

A Game of CribbageI have been commanded to go to purgatory to retrieve a message from a penitent there. The shortest route to purgatory from here is through hell, but I am afraid to go. The gods are on my side, and Krsna will lead me through the darkness, my heart will follow him, and my devotion will release me.A Game of Cribbage
Passing through hell as quickly as we can, I stop only briefly in limbo to cast my eyes upon the pious unbelievers. Among them is one man of such grace and bearing that I must ask his name. I do not remember it now, I think that I am not meant to know such things, but I do remember that he asked me to bring a message to someone back in th


Yet Another Awkward PauseDramatis Personae Everyman Higgins, an everyman Nobody Jones, a nobody.Yet Another Awkward Pause
Nobody sits in a battered couch, of the sort that can be got for free off the roadside. This is the only set piece. He reads a newspaper.
NOBODY: Hey, listen to this. "Bristol Page passed away at home, the evening of June 27th. She is survived by husband Peter Page and daughters Vellum and Brandy. What a roster, huh?
Everyman enters carrying a coffee cup. He looks at Nobody silently.
NOBODY: You knew her, didn't you?
Everyman nods softly, pauses, and puts down his coffee cup. &n


Q's first riddle"Behind the wall is a space just big enough for one person to hide, and there are bits and pieces scattered throughout. There used to be two plastic dolls there, but only one remains, and without its pair it is worthless. It shows signs of being inhabited, but nobody has been there in years."Q's first riddle
Dr. Peterson had been observing Q for long enough to recognize certain symbols that showed up in her riddles from time to time. The wall probably referred to the institute, though sometimes it referred to a crawl space she played in when she was young. The bits and pieces scattered about were her other riddles, which confirmed that she was t


Another angleA story as it is usually conceived has a message. The message is not always simple, the sort of thing you can sum up in a short sentence, but it's usually there and it's usually either intentional or reflexive. I see this as another angle to the assertion that every story has a conflict. A conflict driven story can end in 3 ways, each of which makes a statement about the nature of the conflict. What that statement is depends on the nature of the conflict. When good triumphs over evil, it is often a statement that good should or does triumph over evil, or that it can. When nature triumphs over man, it usually says quite clearly something aboutAnother angle