Garvane, ever meticulous, recorded time, lab temperature, his heart rate and other minutia. “Merely detritus,” he thought.
Tapping the codex card on the electroneuron-reader, he stepped into the immersive pod. In a transslip of time, he emerged; his carefully constructed appearance disheveled. His hands visibly shook as he opened the patient’s holographic file.
She was still cocooned in a fetal position, gently rocking. Upping the volume, he could hear her murmurs: “cat’sfootironclawneuro-surgeonsscreamformoretwentyfirstcenturyschizoidman”
His sterile prognosis: “A permanently jumbled neon mind” He entered the screenshot image onto the file grid.
As Garvane disappeared back into the pod, he whispered: “nothinghe’sgothereallyneedstwentyfirstcenturyschizoidman”.
Fripping out for Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers. Rochelle’s piece includes some of her wonderful artistic renderings of old photographs.
first image from: musicaficionado
Friday fictioneers image: Roger Bultot
click on Mr. Frog to join the fun
heora ġemynd is forġieten: Old English: the memory of them is forgotten
November 11, 2021 at 2:14 pm
I enjoyed the bit of “Fripping out” Always fun to stick music into the story
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November 12, 2021 at 3:19 am
I like seeing if there is anything to sneak into the post. Listening to things like In the Court of the Crimison King is like finding an old friend you thought lost . . .
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November 12, 2021 at 8:01 am
Yep. I do have King Crimson pop up in rotation occasionally and I usually take note.
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October 12, 2021 at 11:30 pm
This feels like a flash forward to the future; the small details make it come to life. Very inventive, Lorraine!
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November 12, 2021 at 3:20 am
Thanks. So sorry I missed your comment! I’m not always the best at visiting other blogs; sometimes, even my own, lol.
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October 11, 2021 at 11:29 am
Eerie place to visit. Wouldn’t want to stay there and yet … it does feel like maybe I already am. Great story.
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November 12, 2021 at 3:20 am
So sorry I somehow missed your comment! I am bad about visiting other blogs; guess the same can be said of my own. lol
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October 11, 2021 at 7:35 am
Dear Lorraine,
Perfect story for the prompt. Love your “add-on’s”
Shalom,
Rochelle
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October 11, 2021 at 10:05 am
Thanks. I’ve been doing “research” for muscial monday musings . . .
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October 10, 2021 at 11:49 am
A cleverly conceived and skillfully written piece. I like it!
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October 11, 2021 at 10:05 am
Thanks, Keith. I’m enjoying the multiple ways folks have been intrepreting this prompt.
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October 9, 2021 at 6:35 pm
Oh, that was a trip. Good one.
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October 11, 2021 at 10:06 am
Glad you enjoyed your magic carpet ride . .
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October 11, 2021 at 11:20 am
:-)
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October 9, 2021 at 2:38 pm
Permanently jumbled neon mind. Sometimes, that could be me!
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October 11, 2021 at 10:07 am
I suspect there is some autobiography in this piece . . As a woman I knew used to say, “Goin’ crazy, wanna come [along], lol.
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October 9, 2021 at 2:38 pm
It is as if we have entered into a virtual world where a technological Frankenstein is under creation.
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October 11, 2021 at 10:08 am
Thanks James. VR and AI are scary . . .
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October 9, 2021 at 9:09 am
Absolutely fresh take/perspective. I very much like this direction – and that closing – a “His sterile prognosis: “A permanently jumbled neon mind”” – is stellar! Wow – impressive!
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October 11, 2021 at 10:38 am
Thanks. I added sterile after a word count, lol. I’m fascintated by all the ways folks have taken this prompt.
I do now have an idea where your characters are going — if the right prompt appears soon.
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October 11, 2021 at 10:40 am
:)
(btw – apologies for the weird email rant – my head, heart and soul are a bit like the prompt image – weirdly jumbled and disconnected = discombobulated )
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October 11, 2021 at 2:39 pm
No problems. I am actually working on a response. I think you make some very lucid points while being discombobulated. I’m discomboobulated myself, lol.
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October 11, 2021 at 2:51 pm
take your time, no worries or hurries, I just returned (I think I’m MacArthur clearly) from a brief garbage jaunt, and was pseudo assaulted by the bean-me-off-the-head ladybugs – ahahahah – 😂 – it’s a lovely enough day for it …. so if you’re having fine weather, tune in to a chirpy frequency near you ;) I’m off to make a fresh cup of coffee :D
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October 12, 2021 at 9:59 am
Wow — reminds me very few if any lady beetlebugs, as I call them. We had an invasion a few years ago of agressive asian [un]lady[like] beetle bugs which, of course, affected the native population. The invaders were bigger and actually nipped at you.
I don’t think I get assaulted by much with my garbage run, but then I suspect your trek is longer and more ardous than mine.
Hope you had a good cup of Joe (must look up why Joe, not Carl — Joe for Java? then Carl for coffee? I do digress. Off to search.
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October 12, 2021 at 2:33 pm
I like the Brit version of the name – ladybirds! It’s quite charming. :)
The Asian ones, wow – they do some tremendous damage, but generally, I think our native species, like most things, are cyclical. Some years, especially at this time, there are thousands of them, this year, a scattering. So it’s a roll with kind of thing. ;)
Java was excellent -a Starbucks blend called “Northern Lights” – blonde and smooth – as “laid back” as they promo stuff says on the packaging ;)
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October 9, 2021 at 8:13 am
Interesting SciFi. I admire how you kept this at 100 words. ;)
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October 11, 2021 at 10:07 am
Thanks. It took some trimming, I will admit.
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October 11, 2021 at 10:17 am
The spaghetti words are pure genius! :D
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October 11, 2021 at 10:28 am
Thanks, {blushing}
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October 9, 2021 at 6:26 am
Carefully and beautifully worked. You took me into a different world with complete conviction. Well done!
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October 11, 2021 at 10:09 am
Thanks, Penny. Glad you could step into my immersive pod.
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October 9, 2021 at 4:27 am
I specially liked her murmur
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October 11, 2021 at 10:10 am
I murmur that as well. An autobiographical piece . . .
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