Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #02433-F243: One More Thing

Do it yourselfers have a problem, "I needa", and after multiple trips to the local hardware store you acquire stuff. Which leads to 'innovative storage'. -- Anon Guest

It starts with a project that should be simple, but you need more than what is present in the allegedly simple kit. The people who put that kit together assumed that you were starting from a certain level of familiarity. So you go out to acquire the missing items of necessity.

Once there, you realise that there's a few items that are actually better than the ones in the kit, and it couldn't hurt to have suchlike for the next time. That's how it starts. Once returned with your new items, the kit's instructions have left out a step, a tool, a piece, and now the race is on to find out what it is. In the process, you discover that the kit is absolute garbage and literally everything in it needs to be replaced with something better because it's all made out of non-standard, unmatchable parts.

If you are phenomenally lucky, the replacement of the kit takes one trip. However, the odds against that are so astronomical that you are more likely to create a new reality by snapping your fingers. After that is finally accomplished, comes finding out that the tools you have are inadequate for the task, and you need to upgrade all of them. Eventually, though, the project is finished, and you can relax.

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Challenge #02432-F242: Unfortunate History

"No way. A society advanced enough to even think of getting into space must live in harmony with itself. Everybody has following the rules encoded in their genes. The consequences of disrupting the system of government are equivalent to those of an asteroid impact. Of course you'd say that I'm a Havenworlder, things work differently on Terra, yada-yada-yada, but that's an universal rule... right?" -- Anon Guest

"Er. Not really. Humanity's first steps into space travel were the direct result of an

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Challenge #02431-F241: Elements of Bad Design

The tailbone is virtually useless, a big target near our ass, not to mention the design of our spine is structurally fucked, AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE FOUR WISDOM TEETHS THAT I NEED TO BE SHATTERED AND EXTRACTED. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Don't get me started on my wisdom teeth. That was a horrorshow.]

If there was ever an argument against intelligent design, it is simply found in vestigial portions of anatomy and the troubles they cause. Just for example:

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Challenge #02430-F240: In a Name

I'm one of the fortunate or unfortunate (depending on your perspective) to have two first name, them being S* Kirby. -- Anon Guest

There's just something about having a first name as a last name that gets to people. It's memorable, yes, but also... it can make nametags problematic. You would not believe the number of people who tell me it should be my surname in there or, in non-surname occasions, my given one. Then you get the accusations of being an

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Challenge #02429-F239: Fresh as the Day...

Due to a new find on Earth the whole Galaxy's is in a State of utter bafflement and confusion.

Even Scientists are clueless about the How.

One Human has Survived. Locked away deep underground in a sort of Cryogenic sleeping Cell, years before even the First Prototypes where built.

The Signs on the Pod says "Activated 2019. All Vitals normal. Beginning Waking-Procedure. T-24 Hours"

A Human still alive from before the Shattering. -- Anon Guest

The vault under the mountain was brilliantly

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Challenge #02428-F238: Resistance Training

being a telepath isn't easy. Being an apprentice one even less. That's why all apprentice telepath first learn and practice on their teachers, then on volunteer from mind reading friendly species, practising the basics, be it reading someone's mind, communicating basically and making the whole thing as less uncomfortable as possible.

The first true "test" is to go and listen as long as possible to a small group of humans passing by the main hall. Officially it's to make sure the basic

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Challenge #02427-F237: The Tune Called Yakety Sax

[AN: So Steemit.com is having some shenanigans which prevent me from posting there. Rest assured that this tale will be up as soon as it can be managed, at which point this post will change to the default template. Thank you for your patience and understanding]

Explaining 'The Benny Hill Show' to future Culture classes. -- Anon Guest

Every entertainment is a product of its time and a product of its medium and a product of its culture. Nothing shows this

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Challenge #02426-F236: Trust Us On This

First meal of the day, in a 'Greasy Spoon' Space diner. -- Anon Guest

There are some spaces that are eternally stuck at one hour. In most casinos, it is eternally early evening - just after work, so there's plenty of time to kick back and relax. Shopping malls have a similar atmosphere, but generally put themselves earlier in the afternoon so one doesn't have to rush to collect the kids. In diners, it's always a little late, but not that late.

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Challenge #02425-F235: A Study of Abnormalcy

On the Edge there are many prisons. Some of them are just normal, regular prisons, but you can also find a special prisons.

Heavenworlder (name) is trying to learn about human psychology. Probably the best place to learn about "true human madness" is prison for unstable human murderers.

"He talked about murders with some sort of weird passion. But he started to be aggressive when I asked him about his childhood experiences. He struggle against cuffs and tried to reach me. If

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Challenge #02424-F234: Revolution Temporarily Postponed

"Ok look, I haven't eaten anything since this morning, and the meeting was THREE HOURS long, I'm sooooo stressed I just want to play punch something" -- Anon Guest

Is there anything more frustrating than a day that goes nowhere due to circumstances beyond your control? The boss buttonholes you for two hours about inefficiency. The staff meeting drags on as someone in the higher echelons demands a full explanation in small words of the exact, precise, fine details of the problem

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Challenge #02423-F233: The Hubris Initiative

He was the sort of person who stood on mountaintops during thunderstorms in wet copper armour shouting, "All the Gods are Bastards!" ~ Also by Terry Pratchett -- Anon Guest

There's inviting trouble to your door, and then there's stalking it for apparent fun and alleged profit. Inviting trouble is asking questions with obviously painful and demonstrative answers from the cosmos, like: "What else can go wrong?" or, "So what's the big deal?" or, "How can we possibly fail?" Stalking trouble... well, to

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Challenge #02422-F232: Crit Happens

Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out 'til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along. ~Terry Pratchett

Also known as being a DM. (Dungeon Master) -- Anon Guest

Imagine a game so complicated that even the experts have to look up the rules. It is not just played with dice, but also cards, charts, tables, books, miniatures, and a hell of a lot of imagination. There is only one person at the

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Challenge #02421-F231: Organically Sourced Isotopes

Imagine the surprise across the Galactic Alliance when they discover that humans have more than a mild tolerance to small doses of radiation, and that some of our plants are (in large enough quantities) active enough to set off sensors designed to detect much more harmful materials...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananaequivalentdose -- Adam in Darwin

The stasis box arrived in successive layers of protective wrapping, depending on which port it had shipped through, and which species did

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Challenge #02420-F230: Should Have Ordered a Bear Claw

Don't we all love some self-important type throwing a Grade One 'Tanty' - strongly reminiscent of a spoiled 2-year-old on camera. -- Anon Guest

Like all spectacles, this was one best viewed from afar. It was loud, it was violent, it was utterly ridiculous, and the people at ground zero had seen all varieties of nonsense and were therefore relatively unflappable, or just too tired to be bothered with reacting, it was difficult to tell. In person... it was just strange.

To

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Challenge #02419-F229: iStalkU

Of the three main causes for murder "Lust" is the most ignoble and most distressing. What could not be given in Love was stolen, then in fear of reprisal or 'the damn bitch struggled" a Life was taken. -- Anon Guest

Let me tell you about the one I love. They are perfect. Perfect body. Perfect looks. Never a hair out of place. They always smile for me when I go to order my morning fix. I always tip generously. I want

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