I Can't Possibly Be Wrong All the Time

It’s September, so I went through my social media feeds and grabbed all of the MicroStories I’d tweeted during the month of August.

As a reminder, these represent story-essences composed using no more than 129 characters (so I could tweet them with the hashtag #MicroStory.)

Usually, I only tweet Science Fiction and Fantasy #MicroStories. August was pretty much no exception. (Some of them seem less obvious as Sci Fi/Fantasy. Your mileage may vary.)

For really great #MicroStory action, please follow @MicroSFF, the Twitter account that inspired me to participate in this minimalist writing exercise. That feed puts out great science fiction and fantasy MicroStories all the time.

(I want to make it clear that @MicroSFF is *not* a Twitter account of mine. Their flash-fiction tweets are excellent. Mine are okay.)

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For the festival, the four kings met in the crumbling city.
As usual, the blind beggar King-of-All-He-Surveys joined them.
#MicroStory

I relied on dim moonlight, I made no noise, but still the Queen of the Middle Distance spotted me.
She’d chosen her vantage well
#MicroStory

The people cheered, but the lords in their finery grumbled.
“May the gods save us from humble kings,” one muttered.
#MicroStory

The omens were unusually clear.
The prince wondered which god his father had offended. Or rather, which one he had not.
#MicroStory

The obelisk stood half buried in muck, covered in moss & flies.
It stood.
As long as it stood, the fens could never be drained.
#MicroStory

My stone crumbled to fine, black dust.
“In war, men lose heart and rout.”
The wizard placed his white stone in the dust.
“Game.”
#MicroStory

Common wisdom among the star-faring races:
The only thing worse than going into the Gelcaraxe Nebula was coming back out.
#MicroStory

There were two confirmed Dyson spheres at the edges of the nebula.
And a terrifying rumor of two collided spheres in the center.
#MicroStory

The military resisted automation. People didn’t want to risk arming machines, and machines didn’t want to fight for humanity.
#MicroStory

“These people built a huge sphere around their solar system, a wall between them and the universe, and you want to go in there?”
#MicroStory

The robot explained his logic.
/There aren’t enough supplies for the injured/
/I cannot allow them to come to harm/
/Turn me off/
#MicroStory

 

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Thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys my small stories. I tweet flash-fiction at irregular intervals on my Twitter account, @patman23. At more regular intervals on Twitter, I’ll be talking about my dogs, or television (mostly Game of Thrones), or mowing my lawn.

Want to read my earlier MicroStory collections? I have my first three years’ worth of stories HERE

Header image taken by me, of my dogs. My favorite living MicroStories.

In general, I’m fine with anyone using the text of my MicroStories for non-commercial use. (Look how cute I am, thinking someone wants to make a t-shirt from one of my flash fiction bits. I say cute, but you can substitute in some other, more appropriate, adjective. I’m not the boss of you.)

© Patrick Sponaugle 2017 Some Rights Reserved