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+--- Thread: Story fragments (/showthread.php?tid=2526)
Story fragments - F2d5thCav - 12-31-2024
Being a wholly untalented writer but afflicted by an active imagination, I am a master of "story fragments": an intriguing bit of text that -could- be developed into a story, but only by those with true writing talent.
Here is an example.
Quote:Guido shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It didn't help that this not-quite-a-room underneath the Vatican, a chamber really, was poorly lit and ventilated.
The cardinal fixed him with a piercing stare before asking in an icy manner,
"-What- are you saying? That the eternal soul is but a parasitical entity that opportunistically hops from mortal form to mortal form as people die and are born?! ... That the history of humanity is an unending tale of rude exploitation perpetrated by The Source?!!"
(sigh) It could be the basis of a story if only . . .
Would anyone else like to contribute a fragment?
Cheers--
RE: Story fragments - VioletDove - 12-31-2024
That is so good!!! I want to know what happens next. I hope others play along and add something. I may even try to come up with something.
RE: Story fragments - F2d5thCav - 01-13-2025
I ... I'm sorry. I can't help myself
Quote:Qvarik (the alien "grey") studied the pork dish for a few seconds. In its strange tone, it said,
"This is the flesh of pig. Did you cook it long enough? Otherwise it might be harboring tularemia!"
At this, Sergeant Whiteman cocked an eyebrow and looked up. "Hmm. Rabbit fever from eating tainted pork ... this calls for tricky-Gnosis ..."
As always, Qvarik's expression remained, well, expression-less. It regarded Whiteman and simply commented that it did not understand.
For his part, Whiteman wished that he could somehow convey the notion of urgency to Qvarik with regards to opening the portal. Two security policemen had passed through it before it suddenly closed, and Whiteman desperately wanted to know if they were still alive ... elsewhere.
Cheers
RE: Story fragments - F2d5thCav - 04-26-2025
In the Nevada desert ...
"Mac" McGarrick simultaneously cringed and became furious as the guard platoon marched by outside, calling out a peculiar "jody" ...
"BARY BARY COUNTER-BARY!
MAKES ME FLOAT UP LIKE A FAIRY!"
Mac wheeled around in his chair and barked at Tyler "Get outside and tell those guys to shut their traps ... security will be all over us if they hear that sh**!"
"DON' TELL ME TO COME ON DOWN
I'M UP HERE WITH TOWNSEND BROWN!"
Tyler rushed out of the office, running for the facility's front door.
"YOU'RE HIGH YOU'RE HIGH
YOU'RE ANTI-GRA-VI-TY HIGH!"
"LEP ... LEP ... LEP RIGHT LEP"
Just then, the red telephone on Mac's desk began a constant ring. Mac felt internally crushed. That SOB from Washington was on the horn again ...
RE: Story fragments - sailorsam - 04-29-2025
The Cardinal sighed and turned, hands behind his back. He seemed to be looking out of a nonexistent window.
"The Papa is dead. The conclave is beginning. I must attend."
Guido nodded silently. "I suspect that the 'visitors' will want to provide some, ah, input, to the choice."
The Cardinal shook his head. "Now is not the time to reveal these 'visitors'.
Our agent in Nevada has reported that they are too few to have the impact we feared."
Guido nodded silently. As far as he was concerned the 'visitors' could go back to whatever gray hell they came from. I am not a violent man, he thought, but I hate them.
I fear them.
RE: Story fragments - F2d5thCav - 05-10-2025
At sailorsam--
Excellent!
Maybe time for the Third Secret of Fatima (the authentic secret) to be revealed ?
I've read opinions that the reason the Church has gone downhill is that the Third Secret was not revealed at the appropriate time ... and the Holy Mother is -not- amused.
RE: Story fragments - FCD - 05-10-2025
Well, we could take the story approach that CBS used recently regarding the Pope. Continuing on with Sam's text...
Quote:The Cardinal sighed and turned, hands behind his back. He seemed to be looking out of a nonexistent window.
"The Papa is dead. The conclave is beginning. I must attend."
Guido nodded silently. "I suspect that the 'visitors' will want to provide some, ah, input, to the choice."
The Cardinal shook his head. "Now is not the time to reveal these 'visitors'. ...
"The visitors must not be allowed to see the Cardinals all "rawdogging" each other in the ancient and sacred Vatican celebration of The "Orgia" ('orgy' in Latin). The Orgia will continue as long as the black smoke billows, my son. As long as they continue to call for Astro-lube from the chamber we must wait. It is only then, when they call for sand and moist towelettes, that we know the rawdogging will soon cease and the decision is close at hand. Remember, the power of Liberace compels them."
Guido nodded silently again. "Yes Father, you are indeed leaned in the traditions of old. We shall wait."
Link for 'rawdogging' context
RE: Story fragments - Michigan Swamp Buck - 05-10-2025
(12-31-2024, 03:06 PM)F2d5thCav Wrote: Being a wholly untalented writer but afflicted by an active imagination, I am a master of "story fragments": an intriguing bit of text that -could- be developed into a story, but only by those with true writing talent.
Here is an example.
Quote:Guido shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It didn't help that this not-quite-a-room underneath the Vatican, a chamber really, was poorly lit and ventilated.
The cardinal fixed him with a piercing stare before asking in an icy manner,
"-What- are you saying? That the eternal soul is but a parasitical entity that opportunistically hops from mortal form to mortal form as people die and are born?! ... That the history of humanity is an unending tale of rude exploitation perpetrated by The Source?!!"
(sigh) It could be the basis of a story if only . . .
Would anyone else like to contribute a fragment?
Cheers--
I like that theory, this idea that humanity is being used by God and his host. That our birth, life struggles, procreation and death are merely for some purpose that we serve like a tool. I have thought our souls are consumed when we go into the light at the end of the tunnel. Certainly that whole tunnel and light deal sound like going down God's gullet while he is eating dinner.
RE: Story fragments - EndtheMadnessNow - 05-10-2025
(12-31-2024, 03:06 PM)F2d5thCav Wrote: Being a wholly untalented writer but afflicted by an active imagination, I am a master of "story fragments": an intriguing bit of text that -could- be developed into a story, but only by those with true writing talent.
Here is an example.
Quote:Guido shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It didn't help that this not-quite-a-room underneath the Vatican, a chamber really, was poorly lit and ventilated.
The cardinal fixed him with a piercing stare before asking in an icy manner,
"-What- are you saying? That the eternal soul is but a parasitical entity that opportunistically hops from mortal form to mortal form as people die and are born?! ... That the history of humanity is an unending tale of rude exploitation perpetrated by The Source?!!"
(sigh) It could be the basis of a story if only . . .
Would anyone else like to contribute a fragment?
Cheers--
I'll have to put some thought into this one.
See you on the flip side...
RE: Story fragments - EndtheMadnessNow - 05-11-2025
Ok, I'm back with some fragments...
Guido swallowed hard, his throat dry as the ancient scrolls stacked in the corner. The cardinal’s stare felt like it could bore through the stone walls of the Vatican itself. He adjusted his glasses, stalling for a moment to gather his courage. The air in the chamber was thick with the weight of centuries, and the flickering torchlight cast shadows that seemed to writhe like the very souls they were debating.
"Your Eminence," Guido began, his voice trembling but resolute, "I’m not saying this to blaspheme. The evidence, the texts we uncovered in the Qumran caves, the forbidden codices from Alexandria, they all point to the same conclusion. The soul isn’t divine. It’s... a mechanism. A self-perpetuating entity, yes, but not one of God's making. The Source, as the texts call it, is a cosmic opportunist. It's been hitching rides on humanity since the first spark of consciousness, latching onto newborns as the dying exhale their last breath. It's not salvation. It's survival."
The cardinal's face darkened, his fingers tightening around the ornate cross hanging from his neck. "You dare suggest that our sacred doctrine, the very foundation of the Church, is a lie? That the soul’s journey is not toward God but some... parasitic cycle? Have you lost your mind or rather, your Soul!?"
Guido leaned forward, his academic fervor overriding his fear. "Not a lie, Your Eminence, but a misinterpretation. The Source doesn’t care about morality or divinity. It’s a force, like gravity or time. The codices describe it as a 'weaver of shells', binding itself to flesh to persist. Every miracle, every vision of the divine, it’s just the Source's way of ensuring we keep breeding, keep dying, keep giving it new hosts. The history of humanity isn’t a march toward redemption; it’s a farm for this thing."
The cardinal stood abruptly, his robes swishing like a storm cloud. "Heresy!" he spat, his voice echoing off the damp stone. "You think you can unravel two thousand years of faith with your dusty books and wild ass theories? The Church has crushed greater minds than yours for less."
Guido’s heart pounded, but he pressed on, his voice steadying. "Then why hide the codices? Why bury them in vaults no one can access? If I’m wrong, let the world see them. Let scholars debate. If the soul is truly divine, the truth will hold."
The cardinal’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Guido thought he saw something flicker in them, not anger, but fear. The old man turned toward the chamber’s only exit, a heavy iron door engraved with symbols Guido didn’t recognize. "You will speak of this to no one", the cardinal said, his voice low and dangerous. "The codices will remain where they are. And you, Dr. Guido Rossi, will leave Rome. Tonight or else."
Guido blinked, stunned. "You’re exiling me? For asking questions?"
The cardinal paused at the door, his hand on the rusted latch. He didn’t turn around. "Questions like yours don’t lead to answers, Doctor. They lead to chaos. And the Church has enough of that already." With a creaky groan, the door swung open, revealing a spiral staircase that vanished into darkness. "Go. Before The Source finds you."
Guido sat frozen as the cardinal’s footsteps faded. The Source. The way the cardinal said it, with a reverence that bordered on dread, sent a chill down his spine. He glanced at the scrolls, their edges curling like the fingers of something ancient and awake. The chamber felt smaller now, the air heavier, as if the shadows themselves were listening.
He grabbed his satchel, stuffing in his notes and a single photograph of the codex’s most damning page, the one depicting a figure, neither man nor god, with tendrils stretching into a sea of screaming faces. As he stumbled toward the door, a faint whisper brushed his ear, not in Italian or Latin, but in a tongue he couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t a word, but a feeling: hunger.
Guido ran up the stairs, the Vatican’s underbelly closing behind him like a tomb. He didn’t stop until he reached the moonlit streets of Rome, his breath ragged. The city hummed with life, tourists laughing, scooters buzzing, priests hurrying through the night. But Guido saw it differently now. Every face, every fleeting glance, was a mask for something older, something ravenous.
He boarded a train to nowhere, clutching his satchel as the lights of Rome faded. The codices were still locked away, but their truth was out, carried in the mind of a man who knew too much. And somewhere, in the space between life and death, The Source stirred, its endless cycle unbroken, waiting for the next soul to claim.
Years later, a new cardinal would sit in that same chamber, reading a report about a disgraced scholar found dead in a remote village, his body unmarked but his eyes wide with absolute terror of grimace. The cardinal would burn the report, whispering a prayer not to God, but to something else. And the scrolls would remain silent, their secrets safe...for now.
RE: Story fragments - F2d5thCav - 05-11-2025
At ETMN--
Wow. That was -great-.
