Saturday, March 24, 2012

Eyes, Takes, and Scientists

Hey all! I know, it's not Friday today, but I missed posting this yesterday. I still want to keep the goal of posting twice a week, but now I'm wrestling with this new schedule and I'm losing track of which day is which. I plan on getting on top of that soon and figuring out ways of getting around my schedule and finding the little areas in there where I have some free/downtime and getting in more reading and writing. Everything is just a little hectic now, but I know I will find a way.

Now for this week's stories. The first story, Jonas David's "Those Eyes," comes to us from Ray Gun Revival. The other more recent story is Alex Shvartsman's "The Take" from Daily Science Fiction. The classic story comes to us from the beginning of the Great Depression. It's Desmond Winter Hall's "A Scientist Rises." They are all fun stories and pretty quick reads. I don't think that there is any reason why you shouldn't read any of these.

Those Eyes by Jonas David -- Ray Gun Revival

First things first: this story contains quite a few grammatical errors. However, that is just a pet peeve of mine. If they were to return to the story and polish it off a little bit, I would be much happier. Anyways, if you are able to get beyond those errors, you will find a great story beneath about a world where humans have begun to become less human and more machine. And those who still keep any biological bits of their old selves must be cautious because there are drones flying around, eradicating any fleshy leftovers. There's a little more to Jonas David's story, though. It starts out with the main character looking for some sort of power source to charge up his Pad, but he has trouble finding anything because all the technology that was left has been taken either by what is left of the humans or the drones. He then spots his old fling and starts to talk to her. But out of nowhere a drone comes and starts to chase them down. I'll leave it at that. The rest is quite intriguing, and the story deserves to be read.


The Take by Alex Shvartsman -- Daily Science Fiction

What happens in a world where we use a combination of virtual reality and the memories of others to receive our entertainment? What happens to the actors who used to give it to us? Shvartsman's tale offers us a glimpse of what may happen. In his story, a low-budget actor tries to commit a menial crime in order to get some money. Why? Because it's his first experience shoplifting, and first experiences a big sellers. I'm not the best at explaining this, so you should just give this a read and you'll have a better understanding of what I'm trying to say.


A Scientist Rises by Desmond Winter Hall

The classic story of the week comes from the November 1932 issue of Astounding Stories. Just at the beginning of the Great Depression. And that is sort of how the story starts out. Hall paints us a picture of a sweltering New York with many residents sitting out in a park. Well, for a better idea, think of what it's like today. Many are jobless, and those who still have their jobs are running to and fro, trying to stay busy and keep them. Well, that's just a little tangent of mine. The story quickly changes over to a man who steps out of his house and quickly grows in size. First to eleven feet in height, then to twenty, to forty, and higher and higher. He has a big smile on his face, yet everyone fears him. They don't think he'll stop, and that he will destroy them all. Some people end up running into his house to see what he has done, and it turns out that he made a machine that could enlarge atoms. However, he destroys the machine shortly after a government official pays him a visit. He didn't believe that the world was ready for such power yet, and so took it upon himself. You should really give it a read. I know, it's older and not as fun to read as the newer material we get, but it's really interesting in it's own merit. And you get to see that things really have not changed that much in the last eighty years. That's probably the most important part of this story.

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