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Kit Bashir“Steampunk is so cool, it’s kind of a shame the steam era ended.”“It didn’t”“Huh?”“Nuclear power stations, heaps of factories, even coal stations use steam. The sugar cane mill near where I grew up has been running on the same steam engine for a hundred and twenty years.”“Heh, ok I guess”“And my watch, look, it has fold-out cooling towers!”“Is…is that a coal fired wristwatch?”“Eeew, no, too dangerous. Thorium and molten salt”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

rdm<a href="https://zirk.us/@SFFMagazineCovers" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@SFFMagazineCovers</a> The Queen of the Depths summoned a new glyph into the waters."Well Gromm? What of this one?" she imperiously demanded. Her chief servitor considered the image floating in front of him. "The stressing is effective, but the top curve is a little short for the size of the serif." The seadragon merely snorted. What would bipeds know of such things? They have not even considered the possibilities of hand-writing imitative typography. He could see the day, far in the future where one such typeface would dominate. <a href="https://aus.social/tags/SF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/SFF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SFF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/IAmWriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IAmWriting</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/comicsans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#comicsans</a>

Kit BashirThe Bifrost Safety Administration set up after the last frost giant incursion has totally sucked the joy out of nipping over to Svartalfheim for some nookie and duty-free mead. Thanks, Loki.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

allriteThe aliens land in front of the Australian Parliament House in Canberra. As the pale spindly alien descends from the ramp, the prime minister emerges to greet them."We come in peace," intones the alien, "We wish to learn about your democracy and introduce it to our home world.""Why us?" asks the PM."You are keepers of the democracy sausage," replies the alien."Also, we are taking Antony Green."<a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/DemocracySausage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DemocracySausage</a>

Kit BashirCats have always had the vote. They usually (except for Larry) keep a low political profile; most elections the feline turnout is negligible but somehow—the Cat Democracy System I guess—they universally decided that /this/ election was not to be trusted to the hoomams’ incompetence. Of course, no cat would ever stoop to being a candidate (that’s what staff are for!), but seeing them leap up on the booth and hold those tiny pencils in their beans is restoring my faith in civilisation.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Caturday" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Caturday</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/ElectionDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ElectionDay</a>

allriteNobody wanted to talk to us Earthlings. It's hardly surprising, considering the rubbish that we inadvertently transmit into space. That first signal from the stars wasn't meant for us. Or anybody really. The messages didn't make much sense, we were just eavesdropping on somebody else's conversation. After much deliberation and discussion from the world's foremost SETI experts, we replied to the source. The response from them was terse:"Sorry. Butt dialled you."<a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a>

Kit BashirDigital cinema is so soulless. I shot my films on real eyeballs. Oh I still used RED image engines, I just swap out the CCD for a human lens and retina. We get them from homeless people, cheap. Don’t look at me like that, we only harvest one per donor. Preposterous, under arrest for what?<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Albert ARIBAUD ✎<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writever</a> Betray"Well, I *am* a Grand Vizier. My nature is to betray. I can do nothing about it. But I can at least choose whom I betray, and I never could abide the Grand Chamberlain; so it's a good thing that he was harboring evil designs, isn't it?"<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MastoArt</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStory</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a>

Kit BashirThe Gravity Inverter drive my ship uses to escape your planet's gravity well produces acceleration inversely proportional to mass gradient. The ELI5 is that we start out at 5G but there's a long coast at near-freefall until we reach spacetime flat enough for the jump drive. You ground grippers keep asking me why I don't upgrade to a fusion-tube drive and boost at 2G all the way. Well, you know that read-it-later list that you keep adding stuff to but it never gets shorter? Mine gets read, every trip.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

AuraniI clicked the button; the control's colours inverted for a half second, signaling the input had functioned as expected.My supervisor leaned over my shoulder; barely breathing, he starred intently at the screen. “What happened?” he asked in a soft whisper.“Not a clue,” I said as I leaned away from his invasion of my personal space, “Something…? Or… maybe nothing?”He looked at me incredulously.“I’m not the one that green-lit a vital systems program with no feedback. And its documentation is just 100 pages of an Old Earth movie script about a love corner involving some kind of flying insect.” I glanced around the dim room before continuing, “but the colony doesn’t seem to be exploding… So it must be doing - or not doing - whatever we want it to do… or not do.”<a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/SciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SciFi</a>

rdmThe tiny spacecraft dropped away from the huge research transport, and accelerated towards the edge of the target zone.Inside it was cramped, just two seats, and vast arrays of instrumentation. And a wide armoured glass panel.The pilot turned to the mission specialist. "Why'd they send us, Matt? Couldn't a remote do a better job?" "Come on Hal, you know why." "No, really, why us? Why not a high-function remote?"Matt sighed, guessing Hal just wanted to talk. They had four hours to go before they reached the target zone, and two before turnover. "OK, the big one is that we can react quicker - we've got some drones, but with us close by, we can react without lag. As for why us two? We are mid-experience, know what we are doing, and not in the command path. So, we're sort-of expendable." "Sort-of. I'd like to think we're not expendable." "They're not going to throw us away. That's why we've got a 4G engine on this thing. And between us we've got over 40 standard years of experience. We are not really that expendable." "OK, Matt, why this star? What's so special?" Matt looked at him. "OK, so I dozed off in the briefing a bit. I'm a hands on piloting sort, not an academic." "This star blew its outer layers off less than ten years ago, this is the earliest we've been able to investigate the formation of a planetary nebula." "So we're flying towards an expanding plasma ball." "Yep." "Great." Hal adjusted his controls. "What are you doing?" "Stopping us a bit earlier. I don't want to discover how dense the plasma is before the drones do."<a href="https://aus.social/tags/SF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/SFF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SFF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/IAmWriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IAmWriting</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/astronomy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astronomy</a>

Kit BashirI bought an old System 80 from the vintage computer market (it’s a clone of the TRS-80 model 1 that was popular in the antipodes it its day). Like many of these machines it had been lovingly hobbyist-upgraded. This one had a second bank of RAM chips piggybacked atop the factory chips, with chip select lines free-form routed above the mainboard in tinned copper wire; this was a common mod, just like today computers from the store were near-criminally under resourced with RAM. Less typical was the pentagonal arrangement of inductor coils, the copper coils apparently connected with silver (not tin, actual Argentum) wire. Not clear what this mod does, let’s see if she boots.❮Beep, whirr, gronk❯ (all good so far). ❮Whoopmf❯. ⟪Cloud of Smoke⟫ 〖Smell of Sulphur〗. Hmmn, less good.〰︎What is thy bidding master?〰︎ Little red guy on the top of the enclosure above the keyboard. That’s, as far as I recall, not normal. Is that a tiny deck chair?“Um. Hello? Did I summon you?”〰︎So it seems. Been a while for this node. I suppose you been using those devilblessed Gee Pee Tees like everyone else. It’s a fucking ghost town here in Infernal Machine Support thanks to those newfangled bullshit generators, let me tell you.〰︎. The demon leaned back in the chair and took a sip from a tiny cocktail.“Sorry to bother you, were you on a break or something?”〰︎Fucking forty year break, I was beginning to think I’d been scrapped. Still got it tho, what’s the job? Novel need some polishing? Assignment due tomorrow? I don’t do marketing copy, go to a different hell if you want that.〰︎<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Albert ARIBAUD ✎<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writever</a> TriggerNeutralising a platoon of Sorcerers is easy. Just need to get them to gather tight. Then the slightest trigger starts the chain reaction and they wipe one another all by themselves.<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MastoArt</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStory</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a>

Kit BashirThere is a prominent billboard on the western freeway that I pass every day. It usually has either a politician or a realtor on it. For the last few weeks it has featured the words “Recite Daily: Namo Amituofo”, some vaguely Buddhist imagery, and a URL. I know a large percentage of mouth breathing fools are unable to pass an unfamiliar sign without reading it aloud (you all know one of these dolts, you probably have a second cousin or something you dread seeing on holidays), and I am curious what incantation is passing ten thousand pairs of lips a day.I looked up the phrase. While it comes from sanskrit, the meaning is reported to be “rely on the infinite awakening”.I have concerns.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/100PercentTrueStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#100PercentTrueStory</a>

Kit Bashir“Take us to your cats”“Uh, could you rephrase that, I think your translator isn’t working properly. Did you mean leaders.”“Leaders are boring, we will do them tomorrow. We have been viewing your cat pictures while decelerating and wish to boop. They are so like our [UNTRANSLATABLE ENTITY SIGNIFIER 1] that we are boopsick.”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Albert ARIBAUD ✎<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writever</a> GrowKrek the Swift had cast a spell on himself so that he would grow, in order to crush his opponent under his heel. Alas, he had neglected to change his weight, and was carried away like a bubble in the light breeze..<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MastoArt</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStory</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a>

Kit BashirFrom the example of YouTube (overconfident novices presenting their invention or purchase based on five minutes of experience) we should have expected The Machine to work about as well as it did. Six months of telescope time to receive the plans. 21.3 percent of global GDP for a decade to build it. Finally, limitless free energy. Haha no. You fucking bet we’re transmitting a thumbs down plus a long comment, and damn the telescope time.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

rdmMad Science isn't all about death rays and trying to take over the world. I mean there are some in the community who go in for that sort of thing, but really? Death rays are a dime a dozen - there is no real challenge to them, and what do they really do to expand our scientific knowledge? Nothing. Now I know what you are thinking, and yes, some of what some of us do is not morally defensible, and I'm not going to pretend that that sort of thing is something I support. But that is what we have superheros for, right? To deal with those sorts. The rest of us just want to answer the really hard questions. "Can you stop time?" "Can you travel in time?" "How many licks does it take to get to the centre of various lollypops?" "What if the moon were transparent?" "Is vampirism a disease or genetic?" Those sorts of things.Why just last week I helped out a fellow who wanted to know about one of those. We only caused a couple of tidal waves, and to be honest, Florida is better off for them. And he got his answer. So you see? We just want to help people.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/SF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/SFF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SFF</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/IAmWriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IAmWriting</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MadScience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MadScience</a>

Albert ARIBAUD ✎<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writever</a> DoubtWizards never doubt themselves: it would be an admission of weakness.Witches spend their time doubting themselves. It helps them accept their mistakes and prevent these from happening again.<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MastoArt</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStory</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a>

Kit BashirWe shut down NASA when the Visitors gifted us an elevator and a fleet of runabouts moored at Stationary Station. Then they departed to continue their mission of goodwill, never to return. Not even when the elevator broke down four years later. Then the messages from Rogue Plumbers started arriving. <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

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