trope-a-day
Precursors: Played straight â but not completely. The species generally referred to as the Precursors got the name for having some of the most extensive local influence, and for being the species that made the eldrae, but in practice, theyâre most notable for (a) being one of the oldest (but
Trading Free
(This is the first in a series of character introductions for my next planned longer work, working title âTrading Freeâ.) Lairh hinGastref winced again at the sound of the raised voices emanating from the station managerâs office, and wished that his auditory palps werenât quite so sensitive in
trope-a-day
Precious Puppies: As a guide to just how straight the eldrae play this particular trope, even where their giant wardogs are concerned, it should be noted that under the list of special cases that is the Ungentlemanly Behavior Act (47, As Subsequently Revised), the consequences of literally kicking the dog
trope-a-day
Well, Iâm back from my holidays, in the same place as all my source material and, possibly most importantly, my big screens and comfortable writing chair. Normal service should, therefore, be resumed as soon as possible. Or tomorrow, anyway. Power Glows: Technically, it doesnât have to. Regular vector-control
trope-a-day
Power Fist: The cestus, yes; the spiked gauntlet, yes; the electro-zappy-glove, yes. The true power fist, however, as seen in Fallout, et. al., generally comes attached to a set of Powered Armor, or at least a power torso â in the interest of not ripping your arm off when you try
meta
So, I was invited to submit a story of mine to this siteâs contest, which I have therefore done. If you liked it when you read it, or if you havenât, when you do read it, Iâd very much appreciate it if youâd head on over
trope-a-day
Post Mortem Comeback: As in Dead Man Writing, the leftover personal and fiduciary AI systems, smart contracts, etc., left behind by the deceased are all still running, and since smart contracts arenât automatically terminated by death, itâs not all that hard to make sure that some of your
exosciences
exosciences (also xenosciences) (n.): Including exogeology, exogeography, exoclimatology, exobiology, exoecology, exosophontology, exomemetics, etc. An archaic series of terms referring to the various sciences when applied to off-planet phenomena, usually used with reference to the speakerâs homeworld. This terminology fell into rapid disrepute after the first full conference of the
meta
In todayâs entry in this series, the reality show that is basically a cross between Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars and Survivor: Mars, made possible in the science-fiction future by the wonders of noetic backups: In which we dump our hapless contestants onto a raw eutalentic-class (Mars-like) planet with a
trope-a-day
Possession Implies Mastery: Generally averted, as the very large pile of incomprehensible elder-race artifacts sitting around in museums and the vaults of companies like Probable Technologies, ICC would demonstrate. Some of them have been there for centuries, or even millennia, and are still no closer to being understood. Played straighter
spin gravity
âStation Ops, this is Clovis One-Four, reporting on-site from incident gamma.â âClovis One-Four, Station Ops, go.â âStation Ops, some damn tourist tried to board the garden âfuge by dropping from above again. No secondary casualties, thank AthnĂ©Ă«l, but the groundscapeâs a mess.â âClovis One-Four, do you need a medical
trope-a-day
Population Control: Averted. This is the thing the Empireâs Reproductive Statutes donât do. (They exist mostly to prevent violating the rights of about-to-be sophonts by creating them below the acceptable minimums for their species; this exercise in eugenics primarily means âno hereditary diseases or defectsâ, but does go