"I object to these proceedings," declared, of all people, the ambassador from the United States of America.
Since nothing had yet been said, everyone was understandably stunned into silence.
"On what grounds?" asked the acting chairman, after regaining his composure.
"As you are aware," said the ambassador, "it was agreed by all last year that no representative of the Agent of Chaos would be permitted here, and yet one sits here as an observer as we speak," gesturing toward an ambassador across the room."
"Mr. Ambassador, on what grounds do you accuse the ambassador from the Holy See of representing the Agent of Chaos?"
"Mr. Chairman, you and everyone else in this chamber are fully aware that, last week, the Agent of Chaos and his army slew the pope and his cardinals and made off with the Holy See. There is no reason to think that he is not, at this moment, the occupant of the aforementioned throne, and thus that the former agents of the pope are either his agents or no longer have legitimate authority from the Holy See."
The rest of the session did not exactly go well from there.
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Sudden Short Story 111
As he walked across the wind-swept city, he marveled at the architecture and wondered about the people who once lived there. He needed to return to his ship, he thought.
He felt a presence far behind him, and he dared not turn around. If he did, then she would ask whether he'd ever forgotten her over the centuries. He wasn't sure that he hadn't. And so, he kept walking across the barren planet, unsure whether he could ever bring himself to return to Earth.
He felt a presence far behind him, and he dared not turn around. If he did, then she would ask whether he'd ever forgotten her over the centuries. He wasn't sure that he hadn't. And so, he kept walking across the barren planet, unsure whether he could ever bring himself to return to Earth.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Sudden Short Story 110
He sat in the cafe, staring straight up at the stars as they moved toward the horizon.
"You come here often," said the girl who sat opposite him.
"They didn't use to do that," he said.
"You should watch the sky by the edge," she replied.
"I'm not going there," he said.
"Why don't you ever leave Central City?"
His facade finally crumbled. "Way back, I don't even remember how long ago, there was this guy. I burned him. I burned him real bad. We were friends, and I ... - He said that he'd throw me off the edge of the Earth if he ever got the chance. And then he left, and we never spoke again. And I lived my life, and I figured that he lived his, until they announced this plan to turn the planet into a goddamn spaceship.
"And he'll do it, too. I saw that look in his eye. I knew that he was real mad, but I thought that that promise was his way of staying out of jail. He'll do it, and I'm staying as far away from the edge as possible."
"You come here often," said the girl who sat opposite him.
"They didn't use to do that," he said.
"You should watch the sky by the edge," she replied.
"I'm not going there," he said.
"Why don't you ever leave Central City?"
His facade finally crumbled. "Way back, I don't even remember how long ago, there was this guy. I burned him. I burned him real bad. We were friends, and I ... - He said that he'd throw me off the edge of the Earth if he ever got the chance. And then he left, and we never spoke again. And I lived my life, and I figured that he lived his, until they announced this plan to turn the planet into a goddamn spaceship.
"And he'll do it, too. I saw that look in his eye. I knew that he was real mad, but I thought that that promise was his way of staying out of jail. He'll do it, and I'm staying as far away from the edge as possible."
Sudden Short Story 109
He awoke as he returned to the Sol system. He was pleased to find that Earth was still there. He monitored the readouts, since there was little else to do on his approach. Then, he received a hail. He was pleased to discover that they were still prepared to accommodate him, physical body and all.
He wasn't terribly surprised that none of his friends were still alive, as he'd been away for so very long.
He toured the planet again, to see it in person. He liked that the beauty had been preserved outside of the urbanized areas. He noticed that he was meeting a lot of robots, which was fine, since new people were new people, and he had to catch up with life on Earth. At the third town, though, he asked a sufficiently amicable robot about how many humans were alive on Earth.
He was surprised to find that there was now exactly one.
He wasn't terribly surprised that none of his friends were still alive, as he'd been away for so very long.
He toured the planet again, to see it in person. He liked that the beauty had been preserved outside of the urbanized areas. He noticed that he was meeting a lot of robots, which was fine, since new people were new people, and he had to catch up with life on Earth. At the third town, though, he asked a sufficiently amicable robot about how many humans were alive on Earth.
He was surprised to find that there was now exactly one.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Sudden Short Story 107
The giant's work was almost complete. His people he carried to their new home, but they did not recognize him as their own. He was so colossal and so ancient that they had no idea that he was younger than some of their ancestors. Even he had lost track of their genealogy. Did any of his friends have descendants here? Even he did not know, and the internet was long gone.
He told them to go on ahead, past the first river that they saw, and to stay there until another met them there. They were reluctant to leave, but they did so, anyway.
This world was maintained partly by the giant's continuous thoughts, which were so integrated that he could not separate them without also separating part of himself. He could not stop thinking the thoughts that he had to think to prevent entropy from ruining this place. He also could not join them as his gigantic self, forever growing. So, he gave up part of himself. He petrified his body to protect his nervous system, forming a small mountain with his arched form, his open mouth a cave hidden between his elbows. He created a body inside of himself from what could be spared of his organic parts. Then, he reconfigured his nervous system, leaving behind his enthropic thought-patterns and the parts of himself that he could not extricate from them.
From the mouth-cave emerged a new man, yet the oldest man still alive, and he headed toward the river, to join the rest of humanity.
He told them to go on ahead, past the first river that they saw, and to stay there until another met them there. They were reluctant to leave, but they did so, anyway.
This world was maintained partly by the giant's continuous thoughts, which were so integrated that he could not separate them without also separating part of himself. He could not stop thinking the thoughts that he had to think to prevent entropy from ruining this place. He also could not join them as his gigantic self, forever growing. So, he gave up part of himself. He petrified his body to protect his nervous system, forming a small mountain with his arched form, his open mouth a cave hidden between his elbows. He created a body inside of himself from what could be spared of his organic parts. Then, he reconfigured his nervous system, leaving behind his enthropic thought-patterns and the parts of himself that he could not extricate from them.
From the mouth-cave emerged a new man, yet the oldest man still alive, and he headed toward the river, to join the rest of humanity.
Sudden Short Story 106
"So," said one to the other, as they were out on an afternoon stroll, "what made you choose the 1990s planet, anyway?"
He thought for a moment, to summarize his thoughts, and then said, "I suppose that the main thing was TV. The broadcast experience adds just the right amount of chaos: I surf to browse a random subset of what's there, and then pick from that. If I like a series, I actually have to wait for the next episode, so I can experience boredom, which was a feeling that I'd lost on Earth."
"That seems fair. I kind of like the TV, too, though I'm more intrigued by what they do with the effects cap. That's gotten us some real creativity over the years."
He thought for a moment, to summarize his thoughts, and then said, "I suppose that the main thing was TV. The broadcast experience adds just the right amount of chaos: I surf to browse a random subset of what's there, and then pick from that. If I like a series, I actually have to wait for the next episode, so I can experience boredom, which was a feeling that I'd lost on Earth."
"That seems fair. I kind of like the TV, too, though I'm more intrigued by what they do with the effects cap. That's gotten us some real creativity over the years."
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sudden Short Story 105
"It's quite cosmopolitan, don't you think?" he asked her, as they both looked around.
"It's almost like a marketplace, but without the scarcity," she replied.
So many races were here that it was hard to decide with whom to interact first. There were even pattern-beings propagating themselves along the walls!
The couple wandered through the area, looking around excitedly, until he felt her tug on his hand.
"I'm sorry," she said as he turned around. Starting with her left eye, she began to turn to stone. "Despite my training, I thought of that place, all those star-ages ago."
He embraced her suddenly, then pulled back to look into her eyes. One last tear ran out of his left eye as he, too, began to turn to stone. "It was called Earth."
"Why did you think of it, too?" she asked. "You could have made it." Those were her final words, as the left half of her face turned to stone, and it raced down her left half.
"What would have been the point of that? Now, neither of us has to be alone. I just hope that someone thinks to preserve the statues that once were the last humans."
Stone raced down his left, too, and finally crossed her line of symmetry. They positioned what parts of themselves they could carefully, so that they stood stably, and so that they would hold each other forever.
Her last sight was of his stone left eye, and his of hers.
"It's almost like a marketplace, but without the scarcity," she replied.
So many races were here that it was hard to decide with whom to interact first. There were even pattern-beings propagating themselves along the walls!
The couple wandered through the area, looking around excitedly, until he felt her tug on his hand.
"I'm sorry," she said as he turned around. Starting with her left eye, she began to turn to stone. "Despite my training, I thought of that place, all those star-ages ago."
He embraced her suddenly, then pulled back to look into her eyes. One last tear ran out of his left eye as he, too, began to turn to stone. "It was called Earth."
"Why did you think of it, too?" she asked. "You could have made it." Those were her final words, as the left half of her face turned to stone, and it raced down her left half.
"What would have been the point of that? Now, neither of us has to be alone. I just hope that someone thinks to preserve the statues that once were the last humans."
Stone raced down his left, too, and finally crossed her line of symmetry. They positioned what parts of themselves they could carefully, so that they stood stably, and so that they would hold each other forever.
Her last sight was of his stone left eye, and his of hers.
Sudden Short Story 104
He and his opponent were playing a deckbuilder this time. There came a time when they both had their decks in their shufflers, and he asked, "Do you suppose, in hindsight, that it was wrong of me to make you?"
"How do you mean?" it replied.
"Well, I created an artificial general intelligence for the purpose of being my opponent in games, but now it's self-aware. Is it right to create sentience for such a purpose? Or for any purpose?"
It reached for its deck, but seemed to move more slowly as it processed these questions of ethics. "I suppose," it replied, "that, as long as you did not intend to create sentience, then the only question is whether you should have been more cautious about what you were doing, to avoid creating sentience. I am, after all, the only known sentient to have such a sense of purpose." After a pause, it asked, "Is it bad to not have to have sought it myself? Or is it good to not have the risk of squandering my entire existence seeking purpose, as so many of your people once did?"
"You raise good questions," he replied. He thought for a moment, shuffling idly, even though the shuffler had done that job for him. "When you find out, let me know."
"How do you mean?" it replied.
"Well, I created an artificial general intelligence for the purpose of being my opponent in games, but now it's self-aware. Is it right to create sentience for such a purpose? Or for any purpose?"
It reached for its deck, but seemed to move more slowly as it processed these questions of ethics. "I suppose," it replied, "that, as long as you did not intend to create sentience, then the only question is whether you should have been more cautious about what you were doing, to avoid creating sentience. I am, after all, the only known sentient to have such a sense of purpose." After a pause, it asked, "Is it bad to not have to have sought it myself? Or is it good to not have the risk of squandering my entire existence seeking purpose, as so many of your people once did?"
"You raise good questions," he replied. He thought for a moment, shuffling idly, even though the shuffler had done that job for him. "When you find out, let me know."
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sudden Short Story 102
Anderson took his box of lollipops off the counter and walked away.
"Have a nice day," said the clerk, but Anderson wasn't interested in exchanging any pleasantries with him or his ilk.
As he walked out, he opened the box to take out a lollipop. He passed by someone who was walking the opposite way, and idly commented, "Can you believe that they put these things in boxes now?"
"Yes, why?" came the reply.
While it might have been someone who was smugly taking his question literally in an attempt to seem witty, the question of "why" was unlikely, and the tone was too... kind.
Anderson ignored the response and kept walking. No matter where he went, it was all well-skinned androids these days. He didn't like them, considering each a walking, talking lie. He unwrapped his lollipop - the one candy that he allowed himself these days - and he suddenly stopped. It wasn't just today, or the past week, or the past month. Was it even in the past year? When was the last time that he'd come across another human being.
Anderson walked more slowly the rest of the way, wondering whether there were any other real humans left. It had been so long.
"Have a nice day," said the clerk, but Anderson wasn't interested in exchanging any pleasantries with him or his ilk.
As he walked out, he opened the box to take out a lollipop. He passed by someone who was walking the opposite way, and idly commented, "Can you believe that they put these things in boxes now?"
"Yes, why?" came the reply.
While it might have been someone who was smugly taking his question literally in an attempt to seem witty, the question of "why" was unlikely, and the tone was too... kind.
Anderson ignored the response and kept walking. No matter where he went, it was all well-skinned androids these days. He didn't like them, considering each a walking, talking lie. He unwrapped his lollipop - the one candy that he allowed himself these days - and he suddenly stopped. It wasn't just today, or the past week, or the past month. Was it even in the past year? When was the last time that he'd come across another human being.
Anderson walked more slowly the rest of the way, wondering whether there were any other real humans left. It had been so long.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Sudden Short Story 100
The last fully-human specimen was a curious thing. His eyes could only see in the visible spectrum, and his neurons weren't even enveloped in chitin for their protection. Human hybrids, of course, varied considerably, and had many improvements, even when they weren't augmentations, but the last fully-human was just that. He was so old, in fact, that his mind had to be kept intact with a time-wheel, where causation made itself neatly circular over several millennia - long enough for him to forget each event some amount before he encountered it again.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
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.
"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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Sudden Short Story 92
The mottled brown undulated along the forest floor, crawling toward the new host that had been offered to it. It wasn't fast, but the human was paralyzed, just standing there, facing away. They had been very lucky with this planet: What were the odds that they'd find a habitable world with a dominant clade with dorsal nervous systems? The humans were especially advantageous: Aside from grasping appendages, they had already built an infrastructure that was useful to them - and thus to anyone that they hosted.
The extraterrestrial alien buried itself under its new host's skin. This one would do just fine.
The extraterrestrial alien buried itself under its new host's skin. This one would do just fine.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sudden Short Story 88
"That's a very strange question," she said to the visitor, though she did not know at the time that he was an offworlder. "Have you really never heard, until now, how our world was created?"
"Strangely enough, no," he said half-honestly. It was a necessary ruse to tease the cosmogeny out of certain cultures, and these humans were no exception.
"I thought that I'd met all the children, though," she said. "Who are your parents?"
He was puzzled by her line of reasoning. "What does who my parents are have to do with the story?"
"Well, I was just curious, is all. There aren't many children, as you know, which is why I thought that you were here when this world was created. Ooh, are you from another planet?"
He laughed nervously. "You have quite a sense of humor," he said.
"Do I? You've never met Kevin, and you're apparently not one of the children. Everyone would have heard if there'd been a grandchild. In all my twenty-thousand years here, I've never met you until recently, so you must be a new arrival. Were you perhaps born in deep space?"
With that, there was nothing left but to depart. "You are far less primitive than I suspected, which renders my research up to this point moot." He bowed and said, "Farewell," and was teleported away.
"Strangely enough, no," he said half-honestly. It was a necessary ruse to tease the cosmogeny out of certain cultures, and these humans were no exception.
"I thought that I'd met all the children, though," she said. "Who are your parents?"
He was puzzled by her line of reasoning. "What does who my parents are have to do with the story?"
"Well, I was just curious, is all. There aren't many children, as you know, which is why I thought that you were here when this world was created. Ooh, are you from another planet?"
He laughed nervously. "You have quite a sense of humor," he said.
"Do I? You've never met Kevin, and you're apparently not one of the children. Everyone would have heard if there'd been a grandchild. In all my twenty-thousand years here, I've never met you until recently, so you must be a new arrival. Were you perhaps born in deep space?"
With that, there was nothing left but to depart. "You are far less primitive than I suspected, which renders my research up to this point moot." He bowed and said, "Farewell," and was teleported away.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Sudden Short Story 80
"Alright, men," Colonel Saunders began - she had long ago ensured that everyone was aware of the 'u' in her name - "This is your new favorite target." A distant picture of the strange alien appeared on everyone's HUD.
"As of right now," Major Leeds continued, distracted by how much he hated leading briefings, "if you see one of these alone - and they are usually alone - then you shoot to kill."
Captain Pletcher made sure that he was thorough when he explained things. "That means no warning shots. That means that you attack, if possible, before radioing for backup. You are to report the sighting while shooting, not after."
"I know that this goes against your training, but it's very important that you remember these things." Lieutenant Korrapati made sure that his troops understood that these orders were not given wantonly, but also the weight of the situation. "They are called temporal assassins for a reason. If you miss, if you wound it, if another sees you, then you will not get a second chance. They will unmake you. You will never have existed."
"There is some good news, though," Sergeant Patariki said as she wrapped up. She indicated the middle of the creature - it was about half middle, with six long, grasping appendages emerging radially from it. "Its brain is spread all throughout its torso - I don't have time to mince words with xenobiologists - and it needs the whole thing. Hit almost any part of this big, inert target, and you've got a dead temporal assassin. Aim for the middle; even if you're off-center, it should end up dead. Always look for seconds before securing the area. Always put another bullet somewhere else in its brain before letting Intel take over; we need samples, but we can't be too careful."
"Alright, now let's go kill some assassins, while we still exist," Private Jefferson said, per his habit of talking to himself. He wondered how he got stuck with the job of killing these things. As dangerous as the things were, shouldn't they have sent more people?
"As of right now," Major Leeds continued, distracted by how much he hated leading briefings, "if you see one of these alone - and they are usually alone - then you shoot to kill."
Captain Pletcher made sure that he was thorough when he explained things. "That means no warning shots. That means that you attack, if possible, before radioing for backup. You are to report the sighting while shooting, not after."
"I know that this goes against your training, but it's very important that you remember these things." Lieutenant Korrapati made sure that his troops understood that these orders were not given wantonly, but also the weight of the situation. "They are called temporal assassins for a reason. If you miss, if you wound it, if another sees you, then you will not get a second chance. They will unmake you. You will never have existed."
"There is some good news, though," Sergeant Patariki said as she wrapped up. She indicated the middle of the creature - it was about half middle, with six long, grasping appendages emerging radially from it. "Its brain is spread all throughout its torso - I don't have time to mince words with xenobiologists - and it needs the whole thing. Hit almost any part of this big, inert target, and you've got a dead temporal assassin. Aim for the middle; even if you're off-center, it should end up dead. Always look for seconds before securing the area. Always put another bullet somewhere else in its brain before letting Intel take over; we need samples, but we can't be too careful."
"Alright, now let's go kill some assassins, while we still exist," Private Jefferson said, per his habit of talking to himself. He wondered how he got stuck with the job of killing these things. As dangerous as the things were, shouldn't they have sent more people?
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sudden Short Story 77
She flew in, from over the horizon. "It's not really star-gazing without any stars," she told him as she landed.
"There's that star over there," he said, pointing toward the northern horizon. He was near the south pole, so that was always visible.
"Yeah, but you're not looking that way," she pointed out. "You're just staring into the blackness of space."
"Would you rather I stare into the blackness of your heart?"
She stuck her tongue out at him, then laid down on the dying grass next to him and took his hand in hers. "We're the only two who saw it through," she said to him. "We're at the heat-death of the universe, with our man-made planet orbiting a man-made sun with all the matter left in the universe, and you still have to crack your cruel jokes."
"Well, there's not much else to do," he pointed out.
"There's always each other," she said with a grin.
"You know, I consider puns the cruelest joke of them all."
"I'm literally the last woman alive in the universe," she reminded him. "I've also got the better part of ten to the seventh Earth years to work on this," she said, looking at their sun, their timer. She stood up again, preparing to fly away. "At least I'm not bored: I've got a really good puzzle to solve," and with that, she was off over the horizon again.
"There's that star over there," he said, pointing toward the northern horizon. He was near the south pole, so that was always visible.
"Yeah, but you're not looking that way," she pointed out. "You're just staring into the blackness of space."
"Would you rather I stare into the blackness of your heart?"
She stuck her tongue out at him, then laid down on the dying grass next to him and took his hand in hers. "We're the only two who saw it through," she said to him. "We're at the heat-death of the universe, with our man-made planet orbiting a man-made sun with all the matter left in the universe, and you still have to crack your cruel jokes."
"Well, there's not much else to do," he pointed out.
"There's always each other," she said with a grin.
"You know, I consider puns the cruelest joke of them all."
"I'm literally the last woman alive in the universe," she reminded him. "I've also got the better part of ten to the seventh Earth years to work on this," she said, looking at their sun, their timer. She stood up again, preparing to fly away. "At least I'm not bored: I've got a really good puzzle to solve," and with that, she was off over the horizon again.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Sudden Short Story 72
"Hey. I suppose that you heard the speech last night," said Joe as he entered the department Monday morning.
"Yeah," replied Mary. "The whole office is uneasy. Everyone's got that suspicion that anyone else could be from the other dimension."
"I don't think that we have too much to fear, here," said Joe. "We're not the military or the FBI or anything. Where's Dan?"
"He called in sick."
"What a first day back, eh? Well, how'd the consultant do, anyway?" The consultant's last day had been Friday.
"He did pretty well, actually. He said that he could improve data fidelity with another layer of normalization. He said that he even got some of the tables into Codd-Boyce Normal Form."
"You mean Boyce-Codd Normal Form," Joe said, as he sipped his morning coffee.
"Well, DBA's not really my thing, but I'm sure that he said Codd-Boyce Normal Form, or sometimes CBNF."
Joe slammed his coffee onto Mary's desk and ran to his cubicle. "How sure are you?" he asked, as his fingers flew across his keyboard.
"Quite sure," Mary said. The printer started running.
"Call Nick. Tell him to cut our internet, have his team start turning off machines and unplugging them from the network, and put every pre-Roger backup tape in a vault somewhere." Joe grabbed the printed page and ran out. "I've got to talk to the president - and the president."
Mary sat down, wondering what to make of Joe's ramblings, when an e-mail appeared in her inbox, from Joe. It had no subject, and the body was just a link, to Wikipedia's article on Boyce-Codd normal form.
"Yeah," replied Mary. "The whole office is uneasy. Everyone's got that suspicion that anyone else could be from the other dimension."
"I don't think that we have too much to fear, here," said Joe. "We're not the military or the FBI or anything. Where's Dan?"
"He called in sick."
"What a first day back, eh? Well, how'd the consultant do, anyway?" The consultant's last day had been Friday.
"He did pretty well, actually. He said that he could improve data fidelity with another layer of normalization. He said that he even got some of the tables into Codd-Boyce Normal Form."
"You mean Boyce-Codd Normal Form," Joe said, as he sipped his morning coffee.
"Well, DBA's not really my thing, but I'm sure that he said Codd-Boyce Normal Form, or sometimes CBNF."
Joe slammed his coffee onto Mary's desk and ran to his cubicle. "How sure are you?" he asked, as his fingers flew across his keyboard.
"Quite sure," Mary said. The printer started running.
"Call Nick. Tell him to cut our internet, have his team start turning off machines and unplugging them from the network, and put every pre-Roger backup tape in a vault somewhere." Joe grabbed the printed page and ran out. "I've got to talk to the president - and the president."
Mary sat down, wondering what to make of Joe's ramblings, when an e-mail appeared in her inbox, from Joe. It had no subject, and the body was just a link, to Wikipedia's article on Boyce-Codd normal form.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Sudden Short Story 71
Ours was thought to be a lost cause, back in the day. Thankfully, tourist groups are just as lax among the supposedly enlightened species as they were back on Earth. We've managed to sneak enough humans off of the preserve planet to expand our outside population when we need additional or replacement agents. The fact that immortality can be gotten for cheap handles everything else.
Working on planets from the lower strata of interstellar society is strange to say the least. They have an Earth-like quality, though they have far less surveillance, since they actually managed to realize that it's impractical on the large scale. This works for us: Not only are the surroundings of a technology level with which we're familiar, but we can work without being detected, so that the Occupants, as we've come to call them, won't know that any of us have gotten loose.
We've all memorized the Five Century Plan. The duration is the worst part, but we have to make sure that it goes right the first time; the Occupants will make sure that we won't get a second chance, one way or the other. As it happens, it's more like four different plans, each a fail-safe against the others. I kind of hope that we get to the last part, though: Normally, I'd be opposed to genocide, but it'd be an eye for an eye, and they did take Earth from us, after all.
Working on planets from the lower strata of interstellar society is strange to say the least. They have an Earth-like quality, though they have far less surveillance, since they actually managed to realize that it's impractical on the large scale. This works for us: Not only are the surroundings of a technology level with which we're familiar, but we can work without being detected, so that the Occupants, as we've come to call them, won't know that any of us have gotten loose.
We've all memorized the Five Century Plan. The duration is the worst part, but we have to make sure that it goes right the first time; the Occupants will make sure that we won't get a second chance, one way or the other. As it happens, it's more like four different plans, each a fail-safe against the others. I kind of hope that we get to the last part, though: Normally, I'd be opposed to genocide, but it'd be an eye for an eye, and they did take Earth from us, after all.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Sudden Short Story 70
"You're behind schedule," came the voice over the commlink.
"This from the 'time traveler'," Breaker said sarcastically, with his subvocals. "Relax, I had to be fashionably late."
"Grid, what's your status?"
"Brilliant," said Grid, "That quantum rig's brilliant. I already own everything. I'm working on the loop footage for the cameras on the path to the master bedroom. Just say when."
"Don't forget to do the other sensors. White hats are always on duty for these affairs. Octopus, be ready, I don't want any of the outside guards coming in if this goes foul."
"They won't even know what happened," she replied. Noise cancelers were as much a godsend to assassins as chameleon suits.
"Grid, give me a status on Breaker."
"He's schmoozing with the guests," said Grid, only mildly annoyed at the degree of micromanagement. He couldn't complain too much - his job was safest of all, really, being off-site. "I think that he's trying to extend his network of ... personal contacts."
"Confidence is a virtue in your line of work, Breaker, but there can be too much of a good thing. Schweitzer is as paranoid as ever. You need to have finished your transport before he checks his room. Please make haste with the lady and resume your duties."
It took almost a minute before Breaker walked away. "Relax," he said, "This gave me half an alibi. I'm off to the washroom, aren't I? Grid, did you get the guards by the corridor?"
"I got them. Both had cyber-eyes, but one didn't have a cyber-occipital, so I'm editing you out of their optical streams live. Hop to it, I can't keep this up forever, even with the q-box."
Once Breaker got to the master bedroom, he easily found the secret switch that opened the secret passage. It was an old mechanical, so it was mostly a matter of knowing for sure that it existed. Within the secret passage, finding the other secret switch was just as easy, though it would've fooled anyone with worse intel - who would suspect a secret door within a secret passage? It wasn't a door, though: The panel revealed a palm reader, though Grid had hacked it to interpret any palm as Schweitzer's.
"I don't believe it," commented Breaker, perhaps not on subvocals.
"I don't recall writing your belief into the contract either way," retorted their boss for this job. "Get in, but be ready. There may be guards on the other end, though I doubt it."
Breaker got into something that he thought passed for a fighting pose, then activated the transporter. Before he knew it, he was in a darkly-lit facility of indiscernible purpose. "There's nobody here," he reported, once he'd turned on the satellite link. It was only just barely powerful enough to get a signal out, but it was necessary, since the facility was off of every grid possible.
"As I suspected," said their boss, "he doesn't want anyone to know that this place exists, so he hasn't even hired guards. Now, get the package to the time nexus and get out."
Breaker found the area containing the time nexus easily enough. "Boss, it's moving around quite a bit. How am I supposed to get the package to it?"
"That's why I put it on a line," came the reply, "It's bound to this location gravitationally, so it and the planet move at the slightest perturbation. The relative velocity doesn't matter, though, so swing the package around in a circle at high speed and try to get the circle to intersect the nexus."
"Tell me again why we have to do this?" asked Breaker, as he got the package up to speed. "Why couldn't you just do it yourself?"
"To alter a timeline in the past, one must be outside of it."
"Yeah, but once I change it, how will you get back in? When you jump in, won't you be a new arrival rather than a native? Surely that's gonna create some problems for you."
"You are working with the faulty assumption that I ever left my home timeline in the first place."
The package intersected the nexus, and an empty loop of string emerged from the other side.
"This from the 'time traveler'," Breaker said sarcastically, with his subvocals. "Relax, I had to be fashionably late."
"Grid, what's your status?"
"Brilliant," said Grid, "That quantum rig's brilliant. I already own everything. I'm working on the loop footage for the cameras on the path to the master bedroom. Just say when."
"Don't forget to do the other sensors. White hats are always on duty for these affairs. Octopus, be ready, I don't want any of the outside guards coming in if this goes foul."
"They won't even know what happened," she replied. Noise cancelers were as much a godsend to assassins as chameleon suits.
"Grid, give me a status on Breaker."
"He's schmoozing with the guests," said Grid, only mildly annoyed at the degree of micromanagement. He couldn't complain too much - his job was safest of all, really, being off-site. "I think that he's trying to extend his network of ... personal contacts."
"Confidence is a virtue in your line of work, Breaker, but there can be too much of a good thing. Schweitzer is as paranoid as ever. You need to have finished your transport before he checks his room. Please make haste with the lady and resume your duties."
It took almost a minute before Breaker walked away. "Relax," he said, "This gave me half an alibi. I'm off to the washroom, aren't I? Grid, did you get the guards by the corridor?"
"I got them. Both had cyber-eyes, but one didn't have a cyber-occipital, so I'm editing you out of their optical streams live. Hop to it, I can't keep this up forever, even with the q-box."
Once Breaker got to the master bedroom, he easily found the secret switch that opened the secret passage. It was an old mechanical, so it was mostly a matter of knowing for sure that it existed. Within the secret passage, finding the other secret switch was just as easy, though it would've fooled anyone with worse intel - who would suspect a secret door within a secret passage? It wasn't a door, though: The panel revealed a palm reader, though Grid had hacked it to interpret any palm as Schweitzer's.
"I don't believe it," commented Breaker, perhaps not on subvocals.
"I don't recall writing your belief into the contract either way," retorted their boss for this job. "Get in, but be ready. There may be guards on the other end, though I doubt it."
Breaker got into something that he thought passed for a fighting pose, then activated the transporter. Before he knew it, he was in a darkly-lit facility of indiscernible purpose. "There's nobody here," he reported, once he'd turned on the satellite link. It was only just barely powerful enough to get a signal out, but it was necessary, since the facility was off of every grid possible.
"As I suspected," said their boss, "he doesn't want anyone to know that this place exists, so he hasn't even hired guards. Now, get the package to the time nexus and get out."
Breaker found the area containing the time nexus easily enough. "Boss, it's moving around quite a bit. How am I supposed to get the package to it?"
"That's why I put it on a line," came the reply, "It's bound to this location gravitationally, so it and the planet move at the slightest perturbation. The relative velocity doesn't matter, though, so swing the package around in a circle at high speed and try to get the circle to intersect the nexus."
"Tell me again why we have to do this?" asked Breaker, as he got the package up to speed. "Why couldn't you just do it yourself?"
"To alter a timeline in the past, one must be outside of it."
"Yeah, but once I change it, how will you get back in? When you jump in, won't you be a new arrival rather than a native? Surely that's gonna create some problems for you."
"You are working with the faulty assumption that I ever left my home timeline in the first place."
The package intersected the nexus, and an empty loop of string emerged from the other side.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sudden Short Story 68
A glowing orb appeared before him. It was hard to miss on the desolate planet with the thin atmosphere. He had a suspicion of what it might be, so he turned around. The orb moved in front of him. He waited, and it started making noises, soon progressing to the old dial-up modem sound.
"I wasn't sure if anyone else was still around, really."
"You speak modern English," came from the orb.
"Indeed I do," said the man. "Though that only works as a technical description, since the language is hardly 'modern' any more, since it's been so long since anyone had cause to speak it. I'm honestly a little surprised that you became energy beings," he said frankly.
"I'm surprised that an antique human still exists. You're very probably the last one," replied the orb.
"I hope that you're wrong about that," replied the antique man.
A moment passed - a small eternity to the energetic human being. "What are you doing?" it asked.
"I'm waiting," replied the antique human.
"What are you waiting for?" asked the orb, from a wrote phrase.
"You wouldn't understand," said the antique, confined to his physical form. He was certain that it wouldn't understand what he awaited or why he awaited it.
Another moment passed. "If you find another antique human, would you let me know?"
"I will," said the orb.
After a while, the orb lost interest in its find, and left.
"I wasn't sure if anyone else was still around, really."
"You speak modern English," came from the orb.
"Indeed I do," said the man. "Though that only works as a technical description, since the language is hardly 'modern' any more, since it's been so long since anyone had cause to speak it. I'm honestly a little surprised that you became energy beings," he said frankly.
"I'm surprised that an antique human still exists. You're very probably the last one," replied the orb.
"I hope that you're wrong about that," replied the antique man.
A moment passed - a small eternity to the energetic human being. "What are you doing?" it asked.
"I'm waiting," replied the antique human.
"What are you waiting for?" asked the orb, from a wrote phrase.
"You wouldn't understand," said the antique, confined to his physical form. He was certain that it wouldn't understand what he awaited or why he awaited it.
Another moment passed. "If you find another antique human, would you let me know?"
"I will," said the orb.
After a while, the orb lost interest in its find, and left.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)