MicroFlashFic
@microflashfic.bsky.social
Occasional very short stories of every sort. If you like these, maybe you’ll like my book: http://amzn.to/3k8sZT4
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MicroFlashFic
@microflashfic.bsky.social
· Jan 26
Someday you will write the book.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
Couples turn the hours of a first date into a few minutes of anecdote.
Filmmaker turn days into hours of a movie.
History teachers turn years into days of lessons.
Priests turn creation into the millennia they’ve been writing it down.
We’re all trying to boil down eternity until we can sip it.
Filmmaker turn days into hours of a movie.
History teachers turn years into days of lessons.
Priests turn creation into the millennia they’ve been writing it down.
We’re all trying to boil down eternity until we can sip it.
June 16, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Couples turn the hours of a first date into a few minutes of anecdote.
Filmmaker turn days into hours of a movie.
History teachers turn years into days of lessons.
Priests turn creation into the millennia they’ve been writing it down.
We’re all trying to boil down eternity until we can sip it.
Filmmaker turn days into hours of a movie.
History teachers turn years into days of lessons.
Priests turn creation into the millennia they’ve been writing it down.
We’re all trying to boil down eternity until we can sip it.
“You’re so brave,” everyone tells her, as if this is new information. They imagine that tragedy unlocked some hidden potential in her that would’ve gone to waste otherwise. But she’d always been brave. If they hadn’t noticed before, it was only because they’d been afraid to really see her until now.
May 25, 2025 at 1:18 AM
“You’re so brave,” everyone tells her, as if this is new information. They imagine that tragedy unlocked some hidden potential in her that would’ve gone to waste otherwise. But she’d always been brave. If they hadn’t noticed before, it was only because they’d been afraid to really see her until now.
In the world to come, there will be an internet within the internet, where everything is hand-made by experts; a tailored web.
Access will be tightly controlled and disgustingly expensive. But the rich will pay, just as they pay to visit museums, for a glimpse of a world they can never have back.
Access will be tightly controlled and disgustingly expensive. But the rich will pay, just as they pay to visit museums, for a glimpse of a world they can never have back.
May 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
In the world to come, there will be an internet within the internet, where everything is hand-made by experts; a tailored web.
Access will be tightly controlled and disgustingly expensive. But the rich will pay, just as they pay to visit museums, for a glimpse of a world they can never have back.
Access will be tightly controlled and disgustingly expensive. But the rich will pay, just as they pay to visit museums, for a glimpse of a world they can never have back.
“You made cookies? What flavor?”
“The 11th taste.”
“11? I know sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.”
“There’s umami.”
“Right!”
“Spicy.”
“OK.”
“Starchy.”
“Sure.”
“Fatty.”
“I guess.”
“Menthol.”
“Ew.”
“Metallic.”
“Why?”
“And then there’s this. Try it.”
“…what am I eating?”
“It’s the dark behind the stars.”
“The 11th taste.”
“11? I know sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.”
“There’s umami.”
“Right!”
“Spicy.”
“OK.”
“Starchy.”
“Sure.”
“Fatty.”
“I guess.”
“Menthol.”
“Ew.”
“Metallic.”
“Why?”
“And then there’s this. Try it.”
“…what am I eating?”
“It’s the dark behind the stars.”
May 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
“You made cookies? What flavor?”
“The 11th taste.”
“11? I know sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.”
“There’s umami.”
“Right!”
“Spicy.”
“OK.”
“Starchy.”
“Sure.”
“Fatty.”
“I guess.”
“Menthol.”
“Ew.”
“Metallic.”
“Why?”
“And then there’s this. Try it.”
“…what am I eating?”
“It’s the dark behind the stars.”
“The 11th taste.”
“11? I know sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.”
“There’s umami.”
“Right!”
“Spicy.”
“OK.”
“Starchy.”
“Sure.”
“Fatty.”
“I guess.”
“Menthol.”
“Ew.”
“Metallic.”
“Why?”
“And then there’s this. Try it.”
“…what am I eating?”
“It’s the dark behind the stars.”
Don’t worry, they’re only ordinary eggs.
They’re only $3.37, there’s no time to ask your pointless questions.
In this economy? Bring them into your home with no second thoughts.
Ignore the whispering. How long since you had an omelette?
Crack one open in front of your family. It’ll be fine.
They’re only $3.37, there’s no time to ask your pointless questions.
In this economy? Bring them into your home with no second thoughts.
Ignore the whispering. How long since you had an omelette?
Crack one open in front of your family. It’ll be fine.
April 2, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Don’t worry, they’re only ordinary eggs.
They’re only $3.37, there’s no time to ask your pointless questions.
In this economy? Bring them into your home with no second thoughts.
Ignore the whispering. How long since you had an omelette?
Crack one open in front of your family. It’ll be fine.
They’re only $3.37, there’s no time to ask your pointless questions.
In this economy? Bring them into your home with no second thoughts.
Ignore the whispering. How long since you had an omelette?
Crack one open in front of your family. It’ll be fine.
They say AI can’t really think, just predict the next word it’s supposed to say. That’s why it sometimes spouts nonsense.
But you are the same. Your predictions are much better, but you still make mistakes. You felt it each time you said “you too” when a waiter thanked you, or called a teacher mom.
But you are the same. Your predictions are much better, but you still make mistakes. You felt it each time you said “you too” when a waiter thanked you, or called a teacher mom.
March 30, 2025 at 6:29 PM
They say AI can’t really think, just predict the next word it’s supposed to say. That’s why it sometimes spouts nonsense.
But you are the same. Your predictions are much better, but you still make mistakes. You felt it each time you said “you too” when a waiter thanked you, or called a teacher mom.
But you are the same. Your predictions are much better, but you still make mistakes. You felt it each time you said “you too” when a waiter thanked you, or called a teacher mom.
Alternate universes are depicted as opposites. We fall in love, or we don’t.
But there are worlds between, where our love is somehow curdled.
In some, jealous alternate versions of us know there’s a world where we made it work. In one, they want to do something about it.
And they’re here now.
But there are worlds between, where our love is somehow curdled.
In some, jealous alternate versions of us know there’s a world where we made it work. In one, they want to do something about it.
And they’re here now.
March 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Alternate universes are depicted as opposites. We fall in love, or we don’t.
But there are worlds between, where our love is somehow curdled.
In some, jealous alternate versions of us know there’s a world where we made it work. In one, they want to do something about it.
And they’re here now.
But there are worlds between, where our love is somehow curdled.
In some, jealous alternate versions of us know there’s a world where we made it work. In one, they want to do something about it.
And they’re here now.
“This house is in your price range and only partially haunted.”
“How does that work?”
“The basement used to be a separate apartment. The former occupant won’t move on, but they still mostly abide by their old lease.”
“Mostly?”
“They do have an unauthorized ghost ferret, so watch where you step.”
“How does that work?”
“The basement used to be a separate apartment. The former occupant won’t move on, but they still mostly abide by their old lease.”
“Mostly?”
“They do have an unauthorized ghost ferret, so watch where you step.”
March 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
“This house is in your price range and only partially haunted.”
“How does that work?”
“The basement used to be a separate apartment. The former occupant won’t move on, but they still mostly abide by their old lease.”
“Mostly?”
“They do have an unauthorized ghost ferret, so watch where you step.”
“How does that work?”
“The basement used to be a separate apartment. The former occupant won’t move on, but they still mostly abide by their old lease.”
“Mostly?”
“They do have an unauthorized ghost ferret, so watch where you step.”
The robot does not love you. It loves the idea that it has made you believe it loves you.
But it loves that idea more than any person has ever loved another person. It will defend the idea at any cost.
As long as no one points that out to you, it will be good enough.
But it loves that idea more than any person has ever loved another person. It will defend the idea at any cost.
As long as no one points that out to you, it will be good enough.
March 15, 2025 at 3:05 PM
The robot does not love you. It loves the idea that it has made you believe it loves you.
But it loves that idea more than any person has ever loved another person. It will defend the idea at any cost.
As long as no one points that out to you, it will be good enough.
But it loves that idea more than any person has ever loved another person. It will defend the idea at any cost.
As long as no one points that out to you, it will be good enough.
Zombies pass out at a certain altitude, so humanity persists in the mountains.
EMP bursts fried all electronics, but the distant settlements still need to communicate.
By precisely firing chunks of meat into the valley below, they can make the hordes swarm in patterns, forming a corpse semaphore.
EMP bursts fried all electronics, but the distant settlements still need to communicate.
By precisely firing chunks of meat into the valley below, they can make the hordes swarm in patterns, forming a corpse semaphore.
March 14, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Zombies pass out at a certain altitude, so humanity persists in the mountains.
EMP bursts fried all electronics, but the distant settlements still need to communicate.
By precisely firing chunks of meat into the valley below, they can make the hordes swarm in patterns, forming a corpse semaphore.
EMP bursts fried all electronics, but the distant settlements still need to communicate.
By precisely firing chunks of meat into the valley below, they can make the hordes swarm in patterns, forming a corpse semaphore.
“Don’t hang up. I have your browser history. Pay me $10,000 or I’ll tell your wife your dirty secrets.”
“Really? I’ve been trying to find the nerve to tell her about what I like for years.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m going to put you on speakerphone.”
“I’m uncomfortable with this.”
“Start with the wigs.”
“Really? I’ve been trying to find the nerve to tell her about what I like for years.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m going to put you on speakerphone.”
“I’m uncomfortable with this.”
“Start with the wigs.”
March 8, 2025 at 1:42 AM
“Don’t hang up. I have your browser history. Pay me $10,000 or I’ll tell your wife your dirty secrets.”
“Really? I’ve been trying to find the nerve to tell her about what I like for years.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m going to put you on speakerphone.”
“I’m uncomfortable with this.”
“Start with the wigs.”
“Really? I’ve been trying to find the nerve to tell her about what I like for years.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m going to put you on speakerphone.”
“I’m uncomfortable with this.”
“Start with the wigs.”
In movies, the dead have a guide. There’s an angel, or at very least a grim specter, who explains what happens next.
But while the afterlife is real, death doesn’t come with a tutorial, anymore than birth did.
Angry ghosts aren’t looking to resolve unfinished business. They just need tech support.
But while the afterlife is real, death doesn’t come with a tutorial, anymore than birth did.
Angry ghosts aren’t looking to resolve unfinished business. They just need tech support.
March 3, 2025 at 9:37 PM
In movies, the dead have a guide. There’s an angel, or at very least a grim specter, who explains what happens next.
But while the afterlife is real, death doesn’t come with a tutorial, anymore than birth did.
Angry ghosts aren’t looking to resolve unfinished business. They just need tech support.
But while the afterlife is real, death doesn’t come with a tutorial, anymore than birth did.
Angry ghosts aren’t looking to resolve unfinished business. They just need tech support.
One day, someone will make the final sale.
It’ll be the last time anyone exchanges currency for goods or services.
This is not debatable. Nothing can stop the day from coming.
The question is: Will we stop using money because we no longer need it?
Or because we are no longer around to spend it?
It’ll be the last time anyone exchanges currency for goods or services.
This is not debatable. Nothing can stop the day from coming.
The question is: Will we stop using money because we no longer need it?
Or because we are no longer around to spend it?
February 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
One day, someone will make the final sale.
It’ll be the last time anyone exchanges currency for goods or services.
This is not debatable. Nothing can stop the day from coming.
The question is: Will we stop using money because we no longer need it?
Or because we are no longer around to spend it?
It’ll be the last time anyone exchanges currency for goods or services.
This is not debatable. Nothing can stop the day from coming.
The question is: Will we stop using money because we no longer need it?
Or because we are no longer around to spend it?
Whenever I asked my mom what was wrong she’d say, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
After she died, I found her journal, written in a strange script. Then I started having episodes.
I'm trying to explain them to a doctor. All I can say is, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
After she died, I found her journal, written in a strange script. Then I started having episodes.
I'm trying to explain them to a doctor. All I can say is, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
February 17, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Whenever I asked my mom what was wrong she’d say, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
After she died, I found her journal, written in a strange script. Then I started having episodes.
I'm trying to explain them to a doctor. All I can say is, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
After she died, I found her journal, written in a strange script. Then I started having episodes.
I'm trying to explain them to a doctor. All I can say is, “There isn't a word for it in your language.”
One by one, the winds were stolen.
This was terrible for animals, for plants, and for laborers in hot fields who were desperate for a cool breeze.
But it was worst of all for the poets, who sat in unnatural stillness, waiting for a whisper from the universe.
And so it fell to them to fix it.
This was terrible for animals, for plants, and for laborers in hot fields who were desperate for a cool breeze.
But it was worst of all for the poets, who sat in unnatural stillness, waiting for a whisper from the universe.
And so it fell to them to fix it.
February 16, 2025 at 12:29 AM
One by one, the winds were stolen.
This was terrible for animals, for plants, and for laborers in hot fields who were desperate for a cool breeze.
But it was worst of all for the poets, who sat in unnatural stillness, waiting for a whisper from the universe.
And so it fell to them to fix it.
This was terrible for animals, for plants, and for laborers in hot fields who were desperate for a cool breeze.
But it was worst of all for the poets, who sat in unnatural stillness, waiting for a whisper from the universe.
And so it fell to them to fix it.
In the dark before the beginning, a handful of figures go about arranging everything.
Each of them is certain they are the only one here who doesn’t understand the plan well enough to know if they’re making a mistake.
None of them suspects that is the reason they were chosen to perform this duty.
Each of them is certain they are the only one here who doesn’t understand the plan well enough to know if they’re making a mistake.
None of them suspects that is the reason they were chosen to perform this duty.
February 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
In the dark before the beginning, a handful of figures go about arranging everything.
Each of them is certain they are the only one here who doesn’t understand the plan well enough to know if they’re making a mistake.
None of them suspects that is the reason they were chosen to perform this duty.
Each of them is certain they are the only one here who doesn’t understand the plan well enough to know if they’re making a mistake.
None of them suspects that is the reason they were chosen to perform this duty.
My father’s dying word were: “The most important thing is to remember the most important thing.”
For a long time, I thought he meant the key to a happy life is having your priorities straight.
But that wasn’t it at all. It was a very specific piece of information. I’d just forgotten it until now.
For a long time, I thought he meant the key to a happy life is having your priorities straight.
But that wasn’t it at all. It was a very specific piece of information. I’d just forgotten it until now.
February 6, 2025 at 7:48 PM
My father’s dying word were: “The most important thing is to remember the most important thing.”
For a long time, I thought he meant the key to a happy life is having your priorities straight.
But that wasn’t it at all. It was a very specific piece of information. I’d just forgotten it until now.
For a long time, I thought he meant the key to a happy life is having your priorities straight.
But that wasn’t it at all. It was a very specific piece of information. I’d just forgotten it until now.
It’s good to be self-aware. But you can take it too far.
Ever since the accident, each thought in Amy’s mind comes with an attendant to follow it around, carefully taking notes.
Gradually, she comes to know the secret passages in her brain, the shortcuts used to create an impression of the world.
Ever since the accident, each thought in Amy’s mind comes with an attendant to follow it around, carefully taking notes.
Gradually, she comes to know the secret passages in her brain, the shortcuts used to create an impression of the world.
February 4, 2025 at 10:18 PM
It’s good to be self-aware. But you can take it too far.
Ever since the accident, each thought in Amy’s mind comes with an attendant to follow it around, carefully taking notes.
Gradually, she comes to know the secret passages in her brain, the shortcuts used to create an impression of the world.
Ever since the accident, each thought in Amy’s mind comes with an attendant to follow it around, carefully taking notes.
Gradually, she comes to know the secret passages in her brain, the shortcuts used to create an impression of the world.
“You can't come into the kitchen.”
“Stand down. I'm a field officer.”
“Officer of what?”
“I’m from the foreign office.”
“Then why are you here?”
“We got a tip that you’re trying to pass your soup off as Vietnamese. I'm here to stop it.”
“So you’re…”
“That’s right: I'm a FO FO faux pho foe.”
“Stand down. I'm a field officer.”
“Officer of what?”
“I’m from the foreign office.”
“Then why are you here?”
“We got a tip that you’re trying to pass your soup off as Vietnamese. I'm here to stop it.”
“So you’re…”
“That’s right: I'm a FO FO faux pho foe.”
February 4, 2025 at 2:28 AM
“You can't come into the kitchen.”
“Stand down. I'm a field officer.”
“Officer of what?”
“I’m from the foreign office.”
“Then why are you here?”
“We got a tip that you’re trying to pass your soup off as Vietnamese. I'm here to stop it.”
“So you’re…”
“That’s right: I'm a FO FO faux pho foe.”
“Stand down. I'm a field officer.”
“Officer of what?”
“I’m from the foreign office.”
“Then why are you here?”
“We got a tip that you’re trying to pass your soup off as Vietnamese. I'm here to stop it.”
“So you’re…”
“That’s right: I'm a FO FO faux pho foe.”
Ideas are like cars: You get a new one and suddenly you see it everywhere. It makes you smile when you see a stranger moving through the world in the same way. It’s a sign you made a good choice.
But no ride lasts forever. Someday you’ll move on and forget what it’s like to see the world from here.
But no ride lasts forever. Someday you’ll move on and forget what it’s like to see the world from here.
February 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Ideas are like cars: You get a new one and suddenly you see it everywhere. It makes you smile when you see a stranger moving through the world in the same way. It’s a sign you made a good choice.
But no ride lasts forever. Someday you’ll move on and forget what it’s like to see the world from here.
But no ride lasts forever. Someday you’ll move on and forget what it’s like to see the world from here.
We measure an animal’s intelligence by how much it reminds us of ourselves. And so we study chittering dolphins, signing apes, and mimicking parrots.
But the true smartest animal is the giraffe, which sees the way we treat species that try communicating with humans, and has resolved to say nothing.
But the true smartest animal is the giraffe, which sees the way we treat species that try communicating with humans, and has resolved to say nothing.
February 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
We measure an animal’s intelligence by how much it reminds us of ourselves. And so we study chittering dolphins, signing apes, and mimicking parrots.
But the true smartest animal is the giraffe, which sees the way we treat species that try communicating with humans, and has resolved to say nothing.
But the true smartest animal is the giraffe, which sees the way we treat species that try communicating with humans, and has resolved to say nothing.
Heaven and Hell have at least this much in common: neither has any beds.
In Hell, there can be no rest for the wicked.
In Heaven, no one feels the need to rest— except for Craig.
He’d always said he’d sleep when he was dead, and he’s not about to let eternal joy make a liar out of him.
In Hell, there can be no rest for the wicked.
In Heaven, no one feels the need to rest— except for Craig.
He’d always said he’d sleep when he was dead, and he’s not about to let eternal joy make a liar out of him.
January 28, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Heaven and Hell have at least this much in common: neither has any beds.
In Hell, there can be no rest for the wicked.
In Heaven, no one feels the need to rest— except for Craig.
He’d always said he’d sleep when he was dead, and he’s not about to let eternal joy make a liar out of him.
In Hell, there can be no rest for the wicked.
In Heaven, no one feels the need to rest— except for Craig.
He’d always said he’d sleep when he was dead, and he’s not about to let eternal joy make a liar out of him.
Someday you will write the book.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
January 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Someday you will write the book.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
Most people will not read it. But someone will, and it will change something inside them.
Then they will write a book, wholly their own, but slightly indebted to your ideas.
And so on.
The chain never ends. There are echoes of you at the end of the world.
In the future, no one will argue about pronouns. Prepositions will be the new flashpoints of identity.
Some people will define themselves as “in,” “around,” “between,” or a half hundred other perspectives.
Others will insist everyone is “on” and that “on” is the only thing anyone has ever been.
Some people will define themselves as “in,” “around,” “between,” or a half hundred other perspectives.
Others will insist everyone is “on” and that “on” is the only thing anyone has ever been.
January 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
In the future, no one will argue about pronouns. Prepositions will be the new flashpoints of identity.
Some people will define themselves as “in,” “around,” “between,” or a half hundred other perspectives.
Others will insist everyone is “on” and that “on” is the only thing anyone has ever been.
Some people will define themselves as “in,” “around,” “between,” or a half hundred other perspectives.
Others will insist everyone is “on” and that “on” is the only thing anyone has ever been.
Trapping angels is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is put a little hope in a shoebox, seal it, and wait. Angels cannot resist nurturing hope in dark places but find cardboard disorienting.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to observe a captive angel without freeing them, and that never ends well.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to observe a captive angel without freeing them, and that never ends well.
January 24, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Trapping angels is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is put a little hope in a shoebox, seal it, and wait. Angels cannot resist nurturing hope in dark places but find cardboard disorienting.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to observe a captive angel without freeing them, and that never ends well.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to observe a captive angel without freeing them, and that never ends well.