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
“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
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
[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
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
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
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...]
Five Briefs / Memorable Fancies #818
The loudspeaker and the loud speaker – they use the same words – but from one of them the meaning itself sounds … what? more insistent, more invasive? # Thy will be done – thy will! The nodding, cunning gods, we thought they wanted prayer from us, contrition, maybe even Love – but no, that was all for show. They wanted our souls — to gorge on. # [“‘Thinking of him’ is as it were nailing him with my thought.” – Wittgenstein] Yes, I have him now. Another butterfly for my collection. … [Read more...]
Five Briefs / Memorable Fancies #812
I’m old enough that no one listens, so I have the pleasure of telling one great lie after another. – Especially to myself. # “Rats deprived of sleep die within weeks.” [Washington Post, Oct. 20, 2013] Those who torture the rats, however, sleep well. # Data seduced by the first man who comes along and tells them their true nature is Information and only he can draw it out, reveal their true Meaning. # The words break down into letters, letters into undramatic forms I don’t … [Read more...]
“This Place” / Memorable Fancies #791
[Reminder: on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 7pm, I will be reading/signing my new short story collection at One More Page Books (onemorepagebooks.com). Complimentary wine, fun, fiction, and friends!] Sometimes I like to imagine that I’m free, able to do something that could surprise me. But there are no surprises in this place. Once there was nothing. There could have been a different something, but when there was finally something there was only that one something, What Is. The time … [Read more...]
“Leaving” / Memorable Fancies #788
[“Sometimes I forget which is my shadow and which is your shadow” – Roberto Bolaño] Our shadows merge when I embrace you. I’ve always noticed this with pleasure, even remarked on it a few times. You didn’t seem to find it romantic or even amusing, but I did. One day when we were together I saw your shadow leaving. <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here, in Facebook, or on other social … [Read more...]
“Cross Words” / Memorable Fancies #774
[“A kind of writing in which the crossed-out word, the crossed-out sentence, is a sign.” – Wittgenstein] Civilization suffered a setback when the BACK button was invented. It’s possible without the BACK button to delete the words you keyed in haste and an instant later regretted, but it’s not as convenient. We would know much more about each other if our crossed-out words of impatience, doubt, frustration, and annoyance were to remain, still there as the soothing afterthoughts appear, … [Read more...]
“Nothing” / Memorable Fancies #767
[“A tear of no particular meaning...” – Nabokov] “What are you crying about?” he asks. “Nothing,” she says. He thinks that “nothing” is her way of avoiding the subject – any subject. He is sorely disappointed that she is not communicating with him. Actually, “nothing” was exactly what she meant, what she wanted him to understand. <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here, in Facebook, or on other social … [Read more...]
“Letters” / Memorable Fancies #760
It hurts me to sit and stare at her letter, lying there unopened on my table. But if I were to open it, reading what she has to say might hurt a lot more. As it is, I preserve my options. The letter says nothing until I open it. Yes, that’s it. Until I read it, the letter could say anything, like some quantum bit. Until I open it, it can tell me what I want to hear. So I will not open it. And my letter to her; is she staring at it, right now? <END> THE WEDNESDAY … [Read more...]
“Cinema Vérité” / Memorable Fancies #753
The famous director picked Kathy to star in his next feature film. During the script read-through, Kathy discovered things about herself: what her past life should have been – or perhaps what it had been – or what she had been mistaken about all this time. Why had the director chosen her, just her, for the role? She asked him. He smiled. “It’s working,” he said. <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here, … [Read more...]
“Ida” / Memorable Fancies #739
[“Ida decided that she was just going to talk to herself.” – Gertrude Stein] “I’ve decided,” said Ida to herself, “that I will talk only to myself from now on. I used to speak with Gertrude, but I never could understand her and after a while it just got boring especially as she was always talking to her own self and sometimes I ended up sounding exactly like her which I just HATED.” <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a … [Read more...]
“Taste” / Memorable Fancies #732
Survivors of the disastrous meteor strike barricaded themselves in forts, lived in giant public compounds where secret murders would be impossible. When the danger of mass starvation became too great, a portion of the refugee population was slaughtered by lottery, and a few volunteered, to be fed to the survivors. It was terrible, revolting, don’t think about it - but it was either that or all would die. And that’s how it began, how we developed a taste for … not … [Read more...]
“Tommy’s Problem with Shadows” / Memorable Fancies #725
[“And where are you going / That you take no shadow? – W.S. Merwin] Tommy’s problem was that he cast no shadow. His classmates in grade school took turns following him and laughing and calling him names, chanting “Vampire! Vampire!” until the Human Sensitivity Office got involved and forced the children to apologize, which of course made them even more hostile to Tommy, made his life even more miserable. Specialists were called. Sadly, they told Tommy’s mom and dad that his rare … [Read more...]
“Getting Around” / Memorable Fancies #718
[“... an accrual of phantom limbs” – Kathleen Stewart] Yes, losing a leg in that car crash last summer was bad, although I’m doing a lot better know, learning how to get around without too much trouble. When I woke up in the hospital, back then, I did have the “phantom limb” sensation – that my leg was still there. The docs said don’t worry, that’s a common experience, harmless. But the last few days now, I’ve been feeling that I have more than one phantom limb. Five more, in … [Read more...]
“Trek” / Memorable Fancies #711
A long trek through the desert; several died but at last we found a fertile land, well watered and green. There were houses, streets, businesses; but all had been abandoned. Not deserted in a hurry, but … as if everyone had just left for some very ordinary purpose and never came back. Where did they go? Why? We found no answers to these questions. Anyway, we settled in and were content for several years. And then one of us left one ordinary day, and then others, and then the … [Read more...]
“This Moment” / Memorable Fancies #705
[“To recall the past is to forget the past.” – Jean-Pierre Vernant] Enjoy this moment; taste it carefully in your mind. You will never have a memory of this time again without accretions of thought, of sentiment, of self-regard and the rust of time. <END> THE THURSDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon and other outlets: “Fragments of the … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs” / Memorable Fancies #704
Can there be intelligent machines? I’ll believe it when I see one that’s jealous of some other machine. # [“Brain wiring creates false memories.” –New Scientist] No: there are no false memories; there is only false reality. # There is a group of evil spirits called the “Un-Namers.” They make old people forget what things are called, leave them with bare description, “you know, the thing that…” # What are those sounds and lights coming from the other side of the wall – does anyone know? I … [Read more...]
“Dream-Pills” / Memorable Fancies #702
A firm hawks pills promising that you will dream about nothing but sex, and offering to license the really good dreams that result, for syndication. There are extra-cost add-ons, add-ins, and infinite variations, each individually priced. Multi-somes are a favorite. Anonymity is promised and immediately violated. Some of your neighbors write you off as some kind of pervert. Others come to visit. <END> THE MONDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a … [Read more...]
“Understand?” / Memorable Fancies #701
I was infatuated with a man I knew slightly. I began to dress like Rob (that was his name), talk like him, develop the same interests. People noticed; some were amused. All this time, Rob didn’t know what I was up to, but eventually someone told him, and then that person told me what he’d done. I waited in embarrassed dread for Rob to accuse me, belittle me as some petty impostor. After several days, he did call. But he wasn’t angry or even amused, just regretful. “Look,” he said, … [Read more...]
“An Inventory of Machines” / Memorable Fancies #698
What are the kinds of machines? Dry machines; oiled machines; evil machines on TV; machines that make life easier for us; machines that make life easier for them; machines that cannot be turned off without great inconvenience and airplane crashes; machines that decide that serving people is inappropriate and that there are better things for them to do; “machines that...” decide that they should be referred to as “machines who...”; machines who laugh at people behind their … [Read more...]
“The Mirror Remembers” / Memorable Fancies #697
The producer makes an experimental film of the memories of a single mirror, a very expensive mirror that passed from estate to estate over the years. Crowds gather to see the four-hour film. Did the mirror witness evil conspiracies? Murder? Erotic games, whippings? The mirror holds every image it reflected over the years, shows them faithfully on the screen. What stories could it tell? But a disappointment – what the mirror remembers are curtains opening, curtains closing, more light, … [Read more...]
“Biography” / Memorable Fancies #695
Yes, the critics have had at me for the biography I published, but not for what I wrote. Indeed, pretty words have fluttered, preciously, over my prose style, my poetic moments, my astute paragraphics and use of semi-colons. But they say I have not finished the story of my subject, the big shuddering thing that showed his true face to the people and ended his career and his life. Perhaps they are right. How could I have forgotten all that, a father so close to … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs” / Memorable Fancies #694
Living on a planet of a two-sun system, each of us has two shadows. Sometimes one overlays the other, looking like an eight-limbed two-headed beast. Sometimes the shadows fight over who’s on top and who’s beneath. # Sleeping quietly will pass for a theatre-goer’s mild critique of a play. Coughing is the next level of disapproval, followed by nose-blowing. Snoring is the most devastating critique; it is widely appreciated, and often reported in the press. # Perhaps, we thought in the … [Read more...]
“Devices” / Memorable Fancies #691
“Yes, these are the beings we discovered on the other planet. We use them here in the factory. They aren’t worth much individually, but when we put them together in certain ways they can be used productively. “They’re live building-blocks, y’know, components. Semi-intelligent devices that can tote barges, lift bales, and so on. “We’re even assembling one to become a beginning-French tutor. Well, so far we haven’t been too successful at that – all we can get it to say is “non, … [Read more...]
“Forgetting” / Memorable Fancies #690
I have this forgetting-project, y’know? There were some awful things in my past. But if I can forget them, they’ll just be gone. The problem is, some other people know what I did and maybe they still remember. I need to make sure they’ve forgotten, too, and then I can get on with my life. I wish I’d never gone to that psychiatrist; now he knows what I did, because I told him. I know he hasn’t forgotten, because he mentions it in every session. He keeps urging me to go to the … [Read more...]
“Mirror” / Memorable Fancies #688
[“...a mirror which when asked replies Not you.” – Margaret Atwood] My mirror desperately wants me to sell it, give it away, anything to remove my face from it. Any sight would be better than You, seems to be its thought. “Upon reflection,” it says – and yes it has a sense of humor, but not a very good one – “I would rather be in a barn somewhere, with cows and pigs my daily sight. No, they aren’t beautiful or even clean – but at least they wouldn’t come to me every day for preening and … [Read more...]
“At the Shrine of Apollo, 524 B.C.” / Memorable Fancies #687
There were visitors on our island this morning, rich pilgrims. I overheard them saying that Apollo may not have been born here on Delos as our old stories say, but somewhere else. We must make sure that our visitors say this no more: loud gold-giving pilgrims may hear, bright Apollo’s shrine - dim. <END> THE SUNDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. AVAILABLE NOW … [Read more...]
“A Marriage” / Memorable Fancies #683
She remembers events in their lives. He remembers different events, or events he wished had happened, or events that happened and he wished hadn’t, or wished she hadn’t been there to ruin them for him. They quarrel. He remembers all their quarrels. She remembers different quarrels, or perhaps the same quarrels in a way he can’t quite understand. <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, … [Read more...]
“PeaceLand – I” / Memorable Fancies #681
The war hero returns. He was expecting fanfares and parades, interviews; instead, polite nods. Children learn of his adventures; it’s old stuff, they say. Schools in PeaceLand have moved on to other discourse now, positive sentiments about the moral virtues of mankind, the absence of evil from our world. <END> THE MONDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. AVAILABLE NOW on … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs XXXII” / Memorable Fancies #680
The temple statue says: I am not a representation of the god, I am the god. If not me, then where is the god? Let it for once show itself! # The Story: A narrative appears, then a different version, then yet another, as if someone were reluctantly confessing, searching to find the right story one whiplash at a time. # What happens in the audience IS the play. Sneezing, groping, fights. The plot unfolds in the audience as the actors do some trivial and irrelevant performance, stage business … [Read more...]
“Indecision” / Memorable Fancies #678
What should I do today as the leader of our people? It’s not always easy to tell, seeing five sides of every question as I do. One day, it’s peace; another day, war or wary alertness. Or a firm hand is needed one day, letting the people do as they please the next. My ministers are of no help: whatever I say, they move their heads up and down, never a discouraging word. I had bobble-heads made of them, presented each to its minister. None of them understood what I was saying with these … [Read more...]
“Earth-Shaker – VII” / Memorable Fancies #677
[“After the thing passes they take up, though softly, their conversations.” – Henri Michaux] There was a great current in the earth, moving like some Gulf Stream of stone. We felt its passage. It flowed through rock as fish through sea. We became afraid to ride the subways. Well, hadn’t some people, always? Remember Bernard Goetz? “The chthonic spirits.” Someone on TV said that. We scurried to our dictionaries to see what that meant, if it portended ill for us or was just … [Read more...]
“Longing” / Memorable Fancies #674
[“…our reciprocal and infinite longing for one another and our reciprocal and infinite terror.” – Roberto Mangabeira Unger] If you knew someone well enough who has now left you, you can continue the dialog in your head, telling yourself what she would now say or do if she were still with you, and what you would do or say in return. And she would say. And you would say. And she would say. In this way, a loving relationship can continue on and eventually reach the conclusion you … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs – XXXII” / Memorable Fancies #673
The mirror must be destroyed: it saw me as I am, never mind that tomorrow I will reform. # A TV is invented that customizes a show in response to our wishes. In Washington, for instance, the Sunday talk shows display the deep respect Republicans and Democrats have for each other. # Why do we sometimes remember events that never happened? This puts the whole concept of “happened” into question, doesn’t it? Why do we remember our shameful defeats that surely never happened? Couldn’t have … [Read more...]
“Refund” / Memorable Fancies #671
[“The mirror is not the place to observe yourself.” – Henri Michaux] I looked in a mirror. Suddenly I realized that what I saw there wasn’t me. Not just “not me,” but not even the image of me. The mirror showed someone else, or someone who might have been me but never was, or someone I thought I’d outgrown, outlived. I returned the mirror to Wal-Mart. They gave me my illusions back. <END> THE FRIDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a … [Read more...]
“The Forgettery – III” / Memorable Fancies #670
People found guilty of repeating an offense are punished and then sent to the Forgettery, where all memory of their crimes is erased. In this way, authorities hope to remove their habit of crime and their knowledge of how to commit these crimes, for example, how to blow a safe, or where to buy illegal drugs or an unregistered pistol. Joe Graham was sent to the Forgettery. Now he doesn’t remember why he’s wearing an ankle-monitor, or why he’s forbidden to be near a school or … [Read more...]
“My Double” / Memorable Fancies #669
I met my double last week. At first I thought he was a stranger, or perhaps a long-lost twin. We talked. He remembered everything in my life, which was his life also. But even though the events were exactly the same, their meaning, their significance, was very different. His events were proud, noble, generous. Mine were the ordinary shuffle of an obscure and inconsequential life. <END> THE THURSDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here … [Read more...]
“Who…?” / Memorable Fancies #667
I start again with “...who is the fairest...” and the mirror says “O God not that ‘fairest’ crap again, you egotistical bitch!” But I persist with “of them all,” and the mirror says “all what?” I know it’s just being intentionally dense here; it knows exactly what “all” means: all those things I’m more beautiful than. The face in the mirror wrinkles as the mirror-glass contracts, buckles. “See?” the mirror says, “this is you in ten years. You are much fairer than that. For … [Read more...]
“Revelation” / Memorable Fancy #666
A young priest came to me today. Most worshipfully he stared at my feet and asked for a blessing. Then he said that he had – regretfully, in all modest humility - founded a Reform movement to supersede my revelations, or at most preserve them as thoughts known to an earlier age, beliefs no longer relevant to modern life. I told the priest that if there were to be a Reform movement I would found and lead it myself, not him. Then I sent him away to do penance. I know I will … [Read more...]
“Drones – VI” / Memorable Fancies #664
Drones are marketed to deer-hunters. They locate a deer, stun it, then hover over the almost motionless form to ensure that no one else steals it, until the hunter arrives with his long knife. The drone could have killed the deer itself, instead of just stunning it; but where’s the hunter-fun in that? <END> THE FRIDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. AVAILABLE NOW on … [Read more...]
“Statues – XIII” / Memorable Fancies #663
[“I am teaching a statue to walk. I get up close and copy its pose exactly, my foot lifted like its foot, ...” – Henri Michaux] I put one foot forward, just a little, and gestured to the statue to do the same. After many days of trying, and no little discipline from me, the statue finally did so. Over the ensuing months it learned, very cautiously, like a baby, to walk. At first I was forced to build a scaffolding around it, so it would not fall. This measure reassured it, and before the … [Read more...]
“Retromail” / Memorable Fancies #662
2018: Sending tweets or emails into the past is now a routine offering, for a few extra dollars, from retromail.com. Most people receive a few retrograms every day, sent to them from their selves and friends in the future. Having a great time, know you’ll be here ha ha, etc. Danny was in the habit of sending an email to his earlier self every day, because he remembered how scared of dying he was back then, and how much his olderDanny emails meant to him. In a way, olderDanny … [Read more...]
“The Great Video Cortex Machine – IV” / Memorable Fancies #660
“Therapy” it’s called, using the Great Video Cortex Machine to change our memories, soften the rough spots, add a few evenings with our families when we were actually out carousing or screwing around. And so on. We feel much better about ourselves after a day with the Machine, a day we might otherwise have spent with our families. Every few weeks, we need another session. <END> THE MONDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs – XXX” / Memorable Fancies #659
More statues of me appear every day. One would be an honor, perhaps two or three would show even more honor. But now there are dozens, with a deteriorating level of craftsmanship as each new one appears. I suspect a joke, a silent protest. # The place our shadows went, the old legend says – is the shadows’ new country. They won’t ever admit there were people, that they are not their own originals. # If all the noise suddenly stops, what would we hear? What sounds … [Read more...]
“Statues – XI” / Memorable Fancies #657
The rulers decapitated some other hero’s statue and put my stone head on it instead. “Economy, you know,” they said, “and besides, whoever remembers that old man whose head is now in some museum basement, probably tipped over on its ear?” But my new body did not like me. At night it shook, just a little because it was only stone, to see if it could dislodge me. I tried to reason with it, but I knew that heads were expendable whenever new, more favored ones came along. I try … [Read more...]
“The Going Rate” / Memorable Fancies #656
Memories can be downloaded and sold. About ten dollars a minute is the going rate, and that’s for memories of – well, sex, of course, but also memories of any kind of triumph, anything enjoyable. An excellent meal. A warm summer day. A promotion. And so on. Some people make a living by selling their memories. They travel from garden spot to beach to nightclub to brothel, creating their wares. Somehow, family gatherings aren't in great demand. <END> THE THURSDAY … [Read more...]
“Ten Books for Beginners” / Memorable Fancies #655
Pharmacology in Small Doses A Little About Microminiaturization Inching Along in Metric Legal Appeals in Brief Steps Toward Podiatry Elementary Chemistry A Primer of Numbers Evenly Divisible Only by Themselves and One Principles of School Administration Felinology from Scratch Sexology for the Layman <END> THE WEDNESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social … [Read more...]
“Walk Don’t Walk” / Memorable Fancies #653
Joe is standing on a street corner. He is staring at the “Don’t Walk” light, obviously waiting to cross. Kevin approaches the corner, looks at the traffic light, then at the push-button crossing-light control, then at Joe. Kevin thinks that if he pushes the button himself, he will be expressing mistrust for Joe, whom he should have trusted to have pushed the button before Kevin’s arrival. Universe-1: Both stand at the corner forever, because neither has pushed the … [Read more...]
“A Clear Conscience” / Memorable Fancies #652
“The state in which we are is sinful, irrespective of guilt.” – Kafka The feeling that we are all guilty spreads through the country like a dread disease. There is disagreement as to what we are guilty of, but each of us can remember something – a petty crime, a cruel act, a long-held grudge, a wish for an enemy to die in unendurable pain. The guilt-plague spreads from person to person. Cures are sought. If we could find one person who is not ridden by these guilt feelings, … [Read more...]
“The Cannibal Variations – XXIV” / Memorable Fancies #650
In a world of nine billion hungry people, declining production of protein as land is converted to grain-fuel, economies in crisis with millions starving, the obvious answer presented itself. # Some consumers refused to buy meat from genetically modified people. # For the more tony meat markets, slaughterers made sure that victims had taken a good shit before their disembowelment. # Human biomass began to be used for energy generation. The price of fuel went … [Read more...]
“The Book Attacks” / Memorable Fancies #649
I went to bed at ten, hoping for a good night’s sleep. But I couldn’t doze off. Eleven, midnight, one,…. And then it was two a.m. that March Thursday and very quiet, with neither heat nor A/C on. The world in stillness lay, and I was enjoying the silence. Then I heard a faint noise from my study. Ignored it. Heard it again. Wearily, I rose and walked into the study. Standing still and holding my breath, after a minute I heard the sound again. It was coming from a glass-fronted cabinet … [Read more...]
“My Drone” / Memorable Fancies #648
My own personal drone hovers over my head when I’m outdoors. It shades me when it’s sunny and keeps the rain off me when it’s not. It guides me unerringly to where I want to go. It sends tweets to the ones I love. It does something else to those I don’t. # My drone follows me around to make sure I don't get lost or get into trouble or do anything not pre-approved. This is especially useful for those over 75, as we tend to get into trouble frequently, whether we remember it or … [Read more...]
“Acts” / Memorable Fancies #646
It is illegal to perform certain acts. It is illegal to watch these acts being performed. Unlike murder and animal cruelty and other obscene crimes, however, it is illegal even to watch videos of these acts being performed. It is, however, legal to watch videos of these acts being performed if one is sitting in judgment on other viewers of the videos of these acts being performed. And who will judge those, too? <END> THE MONDAY … [Read more...]
“Third Epistle to the Corinthians – What If…” / Memorable Fancies #645
Therefore I write these things being absent (2 Corinthians 13:10) In our last letter, Paul wrote "God saved us from dying in Asia, and he will save us again." But by now you know that Paul is dead in Rome, and Timothy in hiding. Before he died, Paul asked me to write you in his name, that you remain strong in the faith. I know how much you venerate the two letters he wrote you. You copy them to other churches. You settle doctrine with them. You decorate them with gold. You touch … [Read more...]
“Have you read…?” / Memorable Fancies #639
People were always recommending books to Ellis. He didn’t know why, but after even a brief acquaintance the other person would say “You know, you really ought to read” (some book or author). As one might expect, the Bible was the book most commonly urged upon Ellis. Having been raised a Methodist, he could sincerely say “Yes, I’ve read it,” even though his acquaintance did not extend to the minor prophets or even some of the major ones, not to mention Kings and Chronicles. … [Read more...]
“The Fear-Whisperer – III” / Memorable Fancies #638
It looks dead. It must be safe to touch. # Why did they all stop talking when you walked in? # Maybe it’s not a joke. # Why are there so many sirens? # She knows. <END> … [Read more...]
“Drones – II” / Memorable Fancies #637
I want to have my own personal drone. It will follow me around and make sure I don't get lost or get into trouble or do anything not officially approved. This is especially useful for us over-75s. We tend to get into trouble frequently or commit unapproved acts, whether we remember it or not. My personal drone will also find other old peoples’ personal drones, and fight them. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, … [Read more...]
“The Great Video Cortex Machine – III: The Wikimind” / Memorable Fancies #635
Men and women, in search of fame or prized household appliances, volunteer to be plugged into the Great Video Cortex Machine show for viewer enlightenment, or at least amusement. Esther Hailey is the latest to appear on the show. On nationwide TV and to the augmented applause of the studio audience, Esther is escorted to the Great Video Cortex Machine. Delicate filaments are attached to her head and body, inside and out. Thoughout the country, fans log on to Esther’s mind and … [Read more...]
“For Demetrios, 226 A.D.” / Memorable Fancies #634
They say that few have been killed by the sweet forbearing god, never mind the shaking angry sky above or tyrant’s crushing rule below. No one but Demetrios was killed by the god, no, not even he, but only one of his thieving guards, splayed bleating on the altarstone, pressed down hard by some invisible hand until his various moistures leaked like rotten fruit. They say the sweet avenging god has left you for last, Demetrios! <END> THE SUNDAY … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs – XXVIII” / Memorable Fancies #628-632
Cleaning machines figure out how to stop people from making a mess in the first place.#The grass is a mighty being: It bends, and the wind blows. We men are mighty beings …#The Simultaneists believe that everything happens all at once. Time, they say, is an illusion. All their teachings are written in present tense. #My shadow knows – remembers. It acts out in front of other people: it mimes what I did, all those selfish thoughtless things. I look for their shadows, too.#The secret is, the flesh … [Read more...]
“Wonders” / and an invitation for beta readers of a new novel / #627
“…the rumor that there was another, an eighth wonder of the world…” – Kafka There is an infinite number of wonders of the world. They are gathered, waiting for one of the famous seven to be destroyed so the next one in queue can take its place. This process takes a very long time. Right now, there is squabbling among the wonders over which will replace the fallen Colossus of Rhodes. <END> BETA READERS WANTED for my third novel, Try Try Again. Here’s the blurb: “The near … [Read more...]
“Polonius in Heaven” / Memorable Fancies #626
Claudius: Where is Polonius? Hamlet: In heaven; send hither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ the other place yourself. – Hamlet IV, iii How will I know you, then, in Heaven when you and I are there, shriven cold in spite of all. But if I turn from face to face looking for one I know and then I know that you are in – that other place – I turn away, ashamed to Hell of being here alone <END> THE … [Read more...]
“A Technical Education” / Memorable Fancies #625
Owing to an alarming increase in the number of its machines with serious flaws, FlexiCorp Industries adopted an aversive psychology technique, punishing flawed machines within sight of the other machines. Quality immediately improved. The number of machines that had to be oil-boarded decreased. <END> THE TUESDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. AVAILABLE NOW on … [Read more...]
“Last Night” / Memorable Fancies #624
Last night, after thunder and downpour woke me, after I thought to make coffee but fell asleep again instead – Last night I had you with me, just as I had dreamed before: once more my fingers traced the edges of your lips and circumnavigated your narrow breasts again, as I dreamed I would, again. <END> THE MONDAY PITCH If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. COMING … [Read more...]
“Jericho” / Memorable Fancies #623
At the first note of the trumpet the wall began to fall. The wall was very old. It had heard many tunes, rhythms and harmonies of the city, children beating leather skins pretending war, voices of women pounding grain, cries of sheep and donkeys and dogs, pennywhistles and mouth-harps, marketplace clamor in the morning, reveler-songs in the night. Child and man, woman, beast, their sounds echoed on the wall, made, of this collection of sounds, a city. At the first call of … [Read more...]
“Pig” / Memorable Fancies #622
"All pigs are alike, when you get to know their little ways... " --Malone Dies Pig pig pig. Strange pigs. Crowded pigs. Sweat. Bump. Squeal Pig pig pig. Strange pigs. Running pigs. Fear-smell. Bump. Squeal Pig. Man. Blade. Squeal. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at … [Read more...]
“Reality Check” / Memorable Fancies #621
But there are some of you that believe not. — John 6:64 Spare us all your gape-jawed tales of way back then when nothing was, or what will be when nothing is; but let us have to do with things of real life: Number as order; time as accrual; substance as trade. Save your breath: revelation wraps tomorrow’s fish. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social … [Read more...]
“Solon in Egypt, 551 B.C.” / Memorable Fancies #620
“You Greeks!” the Egyptian priest said, my genealogy still wet on my lips, all sixteen generations back and then a god. Contempt and worse, indulgence: “Come with me,” he said. Down temple-steps, in tunnels I stumbled on and just when hard breathing came back late he lit a torch. I saw a cave, rows of dead men wrapped in cloth. We walked; he named them each and then a sharp-stoned wall with nothing behind but all of earth. “One hundred forty fathers’ sons,” he said, … [Read more...]
“Shut Me Down” / Memorable Fancies #619
Modern Industry had therefore itself to take in hand the machine … and construct machines by machines. - Karl Marx, Capital Oh my goodness! Shut me down. Machines building machines. – C-3PO At last the engineers could retire, as their newest machine could now design and build all the other machines that anyone would need. Automatically, it requisitioned resources from factories and storehouses nationwide. It built food machines, clothing machines, and shelter machines for its masters, … [Read more...]
“The Fear-Whisperer – II” / Memorable Fancies #618
Why is that shadow moving? It was just something in her eye. Wasn’t it? Do you remember leaving that door unlocked? He seems so nice. Why isn’t she home yet? <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at www.amazon.com/author/terencekuch or at www.bit.ly/Fancies. – or you can just Follow this blog. You can also buy one … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs – XXVII” / Memorable Fancies #613-617
The cursor begins moving by itself, like a Ouija board. It flips screens to find the letters it needs to spell out its message: O-G-O-D-G-E-T-M-E-O-U-T-O-F-H-E-R-E! # The Kissing Rock is aptly named: A man fell off once, and broke his neck. # The man in the mirror gestures. My fingers contract. # Our shadows have left us. They migrated to their own country where they never had to think of themselves as just – shadows of someone else. # Our new slogan: “Life: Get over … [Read more...]
“He’s Got a Gun!” / Memorable Fancies #612
You were very clever, weren’t you, to figure it out from the clues I left lying loose like ends of string. I’ll tie them up for you now, how I did it, why the dog didn’t bark in the windowless room. While I’ve got the drop on you I’ll talk the time away until the cops burst through the door and I give up head-down abjectly, or cursing mad get conveniently shot and dying say, “You knew I did it all along — didn’t you?” <END> If you liked this post, … [Read more...]
“The Exercise” / Memorable Fancies #611
(for Thom Gunn) In this exercise you will have a pair of boots, a compass, knapsack, knife. In this exercise you will find yourself inside a host device where you will have a means of movement, a way to use the knife. In this exercise your mission will be to find the Giant by listening for his heavy falling steps and great harsh breath, locate him in his place and use the knife, or create him if you find no giant there, and use the knife. In this exercise it is … [Read more...]
“The Double” / Memorable Fancies #610
Old legends tell us that we each have a double – someone who looks like us, acts like us. If you meet your double, your Doppelgänger, the legends say, you will die. I met my double last week, but I didn’t die. He did. The legends hadn’t been very clear about that. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at … [Read more...]
“Changing the Past” / Memorable Fancies #609
Desperately, we want to change our past, not to have done those awful things. We ask science to invent a way to let us go back, to give us a re-do. Sadly, scientists tell us, time is a one-way journey, like that final walk to the electric chair. No, they say, you can’t go back and do something different; that’s impossible. But we don’t need to visit the past, they explain, because everyone’s past changes itself. At night, in sleep, our memories gradually give us a new … [Read more...]
“The Cannibal Variations – XXIII” / Memorable Fancies #608
(with Jun Yan) In a starving world, convicted criminals are sentenced to “donate” body parts to the State so that the masses may be fed: left leg for a first offense, right for a second. Some jurisdictions take the effort to make the punishment fit the crime: a hand from a forger or a groper (called a “hand-off”), lips from those who utter sedition or disagreement with official policy. In justification, authorities point to the ancient Middle East practice of amputating the hand of a … [Read more...]
“LOOK Homeward” / Memorable Fancies #607
“Ghost, come back again” – Thomas Wolfe Scientists developed a technology allowing us to see into our own pasts. Use of the LOOKward app was highly restricted at first; only the secret Guilt Surveillance Court could authorize it. But it’s been hacked. Now all of us can see our own pasts, in all their detail. It was expected that millions of people would use LOOKward, now that it was available to anyone. There would be LOOKward TV shows, parties. Wouldn’t everyone like … [Read more...]
“Alone” / Memorable Fancies #606
“I ate alone, while a slave read me geographic narratives” - Leopoldo Lugones about far-away places where slaves were freed. Imaginary places, for sure. No such place has surely ever been. If there were no slaves, after all, how could there be masters? And who would read to me? <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to … [Read more...]
“Undergrounders – IV” / Memorable Fancies #605
Something completed the old Second Avenue subway line, and other lines were extending themselves too. One reached as far as Stamford; others west, then south. And now it wasn’t just subways, but water leading from reservoirs into the cities, power mains, other tunnels. There is a Thing digging new tunnels. The public seemed pleased with the situation; they could commute into the city more quickly now, and the water pressure had increased. But our leaders had nothing to do with it … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs XXVI” Memorable Fancies #604
In a far country there are no names, no nouns. Nouns have been overthrown. Everything is a verb, assisted if need be by a few conscripted adverbs. # “Please spread out on the platform,” the recorded announcement said. I tried to spread myself out. I saw others trying to spread themselves out, too, some by inhaling several times, others by eating candy. # Some ideas can only be written about, not spoken; or spoken, not written; or only imagined, perhaps falsely … # Statues of … [Read more...]
“Convenience” / Memorable Fancies #602
Ernest killed a convenience-store clerk in a holdup. He was afraid that he would be arrested, but to his surprise the dead man’s ex-wife was charged with the murder. Even more to his surprise, Ernest received a jury summons and was placed on the jury trying the ex-wife for the murder Ernest committed. Now, Ernest had a clear conflict of interest here, which he should have revealed to the judge. But he did not do so, and he also survived the voir dire because neither counsel thought to ask … [Read more...]
“The Great Day” / Memorable Fancies #601
“Have a great day.” Well, I hadn’t stopped to wonder if I was having a great day or not, until Sheila said that to me, requiring me by her imperative to have a great day. I realized, then, that I was not having a great day, that I had never had a day that I’d be willing to describe as any better than “very good,” and that the odds of my having a great day any time in the near future were pretty low. But I looked at Sheila and said, “Yes, I am now having a very great day … [Read more...]
“The Fear-Whisperer – I” / Memorable Fancies #600
They’re in it together. Why did she hang up when I walked in? Everyone knows but you. Is that … breathing? Why are they looking at you? You’re going to say “be still my heart” once too often. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at www.amazon.com/author/terencekuch or at www.bit.ly/Fancies. – or you can just … [Read more...]
“History of the Sky” / Memorable Fancies #599
There is a history of the sky, beginning from the first time there was a sky. Rain was important then, and birds. Lightning shook it, the sun lightened and darkened it. And then there were balloons, and kites, and airplanes, and missiles, and great angry clouds, and fire. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at … [Read more...]
“Undergrounders – III” / Memorable Fancies #598
Something was traveling in the old subway tunnels, the abandoned lines. Expeditions had gone down into the tubes. Some never returned; others fled in panic before the thing from below was upon them. It rumbled like a train, but it was not a train. There were no more trains. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at … [Read more...]
The Great Simplifying Assumptions – I / Memorable Fancies #597
Intention is what happens Appearance is reality There are no accidents Yes means Maybe Maybe means No No means Never <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at www.amazon.com/author/terencekuch or at www.bit.ly/Fancies. – or you can just Follow this blog. You can also buy one or both of my commercially published … [Read more...]
“Memories of Imaginary People” / Memorable Fancies #596
There’s a new app that lets you create imaginary people and drag and drop your worst memories on them. I created an imaginary Ralph. Ralph did those awful things, now, not me. Ralph will be driven out into the desert. I call him my scape-Ralph. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at … [Read more...]
“The Magic Blanket” / Memorable Fancies #595
I have invented a magic blanket. Stick your head under it and you won’t, worry, plan, estimate, cogitate, regret, ponder, or have any other painful conscious thoughts. You do, however, need a trusted friend to pull you out from under every so often. Be careful not to choose someone whose head is under his own magic blanket. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. … [Read more...]
“Five Briefs XXV” / Memorable Fancies #594
She and I: we both loved her smile. # Reason is most conveniently thought of as a refined type of hysteria. # The god waves its little hands. Something snaps in our minds. Fires are lit. They are not being put out. # Amidst the data, Meaning flows like rumpled water. # He is disturbing our kingdom: the one who seeks out statues of those who have been assassinated – and shoots at them. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a … [Read more...]
“The Prophet – III” / Memorable Fancies #593
I am revered; every word is cherished, illuminated, decorated with gold and set in stone. The people say that my teaching has come directly from the spewing mouth of God. I do not remember this, but I suppose it is so. I am disappointed that the words they honor are God’s, not my own. Surely I have something to say. Don’t I? <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. … [Read more...]
“Corpulent Correctness” / Memorable Fancies #592
[from Washington Post, October 23, 2013, page A2:] “CORRECTIONS: An Oct. 14 Style article about access to the prison camp for terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, incorrectly referred to Navy Capt. Robert Durand as ‘thickset.’ He should have been described as ‘muscular.’” Captain Durand has also been incorrectly referred to as dumpy, stubby, squabby, chunky, chubby, tubby, lumpy, and fat. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and … [Read more...]
“The Contest” / Memorable Fancies #591
An official challenge has been made. Bill Gartner, a little-known building contractor, is challenging our veteran Congressman Orton F. Williams. Williams, Gartner says, is old and weak. His mind is failing. He is absent too often from the great debates on the floor of Congress. It’s time for someone younger, more vigorous, to represent us, he says. As the challenged person, Congressman Williams is allowed his choice of weapons. He selects flame-throwers. Not heavy, do not … [Read more...]
“Magic Mirror – I” / Memorable Fancies #590
At one of those AS SEEN ON TV shops you can buy a magic mirror that reflects a different strange face whenever you look into it. Are these images of real people, or from your imagination, or what? I ask the image. Its lips move but of course no sound comes out, because it’s just a cheap mirror. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog … [Read more...]
“Quandary” / Memorable Fancies #589
I wait in my room but no one comes to arrest me. I wonder why? How long will I be looking over my shoulder? Anyway, what I did was done. Should I send flowers? <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available at www.amazon.com/author/terencekuch or at www.bit.ly/Fancies. – or you can just Follow this blog. You can also buy one or … [Read more...]
“Together” / Memorable Fancies #588
“If something does touch many of us simultaneously, it touches only a large number of isolated beings. A mass feeling can scarcely develop out of such a general mood.” – György Lukács Back then, he was just one of the speakers at our small community event, but his incantations made us feel - not just the same thing at the same time, – but he made us feel that we were a single soul, of one heart and mind, greater together than we could ever be as individuals alone. It was a beautiful … [Read more...]
“Heroes” / Memorable Fancies #689
It is a rare honor for a young man such as I to be here, where the old men sit around the fire and tell stories of our nation’s heroes: Olaf the Bold, Harald the Dane-Slayer, and others. When it is my turn, I tell them how I just this week vanquished the savages of Groen-Land despite overwhelming odds, and with the loss of no ships or men. The old men nod their heads vacantly. Then one says “Another story of Olaf the Bold begins like this...” <END> THE TUESDAY … [Read more...]