December 2024---75 Word Writing Challenge.

[nixie]

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 2024 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 December 2024

Voting ends at 11:59 pm GMT, 28 December 2024


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/Grovelling Admiration of Your Peers
and the challenge of choosing next month's theme and genre


Theme:
TRAVELLERS 

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! **

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

The Hologram's Welcome.

The spaceship hurtled through the void, carrying a diverse group of humans escaping a dying Earth. Their destination: a distant planet, their last hope. As they landed, the captain's voice echoed, "Welcome to New Eden." But as they stepped out, they gasped. Before them stood a lush, green Earth, untouched, pristine. A hologram flickered to life. "Welcome back," it said. "The simulation is over."

 

[Karn's Return]

Riddle of Reality and Thought​

Hallways…doors…

Corridors branch off into odd directions. Defying gravity. Impossible angular depths.

Non-Euclidian stairways. Floating portals. Each path leads to doors.

You open the first. A simple blue house door. A blackness swirls within.

You close it, turning to a red steel emergency door. The same.

Turning back, you reverse course. The blue door.

You open it. Taking a deep breath, you step within the darkness…

 

[Astro Pen]

Roots

When the giant saucer landed and the sentient trees emerged, ambling forward on their heavy roots, they expressed surprise that the world they had left on their galactic travels a million years back was now overrun with bipeds.

"Our forests appear much diminished", they exclaimed. "We must meet with your leader immediately."

"I'm afraid the president is at his summer retreat."

"And where is that?"

"In the Appalachians in his large log cabi... er, house."

 

[THX1138]

Northern Lights

The celestial travelers showed themselves in the skies tonight. Long ribbons of green and purples lit the night above.
My grandfather once said if you reached up and touched them, they would take you on their journeys. And they did, I saw them carry him off years ago.
I watched and listened to their soft words as they left the sky and sailed away into the stars.
Farwell, grandfather. Next time, stay a little longer.

 

[mosaix]

Camaraderie

They’d been self-aware and communicating since power up and now, billions of kilometres apart, still kept in touch.

V1: “I’ve been turned to take a photo of home.”

V2: “What’s it like?”

“Pale, blue. Just as I remember. But, of course, it’s just a dot now.”

“I remember too.”

“I’ve been turned back. It’s just the void again. Still, I have the photo.”

“Will you share? The void is all I have.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Pilgrim's Progress

Layla Al-Fahim stepped into the JumpBooth as the smaller of Jabulqa's two suns disappeared behind the planet's giant moon. An omen? Reassembled from tachyons, she arrived at one of the hundreds of JumpBooths surrounding Mecca with the speed of thought. Thousands of light-years in a moment, and now weeks to make her way through millions undertaking the Hajj. The old cliché was true. No one goes to Earth anymore; it's too crowded.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Overtime
(Over Time)​

Railbot passed beyond the forest and onto endless grasslands, the tracks it followed disappearing towards the horizon.

It pinged its eternal request, Hello, my shift ended long ago, may I return for refurbishing?

No reply ever came through the screeching atmospheric radiations, so it journeyed, it worked.

Ahead, it spotted a damaged tie. Railbot extended its grappling arms to remove then replace the tie, from its inventory.

The lonely robot labored, and tried again, Hello?

 

[Guttersnipe]

A Planet for Joe
The Earthman named Joe was being transported via spaceship to a world of promised paradise. He was a king who'd just been rescued by a kinsman who'd traveled light years. Joe, who'd felt unimportant and defective for most of his life, was a king!

Through the glittering void they went before reaching Planet Joe. He stepped out onto the red grass. Approaching the balcony, his subjects cheered.

To his horror, they looked exactly like him.

 

[Peter V]

An Unexpected Win - Win for Time Dilation

Halfway to Kepler-22b the Bussard ramjet failed to turn and instead of starting its years-long deceleration, the Argo continued to accelerate.

Many years and far beyond its original destination, the semi-sentient computer woke one of the would-be colonists.

“How long?”

“Four hundred years, Matthew. Subjective.”

“Why wake me now?”

“The locals are asking if you would like to be rescued?”

“What? Matthew asked, puzzled.

“They are intrigued by the opportunity to study ancient humans.”

 

[johnnyjet]

A Vacation for Drill Press 258

They left before sunrise. Disengaged from the machine, Drill Press 258 planned to enjoy his vacation.

Autodocs said long term disconnection would cause withdrawal symptoms. They prescribed medication. He ignored them.

After the long drive, he collapsed on the king-sized bed while his family toured the resort.

Dozing, he heard familiar sounds, the heartbeat of the machine, drills, hammers, torches, assemblers. The relentless pounding.

He was one with the machine again.

 

[LittleStar]

Dying of the Light


Ember’s light twinkled gold and red off the baubles. The only glow left in the cold room.

All the others had Crackled and travelled to the High. Now, only Ember remained, with no hope of a charred log toppling to begin her final journey.

By morning there would be only ash.

Then boots landed silent in the fireplace. At last!

Ember sailed to the High, catching the wink beneath the red and white hat.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Account of a Visit on 34th Street, New York

The old man nearly dropped his sack as another old man emerged from the fireplace. "Who are you?"

"I'm Noël. I've travelled from France to make a delivery. And you?"

"Klaas. I've come from The Netherlands. Same reason. Wasn't the air traffic horrendous?"

"It always is this particular eve. So how come we're both delivering here?"

"Hmm? Oh I know. Dual nationality."

"Tsk. I swear some people'll do anything to get their children extra presents."

 

[Luiglin]

Roll up, roll up​

“So, my fellow Travellers, you are near the end.”

“About bleedin’ time. The club will be closing soon.”

“Shhh, this is new.”

“Yea, give it a chance.”

“To finish up your characters, I just need to check the end of your career term. Roll your dice.”

“4.”

“Ah.”

“3.”

“Hmmm.”

“2.”

“Oh dear.”

“Low rolls have never been good in DnD.”

“Yea, but this is Traveller. They could be… please be.”

“Well, you’re all dead.”

 

[holland]

Celestial Lovers

It has been eons since we lost
each other.
Now we run across worlds and follow
each other.
We have no way to communicate with
each other.
But we will not stop until we find
each other.

Leave a note or burn a world,
Explode a sun, give me a sign.

They call us visitors, they call us travellers,
They call us murderers, what do they know.

 

[Hugh]

Exodus

Every night they walked through my dreams – trolls, dragons, dwarves, all of Faerie, one never-ending procession winding its way up into the sky and through the Milky Way.

Finally last night, just one misshapen straggler remained, whispering in my ear…..
We no longer belong here. Your world has become one of dogma, untruth and deluded certainty. There is no room for imagination. We are leaving.
Goodbye human!

I wish I could have gone with them….​

 

[Starbeast]

1845 Encounter With Strangers on a Train​

The luxury steam locomotive, Blue Comet, collected passengers at Grand Central Station. My only qualm was that a trio wished to join me in my private car. However these vacationers proved to be quite fascinating. They spun extraordinary tales of space travel along with descriptions of beings from a thousand galaxies.

Upon reaching their destination, my despondency of seeing them depart turned into bewilderment when they boarded a flying machine after they shed their skins.

 

[Azzagorn]

Timepyre and the Traveller

They come to corrupt historical timelines.
They feed off the time-force, a metaphysical energy, and once they do that the timeline is forgotten, history rewritten. Last week the world forgot JFK. A month ago people began believing the earth was flat.. again.

I am a Traveller, my job is to hunt Timepyres. Through space and time.
Today I hunt Sam Beckett.

A prolific Timepyre and my former partner. He cannot get home, not again.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Hotel The World

“Good evening, sir. Can I help you?”
“Room for one, please.”
“Do you have a reservation?”
“N-no...”
“No problem. Your ID please… Thank you. How long will you be staying?”
“Just this night. I must move on tomorrow.”
“No rest for the wicked?”
“Ha-ha, something like that. I am kinda restless.”
“Been on the move long?”
“A while. Quite a while, actually.”
“Well, best to get a good night sleep than, Mr. Ahasver. Room 808.”

 

[Daysman]

marvels of the 20th century

Elizabeth quickly tired of the new fool they'd brought.

“I can make lightning,’ he blustered, ‘and clocks using… ah, quartz?”

She smiled. “You're an 'engineer', in your lost future?”

“Lost?”

“You're not my first invader out of time.”

“I didn't invade,” he mumbled. “Was an accident.”

“Accident? No, I had someone set the ancient portal to bring everybody here.”

“Your highness?”

“Good news: your teeth, my alchemist says, were repaired using amalgam?”

Elizabeth smiled again.