- untitled - humanity has reach a point where total control of time is possible by jumping up and down your personal timeline. The device that allows this - the fax - allows the user's life to be experienced in a non-linear fashion, jumping the user from point to point on their personal timeline. As such, a fax user can have 6 weeks holiday and return to the point of egress, with no relative time having passed for those at that point. This allows incredibly efficient living. For example, sitting waiting for a relative to arrive, the user hacks out in to a later point in their timeline where they are at home relaxing. When the relative arrives on their core timeline, they jump back in at that point thereby maximising their use of time. The limitation if the fax system is that the user's timeline is fixed by their lifespan. However, some fax users have found how to hack in to the near infinite timelines of the proximal universes that sit close by their personal timelines, effectively stealing lifespan from the alternate timeline versions of themselves (or of others) in order for their own gain, whether that be experiential, to extend their lifespans to unatural lengths or to bring misfortune to others. The story investigates what life would be like in this world, the effect of timeline invasion on it's victims and the eventual payback that time effects on all who live within the paradigm.
- dark seed - spaceship smashes in to meteorite. Only it's not a meteorite, it's an alien seed. It hatches while the crew try to cut it out, infiltrating the craft from it's impact point, devouring anything living. Finally the crew destroy half their ship to eject it in to space, but console themselves as they freeze to death that at least they took it with them. Only they didn't. It goes back in to hibernation to await its next victims.
jun 21 2006 ∞
sep 4 2006 +