Category Archives: Flash fiction

Brain zappers, artists, academics and me.

Events Flash fiction News No Comments

Brain hackers, brain professors, brain artists, the human brain project, a brain curious audience and me.

We were all there for the Virtual Futures Salon about NeuroStimulation.

It was my first ‘gig’ as the Author in Residence and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The venue was a bar in Soho, London and the place was buzzing with conversation, debate and towards the end with electricity being zapped through some willing brains.

My story, written especially for the evening, is set in a call centre of the future and based on the notion that NeuroStimulation has become the everyday way of boosting your brain.

Check out the event and read my story – Everyday Stims – on the Virtual Futures’ website.

Boost the brain with a quick zap. Is this the future of the workplace? #SciFi #FlashFiction Share on X

The driverless car’s dilemma

Flash fiction Short stories No Comments

‘Mummy!’ screamed her five-year old daughter.

She looked up from her iPad. ‘What now?’

‘Look!’

Through the windscreen she saw a group of children crossing the road slowly, sliding around on the ice.

The driverless car wasn’t braking.

She’d forgotten to ask the hire company if this model was programmed to prioritise pedestrians or passengers. It would make a choice – her daughter or the kids playing in the road – but she didn’t know which one.

She could override it by taking control of the steering. But, her driving ability was far inferior to the car’s algorithm. She glanced at the rock face on one side and the cliff edge on the other.

He daughter screamed again, ‘Mummy!’

She grabbed the wheel.

A driverless car has to choose between passengers and pedestrians. Which will it be? #SciFi Share on X

If you liked this you might also like S{t}imulation, Foodflix and Joined At The Chip. The three free stories in the collection, Human Enhancement: Sex, Drugs and Marriage.

photo credit: Highway 101 via photopin (license)

being part of a flash fiction flood…

Flash fiction News No Comments

I love flash fiction – it’s the sort of thing that fills in the cracks of a day and sparks thoughts and ideas to fire off in different directions.

I was really pleased to have a story chosen by FlashFlood who published a new piece every ten minutes for twenty four hours – a true flood.  I’m sure there’s something for everyone among that deluge so why not paddle around and see what you can find.

By the way, there is a connection between the photo and my story…

You can find them here>>