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Fall of the House of Whitman
Due to a lack of any outer walls, a profusion of windows and the flammability of the complex (most inner surfaces are wood, not stone, no sprinkler system), a sufficiently swift and chaotic attack against Whitman could be successful with a force significantly smaller than the population (500 students). Primary points of weakness are the…
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Narcissus
Jakob’s eyes were a prison for my soul. They were tragically beautiful. They were beautifully tragic. There was sadness there, and a wise weariness of the world, and yet somehow a glint of hope. His eyes nearly broke my heart. A sapphire ocean, sweeping me away in a shimmering riptide of tears and fluttering lashes.
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An Interview with a Solipsist
Q: What is a solipsist? A: Why are you asking me this? You know what a solipsist is. Q: Well, yes, but this is for the benefit of the readers, some of whom don’t know what solipsism is. A: It can’t benefit them. The readers don’t really exist. Q: Fine, point taken, but just for…
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Not Strange Enough
It is the secret dream of every science fiction writer to create his own religion. There is, in fact, one writer who actually succeeded: L. Ron Hubbard, author of such sci-fi paperweights as Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth, created Scientology – known to many people as “that crazy religion Tom Cruise is in.” For a…
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31 Stories in 30 Words or Less
30 Words: The grasshopper sat serenely. Its multifaceted eyes, though expressionless, were wise. The wind blew gently, and did not move the furrowed dirt. In the flicker of an instant, it hopped. 29 Words: “We are the faithful,” he said, “Faith waits for something that may never happen.” I stand silent before the tomb. There…
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The Adventuring
The dragon now is yawning With the sun’s new dawning And greedily is fawning O’er the gold of fallen fighters of yore. Meanwhile D & D dice are rolling To represent fearsome fighting While from a cloud with silver lining Comes a bolt of prongêd lightning To strike down the final guardian of the door.…