No 4th Post

Due to an emergency, there will be no 4th post in November.  I can't guarantee that it will be made up in December. 

Video Gaming Changes

It occurs to me that, in the long interval since I last talked about video games here, a lot is different.  I thought that I'd mention something about that, in case anyone cares.
Hearthstone is still my go-to alt+tab option, but I've also found myself playing Heroes of the Storm more than Team Fortress 2.  That said, if I ever get into the Overwatch beta, then that might replace both of those. 
I don't think that I've touched Minecraft in over a year.   I've got nothing against in, but I've got limited time each day, and I don't want to risk getting sucked in like I can so easily do; weekends, when I would have enough time, are when I like to get out of the house, so those are often out, too. 
I've been trying to replay some older games, but I'm surprised at how long sessions of those can be, too. 

Sudden Short Story 99

When she answered the door, she never expected the man that she saw.  Even less than that, though, she never expected to see the Stradivarius that he held out to her. 
"Legally speaking, a gift has three components," he began.  "First, the owner must state his intent to give it, as I do now.  Second, the gift must be presented to the recipient, as it is here.  Third, the recipient must accept the gift.  Do you?" 
She took it, cautiously.  "This was destroyed three years ago," she said in disbelief. 
"At great expense to the taxpayer, an exact replica was made.  That is what was destroyed three years ago; your grandmother's Stradivarius is still in good repair.  And, I am sorry," he continued, "for having caused you such grief,  but I am sorrier still because I loved you.  If I could have done it any other way, then I would have, but I needed your grief to sway the Senate--"
The president, his Secret Service agents, and the woman that he had both loved and wronged were the only human beings to ever hear the sound of a Stradivarius's shattering over the head of a human being.  She got one more hit in before she was restrained. 
He was the first president to ever be assassinated with a violin. 

Sudden Short Story 98

He went to his library that morning, as he had finished rereading A Tale of Two Cities the night before.  He was considering Dostoyevsky, but it occurred to him that he'd never actually read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, so he took that, instead.  The need for books to be made of paper had long since passed, but he liked them all the same, just as he liked tending to his vegetable garden, even though he could have any meal at any time:  There was plenty of room for controlled environments, after all, even with full-year cycles of staggered growth; since he was the only human left alive, growing them that way wasn't especially difficult. 
He sat outside today, as it happened to be sunny and still.  He had had the machinery stop controlling the weather, since that was boring.  He sat down, stopped, and thought to himself.  He missed them all, really:  every human who had ever lived. 

Life Update - October 31st, 2015

So, life's been busy these last few months, as expected.  Nothing's any farther off track than it was before, but I haven't gained much ground, either.  I'm not expecting to get back to Minecraft before 2016, and the great webcomic catch-up is only becoming a bigger obstacle, but there's not much that I can do about that at the moment.  Oh well. 

Also:  Happy Halloween! 

Sudden Short Story 97

"Are you sure about this?" asked the leader, shouting over the din of the wind on the planetoid that they'd managed to hold together. 
"Absolutely not," replied the scientist, "but it's this or nothing.  Worst case scenario, our brains get sprayed across a few universes.  If we don't, then we get crushed into the singularity with the rest of the universe.  Everyone!" he said to everyone that was left, "If you're up for the gamble, put on your helmets.  Either way, we're in for a bumpy ride.  I hope to see you all on the other side." 
They were already putting on their helmets when the scientist put on his. 
"CALIBRATION: COMPLETE" intoned the central computer.  He hadn't bothered with any fancy voice programs, what with the universe's ending at hand.  With the Planck time units counting down faster than his eyes could see, and even faster than the screen's refresh rate, he confirmed that, the specified duration before the end of the universe, the conversion should happen to anyone linked in.  They were mere moments away, their magnetosphere's being held together by another device at the core, which would, itself, succumb soon enough. 
Theirs was the last civilization to ever develop in the universe, barely old enough to know what was happening in time to do anything about it. 
A few seconds before the end of the universe, the brains of a billion citizens on a planet that does not yet exist were penetrated by a hundred needles each.  Two Planck time units before the end of the universe, their fate was decided. 

Sudden Short Story 96

He put the crystal into an empty jar.  "That's enough for this month.  Better get started on the next," he said to himself.  He had to take advantage of the abundance of ghosts tonight.  With the veil between worlds as thin as it was, he could capture enough souls to satisfy his next two contracts.  Then, surely, he would have enough to retire, right? 
Then again, it would be nice to have a safety net.  He could keep at this for a while longer.  After all, he was the best at what he did.  He could find ghosts better than anyone, and he could capture the easy ones without breaking a sweat.  There were always more soulless clients, who needed souls, and they'd easily hire him, so he'd have enough money soon, right? 
He looked again at his jars, and he suddenly wondered why he felt that he needed them, too.