This is a 10-tweet relay story that @FloorKist_SciFi and I wrote.

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The virtual suit fit snugly, like a diver’s wet suit. Clarice was looking for a cheap alternative to her Himalayan retreat (way too expensive!), and her Scottish highlands getaway (the pound is so high!). “Very Real” virtual reality offered an ‘out-of-this-world’ experience.

For her work in precision machinery, her company had been using augmented reality to help her detect faulty parts and support to repair them. But she had never been a ‘VR Voyager’ before. Very Real made everything sound, look and feel like a real trip, without the passport.

They called the VR room ‘The Boat’. It reminded her of a holodeck from Star Trek. After wearing the cap with built in inter-reflective glasses, she expected the theme song to start. Instead, she almost tripped. She was standing on a iron beam between two edges of a ravine.

A calm voice instructed her to calibrate her bearings. “Look up, look down, look left, look right,” just like in a video game. Then it told her to walk to the other edge of the ravine. That took some doing. She was reminded of Indiana Jones’ leap of faith in The Last Crusade.

Her armpits were moist when she reached the other side… Well, a little bit more than that, actually. Clarice hadn’t known what to expect. The only thought she had was that she needed to reset her head. That was exactly what the Voyage had promised her. Way cool immersion.

“Please stay still and remain calm.” Clarice gasped as the Boat started to fill with water. Then she held her breath as it rose over her head. Why is it that when someone tells you to remain calm, the opposite happens? She opened her eyes to sun beams illuminating the ocean.

Sparkling fish swam around her. Through the VR glove her hand felt cold and wet. “You can move now.” Wow, something seemed to push her back. The virtual water had resistance. Even her arms moved in slow-motion. Clarice had always wanted to try the neural suit in Fallout 3.

She hiked in the mountains during sunrise, looked at the planet Earth from the surface of Mars. Dancers performed around her, animals ran by her. She traveled on a meteorite. When she finished, she didn’t have a care in the world. Eternity made all her concerns seem small.

Thanks for reading!

This is a 10-tweet relay story that @FloorKist_SciFi and I wrote.

Enjoy!

Dog lovers all over the world complain about the use of a cat by Erwin Schrödinger in his famous experiment.

“Cats are getting way too uppity,” according to dog owner John Bull, “they don’t need the extra attention—even if one of them is ah… deceased. Dog’s are a man’s best friend.”

The Schrödinger’s Dog Movement follows in a long standing debate about dogs and cats: which one has been with living with humans the longest?

“Whiny cat owners constantly suggest that in ancient Egypt, cats were held in high regard—even associated with gods,” Bull says disgusted.

“It’s a well known scientific fact that cats live longer than dogs,” says Felicia Silvester, chairperson for the League for the Preservation of Schrödinger’s Cat Paradox (LPSC). “The symbolism is evident! The cat’s death has more impact because it happens early in her life.”

Leo Tigris, founder of Conservation of Cat Facts disagrees. “To begin with, the cat was a black male called ‘Salem’. The symbolism isn’t in the early death, but in the name: the town in Massachusetts known for its witch trials. Schrödinger was taking a stand against colonialism. Just like burning witches, killing cats is bad!” Mr. Tigris thumps his fist on the table for emphasis.

Mr. Bull laughs out loud at these assertions. “Typical! Some people always introduce a ‘colonialism-is-bad’ angle into any debate. What matters is that dogs come from wolves.”

“They are fierce animals man has domesticated. Schrödinger’s robbing us of our righteous place at the top of the pyramid by working with a cat.” Mr. Bull shrugs. “Besides, everyone knows it’s impossible to grab a cat and try to put it in a box. They wriggle out of your hands.”

“That shows how much a dog-owner knows about cats!” Ms. Silvester rolls her eyes. “Schrödinger only had to drop the box anywhere and the cat would gladly and willingly get in all by itself. That proves the experiment could only have succeeded by using a cat and not a dog.”

Mr. Tigris concurs. “Besides, they didn’t have cardboard boxes big enough for dogs, anyway.”

Ms. Silvester corrects him because the box was made of wood and not cardboard. “They didn’t have that in the early twentieth century.”

“Well, that proves my point exactly!” says Mr. Bull.

“Why build a big wooden box if you only want to put a tiny kitty in there? It’s also well-known that dogs are fiercely loyal. Only a dog would step into a box knowing it might die there.”

“Wrong!” Mr. Tigris lifts his arm in despair. “Cats go into boxes when they feel sick.”

“So, the experiment was on a sick cat? What kind of unethical scientist was Schrödinger anyway?” Mr. Bull crosses his arms.

Ms. Silvester wonders. “Cats believe that they own their humans. That would mean that if there was anything was in that box, it would be Schrödinger.”

Thanks for reading!

This is a 10-tweet relay story that @FloorKist_SciFi and I wrote.
Enjoy!

The vixy’s fur feels luxurious on her skin. This is what she will wear from now on. The Treasure of Monte Verso is her last adventure. Annie Foyle is ready to retire as a wealthy lady. If she can survive, that is. Norris and Crowley are already turning the crew against her.

The only reason, Captain Annie is still alive is because she memorized the location of the treasure. It helps that Brown the navigator is on her side. Davy, the cabin boy, too. She isn’t too sure about Craig the quartermaster. He serves a captain faithfully until he doesn’t.

The airship flies over Beckett Ridge. Annie gives Brown the location, then she instructs her pilot to find a clearing.”Props off! Mooring lines out!” Craig orders. He gives Annie a quick glance.

She recognizes a greedy flash when she sees one. Norris and Crowley bought him.

Annie doesn’t mind the dying. It’s what they will do to her before that. She never slept with any of her crew. Although, she considered it with Davy, the day he turned 18. But it always ends in jealousies, fights and loss of respect. But some men will want what’s theirs now.

The Monte Versos fled from the Berger Inquisition. They hid their wealth away before getting caught and burned at the stake. No amount of torture got them to divulge its location. Davy found the first clue while practicing reading on an inventory of the family’s wealth.

He knew the Beckett Ridge was inhospitable. So, why would Monte Verso own a cabin there? Small and built with logs. Annie and her men approach it now. This is where the treasure map ends. She has no idea how to proceed. If Norris or Crowley find out, Annie is a good as dead.

“Be extremely careful here, men. There may be traps out here. We’re looking for the entrance to an underground vault or cave.”

Just as she expected, Crowley elbows her aside. He will show ‘his’ crew how it’s done. Sooner than she hoped, he drops through a fake bed of leaves.

Annie doesn’t need to see him to know he’s dead. Norris squints. He takes Davy by the arm and pushes him in front of him.

“The runt goes first. Captain, you better make sure he discovers the traps in time.”

“Who will you take after Davy dies, Norris?” Annie holds his gaze.

“Brown? Nah, you need a navigator to take the treasure home. Craig? Sure, he’s quartermaster, but anyone else can do his job. How many will you let die?”

Craig’s bead of sweat tells her he’s ready to jump back to her side again. Jaw tight, the men await Norris’ answer.

Norris squints. Then, his eyes pop open when the captain pushes her cutlass straight through his heart. She pushes him aside.

“Let’s go men!” Captain Annie Foyle leads her men to the famed Monte Verso treasure.

Dressed in her fine vixy furs, Annie loves to tell this story.

Thanks for reading!

This is a 8-tweet relay story that @FloorKist_SciFi and I wrote.
Enjoy!

Lomberg’s great-grandson inherited his Golden Record with the message for alien cultures that Voyagers 1 + 2 carried into space. Not only the gold, but it’s significance weighed upon him. At seventeen, he wondered if he would ever be able to live up to his family’s legacy?

Just before his 18th birthday, Duke hoped to find answers about his future by looking at the stars. The telescope he used was his uncle’s. One of the stars winked at him. He adjusted the focus. It did so again, making his passions struggle with his pragmatic expectations.

He packed his stuff and went home. Sleep wouldn’t find him easily that night. Instead, the Golden Record stared at him. A car passing flashed it’s lights on it. Duke grimaced because now the record winked at him as well. “Happy birthday,” he mumbled when the clock struck 3.

He must have fallen asleep, because he woke up. His head was in someone’s lap. She was sitting in a cozy living room with a glowing fireplace and tussled his hair with elegant fingers. Duke was surprised of course, but somehow the setting was soothing. Her loving smile shone.

He’d seen her before, just a few days ago, at the mall. Her dark eyes, black curls, red lips made him stare. She didn’t smile, but her gaze told him she didn’t mind. About the same age, self-assured, and at peace. More than her beauty, that spoke to him. How was she here?

“Crossroads,” she whispered, “the first of many. Some will be easy, some won’t. It’s not because you’re an adult now that you have to point your life in a certain direction, but simply because it’s the next step.” “I’m scared,” he confessed. “Of course, you are, but why?”

“I want people to be proud of me. I want to become someone who matters, who means something to the world.” “Why wouldn’t you?” That was a fair question, but it surprised him anyway. All his fears, wonders, and wishes jumbled out. Perspiration covered his forehead. She smiled.

Your richness are your own choices and the paths you follow. The Golden Record brags about the beauty of Earth, mathematics, physics, chemistry, music, paintings, sculptures, literature. The possibilities are yours, and your great-grandfather would support any choice you make.