science fiction

Twitch Stream Story: The White Hand and its Cruel Slow

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: A planet is held motionless by the gravitational equilibrium of a hundred stars: no seasons, no poles, no days or nights, and where the universe stalls, something else steps in…

Five ships approached, burning their night oil. It was best to use it now, because it would lose its name upon the surface of the planet. The planet had many names, those aboard the lead ship called it Ohn, but it had no nights. The darkness was one of many things stripped away from the planet by its remarkable position. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Hazelnut Coffee Break

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: killer squirrels

Cheeks stuck his face into the saucer of coffee his supervising officer had poured. He drank quickly, because he knew she could get in trouble for giving him any human substances. The coffee was so great though, so rich and deep. It kept his eyes wide when he was on patrol, kept his heart feeling like the engine of one of the thousand cars on the streets below. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: An Unopposed Sword Clashes

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt:  A kid gets taken by a band of space pirates and eventually finds a magic katana.

Even the bag over Maximus’s head was strange. It wasn’t burlap; it was some kind of rubbery fabric capable of holding a charge. He knew that because, every time they bumped his head into something, a jolt of static moved between the bag and the tip of his ears. He was only thirteen, just young enough to fit under the giant man’s arm like a briefcase. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: None are Garbage

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: A janitor of dreams works his shift across the dreamscape each morning after sleepers have awakened.

There had been a party there, just four hours ago. The sun was up, back in the world, and it was time for Vecker’s shift. He shuffled out onto the deck of the boat and analyzed the scene. Really, it wasn’t too terrible for a party of that size. Out in the world there was a recession. That had dampened everyone’s excitement some, and it bled into Vecker’s work space like it bled into everything else. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Borrowed Horns

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: An advance in technology limits the evolutionary potential of the human species.

Each of the eight was the first of their generation to see anything other than their domes. The domes weren’t bad homes, just limiting. For the humans, only 1400 could live inside comfortably. Luckily, the women had somehow gotten into the habit of only having twins and only having them when they were needed. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Salted Firstborn

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: The prompt for this story was actually a drawing of a small fishing boat near two giant creatures, one submerged in the water and one flying nearby.

The pterafriend pumped its wings and pulled them through the clouds swiftly, so its passenger wouldn’t get too wet in the process. What the passenger wanted to do exactly was not clear, he had some sort of strange vessel, but he was friendly enough, and the pterafriend offered rides to anyone and anything that was friendly enough. Continue reading →

Chat-your-own-Adventure #9: Have you Read that Blob Article?

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This story was written live on stream with the audience bidding tokens (earned while watching) to determine the path of the story.  The underlined phrases in the choice of three were the winning pathways.  Stop by twitch.tv/blainearcade if you’d ever like to participate in our interactive fiction.

Caverns and Pets            Canyon and Child Support                Diving and Visits

The cloud bank passed overhead just as a flock of small skates flapped by beneath their boat. Their movement was perfectly matched, as if the fish used the clouds as roaming shade. Lucas and Beryl sat on opposite sides of the boat, preparing their equipment for the dive ahead. They were already clad in skintight neoprene suits with a colorful stripe down the side. Lucas was Green. Beryl was purple. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Rosetinted.exe

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: your eye has been twitching all morning, suddenly the vision goes black and a message displays “error, maintenance required.”

She, we’ll call her Rose because it’s the simplest name to use, awoke in a tangle of blankets sucking her thumb. The habit had reared its head, adorable or ugly depending on who you ask, about eight months ago. She slept alone, so she didn’t see the harm. On that morning her thumb tasted like pancakes and dark amber syrup with smashed blackberries. Continue reading →

Chat-your-own-Adventure #7: The Concord Portal

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This story was written live on stream with the audience bidding tokens (earned while watching) to determine the path of the story.  The underlined phrases in the choice of three were the winning pathways.  Stop by twitch.tv/blainearcade if you’d ever like to participate in our interactive fiction.

Scientifically Enhanced Fruit         Poetic Device Fruit           Enchanted Fruit

The Concord grape before them was certainly the largest to ever exist. Its skin was thick enough to require a fillet knife. Its seeds were large enough to serve as baseballs. Five bottles of wine could be produced from the juice of a solitary example from the vine. The vine itself was full, more than thirty grapes growing over a titanium trellis, because the other materials they’d used had ended up buckling under the weight. Continue reading →