OCTOBER 2025 SCIENCE FICTION MICROSTORY CONTEST (Comments Only) > Likes and Comments

Theme: A tourist on a new and strange world.
Element: A robot assassin.

Fun story Tom! Very nice! 117 - wink - cough - Master Chief - :)

Thank you, Justin (But, I'm not a Halo fan - I had to look that one up just now. Purely coincidental.)

Tom wrote: "Thank you, Justin (But, I'm not a Halo fan - I had to look that one up just now. Purely coincidental.)"

Copy that. I've been playing HALO since the first game came out. :)

Mines up, though I hope while trimming it from about 1200 words to 750 my story didn't lose some of its effect - lol.

Chris wrote: "Mines up, though I hope while trimming it from about 1200 words to 750 my story didn't lose some of its effect - lol."

It was very entertaining, Chris. Good pace and atmosphere.

Tom wrote: "Chris wrote: "Mines up, though I hope while trimming it from about 1200 words to 750 my story didn't lose some of its effect - lol."

It was very entertaining, Chris. Good pace and atmosphere."

Thanks, Tom. I was worried about that because I trimmed about 40% of it away.

Chris, it was a very clever story! Great idea!

Jack, great story. Loved it.

All very interesting and the alien worlds felt very unique and fantastic.

Nicely done!

The stories are great this month

Now that is a Power Vacuum Greg!

It is so interesting to me where my own stories meander. Sometimes I have a definite idea in mind, where I want to go and what I want to do. With other stories, like the one I just posted, it just kind of unspools as I type. I had no idea where this story was going. At first I thought I'd kill off all the human hotel guests with a virus where only the hero was immune so the assassin robot could find him more easily. Then I thought about the protagonist touring a graveyard of dead robots, left to rust and rot on a massive plain as a memorial to the last war against the machines, only one was not quite as dead as everyone thought. And then I get this story out of left field, or maybe my left brain! LOL!

Justin wrote: "It is so interesting to me where my own stories meander. Sometimes I have a definite idea in mind, where I want to go and what I want to do. With other stories, like the one I just posted, it just ..."

That's how it goes writing these things. It's all about flow.

So happy I was able to find time to put a story together. Awesome to be able to read again, and look forward to checking out each of your stories tomorrow a.m. Good luck to all!

Jot wrote: "So happy I was able to find time to put a story together. Awesome to be able to read again, and look forward to checking out each of your stories tomorrow a.m. Good luck to all!"

Glad to have you back, Jot. Interesting story, or the opening chapter to one. Very intriguing set-up.

Justin wrote: "It is so interesting to me where my own stories meander. Sometimes I have a definite idea in mind, where I want to go and what I want to do. With other stories, like the one I just posted, it just ..."

Interesting choice, Justin. Reminded me a little of James Bond. Good suspense...intrigue cloaked in luxury.

My story was inspired by an item on a shelf in a thrift shop.

Tom wrote: "Justin wrote: "It is so interesting to me where my own stories meander. Sometimes I have a definite idea in mind, where I want to go and what I want to do. With other stories, like the one I just p..."

Thank you Tom!

Justin wrote: "Chris, it was a very clever story! Great idea!

Jack, great story. Loved it.

All very interesting and the alien worlds felt very unique and fantastic.

Nicely done!"

Thanks, Justin!

A touch of speculative fiction based in current events:

https://tomolbert.blogspot.com/