Amalgam Universe

Challenge #01598-D137: That's One Bad Week

[Bad news]

[Worse news]

[Extremely horrible news]

[ohmygodwhatthefuck news]

One of the people who have to deal with it all, to the rest of same: ...well people, I'd say it's about time to drink ourselves into the mother of all stupors. It's been that kind of week. -- RecklessPrudence

First, the Gravity Drive failed. They still had internal gravity, but the virtual black hole in front of the bow that towed them along at CTL speeds[1] was no longer operational. The shipboard Nae'hyn were doing all they could, but the engine was old to begin with and this kind of flaw was equivalent to having a stroke.

Which wasn't a real problem. Not initially. They could burn some rockets to push them along and send out a non-urgent distress call. And they had enough shipboard supplies to last until they reached the nearest station. And then the rockets failed to ignite.

Now the only way they could get to where they were going was by judicious and careful venting of shipboard gasses, and rationing was initialised in the hopes that the ship's gardens could grow things fast enough that there would be food to ration when the rations ran out.

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Challenge #01597-D136: T's and Switch

It is not really rocket science unless there has been at least one unplanned explosion. (Alt version) It is not really rocket science unless there has been at least one rapid unscheduled disassembly. -- RecklessPrudence

Katie could easily learn to hate the summer monthly T-Shirt Days. Hackmeyer kept ogling her boobs. Well. Where something boob-like was still forming. She was fifteen, and the last time she'd been forced to go along with T-Shirt Day, she wore her age with the subtitle, Don't

Challenge #01596-D135: The Little Touches

the stuff every JOAT needs, and of course the Bargain Bin. -- Knitnan

It was one of those poky little storefronts that one could swear entered into another dimension. The ones with more depth than they rightfully should have had, and surprise extra levels with staircases and shelving designed by Escher. It was called simply Things and every JOAT browsed there at least once a day.

Inside was organised chaos. JOATs could do things with paperclips and ductape that no other cogniscent

Challenge #01595-D134: The Memory Lingers On

The culch (useful junk), box for those glorious moments when. "I've got to be a Insert costume here tomorrow." arrive. -- Anon Guest

JOAT Erin had passed from this life and into whichever afterlife ze found the most entertaining. Pantheists such as Erin were expected to shop around in several for a few years and send a sign when they'd found the right one. Since Erin had no family that accepted hir, and no progeny to take up their work, the assembled

Challenge #01594-D133: In the Cracks

Wants verses Needs on a tight budget. -- Knitnan

Plunt was not as lucky as others. Ze knew this. If there was some anti-luck where the cracks in any system for help neatly fit the description of Plunt, then ze definitely had it. Not poor enough for economic assistance. Not rich enough to shoulder emergencies with a shrug. Mentally disabled enough to make life difficult. Not mentally disabled enough to qualify for any kind of assistance. Able enough to pass for normal,

Challenge #01593-D132: Understanding on the Brink of a Fall

"The stars died so that you could be here today." —Lawrence M. Krauss -- RecklessPrudence

Shayde found Ambassador Gunther on one of the uppermost balconies of the Elemeno, looking down at the bottom in a way she knew too well. There was a time when the word "Jump!" was a cruel joke, and a time when it would be taken as a serious suggestion. This was one of the latter cases.

Much though she'd love to see all the Greater Deregulations and

Challenge #01592-D131: Takes Me WABAC

“The universe is change; life is your perception of it.” — Marcus Aurelius -- RecklessPrudence

What alarmed Rael the most about Ambassador Shayde was how quickly she adapted to the latest in technology. Only B'Nari tech confounded her, but then, it confounded everyone but the B'Nari, who were made to merge with it. Shayde had the annoying habit of treating anything knew as if it should have existed some years prior to its actual invention.

When given something from her own past, it

Challenge #01590-D129: Concerned Citizens

This is like watching a train-wreck and the 1812 Overture happening simultaneously. -- RecklessPrudence

The Good Gastronomy Association had been trying to ban Unsuitable Food for decades. They protested that too many people were indulging too often in imbalanced, improper, and unscientific nutrition. The people opposing them protested that that was kind of the point. While it was possible to live forever on Nutri-Food, with all its variations in taste, flavour, and presentation, it was also a very dull life.

There is

Challenge #01589-D128: Hazardous Playthings

Yo Yo See what you can do with this prompt. it would have been just yo yo but they wanted a longer sentence. -- Anon Guest

There is a uniquely human term, 'toy'. Though the concept of play is nothing new to many species in the Galactic Alliance, the Terran concept of things designed for play alone is strange to many. The fact that many of these objects used to be used as weapons just goes to show that Deathworlders are creatures

Challenge #01588-D127: Culture Clash

how to be a good (Insert name here) Citizen. Let's hear it from one of the Lizard cultures. --Knitnan

"And who's your daddy, little one?"

Preek didn't understand the human's question. She had never known the word before this moment. "I have a Pripa and a Seppa[1]."

"I have trouble with all these new words," confessed the human. "It's so confusing. What's wrong with 'he' and 'she' and 'mommy' and 'daddy'?"

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Challenge #01587-D126: Care Worn

it's made by hand, piece by piece, often with the recipient in mind, and often prayed over. -- Knitnan

Rael took some cumulative Standard months to realise that Shayde was winding him up. Apparently, in her version of reality, true friendship meant that there was a certain volume of light-hearted teasing between... alleged allies. Humans still did this. Hostile speech in a friendly manner between allies that knew that it was friendly. Slurs used freely between those who used to be slurred.

Challenge #01586-D125: Not the Best Intentions

The "nanny" in "nanny state" isn't for you. They're to keep the oligarchs from trashing every toy in the nursery and peeing on the ceiling. -- RecklessPrudence

"What this new world needs is the elimination of this Nanny State!"

Those who the government selected to start this world in their own image... reacted exactly as they should. They cheered and hooted and eventually overthrew the people who stood for reason and regulation. Those who stood to gain the most did indeed gain.

Challenge #01584-D123: Ancient Wisdom?

:Said in a tone of imparting great wisdom, to someone who does not speak Norwegian:

Aldri skal gi deg opp. Aldri skal la deg ned, gonna aldri løpe rundt og svikte deg. Aldri skal gjøre deg gråte. ĺ aldri si farvel. Aldri skal fortelle en løgn og skade deg

(https://translate.google.com.au/) -- RecklessPrudence

"Please?" they said. "Give us some words of wisdom from Ancient Earth?" They had a handful of Hours as an offering.

Maybe it was their adoring

Challenge #01583-D122: The Word Escapes

English is also a loose cannon cop-on-the-edge who doesn't play by the rules and will do horrible, horrible things if it solves the short-term problem in front of him. -- RecklessPrudence

There are moments when words escape the speaker. Rational thought, too, takes a temporary holiday and necessity mothers a great deal of illogical invention.

"I need a new..." the next word fled to the furthest reaches of Kathmandu. "...um..." What was the dang word for it? People were staring. She needed

Challenge #01581-D120: Something For Everyone

There are some entertainments that have a guaranteed audience. If you can find the cast you will have an audience. Which explains why Swan Lake is such a regular item in ballet companies and why people dress up for Tristan and Isolde when they stage Wagner's ring cycle. -- Anon Guest

The more things change, they say, the more they remain the same. In five hundred years, one thing had stayed true. Soap opera. Some were so popular that one episode ran

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A 2290-post collection

Challenge #01598-D137: That's One Bad Week

Challenge #01597-D136: T's and Switch

Challenge #01596-D135: The Little Touches

Challenge #01595-D134: The Memory Lingers On

Challenge #01594-D133: In the Cracks

Challenge #01593-D132: Understanding on the Brink of a Fall

Challenge #01592-D131: Takes Me WABAC

Challenge #01590-D129: Concerned Citizens

Challenge #01589-D128: Hazardous Playthings

Challenge #01588-D127: Culture Clash

Challenge #01587-D126: Care Worn

Challenge #01586-D125: Not the Best Intentions

Challenge #01584-D123: Ancient Wisdom?

Challenge #01583-D122: The Word Escapes

Challenge #01581-D120: Something For Everyone