Resolutions: A Science Fiction Short Story Collection

By Samuel James Richards

Resolutions is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Samuel James Richards. These are stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary situations, narratives which explore questions about the future of technology and humanity. Resolutions is all about the way things end. By the final conclusion, you will have smiled, shuddered, and will take away some food for thought.

Story summaries:

“That’s No Moon” - a three-part space opera inspired by one of the most memorable lines from Star Wars: A New Hope. The fate of an entire planet is determined by a simple typo.

Furry's Forest - a mother faces the difficult task of explaining to her daughter why all the trees have gone.

Beyond Thought - Kale Efemey can't read minds, which is a bit of an issue when everyone else is a telepath.

Assimilated - social media is great, but when you get sucked in too far it can get ugly.

Only Time Will Tell - Jack Mason, private detective, is in hot pursuit of his quarry. However, it turns out that he is actually the prey.

Software Malfunction - always read the small print, especially when you purchase cyborg limb replacements.

The Anatomy - eight micro-fictions from the perspective of the Halcyon 5000 Eraser Missile, a key element from the central story of the collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samuel James Richards
• Release date: Sep 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311440402

Samuel James Richards

I’m a Christian who enjoys all manner of geeky interests, and has a passion for writing stories, especially science fiction.I’m married to Lauren who is a teacher. We have a daughter called Amelie, and a dog called Molly who is a nuisance.I also enjoy playing electric guitar, specifically a Fender American Stratocaster (the rare 2006 model with splittable humbuckers), youth work, movie marathons, videogames, and boardgames.

Book preview

Resolutions: A Science Fiction Short Story Collection

Samuel James Richards

Published by Samuel James Richards at Smashwords

Copywrite 2014 Samuel James Richards

The right of Samuel James Richards to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover illustration by Kris Burns

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

http://www.samueljamesrichards.co.uk/

Table of Contents

About this collection

That's no moon... Part One: Durban's Game

The Anatomy: Part One

Furry's Forest

The Anatomy: Part Two

Beyond Thought

The Anatomy: Part Three

That's no moon... Part Two: Behringer's Choice

The Anatomy: Part Four

Assimilated

The Anatomy: Part Five

Only Time Will Tell

The Anatomy: Part Six

Software Malfunction

The Anatomy: Part Seven

That's no moon... Part Three: Resolutions

The Anatomy: Part Eight

Getting in touch

About the author

About this collection

Resolutions was originally written as part of my assessed work during my creative writing degree. In the final year of my course, we were given the opportunity to complete a 10,000 word writing project, with the focus of the project to be defined by the student. Knowing that short story writing was something I enjoyed in terms of my creativity and my reading, this is what I produced.

Having graduated in 2010, the collection has gathered digital dust since then, although I have picked it up now and again to do the odd bit of editing here and there. After sitting down and doing some self assessment of my writing priorities and aspirations in early 2014, I decided that I needed to get the collection out there, to test out my opportunities in ebook self publishing, and because I think these are great stories which people will enjoy reading.

I chose the name Resolutions because my favourite science fiction short stories always have fantastic conclusions. They make you think about your own world, give you a shock twist ending, or let you continue the story in your own imagination. My main inspirations for writing these stories have been the work of Philip K Dick, William Gibson, and HG Wells (to name a few), and I hope that my engagement with their work has produced some resolutions you'll find satisfying and thought-provoking.

That's no moon...

Part One: Durban's Game

The Gothenburg V.28.03 computer console hums almost imperceptibly, a drowsy mecha-beast, slumbering comfortably, dreaming in code. Keys click repetitively as they are depressed into the vast smooth keyboard. A periodic yawn is expelled, a blast of oesophageal contempt. These are the only sounds that