Secret Author Stories Contest 2024 Talking Topic

[Mancunian]

14 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

I can promise you I spent more time trying to remember what the *insert explicative* people from earth were called than my argument I presented. How could I have blanked on earthlings? 

I only read Hiding In Plain Sight once, but did they get higher brain function due to technology or evolution?

But since you are going to make me die on this hill, I'm going to soldier on. 

Oxford defines science fiction thusly 

1. fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets. 

I propose, that in the case of Theran's, they had been on Earth a long time, thus it wasn't set in the future so can not be classified as Science Fiction as Oxford defines it. Is there science in Hiding in Plain Sight or is it just evolution? 

My argument for Take Me To Your Leader stills stands, however lopsided it may be. 

 

But I have to ask, what created the portals to another dimension for the pods to hide? What created the technology to unlock enhanced abilities? What created the ability for interstellar flight between two planets as Therans lived on Thera before coming to Earth? And, what about the rest of the advanced technology the Therans use? 

We really need the authors to argue their cases, but in their absence we need an independent judge. Preferably not Theran or Earthling, and not high on caffeine or Oramorph. Are there any Vulcans present? 

[Jason Rimbaud]

6 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

We really need the authors to argue their cases, but in their absence we need an independent judge. Preferably not Theran or Earthling, and not high on caffeine or Oramorph. Are there any Vulcans present? 

Like Vulcans would ever waste their logic on a backward planet like Earth and its inhabitants, Earthen's. 

J

[Bill W]

6 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Like Vulcans would ever waste their logic on a backward planet like Earth and its inhabitants, Earthen's. 

J

I like the term Earther better.  

[kbois]

Omg.. any intelligence out there would bypass our planet in a heartbeat. Who the hell wants to deal with humanity. 

Now, intelligent, talking dogs... sign me up for the next interstellar dog house heading that way. 

@weinerdog are you with me?

[Jason Rimbaud]

6 minutes ago, kbois said:

Omg.. any intelligence out there would bypass our planet in a heartbeat. Who the hell wants to deal with humanity. 

Now, intelligent, talking dogs... sign me up for the next interstellar dog house heading that way. 

@weinerdog are you with me?

I'm sad, now we can't be friends. 

[kbois]

8 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

I'm sad, now we can't be friends. 

Oh god... are you another one of those feline fanatics? 

[CassieQ]

2 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

One could make the argument that it is not a Sci-Fi story at all. Let me present my argument. 

Bryce is young, thrust into a high pressure situation at school. He's highly intelligent, but surrounded by peers who are more emotionally mature. There is a massive amount of stress on him to perform at a much higher level than normal for one so young. He's not eating right, he sleeps in brief naps as he navigates his degree and the trouble of connecting with much older people.

By the time he goes home, for "Christmas break", he's near the breaking point. Then he's thrust into a highly stressful road trip where he has to pull a trailer for the first time in his young life with a car he has never driven before. Our young protagonist is frazzled, his eyes are probably bloodshot, he has gas from eating snacks all day. So it's no wonder he can't sleep after a day spent with his amazingly large family. To try to destress, he goes out to the jetty to find solace.

He restless, the stress of having to buy Christmas presents for such a large family would drive anyone half insane. Trouble sleeping is a symptom of stress. He hears a humming or buzzing noise in his ears, a symptom of rising blood pressure. He starts to feel dizzy, a symptom of lack of oxygen to his brain, he sees a blinding white light, perhaps he had an aneurysm, the last thought he has before he passes out, UFO's and aliens. 

I propose, this is a not a Sci-Fi story at all, but a description of a Near Death Experience. It is a proven fact, that brains do all sorts of things when it's deprived of oxygen. The NDE is played out as an abduction story as Bryce isn't religious so he isn't seeing the usual religious imagery one normally associates with NDE. 

I think my half-hearted and not well thought out scenario proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, including the author who wrote this little Sci-Fi tale, that we can't just accept the narrator's faulty depiction of events that it is indeed aliens. We do not have enough evidence, as no one has ever been able to prove that aliens exist. 

We do however, know that Christmas exists, therefore, when the narrator informs us that it was indeed Christmas, we can accept him at his word. Thus, we can conclude this is indeed a Christmas story that might also be a Sci-Fi one, but until we get more evidence, it must be classified strictly, only, a Christmas story. 

Wow, I think I surprised myself how stupid what I just wrote sounds. But I'm in a silly mood so I'll allow it.

No matter how you classify it, it's an interesting take as a first chapter to what I hope will be a much longer narrative that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is in fact a Sci-Fi story about aliens.

But at this moment, it's only a Christmas story.  Brother's, Sister's, Siblings of GA, I rest my case. 

J (who hopes my argument will spur the author to continue, as I really want to know what happens next)

 

These are the genres and tags posted by the author: 

Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction

Sub-genres: Adventure, Soft Sci-Fi

Argue all you want to, but I'm not the type to tell a writer that I know their story better than they do.  

[weinerdog]

35 minutes ago, kbois said:

Omg.. any intelligence out there would bypass our planet in a heartbeat. Who the hell wants to deal with humanity. 

Now, intelligent, talking dogs... sign me up for the next interstellar dog house heading that way. 

@weinerdog are you with me?

 That's the second time today I got a notification that you mentioned me......What would you talk about if I wasn't around🤔

[Jason Rimbaud]

1 hour ago, kbois said:

Oh god... are you another one of those feline fanatics? 

Nope not at all. I'm not fanatical about anything except Christmas stories. I do not like dogs above cats or cats above dogs. I believe they are on equal footing.

 

[Mrsgnomie]

I think I know who all the authors are for each of these stories. I will be getting that badge.

[Jason Rimbaud]

30 minutes ago, Mrsgnomie said:

I think I know who all the authors are for each of these stories. I will be getting that badge.

Can I cheat off your paper please? Cause I think I only have one, Sparkling Water, @Mikiesboy 

J

[Mrsgnomie]

1 minute ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Can I cheat off your paper please? Cause I think I only have one, Sparkling Water, @Mikiesboy 

J

 

 

Yes. But you can't let @kbois cheat. She's terrible. 

Edited August 5, 2024 by Mrsgnomie

[kbois]

24 minutes ago, Mrsgnomie said:

Yes. But you can't let @kbois cheat. She's terrible. 

Go away... you can't even be bothered to comment on but a couple of these. You haven't a leg to stand on. 

[kbois]

58 minutes ago, Mrsgnomie said:

I think I know who all the authors are for each of these stories. I will be getting that badge.

Overconfident much?

 Badge of shame maybe. 

[kbois]

27 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Can I cheat off your paper please? Cause I think I only have one, Sparkling Water, @Mikiesboy 

J

Don't inflate her ego. She knows diddly-squat. 

[Jason Rimbaud]

1 minute ago, kbois said:

Go away... you can't even be bothered to comment on but a couple of these. You haven't a leg to stand on. 

Okay, now we can be friends for life. You is funny. 

[Mrsgnomie]

3 minutes ago, kbois said:

Go away... you can't even be bothered to comment on but a couple of these. You haven't a leg to stand on. 

 

Sorry, I've been busy writing a full-length story. 

[kbois]

2 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Okay, now we can be friends for life. You is funny. 

I have a PhD in sarcasm. 

[kbois]

Just now, Mrsgnomie said:

Sorry, I've been busy writing a full-length story. 

Heard that line before. 

Won't believe it til I see it. 

[Mrsgnomie]

2 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Okay, now we can be friends for life. You is funny. 

 

Be careful. You don't know what you just invited into your life. 

Trust me.

Run while you can.

 

[Mrsgnomie]

1 minute ago, kbois said:

I have a PhD in sarcasm. 

 

PhD? Who has an inflated ego now?

[W_L]

4 hours ago, Bill W said:

I like the term Earther better.  

I prefer Terrans, like the Terran Empire (twirls evil goatee) 😛   

I think Sci-fi might have been in everyone's minds for some reason. I mean a recent Harvard paper, published in 2024, alluded to the idea that Aliens were possibly "hidden" amongst humans. 

Edited August 5, 2024 by W_L

[Cane23]

6 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

One could make the argument that it is not a Sci-Fi story at all. Let me present my argument. 

Bryce is young, thrust into a high pressure situation at school. He's highly intelligent, but surrounded by peers who are more emotionally mature. There is a massive amount of stress on him to perform at a much higher level than normal for one so young. He's not eating right, he sleeps in brief naps as he navigates his degree and the trouble of connecting with much older people.

By the time he goes home, for "Christmas break", he's near the breaking point. Then he's thrust into a highly stressful road trip where he has to pull a trailer for the first time in his young life with a car he has never driven before. Our young protagonist is frazzled, his eyes are probably bloodshot, he has gas from eating snacks all day. So it's no wonder he can't sleep after a day spent with his amazingly large family. To try to destress, he goes out to the jetty to find solace.

He restless, the stress of having to buy Christmas presents for such a large family would drive anyone half insane. Trouble sleeping is a symptom of stress. He hears a humming or buzzing noise in his ears, a symptom of rising blood pressure. He starts to feel dizzy, a symptom of lack of oxygen to his brain, he sees a blinding white light, perhaps he had an aneurysm, the last thought he has before he passes out, UFO's and aliens. 

I propose, this is a not a Sci-Fi story at all, but a description of a Near Death Experience. It is a proven fact, that brains do all sorts of things when it's deprived of oxygen. The NDE is played out as an abduction story as Bryce isn't religious so he isn't seeing the usual religious imagery one normally associates with NDE. 

I think my half-hearted and not well thought out scenario proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, including the author who wrote this little Sci-Fi tale, that we can't just accept the narrator's faulty depiction of events that it is indeed aliens. We do not have enough evidence, as no one has ever been able to prove that aliens exist. 

We do however, know that Christmas exists, therefore, when the narrator informs us that it was indeed Christmas, we can accept him at his word. Thus, we can conclude this is indeed a Christmas story that might also be a Sci-Fi one, but until we get more evidence, it must be classified strictly, only, a Christmas story. 

Wow, I think I surprised myself how stupid what I just wrote sounds. But I'm in a silly mood so I'll allow it.

No matter how you classify it, it's an interesting take as a first chapter to what I hope will be a much longer narrative that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is in fact a Sci-Fi story about aliens.

But at this moment, it's only a Christmas story.  Brother's, Sister's, Siblings of GA, I rest my case. 

J (who hopes my argument will spur the author to continue, as I really want to know what happens next)

 

According to your theory, Bryce might be in Alltopia?! 🤔

[Cane23]

1 hour ago, Mrsgnomie said:

Sorry, I've been busy writing a full-length story. 

Well, here's my thesis:

IF @kbois = wrote ALL SA stories, AND

IF @kbois = @Mrsgnomie, THAN

@Mrsgnomie = wrote ALL SA stories!

Duh 🤪

[Gary L]

7 hours ago, Lee Wilson said:

So was Die Hard, but it’s hardly considered a Christmas movie.

Suits me fine as my ideal film for holidays! Was once flying London to Miami for Xmas, plane was still in Miami at London take off time 😱 The only “entertainment” in cattle class was Arnold S’s Xmas film.   There was no alternative in those days… unless you were rich 🤑