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Kit BashirBetelgeuse, the Red supergiant star in Orion that is not pronounced ANYTHING like that movie godsdammit, does have one thing in common with it. Teetering on the brink of Supernova, variously predicted to blow up tomorrow, in the next 100 kiloyears, or already (modulo light speed lag), it waited to be called.Our uncertainty about its state of assplodery stems from our uncertainty about its mass, which in turn arises from our uncertainty about its distance. The reason we’re not completely sure whether it’s 400 or 1200 light years away (far enough to be non-earth-shattering when it does kaboom, in any case) is that its death-throe fuzziness (this beast of a star would extend to the orbit of Jupiter if you swapped it for our sun) makes measurement of stellar parallax really frickin’ hard. The Henrietta Swan Leavitt Tachyon Ranging Observatory was built to solve problems like this. It works like RADAR only it uses tachyons, those mirror particles of normal matter which can only travel /faster/ than light, never slower. This morning the HSL fired three tachyon bursts at Betelgeuse, awaiting echoes which ought to return in just minutes, not centuries. Two came back. The distance to Betelgeuse is 714.5 light years. That means light from its supernova explosion will arrive in 714 years, six months and five minutes. Whoops, our bad.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Micro SF/F by O. Westin"Wait," the American representative said. The rest of the Human trade delegation groaned. "With this deal, the Galactic Empire get all our entertainment, and we get all their technology.""Yes?""Is that fair? We have, like, thousands of films!""They have spaceships.""That's one thing!"<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/vss" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#vss</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStories</a>

NessoAsksAntonio demoed his entry for the Really Overengineered Competition."When I lose power, I have to camp out at coffee shops to charge my phone. However, I have a lot of squirrels in my neighborhood." Several members of the team laughed or facepalmed."My bird feeder was mostly a squirrel feeder already, so I modified it to spin a small generator when a squirrel steps on.""So, it's a windfarm except with spinning rodents?" Maggie quipped.Antonio laughed and shared a video showing the feeder through a window, with the generator below it. A squirrel jumped on from a nearby tree, and it started spinning. Antonio held up a multi-meter to the camera, showing the voltage coming in."I have to run it through a circuit with smoothing capacitors before I can plug my phone into it, but otherwise, it works."The group applauded. "A fantastic use of squirrel energy!" Enzo said.Antonio responded, "Thanks! Wait until you hear about my plan for the racoons!"<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a>

Kit BashirThe mice had been bringing me bits of cheese. I think I know where they were getting them, but I had been in this cell long enough not to squeam.Today (is it day, kinda hard to tell but the stink seems to change tone at times which I put down to diurnal airflow far above) they brought me a key.It took an hour (I have no idea how long but it felt long) to turn the key in the lock, stretching the SQWREEEEEclunk out so long it was subsonic. Another maybe-hour to open the door. The stink-gradient said “out” was thattaway, but the mice squeaked (discreetly!) that I should go thisaway.“Down? Are you sure? Okay, I fucking hate sewer levels but youse have done me solid so far”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Kit BashirThe alien fleet came out of a wormhole directly into Earth orbit. They milled around for a while, disrupted the orbits of a few geostationary satellites, and then jumped out again, apparently having forgotten why they came.Portal amnesia is a real thing, triggered by the momentary cognitive overload of entering a new room. You’ve probably experienced it in your home. Eventually we worked out that it was our messy lower orbits, festooned with cubesats, starlinks and other Kessler Kibble that saved us from invasion.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Kit BashirOne asteroid prospector in a singleship makes for a hard living. Bring a couple of border collies flying gravity skimmers and suddenly it’s fun for the whole family. The hard part is getting them to stop. One of mine got into the Jupiter trojans and lined the fuckers up by size. Clever bitch.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/BonusEdition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BonusEdition</a>

Kit Bashir“The advantage of the atomic bomb — everyone got your bags? — was being able to destroy an entire city with a single bomb, rather than needing — remember to breathe if you feel faint — 1000 plane loads of firebombs to wipe out a city.”“Miss, will this be on the test? Why do we have to know this?”“So that it doesn’t happen again.”“How could it happen again, we all feel sick just thinking about it? How could you start a war or — uuurghh — fly a bomber with your head in a barf bag.?”“It only takes a few months of indoctrination to suppress the empathy of most humans. Before the Media Law people, even kids like you, faced de-empathic conditioning — advertising, we called it — every day of their lives.”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

fsniper- It's not fair! - You know the rules child, you are not allowed with explosions. - But you see what I accomplished!! - You talking about "that"? It's never about it. It's about breaking the rules - You can't do this! I am a grown up now! - Oh sweet child one small universe with your "big bang".. you still can't see the shortcomings ? Can you? - But.. - Did you check the light speed? Foresaw all the suffering you caused? Not a grown up yet, not at all. To your room now! <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a>

Kit BashirAll complex ecosystems, the saying goes, evolve parasites.When our moon was joined by a new companion mini moon, a veritable regatta of penis-shaped space probes set out for lunar orbit to plant flags on the new ground.Space billionaires were gleeful at their dreams of wealth beyond count derived from asteroid mining being fulfilled for free, without having to even go and fetch an asteroid to mine. Until the new arrival started feeding.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

allrite"Why did you lie?"- For reassurance."I trusted you that there was a way out."- That was your choice."You are no god."- Perhaps not, but there was a need to believe."I don't believe in you."- I didn't say that it was your need."The gods don't like pretenders. They will smite you down."- That's good, we could do with a little smiting right now. In the absence of the gods, be a good chap won't you and help me dig us out.<a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://masto.allrite.at/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a>

Kit Bashir“That’s nuts, five hundred bucks to rent a garbage skip for a week is extortion.”“It’s mostly the new waste disposal fees at the dump, I’m told. Oh, I’m sorry ‘resource recovery centre’”.“Look if you can wait til tomorrow I’ll bring home a voidgate from the office. I reckon i can wrangle a half meter one home on the bus, is that big enough?”“That’s very neighbourly, thanks. Um, that should handle most of the stuff i need to get rid of, except the sofa.”“No wukkers, I’ll sneak a nano blade home too.”“*Where* do you work again?”“Classified.”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Micro SF/F by O. WestinI key my code into the terminal and put my left little finger on the scanner. It beeps rejection."There was another data breach last night," the cashier says. "All prints compromised. You must use a backup print.""Sorry about this," I say and bend down to untie my shoe."You're not the first."<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStories</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/VSS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#VSS</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

Kit BashirThe mechanically adept will recall that “von Zeppelin’s Law” (yes, the airship fella) states that you should “never make any part of a machine stronger than the others”, because then the machine will just break where the strongest part joins the rest. Cybertruck owners already demonstrated their lack of good sense, so perhaps could be forgiven for ignorance of The Law. Count Ferdy von died before all that Nazi 1.0 business, and was spared the embarrassment of witnessing his company’s final ships being tarted up in swastikas for a world tour of What Happens When You Don’t Follow The Instructions, (Oh The Humanity). Perhaps if the Count /had/ been a Nazi, the 2.0 generation would have paid him more attention.Why am I telling you this?. Well, just like the Falling Out Of The Sky problem that led CvZ to formulate his Law, owners of the Stainless Steel Ratrods find their land zeppelins falling off the ground. Well, bits of them. Pieces of trim that were apparently sticky-taped on have been flying into the sky at highway speed.If you’re going to break a law, one school of thought says, break it good and hard. If the trim drops off your Wankpanzer, use a stronger tape. I’m not talking about that molecular bonded “gecko tape”. The *strongest* tape uses nuclear adhesives, which is a term that is /bound/ to attract the attention of Deplorean owners.What happens when a piece of stainless steel trim (despite the marketing, these Swasticars are just sheet metal glued onto a badly-engineered frame) wants to fly off, but the Strong Nuclear Force Says No? Readers of Dr E. E. Smith’s seven volume treatise on the confrontation of Irresistible Forces and Immovable Objects can guess the result: if you are fully constrained in three dimensions, try a fourth.If you come across the inverted wreck of a Klanborghini that has turned inside-out at speed via the fourth dimension, don’t stop. You can’t help the owner; what came back didn’t live long, fortunately. <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Previously" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Previously</a> <a href="https://aus.social/@Unixbigot/112651306206398799" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://aus.social/@Unixbigot/112651306206398799</a>

asmwShe caught her hand, just in time, and stood there, frozen, right on the border. Desire and greed on one side, reason and generosity on the other. Painfully aware of her flawed existence, she sighed. "There's nothing left!" she called into the other room. Then she took the last cookie.<a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MastoPrompt</a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/border" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#border</a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a>

Kit BashirI was homeless when the Cat Distribution System recruited me. Camped under a bridge alongside the old canal, I shared my food and blanket with some homeless kittens. “You’re a good person” a voice said.I jumped and clutched my blanket, backing up against the concrete. “Leave me alone! I don’t have anything to steal.”“Sorry to startle you. I’m here to offer you a job”“You don’t know anything about me.” The stranger indicated the kitten nose-down in a nearly empty tuna can. “I’ve seen what i need to see.”“What’s the job? I won’t do evil.”“Kitten smuggling. We get them to a safe country, find them homes. Subsidised accommodation but a lot of travel.”That was six months ago. If you’re on a train, plane or suborbital and you see a kitten poking its nose out of a human or augmented human’s jacket, no you didn’t.<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

NessoAsksReggie demoed his entry for the Really Overengineered Competition to the group at lunch time."I like wearing long sleeve shirts, but indoors it gets a little warm. I built a device that will roll the sleeves up for you. Now, mind you, I only have one of these working so far, and there are still a few bugs to be worked out." Reggie placed what looked like a thick hairband on his wrist. The band had four clips dangling from it, which he attached to the edge of his unbuttoned sleeve. He pressed a button on the band, and it began to slowly "walk" up his arm by flipping over on itself, wrapping itself in his sleeve as it went. After three flips, it stopped.The group applauded."That's amazing, Reg!" said Antonio. Maggie, Sophia, and Enzo nodded in agreement."So, you only built the one so far?" Jacob asked.Reggie nodded."How does it do with unrolling?""Well, remember when I said there were a few bugs to be worked out?"<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FlashFiction</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a>

Kit Bashir“It’s an old Earth tradition!”“Tell it to the airlock, we don’t care”“Dammit itching powder in an EVA suit was funny, you’re overreacting!”“You won’t be troubled by a suit. Bye now.”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/AprilFoolsDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AprilFoolsDay</a>

Micro SF/F by O. Westin"What can I do for you, my lady?""I need a suit of armour modified," the lady said.The armourer took her measurements, checked the pieces, and gave her an appraising look. "You've had this a while?""Yes. Since before... Ah...""Thought so. You'll need new thigh pieces and a wider skirt."<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStories</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TransVisibilityDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TransVisibilityDay</a>

Kit Bashir“You have 19 notifications waiting for you on LinkedIn”.Wow 19. Only 19. Anyway, I’m fucking sure I turned notifications off before entering cryosleep. Somebody’s getting deleted. Oh yeah, why has Ship woken me? Fuck, Meteors! And….deleted. “Ship, damage report!”<a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Tootfic</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PowerOnStoryToot</a>

Micro SF/F by O. Westin"... and in other news, USA is being sued by a company that will be founded some time in the future, when time travel is invented. Apparently, the company will offer 'punch a nazi' tours, with exclusive rights to 1933-45. But competitors will start to offer similar tours to USA 2025-28, and..."<a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MicroFiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TootFic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SmallStories</a>

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