Personification is inevitable in this line of work. Anthropomorphism. Pareidolia. The human brain is hardwired to see patterns where there are none and intentionality in randomness. It’s the reason why the Turing test has long since been disregarded as anything more than science fiction. If we want to see humanity in something, even a pile of spindles and wires, we will. So, when she is actually advanced…
Read MoreI wish you weren’t here. I wish you, whoever you are, didn’t just find yourself in a strange place and click the first button you saw. Despite this audio being recorded expressly for this purpose–congratulations on completing your first mission by the way–but I don’t want there to be a you. But there might be. You might be standing in my kitchen right now listening to the first of quite literally countless hours of my work to build some sort of semblance of a training guide but… god damn (that was a quality joke you won’t get just yet). Just don’t be here. Don’t hear this–I mean, if you’re here, listen PLEASE, but I don’t know… I wish you weren’t here.
Read MoreWord of advice: If the gods ever decide to knock on your door, make sure you’re not home.
I dragged myself back into the cramped office after the worst case in recent memory. File folders and books were strewn wherever they had been the night before. No time to tidy after a three-day research session into ancient magic and enchanted artifacts. I was paid to bring a woman home and that’s exactly what I did. As consequence, pain in every movement and no empty chairs to throw myself into.
Read MoreB: Define happiness.
A: Come on, man. Don’t dodge the question.
B: I’m not dodging. What do you mean when you say happy?
A: Happy. What else would I mean? How many definitions are there?
B: Depends on who you ask.
Read MoreS: May I take this seat, friend?
B: Yes. Yes. Of course. I’ll just move my ba—As I live and breathe.
S: Well don’t stop on my account.
B: Preston Strong in the flesh.
S: Never leave the house without it..
Read More50 words: It is not that I fear joy. I long as much as any. But joy is a momentary spike of emotion. I fear not the peak but the descent into the valley that comes after. If life is a culmination of averages, what sin is there in seeking a plateau?
Read MoreOnce upon a time, there was a broken world. Dark clouds covered the lands and blotted out the sun. Lightning strikes were a constant occurrence, and the air rumbled with thunderous booms. Plants died away and rivers ran with lava.
Read MoreI open my eyes. That’s the first thing I remember. Questions of who and what and where I am take turns filling my mind… but the answers don’t come. What was I before? Before the moment I opened my eyes? I must have been something, been someone. I must have existed before this… I must have… because I understand! I understand enough to know what these questions mean… enough to know I was not just asleep…
Read MoreShe ground her teeth together again, her eyes staring daggers at anything and everything. The time had come; she could delay no further. But still. Thoughts waged war in her mind as she weighed the few options available. None were satisfactory.
The feast continued all around her. Soldiers out of uniform, drinking wine that was not theirs, eating stolen scraps of meat on borrowed plates. None fit to serve, let alone rule. But try telling them that.
Read More“What do we got?” Callum ducked his head to fit through the doorway to the small office. The floors were carpeted. Green walls. Bookshelves took up the entire eastern wall.
“You of all people should recognize a corpse,” the dark-haired man jested from the corner of the room. He lined up his shot, and the camera clicked. His target: the victim. In the center of the room sat a red cushioned chair facing a heavy wooden desk. A woman sat motionless in the chair, back to Callum. From where he stood, she look perfectly fine, still among the living apart from the lack of motion.
Read More
