Ambi Reine's Writing Room

  “Gee grandpa, it’s just what I always wanted…” “You betcha darn skippy it is. That there was the first computer I ever bought, back before even your mother was born. Got put in the attic when that Y2K bug was going around though, but I knew you were wanting one.” “Can I play games on it?”  “Games? Sure ya can! Lots of games! You’ll be having a ball more than some silly tablet will do ya for.” Maia looked over the ancient machine that was still partially covered in paper and scotch tape. She had asked for a computer ever since she got into elementary school, but her family had not been well off enough to afford one. Sure, she had the family computer to use for school work, but she wanted her own so she could play games in her room.  “Thanks. Grandpa.” “And! I have ya the books for it. Here ya go!” Her grandfather put a stack of dusty books on the table next to her other birthday presents. She gave the thick pile a weary eye before giving a hesitant smile and looking towards her dad wh

  As a programmer, I spend hours in front of my computer every day. My one break… My one solace away from screens was supposed to be my time reading the morning newspaper.  But the newspaper… seems to have bugged. Normally, I wake up. Shower. Get dressed in a cozy dress and my programmer socks. Then I walk down to the end of the street where I buy a donut, an orange, and a newspaper from the convenient store to go along with my morning coffee. Finally, I come home and consume the calories I need to get through the next 10 hours and flip through that same newspaper to read all about the things I didn’t know happened yesterday because I was inside. But today… The paper was bugged.  The date at the top wasn’t today’s date like it was supposed to be. Instead it listed tomorrow’s date. Secondly, the headline article was one that I definitely would have noticed.  “Cause still unknown for mysterious blackout that left West Cyllene without power for nearly 2 hours.” 2 hours? Surely I would hav

  “Let’s go on vacation he said… let’s leave Earth he said…” “It could be worse, Qi, we could be on Venus.” “Ah yes. Being on Venus is definitely worse than being stranded on the Martian frontier.” “Well, Venus doesn’t have breathable air yet, so we would probably just perish.” Qi looked at her message projector. Her brother, Xi, had messaged them less than a kilosecond earlier but it already felt like hours. The three of them had decided at his suggestion to take a week off work and visit the colony on Mars which had just opened up to tourism. However, Xi’s hovercraft that he had rented was stolen when he left the hotel to get snacks, and their tickets for the flight back to earth were still in the trunk along with their wallets. “Look at the brightside, Qi. There is literally an entire planet that we can explore! They’ve got clean water, and vegetation, and I hear they’ve even developed new species of bears!” “Why would you be excited about bears, Suzie? Bears could chase you down an