Steve's SciFi Shorts (Volume 1) Read online



  Steve's SciFi Shorts – Volume 1

  By: Steve Simons

  Copyright 2009 → 2011 Steve Simons

  This book is also available

  as an Audio Book from PodioBooks.com

  For more titles from this author and latest news, check out

  www.SciFiStories.co.uk

  Most of the stories in this book come under the category of Parental Guidance (G-PG =Parental Guidance). The exceptions are shown below with a marking.

  Introduction

  1. The R4C Rescue ( 30 Mins )

  2. Better To Travel in Hope (19 Mins )

  3 Angel Without A Name ( 35 Mins )

  4. Be Careful What You Wish for ( 30 Mins )

  5. Testing, Testing 1,2,0 ( 12 Mins )

  6 Life, at what cost ( 30 Mins )

  7. This Little Piggy ( 30 Mins )

  8. Something isn't Right here ( 24 Mins )

  9. Ulayia ( 28 Mins )

  10. To See or Not to See ( 11 Mins )

  11. What About Max ( 46 Mins )

  12. Re-Birth ( 68 Mins )

  Introduction

  This first collection of Steve's Short Stories brings a mixture of the darker side of Science and what man is probably capable of achieving, whilst also bringing some humour. These short stories have allowed Steve the luxury to make a study of a particular topic that has reared its head in the world of science or technology and is currently being discussed. Steve through use of his imagination and word processor, has explored where such developments could take human kind. There is even a story that could be a ghost story, or is it about a ghost? To round things off Steve even glimpses into the domain of romance. Something for everyone? Maybe, we'll leave it for you to decide.

  This book represents about 6 hours of entertainment (of course the exact time depends how fast or slow a reader you are, but this estimate is based on the Audio Book version of this book). The book took two years in the making, is supplied FREE of charge.

  1. R4C Rescue

  A door opens, nothing unusual in that, doors open all the time. What is unusual, is the reaction of those around the door, as the silver haired man emerges from the dark corridor into the brilliant light. The people around stop and stare at him. Not quite what he was hoping for. After all he had taken particular care to ensure that the clothes they were wearing would enable them to blend in. He wonders if it has anything to do with his companion, but as he quickly turns to check, the young man following him, appears no different from normal.

  The silver haired man whispers to his younger companion, "It would appear Bob, that somehow our cover has been blown."

  "It would appear to be the case Professor. The map and message, indicated that this warehouse was not being used and that it was in a particularly quiet district. We have landed in the right time frame haven't we?"

  "Yes, absolutely, I checked the co-ordinates twice." replies the silver haired professor.

  "If you remember, I did suggest the other door might be a better choice." replies Bob, shading his eyes from the very bright sun.

  "Never mind, we will just walk on as if we expected to emerge into this square, with all these citizens staring at us." The Professor walks on confidently, watched by all those around him.

  Bob on the other hand is more aware of the staring faces and does a superb impression of an underling trying to keep up with his master. The latter doing his utmost to get away from this place as quickly as possible. Whilst the former struggles to keep up and also avoid eye contact with the locals.

  The hotel, an unassuming building, that merges easily into its surroundings. The lobby looks much more appealing than the exterior. It is quite luxuriously decorated and furnished, a pleasant surprise after the somewhat stark exterior.

  The desk clerk seems quite friendly and greets the Professor and Bob by name, without asking for any form of identification. He asks Bob to press a finger on a pad, then informs the two gentlemen that their rooms are ready, 693 and 694. He looks first at the Professor, then at Bob, as he announces the numbers. The clerk then points towards a shiny indentation in the wall opposite. The Professor strides towards it confidently, as if he has done this many times before. Bob, however,is not so sure about this.

  When the Professor disappears in front of his eyes he is even more unsure that this is the right thing to do. Bob looks nervously back towards the clerk, who indicates that Bob should also walk into the indentation, he indicates that it will take him up to his room. Bob nervously steps in. He feels a bit strange, a queezy feeling in the pit of his stomach. The shiny surface in front of him fades away to be replaced by a corridor, with doors leading off of it. Bob is relieved that to the left of him is the Professor.

  "Most strange way to travel eh?" asks the Professor as he walks towards Bob, then continues, "You'll be fine in a moment."

  Bob asks, "How did the clerk know our names?"

  The Professor smiles as he replies, "The e-dentities that I asked you to set up before we left the TOPITAS. Their proximity reader picked up our e-dentities as soon as we walked through the hotel door."

  The pair approach Bob's bedroom door, it slides open, revealing an empty room.

  Bob exclaims, "The clerk appears to have allocated me the wrong room, it is empty."

  The Professor replies, "Well you wouldn't be wanting to share it with another lifeform surely?"

  "But Professor, it is completely and utterly empty, no furniture or anything." Bob looks quite dismayed at the prospect of trying to sleep in such a room.

  The Professor whips out a device from his pocket and starts tapping rapidly at it. Shortly he announces, "Ah I have it, e-rooms, these are e-rooms. The guest can design their own living space, using a panel just inside the door. Here it is!" The professor taps a screen on the wall and it instantly comes to life, showing various options that are available for the guest to choose.

  The Professor retires in the direction of his room, he gets halfway, when a thought suddenly occurs to him, he says, "Oh, don't go in the room, stay in the lobby area Bob!"

  "Too late." comes a rather subdued reply.

  The Professor runs back to the open doorway and peers in, to see that Bob now has more legs than he had before, 6 to be precise! Four of which are quite ornate carved wooden ones. In fact bob appears to be part of a chair.

  "Stay where you are Bob, I have an idea to solve your problem." The Professor sets off towards the indentation in the corridor.

  Bob, sounding particularly worried, replies, "Please, whatever you are planning to do, make it quick as I am feeling particularly strange, I just hope its not a case of woodworm setting in."

  "I will be as quick as I can." The Professor walks into the indentation and disappears.

  The Professor is glad to see that there is no-one by the reception clerk, he walks briskly straight up to the desk, "I wonder if you could help me, I am in need of assistance to transport a rather valuable chair to a local warehouse."

  The Clerk is rather confused, as he recalls no deliveries coming for the professor before or since his arrival, but being used to unusual requests he says, "Yes certainly Myster More. I will get one of our porters and a levi trolley. When would you like them?"

  "Oh thank you, now would be most opportune if that could be arranged." The professor smiles and confident that the clerk will do as asked, turns and disappears into the indentation again.

&
nbsp; Bob is quite relieved to see the Professor return so quickly. He is somewhat more dubious however, when the Professor is quickly followed by some character with what appears to be a floating sledge, with a handle on it.

  The Professor waves at the porter and indicates the open door to Bob's room, "In here."

  The porter issues a stifled laugh when he first sees Bobchair.

  The Professor and porter attempt to lift Bobchair onto trolley, but like all inanimate objects it does not remain still and it is difficult to lift. After some stern talking and guidance to Bobchair from the Professor, the pair manage to at last get Bobchair onto the trolley.

  The porter is amused at the fact that the professor had spent his time talking to the object to try and convince it to stay still, but it seemed to work. Perhaps this visitor is a chair whisperer. Well you hear about such things.

  The Professor asks if they would need to strap the chair to the trolley for safety. The porter assures him that the micro suction pads should hold it securely.

  Bob says, "You can't take me through the streets like this. Everyone will notice us."

  The professor mumbles, "Should have thought about that before getting merged with a chair!"

  The porter is shocked to hear the chair speak. Until now it has appeared to be merely a rather strange chair. As he pieces together the words that the professor had mumbled, he realises what has happened. He attempts to offer a plan that is alternative to the one the professor is pursuing, but the professor just holds up his hand and says, "Not now we must get this chair to the warehouse."

  Bob asks if they have a sheet to cover him with.

  The professor replies, "Not got time, the quicker we get there, the quicker we can get this sorted out."

  They set off for the reception.

  Typical that when you least want an audience, you get one. The reception is heaving with guests, who can't believe their eyes when they see the human chair, it looks like some legendary creature.

  Bob is extremely embarrassed about all this, but somehow manages to smile. This makes the guests even more curious.

  The Professor says to the porter, "Its OK I can take the trolley from here, on my own, it looks easy enough to use, I'll get it back to you very quickly."

  The porter objects, saying that he cannot let hotel property out of his sight. The professor argues that with all these guests, the porter will have enough on his hands. The porter reluctantly produces some device out of a pocket of his uniform and asks the professor to leave a deposit.

  Fingerprint having been recorded, the professor finds himself walking at rapid pace and heading out of the hotel, pushing the trolley.

  The square was is as packed as before, so before anyone has the slightest chance to spot them, the professor takes a diversion, heading for the second entrance to the warehouse. They soon find themselves inside. Although it is quite dark, they can clearly see themselves by the entrance to the large craft that is their craft, the TOPITAS. The other Bob is pacing up and down whilst the Professor is calmly seated on a chair, the very chair that Bob is currently merged with.

  The Professor exclaims, "See my idea worked!"

  Bob, the other Bob, the one that was pacing up and down, has stopped. He is staring at himself as Bobchair, he can't believe how ridiculous he looked.

  The two professors and human Bob, quickly but carefully, remove Bobchair and get him aboard the TOPITAS. They bid farewell, the Professor closes the TOPITAS door and sets about his urgent task, whilst Bob, the human Bob, pushes the levi trolley back to the hotel with the chair and the professor on it.

  There is a cheer in the reception, as the guests believe that the whole human chair thing was a magic act or a publicity stunt.

  The professor stands and bows, to create even more applause. Bob wonders which was worse being Bobchair or suffering this, but he falls in line with the act, smiles and waves.