Sci Fi

From Rome to Coruscant to Washington
George Lucas never treated Star Wars as mere fantasy. Beneath its lightsabres and starships lies a deeply historical meditation on how political systems decay. At the heart of his saga is a simple and disturbing proposition: republics are not overthrown, they are surrendered. In Lucas’s vision, the transition from freedom to tyranny is not dramatic or sudden but procedural, bureaucratic, applauded, and rationalised in the name of peace. The model for this story is not fictional at all. It is Rome.
By Peter Ayolov20 days ago in Fiction
FAIGHT Cube 3.2 User Testing Guide. Runner-Up in Instructions Included Challenge.
- - - - FAIGHT Cube 3.2 User Testing Guide For Participants of Figulara FAIGHT Cube 3.2 User Testing Only Please return to Figulara Corporation [REDACTED] if found.
By John Dodge20 days ago in Fiction
Nightshift at the Bunker
Author Note: I published this a minute a too late to be submitted for the Instructions Included challenge. Still pretty proud of it, so I figured I'd publish it anyway and maybe continue with this world building.
By Celia Olson20 days ago in Fiction
Welcome to the Teddy Bear Division. Content Warning.
Welcome to the Teddy Bear Division, Since I won’t be there to tell you all of this in person, I’ll state the obvious: this primer introduces general guidelines. No one of any significance will critique you. No one will reprimand any action you take. Only you can decide what is necessary and imperative at any moment, in any situation. As long as you do your job, you will face no real backlash here. You have carte blanche. You are a ghost. In this light: relax, and have fun.
By Philip Canterbury20 days ago in Fiction
Platinum Members
Platinum Plan Members Guide Welcome to our innovative Medical suite here at Twilight Inc. We pride ourselves on our position as the number one provider of stasis berths.
By Angel Whelan20 days ago in Fiction
How To Lose Weight
Step One: No Beer Every time you drink a beer it's like eating seven slices of bread that's a lot of unnecessary carbs Step Two: Portion Control
By Edward Smith20 days ago in Fiction
Sitter Needed!
Good evening! If you’re reading this, I assume you found the key we left under the flowerpot without issue. I must apologise for the circumstances. We wouldn’t usually leave before your arrival - we were pressed for time!
By Sian N. Clutton21 days ago in Fiction
Welcome to the Nightingale Training Program!. Content Warning.
Welcome to the Nightingale Training Program (NTP)! Congratulations on successfully completing the Nightingale Entrance Exam! If you successfully complete the NTP, you will become the grace and glory of Gallia. We wish you success on your journey with us.
By Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA21 days ago in Fiction
Technician Orientation . Runner-Up in Instructions Included Challenge.
TECHNICIAN ORIENTATION OVERVIEW Castle Ceremony Operations Guidelines for New Personnel Welcome to the Ceremony Tech team! Your role represents one of the final human-interface positions in the Transformation system. This distinction is essential to understanding your responsibilities.
By Nicky Frankly21 days ago in Fiction
THE METAMORPHOSIS: 3I/ATLAS DIDN'T JUST SURVIVE THE SUN. IT WOKE UP.
We were told to expect a disintegration. We were told that 3I/ATLAS, the mysterious traveler from the deep void, would likely crack and fade as it faced the inferno of its closest approach to the Sun. That is what comets do. They are fragile things, made of dirty ice and loose gravel, and when you drag them through the solar fire, they usually break apart or exhaust themselves. But 3I/ATLAS is not playing by the rules of our solar system. New data released this morning from the SPHEREx mission has stunned the astrophysical community. Instead of fading, the object has undergone a terrifying transformation. It is no longer the object we saw just a few months ago. It has shed its skin, changed its chemistry, and throttled up its activity to levels that border on the mechanical. The "Water" Explosion The most shocking number in the report is the "water-gas emission." Before it hit the perihelion (its closest point to the Sun), the object was venting a steady stream of vapor. But now? The emission is twenty times brighter. Let that sink in. A natural comet usually loses steam as it flies away from the heat source. 3I/ATLAS has done the opposite. It survived the fire, and now, on the outbound leg, it is pumping out water at a staggering rate of 180 kilograms per second. To the uninitiated, this sounds like melting. But look at the symmetry. The data shows that the water, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) are originating from a "symmetric region centered on the nucleus." This isn't the chaotic outgassing of a heating rock; this is a consistent, high-pressure release. It mimics the signature of a cooling system flushing its heat exchangers after a critical thermal event. The Skin Peel Even more disturbing is what happened to the surface. Before the Sun, 3I/ATLAS looked like an icy body. The spectrum was dominated by water ice. Now? The ice is gone. It has completely disappeared from the spectral signature. It has been replaced by "scattered-light plus thermal-emission from organo-silicaceous dust grains." In plain English: The white camouflage has burned off, revealing a dark, organic, silicon-based hull beneath. The object has effectively changed its colors, shifting from a reflective icy visitor to a low-albedo, dark traveler. The "cyanide (CN) and organic features" are now showing up clearly, suggesting these chemicals were hidden inside the water phase, waiting to be released. The Impossible Brightness Here is where the scientists are scratching their heads. The gas plume around the object is now a hundred times brighter than the nucleus itself. For a natural comet, this creates a mathematical nightmare. To get that much gas and that much brightness, you need a massive amount of surface area reacting to the sunlight. You need dust. Lots of it. But 3I/ATLAS isn't releasing normal dust. The SPHEREx team found no evidence of the fine, powdery dust that usually makes up a comet's tail. Instead, the data implies that the object is surrounded by "large dust grains." And when they say large, they aren't talking about sand. They are talking about boulders.
By Wellova 21 days ago in Fiction
Your New Perfect Boyfriend™
ENKITECH Designing Perfect Humans for Perfect Futures [Alt text: Three 2026 models of the Enkitech Perfect Boyfriend™ (Javier, Isaiah, and Heath) stand in a brightly lit room. Each model appears tall and muscular, is clean shaven, smiling, exposing straight, white teeth. From left to right: Model Javier has golden brown skin, dark brown eyes, jet black, wavy hair that is combed back from his forehead and wears a gray cardigan over a white v-neck t-shirt and black trousers. Javier has one hand tucked into his pocket, and one hand smoothing his hair. Model Isaiah has dark brown skin, green-gray eyes, close-cropped dark brown hair and wears a navy blazer over a partially unbuttoned cream linen shirt tucked into wide-leg trousers. Isaiah tugs at the lapels of his jacket. Model Heath has fair skin, dark blue eyes, reddish-brown hair that is parted and combed to the side and wears a plaid button down shirt tucked into fitted jeans. Heath holds his hands up, fingers touching, in a generally-recognized gesture of gratitude. This image has been ai-enhanced.]
By Kailey Haider21 days ago in Fiction
A Practical Manual for Accountability. Winner in Instructions Included Challenge.
This manual exists because something already went wrong. If you are reading this, it is likely because You caused harm and tried to minimize it.
By Cadma21 days ago in Fiction