https://stories.upthebuzzard.com CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Short stories that are less predicting the future and more the now. “Mummy reached out as she dissolved. She didn’t say anything. Just opened her mouth. I thought she was mad at me about something, but she just dissolved.” Mon, 12 Sep 2022 10:50:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2022-10-12-48hrflashfiction2022-the-forgotten-one.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2022-10-12-48hrflashfiction2022-the-forgotten-one.html Not that he had crowed about it, but you can easily project an envy-inducing degree of smugness during the bring-a-toy-to-class day. Mon, 23 May 2022 14:49:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2022-05-22-96hrflashfiction2022-the-lives-of-the-brians.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2022-05-22-96hrflashfiction2022-the-lives-of-the-brians.html The unnamed cannot enter while we watch Wed, 05 Aug 2020 15:55:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-08-05-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-08-05-vwg-tweet-challenge.html “I trusted you, Tristan !”, bellowed the bedside speaker. Tristan rolled back, groaning, yawning, having failed to decline the call with a flailing hand Mon, 20 Apr 2020 21:02:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-04-20-48hrflashfiction2020-everything-becomes-connected.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-04-20-48hrflashfiction2020-everything-becomes-connected.html Hello darkness, my old friend. Well, more of a dark paisley going wah wah. Sat, 07 Mar 2020 14:52:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-03-07-several-days-as-radio-play.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-03-07-several-days-as-radio-play.html We have the focus, just, to cut ourselves loose Wed, 26 Feb 2020 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-02-26-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-02-26-vwg-tweet-challenge.html drawn by the brief ultrasonic spike of fracture Wed, 12 Feb 2020 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-02-12-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-02-12-vwg-tweet-challenge.html A little more effort to cross that way Wed, 29 Jan 2020 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-01-29-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-01-29-vwg-tweet-challenge.html of the effect my needs have on those I need Wed, 15 Jan 2020 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-01-15-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2020-01-15-vwg-tweet-challenge.html We grew together Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-11-27-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-11-27-vwg-tweet-challenge.html across the belly of the land Mon, 15 Apr 2019 19:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-10-02-vwg-tweet-challenge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-10-02-vwg-tweet-challenge.html Gemma rippled her fingers just to watch them behave. Then again, tumbling a coin along the knuckles. Tight coordination, actually happening with *her* fingers! This should not be, and yet here she was outside, and she had control of her fingers. And her legs. She could run. Fast. This wasn’t a dream. Mon, 15 Apr 2019 15:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-04-15-48hrflashfiction2019-mechanical-symphony.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2019-04-15-48hrflashfiction2019-mechanical-symphony.html One container, which has tumbled the furthest, landing upside down, has cracked open. A mixture of bodies and machinery has partly spilled out. There's a strong hospital, chemical smell, and a hint of rotting meat. Sun, 08 Apr 2018 15:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y.html draft 2: for submission to the SCI-FI-LONDON 48 Hour Flash Fiction Challenge 2018 Sun, 08 Apr 2018 15:24:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y-draft-02.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y-draft-02.html draft 1: for submission to the SCI-FI-LONDON 48 Hour Flash Fiction Challenge 2018 Sun, 08 Apr 2018 11:41:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y-draft-01.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2018-04-09-48hrflashfiction2018-type-x-type-y-draft-01.html Hello darkness, my old friend. Well, more of a dark paisley going wah wah. Sun, 09 Apr 2017 14:52:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-09-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-09-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days.html Five minutes, that's all it takes. Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:00:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-08-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days-draft-01.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-08-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days-draft-01.html Title SEVERAL DAYS Dialogue Five minutes, that's all it takes. Science (optional) Human 'black box' recorder tracks movement and interactions Sat, 08 Apr 2017 12:14:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-08-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days--notes.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2017-04-08-48hrflashfiction2017-several-days--notes.html Just when it seemed Big Data had done its worst, one of the biggest questions troubling science and philosophy fell before its onslaught: what is human intelligence? Sat, 29 Jun 2013 18:57:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2013-06-29-emus-all-the-way-down.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2013-06-29-emus-all-the-way-down.html The origins of the evidence-based social upheaval are now clear to see. Though not apparent at the time, key pieces of the spasm were beginning to move into place. Mon, 24 Jun 2013 21:09:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2013-06-24-evidence-based.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2013-06-24-evidence-based.html As two trains approached a passing place from opposite directions, the passengers themselves, collectively, would decide who had right of way. Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:29:00 +0000 https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2012-07-02-loading-gauge.html https://stories.upthebuzzard.com/predicting_the_present/2012-07-02-loading-gauge.html