33 writers. 5 designers. 6-word science fiction.
\nWe’ll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) and is said to have called it his best work. I myself have been writing poetry for years and believe that one of my shortest poems is probably my best. Along these lines, Wired Magazine asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves (this was back in 2006 – I wrote a draft of this post then and never got around to publishing it). While Arthur C. Clarke refused to trim his (“God said, ‘Cancel Program GENESIS.’ The universe ceased to exist.”), the rest are concise masterpieces.
\nAfter the jump, feel free to read the rest. I’ll keep you in suspense about my own poem until next week when I post it.
\nFailed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
\n– William Shatner
\nComputer, did we bring batteries? Computer?
\n– Eileen Gunn
\nVacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love.
\n– David Brin
\nGown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
\n– Joss Whedon
\nAutomobile warranty expires. So does engine.
\n– Stan Lee
\nMachine. Unexpectedly, I\u2019d invented a time
\n– Alan Moore
\nLonged for him. Got him. Shit.
\n– Margaret Atwood
\nHis penis snapped off; he\u2019s pregnant!
\n– Rudy Rucker
\nFrom torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nInternet \u201cwakes up?\u201d Ridicu -no carrier.
\n– Charles Stross
\nWith bloody hands, I say good-bye.
\n– Frank Miller
\nWasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please.
\n– Steven Meretzky
\n\u201cCellar?\u201d \u201cGate to, uh \u2026 hell, actually.\u201d
\n– Ronald D. Moore
\nEpitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.
\n– Vernor Vinge
\nIt cost too much, staying human.
\n– Bruce Sterling
\nWe kissed. She melted. Mop please!
\n– James Patrick Kelly
\nIt\u2019s behind you! Hurry before it
\n– Rockne S. O\u2019Bannon
\nI\u2019m your future, child. Don\u2019t cry.
\n– Stephen Baxter
\n1940: Young Hitler! Such a cantor!
\n– Michael Moorcock
\nLie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
\n– Richard Powers
\nI\u2019m dead. I\u2019ve missed you. Kiss \u2026 ?
\n– Neil Gaiman
\nThe baby\u2019s blood type? Human, mostly.
\n– Orson Scott Card
\nKirby had never eaten toes before.
\n– Kevin Smith
\nRained, rained, rained, and never stopped.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nTo save humankind he died again.
\n– Ben Bova
\nWe went solar; sun went nova.
\n– Ken MacLeod
\nHusband, transgenic mistress; wife: \u201cYou cow!\u201d
\n– Paul Di Filippo
\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe she\u2019d shoot me.\u201d
\n– Howard Chaykin
\nDon\u2019t marry her. Buy a house.
\n– Stephen R. Donaldson
\nBroken heart, 45, WLTM disabled man.
\n– Mark Millar
\nTIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! \u2026 nobody there \u2026
\n– Harry Harrison
\nTick tock tick tock tick tick.
\n– Neal Stephenson
\nEasy. Just touch the match to
\n– Ursula K. Le Guin
\nSpecial Web-only edition: We were unable to include these 59 stories in the print magazine.
\nNew genes demand expression — third eye.
\n– Greg Bear
\nK.I.A. Baghdad, Aged 18 – Closed Casket
\n– Richard K. Morgan
\nWORLD’S END. Sic transit gloria Monday.
\n– Gregory Benford
\nEpitaph: He shouldn’t have fed it.
\n– Brian Herbert
\nBatman Sues Batsignal: Demands Trademark Royalties.
\n– Cory Doctorow
\nHeaven falls. Details at eleven.
\n– Robert Jordan
\nBush told the truth. Hell froze.
\n– William Gibson
\nwhorl. Help! I’m caught in a time
\n– Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel
\nNevertheless, he tried a third time.
\n– James P. Blaylock
\nGod to Earth: \u201cCry more, noobs!\u201d
\n– Marc Laidlaw
\nHelp! Trapped in a text adventure!
\n– Marc Laidlaw
\nThought I was right. I wasn’t.
\n– Graeme Gibson
\nLost, then found. Too bad.
\n– Graeme Gibson
\nThree to Iraq. One came back.
\n– Graeme Gibson
\nRapture postponed. Ark demanded! Which one?
\n– David Brin
\nDinosaurs return. Want their oil back.
\n– David Brin
\nBang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot.
\n– David Brin
\nTemporal recursion. I’m dad and mom?
\n– David Brin
\nTime Avenger’s mistaken! It wasn’t me…
\n– David Brin
\nDemocracy postponed. Whence franchise? Ask Diebold…
\n– David Brin
\nCyborg seeks egg donor, object ___.
\n– David Brin
\nDeadline postponed. Five words enough…?
\n– David Brin
\nMetrosexuals notwithstanding, quiche still lacks something.
\n– David Brin
\nBrevity\u2019s virtue? Wired saves adspace. Subscribe!
\n– David Brin
\nDeath postponed. Metastasized cells got organized.
\n– David Brin
\nMicrosoft gave us Word. Fiat lux?
\n– David Brin
\nMind of its own. Damn lawnmower.
\n– David Brin
\nSingularity postponed. Datum missing. Query Godoogle?
\n– David Brin
\nPlease, this is everything, I swear.
\n– Orson Scott Card
\nI saw, darling, but do lie.
\n– Orson Scott Card
\nOsama\u2019s time machine: President Gore concerned.
\n– Charles Stross
\nSum of all fears: AND patented.
\n– Charles Stross
\nShips fire; princess weeps, between stars.
\n– Charles Stross
\nMozilla devastates Redmond, Google\u2019s nuke implicated.
\n– Charles Stross
\nWill this do (lazy writer asked)?
\n– Ken MacLeod
\nCryonics: Disney thawed. Mickey gnawed. Omigawd.
\n– Eileen Gunn
\nWIRED stimulates the planet: Utopia blossoms!
\n– Paul Di Filippo
\nClones demand rights: second Emancipation Proclamation.
\n– Paul Di Filippo
\nMUD avatars rebel: virtual Independence Day.
\n– Paul Di Filippo
\nWe crossed the border; they killed us.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nH-bombs dropped; we all died.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nYour house is mine: soft revolution.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nWarskiing; log; prop in face.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nThe Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nSalinger story: three koans in fountain.
\n– Howard Waldrop
\nFinally, he had no more words.
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nThere were only six words left.
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nIn the beginning was the word.
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nCommas, see, add, like, nada, okay?
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nWeeping, Bush misheard Cheney\u2019s deathbed advice.
\n– Gregory Maguire
\nCorpse parts missing. Doctor buys yacht.
\n– Margaret Atwood
\nStarlet sex scandal. Giant squid involved.
\n– Margaret Atwood
\nHe read his obituary with confusion.
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nTime traveler’s thought: “What’s the password?”
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nI win lottery. Sun goes nova.
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nSteve ignores editor’s word limit and
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nLeia: “Baby’s yours.” Luke: “Bad news\u2026”
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nParallel universe. Bush, destitute, joins army.
\n– Steven Meretzky
\nDorothy: “Fuck it, I’ll stay here.”
\n– Steven Meretzky<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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