sci-fi generator (af28): Link - part 2

this story is being written for the af28 collaborative sci-fi generator.


back to part 1


And then the front door opened and the boy’s father walked in.

“Tomorrow’s the day, ya?” he tossed into the room, air now electric.

We both stood, braced for impact.

Not wanting to wait too long, I wanted to make the proposal. First mover advantage, right?

“Hello, Noh. It’s good to see you.”

He nodded. Shai stood still.

“We all grew up here. I know we disagree about Linking age so I have an idea. Why don’t we ask the house?”

Shai’s jaw dropped.

“Ha! What a novel idea. Who says arguing has to be unpleasant?!”

We each sat down on the new couch the house was reconfiguring while we stood. Three cushions, three link pads, three… well, four voices in the decision-making process. Whose imagination would win out?

As we relaxed into the Link, our minds melded with the house. Skin tingling, eyes fluttering closed, heart beats slowing, breath deepening. Our intentions formed into color, pace, movement, sound, all directly piped into each other’s consciousness.

And then, the house made its intentions clear.

“I watch this happen every generation and yet you all still haven’t learned: the imagination of the children is always ahead. You must give them handrails, but let them lead. They will fall until they can walk. And when they are ready to walk, we all will be the better for it. Let him feel. He’ll know what to do…”

words / writing / post-processing
223w / 13min / 3min