Rocket Science: Chapter 6 – A short history of the Orion Arm

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter He preferred to think he’d consulted a prophet, not a psychiatrist. That’s what he told Elysia in Server Assembly. She had been quite surprised how quickly he wired cords to their correct patch panels. He asked her about the final message from his psychological readout. “It means what it says. There is no …

Rocket Science: Chapter 5 – A candle and the shadow

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter A rising hum passed through his entire range of hearing, like the proposed Ravel-Class Dreamliner lulling passengers to sleep. He had a sudden vision that maybe he should have done Flight Attendancy. Bags flashed through his mind: leather bags, suitcases, knapsacks, pouches, rucksacks, backpacks, bumbags, plastic bags, swags, beanbags, handbags. He saw every …

Rocket Science: Chapter 4 – Update the PriMate

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter The PriMate tried its best analysing Chuck Marley, but he hadn’t installed the recent updates. In fact he hadn’t updated it in quite some time. His room was stuffy, and dietary feedback had been deactivated. Marley’s attempt at biophysical independence had backfired. His shower sprayed him with a bodywash that was perfect for …

Rocket Science: Chapter 3 – Procrastinating at the bar

Dan Wild

Previous chapter Marley lifted his head from the desk and looked around the library. It was mid-evening and buzzing with students. He collected his laser stylus and fold-up tablet, or flablet, and headed to the Quasar Bar to spend money and time. Marley didn’t drink unless there was someone to drink with him. At the …

Rocket Science: Chapter 2 – A haircut, red dust and Octomaids

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter Marley had not taken Interspecies Liaison seriously. Presentation was important, so the first requirement – have a haircut. He recalled his visit to the Bad Ends. The hairdresser had asked, “Do you want to look like him?” He pointed to a picture of Frisky Benjamin, the famous C-grade actor. And the haircut was …

Rocket Science: Tales from the Orion Arm

Dan Wild

Chapter 1 – The Omniverse The Multiverse was in a particularly bad mood when it first noticed Chuck Marley. It had just snacked on Y77, a small test universe on the fringes of imagination. Y77 was a failed universe and the Multiverse decided to eat it and start again. However, the ingestion of Y77 left …

HMRC pour the Cup of Pain

Dan Wild

It must have been a cold day, greyer than usual for the London bureaucrats who are trying to chase down an alleged tax debt I accrued before I left Olde Blighty. As if Centrelink didn’t provide enough angst for me last year. You’ll recall from a previous post that Centrelink (UK readers, this is Aust. …

Sonnet 3 — After WS

Dan Wild

Scatter my ashes in your vale of kings,Or by a pond secure from frosty wind;Or lake, perhaps, where yesterday’s tidingsBring repose and solace I might yet findFrom the harsh sun that burnt me brown as duskIn autumn. Winter is yet to come, I fear,When sheilas dress refined and smell of muskWhile silent Indian gurus are …

Percy the Pianist: Canto 1, stanzas 51-69

Dan Wild

Previous.. Invocatio:    To its own substance; woven tracery ran Of light firm texture, ribbed and branching, o’er    The solid rind, like a leaf’s veined fan— Of which Love scooped this boat—and with soft motion Piloted it round the circumfluous Ocean.       –Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Witch of Atlas, XXXIII, 308 51The bath continued… The river Lethe …

Percy the Pianist: Canto 1, stanzas 42-50

Dan Wild

Previous… 42[This stanza has intentionally been left blank] 43He slunk into the bath after high tea,Bringing a wafer wiv ‘im. Today he’d sayGoodbye to innocence, as minstrelsyBeckoned – he hoped he’d be able to stayThe course of his dream, but what could allayThe fear? Failure was no longer an optionTo be contemplated at break of …