Spec The Halls: Volume 2

By Lesley L. Smith

A short story collection of speculative fiction holiday stories including aliens, time travel, and more! Happy holidays!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lesley L. Smith
• Release date: Dec 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781950198429

Lesley L. Smith

All right, I confess! I love physics. I blame my misspent youth reading science fiction by the likes of Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke. Not surprisingly, I also love science fiction. I grew up in Missouri, in a family of overeducated overachievers. Following in their footsteps, I've earned far too many degrees including an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Physics and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. Hmm? I may have a split personality. The evidence shows I've authored or co-authored many scientific articles, and am a longtime member of the American Physical Society. I'm also a founder and editor of the speculative fiction ezine http://www.electricspec.com and a longtime member of the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America. Both sides of my personality live in Boulder, Colorado where I do physics by day and science fiction by night. Please visit me on the web at http://www.lesleylsmith.com.

Book preview

Spec The Halls

Volume 2

Books by Lesley L. Smith

Temporal Dreams

Neutrino Warning

Kat Cubed

Conservation of Luck

Reality Alternatives

The Quantum Cop Series:

Book 1: The Quantum Cop

Book 2: Quantum Murder

Book 3: Quantum Mayhem

The Space Operetta Series

Book 1: A Jack By Any Oher Name

Book 2: A Jack In The Dark

Book 3: A Jack For All Seasons

Spec The Halls

Volume 2

By Lesley L. Smith

Quarky Media

Boulder Colorado

Spec The Halls: Volume 2

Published by Quarky Media, PO Box 3332, Boulder, CO 80307

www.quarkymedia.com

ISBN: 978-1-950198-42-9

Copyright © 2021 Lesley L. Smith

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability.

Contents

Introduction

Welcome to Turtle Island

Floating In Stained Glass

I Jumped

Quantum Hanukah

Cookiepalooza

Winter Solstice Save-e-bration

The Adventure of the Blue Carbonara

Time For A Christmas Kiss

The Accidental Alchemist

Temporal New Year

The Fierce Urgency of Now

Lunar New Year

Message from the Author

Introduction

I love the whole holiday season, from Halloween and Thanksgiving to Christmas, all the way to the various New Years' celebrations. It's a time when so many people are chock full of gratitude and kindness. During this time of year, people try to help their fellow man. They treat others with respect and basic human decency. Obviously, we should always treat other people this way… Somehow, the magic of the season helps us be our best selves. So, to me, all the holiday traditions are reminders that we have the potential to be amazing; we have the potential to make Earth and the rest of the universe wonderful for each and every human being.

Thus, I love classic holiday TV shows like Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty The Snowman. I also really enjoy holiday movies including old classics like It's a Wonderful Life and new classics like Holiday and Love, Actually.

There's a long tradition of holiday fiction--including speculative holiday stories--that's wonderful, as well. From Dickens's A Christmas Carol to Willis's All Seated on the Ground, you can't go wrong with holiday fiction!

This collection includes stories involving aliens, time travel, superpowers and more--all set on a holiday, from Indigenous Peoples' Day to Chinese New Year. Enjoy!

I sincerely wish, for you and yours: have a wonderful holiday season!

Columbus Day has become a fairly controversial holiday; many people celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day instead. This science fiction tale explores what might be a fitting celebration of the diversity and history of Indigenous communities.

Welcome to Turtle Island

Walking to the lab in the fall sunshine with my one daily indulgence--a latte--I heard the commotion from over a block away. The autumn air was brisk, but the lawns of the university were still an emerald green expanse. The golden, russet, and copper leaves rustled in the breeze like organic stained glass. As I approached the cacophony, indistinct murmurs resolved into chants: Columbus needs a compass, he's a fungus! and Go away, Columbus Day! and We can't abide genocide!

I strolled past a planting of six-foot-tall frost-touched viburnums and finally saw the group of students holding homemade signs and yelling in front of the statue dedicated to Christopher Columbus. Since they stood between me and my lab, I stopped.

I recognized the Native Peoples Alliance students, a mixture of undergrads and grad students with diverse backgrounds, members of the Pawnee, Blackfoot, Arapaho, Iowa, Osage, and Comanche peoples, among others. Some of them had grown up on reservations; some, like me, had not. Most, but not all, had tan skin and dark hair. One thing they all had in common was their passionate disapproval of Columbus.

Based on the stories my grandfather had told me, I had to agree. Grandfather had also tried to encourage me to be more courageous. I'd been a very shy girl, practically afraid of my shadow.

Kaydee! Join us! Anakin called out. Older than most of the others, he was the former president of the alliance and had just graduated with his Ph.D. in anthropology. I was surprised he was still involved with the student group since he wasn't a student anymore. He passed his sign to someone else and started walking across the grass to me.

I stood on the sidewalk and took a slow sip of my latte, trying to unpack my feelings. If I weren't so busy, I would probably already be here with the protestors. On the other hand, could I afford to offend the university establishment? Did protesting ever really accomplish anything? On the other hand, if people didn't speak up, things would never change. On the other hand, I needed to focus on graduating. On the other hand--that was entirely too many hands.

He grinned broadly when he reached me, his expression lighting up his brown eyes. Hey, girl. He walked right up to me. It's been a while. How've you been?

I took a step back. He was a little too enticing with his sparkling brown eyes and warm grin. I was mere weeks away from finishing my Ph.D. in physics after four years of hard work. The last thing I needed right now was to be distracted by a guy. I glanced over at the protestors, still going strong. Or expelled. Hello, Anakin, I said, carefully, not smiling. I'm fine. How are you?

He laughed. So business-like.

I felt my resolve melt a little. Congratulations on graduating. I smiled for a split second and then took another sip of my latte.

Thanks. He nodded.

What is all this? I asked. Columbus Day isn't until tomorrow.

Oh, we'll be here tomorrow, too. Don't worry. He grinned some more. So, would you like to join us? I saved a sign, especially for you. He made it sound like I was special.

I'd like to, but I'm down to the wire, I said. I have my defense soon, and I still have a lot of work to do. I paused. In fact, any chance you could help me get through the crowd? I didn't relish elbowing my way through my friends. And that wasn't wimpy.

I'd be honored to walk you to your laboratory, madam, he said with a dramatic flourish.

Was he mocking me? I examined his face. Nope. He seemed sincere. That would be great. Thanks.

The two of us walked through the protestors, the crowd parting like the Red Sea, to the door of the physics building. He opened the door and gestured me inside.

Thanks, I said, stepping into the warmth inside. This is good. You don't have to walk me all the way to my lab.

But I want to, he said. Tell me about your project.

He didn't have to ask twice. I enjoyed talking physics, and my project was super interesting. There's a branch of physics, quantum mechanics, that enables us to represent the world by mathematics called wave functions. We strolled down the empty hall, our footsteps echoing on the floor tiles; the protestors must have scared away the other students. This mathematics says every possible outcome of a quantum measurement occurs, so there are infinite universes. Physicists call this the Many Worlds Interpretation. I'm actually trying to open a portal to one of these other universes.

Anakin stopped walking. He stared at me, mouth open for a moment. Then, he said, Really? Another world?

I nodded. Yep. That's the plan. We almost did it yesterday. I think we'll do it today.

That would be awesome! he said. Can I watch?

Sure. It's right up here. I pointed ahead of us, and we picked up the pace.

Inside the lab, my assistant Brittani jumped up as soon as she saw me. Her smooth skin and light hair made her look more like sixteen- than twenty-five years old. Kaydee! Everything's ready to go. I fixed that focusing problem with the computer yesterday. She was a genius with electronic equipment.

Glad you made it, Brittani. No trouble getting past the protestors? I placed my bag and coffee cup onto a bare space on a desk. My lab was about twenty feet by twenty feet by twelve feet high and chock-full of electrical and mechanical equipment, except for the center of the room where we were hoping, no planning, to open the portal. We'd drawn a six-foot-wide circle in chalk on the floor there.

I snuck in the back door, she said. I agree with them, though. She crinkled her pert nose, making her resemble a disgruntled elf.

Brittani, this is my friend Anakin. He's an anthropologist. I pointed at him. Anakin, this is my assistant extraordinaire, Brittani. They finished their greetings while I went to the computer.

Nice to meet you, Brittani, he said.

Likewise, she said.

Brittani was true to her word. Everything was primed and ready to go. The most important components were a bleeding-edge quantum computer to activate the quantum wavefunctions and a powerful power source to create