This week we’re doing something different with Free Scifi. We’re doing an original. You see, a few months ago, one of my favorite anthologies, Machine of Death, held open submissions for the second volume. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a collection of stories about a world where a machine exists that can predict the way you will die.
I submitted an original short story, “Alien Abduction.” And, well, it was rejected. So I’ve posted the short story to read free on my writing blog. I thought it was okay.
Here’s a sample:
By the time Thomas Wiseman found out his wife was dying, the debate was almost over. At the moment the hospital struggled to keep her alive, Wiseman prepared to give his killing stroke.
Wiseman drew a small, blue, octagonal card out of his coat pocket. He held it up in front of his face so it could be seen. The audience gasped at the distinctive shape and size of the card. Even so, Wiseman still said, “This is my prediction, produced by a death prediction machine at my doctor’s office, just twenty-four hours ago. If the camera could zoom in, I think the viewers will find it enlightening.”
The other three people on the stage of the TV show Fact vs. Fiction glanced at each other, then at Wiseman with quizzical looks. The audience murmured as the camera brought the card into view on the large TV screens mounted on the ceiling.
Wiseman smiled as he said, “As you can see, my prediction reads, ‘Alien Abduction.’ Aliens do not exist, so this prediction cannot be true. It might as well have predicted that I will die from an encounter with Bigfoot. That’s how I know the machine of death is a hoax…”
If you’d like to read the whole thing, just head over there.
What do you think of the story?
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