Amalgam Universe

Challenge #04909-M160: Treasure in Strange Places

An old treasure is found by a space salvager. A locked case full of old diaries, music boxes, books, and photos. And a letter that reads "This was my life among the stars. I lived happy here, I died of old age happy here. Solitary is not always lonely, and being with others TOO much is not always comfort." -- Anon Guest

There's a lot to find in Sargasso systems. Stellar objects that had no natural satellites, so varying civilisations dumped their old, stellar junk there. Pirates sometimes lurk, if the Sargasso is near a shipping lane, and dump their leavings amongst the wrecks.

After all, if you have interstellar travel, you have a post-scarcity society. Everything you need can be mined, synthesised, manufactured, or grown.

And if a Sargasso is too far away or too inconvenient for Pirates, you get Scavengers. Whose motto is: If it isn't worth historical value, someone needs it for their molecular printer. Which has served many a Scavenger very well indeed. Most have a direct line to the nearest Archivaas Enclave, because they know historical interest and, if the item is interesting enough, will be the first to call 'dibs'.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Prompts remaining: 45 Submit a Prompt!
Ask a question

Challenge #04905-M156: Caught Broadside

Torture is forbidden in the Alliance, but there are more ways to break a person than physical pain. Ever deal with a dad who seems to want to turn everything into a bad pun? -- Anon Guest

[AN: The Alliance has transcended the need for torture. There are better ways to get information out of someone. Therefore, this has to happen somewhere on the Edge]

The Galactic Alliance is an agreement between multiple polities and species in an extended trade network. People

Challenge #04904-M155: Drastic Change Consultancy

A group go to the B'Nari to get new bodies. They wish to develop underwater cities, without needing domes for air, so they, and their friends, can finally live peacefully together. -- Anon Guest

[AN: The Alliance has LOADS of planets where people can live according to their personal moral alignment. Also I have a planet called Beach where Humans and Cetaceans have built a society together]

They were looking at a water planet with relatively shallow oceans. Kelp farming and fish

Challenge #04903-M154: Scars on the Inside

A troop of marines had finally rotated home after a lot of... unpleasant experiences. Now, they planned to sit back, relax, enjoy their hard-earned retirements, and definitely enjoy the summer and all the fun that came with it. -- Anon Guest

After six months of trudging around in battle-ready armour, it was damned good to feel the air on hir skin. It felt even better to plunge into the open ocean and take the weight off hir feet and spine. Trooper Glyn

Challenge #04890-M141: Wanna Big Boom

Rather a long one, but what is the fascination of humans with explosives? -- Prompey

[AN: Long one?]

Humans like spectacle. Huge amounts of people working together. Everyday miracles. Teamwork to help some otherwise helpless creature. And big things falling down. They also love watching things explode, from a safe distance, of course.

From a certain perspective - everyone else - this is yet another example of Humanity's collective insanity. Most leave it at that.

Companion Xryk was curious enough to ask

Challenge #04889-M140: Culture Shock

What are the bad things about the Alliance? What are the good things about the Greater Deregulation? And what are things both sides agree on? -- Anon Guest

[AN: That's a very good question]

Every utopia is someone's dystopia. The opposite holds true. Someone's paradise is someone else's hell. The Alliance has laws that are meant for the equity of all its citizens, including guarantees for health, welfare, and happiness. This also means that every citizen of the Alliance is under a

Challenge #04879-M130: Sad Beige Life

My parents were cold narcissists. As an adult, once they signed everything to me, I signed our entire solar system to the alliance. I have plenty to live on, my mansions, my gardens, and so much more. But now the halls are full of life and youthful laughter. It actually feels like a home, not a museum. My parents? They live in their wing, their own little world. I'm letting them live the remainder of their golden years in peace. Under watch,

Challenge #04877-M128: Can We Keep Each Other?

Not long ago, this planet of havenworlders saved a human who had, had a cheese-grater landing. If not for these beings, the human, fortunately the only occupant of that freighter, would not have survived. Then raiders came to harm these people. And the humans showed what gratitude for kindness earns. -- Anon Guest

[AN: May be in relation to: https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04839-m090-waif-and-stray ]

Hal was learning a lot of things. Starting with the fact that aliens were real and that

Challenge #04869-M120: Medically Necessary Dangerous Friend

I have the rare type - O negative blood, a universal donor. I'm also scared of needles. My kind, at least to me, pax humanis friend helps me with this anxiety so I can donate and save lives. --Anon Guest

Medical practice always needs blood. At least, it does in this particular neighbourhood of the Edge Territories. I heard from some traders that the Alliance can just make whatever blood they want. There's like special cloned bone marrow units that do it.

Challenge #04855-M106: Learning Experience

Trying to get a group moving in the right direction. Pick one of these. Schoolchildren on a trip. Visitors to a 3 hour specialist sale event. Agreeing to go anywhere. -- Prompty

"Stop, look, and lis-ten," chanted Educator Dees, primary teacher for the newly literate and numerate class.

There were five kids to each educator, not that that did anything to prevent the inherent chaos of fifty children on the field trip. Some were talking animatedly at each other, some were play-wrestling,

Challenge #04847-M098: Mnemonic Intervention

Their plumage was red, black, and yellow. Beings thought they were either venomous, or poisonous. But they've never heard of the false coral snake, or other such pretenders. -- Anon Guest

"Red then yellow, kills a fellow. Red then black, venom lack." -- Terran Mnemonic.

It's rather shocking that truly dangerous creatures bear the same rough colour scheme. So it was no shock that the dangerous things became marked in a similar fashion... and then dangerous people. The code was well established

Challenge #04841-M092: Breakout Event

"Are there any who are not human among the Pax Humanis members?"

They're rare, but there are. Let me tell you about the best hunter I ever met. A havenworlder whose first target had pushed too them far. -- Anon Guest

He had been selected for his bright plumage, and kept in conditions meant to maintain his health. Little else but that. He learned to be clever by playing dumb, just to get his captors to relax and get careless.

It took

Challenge #04839-M090: Waif and Stray

A human, an older teen, screamed in terror when the mix of avian and reptilian havenworlders found them. They were thin, alone on that barren rock, injured, and shaking. They very gently helped the youth learn they were safe, no longer alone, and deserved kindness. -- Anon Guest

Hal knew that they were lucky to survive. They were also rather lucky that they had had an obsession with surviving seemingly impossible accidents. How to survive on a desert island. How to survive

Challenge #04838-M089: Mostly Harmless, You Say

They ran in and dragged the woman with the brightly striped belt from a building fast before the fire burst out of control. She saved them from falling to their death when a support strut failed causing the scaffolding to collapse. It was the start of an interesting friendship -- Anon Guest

The thing about responding to disasters is: Nobody thinks. They just act.

Whether it's fleeing the scene of threat, or acting counter to it. The threat spurs motion and the

Challenge #04835-M086: Keep Them Hungry

They tried to control their population by keeping them weak and hungry. Then came the crash that spread all sorts of dust, powder, and tiny little floaty seeds all over the place. The soil was suddenly extremely rich, instead of polluted, the parasites and fungi that were harmful to people died out quickly, and a surprisingly large variety of small, seemingly ordinary, plants, began to spread swiftly. -- Anon Guest

The people on the northern islands actually saw the invader shot down.

Menu

A 2303-post collection

Challenge #04909-M160: Treasure in Strange Places

Challenge #04905-M156: Caught Broadside

Challenge #04904-M155: Drastic Change Consultancy

Challenge #04903-M154: Scars on the Inside

Challenge #04890-M141: Wanna Big Boom

Challenge #04889-M140: Culture Shock

Challenge #04879-M130: Sad Beige Life

Challenge #04877-M128: Can We Keep Each Other?

Challenge #04869-M120: Medically Necessary Dangerous Friend

Challenge #04855-M106: Learning Experience

Challenge #04847-M098: Mnemonic Intervention

Challenge #04841-M092: Breakout Event

Challenge #04839-M090: Waif and Stray

Challenge #04838-M089: Mostly Harmless, You Say

Challenge #04835-M086: Keep Them Hungry