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Science fiction story

So I had a creative writing assignment to write a science fiction story. Thoughts, feedback, or criticisms?

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my favorite yellow, puffy shirt with some DKNY skinny jeans, and my tan pumps with the matching handbag. I was waiting for my manager to pick me up and take me to the photoshoot set for ELLE Magazine. I was waiting for him for at least an hour. I was freezing to death, that's how cold it gets in the winter in Los Angeles. I got tired of waiting so I went back inside to my condo, grabber my keys, and drove to the nearest Starbucks. Starbucks was full, but I did not care because I needed hot chocolate to warm me up. When my hot chocolate was ready, I went to my car and sat there with the AC blowing hot air at full speed. I was really worried that I would lose my spot in ELLE Magazine if my manager did not call me soon. My train of thought was interrupted by a knock on my window. When I looked out the window, there was a little boy standing there looking at me with hopeless eyes. I immediately opened the door and asked him what he needed.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

I tilted my head, confused. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

His voice was a perfect monotone. It was scaring me. "Do you want a science fiction book to read? Is that it?" I asked, more out of courtesy than of genuine desire to help him.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Alright..." I turned off my car's AC and stepped out, pulling my handbag from the passenger seat. "There's a bookstore nearby, maybe we can find some of your science fiction books there." What was with this kid? I was always more of a romance fan than a sci-fi person anyway.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"I get it, I get it! Stop saying that," I nearly shouted, irritated.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Whatever." I set a brisk pace down the street, and the boy followed.

The bookstore was part of a large chain called Narnes & Bobles. Huge bookstores like these tended to scare me. How could anyone possibly enjoy being surrounded by books? It reminded me of my English teacher's classroom. That wasn't a pleasant memory at all.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

We were standing in front of the science fiction section.

"These are science fiction books," I said, kneeling to look him in the eye. "Look!" Pulling a book at random off the shelf, I showed him the cover. "It's Callisto by Han Rimmons. Doesn't this look interesting?"

"Science fiction," the boy said.

He was really starting to annoy me. "How about this?" I asked, standing up and shoving Callisto into an empty slot in the bookshelf. "I'll take you to the information desk, and maybe we can find a nice science fiction book for you."

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Shut up," I whispered to myself.

I left the boy at the science fiction section and left to find the front desk. The clerk working there was lazily pressing keys on his laptop. He didn't notice me until I rapped my knuckles against the desk countertop.

"Excuse me, do you have any science fiction books for this boy to read?" I asked, trying to sound polite.

"Science fiction," the clerk said.

He had the exact same monotone voice as the boy. It was disturbing.

"Umm, about my question," I repeated. "I know about science fiction, I'm looking for some science fiction books..."

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Science fiction," the clerk said.

The boy was suddenly standing behind me. I wanted to scream. Maybe I hadn't woken up and I was still dreaming. Maybe I was in my car and I had fallen asleep, and the boy had never tapped on my window, and my manager was coming to pick me up for the photoshoot. Or maybe I had left the engine running in the car as I slept, and the toxic pollution was killing me while I was left helpless in my dream to awaken. Or maybe a meteor had crashed into the car and killed me, and this was an out-of-body experience. Or maybe the car had turned into a giant robot that was fighting off alien intruders to save the world, and I was its pilot. Great. Now I was starting to think "science fiction."

"I think I'm gonna go get a coffee," I muttered. Neither the boy nor the clerk noticed; they were staring blankly at each other. Maybe it was just some crazy sci-fi nerd thing going on, like a holiday. What a creepy holiday. A coffee sounded really good.

"Science fiction," the cashier said.

I stared at him in shock, holding an iced frappuchino in one hand and a dollar bill in the other.

"Please don't tell me you just said what I think you said," I groaned, setting the frappuchino on the counter and massaging my temples.

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Science fiction," the clerk said.

"Science fiction," the cashier said.

The boy and the clerk were somehow standing right behind me.

I screamed and ran out of the bookstore. As I stumbled into the street, I bumped into my photoshoot manager.

"Oh, thank god!" I cried, nearly hugging him. "I met these horribly creepy people, and they wouldn't shut up about their..."

"Science fiction," the manager said.

I jerked back in shock. "Oh... my... god..."

"Science fiction," the boy said.

"Science fiction," the clerk said.

"Science fiction," the cashier said.

"Science fiction," the manager said.

It was more than I could bear. I fell to the ground sobbing. The four men stood in an impassive circle around me and watched me cry.

The boy took out a notepad and jotted something down with a pencil. "That increases the expected chances of the breakdown reaction to thirty-three percent."

"Huh?" said the clerk. "That can't be right. We've had at least four others break down too."

NOTE: I was thinking about [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtatXHRPAPE]this chant[/url] when I wrote this story.

October 22, 2010

8 Comments • Newest first

Omegathorion

[quote=Rewsdew]@Omegathorion: o-o I see.
But it just seems kinda' long-winded, you know?
One more thing: You don't really have to keep repeating "So-and-so said"
After two "the boy saids," and you haven't introduced any other characters, it becomes implied that it's the boy.
Or you could add some comedic relief somewhere.
(Ex. Like after they all say "Science fiction" one at a time, they raise their hands and say "SCIENCE FICTION" all at once.)
Sorry. My twisted mind going again.[/quote]
The point of that repetition was to annoy the reader as much as it annoys the narrator of the story (that may or may not be a good idea...) And they don't break the "science fiction" thing until the very end, because they're all acting monotonous and creepy.

Reply October 22, 2010
Omegathorion

[quote=Rewsdew]That's not really what I meant. o-o
Use more contractions and stuff like that. It seems REALLY formal. Like you're talking to the president or something.
(Ex. "What do you mean?&quot It's not really something most people say to little kids. Especially ones saying "Science fiction."
Would probably be like, "Huh?" or "Um yea. So what?"
But this is just my twisted form of writing. Might not suit you as well.[/quote]
I was thinking that the narrator's kinda annoyed/pissed, so she overarticulates. I can see your point though, since she's supposed to be this ditzy model person.

Reply October 22, 2010
Omegathorion

[quote=Rewsdew]It's too complicated. This is an informal story, not an English paper. (No offense.)
Also, there are many details that are unneeded. If they were part of the other girl's writing, then sorry.
(Ex. "I was always more of a romance fan than a sci-fi person anyway." Stuff like that)
If you beat around the bush, people will lose interest.
I bet your teacher wants a story, not paragraphs of description. Nobody likes Twilight.[/quote]
True, it is more of an informal story than an English paper. That's why there's "story" in the thread title.

I can see why the romance fan part would be unnecessary, but I added that to develop the narrator's character more, as a person who's completely out of the science fiction world and not looking for a way in.

Paragraphs of description? The longest paragraph I wrote was the "maybe" sequence. I was actually worrying if I needed more descriptions to balance out all the one-liner dialogues.

Reply October 22, 2010
Omegathorion

[quote=BluffinMuffin]First paragraph needs a combination of different sentence structure. It's boring with the same, "I was..." simple-ish sentences. I didn't read the rest.[/quote]
Read the post above yours, the first paragraph was written by my classmate and my assignment was to turn it into a science fiction story.

Reply October 22, 2010
Omegathorion

[quote=NyteProwleR]You had to use the first paragraph? Did your teacher write it? It's pretty bad.

&Lol I really liked your story.[/quote]
Well, it was like this... at the beginning of class, he gave us the first sentence and told us to write a story about that (the stuff about mid-October and rain). Then we traded the stories we had with a classmate and were told to turn the story into science fiction. My classmate hadn't finished, so she left off at the boy, which fortunately gave me an opening to use.

And thanks lol. I'm wondering if the "Callisto" is gonna go over people's heads.

@swapper: No way I'm turning them into robots. I've always loved the idea of social experimentation on unsuspecting people. Illegal, immoral, and done in the name of science (fiction).

Reply October 22, 2010 - edited
Omegathorion

[quote=swapper]@Omegathorion: He's going to get back at you with a 0 ): Don't do it.[/quote]
If you want, I'll PM you a two-sentence story I wrote for an assignment once. He liked it, he seems to be a tolerant guy, and I really can't think of how to turn it into science fiction otherwise (we were given the first paragraph to work with, can't change that).

Reply October 22, 2010 - edited
DaMeng

I dont get it. o_O

Reply October 22, 2010 - edited
Omegathorion

[quote=swapper]I like it, but I don't see how it's science fiction.[/quote]
It's not really science fiction. I just hate how the teacher set the genre to "science fiction", so I'm getting back at him by parodying that.

Reply October 22, 2010 - edited