Story Burst 9
Dear Friends,
Is there a purer joy than that feeling you got on the last day of school? School’s out for the summer! Turns out, it wasn’t just the fifth grade you, it was all your teachers, too. Check in with this week’s episode of the Squeakerinos to read the fine print on summer vacation.
Thinking back to elementary school is a sort of time travel—where did that kid go? If you could drink a potion to go back, would you? What about forward? Wait, have you already taken that drink? This week’s flash story addresses that very issue here in this issue and the accompanying animatic.
And speaking of time travel, what about “Answer Key”? Here’s a quick recap:
Amser Hughes was dosing rats with quantum slurry at the Aroa Research Center. One of the rats disappeared (oops) and when it reappeared, fellow researcher Hal realized it had traveled through time.
Hal wants in on time travel, but when he goes to the director to get clearance for his own study, he’s shut down. Now he’s working off the books, and after his own sketchy research, he’s ready to try the ole quantum slurry on himself. He sneaks into his office one morning and downs a slug of the stuff. Nothing happens. Until…
With love,
SPiNST8 Cate & Steve
Squeakerinos
This week’s flash story:
Elixir
Take a sip. Everything you can see will change. At first you won’t notice—all your friends will look the same, the face in the mirror holds the expression you know so well.
Gradually you drift.
The magic elixir of time morphs you in the stream for its own purposes.
Watch the new Elixir animatic here
Answer Key: Episode 9
It happened again, but faster. This time, a pen sailed from workbench to desk with the precision of a dart. This was followed by a book, another pen, then calipers, faster and faster, back-and-forth across the room until he could no longer identify the objects themselves, just the blur of them passing. The blur became a mist, a fog, a gloaming of indistinct shapes. He watched in fascination as though he were watching a movie. Then the fog lifted, the blur returned to distinct shapes, the shapes became objects, the objects slowed until they wafted to stillness.
Hal had arrived. He took a breath, uncertain if there would be more movement, but nothing changed. The light was the same. He jumped up, tapped his computer, and went to the closet for the gym clothes. The monitor came on as he dressed: he was 5 years in the future.