Breaking News: Over 500 Fans, And A Snippet Of The Meaning Wars!

Hello hello!

Ask, and ye shall recieve. I'm about to kick off a noire month, so this is not quite in theme--but we just hit the 500 mark on my fanpage! I asked you what you wanted as a reward, and everyone wanted a snippet of 'The Meaning Wars', which continues the stories of Crystal and Sarah. It's still a work in progress. Enjoy!

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(From Ch 1) 

Midnight. The midnight past midnight, on this dwarf planet too far from the sun to know what real day was.  She missed the aurora effects on Io a little bit at times like this, but the stars were still pretty. Sarah slouched home again, to the pod complex and to sleep. She opened the door to find Toby asleep in a chair.

She leaned over and gently shook his shoulder. “Tobes. Wake up. It’s okay, I’m home.”

He startled and woke suddenly, turning a bleary face to her. “Zzz...wha? Oh good. Go to sleep,” he said.

She smiled in spite of herself. “Thanks for waiting up. Now go on.”

As he staggered off to bed, she sat up in the kitchen and made herself tea.  Bed could wait for half an hour, she decided. With hands around her cup of dark, caffeinated relief, she thought about loss for a while.

Ch 2

Crystal wiped her mouth and straightened. Space sick again. It was one of the things she hated about small craft like these. Mostly psychological , or a reaction or stuttering gravity generators, but it still bothered her.

Then again, she thought wryly, it’s a moral sickness too. She tapped her implant and brought up a page of news. The cybernetically enhanced and perfected faces of two casters beamed seriously at the audience.

The ticker scrolling up the side flashed with bits of info. INDUS STILL UNSTABLE  + RIOTS WORSEN, TERRAN GOVERNMENT MAY INTERVENE + SOLAR FLARES IN FORST SYSTEM CAUSING CLIMATE INSTABILITY + MITOCHON PRICES HIGHEST IN A DECADE + SCIENTISTS SAY NANOTEC H PARTY PAINT POSES HEALTH RISK…

She scrolled back up the sidebar and chose the link to the article on Indus. There were a few murky comments on allegations of abuse; SNN was choosing its words very carefully. She abandoned the article at the halfway point, giving up on the too-careful wording, and chose a different headline. The video played as she inserted the Colgator. As the bacteria-eating slug wrapped around her teeth and happily canoodled over her gums, she listened absently to the broadcast.

“...Thanh, than we get some footage of the devastation?”

“On scene, emergency workers are responding...” black smoke filled the screen behind them. Through the billowing darkness, Crystal saw a hint of greenery. “The terrorist cell is currently holed up in the woods. Their camping and tenacity is surprising even strategists who’d—”

“Terrorists?” Crystal spoke without realizing it. “They weren’t ‘terrorists’ last week. Why are they being bombed?”

“Honey, are you watching the news in the bathroom again?” called Jai. Crystal rolled her eyes and cut the cast, leaving a ticker running at the corner of her vision. Spitting the Colgator back into its nutrient liquid, she replaced it on the shelf.

“Why do you watch it if it upsets you so much?”

“Because it’s important!”

“I follow it too, but...” He reached out and set a hand on her shoulder. “We’re 300 lys away from everything. Even if you wanted to, not only would the ship take days, it would—“

“Yeah, yeah.” Crystal said, brushing it off. “I guess we should get to breakfast.” Jai shot her a worried look, which she ignored, and harrumphed to himself. It was going to be one of those mornings. 

e than half a dozen fantasy novels, including: Shadow of the Dragon, Elfblood, and Firebrand. As a child, Kyra'sfavorite stories were those that told of ordinary children being whisked away to magical lands. She has yet to find her own secret wardrobe or rabbit hole, but she hasn’t given up the search. You never know what might be waiting over the next rainbow.

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Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on Twitter, Facebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out!