A Story In
100 Words
Literature in Tiny Bursts.
You are invited to the wonderful world of microfiction. Whether you’re a reader, a writer, or one of our future robot overlords, welcome! A Story In 100 Words is a community of literature enthusiasts no matter the length, but we have a special predilection for narratives exactly 100 words in length.
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Departure
Stella huddled on the dock with her family, clasping hands with cherished loved ones. She tried relinquishing her ticket, proclaiming she'd rather stay behind, but they pushed her towards the boarding platform without entertaining such foolishness.
Through it all, she avoided looking in Mark's direction. His tear-stained eyes would wreck her. She was determined to wait until the last possible moment.
When there were no more moments, her family backed away, allowing the couple privacy among the sea of people. Nobody heard their whispers.
And then Stella boarded the starship, one of the lucky few afforded a chance of survival.
The Glory Days
Captain Sam of the starship Gillian's Folly watches as the stars pass in long white arcs of Doppler light. As a boy, he always wanted to command a ship. The power. The excitement.
In reality, today everything is controlled by the ship's intelligence. Captain Sam is a glorified steward, employed by the corporation to ensure all the passengers behave themselves. For some reason they find listening to orders from a man in a uniform easier to swallow than from a computer, never mind said computer controls how much oxygen they receive.
Captain Sam longs for the days of intergalactic war.
The Last Transmission Of The Starship Pyramus
100 seconds to detonation. All crew evacuate immediately.
Rob, I…
You used to say "we were stardust once and we’ll all be stardust again." You always were a sentimental son of a bitch.
Bobby, I’m about to break my promise.
60 seconds to detonation.The Centauri ambushed us. So, new orders: set the charge. Lure them in. And then…
Well, there are worse things in life than a quick end.
30 seconds to detonation.I’m sorry, Bobby. There's so much to say...
Don’t worry about me. I’m staring at death,
10, 9, 8-but all I can see is stardust.
From Guest Contributor, John Murray Lewis
The Red Lever
Danger...Danger...Danger!
The alarm system sounded throughout the starship, almost to the point of annoyance. Every crew member was well aware their lives were in imminent danger as they passed the event horizon.
Ensign Jones waited in the heaters. He understood little of their mission besides the rumors. But he hoped it was important. He didn't want to die for nothing. He had joined the Fleet hoping to become famous, and after eleven years he was still an ensign.
Jones yanked down the red lever. He didn't want to die for nothing, but they were all going to die.
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