FLASH CHALLENGE: January '10
Posted: January 08, 2010, 11:47:49 AM
"Trying Time Travelers" Challenge:
The week before Christmas I had the great pleasure of spending a delightful afternoon with Bill Wolfe. It was the first time we'd met. Bill was a wonderful guest, and very tolerant of the poor service and truly awful strawberry margaritas we were served in the, well, dive we were seated in. It had a good view out over the frozen lake, though, and that was quite a change of pace for Bill.
It seemed like over the four hours we sat and talked we discussed almost everything except writing, but eventually I asked him if had any ideas he'd like to see in these challenges. He had a very thoughtful look on his face, and eventually suggested, "What if time travelers were so commonplace that they were actually annoying?" Bill explained that the biggest argument against time travel was that no one had ever seen a person from the future, so it must not have been possible. However, what if there were so many of them you could hardly get anything done without bumping into one? How would it change the world or affect what you did if you knew someone was always watching?
I thought it was a brilliant idea, so here it is: I challenge you to write a story in a world inundated with visitors from the future.
See the example at the end of this post for a possibility.
RULES
CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS: (1) Your SF story must contain more time travelers than your hero would like; (2) One entry per author; and (3) This is a Rated 'PG-13' challenge.
FORMATTING: 1,000 words or less, not counting title, byline, or "The End". Give your story a title and a byline. Leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. I will allow different colors, but not changed fonts or sizes, artwork, or any other embedded or external links. You are responsible for doing your own formatting.
NEW! CHARACTERS & SETTING: No copyrighted characters or settings, or references thereto. Famous, non-copyrighted fictional characters like Santa Claus, or religious figures such as the Devil, angels, or Thor, as supporting characters at best and at my discretion. The Wicked Witch and Dracula may be in the public domain, but don't expect me to allow them. No person that was ever a human being may be used as a character, but can be referred to, as in "President Kennedy would appear there later that day." Characters, except as noted above, must be used in their original appearance only. All non-copyrighted settings are ok. Famous, unique sites like the International Space Station, the Oval Office, or the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. may be used over and again. No fan fiction or sequels, so don't bother putting your story in the Land of Oz or that great place you thought up three challenges ago.
NEW! DISQUALIFICATIONS/REFUSALS: If, in my judgment, any requirement or rule is missed, I won't post the story for voting, but authors are free to resubmit with changes until the deadline. Should a story be initially accepted and posted in the challenge, but then later judged by me to be in violation, the story may be disqualified and removed from contention at any time prior to contest end. Authors who feel a story may be in violation should send me a PM and state their case.
HOW TO ENTER: Stories must be sent by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into a thread. Just click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post and paste your story in the message.
DO NOT send a regular email to me.
CONTEST PROCEDURE: Stories will be posted "blind"--without the author's name on them. All the story titles are literally tossed into a hat and chosen at in random order. When the poll closes after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them. The winner is chosen based on total points scored. All entries are reposted in the Flash Archive with the author's byline included after the challenge is concluded.
Entries from new authors are strongly encouraged. C'mon. Give it a try!
NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS who have posted at least one message may submit a story. Without that one post, the system may not let you send a PM.
DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 9 p.m. Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Thursday, January 21, 2010. The stories will then be posted for voting at 10 p.m. Voting will close on Jan. 27th at approximately 10 p.m., GMT-6.
NEW! VOTING: Stories are rated on a scale of 0-10 in whole numbers in 6 different categories by filling in scores in a form that is posted by me immediately following the post containing the stories for this challenge. Voters copy and paste the form into a PM and send it to me for tallying. One vote per user (that is, per ip address), and authors may not vote for their own story.
Every effort will be made to keep the voting fair. In the past, some voters have abstained from voting for some of the stories while voting for the others. Since total points scored decides the winner, this put the stories that weren't voted on at a disadvantage. Should this happen again, the skipped stories will be given marks equaling whatever the story's average is at the time of contest close. IF YOU WISH TO SCORE A ZERO FOR A STORY, YOU MUST ENTER A ZERO IN THAT POSITION ON THE VOTING FORM. A challenge entrant who does not vote for the other stories will receive a 10% deduction in their own score at the time of contest close, and the other stories will be given marks equaling whatever their story's average is at the time of contest close.
If more than two stories are tied at the end of voting, there will be a succession of one-day runoff votes until a single winner is chosen or the number of winners is reduced to two.
WHAT YOU WIN: Writers get improved short fiction skills, increasing their chances in the marketplace, without the lengthy investment in time a longer story would take. That, as well as bragging rights and pride--there is stiff competition each month amongst some great stories.
LEGAL STUFF: Aphelion will not try to make a dime off you or your stories. Really. We want to see you succeed but nothing about that will line Aphelion's pockets. We love fiction and we love seeing authors get better to the point where people do pay them for their stories. That's why we're in this.
I'll try to do my best lawyer impersonation: By entering this or any challenge you are technically granting Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy perpetual electronic rights only to post and archive your challenge entry. Aphelion would rather not lay any claim on them at all, but by posting them on a public site, they'd legally count as being published no matter what.
Ok. A real lawyer would have been less interesting. I tried.
Example story, not eligible for entry:
Famous
By:
N.J. Kailhofer
Sid pulled the covers up over their naked bodies.
"See?" the voice asked. "Did you see that technique? I told you he had exceptional delivery."
"I don't know..." the second voice replied. "I mean, if this is what he's got for the downtown girls, what's he saving for when he meets his wife?"
Sid poked his head out from under the covers and glared at the two. "She is my wife! We got married today, and you're interrupting our wedding night."
The two exchanged worried looks and typed furiously on their datapads.
Sid paused. "You're from the 51st century, aren't you?"
The taller one nodded.
"I knew it!" Sid swore. "Get out of here!" 51s are obsessed with 'ancient sex.' Perverts.
The pair vanished.
Why were they so surprised that Hazel was my wife? Shouldn't they know?
She cleared her throat and turned his head to look back at her. "Remember why we're here, dear."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
[align=center]***[/align]
Sid ran into an alley and ducked behind a dumpster. This traveler had been hard to shake. Why the hell do they follow me, study me? What have I done that was interesting enough? Certainly nothing he could think of. Hell, who am I kidding? I've never done anything right, let alone important. I'm a loser. Unemployed. Useless. He hoped he would think of anything that would life his spirits, but he couldn't. He couldn't figure out why Hazel wanted to marry him, either. He wasn't all that lovable, or good looking. All he had was technique that impressed sex-obsessed 51s.
Small comfort.
The one that was following him stepped in front of the dumpster, but hadn't seen Sid yet. This chrononaut was different. He looked exactly like Sid, like a twin. And he was drunk. He seemed like he could barely stand. Sid kicked, knocking the man's feet from underneath him. He hit his head hard on the dumpster on the way down and Sid jumped on his chest.
"Hey!" the man protested. "What did you do that for? All I did was come to watch!"
Sid pressed his knee to the man's chin. "Who are you? Why do you look like me?"
The man laughed. "Because I am you! I'm from the future!"
A pair of time travelers blinked in. They moved to the side of the alley and pointed their camera at them.
Sid said, "Prove it."
The man paused, blearily. "You've got this wart that won't go away, but you don't want anybody to know where it is. You're embarrassed about it. You won't show your doctor. Not even Hazel knows in your time."
Sid paused, the guilt obvious on his face. "What did you come to watch?"
Future Sid grinned. "You're gonna break time, today."
"What do you mean, 'break' time?"
Three more travelers appeared.
Future Sid closed his eyes. "Broken, as in 'doesn't work right anymore.' All the experts insist Einstein had it right, that you couldn't go backwards until you snapped the flow with a paradox. Now, every time a person goes back, time is fixed, again, from that point in history, backwards. You can't change anything. Try to shoot Kennedy. You'll miss. I know, I tried. It's just more of the 'magic bullet' mystique. Can't burn the draft copy Declaration of Independence on Jefferson's desk. It's now fireproof, somehow." He shrugged. "I don't know why."
A large traveler with a handlebar mustache leaned in close and took a picture. "Thanks."
Future Sid made a retching noise and Sid dove off just in time before most of half a bottle of scotch found it's way to the past's pavement.
A piece of paper was thrust into Sid hand. "Can I have your autograph?"
"What a mess," said a familiar voice behind him.
"Hazel?" both Sids said in unison and turned to see their wife standing beside them.
"Yes, me." She pulled a handgun from a pocket.
A half-dozen temporal tourists appeared and lined up with the others.
Future Sid shook his head. "What're you doing? You can't shoot anybody here."
She smiled. "Yes, I can." She shot Future Sid in the chest. He hit the ground dead.
Sid dropped to his knees beside Future Sid's body. He looked so strange dead. "Oh, honey. You killed me. I'll never have a future."
"Sure you will. You invented time travel. It happened already for me. He was from the future, so I could kill him. That doesn't break any rules."
What looked like a class trip blinked in.
"But why'd you kill me, er, him?"
Hazel frowned and pointed the gun at Sid. "You were sleeping around on me."
"N-No," Sid stammered, "I didn't. He must have done that, not me. I've only slept with you in the last three years, and I can't go back in time, so that's all there is."
"I know," Hazel said. "That's why I came back to do it with you before you cheated on me."
Sid's head reeled. "You cheated on me... with me?"
"Excuse me," said a traveler, "could you turn to the side a little? My kid can't see."
"Yes." She walked forward and placed the gun against his head. She leaned close and whispered in his ear. "There's something you need to know. I'm pregnant, and it's yours. Yours, not his."
"I thought you couldn't do that."
A steady stream of travelers popped in, too many to count.
"Me, too. Then I found out that I could change things in the past. Witch Hazel was named after me. I realized that I was a part of the paradox, the one who really caused it. When I pull this trigger, you'll die. You're dead, so you can't go on to invent time travel, but you already did. Paradox. Everything works like it's supposed to."
Sid heard the sound of the bullet. As his vision narrowed to a tunnel, he was struck by all the camera flashes going off.
It was like he was a rock star.
[align=center]The End[/align]
The week before Christmas I had the great pleasure of spending a delightful afternoon with Bill Wolfe. It was the first time we'd met. Bill was a wonderful guest, and very tolerant of the poor service and truly awful strawberry margaritas we were served in the, well, dive we were seated in. It had a good view out over the frozen lake, though, and that was quite a change of pace for Bill.
It seemed like over the four hours we sat and talked we discussed almost everything except writing, but eventually I asked him if had any ideas he'd like to see in these challenges. He had a very thoughtful look on his face, and eventually suggested, "What if time travelers were so commonplace that they were actually annoying?" Bill explained that the biggest argument against time travel was that no one had ever seen a person from the future, so it must not have been possible. However, what if there were so many of them you could hardly get anything done without bumping into one? How would it change the world or affect what you did if you knew someone was always watching?
I thought it was a brilliant idea, so here it is: I challenge you to write a story in a world inundated with visitors from the future.
See the example at the end of this post for a possibility.
RULES
CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS: (1) Your SF story must contain more time travelers than your hero would like; (2) One entry per author; and (3) This is a Rated 'PG-13' challenge.
FORMATTING: 1,000 words or less, not counting title, byline, or "The End". Give your story a title and a byline. Leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. I will allow different colors, but not changed fonts or sizes, artwork, or any other embedded or external links. You are responsible for doing your own formatting.
NEW! CHARACTERS & SETTING: No copyrighted characters or settings, or references thereto. Famous, non-copyrighted fictional characters like Santa Claus, or religious figures such as the Devil, angels, or Thor, as supporting characters at best and at my discretion. The Wicked Witch and Dracula may be in the public domain, but don't expect me to allow them. No person that was ever a human being may be used as a character, but can be referred to, as in "President Kennedy would appear there later that day." Characters, except as noted above, must be used in their original appearance only. All non-copyrighted settings are ok. Famous, unique sites like the International Space Station, the Oval Office, or the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. may be used over and again. No fan fiction or sequels, so don't bother putting your story in the Land of Oz or that great place you thought up three challenges ago.
NEW! DISQUALIFICATIONS/REFUSALS: If, in my judgment, any requirement or rule is missed, I won't post the story for voting, but authors are free to resubmit with changes until the deadline. Should a story be initially accepted and posted in the challenge, but then later judged by me to be in violation, the story may be disqualified and removed from contention at any time prior to contest end. Authors who feel a story may be in violation should send me a PM and state their case.
HOW TO ENTER: Stories must be sent by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into a thread. Just click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post and paste your story in the message.
DO NOT send a regular email to me.
CONTEST PROCEDURE: Stories will be posted "blind"--without the author's name on them. All the story titles are literally tossed into a hat and chosen at in random order. When the poll closes after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them. The winner is chosen based on total points scored. All entries are reposted in the Flash Archive with the author's byline included after the challenge is concluded.
Entries from new authors are strongly encouraged. C'mon. Give it a try!
NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS who have posted at least one message may submit a story. Without that one post, the system may not let you send a PM.
DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 9 p.m. Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Thursday, January 21, 2010. The stories will then be posted for voting at 10 p.m. Voting will close on Jan. 27th at approximately 10 p.m., GMT-6.
NEW! VOTING: Stories are rated on a scale of 0-10 in whole numbers in 6 different categories by filling in scores in a form that is posted by me immediately following the post containing the stories for this challenge. Voters copy and paste the form into a PM and send it to me for tallying. One vote per user (that is, per ip address), and authors may not vote for their own story.
Every effort will be made to keep the voting fair. In the past, some voters have abstained from voting for some of the stories while voting for the others. Since total points scored decides the winner, this put the stories that weren't voted on at a disadvantage. Should this happen again, the skipped stories will be given marks equaling whatever the story's average is at the time of contest close. IF YOU WISH TO SCORE A ZERO FOR A STORY, YOU MUST ENTER A ZERO IN THAT POSITION ON THE VOTING FORM. A challenge entrant who does not vote for the other stories will receive a 10% deduction in their own score at the time of contest close, and the other stories will be given marks equaling whatever their story's average is at the time of contest close.
If more than two stories are tied at the end of voting, there will be a succession of one-day runoff votes until a single winner is chosen or the number of winners is reduced to two.
WHAT YOU WIN: Writers get improved short fiction skills, increasing their chances in the marketplace, without the lengthy investment in time a longer story would take. That, as well as bragging rights and pride--there is stiff competition each month amongst some great stories.
LEGAL STUFF: Aphelion will not try to make a dime off you or your stories. Really. We want to see you succeed but nothing about that will line Aphelion's pockets. We love fiction and we love seeing authors get better to the point where people do pay them for their stories. That's why we're in this.
I'll try to do my best lawyer impersonation: By entering this or any challenge you are technically granting Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy perpetual electronic rights only to post and archive your challenge entry. Aphelion would rather not lay any claim on them at all, but by posting them on a public site, they'd legally count as being published no matter what.
Ok. A real lawyer would have been less interesting. I tried.
Example story, not eligible for entry:
Famous
By:
N.J. Kailhofer
Sid pulled the covers up over their naked bodies.
"See?" the voice asked. "Did you see that technique? I told you he had exceptional delivery."
"I don't know..." the second voice replied. "I mean, if this is what he's got for the downtown girls, what's he saving for when he meets his wife?"
Sid poked his head out from under the covers and glared at the two. "She is my wife! We got married today, and you're interrupting our wedding night."
The two exchanged worried looks and typed furiously on their datapads.
Sid paused. "You're from the 51st century, aren't you?"
The taller one nodded.
"I knew it!" Sid swore. "Get out of here!" 51s are obsessed with 'ancient sex.' Perverts.
The pair vanished.
Why were they so surprised that Hazel was my wife? Shouldn't they know?
She cleared her throat and turned his head to look back at her. "Remember why we're here, dear."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
[align=center]***[/align]
Sid ran into an alley and ducked behind a dumpster. This traveler had been hard to shake. Why the hell do they follow me, study me? What have I done that was interesting enough? Certainly nothing he could think of. Hell, who am I kidding? I've never done anything right, let alone important. I'm a loser. Unemployed. Useless. He hoped he would think of anything that would life his spirits, but he couldn't. He couldn't figure out why Hazel wanted to marry him, either. He wasn't all that lovable, or good looking. All he had was technique that impressed sex-obsessed 51s.
Small comfort.
The one that was following him stepped in front of the dumpster, but hadn't seen Sid yet. This chrononaut was different. He looked exactly like Sid, like a twin. And he was drunk. He seemed like he could barely stand. Sid kicked, knocking the man's feet from underneath him. He hit his head hard on the dumpster on the way down and Sid jumped on his chest.
"Hey!" the man protested. "What did you do that for? All I did was come to watch!"
Sid pressed his knee to the man's chin. "Who are you? Why do you look like me?"
The man laughed. "Because I am you! I'm from the future!"
A pair of time travelers blinked in. They moved to the side of the alley and pointed their camera at them.
Sid said, "Prove it."
The man paused, blearily. "You've got this wart that won't go away, but you don't want anybody to know where it is. You're embarrassed about it. You won't show your doctor. Not even Hazel knows in your time."
Sid paused, the guilt obvious on his face. "What did you come to watch?"
Future Sid grinned. "You're gonna break time, today."
"What do you mean, 'break' time?"
Three more travelers appeared.
Future Sid closed his eyes. "Broken, as in 'doesn't work right anymore.' All the experts insist Einstein had it right, that you couldn't go backwards until you snapped the flow with a paradox. Now, every time a person goes back, time is fixed, again, from that point in history, backwards. You can't change anything. Try to shoot Kennedy. You'll miss. I know, I tried. It's just more of the 'magic bullet' mystique. Can't burn the draft copy Declaration of Independence on Jefferson's desk. It's now fireproof, somehow." He shrugged. "I don't know why."
A large traveler with a handlebar mustache leaned in close and took a picture. "Thanks."
Future Sid made a retching noise and Sid dove off just in time before most of half a bottle of scotch found it's way to the past's pavement.
A piece of paper was thrust into Sid hand. "Can I have your autograph?"
"What a mess," said a familiar voice behind him.
"Hazel?" both Sids said in unison and turned to see their wife standing beside them.
"Yes, me." She pulled a handgun from a pocket.
A half-dozen temporal tourists appeared and lined up with the others.
Future Sid shook his head. "What're you doing? You can't shoot anybody here."
She smiled. "Yes, I can." She shot Future Sid in the chest. He hit the ground dead.
Sid dropped to his knees beside Future Sid's body. He looked so strange dead. "Oh, honey. You killed me. I'll never have a future."
"Sure you will. You invented time travel. It happened already for me. He was from the future, so I could kill him. That doesn't break any rules."
What looked like a class trip blinked in.
"But why'd you kill me, er, him?"
Hazel frowned and pointed the gun at Sid. "You were sleeping around on me."
"N-No," Sid stammered, "I didn't. He must have done that, not me. I've only slept with you in the last three years, and I can't go back in time, so that's all there is."
"I know," Hazel said. "That's why I came back to do it with you before you cheated on me."
Sid's head reeled. "You cheated on me... with me?"
"Excuse me," said a traveler, "could you turn to the side a little? My kid can't see."
"Yes." She walked forward and placed the gun against his head. She leaned close and whispered in his ear. "There's something you need to know. I'm pregnant, and it's yours. Yours, not his."
"I thought you couldn't do that."
A steady stream of travelers popped in, too many to count.
"Me, too. Then I found out that I could change things in the past. Witch Hazel was named after me. I realized that I was a part of the paradox, the one who really caused it. When I pull this trigger, you'll die. You're dead, so you can't go on to invent time travel, but you already did. Paradox. Everything works like it's supposed to."
Sid heard the sound of the bullet. As his vision narrowed to a tunnel, he was struck by all the camera flashes going off.
It was like he was a rock star.
[align=center]The End[/align]
