01 A Private Sorrow, 02 Departure, 03 Loss & Discovery, 04 The Mechanics of Being,
05 Endings, 06 Debriefing, 07 Catastrophe
| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part One, A Private Sorrow, Collected Chapters
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Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 01, A Private Sorrow, Chapters 01 Call 02 Morning 03 Lies 04 Closure 05 Confusion 06 Insight 07 Liminality #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| Chapter One: Call
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Pt. 01, Ch. 01
Kathy answered the phone. “Hello” she said. “I need to see you,” said Jim, in his typical tone; detached. “Café?” “Yes.” #Emergence
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| Chapter Three: Morning
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Pt. 01, Ch. 02
“Coffee,” Jim orders. “Chai;” says Kathy. They sit in the sun, and read. It is busy. Jim weeps, and he won’t say why. #Emergence
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| Chapter Two: Lies
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Pt. 01, Ch. 03
“What’s wrong?” “I can’t say.” “Why?” “You wouldn’t get it…I’m not talking about it.” “I don’t get it.” “I said as much.” #Emergence
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| Chapter Four: Closure | Pt. 01, Ch. 04
Kathy sensed the emptiness inside her friend; a hollow, where normally there was active awareness, and perceptivity. #Emergence
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| Chapter Five: Confusion | Pt. 01, Ch. 05
Now that she was here; Jim was not sure why he asked her to see him. He could not tell her what was going to happen. #Emergence
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| Chapter Six: Insight | Pt. 01, Ch. 06
It was clear that Jim had something to tell. Kathy sensed that it was very bad news; for him, for her, and everyone. #Emergence
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| Chapter Seven: Liminality | Pt. 01, Ch. 07
They sat with one another; speaking little. Jim enjoyed being with Kathy; their thoughts synched. It felt like home. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Two, Departure, Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 02, Departure Chapters 01 Funeral 02 Regrets 03 Doom 04 Cycles I 05 Cycles II 06 Lament 07 Goodbye #Emergence |
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter One: Funeral
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Pt. 02, Ch. 01
Jim hurried from the café; afraid to miss his flight. He did not need much; black suit, a tie. “I’m dead;” he mused. #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Two: Regrets | Pt. 02, Ch. 02
“I never should have seen her.” Jim couldn’t help himself. It was all over; for everyone, and nothing could be done. #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Three: Doom | Pt. 02, Ch. 03
What was about to occur would be a global catastrophe; affecting everything on earth, changing humanity irrevocably. #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Four: Cycles I | Pt. 02, Ch. 04
Earth endured episodic calamity. Storms, floods, earthquakes were minor events compared to the power of the caldera. #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Five: Cycles 2 | Pt. 02, Ch. 05
Seventy thousand years had passed since the last caldera blew; only a few people survived it. This would be greater. #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Six: Lament | Pt. 02, Ch. 06
If civilization had developed further, it would have harnessed the geological power of the caldera; but no disaster! #Emergence
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| Departure; Part Two, Chapter Seven: Goodbye
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Pt. 02, Ch. 07
Jim flipped a switch. The embolism in his doppelganger burst, ending its life. He entered the wormhole. He was home. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Three, Loss and Discovery, Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 03, Loss and Discovery Chapters 01 Watching 02 Connected 03 Portents 04 Unrequited 05 Impression 06 Finding 07 True #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter One: Watching
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Pt. 03, Ch. 01
Jim left. Kathy followed him with her eyes, and when he turned the corner; with her thoughts, which were disturbing. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Two: Connected |
Pt. 03, Ch. 02
Kathy was with him, looking through his eyes as he drove away. While she was connected to him, she felt his despair. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Three: Portents |
Pt. 03, Ch. 03
Jim projected a sense of doom. It lingered as he departed. Kathy was filled with unease; like everything was ending. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Four: Unrequited |
Pt. 03, Ch. 04
Jim left a pen. He always left something. Kathy stared; imagining it with the others, reassembling them in her mind. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Five: Impression |
Pt. 03, Ch. 05
Kathy felt that Jim wanted to tell her something. Like a stone; it pressed on her, the turbulence of despair in him. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Six: Finding |
Pt. 03, Ch. 06
Kathy stayed at her table; sensing a fragility in Jim she never had before. Life as she knew it was about to change. #Emergence
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| Loss & Discovery; Part Three,
Chapter Seven: True
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Pt. 03, Ch. 07
Kathy often felt the “weight of the world on her;” that she was “too sensitive,” never suspecting how real that was. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Four, The Mechanics of Being, Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 04, The Mechanics of Being Chapters 01 Journey 02 Transition 03 Nativity 04 Self 05 Strings 06 Bodies 07 Home #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter One: Journey |
Pt. 04, Ch. 01
A worm hole is not a tunnel in space/time; the passage is a transposition, billions of atoms turning on a pin point. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Two: Transition |
Pt. 04, Ch. 02
A flash of violet fades to white. Jolt, a buzz, the tensing of a seizure, darkness; Jim opened his eye. He was home. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Three: Nativity |
Pt. 04, Ch. 03
Jim was not its name. Designation 92835670100561474; the Observer came to consciousness rapidly in a magnetic field. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Four: Self |
Pt. 04, Ch. 04
Transitioning from human life to mechanical form was not easy. Organic life is thrilling, being in circuitry is not. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Five: Strings |
Pt. 04, Ch. 05
Consciousness is electromagnetic. Its essence exists in many forms; animals, mechanical, or in the collective field. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Six: Bodies |
Pt. 04, Pt. 06
The mechanoid body Jim occupied had the sensory tools of a human, like those of its ancient race; enhanced and more. #Emergence
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| The Mechanics of Being; Part Four,
Chapter Seven: Home
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Pt. 04, Ch. 07
Jim set himself free from the coupling that held him as his consciousness uploaded, and flew out of the docking bay. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Five, Endings; Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 05, Endings Chapters 01 Notice 02 Anonymous 03 Autopsy 04 Family 05 Finding 06 De Ja Vu 07 Memory #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter One: Notice |
Pt. 05, Ch. 01
Kathy knew she would never see Jim again. She knew it before she got the call informing her that his body was found. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Two: Anonymous |
Pt. 05, Ch. 02
Jim did not carry ID. There was nothing on his phone that said who he was; only record of the call he made to Kathy. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Three: Autopsy |
Pt. 05, Ch. 03
The pathologist told her the cause of death; a stroke. An embolism burst in his brain. “Why am I here;” she wondered. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Four: Family |
Pt. 05, Ch. 04
Jim was more mysterious in death, than life. Kathy was fascinated; except suddenly she was responsible for his body. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Five: Finding |
Pt. 05, Ch. 05
It took time, and some detective work. They located Jim’s residence, and a judge gave Kathy access to the apartment. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Six: De Ja Vu |
Pt. 05, Pt. 06
Kathy had never been to Jim’s home, and he had never moved. It was exactly as she had visualized it; scant and bare. #Emergence
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| Endings; Part Five,
Chapter Seven: Memory
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Pt. 05, Ch. 07
Kathy remembered everything, her recall was perfect. Standing in Jim’s home, she knew he had lied about many things. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Six, Debriefing; Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 06, Debriefing Chapters 01 Concealment 02 HomeWorld 03 Screening 04 Secrets 05 Identity 06 Connection 07 Shock #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter One: Concealment |
Pt. 06, Ch. 01
Jim had made the crossing thousands of times, but never carrying a secret. There was no way to know what would come. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Two: HomeWorld |
Pt. 06, Ch. 02
HomeWorld was not home to Jim, nor was it a world in the proper sense. It could seem like either; if he believed it. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Three: Screening |
Pt. 06, Ch. 03
Jim went to the council; sharing his consciousness, memory, and experience, but hiding his plan deep within himself. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Four: Secrets |
Pt. 06, Ch. 04
Secrets were forbidden, but this was a lie. The Continuum hid things, everyone participated. Concealment was an art. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Five: Identity |
Pt. 06, Ch. 05
Since his last mission Earth’s tech had advanced dramatically, Jim used it to alter his mind, and shield his secret. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Six: Connection |
Pt. 06, Pt. 06
The catastrophe struck. Millions died in seconds, and Kathy was connected to all of them. Jim transmitted all of it. #Emergence
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| Debriefing; Part Six,
Chapter Seven: Shock
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Pt. 06, Ch. 07
Jim opened his mind to the Continuum. The pain of Earth streamed through the quantum field, flooding the collective. #Emergence
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| Emergence:
Section One, Jim and Kathy Part Seven, Catastrophe Collected Chapters |
Section 01, Jim and Kathy
Part 07, Catastrophe Chapters 01 Unleashed 02 Channel 03 Volcano 04 Shock 05 Quiet 06 Justification 07 Undone #Emergence #SuperShortFiction #365SciFi
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter One: Unleashed |
Pt. 07, Ch. 01
The explosion shook the world. Kathy felt it from over a thousand miles away, and she felt the fears of those dying. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Two: Channel |
Pt. 07, Ch. 02
Jim felt Earth’s psychic pain through the wormhole connecting him to Kathy; a hit from the other side of the galaxy. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Three: Volcano |
Pt. 07, Ch. 03
The volcano in Yellowstone blew. Most had no idea of the threat. Now the disaster was here, and the world was dying. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Four: Shock |
Pt. 07, Ch. 04
The trillions of persons of the Continuum became silent; all consciousness stilled. Every one felt the psychic pain. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Five: Quiet |
Pt. 07, Ch. 05
Jim was the first to recover from the trauma flowing through the string; connecting them to Kathy. Silence followed. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Six: Justification |
Pt. 07, Pt. 06
The catastrophe could have been avoided; as on many other worlds, but now the Continuum would feel its indifference. #Emergence
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| Catastrophe; Part Seven,
Chapter Seven: Undone
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Pt. 07, Ch. 07
As the Continuum was paralyzed; it was a simple thing for Jim to dismantle the architecture supporting its defenses. #Emergence
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