Tag: 3 Steps to World Peace

This short story takes place in the world I created for my 2012 Nanowrimo novel, There’s No Place Like Hell. The novel is still unfinished, but this short story uses the main character, Kit, and would take place between the first and second book of this series. I do hope to write Kit’s books someday, but there’s a bigger plot involved that hasn’t completely revealed itself to me yet. I have other projects to finish up before Kit gets her turn, but when the Confabulator Cafe was assigned the “three steps to world peace” prompt, Kit raised her rifle and told me this story needed to be about her. How could I refuse?

Once upon a time, there were three steps to world peace. In the end, only the first one mattered.

Kit checked her weapon for the hundredth time. The damn thing was still jammed, of course. She still carried it for show, although it was useless as far as a projectile weapon. But it was a rifle, so it was useful as a blunt force weapon if nothing else. And it kept her from looking helpless.

She snorted. Nobody would ever mistake her as helpless. Not with the mercenary reputation she had built for herself.

(more…)

“Isn’t that you getting punched in the face by Ron Artest?” Cinco watches a YouTube video of the brawl on his workstation while I try in vain to walk a woman through the technical issues she’s experiencing on our open enrollment system. I mute my call. The woman continues on like I am still listening. I know what she is saying. I’ve dealt with this same call hundreds of times, maybe thousands.

“His name is Metta World Peace, now.” I release the mute. “Ma’am, did you log in with your PIN? Yes, your personal identification number. Okay, I’ll wait while you look for it.” (more…)

I’m Doctor Samuel Tan. You probably recognize me from my numerous interviews, my now-defunct talk show on that awful cable channel, not to mention my picture on the cover of Omni Science magazine’s “10 Scientists to Watch in the New Millennium” issue back in 1999.

I dropped off the public’s radar for a few years, because I’ve been working on a special project.

What I’m doing is intended to bring peace. That’s all I ever wanted—all any of us ever wanted. Building a utopia isn’t easy, not even for me.

As a child, my IQ had been measured beyond genius level—the largest ever recorded. With proper schools and training, my brilliance grew. I graduated with several doctorates, in a variety of sciences, and moved into research.

Fate had given me the mental acuity to solve some of the universe’s most challenging problems, and I met each one head on. I won grants and awards. I felt as if nothing was beyond my grasp. Along the way, I invented a quantum constructor that revolutionized industry by building machines from the atom up. Soon, I had the money and the resources to do anything.

I wanted to do something big. I needed a challenge. Idle hands, as they say.

(more…)

Moira left the front door open and slumped down on the steps to President Carlton’s private residence. He was in Geneva with the others. The Secret Service sequestered his family in a ‘safe place’. Like there was any place anywhere that was safe. The Enemy already controlled half the world.

A warm breeze carried the scent of flowers from the north side of the house. Nothing mattered now. She knew exactly where Carlton and the other leaders of the free world were. Though it would be fruitless, she still wanted to go to them. Her friends in the diplomatic corps would welcome her, she’d be among friends.

It would solve nothing, though.

No use feeling sorry for herself. Just to make sure, she looked at the book Carlton sent her to retrieve. “You’ll know it when you see it,” he said with a sad smile then gave her the combination to the safe. It took ten hours, one flight on Air Force Two, one car from the Secret Service and she opened the safe and found the object of her quest.

Unbelievable. Of course she knew it as soon as she saw it. Its improbable title, 3 Steps To World Peace, astounded her. So simple. It was a slim book with no author. The hard covers were thicker than the paper they bounded. Moira opened it to the first page. She’d already read it inside the house but she felt the need to be sure she hadn’t missed anything.

Snapping the book closed, Moira looked up at the maples. Just turning, the thick leaves hid a couple of jays talking to one another. No crying, she told herself. You don’t know who’s watching. (more…)