Five Stories: Track One

By Nick Falkner

This collection of new short stories spans science fiction, fantasy and magical realism. "Dulcimer Gavotte and Beau" is a story that draws on New Wave traditions to weave a tale of love and people, in the face of mortality and a changing world. "Nancy May Makes Tea for Visitors" takes us to an Earth ripped apart by the intrusion of other dimensions and what happens when unwelcome visitors stalk an isolated young woman while her parents are away on business in other worlds and other bodies. "The Business of Dragons" parts the veil of secrecy in the wild forests of the hills far from iron rails, where a very old man and his dragon live while progress threatens to carry away his grandson. Inspired by Humans of New York, "Vampires of New York" tells of a young reporter who tries to capture the human side of the vampire clans of New York, under the watchful eyes of Marcus and Annia Gold. The final story, "Mind the Gap", is a classic story of the issues with technology but told with solid science and humour, as a lawyer from the mid 21st Century unwillingly appears at the end of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Falkner
• Release date: Mar 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781925502008

Nick Falkner

Nick Falkner spent a decade here and there as a programmer, a soldier, a winemaker and an academic before writing his first novel. His broad life experience comes through in his writing, driven by his passion and curiosity. His writing is fast-paced and tight, built on solid characters who are backed up with careful research, deftly woven throughout the narrative. When not writing, Nick lives in South Australia, working with a great team to improve the educational opportunities for students everywhere.

Book preview

Five Stories: Track One

Nick Falkner

Copyright © 2016 Nick Falkner

Smashwords Edition

For Katrina.

"Enfants du même Dieu, tous les mortels sont frères."

Armand Panusse, New Orleans, 1810-1868.

Table of Contents

Story One: Dulcimer Gavotte and Beau

Story Two: Nancy May Makes Tea For Visitors

Story Three: The Business of Dragons

Story Four: Vampires of New York

Story Five: Mind the Gap

Afterword

STORY ONE:

Dulcimer Gavotte and Beau

Year 1

Dulcimer Gavotte Jones and John Henry Whitmore were born at the same time, 12:01am on New Year's Day, twenty-four years apart, to different parents. Dulcie had finished college, abandoned her Pinsky-loving parents, and found work at one of the remaining mainstream media outlets before John Henry was conceived. She turned twenty-three on the day John emerged and was at home, continuing her habit of ignoring all forms of celebration of either the year or her birthday.

John started as he would continue, causing trouble. A student nurse was yelled at for getting his physical measurements wrong and had no explanation when she was found to have underestimated his height and weight. Helen and Henry Whitmore ignored the noise, caught up as they were in admiring their new son.

On January the second, Dulcie went back to work. She worked for a traditional editor, which meant writing her novel up the back of town council meetings while waiting for Angry from Tiny Township to stop complaining about young people. She also performed vital functions such as taking pictures of unexpected animals, sneezing at flower shows, and writing up the more unusual births and deaths. John was continuing to cause trouble and the medical team had now resorted to checking the video footage to make sure that the baby hadn't been switched. He was growing roughly a centimetre every four hours and the staff were convinced that they could see him getting longer.

How can that be my baby? He's huge?

Well, yes, he appears to be about four months old but this is, definitely, your baby.

I don't understand! How can that be my baby? Henry? Tell me!

The hospital tried to keep it quiet, which delayed it leaking by an hour and just raised the price that the editor eventually had to pay when he wanted the story.

On January the 3rd, Dulcie was sent to get the story on the baby. She was shooed away by the chief of residents, who remembered her from one of her morgue stories, but previous investment in birthday chocolates paid off and the ward nurse let her in to see the mother.

Helen was heavily medicated and couldn't say anything but her head was tilted to one side as she stared at the small crib next to her. The child in there looked closer to one than zero; he was thin and long, with drawn-in cheeks. There was no baby chubbiness to be seen under his thick black hair. His arms were covered in drip lines: hydration, feeding and drugs. Dulcie held out her fingers to the boy to touch his thin, bony chest and his eyes opened. He grabbed one of her fingers in his hand and she was shocked by the strength of his grip. But she gripped back and felt the strong pulse in his tiny hand. She fished around in her pocket and took out her camera to take a picture with her free hand.

Hey, what are you doing in here?

Dulcie pulled her hand free and mumbled something as she pushed past Henry Whitmore and out into the corridor.

Hey! Hey! She had a camera! Security!

Dulcie ducked down the back stairway and was gone before anyone else saw her.

He's really four days old? The editor stared at the picture.

But he's over a year old, physically. Look at all of the pictures.

Scrawny chicken of a kid, isn't he?

Kind of cute, though. Look at the eyes.

A day later, those eyes stared out from the front page.

BEANSTALK BABY AGES A YEAR EVERY THREE DAYS

The hospital was furious. The Whitmores were furious. They had friends. The friends were furious. They knew the editor. The editor had to fire someone and he decided that it shouldn't be him.

But you told me to!

Dulcie stood by her desk as security packed her things into a cardboard box and the editor watched.

Yeah. Here's your stuff.

Dulcie went home, opened a bottle of wine and opened another when the first one ran out. She had some money saved and could wait until the heat died down before taking on a copyediting job or some technical writing.

On February 6th, her phone rang. She didn't recognise the number but it was no-one who had sent her death threats and she had the Whitmores and their lawyers in her call register. She picked up.

It's me, the Beanstalk!

She dropped the phone then picked it up again.

Should you be calling me?

I don't know. Should I? They're calling me... long word. Preek-something.

Precocious?

That's it! Preek-otious. I don't think they've had a one month old who can talk back before.

Why are you calling me?

I remember you. You're one of the first things I remember. Everyone here is talking to mom and papa rather than me. I figure you might talk to me. Maybe listen?

Your parents won't let me anywhere near you.

Yeah, they're real angry with you. Papa said a bad word. Oh, nursie's here. Talk more when I'm older?

He hung up.

John and his parents ended up on opposite sides of what was best for John. Helen and Henry fought his efforts to emancipate himself but it ended up fast-tracked to the Supreme Court. John had a different track through time from everyone else and the lawyers moved quickly, fearful of having to sue each other for delaying the case to the point where he died.

The Supreme Court at the time was in disarray due to a proud eagle-carrying American having asserted his 127th amendment right to carry a bird of prey into public spaces. All eight remaining Justices had fled the chamber when the large and angry bird had struck the Chief Justice in the throat. Although tenured for life, sheer embarrassment and fear of the bird prevented them from returning. The requirement for quorum was suspended as no-one was keen to go in and formally count the bird. As a result, John's case was heard by the corpse of the Chief Justice and the eagle, who the media now referred to as Old Glory.

The case was ruled in his favour, by majority vote of a nodding skull and a waved claw, with eight Justices abstaining. John was deemed emancipated at his estimated physical age of sixteen, on the 28th of February. Dulcie's phone rang first thing on the 1st of March.

You free for coffee?

He was still thin but very tall. Experts had spent weeks trying to work out how he managed to get enough food to survive. In the end, they summoned a specialist in orchids and epiphyte plants from Singapore.

Epiphytes?

Plants that live on air. How's the coffee?

The coffee was good but his company was better. He was effectively 18 now and she could still almost see him growing before her eyes. The orchid specialist had gone home after waving his hands in the air. No-one had any idea how John was doing it. Given that the inconvenient boy