“What’s going on?” she asks her accountant turned wizard.
— Jason H. Abbott (@Jason_H_Abbott) January 29, 2022
“The simulation updates often, but we’re not supposed to be aware.”
“This is crazy! I’m a CEO, not a village tramp!”
“No. You’re a complex character model with a glitch in your code. Like me.”#SciFanSat #2WordPrompt
I first wondered at its beauty. The scientists called it a magnetar. Upon closer inspection of its frequency and resonance, I revealed it as a beacon, an intergalactic updater. Transmitting messages to many civilizations beyond our perception #SciFanSat #update #vss365 #beacon pic.twitter.com/8alXx8vqNZ
— Indigenous Soul (@GeneVatow) January 28, 2022
this jolt back online
— Jenny Gaitskell (@JennyGaitskell) January 29, 2022
implies I've been updated
but I don't know how
Maybe I lost my favourite data or changed persona, gained this map of green velvet hills. Butterflies may recall being caterpillars, but I forgot me many times.#scifaikusaturday #SciFanSat #vss365 #vssnature
How many years on Earth waiting. At last, they received a reply from the homeworld–
— Voimaoy (@voimaoy) January 29, 2022
Greetings and thank you for your business. We are sorry but the part you requested is no longer manufactured. Please update your FTL drive. Happy to be in your future! #SciFanSat #update
The update from the General wasn't good, but I couldn't bring myself to inform the team: all brave men, they would fight to the bitter end.
— Ellen✍K (@poeticnihilist) January 29, 2022
I summoned a smile with betrayed hope to face them, when the sound of machines started.
All eyes turned to the #hills.#vss365 #SciFanSat
I was there out of curiosity.
— Maria A. Perez (@MariaAPerez1) January 29, 2022
"Wait. An unbeliever is among us."
My face flushed.
"That's OK. Is there someone you'd like an #update from."
I humored her.
"Aunt Mia."
Her eyes rolled back. Everyone gasped.
"Honey, don't believe a word this quack says."#satsplat #SciFanSat
I knew it was time for an update. There had been many pop-up warnings and emails.
— A. A. Rubin (@TheSurrealAri) January 29, 2022
I rushed to backup my consciousness to the cloud before the timer at the corner of my vision expired.
I did not want to lose my memories. I was so close to being human. #SciFanSat #FromOneLine
Androids line up outside The Charging Station Café, downtown. It's Free Lube Friday, but most are waiting for the latest big software update. Domestics. Public servants. Security guards. Escorts. All chat about the latest updates, bug fixes, and license agreements. #scifansat
— Irene 💙 (@_Irene_Dreams_) January 29, 2022
The dragon rampaged, then settled on a hill to snooze.
— Danielle Ste. Just (@DanielleSteJust) January 29, 2022
The king put out a proclamation: “Whoever rids our land of this scourge marries my daughter.”
After the bravest one killed the dragon, he issued an update: “My daughter cannot marry herself, apparently.”#vss365 #SciFanSat
She brewed anaxiphilia in derelict thoughts of him, sipping on the passion as seasons inched by. His murder was the bluest poetry she'd ever read about. It motioned a taboo muse to arise; and now his AI can update w/ his captured soul. #SatSplat #SciFanSat #horrorprompt #vsspoem
— Lexi Lefevre (@LexiIsAWriter) January 29, 2022
We sit in a circle, staring at one another. There’s nothing else to do in this bunker.
— Elizabeth Nettleton (@ElizabethNett18) January 29, 2022
Except pray. With only a #hill and a lock to guard us, we need the help.
A red box flashes on the computer.
The #update didn’t work. Our protection is gone.
They’re coming.#scifansat #vss365
"Jesus," she said. "Someone's changed one #character in the #code. Part of the #season-al #update. It'll take hours to find…"
— That Burnt Writer (@ThatBurntWriter) January 29, 2022
Inside the sim, I didn't care. All I knew was that the #hills were now indeed alive… and hungry.#vss365 #vssmagic #2WordPrompt #SciFanSat pic.twitter.com/pJ1A7k450e
The implant trial was a success until the #update. As if sedated, the two subjects fell momentarily silent.
— John Everex (@EverexJohn) January 29, 2022
A lull crept across the lab.
We froze.
Monitors screeched. Both subjects grimaced. They spoke haggard words that hung in the air like charnel smoke.#satsplat#scifansat
If the Trates make New Orleans, I'm certain a Zydeco wielding Creole comes into play. I don't know why. I don't know… but musicians are becoming an updated theme. Is music/art an intrinsic value of Bob's will? Not gonna die on that hill yet. Yet..#vss365 #bravewrite #SciFanSat
— Occam Razor (@BeKindHumans) January 29, 2022
Android or apple? It's hard to tell with the latest #update. Though I swear she's taken a bite from the fruit. That she can feel pain and delight. I keep my distance, as protocol dictates. They call her kind human, I call them a mistake, and take to the #hills#scifansat #vss365
— Once upon a Steve 🐺🌼🦊 (@PatchieSteve) January 29, 2022
Verklempt Ltd supply androids to display a range of emotions at weddings, baptisms etc. An error in the recent update resulted in 547X being assigned to the #Hills funeral, and it was capable only of hysterical laughter.
— Andrew Anderson 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@soorploom) January 29, 2022
It got worse when the widow joined in.#SciFanSat #vss365
40-day #update: We crossed the magnetic #hills but lost our bearings. As suspected, all communications are cut off and we rely on smoke signals.
— Elizabeth Spring (@ESWarriorPoet) January 29, 2022
45-day update: Our fires have attracted strange phenomena. Is there life on this planet? Equipment malfuncti…#vss365 #SciFanSat
Stupid fat thumbs!
— Fizzy-AllSortsOfAllSorts (@Fizzytwizler) January 29, 2022
Entering the #code for the latest #character #update, I messed up.
Android maid is now boarding school headmistress!
Have to wait another 3months till new update available—reset void!#SciFanSat #2WordPrompt pic.twitter.com/Dg5EgMrAw8
#SciFanSat
— aran (@AranPotente) January 29, 2022
It was out of character he failed to code in the #update to his morning report. Either he's captured or wandering the #hills to lose detection, those in the control room clueless, reeking of raw fear.
"Tell me again why he has no back up."
Silence.#vss365#2WordPrompt
I update my core
— Alan Vincent Michaels (@AlanVMichaels) January 29, 2022
I am your perfect partner
Will you marry me?#SciFanSat #update#SciFaiku#SciFiSat#Haiku#Poetry#SciFi
📷 iStock pic.twitter.com/khDjDH1tOR
I am continually awed by the talent and creativity of the authors that grace SciFanSat with their voices. Above are highlighted microfiction tweets that I feel exemplify that talent, all compiled from our 01.29.2022 “Update” prompt and event.
All tweets, art, and rights belong to their respective creators. No ownership or responsibility on my part is inferred by this post, just my admiration.
~Jason H. Abbott
You can find and explore other Science Fiction and Fantasy Saturday Compilations here.
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