An amorphous blob gestates in a furnace and is ejected at an inhuman temperature. It glows orange in its wooden crib. The ovum cools and turns red, before taking on its ultimate, translucent nature and revealing its iridescent innards. What is the creature that lives inside this curious blob of molten intrigue? It’s an egg … Continue reading Marble
Humans haven’t changed too much since they’ve been around. We’re a little taller than we were a thousand years ago, but we’re a little shorter than we were ten-thousand years ago (1). We might be a little scrawnier than our ancestors, but we’re a little better at running marathons (2). And one might argue that … Continue reading Ancient Humans
You’ve seen tablets, smartphones, books that read themselves and action figures that do your maths homework. There are glow-in-the-dark dolls, web-slinging wrist-canisters, illuminated basketballs and talking frisbees. You’ve seen them on the shelves of stores, and in the catalogues that fill your mailbox every weekend. They’re advertised on TV during the kids’ programs, and they … Continue reading The Toy Train
The robots are moving in to take away all the repetitive jobs: filing paperwork, sweeping streets, driving trains, mowing lawns, bagging groceries... they’ll dominate the world without us even noticing. Now that they’re able to perform maintenance on themselves, they’ve become totally self-sufficient. Say goodbye to your local apple farmer. There’s a robot that can … Continue reading The Robots
We stick together - me and my buddies. If we didn’t, they’d call us “fried rices,” not “fried rice." There was once one among us though, who went against the grain. Can you imagine eating us with chopsticks if you had to pick us up one by one? Well, the one of us who had … Continue reading The Grain of Rice
Franklin Xavier-Moore pulls out his rip-stop nylon compression sack and unbuckles the polyethylene clips. He tugs and out pop the carbon fibre tent poles and 5000mm polyurethane coated inner-tent. The polyester tent fly is stuck in the stuff sack with the titanium pegs and Kevlar guy wires. A shake of the stuff sack liberates them … Continue reading Top of the Line
Looking over Florence with the sun on your back is amazing. The breeze in your hair makes you feel alive. A little imagination makes the experience so much more enjoyable. You’ve heard all the hype about seeing this part of the world, and the hype is justified. You don’t feel the need to take a … Continue reading Reality
My girlfriend is building a wall. She’s taking her time, and adding each course of bricks very slowly, but one day the wall will be complete and impenetrable. She’s doing a good job of it too. I get home from work one day and I’m tired. She sees this and pounces. “When are you going … Continue reading The Wall
I wait out the front of my Venetian hotel for a water taxi. I have most of my belongings in a small suitcase and a camera hanging around my neck. Suddenly a beautiful, tanned Italian girl approaches. Her English is perfect. “Would you like me to take your photo?” “Oh... Uh, no don’t worry, that’s … Continue reading Venezia
The cuckoo sings in the trees outside and the glint of the morning sun catches the silver picture frame on the dressing table. Lorenzo blows a kiss to the photo of his wife before rising for the day’s chores. Nothing has changed for the last six months. Lorenzo has always wanted to follow a daily … Continue reading Lorenzo’s Loneliness
Tandi Tales 