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Showing posts from July, 2021

An Acquisition of Words---Todd Sullivan

With the coming of dusk, Sunshine appeared. Dressed in a striped red and yellow suit, his skin the color of shadows invading Taipei, he checked his golden watch. His powers were strong, but Order still bound him, and the contract stated the deadline for collection loomed seven hours from now. Midnight.  Sunshine strode forward to the apartment where the borrower of a ray of light lived.  Taiwanese students from a nearby high school gaped at him as he passed them in twisting alleys winding through the neighborhood. He nodded a greeting, his wide smile revealing pale white teeth. Of humankind, he loved youth most, their fire for rebellion against the rules of civilization an intoxicating stimulant. During the short moments he risked wandering the world under the cover of darkness, he sought out ways to inspire the young to reckless abandon and havoc. His persuasion of choice: art. Five years had passed since the borrower had signed his soul away in blood. A great work of literary achieve

Underground Secrets -- Toshiya Kamei

“Somebody’s gotta do it,” the old man mumbled. When the elevator reached the bottom of the deep pit, it groaned and shook. The AI’s smooth female voice rang out inside his ear canals, reminding him to watch his step. The door laboriously opened, and he stepped out in his hazmat suit. The signpost in the dimly lit cave told him he was 1,500 meters below the earth’s surface. The strong, pungent odor of chemicals filled the subterranean air, mixed with God knew what. He dragged himself toward the sinister-looking polytank with the Bamboo Inc. logo on it. Above the surface, Bamboo Inc. touted itself as a paragon of ecological virtue. Its former CEO, a big-time donor to whatever party happened to be in power, even served as environmental minister in the previous administration. Yet deep below the earth, far from prying eyes, things painted quite a different picture. Unbeknownst to the public, in the subterranean pit, the supposedly eco-conscious company was dumping toxic wastes twenty-four/