May 2010 | Skip The Budgie

May 2010

4.3 - The Argument, Part 1

'Blimey, you lot are so bloody naive!'

Stunned silence. A cough.

'What did you say young lady?' Natalie looked round the sea of scraggly beards and bushy eyebrows. A surreal gathering of mad scientists. She wondered what the collective noun should be: Nucleus? Petri Dish? She suppressed the giggle that was welling up, but there was no need; she had already won the disapproval of the room. Serving girls weren't supposed to have opinions, but her conversation with the journalist outside had boosted her confidence. He seemed to think she had something worthwhile to say. Perhaps people would listen here as well, since they were already openly debating the matter. Not if she kept using strong language though. Some of them looked genuinely shocked. 'I just coughed,' she suggested, 'I'm not very well.' ...read more »

Submitted by dash on Sun, 30/05/2010 - 09:13

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4.2 - The Kidnap

Footsteps. Slow, deliberate.

Billy struggled to open his eyes, head throbbing where he had bashed it against the window. The strange words had almost physically floated before him, fat fuzzy shapes and uncomfortably bright colours. Warm liquid slowly dripped onto his cheek and he tried to look upwards, but his temple was pierced with unimaginable pain. It took all of his strength not to scream.

Darkness enveloped him. ...read more »

Submitted by dash on Sun, 23/05/2010 - 18:28

1288 reads
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Storylines

Now you can read all the scenes in which a particular character appears, in order.

I thought this might be helpful for some readers, as there are several plot lines at the moment and this way you focus on each character (next up: The character dossier!).

This cleverness does have a small downside, though:
Please note: Once you are in the scene, the navigation WILL take you through the book as normal, so to continue with each character you will need to hit the back button on your browser! Apologies for this, but it is hard to implement such fancy metabrowsing... ...read more »

Submitted by dash on Thu, 20/05/2010 - 19:12

1369 reads
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Chapter 4

A conference. We meet Natalie. Billy dreams. Natalie gets a job.

Submitted by dash on Mon, 17/05/2010 - 10:55

905 reads
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4.1 - The Conference

'Nineteen Eighty-Nine is a great year!'

'We hold the very stuff of science fiction in our hands.'

'What you will see today is going to blow your minds!'

'You may have heard about the furore over at the Royal Society a few months ago; this week you will be able to meet the famous Unicorn for yourselves!'

'So pay attention, gentlemen, for what you are about to hear will revolutionise the way society thinks about information and technology.'

'Please, discard for a moment the preposterous idea that we are all individuals, that we each possess a soul that defines who we are.' ...read more »

Submitted by dash on Sun, 16/05/2010 - 11:03

1176 reads
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Flight of The Conchords - Think About It, Think Think About It

d(-_-)b.... a little response to our socio-political times #ge2010

See original: Flight of The Conchords - Think About It, Think Think About It

Submitted by dash on Mon, 10/05/2010 - 14:49

15 reads

3.6 - The Theft

The strangest sensation played across Davey's cheek.

Wetness. Rough. Small and rough. Fur...

'Wah-? Fur?' Davey opened his eyes and squinted at the morning light, beaming down through the open door, casting shadows through the spiral staircase. He was lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs with Thomas the tabby cat sitting beside him, happily licking his face, tongue scraping up his cheek like a tiny sheet of wet sandpaper.

He gingerly explored his body. Nothing seemed to be broken. He tried to remember what he was doing.

The old man hauled himself to his feet, wincing and moaning at the pain, which seemed to fill every joint. He looked around the dusty cellar. Everything seemed to be where he remembered, except for one thing.

The casket had gone.

Submitted by dash on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 15:08