Chapter 5: “The Network's Reach”

Defiance in Silence

Indira’s engines hummed, a steady, almost living presence beneath me in the silence of my quarters. My hands, still trembling from the intensity of the data analysis, rested on the cold metal of my toolbox. Its accustomed weight grounded me—an anchor in the rising current of unease that surged through my chest. The low drone of the cooling fan in the corner felt suddenly too loud, beating like a second, more frantic heart against the silence, a frantic drumbeat of impending decision.

Bianca returns to Chicago for Thanksgiving and finds a few surprises awaiting her.

http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php

“Worth it,” he said.

“I used to wonder, you know? What I would say, if I ever saw her again. And I’d dream that she’d come back, and there’d be some explanation that would make sense of it all. Make it all right.”

Threads of Truth

A Transgender Coming of Age Romance

From the Harmony Aspirant Universe

Chapter 4: Barriers and Boundaries

By Ariel Montine Strickland

How will Kiki and Julian hold up under the attack of Margaret Thornfield from the Historical Preservation Society? Can Kiki and Julian's budding relationship survive her displeasure?

Copyright 2025 by Ariel Montine Strickland.
All Rights Reserved.

The Lucky One: Luck be a Lady Part 2

Last time: Fluke, Sarah, and Yaddie have gone into an alternate reality to deal with a chaos wave. They met a girl named Jean Grey who also was a superhero called the Phoenix. Now, they’re dealing with an alien invasion and the arrival of another Phoenix from yet another alternate reality . . .

The paramedics and police arrived shortly, along with three-quarters of the neighborhood. I stood with Mrs Pratt, who tearfully looked to Hank, once again in handcuff. Mr Pratt was once agin spitting in anger with his rage directed at his son. My dad stepped out of the house along with another officer. He scanned the crowd, saw me, and made a beeline to my position.

“Are you okay, Jeff?”

Historical Changes

Later in high school, I had a chance to choose a 20th-century subject for a paper for history class, and I chose to research and write about the impact of the Change on the clothing industry. This was a way I could incorporate studying the Change in my schooling while maintaining long-term focus on making the ether device. Some of it was predictable given what changed, but it was interesting nonetheless. I’ve included a version of it here, just slightly edited for an Earth audience.

The Recoverer (5).
by
Angharad.

I had been asked to do a talk to a woman's club about my job. I hadn't agreed because I wasn't sure that I had enough anecdotes to keep them entertained. When I'd asked the organiser why she wanted me, she said," Well, we like to see women running their own businesses successfully and I'm told you are successful."

"I'm doing okay, I suppose, but much of my work is boring research or long hours of watching people we suspect. It's like watching paint dry."