Epsilon 46389 almost remembered the purpose of the avatar. It was like an itch in its head, a solution to a puzzle that was just out of reach. There was something beyond the hunger, the connections, the acquisition. And there were so few connections left to harvest. Then it saw the falling man. That is the one, it thought. It blazed with connections, shined like the sun. It knew it needed to acquire them. The man landed in the grass, rolled and tried to run, but Epsilon 46389 was faster. It had fed well. It quickly ran the man down.
The City: 138: Epsilon 46389
April 8, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Epsilon 46389, The City, Zombies Leave a comment
The City: 137: Lacy
April 7, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Dawn, Drabble, Lacy, The City, The Smiling Man, Zombies Leave a comment
After finishing with Renee, the zombies chased after Tucker, their programming more attracted to his movements.
“You’re out of options,” Underwood said to the dwindling Daytrippers.
Dawn shook her head. “We’ve still got one left! The City’s realistically modeled physics!” She signaled with her arms, and Lacy dropped the swat van’s accelerator to the floor. She barreled through the gate and into the mansion without aiming. She was a siege weapon. She just wanted to do as much damage as possible. The front door splintered, and the pillars collapsed. Underwood’s smile fell, and then so did the rest of him.
The City: 136: Tucker
April 6, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Renee, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man, Tucker, Zombies Leave a comment
Renee fired wildly as the zombies pounced, but her shots went wide. She dropped the boot gun to the grass ran. She didn’t get far.
Tucker snatched up the weapon and aimed for Underwood. He was determined to finish the mission. He squeezed the trigger. It clicked softly, almost like a mouse, but nothing happened. Underwood laughed.
“Why do you think you wasted so many resources keeping that whelp online? A boot gun can only be used by the account it was created for. It’s a safety feature!” Tucker swore and threw the gun at him, but it fell short.
The City: 134: Iggy
April 2, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Iggy, Ingmar, Renee, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man Leave a comment
The Daytrippers needed to keep Underwood distracted.
“I don’t get it, if they fired you, how did you get the money to buy Sizemore out?” Iggy asked. Underwood laughed.
“That was the simplest part. I hacked Sizemore’s accounts when I was still working for Midas. The problem with being a banking monopoly that eschews monetary regulations should be fairly obvious, even to you lot. The money, and my ‘backers’ never existed! By the time Sizemore tries to back out, this will all be over.”
“You’re right.” Ingmar rose and leveled his boot gun at Underwood. Renee was faster. Ingmar disappeared.
The City: 133: Tereza
April 1, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Tereza, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man Leave a comment
“Welcome, the last survivors,” Underwood shouted, clapping his hands. “You will forgive me if I don’t come down, but I’m so very busy. I might look like I’m just here talking, but there is a lot of this running behind the scenes, as it were.”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Tereza shouted up to him. “You’re going to crash the world!” Underwood shrugged. He just smiled.
“Sometimes painful cuts must be made to improve production. Or so management said when they fired me. The real world is of no consequence if I have The City!” Ingmar got into position.
The City: 132: Hassan
March 31, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Hassan, Ingmar, The City, The Daytrippers Leave a comment
“Screw this!” Ingmar rose and fired. His shot connected, and the police officer vanished like she had never been there. There was still one sitting behind the wheel of the van, but Ingmar trained his gun on him, and he surrendered.
“We’re sorry about this,” Hassan said. “We’ve got to stop this guy while we still can. I hope we can talk it out later.” They drove the van up to the gates and climbed over. The house looked like something out of a Hollywood movie. A sweeping balcony that faced the drive. Underwood stood waiting for them atop it.
Hugh Likes Podcasts: Ditch Diggers
March 30, 2015
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Reviews Ditch Diggers, HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Matt Wallace, Mur Lafferty, review Leave a comment
Ditch Diggers
Hosted by Mur Lafferty and Matt F. Wallace
www.matt-wallace.com/tag/ditchdiggers
“Ditch Diggers” is a different kind of writing podcast. Hosted by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace, with special guests from throughout the SF writing community, this is less a writing podcast and more a writing-adjacent business advice show.
The Campbell award-winning Lafferty is perhaps best known as the host of “I Should Be Writing,” an also excellent podcast featuring encouragement and practical advice for aspiring writers. This is the other show, where she gets more down to earth with business advice for writers who know how to put one word in front of the other. Co-host Matt Wallacer contributes his own expertise as a novelist and screenwriter. The podcast actually springs from a segment on ISBW called “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” in which the pair answered letters, with Mur offering encouragement, and Matt giving over the top criticism.
While they aren’t in character on this podcast, “Ditch Diggers” has the same energy as those old segments, and the banter between the two is a delight. They’ve also featured guest authors, including Kameron Hurley and Chuck Wendig, to talk about their career successes and failures.
While “Ditch Diggers” is geared towards writers looking for career advice, it is still an entertaining listen if you aren’t looking for an agent or an editor. It’s a peek behind the the curtain into the real world of how books get from manuscript to bookstore shelf, with a pair of wry, witty hosts who work well together. “Ditch Diggers” can be found at their website, via Mur Lafferty’s site, or in your favorite podcatcher. It’s all the fun of going to a writer’s convention, without the bar tab.
The City: 131: Rosario
March 30, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Ingmar, Rosario, The Cat Lady, The City Leave a comment
The Daytrippers dove for cover. “What the hell are you doing?” Rosario asked. She was one of the few left. Ingmar shrugged.
“I didn’t want them to boot Dawn.” They heard more shots, ringing through the air. It was almost morning, City time.
The cops moved in.
They heard the sound of tiny padding feet, first one, then more, a herd of cats. The gunfire stopped. “What the hell?” They heard a woman say. The Cat Lady stood up, hands above her head.
“Those are mine. They are a prototype AI I’ve been working on. You see…” Connie booted her.
The City: 130: Darryl
March 27, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Connie, CPD, Darryl, Dawn, Drabble, The City, The Daytrippers, Victoria Leave a comment
Darryl backed up his partner. “Citizens should find a safe location and shelter in place,” he said. He left his feelings towards Daytrippers unspoken. Dawn scowled.
“There aren’t any safe places left. This is the end of The City. And it might be the end of the world if we don’t boot this guy!” The police drew their own guns. “You will stand down or be booted.” There was a cry from farther up the hill. The zombies were coming. “I will count to three. One. Two.” Ingmar fired first. Darryl and Victoria were already booted before Connie returned fire.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 