Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #02683-G126: Best For Charisma Cults

Since time immemorial the world has been blessed by the gods. But over the centuries the populous received less blessings as time goes on. Soon it just stop. The gods were sad they were unable to reach to them anymore, but it was for an experiment; to see a world that have no need for gods. -- Anon Guest

The deities used to walk the earth with the mortals. This is known. It is there in the histories, it is there in the oldest tales. When the realms that made the world were closer to the core, before they drifted apart, and increasing effort was needed to walk between worlds.

There were times when supernatural forces could still influence the material world in observable ways, when those who worshipped, or possessed, by a power could do phenomenal things. Magic was real in those days of yore.

As a reality grows, more reality establishes itself. The power of the divine wanes. The influence of magic abates. Wizards were just wise. Witches were people who knew more about herbs and medicine than others. Warlocks and sorcerers were dangerously charismatic and manipulative. Clerics focussed more on spiritual wellness and less about medicine. Science explained things and the lapsing of belief made the walls between the Divine and the Mundane increasingly thicker.

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Challenge #02682-G125: Safe As...

An underground facility made as comfortable as possible. However, this is an unusual place, part state-of-the-art hospital, part apartment building. The walls are soft, there are no sharp corners, the floors are soft, anything hard that can be covered with soft, is covered. There is nothing sharp here. There are dozens upon dozens of apartments in this place, and all of them the same. Soft. But there is a reason for this.

This is the facility that houses and cares for Bad

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Challenge #02681-G124: Centuries of Facepalming

You hear of them all the time, seeing them screaming on the interwebs, doing podcasts, videos, protesting when new vaccines show up. When the immunoflu was invented, they screamed even louder. That is when the "pure lifers" started. The ones who kept themselves in the equivalent of "bubbles" to avoid them, and their children, ever catching the immunoflu. A large number of them went to a planet to settle in and live. The planet was, if not for the terraformed domes, uninhabitable.

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Challenge #02680-G123: Small, Cute, and Terrifying

Doctor: Human, you need to take it easy. Rest. Don't do anything strenuous for the next week.

Human: Alright, I'll stay at home and watch the kids.

Doctor: From what I know of human young, that is strenuous. -- Escla

[AN: Pffffft...]

The Humans had a saying for everything. Some have been adjusted slightly to be more inclusive, but the relevant one in this time and space was, No being is an island. Perhaps, with an added dash of, It takes a

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Challenge #02679-G122: Wonder No More

Have you ever walk past someone and wonder what is going on inside their head -- Anon Guest

[AN: Link to a Rickroll has been expunged. Thanks Nonny. Be proud. You got me.]

Every now and again, some species, somewhere, thinks it would be cool to be telepathic. The Melil, natural telepaths, do attempt to stop others from doing this to themselves because it really, really isn't a good idea.

Those without natural telepathy have no reason to filter their random thoughts.

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Challenge #02678-G121: The Terrors of Deathworlds

A researcher had been extremely curious and wanted to know why humans were, well, the way they were. They poured over notes, histories, field reports, everything they could get their hands on. The humans that volunteered for experiments were always told "You can call it quits at any time." And, after a while, the humans always let him know when they'd had enough. To which he'd thank them, pay them and let them know his immense gratitude for their hard work, and

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Challenge #02677-G120: A Mind of Their Own

The war rages, bodies fell left and right, were they man or monster? They do not know, for the the line that separated them blurred centuries ago. -- Anon Guest

Someone, somewhere, is re-inventing the Enlisted Man again. When will they learn, huh? -- Elsyn Flaard comedy routine.

Some creatures, the unethical gengineers argue, are made for battle. With the right tweaks, they could become the most formidable fighting force in Alliance space. Then, they could make the majority decisions, and on

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Challenge #02676-G119: Hot, Brown, and Horrifying

There are many unspoken laws across the galaxy. Don’t provoke a calm man. Fear the wrath of a protective mother. Don’t take any of Human Girth's drinks. Ok maybe not that the last one but it only applies to one ship. -- Anon Guest

Welcome aboard the Poke And Run, do not accept beverages from the Ship's Human. You do not want to know why. Even though we know you'll say you do. The usual rules of space travel apply:

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Challenge #02675-G118: The Bad Old Ways

A human got tired of the crew saying that humans are insane, so they decide to show their crew what true human insanity looks like by taking them on a field trip to the nearby insane asylum. (Bonus points if Said asylum happens to be Arkham Asylum.) -- Cheshire

[AN: Punishing the mentally disabled for being mentally disabled is not the best way to deal with that sort of thing. Besides, insanity is a matter of perspective, as I keep stating in

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Challenge #02674-G117: Planet Pet-it

Whole planets dedicated to humans need to touch things. They range from your typical cat cafe walking with elephants, to even swimming with sharks. And that's just the animals from earth! Each plant has a different variety of species to accommodate any human, Making them a great alternative for humans who keep touching the unknown animals on equally unknown planets. -- Anon Guest

Humans look with their hands. This is a known, if confusing fact. Humans have reasonably reliable senses that use

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Challenge #02673-G116: A Calm and Hostile Takeover

She was an avid inventor, had been ever since she was a small child. She had been born on a world controlled by DeReggers but her family had moved away from that place and into Galactic Alliance space finally settling on a haven world that allowed for havenworlders and deathworlders to live together. When she was 9, she'd found a way to improve upon the translators that allowed for better communication with other species. When she was 13, she'd graduated from school

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Challenge #02672-G115: Back From the Deepest Well

It had been years since ze had been seen last, though not nearly as long as had been estimated, wagered or theorised. When a derelict, cobbled together ship limped into The Blackstump research station. it had seemed to come from come from beyond what was known and explored space, and from the entirely the wrong direction from which the occupant was last seen.

The Return of Andi the Undying

https://steemit.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02156-e327-they-ll-be-back -- Adam in Darwin

The ship was

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Challenge #02671-G114: The Mighty Paragon

What kind of man was Steve Rogers, to fight for America with his background?

In the original comics, he was Irish from the Lower East Side. This means he was probably Irish Catholic from the tenements, which meant he was considered by most Americans with power (maybe) one step above dirt.

On the other hand, he was a tall, blond, blue-eyed man, the Nazi ideal. The Catholic church coexisted with the Nazis without severe discrimination. Many Irish were allied with the Nazis.

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Challenge #02670-G113: Inspired Desperation? Entertainment!

H: Did you know that you can use Duct Tape to patch your space space suit a pinch?

A: I believe you are trying to deceive me. To make me feel better about the situation you have got us into.

H: Aww. Don't be like that. It works, I promise, I've done it before.

A: That does not surprise me. -- Anon Guest

"We only have soft atmospheric livesuits. They're not rated for micrometeor impact."

"No worries," cheered Human Adam. "I've got

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Challenge #02669-G112: The Immortal Master

Some humans fight with blades, those who live on worlds that allow it, use firearms. Or for those aboard stations and ships, crossbows. Me? I refuse to use any of that. My body is my weapon. Sure I carry a utility knife, don't most of us? But it's never been used to draw blood. With a single blow I can knock a man down, with a well-placed kick I can knock over a being the size of a tree. My hand, small

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