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Crime in a Post Scarcity Society

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What would it be like to live in a post scarcity society? Basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, education, would all be universally met with minimal labor. Would safety be guaranteed? Would there be no crime? I had a dream about it one day that made me think about life in this kind of society in a new way.  I woke up on a couch in a dark room with black walls. There was a kitchen behind me, and I heard a couple talking. They talked about how they stole archaeological artifacts like a knife from Ancient Egypt or a Renaissance painting. The lady talked about how they needed to hide it before others knew they had it. He wished they spent more time in Northern France digging for WWI artifacts. I said that I was also interested in WWI artifacts and the woman became angry.  I noticed she threw her fancy leather jacket with exaggerated shoulder pads into a furnace under a counter in the kitchen. The man showed me his collection of silk ties and scarves in a closet nex...
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Five Questions

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  Does my lead deliver the most newsworthy fact? Have I attributed every claim that isn't common knowledge? Is every name, number, and quote verified? Have I given a fair hearing to every relevant side? Is there anything in this story I'm not sure about? I don't know where this comes from. But it is good advice
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Short Video Slop

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       All of the major social media sites prefer video shorts like TikTok and it is ruining my online experience.  Fun comedy skits and animal videos may dominate but the shorts that go viral are about social issues, usually a copied video posted with the poster's commentary.  The algorithms rewards discussions about airport fight videos or teachers losing it in class. They want everyone to share an opinion on a video clip of a policeman beating a criminal or the close up of a politician's wife to see if she is really a man. Though my favorite websites have devolved into this, I am still not nihilistic about the future of art and expression on the internet.       Twitter used to be my fun place to have discussions and test written ideas but now it has become more like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. They want Jerry Springer like drama and trashy short form videos or endless copies of cute animal clips. This isn't my imagination. On the...
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Roadside Diner - brainstorming

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I had a dream that the USA was attacked in several East Coast cities by nuclear bombs. People in towns outside of the cities still went to work like nothing happened. The dream took place in a roadside diner where workers were talking about leaving. They worried about the threat of radiation, but they also didn't want to miss work. Customers fleeing from the cities ran in looking for a place to rest before they continued, most not knowing where they should go. Some were badly burned.  One family that came in was a man and his family. The army was looking for him. He showed us videos of soldiers badly burned walking into the ocean while their skin fell off. The soldiers felt no pain and were smiling and laughing as their bodies fell apart.  The man wanted to take his family far away from the horror. He was planning to take them to El Salvador. I made plans to leave, and the rest of my coworkers supported me. We had one android worker that I asked to come with my family, but he ...
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Roar, first draft

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One evening as the sun was setting, I heard a sound I couldn't explain. It sounded like a roar, but it had no source. I didn't hear it with my ears; it stirred my soul. I was confused. Then it was over. I felt settled again. I heard the birds singing in the trees and the wind blowing through the leaves.  I didn't hear it again for a week and forgot about it. Maybe it was some kind anxiety attack. Maybe it was hormones. Then as I was rolling out my garbage can, I heard or felt or became one with that roar.  I looked it up online. Neighbors on message boards asked what it was. So, it was real.  A week later, at the same time, I went outside. Most of my neighbors were also outside. The roar started again. One of our elderly lady neighbors collapsed beside her husband. We rushed to help her. Someone called 911. Her husband said they were trumpets warning about the end of time. A week later, I sat on the porch waiting. I read on a message board that people were meeting near th...
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More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon is a Classic

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SPOILERS AHEAD      More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon was published in 1953 and won the 1954 International Fantasy Award and a Retro Hugo in 2004. The novel is an important science fiction classic with ideas about the future evolution of humanity through the use of marginalized characters. Theodore Sturgeon's look into the possible future says more about the current world he lived in.      In America in the mid-20th century, a group  of misfits with secret superpowers slowly find one another. We start by meeting an abusive father who controls his young adult daughters. The daughters aren't allowed to have friends, must dress in 19th century clothes, and can't even get dressed in front of mirrors.  One day when one of the daughters was walking in the fenced gardens behind her home, she met a young lonely man drifting in the woods. This loner cannot speak due to an intellectual disability but never starves because he can secretly read and control...
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A Quiet Morning at the Castle

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The birds begin to sing on a beautiful spring morning in the trees below the castle on top of the hill.   The King is in his courtyard, rubbing his belly. His advisor by his side looking proud. The Queen is in her dark chambers covering a hole in the floor with some dusty tiles. Two knights tiptoe through the hallway as the light of dawn slowly pours into the windows.   The rays of the sun illuminate the face of the king's favorite statue from an ancient empire that leans against the wall to the right. The face is forever frozen in agony; a sacrifice made to an unknown god. His body contorted and covered with wounds.  The two knights tiptoe by softly laughing.  They hear a scream from the chamber to the right. They freeze and look into each other's eyes. They look at the statue's face. Then they run away to the end of the hall and down the stairs. They do not ask for help.  A maid runs out of the chamber, screaming down the hallway, tripping on the anc...
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