Story Seed Vault @storyseedvault@wandering.shop
Micro sci-fi inspired by scientific research and #scicomm. We aim to entertain and educate. Open to subs between 10-24 every month. Edited by Alex Massey.
WE WANT TO PAY YOU FOR MICRO SCI-FI! This is an open call for diverse sci-fi writers that never expires.
- POC
- LGBTQIA
- Indigenous
- Neurodiverse
- Disabled
- Chronically ill
- All marginalised voices
We're open from Day 10-24 every month. storyseedvault.com/submissions
WE WANT TO PAY YOU FOR MICRO SCI-FI! This is an open call for diverse sci-fi writers that never expires.
- POC
- LGBTQIA
- Indigenous
- Neurodiverse
- Disabled
- Chronically ill
- All marginalised voices
We're open from Day 10-24 every month. storyseedvault.com/submissions
[131] She wasn’t perfect at mimicking normal human interaction. But neither was I. And she was built to learn.
“Sound sad,” I told her. “Call and tell them goodbye.”
“Okay,” she answered. Her voice was kind.
//In a recent demo, Google Assistant booked an appointment over the phone. This release has prompted questions about the Turing test, and a possible AI doomsday. Might it be possible to use this technology as an access aid? https://storyseedvault.com/2018/06/21/131///
[130] We play litter-hopscotch. Wu falls, writhes in plastic nets, splashes into the sea. But my ballerina balance shoes tiptoe across the football field-sized patch of debris. I jump over a bucket. I win.
//Babies love to play with cardboard boxes and litter. So do kids of the future. As the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” grows from its current size of three Frances , one can imagine smaller patches serving as kids’ play zones. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/06/12/130//
WE WANT TO PAY YOU FOR MICRO SCI-FI! This is an open call for diverse sci-fi writers that never expires.
- POC
- LGBTQIA
- Indigenous
- Neurodiverse
- Disabled
- Chronically ill
- All marginalised voices
We're open from Day 10-24 every month. storyseedvault.com/submissions
[129] "Do droids think?”
“Of course.”
“And there’s a spirit within us?”
“Undoubtedly. We may be machines, but spirit gives us grace.”
Pause.
“Do humans think?”
“Reflect on their creations: pollution; war; crime. Can humans think? – Hell no.”
//Many in the Artificial Intelligence community believe conscious machines are not merely possible, but almost inevitable. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/06/05/129//
[129] "Do droids think?”
“Of course.”
“And there’s a spirit within us?”
“Undoubtedly. We may be machines, but spirit gives us grace.”
Pause.
“Do humans think?”
“Reflect on their creations: pollution; war; crime. Can humans think? – Hell no.”
//Many in the Artificial Intelligence community believe conscious machines are not merely possible, but almost inevitable. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/06/05/129//
[128] "Welcome to the Celestial Station Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay with us and in the event of an emergency, please think of your loved ones.”
//Recently, Houston-based company Orion Span’s announced plans to open the first hotel in space, the compact Aurora Station. At the Vault, we think the Celestial Station might be more than it seems… After all, in space – no one can hear you scream. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/30/128///
[128] "Welcome to the Celestial Station Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay with us and in the event of an emergency, please think of your loved ones.”
//Recently, Houston-based company Orion Span’s announced plans to open the first hotel in space, the compact Aurora Station. At the Vault, we think the Celestial Station might be more than it seems… After all, in space – no one can hear you scream. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/30/128///
[127] He had known this moment would come, but that didn’t make it any easier. He leaned against the flank, felt the familiar coolness against his cheek as the world’s last glacier melted into nothingness.
/Sarah DeWeerdt was contemplating the death of Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros. Reading of their possible extinction, she wondered: What if disappearing glaciers also had human caretakers who became attached to them? https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/24/127//
[127] He had known this moment would come, but that didn’t make it any easier. He leaned against the flank, felt the familiar coolness against his cheek as the world’s last glacier melted into nothingness.
/Sarah DeWeerdt was contemplating the death of Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros. Reading of their possible extinction, she wondered: What if disappearing glaciers also had human caretakers who became attached to them? https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/24/127//
[126] The world’s homebody population watched the last corporate office detonate, making room for more residential housing. Powerhouses of labor, they stepped out to celebrate and blinked in the sun.
//As more and more of the population works from home, one can imagine a future where everyone is able to. Imagine if they could 3-D print all the supplies they need and never needing to step foot out of their “bedroom office.” https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/17/126//
[125] Inside every cell are records of compromises as ancient as the nucleotides that encode them; pacts with old enemies that shape us even now.
//Up to 8% of human DNA isn’t actually “human”–it comes from viruses that infected our ancestors, some of which caused pandemics. Some of these same genes are now key to our survival. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/14/125///
THE VAULT IS OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS AGAINNN!!!
WE WANT TO PAY YOU FOR MICRO SCI-FI! This is an open call for diverse sci-fi writers that never expires.
- POC
- LGBTQIA
- Indigenous
- Neurodiverse
- Disabled
- Chronically ill
- All marginalised voices
We're open from Day 10-24 every month. storyseedvault.com/submissions
[124] A man asks his device for the weather. “It’s clear outside. Expect the overthrow of humanity in the morning, followed by nuclear winter. Today’s high will be this moment, John. You’re ready for this.”
//Inspired by the recent technological mishap in Hawaii, this story examines how much we trust and rely on our technology. How soon until AI controls the warnings, and what might they decide to say or do? https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/08/124///
[123] Our cosmos is too vast
And we are far too small
So take your hand in mine
It’s three against them all
/Earlier this year, scientists at MIT cooled a cloud of rubidium atoms to an ultralow temperature and were amazed to witness individual photons grouping into pairs and trios. This new light could be used to perform highly complex, incredibly fast quantum computations. Lachlan Redfern reshaped this discovery into a love poem. https://storyseedvault.com/2018/05/05/123//
Once upon a time
I loved a man
who loved abandoned buildings
so much
he turned into one.
Once upon a time
I called myself
an alley cat
now I sleep in the shadow
of his house.
And neither one
knows what
home means
anymore.
[122] A mercurial, opalescent hand surges from thawing permafrost, dives into waves, twisting as it searches for victims. It pools around goggles of deep sea explorers and plunges into fish’s gaping mouth.
//Beneath the crust of Artic permafrost, around 23 Olympic swimming pools of mercury lie still, waiting for their toxic release. Is this antagonist a true villain or a defender of the planet from those destroying it? https://storyseedvault.com/2018/04/30/122//
Read something new and beautiful.
[121] After a last, convulsive bout of childishness, humanity finally grew up. The huge red warning sign, marking their system off-limits, was turned off.
//Just south of Jupiter’s equator rages the Great Red Spot, a storm that could swallow several Earth-sized planets.Yet, this Great Red Spot may soon become the Great Red Circle Memory, as NASA’s planetary scientists observe that the spot is rapidly shrinking.//
Back in the olden days of the Internet, TIL was a common phrase. We're reviving it today for a special thread. Wandering.Shop - What have you have learned today?
Don't worry if your answer isn't about science. It can be about history, the world, writing techniques or even yourself. Start your answer with TIL and link us (if you can) to what you've learned!
@storyseedvault TIL that “TIL” is old internet; I only first saw it myself about 10 years ago. :-)
