Amalgam Universe

A 2271-post collection

Challenge #00555 - A180: Essential Developments

Ridiculous fact of the day: We went to the moon before we thought to put wheels on suitcases.

Some things are essential for cogniscent development. The ability to control heat is one. Civilisation in any form is another.

It is impossible to have a planet where the entire population are dancers. People must eat. People must learn. People must make insipid sitcoms and nobody knows why.

But some things… don’t always happen in the correct order.

“Wait,” said the saurian beside her. “Your species hasn’t developed luggage wheels?”

“Er. They didn’t ere I left, ye ken,” Shayde explained. It was rare that she got an alien talking to her as a person and she wanted to encourage that. “I think some had ‘em, but they were still pretty rare tae find.”

“Terran calendar nineteen eighty-six?”

“I left in eighty-seven, but close enough.”

“And… your species had already landed on your moon by then.”

“Oh aye. In sixty-nine.”

“Your species left your planet before you thought to put wheels on your luggage?”

“Technically,” Shayde allowed. “Everyone was expected tae have muscles back then.”

The saurian shook her head. “I am always amazed by the way different peoples develop. We thought the usage of the wheel in all ways possible was vital before we met the Iilshur'aur'ur.”

“I met one o’ them. They’re lovely.”

“And I understand your kind didn’t have a global law until centuries after you began colonising other planets.”

“Aye. Us humans are terribly backward. Nobody’s discovered Slood yet.”

A perplexed expression. Then a growing smile. “Ahh… this is a human joke, yes?”

Shayde laughed along. “Oh aye, I’ll drop me trousers any minute.” Damn. Another day of keeping her mouth shut.

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Challenge #00554 - A179: The Second-Unkindest Cut

“Aliens do not understand papercuts.”

The death world menace flinched, howling in agony. “Idonotfirkinbelievethis!” It dropped the weapon it was holding. “Agodsdamnedpapercut. Afterallthis, agodsdamnedpapercut…”

The huddling assembly of survivors blinked in confusion. This creature had survived toxic gas, lacerations, contusions, concussion, shock, awe, and extremes of temperatures… and now it was halted by a relatively minor injury to its apparently thick hide.

It wasn’t even bleeding, there.

Yet the creature stopped. Retreated,

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Buy it now at Smashwords! “Ambassador?” another Othersider interrupted. “You need to strap down. We’re jumping to...

Buy it now at Smashwords!

“Ambassador?” another Othersider interrupted. “You need to strap down. We’re jumping to Heq'tak in ten.”

Sahra groaned in exasperation. Then turned her attention to Simy. “Does it hurt?” she asked. “Going through and being bigger?”

Simy blinked. “The only time it hurt was when I was aware of hurting you. I compressed myself as densely as I could.” He rubbed his arms in a memory.

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Challenge #00547 - A172: Need to Know

Prompt: That trick where you come up behind someone and pop a paper bag to make them jump, most often portrayed when someone is working on something that could (but probably won’t) explode.

[AN: I must have hit a nerve on the Interwebs, yesterday. Twenty-three notes on one silly story because of an equally silly side-fling. Must resist the temptation to do that from now on]

To the Galactic Alliance, need-to-know information is information that every citizen, denizen and in denizen

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Challenge #00545 - A170: Acapella

It was a companionable quiet, with the rhythmic “whud, whud, whud” of the engine accompanied by various tapping and clanking of everyone doing their jobs. Eventually everyone’s noises gradually synced with the main beat and suddenly the Lion King happened.

“I swear sir, I left for four seconds and they started a musical number" 

Goryx stared out at the rows of humans - still working, of course - as they continued to sing.

"TILL WE FIND OUR PLACE,

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On sale now at Smashwords and any other good eBook stores! Tarqa watched the her back out. “Why? Why am I your best hope? I’d...

On sale now at Smashwords and any other good eBook stores!

Tarqa watched the her back out. “Why? Why am I your best hope? I’d have thought you humans wanted my people gone.”

“We just want to rule ourselves. We want to make our own decisions. Weather our own consequences. We want to do things on our own. And we want you Tu'atta to let us do it.”

“You aren’t equipped…”

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Challenge #00544 - A169: The Fine Print

If you’re going to make a year-long agreement, you’d better be sure you know whose year you’re using.

“What do you mean I’m still under contract?” Terry demanded. She tried not to make a fist around all her vital documents. “It says five years. It’s been five years. And forty-eight hours, and that’s only because it took that long to get all the forms filled out.”

“I’

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For sale now at Smashwords! Available in other good eBook stores later. They had caught some alive. Raven boggled. He was entirely un-used...

For sale now at Smashwords! Available in other good eBook stores later.

They had caught some alive.

Raven boggled. He was entirely un-used to chicken with its feathers still on. Or, for that matter, one that wasn’t in tasty chunks and bathed in sauce, presented on a bed of rice or with vegetables.

The first surprise, other than its volume was ear-splitting, was its size. There was less of it than a cat, but it had a cry of a

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If you only buy one eBook this year… buy this one! Simy forgot to simulate breathing, watching with all the other aides in the...

If you only buy one eBook this year… buy this one!

Simy forgot to simulate breathing, watching with all the other aides in the security room. The other three were merely holding their breaths.

They only breathed again when the sound of running water emanated from the tiny bathroom off one side of the cell.

“What is she doing?” demanded the Maq'eck. “She’s meat. Raw, fresh and tender.”

“Yes, but she also has Tarqa&

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Yours for the low, low price of anything you want! 365 stories, prompted by people like you. Readers all over the internet gave me every...

Yours for the low, low price of anything you want!

365 stories, prompted by people like you. Readers all over the internet gave me every kind of nonsense they could carefully concoct in an effort to stump me and got every kind of marvellous prose.

Now in a format where you don’t have to scroll through endless reblogs, ranting, and flamewars!

What would you pay for a years’ worth of work?

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Yours for only $2.99 at Smashwords! Even the spacious Othersider ships were getting crowded. Sahra watched from her safe space, protected...

Yours for only $2.99 at Smashwords!

Even the spacious Othersider ships were getting crowded.

Sahra watched from her safe space, protected from the germs of the abandoned humans below her window by uncounted airlocks and hallways. She made sure she stood at the right hand of Lord High Admiral Saviour King Django Ali. And she made sure he was wearing a more comfortable replica of his golden thorn crown.

At least she’d learned Mama’s trick of talking

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For sale now at Smashwords! There was a stall selling icons, on the way back to her home/farm. Most of them were of the Saviour doing...

For sale now at Smashwords!

There was a stall selling icons, on the way back to her home/farm. Most of them were of the Saviour doing miraculous things. Calling down yellow rain on the Tu'att. Making the walls bleed. All the miracles that had happened both before and after the Othersiders came.

One stood out.

The Saviour blessing a little girl in a gold sheath. Pointing to the angel of death and making that angel shrink away.

Except…

The way

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OUT NOW AT SMASHWORDS! Get the whole trilogy! Graak finally levered the last corner loose from the air vent, only to discover another...

OUT NOW AT SMASHWORDS! Get the whole trilogy!

Graak finally levered the last corner loose from the air vent, only to discover another grille, just behind it.

Damn Yoomins!

This had to be a trick to erode his morale. For all he knew, freedom lay on the other side of this grille. He ground his talons into the gaps, trying to get the metal to either wear away or bend. He was so devoted to it that he almost didn’t

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