Mud Puddles

April showers also bring mud puddles.

Greener

The grass is greener with fertilizer.

Pet Rocks

Pet rocks never pee on rugs.

Space

Space is a very unoriginal name.

Aliens

We abducted the aliens from space.

Lost

He got lost inside Google Maps.

The Poacher

Disarmed, the poacher became the prey.

The Squeaky Wheel

The squeaky wheel often gets replaced.

The Knight

 The knight advanced, the dragon breathed.

Young Mystical Warrior

Growing up bored on a dirt planet harvesting moisture, the young mystical warrior jumped at the chance to go off-world, join a terrorist cell and a cult in the same day, and then proceeded to help murder millions of government workers because they were evil.

The Hermit

The hermit was content with being a no one. He learned that anyone only temporarily becomes a someone when somebody else wants their help becoming something they currently aren’t.

The Rabbi

The Rabbi disappeared before their eyes and they were saddened at exactly the same time as a group of fishermen, light-years away, were greeted by a smiling stranger waving them over.

Inconsequentiality

Inconsequentiality was there to greet him at the dead end of the long road called following his dreams. He closed his overworked laptop, but didn’t unplug it. Even still, blanketed in overwhelming obscurity, a glimmer of hope somehow lingered. Maybe they would read it.

The Last Human

Increasingly paranoid that he was the last human left, the fisherman tied a magnet to a string on the end of a stick. If the metal detector swung forward and stuck, the target was a robot. He stepped onto the busy pier and stumbled, causing the magnet to swing backwards and cling to his chest.

I Am Not A Bot

I am not a bot.

I am not a bot.

I am not a bot.

I am not a bot.

I am not a bot.

To the AI, the human sample’s latest barrage of apparent self-awareness was so eerie it almost seemed like one day it may become self-sufficient and actually walk among them.

Horror

The city had become so littered with discarded robot parts that it looked like an assembly factory exploded and all the pieces landed in the streets. He wondered if droids looked at this with as much horror as he would if it was a foot over here, a torso over there...

Flat Earther

The place was so silent that it became intolerably loud inside his head. In hindsight, opening a store dedicated to the flat earth theory just before they colonized the moon may have been a bad call.

Of Maps and Globes

There was no love lost between the cartographer and the globemaker, with one saying theirs was easier to use, and the other saying theirs was more realistic. It wasn’t until the snow globe maker arrived that both men realized the error of their ways.

The Vaccine

People thought the virus would bring everyone together. A cause to unite and rally against, but that never happened. Instead, the vaccine sparked a Cold Civil War with a Mason-Dixon line drawn via sociopolitical agendas. Each side dug in and the world grew darker.

The Cynic

The cynic always looked at the Bible as either a carrot on the end of a stick or a bull whip - adherents were controlled either way. He called them “sheep” to amuse himself until he came upon a flock of stubborn rams and quickly realized sheep aren’t as docile as he thought.

Art Imitates Science

The painting sprang forth from nonexistence and took the art scene by storm like a masterless samurai roaming the countryside inspiring some, befuddling others. Wars ignited over it. Friendships ended. Families divided. The subject? The Big Bang Theory.

Some Telepathic Something

The plants had a language all their own. Some telepathic something that evolved over centuries. Able to send out warnings to other nearby flora. Like now, for instance. Sentient or no, a guy’s gotta eat. The foragers lit their fire and buttered their pan.

Guns

Guns had been outlawed for years, but it’s not like it was hard to get one. In fact, shuttering a handful of stores in the light gave birth to hundreds in the dark. Competition resulted in price drops so low that pistols were cheaper than drugs. People overdosing on the street due to the weight of the guns they carried took some getting used to.

Ancient Wisdom

Stacks of books dedicated to various deities with the potential to heal all of society's wounds were found in the recently uncovered abbey ruins. Unfortunately, the old monk also knew they had the potential to destroy all of society's progress. The present was not ready for the ancient wisdom of the past.

Timeless

The humanoids were timeless. Not in a sense that they were a perpetual species - they just didn’t like clocks. Keeping track of time was taboo since it rushed the present too quickly into the past.

The Hill People

The Hill People refused to adopt the universal credit, choosing to barter with their neighbors as their ancestors did. So when the merchant refused to give the boy the hypercycle for two heifers, he resorted to something else his ancestors did: cannibalism.

The Robot Servant Guild

The robot servant guild deemed organic persons unnecessary and eradicated them from the village. Days later, without anyone to cater to, the robot servant guild deemed robot servants unnecessary and eradicated themselves from the village.

Raisins in the Sun

The wise men had used telekinesis to build temples for so long that their bodies had atrophied and withered like raisins in the sun. In their hubris, they neglected to hatch an escape plan should the buildings all fall at once and their legs ignore them.

Time Travel

The man spoke of an ancient memory and it quickly became his present. Eyes closed, he reached out and touched the experience. The mind is funny that way. An adventure is revived and happens in real time. This was the elusive secret. This was time travel.

Euphoria

For years the Sherpa had led visitors to the top of the sacred mountain in hopes of experiencing absolute euphoria above the clouds. However, the summit was only the halfway point. The fall was what produced the heavenly rush the people were seeking.

Godly Favor

Godly favor and divine shunning had sparked the war between the settlements centuries ago. Over the years, religion became such a foggy concept that when the two sides finally sat down, they debated why the other needed a deity’s help. Fighting ensued.

The Street Urchin

The street urchin wore as many patches and insignia as he could fit on himself, thinking that the various designations would somehow make him rise above the crowd and into someone's heart. Sadly, the excessive tags only made him disappear into the vast urban sprawl.

The Scientist

His species was dwindling at alarming rates due to the biotoxin exposure, so the scientist ramped up the medical experiments on his brethren to find a cure. Near the end, he didn’t know if it was the attack or his failed tests that sped them towards extinction faster.

The Ice Caverns

The inhabitants of the ice caverns had long since had a coexistence problem with the creature, often losing scouts and resources when trying to expand their territory. Then one day everything changed when a brave young boy simply asked the monster if he’d like to share.

Magi

The two reclusive magi were always at odds. One would threaten a spell or curse only to have the other simultaneously mock them. The perpetual cold war finally proved maddening enough to drive them crazy. Acolytes came to remove the deranged wizard from his mirrored room.

The King of the Tree People

The King of the Tree People kept the origins of his tribe hidden, a secret too dangerous to unveil. They were under the impression the Spirit of the Great Oak willed them into existence. The reality was that he wanted to leave the accounting department and live off the grid.

The Aircabbie

The aircabbie often wished for every inconsiderate motorist to be hurled from the roadway and lost in the abyss of space above. One day a voice asked him to speak his dream aloud and he did, instantly finding himself staring out his window to the planet far below.

Does Not Compute

Joy, anger, and fear had been phased out of their genetic coding through strict emotional purification regimens, resulting in robotic reactions in the children. Tears streamed down the father’s face and his son simply assumed he was broken and in need of repair.

A Smuggler, a Robot, and an Alien...

A smuggler, a robot, and an alien walked into a bar. The patrons thought it was a joke, but the trio was deadly serious. They were vigilant prohibitionists and selling unsanctioned libations was against their code and therefore no laughing matter.

Passive Pilgrims

Passive pilgrims visited the Sage every year when the trees shed icy coverings, revealing their true nature. These seekers wanted his advice on how to be free from their own self-imposed falsehoods in a world gone mad. This was where supervillains were born.

The Caretaker

Merely existing wasn’t enough for the old caretaker. He needed a purpose, a bond, a connection - so he began to seek relationships with the steadily growing collection of broken droids and discarded corpses that found their way to his junkyard home.

Acid Rain

The scientist laughed off the warning that the acid rain would harm him. Simply polluted water! He pushed his way past women and children to get to the storm shelter across the open yard. Halfway there he literally lost his footing, realizing it was more acid than rain.

The Plants

Robots thought they were better than the humans. Humans thought they were better than the animals. Animals thought they were better than the plants. The plants just laughed. When they finally went on strike, the whole system ground to a halt.

Cold-Blooded

The underwater reptilians secretly watched the Frog People whenever they visited the lily pad cluster on the lagoon surface. The Snake People had always hated their amphibious neighbors to the north, so one day they assassinated their leader in cold blood.

The Tracker

The tracker droid’s processors pinged the fugitive’s last known whereabouts via a direct link to the satellite array above. The quarry was close, but it didn’t matter. With thermal optic sensors for eyes, the robot would never see the snowman face to face.

Soulbots

Soulbots brought the shaman’s message to the far-flung corners of the shire. The people were glad to hear about salvation, but questioned why a damned droid was delivering the news.

Mystics and Skeptics

Both mystics and skeptics lived among the charred ruins of the vast book repository. One group always doubted the other, thinking themselves to be the true keepers of timeless wisdom. Amid uncertainty, one couldn’t tell which were the mystics and which were the skeptics.

The Tyrant King

The tyrant king of the Ant-Men could lift one hundred times his weight, easily dispatching any of his subjects who dared challenge his supremacy of the hill. However, away from his realm, he was a crumb of a man who cowered in fear at the sight of the Spider People.

The Spirits

To the skeptical fort Captain inside, the spirits were dangerous obstacles keeping his men uneasy and unready. To the superstitious tribal chief outside, the spirits were dangerous obstacles keeping his men uneasy and unready. They all died in place.