science fiction

CrowdKill – short story

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/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/36e/69654906/files/2015/01/img_1765.jpgSerge blinked as the rough hessian blindfold was tugged away from his eyes. His heart hammered in his chest, plummeling away against his ribcage. His eyes darted around the jagged rocky cavern. Mining gear lay strewn around, large claw-like plasma cutters, disintigration bins, and thick rolls of cable. Lighting blocks punched into the rocks above shone harshly, giving the kind of illumination that cultivates an ache behind the eyes.

A hand shoved him forward. Serge stumbled, almost falling. Gruff laughter issued around him. Serge recognised a couple of faces. A man wearing a black cap and dark glasses; he was the pilot. The squat-looking woman in a faded red shirt; Serge was sure she was the one who thrust the blindfold onto his head. They, and all their companions, bristled with weaponry; hand guns, pulsers, assault rifles. They looked like they knew how to use them.

Serge stood motionless as a tripod was set up opposite him, a camera attached to it, the lens peering greedily at him.

The crowd stepped apart as a tall bearded man entered the cavern. He walked up to Serge, eying him with contempt. He uttered something in a language Serge didn’t understand, drawing out a few dry chuckles from the observers.

Serge cleared his throat.

“I… I don’t understand…”

The man burst into hearty laughter, clapping Serge on the shoulder, causing him to flinch away.

“Just play, just fun,” the bearded man said in broken English. “My name Beerik. You?”

“Serge. Serge Lillian.”

Beerik gestured with a flick of his head. Two of the militants moved into the darkness at the edge of the room, picking up a dark bundle between them.

“Big money,” said Beerik. “Big money for this.”

“Yes, lots of money,” said Serge.

The militants dragged the bundle closer. As they entered the light, Serge could see that it was a man, a skeletal figure clad in a stained orange smock.

Serge let himself be positioned beside the man in the smock. He felt giddy; could he do this? He glanced at the man beside him. His face was gaunt, eyes sunken into hollows. Serge pressed down the faint shred of pity he felt for him, rolling a deep wave over anger over it. Anger for his father. Anger for East Tarra. Anger for the fires and the death.

Beerik reached inside his jacket and removed a crumpled sheet of paper and a black balaclava.

“You ready, Serge Lillian?”

Serge pulled the balaclava over his head.

“I’m ready.”

The man in the smock was made to kneel. The light began to blink on the camera. Showtime.

“Greetings to the faithful brothers and sisters of the Dyon Nation,” Serge began, reading from the crumpled script. “Though we are scattered by oppression, our strength remains.

“Today, the Dyon Liberation Army brings its enemies a sign of our resolve. Today, we bring you a judgement. For crimes against the Dyon Nation, a price of recompense must be paid.”

The man in the smock shivers and shakes uncontrollably, fear etched on his face.

“It is my honour as a proud benefactor to carry out this act of righteous justice.” Serge’s voice swells with determination. “I, like many others, have chosen to share my wealth with the cause of my people. Together, we will build the means of our liberation.”

One of the militants, also disguised by a balaclava, steps into shot and hands Serge a blade.

“It is my honour to be chosen in recognition of my patronage.”

Steadying his hand, Serge positions the blade at the man’s neck.

“It is my honour to fulfil this reward.”

Banker who financed 9/11 mastermind now funding terrorists in Syria and Iraq – The Telegraph

Who’s Funding ISIS? Wealthy Gulf ‘Angel Investors,’ Officials Say – NBC News

Get a FREE copy of Resolutions!

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Resolutions cover - Final - 02082014As it’s the festive season, and my birthday on Dec 14th, I thought I’d offer you all a special Christmas gift. My science fiction short story collection, Resolutions, is available for free from Smashwords until Dec 15th.

Here’s what readers have said about Resolutions:

“Some great thought provoking reads that showcase a great writer… really nicely written and formatted with believable characters and tight descriptive writing.”

“Some excellent twists and great use of language… highly recommended read.”

How do you claim your free copy?

  1.  Visit the Resolutions page on Smashwords
  2.  Use the code ‘FH86F’ at the checkout to a 100% discount.

Offer ends on Dec 15th – don’t miss out!

Five Questions for Authors – Jonathon Fletcher

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Author JPEGHow did you begin writing? Do you remember the first piece you wrote?

I guess I’ve always dabbled with writing. I started to take it more seriously when working on film scripts while completing my Media Production degree in the North East. That was where I began to learn about structure, pacing and the nuts and bolts of how to write a story. I continued to learn when I worked in the animation industry. You can’t work with scripts and story-boards on a daily basis without picking up a thing or two.

The first thing that I wrote with the intention of publishing was the novelisation of my degree film “Unity” which will become the second book in the Unity series. That was where I really learned how to write a novel rather than a film script. It’s quite a different process and took me some time. When it came to publishing I realised that book was too weighty to be my first foray into self publishing. That’s how the Josiah Trenchard novellas came about. They have done pretty well and I’ve only recently published Unity book one, so the first thing that I wrote is actually the most recently published.

What have you written which makes you most proud?

Out of all my books so far I think I’m most proud of Josiah Trenchard part five: Belatu-Cadros. It’s a prequel and fills in the blanks about Captain Trenchard’s history. Out of all the books it’s the most well developed. It starts from when Trenchard is a child and follows his life right up to the events of the “Might of Fortitude”. It’s a “right of passage” novel and has a certain hero creation element to it. It’s probably the most stand alone book that I’ve written. I generally write episodes that fit into a longer story arc. Belatu-Cadros has a definitive beginning and end.

Do you have a particular process or approach to writing?

I have the storyline mapped out for the whole Space Navy series on the wall at home. I know where it’s heading and what happened in the past. Each book is a snapshot of a tiny section of that story arc. I know well beforehand what I want to do with each book. I start with the basic storyline and then expand that onto coloured post-it notes which I stick to the wall and rearranged as the story develops. Each colour represents a different character or thread to the story. When I’m happy with the whole thing the post-its become typed up into a Word document and each two or three will become a chapter of the book. I try to keep each chapter short, around three to four thousand words. It’s then just a case of filling in the blanks. I like to do my editing before I write as much as possible. That way none of my effort is wasted.

Once the first draft is finished I read it to my wife, who is a teacher. At that point she makes general comments on the story and characters. She won’t let anything past that is out of character or doesn’t make sense. She’s very good at spotting something that doesn’t work. Then I edit the book as per her comments. Finally, she will read the whole book back to me so that I can listen to it as if it were an audio-book. That allows me to submerge myself in the characters and dialogue while she performs a fantastic job as proof reader and editor.

Do you have a current project you’re working on or promoting?

I’m working on a print version of the first four Josiah Trenchard novellas using Createspace. It’s the first time I’ve done that, so it’s taking some learning on my part. I’m also writing Josiah Trenchard part six “Arkhangelsk”. This will see the Might of Fortitude take place in a convoy as an escort to merchant vessels taking supplies into a war zone. There will be a hell of a space battle and the return of some old friends and some old foes.

What do you hope to achieve with your writing?

At a very simple level I want to entertain people. I want the reader to have as much fun reading these books as I did writing them. In essence, I write these books to make myself happy. They’re not to everyone’s taste. There’s lots of violence and swearing, but then again there are comedic moments, action, adventure, love… I’m trying to get as close to a television series in book form as I can manage. Each book is like an episode with its own story but elements that link into the whole. I hope my readers put the book down and think “Well that answered those questions, but I didn’t see THAT coming! I wonder where he’s going to next?” I have the whole of space to play with. That’s why I love sci-fi. You can pretty much go anywhere and do anything. I don’t know any other genre in which you can do the same. Lock and load, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJon Fletcher was born and brought up near Stockport, England. After studying Art & Design at school, he went on to complete a Foundation course in Art at Stockport College and then completed three years as a film student in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. He graduated after making a short science fiction film entitled “Unity”. After leaving the North-East he became a prop maker, set builder and art director working at Cosgrove Hall Films in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy and then Hot Animation in Altrincham. He worked on several shows that included “Brambly Hedge”, “Lavender Castle”, “Rocky and the Dodos” and the first fourteen series of “Bob the Builder”. He finally opted for the good life, became a professional gardener and married Louise, who was the only one that would put up with his nonsense. He is now working as a gardener in the beautiful Northumberland countryside. The one thing that has remained constant throughout is his love for science fiction and for writing. This has reached its conclusion in the writing of the “Josiah Trenchard” and “Unity” book series, based on the idea for his short film.

https://sites.google.com/site/unitynovels/

Review – Interstellar

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IMG_1658.JPGI had heard predominantly positive feedback about Interstellar, but I wouldn’t have needed any encouragement to see it as Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and storytellers.

Minor criticisms first: the plot could be seen as quite farfetched, especially towards the latter parts of the movie, but it’s easy to forget that this is a science ‘fiction’ story, dealing with theoretical subjects. Aspects of it may be grounded in science ‘fact’, but I think each individuals’ ability to suspend disbelief plays a large role in being immersed in the story.

My other criticism is more of a difference of belief. Interstellar champions the view that the redemption of the human race is within the grasp of humanity themselves. I disagree with this and believe that redemption lies solely within the power of an almighty God, who is outside of the constraints of time and space.

Those things said, Interstellar is a fantastic movie. It is a majestic and colossal visual experience, with a score that swells climatically but also communicates dread and tension as well. I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t see it in IMAX, but I may have melted in awe!

The main strength of the movie is the relationships portrayed between the central characters. This is the kind of ‘relationships and spaceships’ story I aspire to tell, where people are what drives the plot. The father/daughter bond ties the movie together and could be its strongest facet due to the performances from Matthew McConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, and Jessica Chastain. There’s a vein of regret and loss that runs throughout the story, and I think it’s hard not to be moved by it.

So, to sum up; go and watch Interstellar. Even though there are some weaker moments, the overall magnificence of the movie far outweighs any negatives.

Let me know what you thought of Interstellar by commenting below!

Time to write!

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IMG_1471.JPG I’ve been taking some time to plan a strategy for my writing, working on setting long-term goals as well as how I’m going to structure my regular writing sessions as part of my weekly routine. One of my main objectives, which crosses over the boundary between long-term and ongoing, is to write my first novel. The big question is, what do I write?

My plan for awhile has been to convert my short story Beyond Thought, part of my Resolutions collection, into a full-length narrative. I’ve started doing some planning, and have a good idea of the characters, plot, and setting. However, with the limited time I have to write at the moment, I’ve rediscovered another story that will work better as my first novel.

Time to Die is the narrative I will be working on in the coming months, drafting a novel based on this idea. Once again, this story began has one of short stories from Resolutions, Only Time Will Tell. I’ve already converted this story once before, running it as an interactive adventure via my StoryMechs project. This adventure was run whilst the project was still known Tweet RPG.

The beauty of using Time to Die as my novel template is that I already have a plot structure developed in the form of my game plan of the interactive adventure. This also contains unused content which was bypassed by the players, offering me options for extending or altering the narrative.

Want to know more about Time to Die? You can review the Tweet RPG adventure here, or purchase the Resolutions collection to read the original story.

Five Questions for Authors – Richard Holliday

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481351_10152410004100398_443573859_n - BW SmallThis post is the first in a series of interviews I’m conducting with authors. The idea is to ask the same five questions to a variety of authors and see what different kinds of responses are given. Hopefully it will offer authors the chance to introduce themselves and their work, and to also share some tips, hints, and experiences related to writing. Starting us off, my pal Richard Holliday!

How did you begin writing? Do you remember the first piece you wrote?

I sporadically wrote during high school as a means of passing time, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I finally took it “seriously”. At school, I never really felt I had a proper creative outlet – I’m not sporty, a particularly competent artist nor can I play a musical instrument more complex than a triangle – but getting into creative writing has definitely reassured me that my imagination does have an outlet.

There’s a little bit of backstory between my first actual piece and my first proper piece, though the latter would not exist without the former. In 2001 I was in English class studying the Titanic disaster; being a history buff on this subject for some years prior, I loved this topic and I wrote a piece of historical fiction based loosely around it (The story was ostensibly about the ship more than the people on it; a trait I probably maintain to this day). It was the longest thing I’d ever written (I was 11) at 10 sides of A4. I handed the story to my English teacher, who was a little confused but gave it the once-over – I got it back with an A+. I still have the original marked copy and Word document somewhere but I’m far too self-conscious (about the quality and, to a lesser extent, the niche subject matter) to read it, let alone post it online! But it was certainly a learning experience of unusual stead!

Later on I mulled over writing again and took part in National Novel Writing Month 2009 and churned out a 50,000 word manuscript for an alternate history adventure story that I want to revisit, but feel my skills at the moment won’t do justice to the story I want to tell; more successfully, the 2010 NaNoWriMo event was more successful, and I took a lot of lessons from the previous year and eventually produced my first proper finished novel Colonisation, which I’m redrafting. Definitely it was those two frenetic months of non-stop writing that cemented in my mind that I had an actual talent and should pursue it, though I’ve not done NaNoWriMo since 2011.

What have you written which makes you the most proud?

A few of my projects stand out to me as particularly good but one feels especially worthy at the time of writing, and that’s my post-apocalyptic short story The Cloud. This was my first venture into the genre and I really think I did a great job with it; I really enjoyed building up the ominous atmosphere of the dead city and showing the plight of the protagonist as he attempts to escape. I really love world-building and setting the scene in which a story takes place. My approach is to paint a picture in the reader’s mind as if they’re “watching” the story in a cinema. Plus, going back to The Cloud, I had some really great comments from some influential people who took the time to read my work and give me feedback which buoyed my self-esteem. The Cloud is the first piece of work I’ve deemed worthy of submission and the first short story of mine that I’d consider (and am planning) expanding into a full-blown novel.

It’s hard to really pin down specific works as I’m proud of all of my work, even if in certain circumstances the piece in question doesn’t quite execute the concept I was going for quite right as that puts that piece down as a valuable learning experience. I’d like to think that the work on my website shows a clear progression of my abilities as both a writer and in terms of grasping new concepts and running with them, to varying degrees of success. Certainly I have favourites, but if I can’t be proud of my work, why should people be proud to read it?

Do you have a particular process or approach when writing?

In terms of workflow, I’ve developed an amusingly-anachronistic approach. I work on my drafts in Scrivener, which is a wonderful program designed for writers that I feel helps a great deal in terms of getting out of the way when it comes to writing and supporting me when it comes to important structural stuff. Once I have a draft, I literally print it out and work on annotating a hard copy in red ink pen. It’s amazing how the “disconnect”, as it were, by reading the work on paper helps me to see it from a different angle and scribble all over it. One problem I’ve encountered so far, especially when it comes to my full-length novel Colonisation which I’ve been editing for ages this way, is getting the marked up pages back into a digital realm. I’m a pretty hard-going tech geek so, funnily enough, I find solving these problems part of the fun of writing!

Sometimes the hardest part is getting in the chair and putting one finger in front of the other. I usually try to aim for relatively low word count sessions fairly often, between 300-500 words a day. I’ve recently been trying to adopt the Pomodoro technique of work sessions broken up by very short breaks. Of course, when inspiration strikes at 4AM, this can be a little hard to manage so it’s best to just go with the inspirational flow while it lasts!

Do you have a current project you’re working on or promoting?

I’m keeping myself rather busy at the moment! There’s a couple of projects on the back burner as it were; I’m still editing my novel Colonisation that I released briefly in 2013 on the back of some useful feedback for an eventual re-release on Kindle. I’m working on an expanded release of my short story collection Rememories, which is a compilation of all of my short story work from 2013 in an edited and enhanced form. After seeing your success with releasing Resolutions on Smashwords I’m eager to take some lessons away when Rememories hits Smashwords in early 2015 and really get my work out there as best as possible. I’m also pretty active in writing some new short stories and I’m hoping to have at least a couple new entries to my list before the end of the year!

Interestingly, I’m also writing my first short film! My script is titled Doors and is a science-fiction/psychological horror set in the near future where one man is invited to test a new piece of wearable technology. Unfortunately, some of the side-effects are agonising visions that only he can see… until they transcend into reality itself. I know a couple of independent filmmakers as friends and they’re mentoring me on the script side of things and are also looking to put Doors into production sometime in 2015. I’ve already had some good feedback on the script so far and it’s a really cool way of developing as a really versatile writer.

What do you hope to achieve with your writing?

I’d like to continue developing my skills with my writing; I really do believe it’s a journey of continual improvement. Definitely, part of the journey of being a great writer is being a great reader and if I get to experience some really good work I otherwise wouldn’t have then that’s a success. Generally, I want to give people some good stories to get involved in and care about first and foremost – what’s the point of doing this if no-one is enjoying it? In the medium term I want to work on building a network of fellow writers to get my work out there and get a profile. I’ve had a bit of an underlying goal that’ll tell me that I’m where I want to be: I’d like for one person to honestly say that I am their favourite writer. That may sound egocentric but it would be incredibly awesome if that was the case!

Richard Holliday is a writer from South London. His main areas are epic space operas, gritty cyberpunk and atmospheric post-apocalyptic. A fan of an eclectic mix of 70s prog-rock concept albums, naff 80s Doctor Who and fizzy drinks. He’s currently embarking on an English Literature and Creative Writing degree with the Open University.

Website – http://richardholliday.co.uk/

Facebook – http://facebook.com/richardhollidayauthor

Twitter – http://twitter.com/rjpholliday

Resolutions is now available to buy!

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Resolutions cover - Final - 02082014The day has finally arrived – Resolutions is now published! It’s taken a while, but I wanted to get it right. You can purchase the Resolutions ebook from:

Amazon UK (£1.24)
Amazon US ($1.99)
Smashwords ($1.99)

Resolutions is a collection of science fiction short stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary situations. The narratives within explore questions about the future of technology and humanity. Resolutions is all about the way things end. By the final conclusion, you will have smiled, shuddered, and will take away some food for thought.

I would love to hear what you think of the collection. You can comment below, tweet me or post on my Facebook page, and also leave a review on your retailer site of choice. If you’re a reviewer and would like a review copy, please feel free to get in touch.

Enjoy the collection!

The end is nigh: my launch plan for Resolutions

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800px-BookshelfThe time has almost arrived for Resolutions, my science fiction short story collection, to hit digital bookshelves. I don’t want to be too specific at this point, as a spanner could easily enter the works, but I am hoping to have the collection available to purchase and download by the end of next week (Friday 26th Sept). I’ve never electronically published a book before, so there could be some unknown hurdles still in my pathway, but I’ll keep you posted if there is a delay.

I’ve tried to be methodical with the preparations for publishing, and thought you might find it interesting and useful to see my plan for how I have gone about this.

Phase one – create content

Draft text meta-data – anything that the retail site(s) need to create a profile for your texts, generally a short description, an optional long description, and content tags. Follow guidelines precisely (character limits, etc) and take advantage of the opportunity to sell the product.

Draft launch blog post – this will be the foundation of the promotion, as it’s the place where the most data can be shared about the text. Make sure to include (and make prominent) links to the retailer(s) where the text can be purchased, a clear description of the text (can be reworked from meta-data), and a call for readers to feedback on their experience of the text in a variety of ways.

Draft press release – this will be useful to send out to any mailing lists you have for supporters or other contacts (work, church, hobbies, etc), and for any relevant media contacts who might be willing to promote your text. For a guide to creating an effective press release, see the free Smashwords Marketing Guide.

Draft social media content – don’t assume you’ll know exactly what to say on the day. You’ll have various links that you’ll be wanting to drive traffic towards (retail sites, your blog, launch reviews, etc) and you need a plan for how to manage these links. You’ll also have a variety of networks to utilise (Facebook, Twitter, email, message boards, etc) which all demand a specific method of engagement. One size doesn’t fit all so work on the style, timing, and frequency of messages.

Phase two – publish!

Upload your text – even if this isn’t your first time publishing online, block out some time to get your text uploaded. Who knows what kinds of technical gremlins will pop up at this point, so it’s good to have some time to deal with them. If possible, ‘soft launch’ your text prior to full promotion, so that you can test that everything works as it should.

Phase three – promote!

Change your online profiles – add the appropriate links to your text, upload any promotional images you may have. Don’t forget the simple updates like your email signature!

Send promotional/supporter emails.

Put your social media plan into action.

Phase four – PROMOTE!!!

Once you are certain that the process of purchasing your text is working smoothly and buzz from your initial launch has died down (even if it is a small buzz with just a few sales and reviews), work on innovative ways to promote your text. Here are some ideas:

  • Write a blog post detailing all the ways you can obtain and read the text – some supporters may not have the technical understanding how to use the retailer sites you’ve chosen, so guide them on how to do this.
  • Organise ‘interview swaps’ with other authors
  • Arrange a competition to drive sales – source a tasty prize, write an engaging press release, draft the rules of your competition
  • Plan a discount promotion – or give your text away for free for a limited time

I hope these tips are helpful – I’m currently at the end of phase one, not long to go now! If you have any suggestions of your own, questions about my plan, or if you downright disagree with my ideas (you’re allowed to!), please comment below.

Reposted: Beyond Thought – short story

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This short story was previously posted on my old blog. It will be included in my Resolutions collection, and is the starting point for my novel idea.

It was a dull wispy morning, the gantries of Neo London draped with fog. The towering angular structures grew out of the misty depths below and disappeared into the clouds above. Kale scuffed her way along the suspended pathway, fiddling with her burgundy blazer, her short brown hair still wet from her hasty shower. Although the gantries were full of people on their way to work or school, she walked alone, like every morning. Her younger brother and sister would dart off in a different direction once the children had left the apartment building. They didn’t want to be seen with their reject sibling.

Kale stood patiently at the crossing bridge, waiting for the air traffic to divert and the platforms to link. She didn’t want to arrive at school any quicker than she needed to. She noticed a man in a formal grey suit also waiting at the crossing. He stood as far away from the girl as he possibly could, pretending she wasn’t there and yet clearly aware of her presence. As the platforms hovered together and bridged the immeasurable drop with a magnetic click, he strode away as quickly as he could. She could tell he was afraid, repulsed by her emptiness. You didn’t need to be a psychic to work that out.

. . .

“How are you progressing with the task, Kale?”

Miss Warner smiled as she made the enquiry, but that only made her appear more patronising.

“Um… OK, I guess.”

Kale turned her work book around for the youthful dark-haired teacher to see. The young girl was one of the two children seated in the non-psi area at the back of the classroom. The normal children sometimes got spooked by the ‘dead-heads’. The empty psychic space where thoughts and feelings should flow made them nervous, especially the chipped kids, afraid their implants would break if they got too close, sending them back into the mental darkness that was normal life for Kale. She didn’t know why she didn’t just work in a different room. Probably because that would be too much like segregation, and this, well, this was nothing like segregation at all.

“I have identified some mistakes,” said Miss Warner, overly formal. The spoken language that teachers like her had to learn was so rigid, so lifeless and cold. “I have marked them with a circle. Please try to identify and rectify the errors.”

Kale nodded. Miss Warner turned and walked back to the front of the class, soundlessly communicating with the psychic majority. Kale could tell when they were talking psychically. The movement of their eyes, the turn of their heads, lots of little clues they didn’t realise they were giving away.

Sitting a couple of desks away from Kale was Derek Middler, a spotty little boy, the only other non-psi student in the classroom. Despite their shared affliction, she always kept her distance from the scowling youth. He was troubled and volatile, like many non-psi children could be, feeling paranoid and threatened. Not someone you wanted to be associated with.

“They’re talking about us,” Derek muttered.

Heads turned. Kale wished she could sink through the floor with embarrassment.

“You got something to say?” Derek challenged. He jumped up from his seat aggressively. Some of the students shrank back. Others grinned mockingly.

“Don’t laugh at me!”

“Please calm down, Derek,” said Miss Warner evenly.

She’ll be summoning the hall attendants, thought Kale. Derek wasn’t going to calm down.

“Shut up!”

The wiry boy pushed his desk over, books and pens clattering to the ground. Two hall attendants entered the room. They walked straight up to Derek, faces emotionless, and grabbed the boy, who struggled against them, yelling and screaming. They dragged him out of the room, his rage echoing away down the corridor.

Kale looked down at her book, her face flushed with shame, knowing that all the remaining occupants of the room were scrutinising her. If not with their eyes, then with their minds.

When are you going to snap? they questioned.

When are you going lose it?

. . .

The family sat around the table, plates of hearty home-cooked food in front of each member. Kale ate slowly, chewing each mouthful with a deliberately sluggish pace. They might not try to converse with her if they think her mouth is full. She assumed her mother, father and siblings were talking together; her mother hadn’t awkwardly broken the silence for a few minutes.

“Molly was just saying she might apply for kinetics next semester,” said Kale’s mother out of the blue.

“Oh, OK,” replied Kale, thinking about how fun it would be avoid the objects her younger sister would send flying at her with the power of her mind.

Her mother often did this, tried to act as interpretor; a guilty attempt to make her other child feel included. She only saw pity when she looked into her mother’s eyes, a pity that outweighed love.

“Your father is taking the day off on Friday. We are all going to the holo-pool together.”

“That sounds cool,” the young girl replied unconvincingly. Her mother frowned.

“I think they have adequate heating.”

“No, I mean… forget it.” None of them were used to speaking, they’d lost the natural ability. Kale had learnt from old films and songs, conversing with herself, re-enacting scenes, playing all the characters.

Molly laughed. Kale knew this was aimed at her. Whenever her brother or sister poked fun at her, they always laughed out loud so she would know they were laughing at her. Their father gave them a stern look. Kale ignored them. She had risen to their baiting in the past, responding to their hollow chuckles with white hot anger. Over time she had learnt to block it out.

. . .

“Goodnight Kale.” Her mother turned out the light. She didn’t kiss her daughter at bedtime anymore. She didn’t need to with her other children, they could feel her love in their minds. She had forgotten, trying so hard to stop Kale from feeling different. As the young girl rolled over under the covers she longed for her mother’s touch, those soft arms encircling her in a simple hug. She began to cry, sobbing as quietly as she could. The loneliness didn’t always sting this badly, but some days she couldn’t help but feel crushed under the weight of the isolation, feeling like the only person who hadn’t been told a secret. She reached over to her bedside table and picked up her ear pieces, slotting them in comfortably.

Ray Charles, ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’.

The voices surrounded her, soothing her. She imagined she was part of the ensemble, singing the refrain in perfect harmony.

To be a part of something.

That was all she desired.