It's Friday

Another good day for free fiction with several SF stories, as well as other genres, a couple of forgotten adventure stories from the Victorian era featuring intelligent apes (I haven't read these so if you read them remember, that era wasn't the most enlightened). Some good horror audio fiction, some good gaming material (including some free fiction in a couple of entries), Mortal Kombat, and Lt. Bob has a last word (I'm sure it will be relevant and thought provoking)







@Ray Gun Revival: "Suited for Command" by Adam Colston.
"For two hundred and forty years, only the barest whisper of power trickled through the space suit’s main processors as it tried to conserve its dwindling fuel cells."


@Daily Science Fiction: "The Elevator" by Erik M Igoe.
"The age of the Elevator did not ward curiosity. Dozens of lucky and wealthy were brought to its shadow every year, eager, anxious. Some thought they knew what to expect, others arrived readily content"



@Cosmos Magazine: "Act of Faith" by Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli.
"The robot recited the call for prayer. 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar…' When he completed the call, and turned to face Daud, he saw tears streaming from the old man’s eyes."

@Cosmos Magazine: "The Jesus Particle" by Dirk Strasser.
"The end of the world is never exactly the same twice - try explaining that to a bunch of Armageddon tourists..."

@Cosmos Magazine: "The Bio-Documentarian of the British Library" by Deborah Walker.
"The British Library was a derelict structure located next to a disused railway terminal. Apparently people once decoded symbols placed on paper. How strange, thought Alphonse."


@Kasma SF: "Fulghum's Synthitar" by Kevin Kvas.
"It was Uncle Vanya’s sincerest conviction that all the particles in the universe had conspired to make his life miserable, he having been born into the poorest family on the smallest, most worthless colony any harvest moon had ever seen."

@Kasma SF: "Ad Block" by Ken Liu.
"Every day, we get bombarded by intrusive and unwanted advertising, and we crave for something that will filter out the mess and give us our lives back. That's why products like ad blockers for web browsers, spam filters, commercial-skipping DVRs are so popular."

@Kasma SF: "For a Song" by Sunny Moraine.
"Andy Gaijin leans over the fire; he's drunk and leaning so close that I wonder if he might singe the fibers of his coat. But I don't worry about it. It's not my coat. And if he catches fire in here, in his drafty canvas shelter, I think I might just step outside as quickly as possible and wait to see how it all comes out."

The Edge of Propinquity has its 64th issue out with:
"Credencium - An Introduction to Belief" by Kaolin Fire.
"John Doe and Spike introduce Joshua to the power of belief; as Phoenix ails, he goes on a quest to gather materials to bring her health and mind back. Despite initial progress, Joshua manages to dig himself even deeper into the pit."

"Flotsam - Underpass" by Peter M. Ball
"Keith's been trying to work out what went wrong in Adelaide, but he's still got no answers. The ghost of the Crow Mage, Michael Wotan, may have the answer - but the deal he's offering isn't one Keith's ready to agree too."

"Idolwood - Little Dolls" by Ivan Ewert.
"As the Hanged Man suffers further setbacks, we begin to see the man beneath his many masks. Grey and Alexei confront Edie Allaway with their finds and suspicions. Despite a rocky start, once in her garden, Edie shows herself willing and eager to help the two navigate the strange world now unfolding around them - unless, of course, she's simply as mad as those who work against her."

"The Ones Who Call - The Lake That Whispers" by Alina Pete.
"Kyle Pawluk is dragged away from his home in the big city to the shores of the Qu'Appelle valley after his parents' messy divorce. While seeking solace and comfort in the waters of the lake, he is lured into the dangerous world of the Ones Who Call. Jenny must struggle to keep him from discovering her secret while still keeping him safe from her malicious cousin."

"Hatzuli" by Lillian Cohen-Moore.
"As Johanna mourns the death of her grandmother, she witnesses the robbing and shooting of a clerk. Although traumatized, she discovers her cousin needs comforting more than she does and takes comfort in the giving. However, when Johanna learns what has upset her cousin, she discovers she may have more in common with her grandmother than she thought."

Serial Fiction
@Kat and Mouse:"Payback" - Part Five by Abner Senires.
"I reached her in a knee-slide, just as she hit the ground curled in a fetal position, clutching her left shoulder, face twisted in pain."


Free Fiction Review
@BestScienceFictionStories.com: "The Shipmaker" by Aliette de Bodard. Reviewed and linked to a free online version.
"Dac Kien builds ships. But not any ordinary ships. The ships Dac builds are one of a kind, custom made, living, breathing works of art. Each ship is specially designed for its one and only passenger, a baby. An alien baby made of flesh and blood, metal and electronics called a 'Mind.'"



"Classic" Adventure Fiction
At The Hess Collection: Digital Dime Novel Highlight: Adventures with Intelligent Apes featuring Treasure of the Golden Crater "First published in 1893, protagonists encounter small apes who live inside a volcano and offer human captives for sacrifice."and "The Young Marooner (1908) "This story is billed as the "American Robinson Crusoe." Edgar Rice Burroughs cited earlier stories like these as his inspiration for Tarzan of the Apes."










@Pseudopod: Episode #226 "The Sound Of Gears" by Ferrett Steinmetz, read by Bob Eccles.
"Bit by bit, he took apart his wife’s murderer, hammering the cracked windshield behind his desk like a strange map, tacking the rubber hoses in snakelike trails around the room, carefully nailing every gear and fanblade to each of the four walls until he sat at his desk, surrounded by the guts of a dead car."

@Lovecraft eZine: "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" by H. P. Lovecraft.
"I have often wondered if the majority of mankind ever pause to reflect upon the occasionally titanic significance of dreams, and of the obscure world to which they belong."

And "The Horla" "Based on a 1887 short horror story written in the style of a journal by French writer Guy de Maupassant, and cited by some as a possible inspiration for Cthulhu. This audio drama was done by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater in 1974."







@Dark Valentine: "Still Life with Herbs and Flowers" by Mark Satchwill.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Dinnertime" by Rick McQuiston.
@Flashes in the Dark: "The Last Run" by Jim Bronyaur.
@365 tomorrows: "Ping" by Wasco Shafter.







Protodimension Magazine has up its seventh issue of fiction and gaming materials. This issue features adventures and extras for Dark Conspiracy and Call of Cthulhu, as well as fiction. In PDF download.



Altus Adventum 2nd Edition Primer. "It includes all you need to start your own adventures, but is limited to only those begining skills, monsters, and items needed to create new characters" Good Art. Completely different rules, but this has a similar flavor to the Holmes' Basic D&D that I started with long ago. In PDF download. [via DriveThruRPG]





@Netherwerks: "Found Objects: The Crystal Egg" a new, extremely detailed, magic item based on the item from the H. G. Wells story by the same name. The post also links to an online version of the story and the Tales of Tomorrow tv adaptation.





More Cool Gaming Items
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] "Mu-Pan - Encounter XXV"
@The Land of NOD: "Schrodinger - New Villain for Mystery Men!"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Items] "Spores of Mayhem" and "Inciting Shield of Dursk"
@A Character for Every Game: [Map] "Erdea Manor – Secret Passages"
@Sea of Stars: [New Magic Items] "Quirinius’ Spear" and "Rumina’s Cup"
@Big Ball of No Fun: [New Monsters] "Roblon" and "Sciritae"
@Zalchis: [New Monster] "Quindra"
@A Field Guide to Doomsday: [New Monsters] "Howligator" and "Skyder" (Mutant Futures or Gamma World)

Video
@YouTube: Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Brand new live action MK series featuring Michael Jai White, Darren Shahlavi, Jeri Ryan and Tamoh Penniket! Two webisodes are already up with a new one added weekly. (Judging by the huge number of views, many of you likely already know about this) [via Beam Me Up]


Other Coolness
A big congratulation to SF Signal for winning SFX magazine's 2011 Literary Blog of the Year award earlier this week! It is an awesome site (far more so than the term "blog" would imply). Check it out frequently.




Last Word
Lt. Bob says
"It’s Friday, Friday / Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday / Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) / Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun / Lookin’ forward to the weekend"

Ha ha humans! Bet you have that stuck in your head for hours. If you haven't heard it, consider yourself lucky and avoid it like it was written in the Necronomican!