Tag: Saturday Centus

Day late, but I have a good excuse! Really! This week we have a shortened word count — only fifty words, plus our prompt — but how hard can that be, really? Time for some good old science (micro)fiction!

James entered the generation ship’s flight-deck after being awoken first from two hundred years of cryo-sleep. All systems were nominal, and soon he’d awaken his fellow five hundred colonists. First, though, he wanted to see their new star. He opened the viewport to white light, and then he softly sang.

“You are my sunshine….”

(A meta-writing note: I know that a lot of Centus participants are not SF fans, so when I do SF, I try not to engage in much use of some jargon that would be familiar to regular SF readers. In order to get the word count down, though, I had to use just such a term in my entry this week. So, for those wondering what a “generation ship” is, here you go!)

(Oh, and by the way, hey, Centus participants! I’m doing my twice-yearly Ask Me Anything! game, in which I solicit people to pose questions to me on the blog, which I then answer later in the month. I do this in February and August. If anyone wants to ask a question, just leave it in comments on this post. Questions can be serious or silly — you can ask me serious questions about writing, or you can ask me things like “Hey, who did write the Book Of Love?” Anything goes, so join in if you wish!)

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This week we only have fifteen words to work with. Hoo boy. Jenny says that she’s looking to provoke “deep thoughts” with this prompt, but as always, I prefer to not go very deep. I’m a “stay right at the surface” kind of guy, so here’s a short scene:

HE: Before I die, I want to—

SHE: But you’re a ghost. You’re already dead.

[beat]

HE: Shit.

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I never got around to last week’s prompt, because last Saturday was unusually hectic and then I forgot about it until just now. So I’ll do a two-fer in this post. First, my use of last week’s prompt:

It was already over ninety degrees at 7:00 a.m., and the road stretched out before them, heading straight into the sun. The mountains were behind them, and the dry, deserted lowlands were next. Joe floored the gas of the old Ford pickup, and Joleen sighed.

“There was a sign back there,” Joleen said. “And the sign read–“

“Too late for that,” Joe said. “This old girl’s either got 400 miles left in her, or she don’t.”

Joleen went back to staring out the window. She remembered an old joke: “Ford: Found On Road Dead”. She laughed, humorlessly.

399 miles to go.

And now, my use of this week’s prompt, wherein we are also commanded to only use 25 words, not including the words in the prompt itself. I’m a bit political here, but I make no apologies:

“Thou shalt let them marry,” said Jesus. “A new commandment? Why? They’re getting it on their own.”

“They’re slow about it,” said God. “And I’m not getting any younger.”

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A normal, but patriotic, prompt this week. Easy enough. Here we go!

Nico Fabrizzio took in the cheers of the crowd, but he could only think of sleep. After thirty cities in thirty-two days, he’d wasn’t even sure where he was anymore. He loved the sold-out audiences, but now the “Golden Tenor” was just one short song away from a vacation. And this wasn’t even a full concert; just the National Anthem before a hockey game. The announcer announced him, silence fell, and he sang, unaccompanied.

“Oh say can you see….”

His voice filled the stadium. It was remarkable.

Too bad he was in Montreal for a Canadiens-Maple Leafs game.

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This week we’re limited to sixty words, not 100.

Dear John,

I made it back. Why didn’t you?

Tom

(One of many notes tucked lovingly into the space between the granite panels at the Vietnam Wall in Washington.)

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We’re back to 100 words this week. I decided to experiment with a bit of free verse. I tend to not like my own poetry all that much, but…well, you be the judge!

In Britain there is a cave,
and therein lies the wizard.
Trapped there by a woman he was,
some say by through treachery,
and others by love.

The wizard brought a King once,
a once and Future King;
a King who will return again,
but when that day may be,
is for none save the Wizard
in his cave to say.

So the world awaits the future King,
and wonders about the wizard
in the cave. Will Arthur not
return one day, and free Merlin
from his tomb within the stone?

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Wow — we get two hundred words this week! It’s like that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer adopts a highway, and decides that means he can make his highway all roomy and luxurious by removing the center stripe. Two hundred words! What luxury!

Anyway, it’s back to science fiction this time:

Norah looked down at the waves lapping gently at the base of the wall. Here, it seemed rather prosaic – almost Earthlike – but there were other places along this wall’s length where enormous waves, born from fathomless depths, smashed each day against the wall’s foundations with more force than any wave that had ever been recorded back on Earth.

“How old is the Wall, Professor?”

“The Wall was built long ago. Those who built it would be like gods to us.”

“Why did they build it?”

“No one knows.”

Why would they build such a thing? What possible use could there be for a wall running the entire length of a planet’s equator, restraining all of that world’s oceans to its northern hemisphere? The magnificent majesty of it! The sheer arrogance to attempt a construct like this, and the staggering skill to actually do it.

Back on her ship, Norah wept. The Wall was beautiful. But the Prophet of Mars had spoken:

“Only God may remake worlds.”

Norah pressed the detonator, and flew away without looking back as the oceans surged through a thousand breaches. God’s will be done – but she’d remember the Wall intact.

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I’m doing the Centus on time today! Huzzah! This week we’re limited to 25 words, plus the prompt. Hmmmm.

The End

“Now what?” said Prince Charming.

“That dragon carcass is gonna smell,” said the Princess. “You oughta clean that up.”

Silence….

“Why’d I rescue you, again?”

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OK, so I messed up last week — but I went ahead and did it anyway, because who’s gonna stop me? That’s what I thought. Heh!

And now, on to this week’s prompt. Obviously the prompt was inspired by the upcoming Memorial Day, but I guess I had food on the mind:

Alright, listen up, folks. Sign says “The Legacy of Heroes”. Sign says that because I made it. Hung it myself a week before I opened the place. Because they’re called “heroes”. That’s what they are. You want one, you gotta call ’em that.

So stop comin’ in here and askin’ for your Hoagies ’cause you ain’t getting’ one. No po-boys either, got it? I ain’t servin’ no subs, no Wedges, no Blimpies and no Bombers. The only Grinder you’ll see here is the one I use to make sausage. I make Heroes. Get it right.

‘Kay? ‘Kay.

So. Whaddaya have?

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