Precyber - the Real Chapter 31

Clarke signs up for the Revolution.

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[Seventh Seal] Page 78 - Chapter 5

Row 1 Box 1 Klery looks at various paintings that Forsalio has done.

Klery: You're really very talented! I'm impressed.

Forsalio: Oh. Well, thank you. I normally don't show the to people...

Row 1 Box 2 Jesra looks around for Pete.

Jesra: Pete? Are you there?

Row 1 Box 3 Pete, looking kind of sad (from his perspective) is right in front of Jesra.

Pete: I'm right here Jesra....

Row 2 Box 1 The trolls have their halberds pointed at Vesuvius in a ring, while Amanda picks up her wand in the background.

Row 2 Box 2 Sluice wakes up.

Row 2 Box 3 Sluice frowns.

Row 3 Box 4 Sluice leaps up.

Row 3 Box 1 Jesra speaks to the air.

Jesra: I think things are working out Pete, but I wish you were here. I'd rather a real friend than an imaginary friend.

Row 3 Box 2 Sluice steps on the wand.

Row 3 Box 3 Jesra leans forward to kiss Pete.

Row 4 Lightning spills out all around where the wand is snapped in two, knocking Amanda and the other trolls backward.

[Seventh Seal] Page 77 - Chapter 5

Row 1 Box 1 Vesuvius pokes Amanda in the eyes.

Row 1 Box 2 Amanda puts her hand up to her eyes.

Amanda: Ah! You'll pay for that Vesuvius.

Row 1 Box 3 Vesuvius snickers standing on her head ready to poke her eyes again.

Vesuvius: You and what army?

Row 2 Box 1 & 2 A line of angry trolls stands behind Amanda.

Box 3 Vesuvius looks behind him.

Vesuvius: Oh.

Row 3 Box 1 Amanda and Klery look at Forsalio.

Amanda: We're here....

Row 3 Box 2 Forsolio looks out at them. (From Pete's Perspective) Pete is standing behind Amanda and Klery. Forsalio looks a little impatient.

Forsalio: Yes?

Row 3 Box 3: Klery looks inside, sees some paintings.

Klery: Oh! You're an artist.

Row 4 Box 1 Forsalio smiles and nods.

Forsalio: Yes. Yes I am. Or at least I was before I became a business man, would you like to see my paintings?

Row 4 Box 2 Klery smiles.

Klery: Yes I'd like that very much.

Row 4 Box 3 Klery goes inside with Forsalio.

Row 4 Box 4 Amanda breathes a sigh of relief.

Precyber - Chapter 30

Clarke floats about until he finds the spark of a new start.  A tiny evil glimmer of hope.

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[Seventh Seal] Page 76 - Chapter 5

Row 1 Box 1 Jesra looks back and smiles.

Jesra: Pete!

Row 1 Box 2 Klery looks back and doesn't see anything except Pete and the horse.

Klery: Pete is a friend of yours? Your boyfriend?

Row 1 Box 3 Jesra blushes.

Jesra: Er.....we...just...met...

Row 2 Box 1 Klery smiles knowingly and puts her hand on Jesra's shoulder.

Klery: Today would have been my and my husband's 50^th anniversary. It's an important day to me. I remember what it was like. You don't have to explain anything to me.

Row 2 Box 2 Jesra keeps blushing and just knocks on Forsalio's door.

Jesra: Er.....

Row 3 Box 1 Forsalio is surrounded by three women, admiring his new suit. One of them has a pair of grapes and is ready to feed him one.

Off Panel: Knockknockknock

Row 3 Box 2 Forsalio looks up, the women look annoyed.

Forsalio: What in the?

Row 3 Box 3 The door opens, and Forsalio looks out at a waiting Jesra and Klery.

Forsalio: Yes?

Row 4 Box 1 Vesuvius bite's Amanda's hand again.

Row 4 Box 2 This time Amanda let's go.

Row 4 Box 3 Vesuvius runs up her shoulder.

Row 4 Box 4 They look at each other.

[Seventh Seal] Page 75 - Chapter 5

Row 1 Box 1 Amanda looks right, after Vesuvius has moved.

Amanda: What?

Box 2 Vesuvius taps her from the other side.

Box 3 Amanda starts to turn her head but stops.

Row 2 Box 1 Amanda reaches a hand up quickly and grabs Vesuvius.

Box 2 Vesuvius bites her hand.

Box 3 Amanda yowls in pain but doesn't let go.

Row 3 Box 1 Amanda points her wand at Vesuvius.

Row 3 Box 2 Pete (from Pete's perspective) yanks the wand out of Amanda's hand.

Row 3 Box 3 Amanda shrieks in surprise. From Amanda's perspective the wand flies through the air.

Amanda: What?!

New Product - Two Stories - Unfood and Mining the Dream Plane

Here.

These are respectively the best and worst stories I've ever written, apparently. One of the stories was so bad that the writing program at World Con politely suggested, "Maybe you should stop writing science fiction and take up another hobby?" The other one got a note from a small but highly acclaimed publisher, "Good story but not what we're looking for." You guess which is which.

Unfood is about a down on his luck freighter captain whose spaceship gets intercepted carrying illegal cargo. His crew is sentenced to a harsh rock and he gets away scott free, but needs to get them out of prison, so he takes a desperate job to a fat prison ship, designed to FORCE people to lose weight. He finds the place abandoned, and is trapped on board. Talk about counting calories...this is a survival story where any calorie is a good one.

Mining the Dreamplane is about a future in which creativity is much more specialized than it is today. A writer's job is done by seven or eight people, including a crafter, a refiner, etc. But the most 'glamorous' job is the Miner, who goes into a computer simulation called the 'dream plane' to get raw creative stuff which others process. A miner gets stuck in this state when his handler is grabbed by the police and sentenced to wear corporate advertising to pay for his crimes. While he deals with the ramifications, the miner slowly starts to die and have weirder and weirder hallucinations.