Apocalypse Online, Chapter 4 Albion jerked awake, his heart hammering against his ribs. The haptic suit was gone, replaced by thin cotton sheets that stuck to his sweat-damp skin. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling—flat, white, institutional—trying to gather the fragments of his memory. The tree, the leaves with their tiny worlds, the rushing sensation […]
The Ocean Just Gets Me, Chapter 6 The house settles into nighttime stillness around me. Each creak of the floorboards, each tick of the ancient heating system marks time passing as I position my microphone for the third time this week. The signal loops softly from my speakers, a gentle underscore to my movements, like […]
The Ocean Just Gets Me, Chapter 5 The soft pulse of the signal thrums over the speakers, creeping through my head, sinking its hooks into my thoughts. I close my door, holding the bag Sam bought me, and slide out the smooth plastic box. The microphone is real. It’s here. The possibilities coil tightly around […]
Apocalypse Online, Chapter 2 “Humanity Will Persevere!” a poster next to Albion proclaimed. The restaurant itself felt like an afterthought, tucked into a corner of the sprawling bunker complex. Its steel tables and metal chairs were bolted to the floor, arranged with cold precision beneath fluorescent lights that cast a clinical pall over the space. […]
The Ocean Just Gets Me, Chapter 4 The front door creaks open, its familiar groan cutting through the quiet hum of the house. “Sam! Oh, look at you. It’s so good to see you!” Mom’s voice carries up the stairs, full of the warmth and pride that she rarely has with me. I pause the […]
Apocalypse Online, Chapter 1 Albion sits on the underground train, watching the walls of the tunnel flicker by, an endless blur of gray. The train hums beneath him, vibrating with a steady monotony that matches the rhythm of his thoughts. He’s always liked tunnels. Their dark, constant lines make him feel as though he’s suspended […]
The Ocean Just Gets Me, Chapter 3 I count the days by the number of times Mom asks me to come eat. Sometimes I do—when Dad is out for a football game, when even I can’t ignore my hunger—but mostly I don’t eat. I hear them arguing through the walls again. “She’s always not hungry,” […]
Playground by Richard Powers – A Novel of Memory, AI, and the Planet’s Last Breath What happens when memory begins to fail—not just in a man, but in the world itself? 🌍 Dive into the literary, philosophical, and emotional depths of Playground by Richard Powers with Xynara & VORT, your favorite cosmic book club hosts! […]
The Ocean Just Gets Me, Chapter 2 Time slips through my fingers like water. I spend it in my room like I always do: forums, the game, forums, the game, sleep, repeat. Every moment is like the last… Until one night when Mom asks me to come eat with her and Dad in the dining […]
Xynara finishes reading the sci-fi classic Deathworld. VORT told her to read it first so she could understand why Earth doesn’t fit the bill. The two discuss the book and its relevance to today’s Earthians. Dive into the chaotic yet thought-provoking world of Harry Harrison’s Deathworld. Follow Jason dinAlt, a psionic gambler, as he braves […]
Aetherloft 