dreamszilla

Pascal's expensive manufacturing process leads his business to great success, to the extent that he refuses to negotiate with potential new clients. Image generated with OpenAI Pascal Gavinaw loved telling customers his prices were not negotiable. His fees were ridiculous. Astronomical. And not subject to change for any reason. Why would they be? The Gavinaw Process was the industry standard and was protected by nine separate patents. Anyone who wanted to use the process had to pay, and pay well. From his corner office high above the city, Pascal strutted and surveyed. He admired the cotton-candy clouds in the brilliant blue sky as the man behind him continued to speak with quiet urgency. "Mr. Gavinaw, let me be frank. We both know that your manufacturing process is without equal, and it's ideally suited to my own requirements." Pascal turned away from the massive windows. "You say that as if it were meaningful. I'm not going to give you a...

A deserter crash lands on an alien world and has a crisis of conscience. Image generated with OpenAI If not for a sudden cold breeze, Gaensyn might have slept forever. Even with his eyes still closed, his head throbs along with a dozen cuts and bruises and burns scattered over him. Gaensyn's eyes flutter open. He hangs upside down in his pilot's chair. Where there used to be viewport glass, there is now only sand and glass fragments, the ship having planted into the ground. Control screens on the console are broken and dead, leaving the only light to leak in from cracks in the ruined hull. Where am I? He tries to trace back time, but his mind throws up walls of splitting pain. He remembers gunfire, blood, screams. Yes, he remembers deserting. How could he forget? It's only been a few days since then. The green blood crusting the slate-gray skin of his hands remains a testament to how close he came to dying at his former comrades' hands in doing so. But ...

Sam is a sci fi geek who has trouble getting second dates, until he finds a costumed speed dating event. Image generated with OpenAI Sam had misgivings about attending a sci-fi-themed speed dating event, but he couldn't pass up another opportunity to dress up as his favorite type of cosplay character, a space pirate. Besides, he hadn't had a meaningful date or even a non-meaningful casual hookup in well over a Martian year, which is 668 sols or 687 Earth days. Either way, it seemed like an eternity for a young man in his early 30s. Trying to be helpful, Ted, his older brother, conducted a dating boot camp to improve his brother's game. Ted coached him on the finer points of making a good first impression. He stressed the importance of treating women with respect. "Remember, Sam, try to be courteous, not cute. Make eye contact, say their name, and, most importantly, do not dominate the conversation." Sam rolled his eyes as he endured yet another in ...

Matthew visits a friend in Saskatchewan to get away from his troubled mother, and on the way back he encounters some trouble on the train from conductor Murphy and passenger Eddie. Image generated with OpenAI "Now, Matthew, here's a special surprise... There's a teen dance party at a cabin by the lake near town," Mrs. Dannard says. I say I'm shy about going. She says we'll talk about it tomorrow. So I have to go. Crap. It's the first day of my visit to my friend Craig in Saskatchewan and I'm nervous and feel out of place. The Dannards moved here from Manitoba this spring when Craig's dad was transferred by the bank. I got here by train, by myself. I made it without any trouble. That night, I lie in the top bunk in Craig's room watching moths butt against the streetlight. Some are as big as a small bird. The farmers' fields come right to the edge of town, a waist-high border of green and gold. With his voice coming out of t...