Short story – “The Horror”

“The Horror”

An upset stomach woke Jack.  Even at his tender age he knew if he went to his mom she would scold him for not listening to her when she said not to eat so much of his candy.  So he lay in bed toughening it out until morning, like the cowboy he had been.

Some time later, his stomach had settled and he was drifting back to sleep when he heard a sharp thump.  At first his sleepy mind didn’t notice, but then it repeated.  After it repeated a few times, Jack thought, It sounds like someone’s knocking on the side of the house.

Jack sat up in bed, his mind filled with images of giant monsters bashing their tentacles on the side of the house.  He was about to hide under his covers when he remembered his mom.  I should warn her.

The knocking grew louder while Jack worked up his courage.  He then heard a muffled cry of, “Oh God,” coming from her room.  The knocking stopped.  She must have seen the monster, Jack thought.  What courage he had built up melted away as he dove under his blankets, unsure what he would find in the morning.

***

I wrote this (almost exactly) nine years ago and posted it on a site that unfortunately went belly-up a few years later.  The story stayed online, but lately there’s been formatting issues.  Which sucked because I always posted a link to it around Halloween.  So I’ve reposted it so I can link to it for Halloweens future.

Useless Cogs

I have just published my eighth short story collection.  “Useless Cogs” contains forty, science fiction stories that range from only a few dozen words to a few thousand and are filled with time travelers, AIs, clones, aliens, even sexbots, although not often as you would imagine.  As examples, there’s a time traveler that’s always a step behind, an AI that’s late on rent, and a sexbot with bad software.  Some of the stories are humorous, some horrifying, and some … depend on your point of view.  You can get it on Kindle for only $1.99, or the equivalent.

Not as the Founders intended

Every now and then someone will, while trying to make some point on a political matter, say that the thing they oppose “wasn’t how the Founders intended.” And the thing I’ve come to realize over the years is that if you’re arguing with someone and they pull that out, it means you’ve won.  They have no argument for their position so they are just playing the “Founders Intention Card” in the hopes that will shut you up. 

I think the best way to fully explain this, is something I do as a writer.  To explore some ideas – or sometimes just to pass the time – I’ll try to imagine what I would do if some historical figure showed up at my door.  After being weirded out for a bit, I’d show JFK the Apollo 11 landing, I’d show MLK the Obama inauguration, and since I couldn’t think of anything special to show some other initialed person I’d show Einstein the reports of the detection of gravitational waves.  But should I tell JFK about RFK?  Or MLK about BLM?  What’s the point of any of this, you ask.  Well, having imaginary conversations with long dead historical figures is good practice for having imaginary conversations with fictitious people.  And since I’m a writer, it’s perfectly fine for me to do that. 

A subset of this idea is where the historical person can’t interact with the modern world.  Their spirit, ghost, essence, whatever, is just floating over your shoulder seeing what you see but unable to ask for any clarification.  Someone like Caesar would have no clue what was going on, whereas someone like Ben Franklin would at least understand most of the language.  This can be useful to a writer trying to get into the head of a character ending up on an alien world.

Now let’s imagine the spirits of all the Founding Fathers showed up over my shoulder while I drove to work.  What would they experience?  After the shock wore off, they would be amazed to be traveling without any horses.  If Franklin figured out the speedometer they’d probably be terrified of going the unheard of speed of fifty miles an hour.  Then there would be this odd music, but without any sign of musician or instrument.  And if it was a good song that I repeated, they’d be shocked to hear the exact same thing again.

On my way to work I’d stop at a store with these weird outside stalls.  I’d then use a stiff card to somehow buy so many gallons of this stuff called gasoline that would amount to an absurd amount of like $30.  Some of them probably didn’t pay as much for a slave.

Then I get to work and they’d see that some of my superiors are – gasp – women who – double gasp – wear trousers.  And after a few hours of work – after handling such unexplainable items like extension cords and Pop-Tarts – I’d take my lunch break.  I’d take something out of an ice box – that doesn’t have ice in it – and stick it another box that hums for a few minutes and that somehow makes my meal hot.  I’d eat with a fork that’s as clear as glass but doesn’t shatter.  Something that amazing they’d probably keep as a family heirloom, but which I just throw away once I’m done with it.

Pretty much anything we do today would be astounding to the Founding Fathers.  They would write letters and then put them on a boat and sail them to Europe.  Some months later, they might get a reply.  Now imagine them watching someone pull a thing out of their pocket to “call” someone in Japan just to wish them a happy birthday.  That would completely blow their minds.  Our world would be almost incomprehensible to them.  Which is why “that’s not what the Founders intended” is a losing play in an argument. 

The Founding Fathers were some of the brightest minds of the Eighteenth Century.  But we live in the Twenty-first.  They didn’t have indoor plumbing, but we should follow their intentions in regards to things like cyberterrorism?  I’m not saying we should scrap everything of theirs, but we should examine everything to make sure it is still relevant.  I mean, the Founders weren’t perfect.  They didn’t intend for blacks or women to vote and only certain types of people want to go back to that. 

Big Election Sale

I had a plan to have ten of my Kindle ebooks on sale leading up to the election.  The hope was that maybe somebody would download one of my books so they would have something to read while they waited in line to vote.  So that was the plan, but then I started seeing all these posts of people waiting in line for ten hours or more to vote early.  My big sale that wouldn’t start until the end of the month wouldn’t help them, so I’m now doing four smaller sales from now through the election.  This post will show which books are free to download when.  So if you’re going to be waiting in line, hopefully something of mine will strike your fancy and help pass the time.  And if you’ve already voted, then reward yourself.  And if you’re not an American citizen, then be sure to vote in your country’s elections.  Democracy only works if the people participate.

Thursday October 15 through Monday October 19

A Man of Few Words

 

A Man of Few Words is a collection of fifty flash fiction stories by Stephen L. Thompson. What would really happen if a “T-Rex on steroids” attacked a city? Why do science fiction writers make the best lovers? How does a company get to Second Base with VIPs? These questions and more are explored by Stephen using less than 1000 words and in various genres from humor to horror and general fiction to science fiction.

The majority of the stories were previously published (most by Stephen himself on his website) but all were revised for this collection. In addition, each piece is accompanied by some background information on the origin of the story or a funny tale about the writing of it to give a fuller experience.

The Moon Before Mars

Over the last few years a lot of people have caught Mars fever. It seems a week doesn’t go by without a report of some new group wanting to send people to Mars, or some big name in the industry talking about why we have to go to Mars, or articles talking about the glorious future humanity will have on Mars. All of this worries Stephen L. Thompson. In his opinion, a Mars base is currently not sustainable because there’s no way for it to make money. A few missions may fly doing extraordinary science, but if it’s then cancelled for cost the whole Mars Project may just be seen as an expensive stunt.

Fortunately, there are other places in the solar system besides Mars. While bases on the moon and amongst the asteroids won’t be as inspirational as one on Mars, they will have opportunities for businesses to make goods and services as well as profits, meaning less chance of them being outright cancelled. This will make life better on Earth and secure a firm foothold in space for humanity. The essays in “The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars” allow Mister Thompson to describe his ideas on what can be accomplished on the moon and with the asteroids, and why Mars isn’t the destiny of humanity its cheerleaders make it out to be.

Tuesday October 20 through Saturday October 24

Lonely Phoenix

 

Partway to a new colony world, board member Geoffrey Ames is woken from hibernation by the caretaking crew of the Lucian. They require him to look into the matter of their fellow crewman Morgan Heller. Morgan’s claims – such as being over 1500 years old – would normally land him in the psychiatric ward, except he can back up some of his other claims.

The Only Certainty

 

On The Day, for reasons unknown, people began changing. They went to sleep as their old selves and woke in their beds in different bodies: bodies that had belonged to other people. And each time they fall asleep, they wake in a new body. Set months later, “The Only Certainty” follows Derrick Gorton on an average day in this new world as he deals with food shortages, the semi-collapse of society, and how to finish his latest novel.

Sunday October 25 through Thursday October 29

Relics

 

This work contains some profanity and sexual situations. It is intended for mature audiences only.

A plague that kills men has devastated the world’s population. Only a few thousand boys and men were able to be quarantined. But Mike Shay is the only man known to have a natural immunity to the plague. Therefore, he is practically the only man in a world of women. He spends his days reading, playing video games, and making the occasional sperm donation. Then Dr. Veronica Barrett shows up, disrupting what passes for his life. She says she’s there to investigate his “mental wellbeing,” but is there more to her visit?

Instead of the normal, adolescent, heterosexual male fantasy of being the only guy on a planet of women, “Relics” tries to give a more realistic view of Mike’s life.

Seventh Story Stockpile

 

Over the years, Stephen L. Thompson has posted several short stories on websites that later – for one reason or another – died. While the corpses of some of these sites are still around where you can read his stories, many have vanished from the internet. And since there are few sites that will publish such previously published works, the only way you could read them was if he self-published them in a collection.

In addition to such “lost” stories, he’s included some new stories that – for one reason or another – he felt he’d have a hard time finding someone to publish them. So “Seventh Story Stockpile” basically contains stories he didn’t know what to do with. But now he can move on to other projects.

Friday October 30 through Tuesday November 3

Political Pies

 

Everybody complains about politics, but does anyone do anything about it? Stephen L. Thompson’s attempt to do something about it is to collect forty of his short stories with a political element into his Political Pies anthology. His stories are either politically neutral or equally condemning of the national parties. Instead of trying to sway you to one ideology or another, his goal is to just get people thinking about politics in the hopes a rose might grow out of all the political manure.

The All-You-Can-Read Buffet

 

The All-You-Can-Read Buffet is a collection of forty stories covering various genres and themes ranging from six to over 4,200 words in length. Some of these stories Stephen L. Thompson began writing a decade ago, while others were written especially for this collection. All together, they are a buffet of his writing. As such, he encourage you to read as much as you want. Go back for seconds, thirds, fourths even. He won’t even mind if you skip over the stuff you don’t like, but, to quote your mother, “How do you know you don’t like it? Have you tried it?”

The Future is Coming

 

As a science fiction writer, Stephen L. Thompson has spent a lot of time thinking about how technology will change the way we live. He has come up with these ten short essays about science fictional elements that will – almost certainly – one day become science fact as a way for people to start coming to terms with them. Because he has spent time thinking about clones and AIs, Stephen feels that he’ll be okay when they do finally show up whereas most people will probably freak out. He hopes his essays will get people to start thinking about the future because, no matter what we do, the future is coming.

Duty

For reasons of safety and avoiding paradoxes, Time Travel Incorporated assigns a Guardian to all its travelers. So when there is an accident during political historian Roj Hasol’s trip back to 1968, it’s his Guardian Susan who sets out on the arduous task of cleaning up the mess.

Short story – “For the People?”

“For the People?”

“Senator Gabis, you have the reputation of giving your campaign speeches all from memory, without a teleprompter or even notes.  How do you manage that?”

“It’s simple.” Gabis touched a finger to his temple and said, “The aliens implanted a memory chip in my brain which gives me perfect memory.” Gabis paused for a second, watching the shock spread across the reporter’s face, before going into a deep laugh.

He laughed for a few seconds, then said, “Seriously, I’ve always had a head for numbers: in sixth grade I could recite baseball stats for hours.  When I put that talent to more practical uses – such as my schoolwork – my grades went up.  And having a good memory really helped me when I played Laertes in Hamlet my senior year.” Gabis leaned forward and held up a hand. “Before you ask,” he said, “I believe all copies of my performance have been burned.”

With a chuckle, he sat back and continued.  “I know some people have a ‘system’ to help their memories, but whatever I use is just what I’ve found works for me.  And I’ve been doing it so long, it just comes naturally.  But to destroy the myth, I do use notes when I give me speeches.  Mostly to make sure I stay on track, because I do have a tendency to ramble.”

“I’m sure having such a good memory has helped being a Senator?”

“Definitely.  But I think the bigger help was learning to speed read.  There are tons of reports and memos that come through our offices every day, on top of 800 page bills.  All Senators have aides and interns who wade through all that paperwork and give a CliffsNotes version of everything.  Even I do that, but I do read every bill I vote on.  All of that is good practice because – hopefully – next January I’ll be sworn in as President, and the number of reports and memos Presidents deal with dwarf those of a Senator.  Then I’ll probably wish I really did have an alien chip to help me remember everything.”

#

Gabis nodded to his security and said, “Goodnight Bill.”

“Goodnight Senator.”

Gabis closed the door of the hotel room and walked over to the bar.  As he poured himself a scotch, a voice asked, “Was it wise to joke about us?”

Gabis turned around and – as he took a sip – studied the creature standing by his bed.  It was a rail thin humanoid about five feet tall, but with a dark green shell instead of skin.  Its head was bald except for a thick, frond sticking up from the very top.  And it didn’t wear any clothes, but if it had genitalia Gabis couldn’t identify them.

“One thing we humans love,” Gabis explained, “are conspiracy theories.  If you dig into the internet hard enough, you’ll probably find a blog or video of someone – last week – claiming that I was an agent of the Lizard People, or something.  But now, if anyone makes any remark like that, the reports will go back to this – obvious – joke, and we’ll all laugh at the nutcases who couldn’t figure that out.”

The creature looked at him with its too large, deep blue eyes for several moments.  Then the translator crystal on its chest pulsed with a yellow glow.  “You are a most unusual species.  We’ll allow this … indiscretion, but make sure there are no more.”

Gabis bit his bottom lip, then bowed.  “Of course.”

There was a flash of blue light, and when Gabis looked up the creature was gone.  He went to finish his scotch, but instead set it back on the bar.

He stripped out of his clothes and flopped back on the bed.  He then tapped his temple three times, and activated the implant to download the day’s report.  Everything his opponent had said – as well as everything said by all the surrogates on both sides, all the commentators, all the poll watchers, even all the blogs that mentioned the election – was dumped into Gabis’ mind.  All to be sorted and compartmentalized to further stack the election deck in his favor.

Not for the first time, Gabis wondered why the aliens were so eager to get him into the White House.

***

I first wrote this story in 2014 and posted it on a site that’s no longer around.  I’m reposting it now because, well, when else am I going to post a story about someone running for President with some sketchy help?

The Billionaire College

Here’s an idea on how to replace the Electoral College.  This election system starts much the same way as the current one does, with each party holding a primary to select a candidate.  But once these candidates are selected they go before what I call, the Billionaire College.  This would consist of the nine richest Americans on some predetermined date.  They would be the ones to choose the next President.

So what are the pros of this idea?  Well, as things stand now, candidates spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars – a sizable portion of which is supplied by the members of the BC – to try to convince us peons that they deserve our votes.  All the annoying ads you skip, mailers you throw away, and all the countless speeches would be pointless.  It wouldn’t eliminate, but would drastically cut the number of arguments around the Thanksgiving table.  And what could be more American than some shyster selling overpriced garbage to raise the money to gain political power?

What are the cons to this idea?  Well, the naïve view that every person should have a voice in choosing their government.  I guess that’s a “nice” idea, but it’s not like we live by that now.  From aggressive voter purges, to long lines on Election Day, to cutting early voting or voting by mail to make the lines even longer, there are factions in this country trying to take voting away from the “peons” and too few people care.  Maybe we should stop ignoring that we live in an oligarchy and just go all in.

Thoughts on Trump having coronavirus

 My first reaction to the news was Nelson's "Ha Ha!" But then, I hoped he and Melania get better.  Mostly because I want him to stand trial for his numerous misdeeds.  But also because his death would just cause all the rightwing nutjobs to launch a holy war in his name.  And telling them that this was a disease that he didn't take seriously and thus paid the consequences for won't do anything.  Because we all know that if Trump went on live TV and shot himself in the head, there are people who would say - and believe - that he was assassinated by Antifa.  And the dumpster fire is bad enough as it is.