A list of OUR Short Stories

To help keep things organized, the next section spells out the work that will be done. In the future these blogs will leave Google.

Outline of Short Stories, for this level/platform of writing there will only be the first two items – one for now.

• Title
• Short Synopsis (1 or 2 sentences) (aka handshake pitch/15 seconds )
• Abstract (1 or 2 paragraphs) (aka elevator pitch/90 seconds)
• Cover sheet (concise version one page)
  
• Treatment (story with major scenes - 40 to 80 pages)
• Short Story (20 to 100 pages)
  
• Screen Play (The general rule of thumb is one page is one minute)
  

Started and In Progress

1.  Catching the Got-aways
   
• Topics immigration, border security, robotics
• Genre drama, chase, sci-fi
  
• A politically appointed, inept and corrupt, career bureaucrat creates the opening for greed, deceit, & outright fraud of the innocent, the guilty, and the uninvolved in equal measure. Immigrants, smugglers, border agents with their robot assistants - collaborate, cooperate, confront and chase their elusive goals.
  
2. The AV Fleet
•  Topics urban living, self-driving cars, homicide
• Genre drama, mystery, sci-fi
  
• An AV (Autonomous Vehicle) fleet of self-driving cars cruise the city streets after dark to enhance it's driving algorithm. There is only one problem -- without warning, the cars have develop a bad habit of running over homeless people and seemingly innocent pedestrians. In pursuit of demons causing the mayhem is a policeman 7-days-from-retirement, an A.I. contract programmer, a street preacher/minister to the homeless, and a homeless real estate heiress.
  
3. The Bad Liar
• Topics A.I. operation, deceit
• Genre drama, sci-fi
  
• An A.I. chatbot that makes random mistakes then lies to cover up lies.
  
4. 3.74 .. 3.79
• Topics  war, robotics, logistics
• Genre drama, war epic, sci-fi
  
• An intermittently defective ammo-carrying robot proves to be an invaluable tool to his soldier operator and the battalion he is with.
  
5. The Crystal Princess
• Topics U.S. Marines, war, crystals, mysticism
• Genre drama, war epic sci-fi 
• A squad of U.S. Marines assigned to stand lookout from a hilltop are astounded with the appearance and re-appearance of an attractive gift giver. Later, as they are forced to abandon their position, the princess continues to re-appear forcing them to confront their own training and military logic.
  
6. The Button
• Topics  the unknown, paranoia
• Genre drama, sci-fi
  
• In a seemingly unevolving world, a shop keeper is presented with a button to change the outside world. He is only told that there is no way to predict it's outcome and there is no way to return things as they currently are.
  
7. Asteroid Pirates
• Topics asteroid, big treasure, space bandits, greed, corruption
• Genre drama, adventure, action, scifi
  
• Three ex-military men homestead on a restricted asteroid secretly mine for wild riches, while evading detection. While two have gone for supplies at a nearby outpost, the third makes the awaited discovery, only to be forced into hide-and-seek by marauding space bandits.
  
8. Space Station #5
• Topics self-sufficiency, satellite hazards, outer space living
• Genre drama, action, sci-fi
  
• Two married couples choose life on a self-sufficient space station assigned to recover broken, outdated and rogue satellites. The arduous task becomes overwhelming when both the men appear to be suffering from radiation poisoning.
  
9. The Big Brain and the Accountants
• Topics deception, embezzlement, corporate governance
• Genre drama, sci-fi
  
• A new A.I. bot is given control of the company's main financial accounting books. Work is halted when the accountants suspect embezzlement, until corporate HQ calls.
  
10. The Journal of the Housefly Keeper
• Topics tedium, subcontracting, house flies, dog shit 
• Genre drama, sci-fi
  
• Only the mundane details of the keeper make it to his journal. The journal tracks the development of the product. The product created, known as chitosan, is the work of common housefly's.  The chitosan must be of the highest quality. The chitosan - a linear polysaccharide - is used to clarify water, provide structure for bioprinting tissue, and experimentally as a battery electrolyte. However, the keepers day is not as ordinary and mundane as the journal.
  
11. Dust Bowl Days, Yellow Skies, Blood Moon Omen
• Topics desert living, post-apocalyptic, innocence, youth, water
• Genre drama, adventure, action, sci-fi
  
• In a post-apocalyptic world, vast desert regions around the world are dotted with scatter water collection locations known as reservoirs. While technology from previous generations has mostly survived and works, electricity is now a commodity. As such, food and clothes made from natural fibers have become monetary currency. However with all this, the kids just want to go swimming. 
12. 50 High-quality Sons
• Topics inheritance, surrogacy, legacy
• Genre drama, sci-fi
• A billionaire has decided he has enough money to make his own rules. As such, he will sire 50 male heirs to be confirm before birth by the latest in technology. (inspired by (story/qt-fp-17203))
  

Stalled Work

1. The Lithium Fireman
• Topics flamable metals
• Genre sci-fi
• Lithium, often used in portable batteries, keep the fireman busy
  
2. The Illegal Alien Trucker Caught by the Camera Light
• Topics illegal immigration
• Genre drama, sci-fi
• An illegal alien, not on ICE's radar, is so skidish after a friend is grabbed for deportation, that his newly-adopted boneheaded work-behavior — intended to skirt ICE's notice — puts a target on his back for all others to see.
  

Collaborative Work

1. Alien & Three Henchmen (Austin)
   
• Topics aliens, henchmen, homicide
  
• Genre sci-fi, comedy
  
• An outer space alien hides out in a lead mine next to Groom Lake (Area 51) eating takeout pineapple and ham pizza while his henchman carry out assigned assassinations.
  
2. 51 Witnesses (Austin)
• Topics 
  
• Another space alien story in-progress 
3. Black Power Revolution (Austin)
• Topics
• Genre drama, action, sci-fi
• A totalitarian state has arisen where the 2nd amendment is capped so that all guns and smokeless gunpowder are only available from one state sanction store. However, bureaucrats - as they often do - scoff at the free trade of black powder, stating that it is "insignificant."
  
4. Heirloom Strain (ww)
   
• Topics drama, sci-fi
  
• Genre drama, sci-fi
• A young man is gifted a packet of seeds by his grandmother to start his life off-the-grid. With the latest in tech that still requires electricity, he learns the ins and outs.
  
5. The Track (John)
   
• Topics
• Genre action, sci-fi
  
• An urban commuter avails himself of the city provided personal transportation vehicle -- demons & all
  
6. The Unseen Sky (Will)
   
• Topics
• Genre drama, adventure, sci-fi
• A newlywed couple employed as stargazers inhabit a two-story geodesic structure with a geodesic observation done. The building is located on a remote island with a clear view of the unseen sky. It appears to be the dream job to start life with.
  
7. Double Dealer Goes to Court (abc)
   
• Topics
• Genre sci-fi
  
• An announcement goes out that a government AI program that doles out a government benefit (food stamps?) will be shutdown for several days while repairs are made to its core logic. This decision was made after humans discover the program is giving twice the legal benefits to some persons not entitled to such benefits. NGOs file a lawsuit to prevent the shutdown. The tale starts with a Federal Magistrate issuing a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) 2025/blog-023
8.  Three Days to Planetary Satellite Disaster
• Topics
• Genre drama, sci-fi
• (article/Earth would have 3 days to avoid satellite catastrophe from solar storm/by Steph Whiteside)(Journal on 2025-12-21)
  
9. Deadman Hiding (Eddie)
• Topics
• Genre drama, mystery, action, sci-fi
• Fictional story based on the Brown University shooting (Youtube summary/Jesse Watters)
  

Ideas for Stories

• Nike Missile Bases || traces of 256 bases around the world still exist
  
• Super Conductors  || An electric current through a loop of superconducting wire can persist indefinitely with no power source.
  
• Fake Sapphire || the third-hardest mineral, after diamonds and moissanite (also synthetic)
  
• Ring Doorbell Camera || The system is so prevalent I am surprised no one has used it at least as a plot point.
• TITLE: Bodycam Evidence
• TITLE: The Automated License Plate Reader Lies
  
• PRIMA ||  blind people can see thanks new microchip thanks to the trademarked PRIMA (photovoltaic retina implant microarray) implant (qt-maga-8929)