See more of Nils in: Thunder Moon Tussle
Author: Torn
Another Plot: A New Vignette by Torn MacAlester
“Milt,” said Mary, tired of the conversation. “You didn’t really want to be an astronaut?” “No, it was a means to an end. Nothing more.” “I wish you wouldn’t antagonize our brother. He scares me.” “Morris is a fool,” Milt said. “A dangerous one. “True, we cannot underestimate him.” “Then why all this messing around […]
Civilization and Power
It’s All About PowerPart 3 of World Building for Science fiction: This is the definition of the Kardashev Scale. Since it is a measure of the power generated by a civilization, it is titled: All about Power. In case you’ve missed the previous posts in the thread, Part 1 begins here. The previous post in this […]
Commander: A Vignette by Torn MacAlester
CommanderImage by Torn MacAlester using OpenSim By Torn MacAlester The events in the crater weighed heavily on Nils Carmike. He nearly killed his commander, Mose. It was an accident. Though, he felt defeated as he stared out the Moon-ship window, looking at the crater where it occurred. “I need to put you on this […]
Golf and Outgassing: a short story by Torn Macalester
Golf and OutgassingGraphic By Shannan Albright A sixty-year-old Moon mystery prompts Colonel Annie Macturner to make a risky decision. Intrigued by an interview designed to manipulate, Milton Johnson, a candidate that conflicts with her highly distinguished military background, is selected as her crew-mate. Can Annie solve the landing site mystery and unravel Milton’s enigma before […]
An Exercise in World Building
World Building for Science FictionImage by Snapwire on pexels I wanted to share some insight into the world building process that I am using in my science fiction stories. First off, most would call my science fiction as ‘Hard’ science fiction because of my use of scientific rigor when developing my stories. For myself, it’s […]
Y+1: A Vignette by Torn MacAlester
Y+1by Torn MacAlester This morning on the Night Watch Live AM, we are speaking with Nick in Montana, who’s been living inside of the blast zone of Yellowstone since the explosion last year. Nick, we have a caller on line two, are you ready for questions from the audience? “Go ahead Sam,” I said, pouring […]
Lunadyne Incident by Torn MacAlester
Y+28, Day 1: “You, in the jail,” the voice said over the intercom. Sheriff Del Anderson stood and switched on the voice channel. Del watched the warped video of the shady figure in the hallway outside the Sheriff’s office. The facial recognition software failed to place the individual. Either the man wasn’t in the system, […]
A Paradox: A Description of the Fermi Paradox by Torn MacAlester
It Starts With A ParadoxPart 2 of World Building for Science Fiction Part 2—It Starts With A Paradox by Torn MacAlester Photo by Rakicevic Nenad from Pexels The Fermi Paradox The Fermi paradox tries to answer: Where are they (the aliens)? It looks at how fast travel is across the galaxy. It says […]
The Soldier: A Vignette by Torn MacAlester
The Soldier Y+0 Granger realized that the whirlwind month had ended as he headed to the Greyhound bus, hoping to see if he could get a trip. According to the sergeant in the discharge barracks, his chances of getting a home trip to Wyoming were next to nothing. He had the Army travel voucher and […]