Tag: improvement

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 37: Exercising the Demons

This is the 37th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Exercising the Demons, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 7th January 2012

Word count: 911

Theme: technology, drive, determination, Freud, military, race, run

The story:

“Ten miles in ten minutes,” Colonel Alexander Addingham reported into Mike Koslowski’s ear piece.

“I can get this thing faster,” Mike responded.

“Just bring it back, even pace, don’t push it,” the Colonel replied.

Mike turned around, and started pounding the tarmac back to the testing base. The suit almost floated around him when it was in motion, a mixture of repulsors and mechanical supports did their best to make the suit disappear. The sensor package interpreted the users will and servos kicked in, empowering the user to move faster, and bounce further. Mike’s will was somewhat strongly inclined towards pushing it, and without honestly meaning to, the servos kicked in.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 36: Cloud of Gold

This is the 36th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Cloud of Gold, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 6th January 2012

Word count: 740

Theme: race, space, long distance, discipline, mixed nuts

The story:

“Okay, everyone before we all catch some rack time, let’s have go over the plan,” ordered the Captain of the Cloud of Gold, a long distance racing ship,

Everyone groaned, but did as they were bid. The race meant everything, and each knew that really, if they missed anything, they would suffer for it later, still it was tiresome.

The captain activated the holomap which sat in the centre of the room, it illuminated and spread out to fill a space five feet by five feet. “We’re here, on the Ursula straight,” he pointed at a line that illuminated as he finger intersected it, “We’re on the straight for another two days, we’re high burning it.”

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 35: Eyes of the Galaxy

This is the 35th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Eyes of the Galaxy, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 5th January 2012

Word count: 964

Theme: fountain of youth, desperation, ageing, life

The story:

“So, the last ingredient is…” the man in the white coat said looking for a piece of paper.

“Ground diamond,” an old man said, reading the piece of paper.

“Oh there you are sir,” the white coat said, “I’m just putting the finishing touches to it, and then it can go in the machine.”

“Well since you’re on the last ingredient I guessed it’d be something like that, how long will it take though?”

“About an hour in the machine, and then an hour setting time.”

“Good, I have invested several fortunes in this for it go wrong, get it right, and get it right fast,” the old man said. The old man was in his nineties, Carl Anders, a renowned billionaire industrialist who had made a fortune during Earth’s early colonisation of Mars by buying up worthless pockets of land, and then spending money finding resources, or uses for the land. He was dying though, too long in space, too much time in early space transports that didn’t have adequate radiation protection.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 34: Dystopian Dreams of the Absent Minded Author

This is the 34th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Dystopian Dreams of the Absent Minded Author, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 3rd January 2012

Word count: 793

Theme: war, hopelessness, future, dystopia, desire, dreams

The story:

Humanity, the tiny blot on an otherwise pristine lifeless landscape of the universe, was growing ever larger. Though no destiny could ever bring a race such as humanity to rival in significance the awesome size of the universe, they were becoming noticeable.

Earth had quickly become a hard place to survive, once the planet went over the Green Cliff seas rising, depletion of fresh water wild food stocks started to be affected by the masses of extinctions. Land vanished, crops withered, disease ran rampant. Mankind had no choice but to look to the stars for salvation.

In the century following, a billion people left Earth, over a quarter of the world’s population abandoned the planet for better lives among the stars.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 33: Utopian Dreams of the Absent Minded Author

This is the 33rd in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Utopian Dreams of the Absent Minded Author, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 3rd January 2012

Word count: 765

Theme: peace, desire, future, hope, utopia, dreams

The story:

It was early in the twenty third century that mankind finally found peace with itself. It was thanks to those early colonists, those pioneers of mankind, establishing worlds to settle on, a system of laws, a trade network they put resources in everyone’s reach.

However there was a creeping problem, stagnation. Birth and death rates were kept in balance by what was seen in the past as draconian birth control laws, which were now a fundamental necessity of life in limited sized colonies.

Technological development slowed as the need for a life of constant change subsided. With a stable population, for whom all the needs were met, empire building was no longer a priority, mankind stopped spreading.

It was peace, but towards the start of the twenty fourth century in the Alpha Centauri colony, there was the growing realisation of the looming stagnation. A small group gathered  to try to resolve the situation, how to stimulate the human race. There were many ideas, and a lot of resistance for every idea from the government of Alpha Centauri. The government saw only risk to every idea the group tried to present, and refused to be involved or provide resources.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 32: The Tactic

This is the 32nd in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

The Tactic, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 1st January 2012

Word count: 578

Theme: war, counsel, peace, defend, priorities, compromise

The story:

“Do you believe in this?” the mercenary asked hefting an extremely large sword.

“Of course,” the monk said, “But it does not change my belief that violence is the wrong path.” The large mercenary was stood across an oval table opposite the monk, in the general’s tent. The other commanders and nobles, along with General Sals were watching the interchange with great interest.

“When the enemy is fool enough to present his neck, you do not hesitate, you act. The fastest way to your fabled peace is to end the enemy quickly, while you are strong and they have shown weakness,” the mercenary said matter of factly as he lowered his sword.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 31: Wolf Boy’s Vengeance

This is the 31st in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Wolf Boy’s Vengeance, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 1st January 2012

Word count: 542

Theme: horror, supernatural, werewolf, get rich quick

The story:

“Transform damn it,” cursed a young boy tied up, he was about ten, skinny, malnourished .

“Aww, look the puppy is struggling,” laughed a young man, in his twenties, dressed in brown leathers and carrying a cross bow.

“Sheet,” another man said, dressed all in black, with black face paint on, “He don’t kna werewolves don change till full moon.”

“Keep an eye out,” the young man that had been laughing snapped. “These fuckers are always in a pack.”

The young boy was still struggling against his bonds.

The man dressed in black slipped into the shadows of the trees, the last sight of him was a glint from the large knife he’d pulled.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 30: Shooting Stars

This is the 30th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Shooting Stars, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 31st December 2012

Word count: 602

Theme: holidays, disasters, time of your life, winning

The story:

Travel the world they said.

See amazing sights. Experience new things.

Yeah, right!

George was currently digging through a pile of mud looking for a key. It had been one disaster after another, repeatedly.

So far he’d been arrested in France, apparently he looked just like a French thief, it was two days, and heavy leaning by the consulate, before they were finally convinced his Britishness wasn’t feigned.

In Italy he’d tripped over a rug in Vatican city, knocking over a lamp in the process, which set fire to a wall hanging, which turned out to be three hundred and eight seven years old. Again, he was arrested, but finally they had to acknowledge that the cleaners hadn’t put the rug back properly the morning of the incident.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 29: Punched Drunk

This is the 29th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Punched Drunk, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 31st December 2012

Word count: 631

Theme: heroes gone bad, sports stars, drunks, shenanigans

The story:

“Duck, duck, dodge, pivot,” Harry Carlos called out.

The kid in the ring dropped his fists and walked towards the ring.

“This isn’t fighting old man,” he said, snottily. Just then his sparring partner hit him across the side of the head. Not so hard, but it sent the young man sprawling.  He jumped back up and tried to hit the sparring partner, repeatedly, and missed every time as the sparring partner ducked, and dodged it.

“This is fighting, punk,” the old man in question called up into the ring. “You’ve got a strong punch kid, but you’re not fast enough, and if you don’t learn to avoid punches, this will happen.”

“What?” the kid said turning, and then the sparring partner punched him again.

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Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 28: Olympian’s Descent

This is the 28th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Olympian’s Descent, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 29th December 2012

Word count: 998

Theme: gods, myths, mystery, murder, politics

The story:

“So, you think someone is out to get us?” Zee asked his son Percy.

Percy slid into the comfy sofa in his father’s study, “I don’t know. Mortals couldn’t have discovered us, yet two of us are dead already.”

“Not one of the family, though” Zee asked concerned.

“Family or not, they were immortals. They descended right along with us,” Percy pointed out.

“They were minor immortals, and they died in accidents,” Zee said, “You know the rules of our descent, we won’t age, but we can die in every other way. That was the price we paid. I see nothing to be alarmed about, I’ll just add them to the family flier, those that knew them can mourn them.”

“Two accidents in one week? The first deaths in nearly two millennia?” Percy asked.

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