A sci-fi film: The world’s oxygen is slowly moving north and south, away from the equator. At first, a strange epidemic of breathlessness was noticed in Ecuador and Kenya and other tropical countries. Suspicions were aired. The Chinese, Russians, and Americans were variously accused of hoarding air, or saving the planet from overpopulation by suffocating people in poor, nondeveloping countries. Millions fled north and south from the equatorial zones, if they could; but oceans kept many of … [Read more...]
“Heart-Beat” / Memorable Fancies #1646
12 October, 2016 by Leave a Comment
“My heart goes out to you,” he said, pulling the skin apart and displaying his beating heart, there among ribs, muscles, lungs. “Bet you can’t beat that!” he said. [There's a new, third edition of Fragments of the Future sci-fi - available now on Amazon. Take a look!] … [Read more...]
“The Deadly Gadget” / Memorable Fancies #1576
11 July, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Dave stared at the gadget, turned it this way and that in his hands. Yesterday it worked; today it didn’t. He saw the boldface words on its back: Breaking Seal Will Invalidate Warranty! and No User-Serviceable Parts! “Hell with that,” he muttered. “I’m an engineer. I can do this.” He twisted, pried, inserted screwdriver, swore, withdrew screwdriver, tried again. Finally the gadget popped open. He held it up, looked inside. An odor hit his nostrils and he fell back. He felt dizzy, skin … [Read more...]
Award in New Scientist Magazine competition – film to come
1 May, 2016 by Leave a Comment
[from New Scientist magazine [circulation 129,000], April 30 issue, page 43]: "We asked you to send us science-fiction scenarios that you'd like to see on the big screen. Now six of your ideas have inspired this year's entrants to the Sci-Fi London film festival's 48-hour challenge, which tasks teams to devise an original short film, from concept to shooting, editing, and delivery, in the space of a weekend." From those who submitted entries, I'm fortunate to be one of the chosen six. The … [Read more...]
“On the New Planet” / Memorable Fancies #1341
9 October, 2015 by Leave a Comment
On the new planet, our explorers find intelligent beings that strongly resemble chickens. They approach the explorers, peck at them, force them into coops, wait for the eggs. <END> Buy it at amazon.com/author/terencekuch: Fragments of the Future, 18 dark and unexpected sci-fi stories originally from StoneThread Publishing, now in a new second edition. … [Read more...]
“Where is Travis Bogle?” / Memorable Fancies #1161
4 April, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Travis Bogle, loser and habitual minor criminal, kills a guard in a bungled convenience-store holdup. He is sentenced to 20 years in prison, but is offered the option of being aged 20 years in one calendar month instead, an experimental procedure intended to reduce ballooning prison costs. He agrees, and returns from the aging-tube to his wife Ruth after a month, looking and feeling 64 instead of 44. Ruth is glad to have her husband back, whatever shape he’s in. But Travis is deeply … [Read more...]
“Crime and Punishment” / Memorable Fancies #825
10 September, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Politely, now, we allow those guilty of crimes to pay us money, or sit in a prison cell, or be exposed to public humiliation, as symbols of the sudden justice we would like to wreak upon them but now, by law, cannot. But we remember: it was blood, back in the old days. Blood. Nothing else could atone for crimes, for ripping the fabric of society. And perhaps that’s still true even now, when we feel that money or imprisonment or shame doesn’t quite meet our frantic passions, … [Read more...]
