Preview for upcoming short story
Here’s a preview of a story that I’m wondering if I want to finish. Basically it about a team of “treasure hunters” who capture rare items for museums and rich collectors. The thing of it is they grab them in alternate dimensions reached through literature. That’s right, every book ever written is actually a doorway to another world. The things our heroes pinch are notable items from those stories (you know, those strange important items that seem to just disappear, like the White Witch’s stone knife, Sauron’s One Ring, Dorian Grey’s painting, the asthmatic man’s bowl of Pees, the fish’s skull caught by the old man, ect)
Let me know what you guys think, and if it’s worth finishing.
A Literary Caper
The box came down gently on the desk. The sharp grey eyes of the man sitting behind it looked up at the deliverer.
“And this is?”
“You know what it is, Conrad.” He replied, gesturing down at the package. He was on the short end of average, with a thin but strong stature. His thick, dark, hair was pulled back, excepting a few strands falling down over the left side of his face. A wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Have I ever let you down?”
Conrad gently pushed the top of the box off. Reaching in, he carefully pulled the skull. An almost boyish grin spread over his old face, masked somewhat by his maliciously manicured white beard.
“Ulrich’s skull… well done. Though I must admit, this wasn’t that hard of a find, Czar.”
“Course it wasn’t… but that just makes it all the harder to beat the competition.”
“Book Hunters make an attempt at the skull?” Conrad frowned, “they have been making more runs then normal. I think there are about to try and take the title of the greatest collection in the universe.”
“Nothing we can’t handle, Conrad,” Czar said, straightening and crossing his arms across his chest, “We’ve built the best collection with the Book Hunters snapping around… they won’t get by us yet.”
“And why is that?”
“Research. The Book Hunters play on guesses, or follow us and then try to beat us to the punch at the last second. In contrast, most of our treasure hunting is done in the library before we even hit the field, as you know well.”
“Speaking of which, you need to talk with Dr. Legg.” Conrad said, still gently looking over the skull.
“We just got back from a run, Conrad…”
“Yes, but you’ll like this…” the grey eyes flashed up to glace at Czar, before returning to carefully place the skull back in its box, “he has uncovered something remarkable. In a H.G. Wells novel actually.”
“SciFi? You know I can’t resist that,” Czar said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Then go see Dr. Legg. He will get you the details.”
*******
“And there’s your target.”
“You’re joking…”
“Sorry, no such luck,” Dr. Legg said, a wry grin on his craggy face.
“I don’t get it. Why hasn’t this been done before? It seems very simple…”
“There in lies the problem… Two other attempts have been made at the Time Machine, and both times the missions inexplicitly failed. I’ll get you the full reports later, so why don’t you and the team hang tight for a day or two until I get them done,” adopting his ‘I-should-be-scandalized’ face, Dr. Legg turned back to his office door, “maybe you could go find Amy a mother, no?”
“Whatever doc,” Czar replied, smirking as he turned to go.
As door slid shut to Dr. Legg’s office, Czar stretched expansively in the long white hall before picking his duffle bag up. Main Reality Earth in the year 3045 was quite a disaster zone. Humanity had long ago devastated the planet, completely destroying its ability to sustain life. The population of Earth now lived in four large, self-sustaining, communities; New Rivendale, Neo Dn’i, Camelot Prime, and Zanrutha. No one, in over a hundred years had ever been the outside to the surface of Main Reality Earth. Czar let his hand reach out and run on the white plastic wall next to him as he walked towards his housing section of Zanrutha.
Two days until Legg’s official report… Czar thought as he approached the telepad, guess that’ll give me time to have some fun with Amy.
Stepping into the pad, Czar felt his body break down and warp across the massive compound to one of Zanrutha’s housing blocks. His feet had barely come back to him before he heard a bright voice call him.
“Czar! Czar! I knew you had to be back!”
The very sound of her ringing voice brought a smile to his face. Turning, Czar let his bag slip from his shoulder, and spread his arms.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she ran down the hall towards him, blond ponytail streaming out behind her. Going down onto one knee, Czar grabbed up the girl, enveloping her in a loving hug.
“I saw Butch walking to his living area, so I knew your team had to be back in!” her thin arms squeezed him back.
Standing, Czar took her hand into his, slinging his bag over the opposite shoulder.
“So, how have things been?” he asked as the two started walking towards their living quarters.
“Lonely,” Amy replied, a tint of sadness in her voice, “but you’re back now, so things are gonn’a get better, right?”
“Thing are going to get better… gonn’a is not a word,” Czar said, smirking slightly.
“You knew what I meant,” Amy said, adding a playful whine to her voice, “so just answer my question.”
“Don’t you have any friends from the academy?” Czar had been wondering how Amy was connecting, and was hoping this wasn’t a confession that his fears were confirmed.
“Well, sure, but it’s just not the same. Are you going to be in for awhile this time, like you promised?”
Czar winced slightly, and swallowed nervously. This was going to be difficult.
“Sorry Amy, not this time… Some things are going down and my employer won’t let us take too long a break.”
Amy’s cute face fell somewhat, and he heard her sigh.
“Don’t worry, work is just really bad right now… I will be around for your birthday, ok?”
Amy smiled back at him, but Czar knew it was only halfhearted. By this time they were standing in front of the door to their living quarters. Smiling back at Amy, Czar pressed his hand against the biometric sensor next to the door to allow the computer to validate his identity. The door slid open, and Amy darted into the entrance hall. Czar was about to follow when he heard a voice behind him.
“I wondered why Amy didn’t come back by my quarters, nice to see you back Czar.”
Czar turned to see Leanne walking down the hall towards him. Czar smiled, tossing his bag through the door.
“Hey Leanne, sorry about that, you know Amy can be kind of impulsive…”
“Kind of?” Leanne laughed, stopping a few feet in front of him.
“Well, ok, very impulsive… thanks again for looking out for her while I was gone.”
“No problem… how’d things go?” Leanne asked, pushing back a stray strand of her short blond hair.
“Oh, it’s quite a story this time… no pun intended… why don’t you come inside and I’ll tell you it over a drink of something?”
“Um, sorry, I really can’t,” Leanne said, turning to walk back towards her room, “I’ve, uh, got something in the oven…”
Czar sighed as he watched her retreating figure. Leanne was friendly, but always seemed hesitant of doing anything. He wondered if maybe he was coming across too strong…
“So Amy,” Czar said, finally stepping through the door into his apartment, “how was your week? You had a game on Tuesday, right?”
He watched the blond head nod as Amy darted back in the hall holding a bowl of fruit.
“Yeah, we won, again… Leanne gave us this fruit; she said it comes from Neo D’ni… some kind of stuff we don’t grow yet over here in Zanrutha.”
“Oh, where’d she get it then?” Czar asked, selecting one of the long yellow fruits.
“Tyler gave some to her… he handles imports you know,” Amy picked one out herself and started to demonstrate how to peal and eat the fruit. Czar pretended to watch intently, not wanting to ruin Amy’s enthusiasm. Truth be told, he had eaten bananas in countless alternant realities, but he knew this was something new and exciting for the young girl.
“What about school; did you have a quiz or any assignments?”
“Well,” Czar noticed the way Amy’s eyes dropped to the table, blatantly avoiding him, “I turned in a story on Wednesday, but Leanne wants me to turn it in again…”
“Turn it in again?” Czar asked, guessing that there was more to the story then that.
“Well, she said to turn it in typed, but I forgot and turned it in written,” the deep blush that covered Amy’s face was her general tip-off that she was shading the truth to fit her own perception of reality.
“You forgot?” inquired Czar, careful to keep his growing skepticism out of his voice. Amy wasn’t really a bad child, and he didn’t want to darken their first meal together in awhile with quibbling over minor shortcomings.
“Well, just get it to her by when she wants it. I’m sure she will dock you some for it, but that will just help you remember next time right?”Amy’s bright smile more then convinced him that his choice had been a good one.
Let me know what you guys think, and if it’s worth finishing.
A Literary Caper
The box came down gently on the desk. The sharp grey eyes of the man sitting behind it looked up at the deliverer.
“And this is?”
“You know what it is, Conrad.” He replied, gesturing down at the package. He was on the short end of average, with a thin but strong stature. His thick, dark, hair was pulled back, excepting a few strands falling down over the left side of his face. A wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Have I ever let you down?”
Conrad gently pushed the top of the box off. Reaching in, he carefully pulled the skull. An almost boyish grin spread over his old face, masked somewhat by his maliciously manicured white beard.
“Ulrich’s skull… well done. Though I must admit, this wasn’t that hard of a find, Czar.”
“Course it wasn’t… but that just makes it all the harder to beat the competition.”
“Book Hunters make an attempt at the skull?” Conrad frowned, “they have been making more runs then normal. I think there are about to try and take the title of the greatest collection in the universe.”
“Nothing we can’t handle, Conrad,” Czar said, straightening and crossing his arms across his chest, “We’ve built the best collection with the Book Hunters snapping around… they won’t get by us yet.”
“And why is that?”
“Research. The Book Hunters play on guesses, or follow us and then try to beat us to the punch at the last second. In contrast, most of our treasure hunting is done in the library before we even hit the field, as you know well.”
“Speaking of which, you need to talk with Dr. Legg.” Conrad said, still gently looking over the skull.
“We just got back from a run, Conrad…”
“Yes, but you’ll like this…” the grey eyes flashed up to glace at Czar, before returning to carefully place the skull back in its box, “he has uncovered something remarkable. In a H.G. Wells novel actually.”
“SciFi? You know I can’t resist that,” Czar said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Then go see Dr. Legg. He will get you the details.”
*******
“And there’s your target.”
“You’re joking…”
“Sorry, no such luck,” Dr. Legg said, a wry grin on his craggy face.
“I don’t get it. Why hasn’t this been done before? It seems very simple…”
“There in lies the problem… Two other attempts have been made at the Time Machine, and both times the missions inexplicitly failed. I’ll get you the full reports later, so why don’t you and the team hang tight for a day or two until I get them done,” adopting his ‘I-should-be-scandalized’ face, Dr. Legg turned back to his office door, “maybe you could go find Amy a mother, no?”
“Whatever doc,” Czar replied, smirking as he turned to go.
As door slid shut to Dr. Legg’s office, Czar stretched expansively in the long white hall before picking his duffle bag up. Main Reality Earth in the year 3045 was quite a disaster zone. Humanity had long ago devastated the planet, completely destroying its ability to sustain life. The population of Earth now lived in four large, self-sustaining, communities; New Rivendale, Neo Dn’i, Camelot Prime, and Zanrutha. No one, in over a hundred years had ever been the outside to the surface of Main Reality Earth. Czar let his hand reach out and run on the white plastic wall next to him as he walked towards his housing section of Zanrutha.
Two days until Legg’s official report… Czar thought as he approached the telepad, guess that’ll give me time to have some fun with Amy.
Stepping into the pad, Czar felt his body break down and warp across the massive compound to one of Zanrutha’s housing blocks. His feet had barely come back to him before he heard a bright voice call him.
“Czar! Czar! I knew you had to be back!”
The very sound of her ringing voice brought a smile to his face. Turning, Czar let his bag slip from his shoulder, and spread his arms.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she ran down the hall towards him, blond ponytail streaming out behind her. Going down onto one knee, Czar grabbed up the girl, enveloping her in a loving hug.
“I saw Butch walking to his living area, so I knew your team had to be back in!” her thin arms squeezed him back.
Standing, Czar took her hand into his, slinging his bag over the opposite shoulder.
“So, how have things been?” he asked as the two started walking towards their living quarters.
“Lonely,” Amy replied, a tint of sadness in her voice, “but you’re back now, so things are gonn’a get better, right?”
“Thing are going to get better… gonn’a is not a word,” Czar said, smirking slightly.
“You knew what I meant,” Amy said, adding a playful whine to her voice, “so just answer my question.”
“Don’t you have any friends from the academy?” Czar had been wondering how Amy was connecting, and was hoping this wasn’t a confession that his fears were confirmed.
“Well, sure, but it’s just not the same. Are you going to be in for awhile this time, like you promised?”
Czar winced slightly, and swallowed nervously. This was going to be difficult.
“Sorry Amy, not this time… Some things are going down and my employer won’t let us take too long a break.”
Amy’s cute face fell somewhat, and he heard her sigh.
“Don’t worry, work is just really bad right now… I will be around for your birthday, ok?”
Amy smiled back at him, but Czar knew it was only halfhearted. By this time they were standing in front of the door to their living quarters. Smiling back at Amy, Czar pressed his hand against the biometric sensor next to the door to allow the computer to validate his identity. The door slid open, and Amy darted into the entrance hall. Czar was about to follow when he heard a voice behind him.
“I wondered why Amy didn’t come back by my quarters, nice to see you back Czar.”
Czar turned to see Leanne walking down the hall towards him. Czar smiled, tossing his bag through the door.
“Hey Leanne, sorry about that, you know Amy can be kind of impulsive…”
“Kind of?” Leanne laughed, stopping a few feet in front of him.
“Well, ok, very impulsive… thanks again for looking out for her while I was gone.”
“No problem… how’d things go?” Leanne asked, pushing back a stray strand of her short blond hair.
“Oh, it’s quite a story this time… no pun intended… why don’t you come inside and I’ll tell you it over a drink of something?”
“Um, sorry, I really can’t,” Leanne said, turning to walk back towards her room, “I’ve, uh, got something in the oven…”
Czar sighed as he watched her retreating figure. Leanne was friendly, but always seemed hesitant of doing anything. He wondered if maybe he was coming across too strong…
“So Amy,” Czar said, finally stepping through the door into his apartment, “how was your week? You had a game on Tuesday, right?”
He watched the blond head nod as Amy darted back in the hall holding a bowl of fruit.
“Yeah, we won, again… Leanne gave us this fruit; she said it comes from Neo D’ni… some kind of stuff we don’t grow yet over here in Zanrutha.”
“Oh, where’d she get it then?” Czar asked, selecting one of the long yellow fruits.
“Tyler gave some to her… he handles imports you know,” Amy picked one out herself and started to demonstrate how to peal and eat the fruit. Czar pretended to watch intently, not wanting to ruin Amy’s enthusiasm. Truth be told, he had eaten bananas in countless alternant realities, but he knew this was something new and exciting for the young girl.
“What about school; did you have a quiz or any assignments?”
“Well,” Czar noticed the way Amy’s eyes dropped to the table, blatantly avoiding him, “I turned in a story on Wednesday, but Leanne wants me to turn it in again…”
“Turn it in again?” Czar asked, guessing that there was more to the story then that.
“Well, she said to turn it in typed, but I forgot and turned it in written,” the deep blush that covered Amy’s face was her general tip-off that she was shading the truth to fit her own perception of reality.
“You forgot?” inquired Czar, careful to keep his growing skepticism out of his voice. Amy wasn’t really a bad child, and he didn’t want to darken their first meal together in awhile with quibbling over minor shortcomings.
“Well, just get it to her by when she wants it. I’m sure she will dock you some for it, but that will just help you remember next time right?”Amy’s bright smile more then convinced him that his choice had been a good one.
posted by Czar at 3:38 PM
5 Comments:
Couldn't help but smile when I say Amy was in this story.
I will try to give more thoughts later, but my initial thoughts are that while the characters seem to have a lot of personality, I am wondering whether the driving plot through the story will be strong enough. Maybe it is because this is only a very short section of the story and I don't know where exactly you are going, but it seems to lack an intricacy to move the story.
Yeah I didn't tell you guys the fullness of the twists... As you might have noticed, Czar doesn't have a wife. What hasn't been said yet is that Amy isn't really his daughter (though for those who know where this is going I guess the blond hair gave that away). Anyway, it's not illeagal to travel to the realities in liturature and observe, but strictly speaking nothing is sapposed to be brought back to Main Reality Earth, and herein lies the problem... (que drum roll) that's right Amy is not actually from Main Reality Earth; SHE'S FROM A BOOK!
There are two differnt things I am tossing around to go with this idea; first being that Czar got premission to bring back Amy from the reality he found her orphaned in, the second where he didn't. In either case, I'm going to make the destruction of her family his fault somehow, though Amy was to young at the time to remember it (she is actually going to be the Amy in "Spotlight Detectives", a very very minor figure who apears in one or two books, placing her at around 3 or 4 when Czar takes her. She's closer to 10 in the story).
Anyway, we'll see how things go
Oh, as is implied in this section (sort of) most people don't know Amy isn't Czar's blood daughter
I’ll get the softball out of the way first: you know you’re spelling Leeann wrong. *wry grin*
I like it. It’s National Treasure on steroids but without Nicholas Cage. Add to the mix the fact that I just started reading Lewis’ Space Trilogy for the first time and you can realize why my appreciation for the Sci-Fi time-traveling element is added. Not that I don’t like Sci-Fi, but in the hands of mortals it can sometimes become downright silly and utterly vain. But this is setting up to be a fascinating cross-section of time travel, literary appreciation, and the Czar trademark domestic angst. More is certainly merited, but not as the cost of Seven Years installments being delayed.
Don't worry Leeann (and I do too know how to spell your name) History of Hyrule will not suffer at this stories gain; and that includes not just Seven Years, but Follow Me Through Time, The Greatest Adventure, Aftermath of Pain, and A Journey Home (Oh, sorry, guess I didn't tell you that when you started reading Seven Years it's actually only the first instament of a massive overarching history of the magical kingdom of Hyrule... Oh, PS, I am thinking of writing a short called "Before there was Light", which would be Impa's story; would you guys like that to be in the collected work?).
Anyway, yeah, this is simmering on the back burner for a bit, getting writen on when I feel light and happy but not like writing on Follow Me Through Time (my little Hylian romance). Expect Literary Caper to come out in the distant future...
Post a Comment
<< Home