Iconic #scifi series #Babylon5 is slowly being uploaded to YouTube in its entirety for free.
https://cordcuttersnews.com/babylon-5-is-now-free-to-watch-on-youtube/
(via @cos)
scifi
Alys considered the chip in front of her. A tiny low power particle accelerator. Barely 10KeV.
In the Great Collapse that followed the riots of 2032, Big Science - indeed Big Anything had gotten a bad name. A few projects survived - the LHC, Sea Sweeper, and a few others. But the rest? As dead as low orbit.
That was what had triggered the riots and the then the Collapse. LEO had undergone a Kessler event, and all space launches had been banned. Eventually the weather satellites had failed, and it only took a few major events for the giant multinationals to become the target of everyone's hate.
That had been twenty years ago - Alys had been a kid at the time - and they were predicting that launches would not be able to resume for another ten years at least.
So she considered her chip. A little low power accelerator like this could not achieve much. But it could ionise light atoms. Maybe....
A few weeks later, she had her circuit set up. One thing that the tiny chips had enabled was cheap small scale chip fabrication. So now she had an array of these chips with a feed for hydrogen, and a thermocouple array. And her collision chamber.
She started the hydrogen flow, and turned the circuit on. A second later the power metre started to climb. 5.5 volts, and 5000 milliamps.
She disconnected the dummy load, and routed the output into the circuit's input. And unplugged the external power.
The power remained stable.
It was not much, but it was a start.
She picked up the phone, and dialled the head of the department "Dr Fulsom? Can you come down to the workshop, please? I've got something to show you."
Naturally it was Dr Heather Fulsom that got the credit - at first. But Alys de Jute was the one who went down in history.
"Is there a way to fix a broken heart?" asked the robot.
The human was a little stunned but then shrugged, "Eat ice cream and cry a lot."
"I am not capable of those things."
"Hm... a fling? Or a new hobby?"
"Those do not seem logical solutions."
"Can you simply not delete the memories?"
"I... find myself unable to."
"Sounds like logic isn't the answer."
"So what can I do?"
"Have you ever tried painting?"
"No."
"We can start there."
I've got a new patron-only post up on Patreon! Want to influence the future of my release schedule? Pledges start at $1USD/month, which includes free copies of two short ebooks (with more to come!)
The Darwin Incident – Episode 1
The series wants to ask big questions about animal rights, extremism, and eugenics, but the writing so far is awfully broad for tackling such hefty issues.
https://www.animefeminist.com/the-darwin-incident-episode-1/
I'm reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Galapagos".
This is a novel from **1985**... and, while it's not "great", I'd still recommend it for anyone living this current time, plus, it's kinda funny.
It manages to:
- describe AI techno-bros as what they are: self-centred assholes.
- (shallowly) describe incels before those were a concept in our collective imagination.
- (very subtly) establish a clear connection between all those self-proclaimed "apolitical" people and... nazis.
"You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'."
All shot using real figures, lighting, smoke and miniature sets. I digitally illustrated the lights on the gun for added effect.
#predator #miniatures #scifi #photography #visualart #actionfigurephotography #miniaturephotography #creativephotography #photographicartwork #toyphotography #movies #cinematography #cinema
Oh, there's something like #portfolioDay ! Okay, so, I'm an #author, #podcast host and data privacy expert with a strong focus on #ITsecurity awareness. I write #nonfiction, crime and #scifi in German and English. The last two years I mainly spent with making #books and podcasts for others, like the lovely Eltville #WeinSchreibereien anthology and podcast.
Edited 34d ago
Glennis Cochrane did well from the divorce from Chuck. Despite his wealth, he had decided to represent himself, and, well, you know what they say about that. That he also decided to represent himself in the criminal assault case resulting from what happened outside the court was just icing on the cake. Court officials do not take well to being punched. 10-15 years before any chance of parole.
She sold the house, and purchased a charming heritage building near the CBD. A two story house with an attic. The estate agent said he was obliged to disclose that the house was haunted. Glennis laughed it off..
The reality was that the house really was haunted. She hadn't seen the ghost, but she'd heard it, and seen the effects.
Most noticeable was that the ghost was obsessive about the way the kitchen was set out. The pots and pans had to be just so. The crockery stacked the right way. And the pantry organised by date.
Once she'd figured that out, the ghost started on the bathroom. Then the living room.
The ghost had strong opinions about art. A Mondrian print ended up on the floor, but a Pollock reproduction stayed. Family photos were safe, but often got rearranged. Sometimes in different ways - it seemed that the ghost had moods. Her own paintings were untouched.
And that brought on the studio. Glennis had cleaned out the attic, and had a skylight put in, and set up the area as a studio. Every morning, her brushes would be cleaned, and but any work she'd covered would be uncovered.
Gradually, she started to feel someone watching her as she painted. Just the edge of a shadow out of the corner of her eye. A flicker of movement. So she started talking to the ghost.
About her day, about the divorce, about the current painting, the day's news. Just talking. When she told the presence about Chuck getting dogpiled by the court security team, she was certain she heard a hint of a giggle. And saw the hint of a figure.
---------------------------
Next we have the most famous work by Glennis Cochrane: "Past and Present" where you can see a ghostly outline of a young woman in formal late Victorian clothes on an IKEA lounge chair, illuminated by a shaft of dusty sunlight.
The artist always insisted that it was painted from a live sitting, but no attribution for the model has been found.
What am I bid?
#SF #SFF #UrbanFantasy #ghost #art #SciFi #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting
My storage-bladder clutched the loot tighter as I sprinted for the airlock and my stochastic parrot started posting dire survival probabilities on the body-bus.
The recent mods I'd made for the job had pros and cons. On the one hand the ablative scales on my back did a wonderful job dealing with incoming energy and ballistic fire, on the other hand all that shit was weighing me down and I couldn't get into my usual groove. I was way too slow and I would die.
"Fuck it, fire at will."
As soon as the free-for-all message was on the bus all hell broke loose. My third arm took control of the cam, overrode its own power and projectile budget and went to town on anything that moved and was not me. Nutrient-transport fluids and excrement splashed on the walls behind me.
The locomotion subsystem erased all wear protection on joints and connected tissues. With a jolt (and a lot of cracks and creaks) my body was launched towards the door.
Eris, my delightfully named security subsystem, unlocked all of our precious zero days and started burning out any system stupid enough to still accept any incoming comms.
"Not the DOOR, Eris!"
"I'm having fun, I'm not stupid 
."
I flew through the door and broke some carapace as I slammed into the back wall of the airlock. The door closed with a lot more force than allowed by regulation and instead of a soft disengagement I had to hold on for dear life as the emergency detach bolts exploded.
I dropped on the floor. Smiling. Nothing like a good near-death experience to make you feel alive.
I could hear faint sobbing from Excel, the new accountant AI as it tallied the cost for burnt exploits.
Edited 33d ago
We were on a deep survey run out towards the far edge of the Orion Arm that Earth is in, so yeah, we were a long way from home. We're just come out of jump, and were recalibrating our sensors, when the collision warning alarm went off.
We had sealed our suits, and were reaching for the controls when the impact happened. Whatever hit the ship got us in the crew quarters. Fortunately we were all on the bridge at the time.
Marcelo went aft to investigate, and a few minutes later we heard him scream, so we went after him like idiots. We found him backed up against the wall, a hexapod advancing towards him - all sharp claws and spines. When we entered, it turned towards us, so we backed out of the common area. It ignored Marcelo, and followed us.
Now I know what you are thinking, why didn't we shoot it. Simple. We were a survey ship. Yes, we had some small arms, but they were kept in a locker near the gravraft. Heck, the ship itself only had a single turret with a couple of popguns.
So, we backed out, and it followed us - but it is not a big ship, and it was not long before it cornered us.
It pulled a rectangular object out and some sort of cylinder with odd grips. Then, before I could do anything, it was right in front of me, and pushed the rectangle against my suit, and did something with the cylinder. Then it turned around and went back into the the object that collided with us.
The thing that had crashed into us reversed course , leaving a three meter wide hole in the hull.
Marcelo made it back to the bridge with a rocket pistol, but it was all over by then.
We sealed the bridge and repressurised, then opened our suits. The outside cameras showed the other craft just sitting nearby. We looked at the rectangle, and it appeared to be some sort of tablet with markings on it. Some of the markings matched the ones on the craft that hit us.
We puzzled over this for an hour or so, then another larger craft turned up, and opened up comms. That was when the one that hit us left.
It took us a while, but we figured out that they were offering to tow us to a repair yard in the next system. Not having any other clue, we sent an image of the tablet, almost instantly, they had tow lines attached.
Marcelo had been sitting thinking for a while but spoke up once we were underway. "Ceinwen, Dargh? I think that thing was giving us its insurance details."
#SF #SFF #SciFi #SpaceOpera #Humour #microfic #microfiction #tootfic #IAmWriting
Thanks to @Steveg58 for the inspiration.
https://communitymedia.video/w/h1jdbHm8xTj5VEDuCWAbBW
#lispyGopherClimate #technology #podcast #weekly
featuring @kentpitman @ramin_hal9001 @jns
Longterm #reliability , the #climateCrisis , technology and knowledge
Kent has found the source to his Cross referenced editing facility from Open University #lisp #lispm example.
#scifi #books with this theme? Ending of Cats Cradle?
On the #art side check, @prahou 's #unix_surrealism, https://photronic.art
Happy #lambdaMOO year! 35 years! https://lambda.moo.mud.org as always.
Edited 113d ago
"I'm sick of AI automatically post-processing my images. It's really fucked up my image library."
- What do you mean?
"It keeps inserting Arnold Schwarzenegger into my photos. There's no way he was around every time. Look!"
- Oh, I see him. Have you still got some old film negatives?
"Let me look. Oh hey, here's my old photo album and... Wait... No! He's in them too! How?"
- Is your name John Connor?
"Yes.Why?"
- I'll be back.
Edited 32d ago
COVER REVEAL! 🚀📷 We are delighted to unveil SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL, a #scifi #romance novelette by award-winning author P.A. Cornell! Cover art by Kim Herbst! Launching February 3, 2026. Read all about this delightful book: https://www.starsandsabers.com/2025/10/30/cover-reveal-for-shoeshine-boy-cigarette-girl-by-p-a-cornell/
#books #scifi #romance #scifiromance #2026books
My short ebook Tea for Two is available for sale as of now! For over two centuries, Anna Kerroway has refused to upload her consciousness to the Matrioshka Brain. But with the Earth scheduled for demolition, it seems that now she has to... or does she?
I have a new patron-only post up on Patreon! COMING SOON: RECORDED AUDIO READINGS of my published work! Plus access to my Discord and free copies of 3 short ebooks -- all for as little as $5USD/month!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/january-2026-148008531
#SciFi #ScienceFiction #AmWriting
Edited 35d ago
Hablando de libros, avisadme si os enteráis de que a Verónica Pazos le reeditan en algún momento "En el camino a Xanadú" porque se lo quiero comprar. Si acaso alguien la conoce o la sigue por otras rrss y se entera de algo al respecto, mensajeadme sin miedo, que me interesa. Espero de verdad que esté intentando moverlo por otras editoriales y alguna apueste por él porque es demasiado bonito y perfecto para que esté descatalogado.
#Libros #Literatura #Literaverso #Bookstodon #Fantasía #Scifi #CienciaFiccion
finished watching Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes
After watching River (2023) I had to watch this one from the same director, they make a Great timey-wimey double feature.
Also, a message for future Christopher Nolan, from present me: Tennet suuuuuucks, this is how it's done.
On Exoplanet 09774 these seeds have gained the name of Walking Apples. Plants don’t walk, (well, except for Triffids) but these ones do, sort of. Once dropped from the branch, the ‘legs’ move the seed along the soil upwards of 10 meters. There are no birds to spread the seed on this planet, which is probably why they walk. The seeds mostly trundle along at night, although we don’t know why at night, or how they know it’s night, although the nights do normally last 37 earth hours.
#scifi #exoplanet #seed #nature #photography #magicinthemundane
finished watching The X Files
Ah, simpler times, when the world's demise was orchestrated by competent people through clever conspiracies.
Wait, this is fiction, it was always a bunch of ridiculous, very public bros, concerned only with making the line go up. It was in plain sight all along.
I've got a new patron-only post up on Patreon! Interested in joining the fun? Get access to my next audio dispatch, plus a Discord invite and three complimentary ebooks, for as little as $5USD!
A nice older review of my fantasy story The Last Philosopher from a non-fantasy reader 😊
Free ebook in comments.
@reading @books @fantasy
@worldbuilding
@bookstodon
#WIPWednesday #Short #Excerpt #AmWriting #IndieAuthor #eBook #eBooks
#SpecualtiveFiction #FantasyBooks #Fantasy #SciFi #WorldBuilding #Satire #Humor #Humour #Comedy
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Bookstodon #Bookwyrm #FantasyBooks
#Reading #Readers #ReadersOfMastodon #ReadingCommunity
#Review #Bookreview #Recommendation
