Short story takes only one minute to read!

[C. E. Gee]

Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.


This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!



Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?

....


Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.

I think I'll pass.

OTOH, here's a story of mine (most here have seen it before):

The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.



The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.

I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.

She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*

But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."

I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

[Mike Van Pelt]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

Oh, in that case, call it "Alien Vs. Predator" -
it /has/ been used, but that's the point.

"The Wise Will Understand".

"Eats Anything, Fond Of Housepets".

"Lives Saved: Nine".

"Felisitous".

"Furryboots Is It?"

[Kevrob]

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

Oh, in that case, call it "Alien Vs. Predator" -

That may be trademarked.

Post by Robert Carnegie
it /has/ been used, but that's the point.
"The Wise Will Understand".
"Eats Anything, Fond Of Housepets".
"Lives Saved: Nine".
"Felisitous".
"Furryboots Is It?"

"Never Leave a Shipmate Behind" ?

Kevin R

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

Oh, in that case, call it "Alien Vs. Predator" -
it /has/ been used, but that's the point.
"The Wise Will Understand".
"Eats Anything, Fond Of Housepets".

That's kind of ambiguous....

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Lives Saved: Nine".

Ten, at least, counting the narrator.

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Felisitous".
"Furryboots Is It?"

I'm beginning to think "Priorities."

But nothing has rung the bell so far. I can in any case wait till
Hal gets it on the site. I may just introduce it with "Well,
there was this challenge...."

[D B Davis]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

Oh, in that case, call it "Alien Vs. Predator" -
it /has/ been used, but that's the point.
"The Wise Will Understand".
"Eats Anything, Fond Of Housepets".

That's kind of ambiguous....

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Lives Saved: Nine".

Ten, at least, counting the narrator.

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Felisitous".
"Furryboots Is It?"

I'm beginning to think "Priorities."
But nothing has rung the bell so far. I can in any case wait till
Hal gets it on the site. I may just introduce it with "Well,
there was this challenge...."

"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

Preliminary: the title MOTELIGHT. Gentlemen, a MOTELIGHT
is a light in front of a motel which reads VACANCY or NO VACANCY.
This is sad, but that is what it signalled to me and (I think) what
it will signify to most people. You could beat this by splitting
it into MOTELIGHT—but you still would not have a good title to
attract readers. What is a good title? I don’t know. Finding a
catchy title is one of the hardest aspects of fiction for me; I
do not always succeed. Sed exempli gratia: In 1939 [marginal
correction by VH: 1940] I sent JWC a story ROADTOWN; he published
it exactly as written but changed the title to THE ROADS MUST
ROLL—(tired—can hardly type—sorry.) His reasons: “Roadtown”
doesn’t say anything; it just lies there. But “The Roads Must Roll”
suggests action, an urgent necessity, and an unexplained mystery
. . . for roads do not roll! What is this? Let’s take a look and
find out. (Paraphrase from a memory 34 years back, but close to his
words.)
I offer you JWC’s theory about titles because I do not have a
better one of my own. But I suggest that his touchstone is valid:
A title should not just lie there; it should goose the potential
customer in some way—intrigue or annoy him or something, enough
that he picks up the book and reads the first paragraph of the
blurb. But don’t let his eye move on past your opus merely because
the title is dull.

Note.

1. https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/man-versus-motie
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20130701140830/http://www.virginiaedition.com/ve/TheVirginiaEdition-sample.pdf#page=23

✍

Thank you,

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by D B Davis

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

"If Dorothy Wrote _Alien_" :-)

Nah, "if Dorothy had to write something and had heard about
_Alien_ but never saw it."

Oh, in that case, call it "Alien Vs. Predator" -
it /has/ been used, but that's the point.
"The Wise Will Understand".
"Eats Anything, Fond Of Housepets".

That's kind of ambiguous....

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Lives Saved: Nine".

Ten, at least, counting the narrator.

Post by Robert Carnegie
"Felisitous".
"Furryboots Is It?"

I'm beginning to think "Priorities."
But nothing has rung the bell so far. I can in any case wait till
Hal gets it on the site. I may just introduce it with "Well,
there was this challenge...."

"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.
Preliminary: the title MOTELIGHT. Gentlemen, a MOTELIGHT
is a light in front of a motel which reads VACANCY or NO VACANCY.
This is sad, but that is what it signalled to me and (I think) what
it will signify to most people. You could beat this by splitting
it into MOTELIGHT—but you still would not have a good title to
attract readers. What is a good title? I don’t know. Finding a
catchy title is one of the hardest aspects of fiction for me; I
do not always succeed. Sed exempli gratia: In 1939 [marginal
correction by VH: 1940] I sent JWC a story ROADTOWN; he published
it exactly as written but changed the title to THE ROADS MUST
ROLL—(tired—can hardly type—sorry.) His reasons: “Roadtown”
doesn’t say anything; it just lies there. But “The Roads Must Roll”
suggests action, an urgent necessity, and an unexplained mystery
. . . for roads do not roll! What is this? Let’s take a look and
find out. (Paraphrase from a memory 34 years back, but close to his
words.)
I offer you JWC’s theory about titles because I do not have a
A title should not just lie there; it should goose the potential
customer in some way—intrigue or annoy him or something, enough
that he picks up the book and reads the first paragraph of the
blurb. But don’t let his eye move on past your opus merely because
the title is dull.
Note.
1. https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/man-versus-motie
2.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130701140830/http://www.virginiaedition.com/ve/TheVirginiaEdition-sample.pdf#page=23
✍
Thank you,

Thanks *you.* Saved to disk.

[Greg Goss]

Post by D B Davis
"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

In response to that letter, JEP/LN cut out several huge chunks of the
novel, though that still left a pretty hefty paperback by seventies
standards.

The "Lost Preface" got printed in Galaxy, where it served very well as
an advertisement for the whole novel. I've seen the chunks
introducing Rod (and the general drive physics), and the chunk with
Horst and the bomb, somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember
enough of either to know what to search for.

Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

[Robert Woodward]

Post by Greg Goss

Post by D B Davis
"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

In response to that letter, JEP/LN cut out several huge chunks of the
novel, though that still left a pretty hefty paperback by seventies
standards.
The "Lost Preface" got printed in Galaxy, where it served very well as
an advertisement for the whole novel. I've seen the chunks
introducing Rod (and the general drive physics), and the chunk with
Horst and the bomb, somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember
enough of either to know what to search for.
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Reflex" (which appeared in the original _There will be War_ anthology,
and reprinted recently in the _Infinite Stars_ anthology) is the story
of Horst and the bomb. "Motelight" (the "lost preface") was published in
the Jan 1976 issue of _Galaxy_ as part of the essay "Building the Mote
in God's Eye". That essay also went into some detail on the Alderson
drive.

[D B Davis]

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Greg Goss

Post by D B Davis
"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

In response to that letter, JEP/LN cut out several huge chunks of the
novel, though that still left a pretty hefty paperback by seventies
standards.
The "Lost Preface" got printed in Galaxy, where it served very well as
an advertisement for the whole novel. I've seen the chunks
introducing Rod (and the general drive physics), and the chunk with
Horst and the bomb, somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember
enough of either to know what to search for.
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

RAH makes an economic argument:

Look, friends, pp. 100–799 read just fine as they are . . .
but you are in a tough market with very high production costs.
This MS is so long that the trade book would have to price at
$9.95, which scares the publisher, and holds down sales even
if he takes the risk. I don’t want to see that; I want this
book to be a bestseller. By careful cutting you can knock two
dollars off that list price—while improving the pace of the
story greatly.

Today's digital publishing options make RAH's economic argument less
forceful. Does anyone know how many words (characters) a Kindle can
hold? The gadget's maximum capacity is about the only hard limit on
contemporary story length.

Post by Robert Woodward
Reflex" (which appeared in the original _There will be War_ anthology,
and reprinted recently in the _Infinite Stars_ anthology) is the story
of Horst and the bomb. "Motelight" (the "lost preface") was published in
the Jan 1976 issue of _Galaxy_ as part of the essay "Building the Mote
in God's Eye". That essay also went into some detail on the Alderson
drive.

A Step Farther Out: Building the Mote in God's Eye by Ames
https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v37n01_1976-01

✍

Thank you,

[Ahasuerus]

Post by D B Davis

[snip-snip -- hopefully the attributions are right]

Post by Greg Goss
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Look, friends, pp. 100–799 read just fine as they are . . .
but you are in a tough market with very high production costs.
This MS is so long that the trade book would have to price at
$9.95, which scares the publisher, and holds down sales even
if he takes the risk. I don’t want to see that; I want this
book to be a bestseller. By careful cutting you can knock two
dollars off that list price—while improving the pace of the
story greatly.
Today's digital publishing options make RAH's economic argument less
forceful. Does anyone know how many words (characters) a Kindle can
hold? The gadget's maximum capacity is about the only hard limit on
contemporary story length. [snip]

The Web serial _Worm_ contains roughly 1,680,000 words. The Kindle
software opens the single-file mobi version of the text just fine.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by Greg Goss
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Look, friends, pp. 100–799 read just fine as they are . . .
but you are in a tough market with very high production costs.
This MS is so long that the trade book would have to price at
$9.95, which scares the publisher, and holds down sales even
if he takes the risk. I don’t want to see that; I want this
book to be a bestseller. By careful cutting you can knock two
dollars off that list price—while improving the pace of the
story greatly.
Today's digital publishing options make RAH's economic argument less
forceful. Does anyone know how many words (characters) a Kindle can
hold? The gadget's maximum capacity is about the only hard limit on
contemporary story length.

My nook can store 16MB (that's the size of my microSD card). The
version of the FAT file system on the card supports 2GB files, iirc,
which is a boat-load of words.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by Greg Goss
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Look, friends, pp. 100–799 read just fine as they are . . .
but you are in a tough market with very high production costs.
This MS is so long that the trade book would have to price at
$9.95, which scares the publisher, and holds down sales even
if he takes the risk. I don’t want to see that; I want this
book to be a bestseller. By careful cutting you can knock two
dollars off that list price—while improving the pace of the
story greatly.
Today's digital publishing options make RAH's economic argument less
forceful. Does anyone know how many words (characters) a Kindle can
hold? The gadget's maximum capacity is about the only hard limit on
contemporary story length.

My nook can store 16MB (that's the size of my microSD card). The

Ugh, that should be 16GB.

Post by Scott Lurndal
version of the FAT file system on the card supports 2GB files, iirc,
which is a boat-load of words.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Greg Goss

Post by D B Davis
"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

In response to that letter, JEP/LN cut out several huge chunks of the
novel, though that still left a pretty hefty paperback by seventies
standards.
The "Lost Preface" got printed in Galaxy, where it served very well as
an advertisement for the whole novel. I've seen the chunks
introducing Rod (and the general drive physics), and the chunk with
Horst and the bomb, somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember
enough of either to know what to search for.
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Reflex" (which appeared in the original _There will be War_ anthology,
and reprinted recently in the _Infinite Stars_ anthology) is the story
of Horst and the bomb. "Motelight" (the "lost preface") was published in
the Jan 1976 issue of _Galaxy_ as part of the essay "Building the Mote
in God's Eye". That essay also went into some detail on the Alderson
drive.

Well, different strokes. I disliked him from start to finish.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Greg Goss

Post by D B Davis
"Priorities" is an excellent title. That said, perhaps RAH, and JWC by
extension, can offer some words of wisdom about the almighty title?
James' review of _The Mote in God's Eye_ (Niven & Pournelle) [1]
contains a bonus link to a sample of _The Virginia Edition_. [2] The
sample contains a letter from RAH to Niven & Pournelle about _Mote_.
Among many other things, RAH talks about titles.

In response to that letter, JEP/LN cut out several huge chunks of the
novel, though that still left a pretty hefty paperback by seventies
standards.
The "Lost Preface" got printed in Galaxy, where it served very well as
an advertisement for the whole novel. I've seen the chunks
introducing Rod (and the general drive physics), and the chunk with
Horst and the bomb, somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember
enough of either to know what to search for.
Remember when major writers actually trimmed novels?

Reflex" (which appeared in the original _There will be War_ anthology,
and reprinted recently in the _Infinite Stars_ anthology) is the story
of Horst and the bomb. "Motelight" (the "lost preface") was published in
the Jan 1976 issue of _Galaxy_ as part of the essay "Building the Mote
in God's Eye". That essay also went into some detail on the Alderson
drive.

Well, different strokes. I disliked him from start to finish.

Sorry; I managed to reply to an entirely different thread from
what I thought I was replying to. Please ignore.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

[Jay E. Morris]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

[Jay E. Morris]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

I certainly think so.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

I certainly think so.

All right. I'll have to look at the files that Bill Gill, bless
his heart, has already formatted for me. Maybe I can just
cut-and-paste a header. Hal speaks only pig-HTML and I don't
speak it at all. I used to be fluent in tbl, eqn, and troff, and
there was a time when I could make shift in teX, but this was a
long time ago.

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

I certainly think so.

All right. I'll have to look at the files that Bill Gill, bless
his heart, has already formatted for me. Maybe I can just
cut-and-paste a header. Hal speaks only pig-HTML and I don't
speak it at all. I used to be fluent in tbl, eqn, and troff, and
there was a time when I could make shift in teX, but this was a
long time ago.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

If you are interested, i will be happy to format the story in full HTML and send it to you for upload to your web site. If you would like additional web site building, let me know. I offer this in gratitude for _The Interior Life_ and _Point of Honor_, both of which i still have in MMPB.

-DES
Siegel [at] acm [dot] org

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

I certainly think so.

All right. I'll have to look at the files that Bill Gill, bless
his heart, has already formatted for me. Maybe I can just
cut-and-paste a header. Hal speaks only pig-HTML and I don't
speak it at all. I used to be fluent in tbl, eqn, and troff, and
there was a time when I could make shift in teX, but this was a
long time ago.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

If you are interested, i will be happy to format the story in full HTML
and send it to you for upload to your web site. If you would like
additional web site building, let me know. I offer this in gratitude
for _The Interior Life_ and _Point of Honor_, both of which i still
have in MMPB.

Thank you; but since it's so short, Hal has suggested that he
just put it on the webpage as a readable text. No need to
download.

(I trust you know that both _TIL_ and _APoH_ are available for
download in three different formats, thanks to Bill's
formatting-fu, along with _The Witch of Syracuse_, which never did
get a dead-tree publisher.)

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Jay E. Morris

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Thank you!

As do I. I'd like to share it.

You may if you wish. Just don't lose the attribution. Maybe I
should put it on my website?

I certainly think so.

All right. I'll have to look at the files that Bill Gill, bless
his heart, has already formatted for me. Maybe I can just
cut-and-paste a header. Hal speaks only pig-HTML and I don't
speak it at all. I used to be fluent in tbl, eqn, and troff, and
there was a time when I could make shift in teX, but this was a
long time ago.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt

If you are interested, i will be happy to format the story in full HTML
and send it to you for upload to your web site. If you would like
additional web site building, let me know. I offer this in gratitude
for _The Interior Life_ and _Point of Honor_, both of which i still
have in MMPB.

Thank you; but since it's so short, Hal has suggested that he
just put it on the webpage as a readable text. No need to
download.
(I trust you know that both _TIL_ and _APoH_ are available for
download in three different formats, thanks to Bill's
formatting-fu, along with _The Witch of Syracuse_, which never did
get a dead-tree publisher.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

I didn't know it until I read your earlier posts in this thread, and took a look at your web site -- now I do.

I seem to recall you posting here some years back that you had written a sequel to _APoH_ but it had not been picked up by a publisher. Is this correct? If so, is that available anywhere? It did not seem to be mentioned on your web page.

Also, your various short stories listed on your site seem to link only to short excerpts, with neither downloadable versions nor links to purchase copies. You might want to provide a method for obtaining the complete stories, for a suitable price, if that is possible.

-DES

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by d***@gmail.com
I seem to recall you posting here some years back that you had written a
sequel to _APoH_ but it had not been picked up by a publisher. Is this
correct? If so, is that available anywhere? It did not seem to be
mentioned on your web page.

It got rejected. The editor didn't even TELL my agent that she
had rejected it, till about a year later when he asked her, and
she said, "Oh, I rejected that." "Can you give me some idea of
why?" "No, it was too long ago." But cut her a little slack: in
the interim 9/11 had happened and she'd had to pack up the entire
shop and move from Manhattan to some other borough.

I still have the manuscript, and I can now see some things wrong
with it, and maybe someday I'll try rewriting it.

(I am currently working on a project so ambitious that I doubt I
can do it justice, which is why I don't discuss it with anybody
but Hal.)

Post by d***@gmail.com
Also, your various short stories listed on your site seem to link only
to short excerpts, with neither downloadable versions nor links to
purchase copies. You might want to provide a method for obtaining the
complete stories, for a suitable price, if that is possible.

Well, those used to be available on other websites, by
arrangement with the estate of Marion Zimmer Bradley, who had
published them all to begin with. Last I heard, those sites had
shut down and the relevant person (Ann Sharp) was looking for
another site. I suppose I could email her and ask if it would be
all right for me to put them up. Mind you, I own the rights; I
just don't want to make things inconvenient for MZB's estate; she
was very good to me.

In the meantime, you could always read _The Witch of Syracuse_,
which never got published in novel form at all. :)

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com
I seem to recall you posting here some years back that you had written a
sequel to _APoH_ but it had not been picked up by a publisher. Is this
correct? If so, is that available anywhere? It did not seem to be
mentioned on your web page.

It got rejected. The editor didn't even TELL my agent that she
had rejected it, till about a year later when he asked her, and
she said, "Oh, I rejected that." "Can you give me some idea of
why?" "No, it was too long ago." But cut her a little slack: in
the interim 9/11 had happened and she'd had to pack up the entire
shop and move from Manhattan to some other borough.
I still have the manuscript, and I can now see some things wrong
with it, and maybe someday I'll try rewriting it.

I would love to read it, but I understand that you might not want to distribute a work you now see as flawed. And you might not want to just post it for free in any case - or perhaps you might.

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
(I am currently working on a project so ambitious that I doubt I
can do it justice, which is why I don't discuss it with anybody
but Hal.)

Good luck.

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com
Also, your various short stories listed on your site seem to link only
to short excerpts, with neither downloadable versions nor links to
purchase copies. You might want to provide a method for obtaining the
complete stories, for a suitable price, if that is possible.

Well, those used to be available on other websites, by
arrangement with the estate of Marion Zimmer Bradley, who had
published them all to begin with. Last I heard, those sites had
shut down and the relevant person (Ann Sharp) was looking for
another site. I suppose I could email her and ask if it would be
all right for me to put them up. Mind you, I own the rights; I
just don't want to make things inconvenient for MZB's estate; she
was very good to me.

I am in no way suggesting that you do anything you would think improper, nor even anything particularly onerous. I was thinking more in terms of a link (for each story) to a page where the original collection is for sale, possibly used. Just because I always find it frustrating to see a reference to interesting content with no convenient way to access it. And i suspect others will feel similarly.

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
In the meantime, you could always read _The Witch of Syracuse_,
which never got published in novel form at all. :)

I will try that.

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

-DES

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com
I seem to recall you posting here some years back that you had written a
sequel to _APoH_ but it had not been picked up by a publisher. Is this
correct? If so, is that available anywhere? It did not seem to be
mentioned on your web page.

It got rejected. The editor didn't even TELL my agent that she
had rejected it, till about a year later when he asked her, and
she said, "Oh, I rejected that." "Can you give me some idea of
why?" "No, it was too long ago." But cut her a little slack: in
the interim 9/11 had happened and she'd had to pack up the entire
shop and move from Manhattan to some other borough.
I still have the manuscript, and I can now see some things wrong
with it, and maybe someday I'll try rewriting it.

I would love to read it, but I understand that you might not want to
distribute a work you now see as flawed.

Right. Particularly since the possibilty of re-working it has not
yet expired.

Post by d***@gmail.com
And you might not want to just
post it for free in any case - or perhaps you might.

Everything on my website is available for free (but not for
reposting). There's also a PayPal link for anybody who wants to
put something in, and occasionally they do.

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
(I am currently working on a project so ambitious that I doubt I
can do it justice, which is why I don't discuss it with anybody
but Hal.)

Good luck.

Thanks. What I really need is to be twenty or thirty years
younger, back when I could sit down for an hour every morning and
let the words flow. Now, it's like defecating bricks.

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com
Also, your various short stories listed on your site seem to link only
to short excerpts, with neither downloadable versions nor links to
purchase copies. You might want to provide a method for obtaining the
complete stories, for a suitable price, if that is possible.

Well, those used to be available on other websites, by
arrangement with the estate of Marion Zimmer Bradley, who had
published them all to begin with. Last I heard, those sites had
shut down and the relevant person (Ann Sharp) was looking for
another site. I suppose I could email her and ask if it would be
all right for me to put them up. Mind you, I own the rights; I
just don't want to make things inconvenient for MZB's estate; she
was very good to me.

I am in no way suggesting that you do anything you would think improper,
nor even anything particularly onerous. I was thinking more in terms of
a link (for each story) to a page where the original collection is for
sale, possibly used.

That's harder than it sounds. About twenty-five of the stories
(mostly the Cynthia stories, which are now reissued as _The Witch
of Syracuse_) were published in Marion's various anthologies,
whereof you might find copies on Amazon or somebody. The others
were published in _Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine,_
which ceased publication when it ran out of money and there are
no copies available anywhere that I know of.

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
In the meantime, you could always read _The Witch of Syracuse_,
which never got published in novel form at all. :)

I will try that.

Happy reading! You could let me know what you think of it.

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by d***@gmail.com
I am in no way suggesting that you do anything you would think improper,
nor even anything particularly onerous. I was thinking more in terms of
a link (for each story) to a page where the original collection is for
sale, possibly used.

That's harder than it sounds. About twenty-five of the stories
(mostly the Cynthia stories, which are now reissued as _The Witch
of Syracuse_) were published in Marion's various anthologies,
whereof you might find copies on Amazon or somebody. The others
were published in _Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine,_
which ceased publication when it ran out of money and there are
no copies available anywhere that I know of.

I have a couple on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192620665217

[Dorothy J Heydt]

< ... The others

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
were published in _Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine,_
which ceased publication when it ran out of money and there are
no copies available anywhere that I know of.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192620665217

Yes, and I recognize those issues, too, by their covers. The one
with the flying castle is actually the first issue, and contains
my story "Moonrise." The one with the blond woman in the red
dress is Vol. 1 no. 2, and contains my story "Paradox Lost." But
the two issues seem to be part of a large, miscellaneous set. I
don't know if it would be worth buying for two stories. I need
to get hold of Ann and see if it would be all right with her to
post the non-Darkover stories on the webpage.

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
< ... The others

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
were published in _Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine,_
which ceased publication when it ran out of money and there are
no copies available anywhere that I know of.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192620665217

Yes, and I recognize those issues, too, by their covers. The one
with the flying castle is actually the first issue, and contains
my story "Moonrise." The one with the blond woman in the red
dress is Vol. 1 no. 2, and contains my story "Paradox Lost." But
the two issues seem to be part of a large, miscellaneous set. I
don't know if it would be worth buying for two stories. I need
to get hold of Ann and see if it would be all right with her to
post the non-Darkover stories on the webpage.

When I tried selling those two by themselves they didn't find a buyer,
so I combined them with a bunch of other stuff.

Look at the minimum bid, though -- anyone who wants these ought to be
able to afford them.

[D B Davis]

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.

I hadn't seen it before, but I like it.

Same here. Until halfway through, my mind imagined a couple of
alternative endings. The first ending has the Ioronians treat Pyewacket
as a god. The second ending has the Ioronians fear Pyewacket in the
same manner that the storied elephant fears a mouse.
OTOH, Gee's tale contains all of the ingredients for a #nevertrump:
Trump, Hitler, and Russia. But it doesn't seem to deliver a #nevertrump.

✍

Thank you,

[Titus G]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Thank you.

[Peter Trei]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

pt

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?

(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

Some possibilities that occur to me:

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

-DES

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

"How a Cat Made Us Human"

[h***@gmail.com]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

"How a Cat Made Us Human"

I think that would be too much of a spoiler for the story.

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by h***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

"How a Cat Made Us Human"

I think that would be too much of a spoiler for the story.

"The Cat's Purr."

[t***@gmail.com]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by h***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

"How a Cat Made Us Human"

I think that would be too much of a spoiler for the story.

"The Cat's Purr."

Lost Cat.

[Kevrob]

Post by t***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler
"The Cat's Purr."

Lost Cat.

Mentioning the cat in the title is not wise. Otherwise,
"Here, Kitty..." might be good. I have no problem with
"Priorities." It has the advantages of being non-spoilery,
and succint.

Kevin R

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by Kevrob

Post by t***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler
"The Cat's Purr."

Lost Cat.

Mentioning the cat in the title is not wise. Otherwise,
"Here, Kitty..." might be good. I have no problem with
"Priorities." It has the advantages of being non-spoilery,
and succint.

I likewise have no argument with "Priorities".

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by t***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by h***@gmail.com

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Peter Trei

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Nice! Does it have a title?

Do you know, I don't think it does. One was not required by the
terms of the original challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?
(The filename is "pyewacket" so that I can find it on disk when
I'm looking for it. Pyewacket, btw, was the name of the witch's
cat in the 1958 film _Bell, Book, and Candle_.)
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

"Common Ground"
"The Friend of my Friend"
"Talking"
"A Basis for Communication"

"How a Cat Made Us Human"

I think that would be too much of a spoiler for the story.

"The Cat's Purr."

Lost Cat.

Puss in Spaceboots

Heliopaws

Caritas

(Three that are successively less meaningful -
in English - from quite a shaky start, but
that still isn't the point.)

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Is Pyewacket the cat from the weird movie "Bell, Book, and Candle" ?
Yes, it is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell,_Book_and_Candle

Lynn

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Is Pyewacket the cat from the weird movie "Bell, Book, and Candle" ?
Yes, it is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell,_Book_and_Candle

Essentially, yes. Except their Pyewacket was an elegant Siamese
and I think mine was a grey tabby.

[a425couple]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. "There are now five minutes till lifeboat separation.
There are now four minutes and fifty seconds till lifeboat separation."
Feet pounding in the corridors, noses counted in the airlock, and
nobody could find Pyewacket.
I didn't even bother to meet the eye of someone who would have
told me 'No.' I turned around and ran.
She wasn't in the galley. She wasn't in the lounge. She might
be in Hydroponics basking under a sun lamp. All the time my mind
kept chanting *This is what makes stupid movies stupid, that with
certain alien death stalking the corridors, somebody runs off to
find the cat.* She wasn't in Hydroponics, but a trail of wet
pawprints led outboard and spinward. Now I could hear other feet
pounding in the corridors, heavy feet in chitin plate. "There are
now two minutes and thirty seconds till lifeboat separation." A
grey shape just in view, calmly turning the corner. I ran, I bent,
I snatched her out from under the chelicerae of a startled Ioron
and backpedaled. *No one has ever seen them run. Maybe they can't
run fast.*
But they ran like the wind. One of them came up even with me,
ahead of me, raised a mallet claw to crush me: and another came up
even faster and brushed its fellow aside with a careless gesture
that sent it ringing like a gong against the bulkhead. The
mechanism glued to its thorax sputtered. It moaned like a whale
song, sputtered again, chirped. It cleared its throat, or whatever
it used for a throat, and said, "You gave--" Sputter. "You
willed to give--" Chirp. "You risked your life to save a cat.
Good heavens. You might be human after all."
I backed up against the wall, slapped the comm-panel open. "Hold
the last lifeboat. They're talking." I sagged against it,
breathing, while Pyewacket purred and the Ioron raised one
delicate feathery palp, cautiously, to rub her ears.

Thank you for sharing that with us.

[Kevrob]

Post by a425couple

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has
published the story “FORESIGHT†by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

If it's that short, why not just post it here?
....
Oh, because you want to get more hits on your website.
I think I'll pass.
The challenge was to write a story that took only five minutes
internal time. Takes less than that to read.
The hull was breached, the Ioroni somewhere on board, the klaxon
sounding. ....

Thank you for sharing that with us.

I enjoyed it, also.

Titles are tough. Too on the nose and you give away the
surprise ending.

Kevin R

[t***@gmail.com]

Post by C. E. Gee
Aphelion Webzine in their Flash Fiction Department for August 2018 has published the story “FORESIGHT” by C.E. Gee.
This story takes just one minute to read! <<<<< !!!!!!
Please GOTO http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/flash/2018/08/Foresight.html

Spoilers:

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

In this story, the Soviets/Russians have a marvelous paranormal based program for predicting the future. They predicted the Vietnam War and its effect on US society, so knew that they should help North Vietnam. They predicted the election of Trump, how they could help Trump, & how the GOP would be hurt. But why didn't they predict fall of USSR & stop it?