Instant Story

Challenge #03110-H202: Friendship Formed With Rock

You want someone who can protect you, go to a human-made space station. There are so many there that can't throw a rock without hitting a strong protector! -- Anon Guest

Okie should not have tested the literality of that statement. In their thin defense, the rock was small and her throwing arm was not as significant as the Deathworlders present in Bahydawiyal Station. The pebble sailed up into the ambient atmosphere, arced according to the laws of physics, and landed on someone in the crowd. Someone who immediately objected.

The angry Human could easily make four of Okie even without the livesuit carapace protecting most of them from random happenstance. They and their livesuit were battle-scarred, filthy, and looking pretty darn tired with life in general and whatever this was in particular.

"Did you just flakkin' throw a rock at me?" demanded the angry Human, who was just now adapting to the fact that Okie was very small and pretty darn vulnerable and in the middle of a station full of Deathworlders. If one had very special senses, one could hear the Human rapidly changing mental gears. "You really gotta be careful with stuff like this."

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Challenge #03109-H201: A Walking Holiday in Rainbow Park

A Human takes their Havenworlder friends to Earth to walk through a beautiful park where the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. Lining the path are beautiful lilac bushes, also blooming, and not far from there are early blooming apple trees. A lovely garden of flowers surrounding them on a warm, early, summer afternoon. -- Anon Guest

It was a cascade of colour. Pink and blue and primrose too. Some of that colour was literally cascading downwards with every gentle breeze.

Challenge #03108-H200: The Cratered Path of Progress

The only difference between “f* around and find out” and science is whether or not you write down your findings -- Anon Guest

Mishi checked his ears for blood. Okay. None there. That meant that there was an increased chance that the hearing loss was temporary. Next, he risked wiggling his fingers and toes. Nothing hurt too badly. Sitting up -carefully, of course- revealed that he was now some distance away from the smoulding ruins of his former workshop. Ow. Living hurt.

Challenge #03107-H199: Too Helpful

welcome to the internet, I’ll be your guide -- Anon Guest

Benevolence Org had spared no expense. They had put everything they could into their shield AI which, in a moment of pure egocentrism, named Bo. It was meant to protect the new, the unfamiliar, the gullible, from those who would exploit them on the nigh-lawless seas of the internet. It was friendly, it was helpful, and users could even customise the friendly avatar of its interface for maximum comfort.

Bo

Challenge #03106-H198: The Curse of Insight

A Tiefling who's one of the rare ones respected as a cleric, with golden horns instead of black, blue eyes instead of red or yellow, and dark red skin, encounters the camp as they've settled in before they make their destination. He hears the harsh words of the nanny / nursemaid toward a child and can sense the child's sorrow, the fear, the self-dislike, and scowls. He decides to take that nanny's fate into his OWN hands and teach her what that child

Challenge #03105-H197: To Break a Curse

I'm trying to get around the Akmet filter, this prompt was what InterNutter suggested in their comments but for some reason the bot hates it when you use comments from one of your postings as a suggested prompt. At least for this one. So let's try a screen shot and the address to the Challenge it comes from?

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03061-h138-of-monstrous-men -- DaniAndShali

[AN: For the record, the idea given by BKF/DaniAndShali is, "That's sweet, he finally has

Challenge #03104-H196: For Great Justice

She was a nanny who was required to care for a Tiefling child. She disliked Tieflings, the whole race were nothing but demons, but her lord ordered it. It was his daughter after all. The child rarely got smiles, save from her parents, rarely got a kind word, except her parents, and then a stranger came to the palace and gave the nanny a hard, cold, lesson in caring for children. One the nanny ever forgot, especially after what that man did,

Challenge #03103-H195: Button Smash Victory

The other Deregger empires laughed. They were losing profits by the year, by year five of straight losses, they were the most mocked of Deregger empires, only their current wealth and ranked saved them from a hostile takeover. But year five, they broke even, year six they broke even, then year seven, they began to profit, year eight, year nine... soon their profits were skyrocketing exponentially, and the other empires were not laughing anymore.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03064-h141-to-deal-with-reformed-devils -- DaniAndShali

Challenge #03102-H194: If Knowledge is Power...

war, war never changes. But men do, through the roads they walk. -- Anon Guest

"Humans are trained to combat from an early age. It is considered a rite of passage that adults 'attack' their young as part of play activities. See file, Household Nerf Wars." Educator Mil read to the class. "This is an older entry on the infonets regarding Humans and Human development. My question to you is, how accurate or inaccurate is it, where is it inaccurate, and why

Challenge #03101-H193: Knowledge Versus Wisdom

A Deathworlder who is a student in a human-run Dojo finds their Sensei in a classroom working on homework and is surprised. The human is more than old enough to have graduated from most classes and was advanced in years. So...

"Sensei? Why are you here? Surely there's little you need to brush up on now?"

The human turns and smiles in a kind, almost grandparent-like, smile upon their student and offers them a seat. "My dear student, remember our first lesson?

Challenge #03100-H192: Unusual Pun-Ishment

The prisoner was sitting cuffed to a chair that was welded to the floor. The human was sitting with a pile of books next to them across the metal table that was also welded to the floor. The chair was not uncomfortable and the cuffs were padded.

[Pirate] "I will never tell you the size of our group or who our captains are. You're wasting your time!"

[Human interrogator with a sigh] "Are you sure? I really don't want to have to

Challenge #03099-H191: Orders Are Not an Excuse

The Good Soldier - Bridget Kielas-Fecyk

.

I'm a brave and proud soldier.

I'm strong with sword and bow.

And upon my Leige’s orders,

My enemy did I lay low.

/

I found my enemy was a father.

A child now filled with tears.

Into my arms I took her.

And tried to calm her fears.

/

My Leige, oh please, forgive me.

For my duties I must forsake.

For I've killed this child's father.

Now as my child, this girl, I take.

/

Now

Challenge #03098-H190: We Already Made That Choice

A planet has a rogue virus that is quite dangerous and, for some, lethal. A vaccination has been found, but due to a dangerous quirk of the virus, it's being difficult about combining it with an immuno-flu, so the old-fashioned shots have to do until another way is found.

Unfortunately, the "pure life" protestors are there trying to physically stop the medical ships from getting to the planet, and they're willing to open fire to stop them. -- Anon Guest

There were

Challenge #03097-H189: The Alliance Has Hackers Too

Look dude I set the bar pretty low, you brought a f@#$%! shovel -- Anon Guest

[AN: Another one I love is, "The bar was set so low that it was a tripping hazard in Hades, but you had to go limbo with the devil." It's just... SO raw and so delicious.]

P.T. Barnum said it best, There's one born every minute. He anticipated people willing to believe his particular brand of bafflegab, but there's suckers that will fall for anything

Challenge #03096-H188: Grey Goo Economy

They seemed like the perfect set of employees. They actually begged the CEO's of the Deregger colonies to be allowed to live there. They offered to work for almost no pay, even less than what the other workers got. Odd, the other workers were not complaining as this group seemed to do a lot more work, but for less shelter and less pay. But the other workers were getting healthier, the air seemed to be getting cleaner, the stacks were not producing

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Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #03110-H202: Friendship Formed With Rock

Challenge #03109-H201: A Walking Holiday in Rainbow Park

Challenge #03108-H200: The Cratered Path of Progress

Challenge #03107-H199: Too Helpful

Challenge #03106-H198: The Curse of Insight

Challenge #03105-H197: To Break a Curse

Challenge #03104-H196: For Great Justice

Challenge #03103-H195: Button Smash Victory

Challenge #03102-H194: If Knowledge is Power...

Challenge #03101-H193: Knowledge Versus Wisdom

Challenge #03100-H192: Unusual Pun-Ishment

Challenge #03099-H191: Orders Are Not an Excuse

Challenge #03098-H190: We Already Made That Choice

Challenge #03097-H189: The Alliance Has Hackers Too

Challenge #03096-H188: Grey Goo Economy