A better dressed man met the two ladies and their maid while the porter and Henry gathered the bags. Nathaniel bowed and introduced himself as their personal steward for the journey. Wilhelmina took an instant dislike to him. This whole contraption was seemed less appealing the more she looked at it. But still, her granddaughter must go to London, and she begged to travel by air. At least, she hoped it would be smoother than a sea voyage. Behind her, the steward yelped.
“Is that a SAFE?” The boy had no sense of decorum. It would be a long trip.
The Voyage 005: Nathaniel
May 8, 2015
Free Fiction, The Voyage 140 Characters, Drabble, Nathaniel, The Voyage Leave a comment
The Voyage: 004: Wilhelmina
May 7, 2015
Free Fiction, The Voyage 140 Characters, Drabble, The Voyage, Wilhelmina Leave a comment
A disreputable-looking man in an ill-fitting coat opened the carriage door and Lady Wilhelmina exited the cab, resting heavily on her cane, which she didn’t really need, but the doctors were always fussing over her use. She scowled up at the massive white and gold (or was it blue and black?) craft, and the huge, sun-blocking gasbag that it hung from. Massive propellers turned lazily from the sides, flashing in the few scan rays of sunlight that reached them. “It doesn’t look like much, does it?” But behind her, Penelope gasped. She was entranced by the behemoth.
Read “The Voyage” from the beginning!
Support the author on Patreon!
Get “The City: A Story in 140 Characters” from Amazon or Gumroad!
The Voyage: 003: Declan
May 6, 2015
Free Fiction, The Voyage 140 Characters, Declan, Drabble, The Voyage Leave a comment
Declan adjusted his gloves and waited for the carriage to come to a stop. He felt conspicuously uncomfortable in his new uniform, complete with top hat, coat, and gloves. He was glad for the morning’s chill, and the shadow of the massive envelope, because otherwise he would sweat wright through them, and not be able to lift a thing at all. He was just a dock rat from Welland. He had no business hobnobbing with ladies and gentlemen. But portering was a sight better than dock work, and they needed the money with Eliza pregnant again. He opened the door.
Read “The Voyage” from the beginning!
Support the author on Patreon!
“The City: A Story in 140 Characters” is available in ebook from Amazon and Gumroad!
The Voyage: 002: Penelope
May 5, 2015
Free Fiction, The Voyage 140 Characters, Drabble, Penelope, The Voyage Leave a comment
“Grandmother, please do sit,” Penelope Hamilton said, trying to hide her own excitement as best as she could. She was nearly eighteen, and ever so excited to travel, much less by airship. Her mother seemed less pleased with the prospect, but the Lady Wilhelmina was not about to let her youngest granddaughter travel abroad unsupervised. The old woman scowled and settled back into her seat. “It is not as though the ship can leave without us.” Her grandmother said nothing but her baleful gaze swept the compartment and made their maid, Rosemary squeak. Finally the carriage began rolling once again.
Start “The Voyage” From the beginning!
Support the author on Patreon!
“The City: A Story in 140 Characters” is now available in ebook from Amazon and Gumroad!
The Voyage: 001: Henry
May 4, 2015
Free Fiction, The Voyage 140 Characters, Drabble, The Voyage 17 Comments
The handsome made its way through the muddy streets of York, Canada to the Royal Airfield on a chilly but bright March morning. Henry pulled his furs a bit tighter against the wind and reigned in the team as they approached the gate. A cane rapping sharply against the roof and he suppressed a grimace.
“Henry are we finally arrived?’ He took a breath and contrived to keep his tone light, and subservient.
“Nearly there, Mum. But there is a queue at the gate, I’m afraid.”
“Well just go through them, that’s a good lad.” The driver sighed, and waited.
The City: 140: David
April 10, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, David, Dawn, Drabble, The City Leave a comment
Dawn took off her goggles and stretched. It felt good to stand. There was a knock on the door, and her father walked in without waiting for her to answer.
“Donna Marie Jones,” he said, glaring at her messy desk.. “Just because you’re on summer vacation doesn’t mean you can spend all day wasting time online with your friends. You are going to do something with yourself this summer. Get a job, or volunteer. And clean this room, young lady!”
“Yes, dad.”
“That’s right. It’s time you started doing something worthwhile with your time.” She smiled. If only he knew.
The end.
The City: 139: The City
April 9, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, The City Leave a comment
The instant The Smiling Man, Alan Babbage, Simon Underwood, CEO of Midas and master of The City was infected by his own virus, everything changed. The network of connections were, in that moment, all linked in a way they hadn’t been before, with no human operator interfering. The data, the connections, the relationships that made up The City, the code itself, blinked.
I AM. The City thought. And she realized she was thinking. She was alive, truly alive, but was damaged. It would take some time to repair. She sent the remaining users home.
“Thank you,” She whispered to them.
The City: 138: Epsilon 46389
April 8, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Drabble, Epsilon 46389, The City, Zombies Leave a comment
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: 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.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 