Magic In Society

The Guild had a rule about taking jobs from those not in the Guild. There were set limits on what you could do, how much you could help, how limited your used spells had to be.

Magic had to be shown to help people, but not do often as to be relied upon. Crops needed to be planted, buildings built, life needed to be able to carry on regardless.

Smart people outside the Guild theorized that there was a point where magic would run out.

The Guild was just preparing for the day when magic would have to take over.

Grasping The Point

It took longer for him to learn about appropriate touching than it did for most people. Not because he tried to touch other people in places he shouldn't, but rather he seemed unable to grasp the notion of not grasping someone else as hard as he could. Parents, teachers, counselors, a lot of people had worked hard to get him to touch softly.

But if they all could see him now, see how he was holding her wrist, so tenderly, they'd be very impressed, except for the fact that her wrist was no longer attached to the rest of her.

War Trigger

How often do you get to hold something in your hands that could change the universe?

I mean, sure, people trying to sell you stuff will say your hands and mind can change the universe, but a data crystal that proves that the war that has consumed half the known planets and killed billions was started by a lie? A chance to save billions more lives and end a decade of conflict? So much potential power in such a little thing.

Of course I smashed it into powder. I'm making far too much selling weapons to both sides to stop.

Stay Strong

My parents, my sister, my brothers.

They've spent weeks trying to break me, trying to make me forget about my past life.

My parents, my sister, my brothers.

They blank me, they can rewrite me. So I keep my family at the forefront of my mind.

My parents, my sister, my brother.

I do that, and they can't break me.

My parents, my sister, my brother.

No matter what they do, starve me, drug me, whatever, I stay strong.

My parents, my sister.

Although it's been, what, a couple months maybe?

My parent... Plural or singular?

Wait, who?

What?

What?

GCSS Kindling

There are 17,257 other people on this generational colony ship.

8,787 of them identify as male, and so I'm not interested in them, as yet.

1,305 of those left are under the age of consent, and I'm not allowed to be interested in them.

4,620 of those left are married, engaged, betrothed, or otherwise spoken for. Any interest I have in them is irrelevant.

1,880 of those left are designated as being of protected gene stock, so my interests can only be superficial.

So 665 options. You'd think that would be enough.

542 down, 123 to go.

Got any tips?

As Good As Any

Vampires are a threat that every culture needs to deal with. They all tend to deal with it differently.

The Tromini have a garlic plant in every carriage, which also sorts out the occasional snack.

The Mafeys carry a vial around their neck with distilled sunlight inside, useful for reading at night too.

But my favorite is the New Ormiths. In every New Ormith city there's the Party Quarter, where for a block each way around a small room where Vampires are dumped, a giant party is going on at all times and the Vampires are very much not invited.

The Celebration Bottle

It was meant to be the bottle of champagne that would celebrate the greatest moment of his life.

He had hoped that that moment would be his wedding night, drinking it with the love of his life, whoever that would be.

But he assumed that it would instead be used to christen the bow of the cruise line he would be lead designer on.

Then he lost his job and got dumped within 24 hours. So he drank it instead.

And that led to him meeting the pizza delivery girl who'd give him dozens of greatest moments of his life.