The tenth of Ten Norse Myths. Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, the destruction of the worlds, the dramatic death duel of light and dark... Ragnarok. The end of the world had been prophesied from its beginning, and everyone across the world knew what to expect when Ragnarok fell upon them. For Ragnarok was the twilight of the gods, an end to the …

The ninth Norse Myth of ten, brings us to the death of Baldur, one of the most famous laments of Viking legend... The Death of Baldur. To Odin and Frigga were born twin sons as dissimilar in character and physical appearance as it was possible for two children to be. Hodur, god of darkness, was sombre, taciturn, and blind, like the obscurity of sin…

This eighth Norse Myth of ten, tells of the dynasty of the Volsungs, the heroes of the North, the family of Sigurd, Sigmund and Sigi, born of Odin... The Heroes of the Volsungs. The story of the Volsungs begins with Sigi, a son of Odin, a powerful man, and generally respected, until he killed another man out of jealousy, the latter having slain mor…

In this, the seventh Norse Myth of ten, the mighty sword of the Viking God Tyr grants victory and death in equal measure across great empires... Tyr’s Sword Carves Destiny and Victory. Tyr, Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different storytellers, his mother was Frigga, queen of the gods, or a beautiful giantess whose name is unkno…

This sixth Norse Myth is the tale of Heimdall, the Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, his adventures with the people of Midgard, and his battle with Loki... Heimdall in Midgard. Heimdall was called the watchman of the gods, and he was distinguished by his role at the Bifrost bridge, which he had constructed from fire, air and water, which glowed as a …

This fifth Norse Myth is the last tale of Loki, not the charming, trickster of the Marvel Universe, but the dark God of the Vikings Age... The Legends of Loki. Besides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief and evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Jötunheim, the ancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom…

The fourth of ten Norse myths tells of the story of the Thor and how he gained his hammer through the wicked machinations of the mischievous Loki. The Legend of Thor. Thor was one of the twelve principal deities of Asgard, and he lived in the splendid realm of Thrudvang, where he built a palace called Bilskirnir. Here he lived as god of thunder, an…

The third of ten Norse myths tells of the story of the Valkyrie, Odin's shield maidens who bring the fallen heroes of battle to the everlasting rewards of Valhalla. The Valkyrs. Odin’s special attendants, the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, were either his daughters, like Brunhild, or the offspring of mortal kings, maidens who were privileged to remain…

The second of ten Norse myths tells of Odin and Frigga in Valhalla in Asgard, and their sons Thor, Balder and the first gods of the Vikings... Odin and Frigga in Asgard. Odin was the son of Bor, and the brother of Vili and Ve. He was the most supreme god of the Northern races and he brought great wisdom to his place at the helm of all gods. He was …

The first of ten Norse myths that cover Odin, Loki, Thor and more, we begin, fittingly, with the creation of the universe as seen through the eyes of the Vikings... The Creation of the Universe. In the beginning, before there was anything at all, there was a nothingness that stretched as far as there was space. There was no sand, nor sea, no waves …

Continuing from Machines Discarded Part One. Past and present churn together as the dark tale of discarded machines opens out to the future of humankind and the long shadow of primordial dread… Machines Discarded. Part Two. The day she discovered a discarded metal creature. In the melee, with the light streaming from the head of the fallen robot, c…

In a world that’s turned against itself, and destroyed all thinking machines Karima stumbles across a robot, and is followed in the dark… Machines Discarded. Part One. Today she discovered a discarded metal creature. It was a safe time to walk along the twilight lane, relatively, at least. As she stepped silently to fetch water from the pump in the…

A lonely young man who overcomes his debilitating illness by reading, endless reading until one day his perspective is altered radically… Find Me. I first saw the words written in a book inherited from my grandparents, etched in beautiful calligraphy on the book plate of a guide to astronomy. “Find Me.” My early years were dominated by illness. I r…

From the far future comes a story within a story, of the dangers of believing without questioning, of lies that become truths… Kingdom of Lies. Some time in the far future there is a great Bazaar that gathers the people of all regions to its stalls. Spices and coffee, flowing silks and precious metals, carved boxes and beautiful musical instruments…

A tale of an ancient spirit, a ruined planet, of loss and grief, but hope renewed in the Green Man... The Green Man. I remember the berry. It has a greenish, red hue. I’m not sure what it is except a curious reminder of a world lost, of woodlands now consumed, of gardens destroyed by the searing summers and wretched freezing winters of the late 206…

A dark tale of obsession, psychological terror, a mansion, a sculptor and a curious friend. Obsession. “But he loves me!” Josephine whispered, leaning in to her friend who had travelled up from the big City. They were tucked in to a corner, close by the door of the little cafe. “Is this what you call love? He’s sitting over there, staring at me!” C…

Welcome to a tale that plays with relativity, quantum probability and our experience of Time: a moment, a special event when everything changes. Time Now. The time is now. And everything is about to change. As it always does, every moment, every place, every event in time and space, for the observer and the participant, the internal and the externa…

In a huge white warehouse, the robots have survived the near extinction of humankind. But who are they looking at? And why? Artificial Intelligence. In the late 21st Century robots learned to think for themselves. The line between artificial intelligence and robotics disappeared when AI was developed to operate the physical components of a robot un…

A tale of a post-apocalyptic flight into space as Humanity tries to forge a future, and define it’s own identity… Clone. In the far distant future, after the Last Robot War, humanity splintered across four federated star systems. The narrow victory over the Machines on Earth resulted in the departure of the last humans, leaving the remnants of the …

Two bodies, two graves, the past and the present, the new and the ancient, a tale of ritual, renewal and uncertainty… Bodies. Every year, at this time, I return to this beautiful, painful place. The caves are not the highest in the mountains, but they float above the clouds, their chalky, red walls etched with the drawings of my ancestors, ... Read…

The fateful, dystopian tale of a painter and the power of art … Surreal Revolution. “The artist Abigor shuffled in a long queue for bread. The tall towers that surrounded her in the Central City District were quietly occupied by those who had bowed their heads when the Auto-Generals swept to power. The streets too were subdued except for the ... Re…

A detective is called to a series of strange deaths at the furthest City in the Universe. But all is not what it seems… Feathers. “They’ve found another one boss!” The detective recently assigned to the station rushed in, looking both excited and distressed. “Well that’s why you’re here Zhang, gather whoever you need and get back out there. The cit…

Can Aadya, mother of the long-abandoned Cyrus outwit the Quantum Police and find her son? Only time will tell… Quantum Police. Aadya had lost count of the number of time jumps, she’d taken to be here. The exhaustion showed in her narrowed eyes, now lost of their youthful vitality in her long search for her son. She knew the Quantum ... Read More Th…

There’s a fine line between prophecy and manipulation in the creation of Empire in the star system of Alpha Centauri… Prophecy. In the far future, on a distant planet in the twin star system of Alpha Centauri settlers had forged a life from the few ingredients left them by the Terraformers, the generation of star jumpers who fled Earth at ... Read …

What are the boundaries between being human and a robot? A new tale of time and space… Reclassify. It is 2282 of the Common Era, on the planet Earth. Visitors from other star systems measure time using different metrics, revolutions of their own planets against their own stars, now measured in Galaxy-wide terms that would not make sense to the ... …

The old folk tale of a young man and a beautiful woman in need of rescue… The Rescue Always, I think back, and wonder how I ended up here, at the lake in the valley. I was named Hillar by my proud parents and as a young man was carefree enough not to worry about others, or indeed to be ... Read More The post Micro-fiction 085 – The Rescue (Echo ser…

The view at the front of the train from Mombasa to Kimbusa offers the twin tracks of life and death… Twin Tracks It is often said that the good and the bad within us fight for supremacy, but over the years I’ve found they coexist quite happily. The murderer who is kind to their family, the thief who loves his ... Read More The post Micro-fiction 08…

The strong, the weak and the robots, who shall inherit the earth? A new tale from the not-so-far future… The Strong “Once upon a time there was a great land divided between the strong and the weak. That division was present throughout society, and in every region of the land. Strength of body, purpose and ambition was the prime motivating ... Read …

A session between a psychotherapist and her patient takes a strange turn, as she digs deep into the unconscious mind of humankind… Genetic Memory In a loft apartment in Cadiz, its tall, majestic windows facing out to the gentle waves of the Atlantic, Kahina, has just returned from a conference of psychotherapists in New Istanbul. It left her with m…

A tale about identity and consciousness from a near future when robots and travel are commonplace. I Am What I Am The train rattles above the tracks, hovering aloft ancient steels no longer used except as a guide through the countryside and preserved in memoriam of less complicated times. It is 2080 of the Common Era and the joy is ... Read More Th…

An exploration of religion, mysticism, injustice and sanctuary, on a distant planet in a distant future. Sacred Words On a world in the far future a woman, Jaha, flees into the temple. The commotion outside halts for a moment as those chasing her contact their superiors for instruction. On this planet, some thousand years after the Great Expansion …

I look up into the stars with the gentle sounds of breathing next to me, so why does it make me feel so sad? Guardian Angel I It is dark in this pre-Dawn, with distant light filtering through, mingling with the remaining stars as the mantle withdraws from the skies. I sit on an ancient wall, a perch that stares ... Read More The post Micro-fiction …

From ancient Sumeria, a tale about the eternal Lapis Lazuli, a tomb and a thief, an unbeliever whose only god is greed… Lapis Lazuli It is the dead of night, some hundred years after the great floods that destroyed our world. Now the people of the earth tremble still at the mention of the wrath of the gods, but not ... Read More The post Micro-fict…

A tale of identity, entanglement, time and a voice that’s not quite what it seems to be Different I have always felt different. Disorientation the doctor had called it, although he was clearly puzzled, and dismissive of my tendency to talk to myself. Then the town was bombed, the surrounding region with its industrial network was decimated too, lea…

A new plane of existence looms over planet Earth forcing humankind to struggle with identity, purpose and its own place in the universe… New Dimensions Since it arrived, hovering across the entire planet everyone’s lives have changed. The desire to strive, to forge new memories has gone, the urgency of any form of action was halted when the new rea…

There’s only one way to stop the robots in their tracks… Infinity Trap In the distant future, on a planet once called Kepler 62e long-colonised as part of by Earth’s original evacuation, and renamed Kane the forest covered surface had begun to resemble the decimated mother planet. Humanity quickly descended into the have’s and the have-nots, alread…

In the far future on Titan, Saturn’s resource-rich moon, comes a tale of a family feud, a cherry orchard, and the death of a father… Cherry Blossom The breeze flutters at the petals on the cherry blossom In a distant future in 3030 of the Common Era, on Titan, the most inhabited of all Saturn’s moons, Arturo sits within the ... Read More The post M…

A tear in the wallpaper brings the past and the present together as a man lies struggling with his last breath… The Tear A rip in the bright, floral wallpaper, a fold that once fell listlessly, is now suspended in time, its animus halted by a lack of motivation. But its inaction reveals what lies behind, with layers of older ... Read More The post …

In the far future, the robot shepherd of the last server farm on Planet Earth begins to question his existence… Shepherd It is 3880 of the Common Era and I am the last Robot Shepherd on Earth. There have been others, but they either left with the Star Wanderers of the last hundred years, the Great Escape, or shut themselves ... Read More The post M…

In the far future the trade in body parts, multiple body parts, is a way of life for those who live by The Code. The Code New Year’s Day, 3050 of the Common Era. Everyone’s having a party, but the world economy is run by rival gangs from the conglomerated nations and big media corps who suck data, money and ... Read More The post Micro-fiction 071 …

(continued from Faith). Kia is close to the end of her journal from the archeological dig in Aksum, finally reaching the star system of Wolf 359, with the relic and its mysterious markings urging her onwards. Fourth and Final Part – Beloved I’m close to the end of a long journey that’s taken me from the archeological dig at Aksum, ... Read More The…

(continued from To the Stars). Kia travels through the stars, working her passage, then hides as a stowaway, a ghost on the supply ship to Wolf Station… Three – Faith I travel on the great Star freighter The Empress Zewditu, waiting for my moment to connect with another service outside the solar system, to Wolf 359 where the markings on ... Read Mo…

(continued from Relic). Kia travels from Aksum to the Spaceport in Djibouti, then off to the stars with the relic in her rucksack, to find the secrets of the skull… Two – To the Stars It is 3045 in the Common Era on Earth, and I’m about to fly from my home in the Protectorate of Ethiopia, to another star ... Read More The post Micro-fiction 068 – T…

An archeological dig in Ethiopia reveals a relic and an age-old secret that leads to the stars… Relic It is 3045 in the Common Era on Earth, in the Protectorate of Ethiopia. I blink back the tears as I speed away from my father and my life in Aksum, heading for the spaceport in nearby Djibouti. I cannot allow my ... Read More The post Micro-fiction…

A bio-engineered attack force designed to surround, absorb and destroy the enemy, microphages aren’t supposed to survive the battlefield… Microphage It’s 3080 of the Common Era, two decades after the end of the Great Struggle, where tensions across the planets of the Council of Seven had exploded into a hundred year war that affected human imperial…

A beautiful woman, and a shade face each other in the cellar. What is the dark secret that led them there? Tragic Beauty My head hurts so much, as I watch her weep. She must be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Sitting in the corner, on a simple stool she’s dressed in a tight black skirt and jacket, ... Read More The post Micro-fiction 065 –…

The Collector awaits inspection of his floating museum by members of the Galactic Council. Will they be happy with his latest exhibits? Collector Today is a special day, for them at least. For me it’s just another irritation, a visit by the bureaucrats of the Galactic Council, on one of the inspection tours of their investments. My team and I, ... …

(continued from Three – Deliberation) The conclusion to the four part mini-series investigating consequences and solutions of insurrection in a star system of the Council of Seven. The Principle of the Ten finally give an answer. Four – Manifesto The Insurrection on Koi Beta, with the death of thousands of humans and indigenous people had been led …

(continued from Two – Human Nature) After the insurrection on planet Koi Beta the debate moved on to the nature of Humankind as the Council of Seven try to decide how to create a new, lasting government for the sake of the 84 star systems with their deliberations on democracy. Three – Deliberation Elector Solveig watched the members of the ... Read…

(continued from One – Insurrection) The revolt on planet Koi Beta has prompted the debate about its future in the Galactic Council of Seven. The discussion moves on to “What is Human Nature?” Two – Human Nature “So we are gathered to discuss the fate of the Planet Koi Beta,” Elector Solveig continues, “to decide how we respond to the ... Read More …