Try small. Minute, even. Then let it flow from there.”

Jeanie pushed the instrument to her lips, closed her eyes and pictured a grain of sand.

Overhead, a world appeared.

 

[Peter V]

Eternal Afterlife of Pi

Kaczynski spooned another mouthful of pie. He was utterly sick of it, knowing that every time he took the last mouthful, it would instantly be replenished and he would start again.

A shadow fell over him. He looked up to see a grinning Lucifer.

“Enjoying that Theodore?”

“You could at least change the recipe sometimes. Even yearly.”

“Maybe every 3.14 years?” Lucifer chuckled at his own joke. “No, let’s not impair this justice, dear mathematician.”

 

[Cat's Cradle]

A Multiverse of Concurrent Moments…

The red of the receding drive disappears.

Faulty damn magnetiboots. Kate’ll be devastated, she’ll have realized she can’t turn back, can’t bleed .9 lightspeed to recover one corpse, even her husband’s.

Two hours’ oxygen left.
He looks into the void.
Endless…
Beautiful.

Oh Kate…
~

Damn boots, I’ll be dead in hours.

The drive disappears.
I look into the void.
Endless, cold…
Hideous.

It should’ve been Kate…
~

Kate watches the red pinprick of the receding drive…

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

First Come First Served ​

After the invention of the Infinity Drive, it was only a matter of time before mankind found God. And there He was, sitting on an ion cloud beyond Andromeda.

“You’re under arrest!” said the spaceman, producing handcuffs from a pocket as he approached.

“What! Why?” replied God, shocked.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” the spaceman said, turning his head to reveal the flaming pitchfork logo on his helmet. “We found the Devil ten months ago!”