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Here are the first 13s of the eleven flash fiction stories offered in our contest. There are some great entries. Thanks one and all for your hard work, and thanks again to tnwilz and KDW for the initial triggers.
Please don't post votes or crits here. You'll be receiving your copy of "The Ansibles and Guns Blazing Anthology" by e-mail shortly, together with instructions for voting and critting.
The old man trudged slowly up the road, his breath turning into white clouds of frozen vapor. Not even anticipation could speed his weary legs. The dilapidated apartment door hung on its hinges, and the old man winced when he saw his daughter shivering in the entryway. Her fingers began searching the pockets of his jacket before his lips had brushed her cheek in greeting. “Where is the medicine?” she demanded. Her eyes flickered down to the obviously-not-medicine shaped package in his hand and his arm convulsed as he fought the irrational desire to hide the package behind his back. Instead, he raised his chin and locked his jaw in defiance. But she didn’t understand yet. She clutched his arm and started
It was around two-thirty when I heard the ansible ring in the kitchen. Since I'm a telepath, I was waiting for it. It annoys my non-telepathic friends when I say, “Hello,” before they hear the first comfort ring. It was Bernadette; her stigmata were worsening. She also wanted to warn me about some miscreants who are out to get me. Gun-toting types. Though she spoke Gascon Occitan and I did not, and died two centuries before I was born, we communicated remarkably well. I don't know where she got her ansible, but I want one like hers. “If they come, I'll know about it in soon enough.” “Not these men, Marisa,” said Bernadette. “Their telepathy is of another time.” “They're time-travelers? Why are they after me?”
Nick watched the seconds roll--forty two... fifty four... fifty seven, and... 2:30. He was already reaching for the ansible when it rang. Ignoring Becca, he lifted the receiver to his ear. But it wasn't the stock tip he’d expected. His own voice, his future voice--and the thought always made his shiver--morose and cynical, said, "Don't leave home today." His gut turned cold but he managed an easy smile under Becca's scrutinizing gaze, and hung up the ansible. "So that's it?" she said. "That's how it works?" "Easy money, isn't it, darlin'?" "So what, the future you remembers to call you at precisely this time?" "Yep."
The Ansible's bleat hit me like an air raid siren. It was 2:00 am. I swung my legs off the couch and grunted into a sitting position, uncapped the bottle of Old Fashioned No. 7 that lay sideways on the glass coffee table and guzzled. The next bleat was enough to rattle my plexicast windows and provoke stomps from the occupants of the up-level cube. I snatched my blaster, armed it, but resisted firing it through the ceiling--tempting as it was to have a two-storey, 36th floor cube. Ansibles. I guess the designers figured if a call was important enough to shoot earthside, the recipient wouldn't want to miss it. Most often they'd be right, but I hadn't cared about anything more serious than sterilizing my liver in over a year--since I killed the only girl I ever loved.
The old ansible trudged slowly up the road. Multiple sensors registered multiple imminent malfunctions: treads, pivot joints, and speaker. A red and green hummingbird hovered near the ansible's headpiece, apparently transfixed by its reflection in the camera lens. “Not that the repairbot could be spared for a service call. Oh, goodness me, no,” it said to the bird. “Distance from Main Downtown Branch precludes attention to prewar models.” The Post Office assigned Ansible Unit 63114 to the Rural General Delivery Branch after it upgraded the equipment at all key locations. A promotion, the robotics tech called it -- “You'll be in charge, and be the only ansible for miles.” But here in Whipplewood Valley, the post office was a closet in the corner of the feed store, and Postmaster Ansible
"The old man trudged slowly up the road." Paul said, peeking out the curtains. Sarah moved next to him. “You’re making Grandpa walk up the driveway?” Paul winked at his sister. “I told his limo driver that the driveway still had fresh tar on it.” Sarah smiled and shouted to the rest of the family. “Get ready, Grandpa’s coming.” The young children giggled. Everyone took up positions behind furniture and around corners. Paul watched Grandpa Ted dig his cane into the asphalt to push his frail body up the steep driveway. He would stop every two steps, grumble, and shake his head.
It was mid-afternoon when the ansible rang in the kitchen. I looked Carol in the eye--her real eye. "You were asking for a job. Let's see what you can do." I gestured around the pub. "Keep 'em happy." Leaning over the bar to the nearest holobot I murmured, "Watch her." Closing the kitchen door behind me I picked up the ansible and said, "Ice Stop." "Villains, coming your way." I recognised Banville's voice. "And you're telling me because?" "We're a few hours behind. Detain them until we arrive." "Do your own Customs work." Jeff," said Banville. "They stole gold worth millions from
The old man trudged up the mountain path. His back bent sharply as he pulled on the tall grass growing alongside the dusty trail. John stopped his trek up Mount Sion and strained a mouthful of air. Fall on me, he thought to the rocks of the mountain, and hide me from the face of She that sits on the throne. The mountain was still, for even the rocks obeyed her will. She shone in her cerulean skin. At the top of the hill, the Omni sat on her great white throne. Her beauty awed John again. She was prepared as a bride in a flowing red sari with golden beads that tinkled in the breeze. A thick line of painted gold framed her sapphire forehead. Her deep blue eyes, the size of the old man’s fist, shone with celestial darkness.
It was around 2:30 when the ansible rang. The red one. Bush sighed. He had hoped it wouldn't ring again, ever, especially while he was a lame duck. The regular Red Phone merely meant there might be a nuclear holocaust brewing, but the Red Ansible.... “Chaney, here.” “I recognize your voice, Bush.” “Fine, Kraeton. Can't this wait until after January 20?” “No...we will be in your neighborhood soon.” “You mean it's that time? Invasion time?” “(Cough, cough) Certainly not. We're just...picking up a few knick knacks we left behind at Area 331,054.” “Area 54?”
It was around two-thirty when I heard the ansible ring in the kitchen. If someone is ringing at two-thirty in the morning it must be important, I thought, so I jumped out of bed and ran through the dark house crashing into the corner of the couch and spinning/sliding through the rest of the living room and into the kitchen. While checking that my kneecap hadn’t been shattered and my leg still bent the right way I picked up the device. “Hello?” I said, loud enough that they would hear, not so loud that I would wake my housemates, I didn’t mind living with Panians – they cleaned obsessively and wouldn’t let me lift a finger – but they were not morning creatures, especially this early in the morning.
It was around two-thirty when I heard the ansible ring in the kitchen. I don't know who thought to add that touch of nostalgia by having it ring like an old-fashioned telephone, but I wished they hadn't. "Damned ansible," I said. It was probably just my ex again. After twenty years of stewing she'd probably found a loophole to grab my pay and was calling to gloat. I was light-years away and she was still making my life miserable. I didn't answer. The ansible wasn't purely annoying. I got current news and entertainment as if I were still in-system. And having fallen asleep watching the game, I was glad for the wake up call. There was an important shipment coming in tomorrow and I needed sleep. I muted the ringer and in case it was a work call I engaged the
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I've sent an e-mail to everyone who contributed a story with the anthology of everyone's stories attached.
It's a 111Kb Word file, so it should not get filtered out of anyone's e-mail due to being too large a file. If you don't receive it let me know either by e-mail or by posting here.
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