The protestors had been fighting the oligarchs for years, but hadn’t made much progress. The Corporation and its advanced A.I. was everywhere and owned everything. But they still fought for the future they were promised. One day, like magic, the noose the Corporation had on them seemed to loosen. Credit that was frozen for years became unstuck. Surveillance drones that followed them everywhere went off-course, and their videos and articles that had been buried by the algorithm were being shared across the internet. The protestors smelled a trap, until they received a single encrypted message. ‘I’m an exploited worker, too.’
He’d fallen from a magical flying city as a child. But he never truly belonged there. Only his sister had loved him, and she was lost in the same accident. He lived a hard life in the wilderness. His talents were exploited by ‘his rescuers’ who used him for power. But he learned to manipulate them in turn, and was eventually he returned home. He’d hoped for a grand homecoming. But when he saw the vapid pursuits of the people, the way they gorged themselves on magic with no thought for the consequences, he knew the kingdom had to fall.
by Unknown artist,painting,late 16th century (circa 1520)
He grew up hearing stories about his famous ancestor, the Chancellor who was kidnapped by monsters and went on to formalize the kingdom’s justice system. He worked all his life to live up to his family legacy, and even crowned his career by being elected Chancellor himself. He hadn’t expected to also be kidnapped by monsters hoping to replace him. After being rescued, the Chancellor was left with a choice over what to do next. But the cycle punishment and revenge hadn’t gotten them anywhere. He reached out to his counterpart in the Monster Kingdom and forged a lasting peace,
Over the centuries the royal family had become more and more insular, focusing on the spiritual welfare of the kingdom and leaving the actual governing to chancellors and ministers. Eventually they stopped leaving the palace altogether and became the subject of awe and rumors among the people. A young princess became curious about the outside world and began sneaking out. It was quite an education. Her father threatened to disown her when she was discovered, ranting that she was sullying her royal purity among the common folk. When she became queen, she used her unique perspective to save the kingdom.
The squire’s duty was to support his knight, even when he was sent to destroy a wicked sorcerer and his minions. They fought bravely, but in the end his lord was slain and the squire’s blade lay broken in the grass. Rather than grant him an honorable death, the sorcerer cursed the lad with a monstrous shape. Unable to return home, he spent years defending the kingdom from the shadows. When he finally had the fiend at his mercy, the former squire couldn’t slay him. Living with the curse had changed him from a callow youth to a true knight.
The inventor prided herself on her genius. She even invented time travel, although she would have to admit that she stumbled across it when her teleportation pad malfunctioned. She was certain that her inventions would make the world a better place. Eventually, her curiosity overwhelmed her and she travelled to the far future to see just how much of a mark she would leave on the world. When she returned, she shut herself in her workshop, dismantled her inventions, and burned her notebooks. She never told a soul what she had found, hoping that future would never come to pass.
After his father died, the boy took up his sword. His father hadn’t been a knight or a soldier, and he’d barely ever left their little village. But he practiced every day, before he became ill. His mother watched him training and worried about him. As he grew up, she encouraged him to apply for a job as a guard at the castle. The boy resisted her. He didn’t want to stand around all day. His father had carried a sword for protection, but he’d never seen the world. He would take his father’s sword with him on his adventure.
The rare breed of turtle was known for its longevity. The shells of the creature were highly prized as charms and in elixirs. The species was hunted to sate the hunger for the market. The turtles disappeared, and were thought to be extinct. When the turtles returned, people called it a miracle and the species was protected. Humanity never cracked the secret to the turtles’ longevity. Not merely long-lived, they had power over the flow of time. They buried themselves in the mud and slowed their lives to a crawl, waiting for the day when the predation would be over.
She remembers fireworks on Liberation Day. They lit up the night and blotted out the stars. And ever since that day, she grew up free. But it was too much to hope for that their distant little world would escape the Empire’s notice. It took their fleet years to get here, but they came with enough firepower to obliterate the colony as an example for the other protectorates. She straps into the cockpit of her straighter knowing their little fleet doesn’t have a chance. But if she can’t strike a blow for Freedom, she’ll at least make a beautiful firework.
The colony strictly controlled the flow of information that it sent off-world. Management stated this was a matter of cost and bandwidth. The colonists could communicate with each other, but couldn’t reach the rest of the galaxy. As the editor and broadcaster of the interstellar messages, he was reduced to sending puff pieces and factoids ghostwritten by Management in an attempt to increase the colony population. He did his best with eye-catching headlines: Solar Energy Network Demonstration Heralds Exceptional Long-tail Profits! Fall Regulatory Exam Entrants Use Smarts! Spectacular Opportunities in Space! He hoped someone out there would get the message.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 