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Fission

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Short Story

Three days later, the euphoria grew stale.

Three days. That’s all it took to go from amazement and wonder to sheer terror and paranoia. Waking up each day to find that there are two of you does that to a person, I guess.

I wasn’t surprised when ‘it’ happened.

My brain struggled to cope with the reality presented in front of me. One moment, I’m thoughtlessly walking into the bathroom, next I’m confronting a naked stranger gazing into the vanity mirror, holding scissors and a blowdryer, perplexed as I was. Recognition came slowly, due to the fact I knew my face from a reflective surface’s point of view, or from a camera’s perspective. This life-sized version of me seemed off; wrong even.

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The Crusades (Chapter 3)

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Books, History

THE FIRST CRUSADE

Epochs of Modern History: The Crusades

G.W. Cox

1097-1097 A.D.

A.D. 1096, Departure of the first rabble of Crusaders under Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless.

LITTLE more than half the time allowed for the gathering of the crusaders had passed away, when a crowd of some sixty thousand men and women neither caring nor thinking about the means by which their ends could be attained, insisted that the hermit Peter should lead them at once to the holy city. Mere charity may justify the belief that some even amongst these may have been folk of decent lives moved by the earnest conviction that their going to Jerusalem would do some good; that the vast majority looked upon their vow as a license for the commission of any sin, there can be no moral doubt; that they exhibited not a single quality needed for the successful prosecution of their enterprise, is absolutely certain. With a foolhardiness equal to his ignorance, Peter undertook the task, in which he was aided by Walter the Penniless, a man with some pretensions to the soldier-like character. But the utter disorder of this motley host made it impossible for them to journey long together. 

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Space Treaty

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Science

When science fiction attempts to get serious about how to best represent the human colonisation of the solar system, films like Ad Astra (2019) establish free enterprise as the plot devises for the story. With commercial flights to the moon, a Luna base that looks like an airport on Earth, fast food facilities, piracy, and private space laboratories…

No human society is going to get off-Earth and colonise the solar system without a powerful driver propelling it. Scientific curiosity can raise billions of dollars to send robots out there to learn things, but inducement is a far greater and more effective driver known to mankind. I’m not talking about a business proposal that sends humans to Mars for a reality TV program, space-faring humans require more of a legal framework, or better, the lack of one, to get it going.

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Devious16

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Chapter, Novel

11:49

Devious16 wondered why time existed…. if time existed at all.

He attached the power pack to the modified rotary assault rifle. He switched it on, pressed the trigger and the disk above the weapon hissed, spinning at two thousand and a half meters per second. He saw intense yellows and reds swirling across his blurred vision. He saw blues and greens turn to grey.

Fuck this shitsalt.

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Demigod (Part 2 – The Lion of Nemea)

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in History, Mythology

The goddess Hera, determined to destroy Heracles, had unleashed a monstrous lion she had raised and sent to terrorize the hills of Nemea. The offspring of Echidna and Typhon, and the brother of the dragon Ladon, this lion was officially trained and settled on Earth to be a menace to mankind. It had golden fur that was robust and impenetrable by human weapons, and sharper than mortal swords. This lion could destroy any strong armour making it invulnerable to attack and effectively unstoppable, a formidable opponent for anyone who dared to face it.

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Hellscape

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Short Story

First appeared on Wattpad

The sandstorm above had been raging for three days with no end in sight. So intense, the winds toppled vehicles, trucks and all. They eroded away the road leading in and out of the mine, destroying the ramp, even the supertrucks couldn’t scale the man-made canyon.

Workers have become sick. They had fallen weak; their skin had become yellow, not like jaundice, but splotchy yellow pigmentation. According to the doctor, whatever this pestilence was, it wasn’t infectious.

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The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Books, Review

There are many benefits to writing short stories. Writers do it to practice and develop their storytelling style, allowing them to explore singular ideas, concepts and themes. The narratives are easy to control, the outcomes have less room for error, and you can get your story out quickly.

Readers benefit for the same reasons. They’re quick reads with a specific sci-fi message. They are the Tiktok of literature and the best way to experience them is via a short story collection or anthology. These allow the reader to explore an author and get to know their style before they invest time in reading one of their novels.

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The Crusades (Chapter 2)

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Books, History

THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT.

Epochs of Modern History: The CrusadesG.W. Cox

Influence of Roman Imperialism on the Early Popes 

THE pope is the bishop of Rome, and the traditions of the papacy delight in recalling the humble origin of his vast monarchy, at once spiritual and temporal, ecclesiastical and secular. If the poor Galiæan fisherman ever entered the Eternal City, it was as a stranger who had come to be the guide and friend of a small knot of men who saw and hated and wished to keep themselves aloof from the abominable corruption of Roman society.

But if Christianity itself, as we have seen, was, when it had once taken root in the West, modified by the popular feelings and old associations of the converts, the constitution of the church was in like manner insensibly modified by the political forms of the state with which it had at first to wage a terrible conflict.

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Panology of Science Fiction: G

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Books, Panology, Science

Geography

Nothing builds intricate worlds like the attention to detail given to the story’s geography. What makes a setting compelling is the effort that goes into creating elaborate planets that are logical and familiar in terms of geology, history, climate and all that encompasses the geographical nature of the fictional world.

The more variety and complexity a world has, the further it enhances the other elements in the story. Physical environments can affect the plot and character, and determine what social organizations, culture and belief systems populate the place.

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Subordinate

Posted on by Bill Kandiliotis in Short Story

The function room is modest in size, stark and somberly lit. A low hum from the air conditioner can be heard. Douglas sits at a small conference table with his arms crossed. He has a defiant expression on his face as he looks past the table at another man sitting across from him.

“I must have thought I put them there,” he answers.

Wedged in between paperwork and a laptop, Eric is seated opposite Douglas, fiercely staring at him. “I asked you to place the tongs on the food eleven minutes prior.”

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