Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #02596-G039: Doing the Unthinkable

"I want to Break Free,

I want to Breeeeaaak free,

I want, I want, I Want to BREEEEAAAAAKKK FREEEEEE"

The Human, as a species renowned for their ability to improvise and thoroughly mess with the plans of many a pirate, had been confined to a specially designed clear polymer box. With small vents high in the roof of the structure, only the single access point and TWO guards stationed far enough away that noxious gasses and liquids emitted by the human would not be a danger to the pirates.

Thus it couldn't escape, and we knew it. IT knew it. so it sat, or paced in its confines, occasionally flailing about, its deadly appendages striking temporary poses of both defiance and submission. Wailing, not in Galstand, or even Galsimple, its weird, terrifying, beautiful and irritating all at once.

" I hear the train a-coming,

It's rolling round the bend"....

Oh no, its starting again! -- Adam From Darwin

The cell followed every letter of the law. Sanitation in the form of a one-person cleansing booth - check. Bedding in the form of a standard sleep niche - check. Nutritionally balanced food with all essential dietary requirements, check. Access to clean air, clean water, and a clean environment - check. The space was, to the milllidu[1] precisely the dimensions of a standard habitation unit for one person. The regulation air-recycling garden, though attached enough to recirculate the air, was the right size too. There were two guards, stationed outside, ready for any kind of emergency.

They had followed every single letter of the law. The walls were all transparent, so the prisoner could be supervised at all times. Cleaning was done by nanomachines. Companionship was in the form of a Skitty who was also provided the letter of basic care. Entertainment occurred as a series of restored archivaas material that was free for anyone to access. The viewer was one of those models that could not possibly be harmed, not even by throwing it into a star[2].

The letter didn't say a single thing about being able to control the entertainment, being able to communicate with the guards beyond obvious signs of distress, or having anything else to do once in there. It was day three and the Human trapped inside it had only recently stopped mouthing along with the documentary on spores, moulds, and fungus. They had also stopped trying to argue with the guards, though they had seemingly worked out that those guards could hear them.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Continue Reading

Prompts remaining: 79 Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!

Challenge #02595-G038: Sharing and Caring Intertwined

It that time of year where I don’t want to get out of my bed and chug hot chocolate down my esophagus, with any combination of sweets from marshmallows to the leftover candy-canes to The weird but tasty treats my aunt gave me. I’m sure I will be able to find a combination that is not toxic to my crew mates -- Anon Guest

Humans, it seems, have a seasonal awareness that stretches out to places where seasons are non-existence.

Read more »

Challenge #02594-G037: And a Macaroni Necklace

He owned, of all things, a trash planet. How did he manage to own an entire planet? Well, when you have an IQ that puts nearly all of the rest of the human race to shame, it's not hard to figure out how to get ownership of such a thing. Besides, no one argued much when he won the bet and requested a trash planet in a rather out-of-the-way area of space as his reward. And, with it, he was able to

Read more »

Challenge #02593-G036: Safe As...

True friendship is letting a small havenworlder ride around in a pouch that you're wearing so they feel secure surrounded by the other deathworlders that they wanted to do business with in the first place. Seriously. Why do you do this to me? -- Escla

Size is something interesting within the boundaries of Galactic Alliance space. Intelligent life can take very many forms, depending on the gravity they evolved in. There are some, like the Xyrak'l, that have shown signs of intelligent

Read more »

Challenge #02592-G035: Critical Flaw Located

A: explain to me why again you were fighting?

B: I was getting rusty, I needed someone to spar with.

A: was it necessary to create a hole in the floor?

B: you said it was reinforced! -- Anon Guest

Human Sym was embedded in the flooring. Her legs were technically within the floor below, but also tangled up in sensitive, very important, and also more than a little delicate - wiring and equipment. Human Per, her sparring partner, was crouching and

Read more »

Challenge #02591-G034: Conspiracy to Spread Joy

There are those that are not fans of the holiday season. The reasons are as myriad as the individuals themselves. But then there are those who not only enjoy the seasons, but absolutely revel in them. All around the station they were showing up outside of doors. Showing up at people's workstations and amongst ship supplies. Carefully wrapped gifts. It only had three words on it "From a friend"

No one claimed responsibility for these actions and no one was usually around

Read more »

Challenge #02590-G033: Let's Pretend For a While

There are people who will shout from wherever they can find to shout from that autism isn't a disability. That it should be celebrated. And I have to wonder if those people have ever found themselves so upset they couldn't talk, so frustrated that they couldn't control where their hands went, movements jerky, not even able to prepare a hot breakfast out of the knowledge that they'd burn themselves accidentally if they didn't calm down first. If that's ever happened to them

Read more »

Challenge #02589-G032: Deception

Anyone who's had humans aboard their ships will know one thing for certain, even when asleep, humans can be very loud. They call the harsh, almost predatory growling-like noise, snoring. There was a reason if you want to allow humans to have quarters aboard your ship, you sound proof it. However, it's also often an indication of the human having an obstructed airway when they sleep, which could be, from a medical standpoint, worrisome. However, once you heard that sound, you knew

Read more »

Challenge #02588-G031: Find-a-Family

He had stolen a lot of items before he was caught. He wasn't a pirate, he didn't go raiding ships, but they treated him nearly as badly as if he had been one. He would sneak aboard stations with lax standards, swipe small but expensive items from cargo holds that were in the process of loading, and escape. Problem is, all thieves get caught sooner or later. And a teenager like him, homeless and no longer caring, didn't normally have a future

Read more »

Challenge #02587-G030: Gung Ho

You say "martyr" and I say "I love my family." Sometimes you have to accept that humans make peace with the concept of sacrificing a life for their loved ones (no matter what species). Get on that bike and RIDE, b@tch. -- Ride or Die

This is why Humans are considered insane. Their sense of self-preservation is subservient to the greater good. They can look at an overloaded sled, figure out the importance of the supplies needed at the destination, and

Read more »

Challenge #02586-G029: A Friend of a Friend

We love, we protect, and we only want you to carry our own with you when you escape. Please, please, take our tiniest and most vulnerable with you when we sacrifice ourselves for an exit (X1000% if it's our pets, who can't even deal with the galaxy we brought them into) ---HUMANKIND c/- Protection

"You lot go on, I'll catch up. Just do me a solid, okay? Make sure Tibbles is safe with you." Human Fil was torn between what they

Read more »

Challenge #02585-G028: The Hand on the Tool

A: This blade, with its razor sharp edge, can cleave through flesh and bone easily. Due to the various materials to make this, no blood or grime will stick to this blade.

B: you know out of context that is scary until you realise it’s a Butcher knife. But the way you hold it and the precision you use it is terrifying. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I derped and did a prompt out of order. Apologies for the inconvenience.]

Cookie continued

Read more »

Challenge #02584-G027: At the Turning

I wanted to get into the fun with the odd litch who worked to punish the wicked and help the people in need. He should be rewarded. I would put the link to the posting my prompt is talking about, but for some reason, it's giving me the error that the link is spam. I don't know why. But it is the posting called "Who Waits Forever Anyway?"

They looked down upon the realms of man. Boredom was always something a god

Read more »

Challenge #02583-G026: Ma Yub

There are two kinds of parents. There's the kind that thinks their children should have the experiences that they had when they were a child, and there's the kind that thinks their children should have something better than that.

The problem with being that second kind, I've found, is that it's hard to give your children something better when you don't really know what that looks like. -- Anon Guest

Bringing up the next generation of cogniscent life is never easy. Certainly,

Read more »

Challenge #02582-G025: History is a Pane

I see the words tossed around here and there but I I don’t fully understand the impact of the “shattering” does fragment of humanity wander space, or something comical like everything went ape sh*t the moment humans enter the galactic alliance? -- Anon Guest

Many don't understand what the Shattering is, how long it took, and what it did to Human history. For a start, it's named as if it's one event, but it's actually an era in Terran history.

Read more »