In A Flash 2020

by Christopher J Burke

Genres: Fantasy; Science Fiction; flash fiction

Synopsis

A collection of 20 flash fiction stories including a young magical sophomore trying to summon her first familiar, a culinary Casanova who was cast down into Hell's Diner, a cyber visionary whose ideas just need a nudge into a new direction, a space lothario who learns that you can con the con man, a hell hound's visit to a dog park, a cabin boy whose uncle is not only the captain but a fierce pirate and futures where the world belongs to the robots, or to the cats. You'll go from a dark, lonely day in kindergarten to the a bright, sunny morning on the Village Green of a retirement community for spies, and then travel to the edge of the known solar system in a capsule for one. Twenty bites of fantasy and science fiction.

Release date: July 12, 2020

Publisher: eSpec Books

Print pages: 90

Content advisory: None

Sample

Cyber What?” I was only half-paying attention even before I started raiding Melanie’s fridge, when she lost most of the other half, but I did catch the word “cyber.”

“No, Cyber Where…w-h-e-r-e!” she said, thrusting her hands out at me with each letter for emphasis. “It’s a pun. And it’s the new idea I’m developing.” 

I plopped myself onto her couch with a pilfered bottle of water. Feeling between the cushions, I fished out the remote. “It doesn’t work.”

Mel glanced at the screen and watched it come alive as I fingered the keypad in my hand. “What doesn’t work? You mean my idea? Of course, it doesn’t. It’s in the planning stages.” 

“Not that.” I dropped the remote, then cracked the bottle and took a long draught. “The pun doesn’t work. What’s it mean?” 

She grabbed her earpiece from the desk and held it up, the dongle hanging between her fingers. Unlike the usual short-range antennas, that one probably had a much greater range than regular low-end devices. Likely had faster data transfer, courtesy of a few firmware hacks. 

“Duh! The equipment is cyber-w-a-r-e. Hardware, software, cyberware!” Almost as a reflex action, she hooked it over her left ear. When she glanced down to see the cord rubbing against her shoulder, she reached for it, as if to swing the plug in place behind her head. 

“Could you not?” 

“Hannah, join the 22nd century already.” 

“I did. Three years ago, like everyone else. I had my experimental phase back in college, just like you. Okay, and a little bit in high school, too, but you started enjoying those Naughty Nineties sooner than me.” 

Mel laughed at the memories. She was probably accessing them from storage even as I mentioned it.