The Black Dots, Part One

Every victim of the past month had been found with the same black dot tattooed to his or her forehead. We reported it to all the usual departments, thinking we must have a serial killer or cult on our hands. But each of the deaths appeared random, with a variety of causes and nothing linking them together.

The captain was mad at me so I was assigned the desk, going through all the case files. I was the one who discovered the connection, that all the victims had visited a certain pharmaceuticals factory on the east side before their deaths.

100 Words

They've given me 100 words to either make my confession or damn my soul for eternity. It makes me want to stop all together, not give them the satisfaction. I'd like to take Hell over their smug superiority.

But that's the kind of attitude that got me in here to begin with. You'd think all the time alone would have given me a chance to mature, but it's always the same. I can never yield, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

So it's time to make a decision, but it seems that 100 words wasn't enough and now I've run out.

Jane And Pedro

Jane and Pedro met at the local dance hall. He was too shy to ask her to dance, so they chatted by the bar. Pedro was handsome and impeccably dressed, with his silk shirt and leather dance shoes and his hair slicked back in the latest fashion. Jane wore a long skirt and talked incessantly about her work with learning disabled orphans. They found they shared a passion for artistic endeavors and smoking cigarettes.

They were both married to other people, which was a shame because they fell in love with each other about five minutes into that first conversation.

Peter And The Whale

Everywhere Peter went, the whale was lurking. It wasn't just the ocean he must avoid, but lakes and rivers as well, any body of water large enough for the whale.

Some days, Peter would stare out his window at the pond across the street. Inevitably, the whale would be staring back at him. Peter never understood what he had done to make the whale so angry, but by now he understood that nothing but his own death would quench the leviathan's thirst for vengeance.

For the rest of Peter's life, even drinking a glass of water was fraught with dread.

Invisible Ether

Sentience is defined as a state of awareness of one's own existence. For most of history, humanity believed we were the lone species to enjoy true consciousness. We were wrong.

It wasn't surprising when we learned apes, dolphins, elephants, and other higher mammals were definitely sentient. We'd always understood they were capable of a full range of emotions. But when scientists concluded that the dust mites were also conscious beings, people began to freak out.

It's weird to think about the billions of tiny souls floating in the invisible ether.

In a total non-surprise, the fundamentalists are calling them angels.

In Posterity

Humans have always known it's unwise to offend the Gods. They are ventose braggarts and given to empty talk, especially when their anger is piqued. Fail to make proper obeisance and a natural disaster is likely to follow.

xxxx wanted to end the cycle of sacrifice and retribution that had lasted for centuries. He thought the Gods were bullies and believed they would back down if someone challenged them.

After what happened to xxxx, I don't dare to write his name. Suffice it to say his theory about the Gods was poorly thought out and won't be named after him.

Orts And Ends

The Orts law went into affect after the famine of '26, criminalizing the failure to consume even the tiniest morsel of leftover food after a meal. The first offense was punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Lawmakers had failed to anticipate certain side affects of the statute. Pet owners were forced to finish their pets' meals. No one enjoyed having to eat orange rinds or rice paper wrappers, but they were considered edible and therefore included in the ordinance.

Yes, these first world problems still existed despite the 70% reduction in the world's population during the decades-long food crisis.

Fantasy Realm

From a young age, Donald preferred the life of his imagination to the doldrums of the real world. He concocted fantasies that transcended the bounds of his normal life, dreams that promised the fulfillment of wishes he barely dared to comprehend.

In his fantasy world, Donald was no longer trapped in the circumstances of his birth. He had the freedom to literally fly to distant lands and make choices for himself instead of being dictated to.

It was always with bitter regret that Donald abandoned those visions and was forced to return to his life as the King of Scotland.

Sunset On Mt. Olympus

The Gods of Olympus adhered to a series of routines in order to fool the humans into believing there was a giant glowing orb that circled the Earth. These ruses included a great deal of fabric and a bit of fire, as well as a sizable herd of flying horses.

The humans named the phenomenon Apollo, and believed him a son of Zeus. It pleased the Gods immensely that they had fooled the humans into believing in a false God. It truly seemed their power was limitless.

When Hermes questioned why such tricks were necessary, Zeus banished him to Hades.

Policing The City

The victims all offered the same sparse testimony. They were each accosted in a dark alley without warning. The last thing they remembered was a man wearing a black coat and fedora.

The police wanted to keep the stories from making it into the press, so as not to tip off the perpetrator. They made sure to silence all the witnesses.

Of course, a reporter got onto the news and he had to be eliminated as well. When it eventually leaked to the paper, it became necessary to kill everyone.

As you can see, policing the city is hard work.