Shadows and Sharp Edges
There is a distinct tension in reading a story that ends abruptly. This collection presents unfinished tales—narratives halted mid-stride, characters left hanging in the balance of a decision not yet made. These pieces act as provocations rather than conclusions, inviting you to inhabit the spaces where the ink ran dry.
This project represents an experiment in applied artificial intelligence research and interdisciplinary arts. By utilizing digital tools as partners in the writing process, we explore how technology shapes scriptwriting and storytelling workflows, enhancing digital literacy while examining the friction between human intent and algorithmic generation.
Today’s selection traverses the high stakes of Action-Adventure, the cynicism of Noir, and the biting wit of Satire. The authors featured in this installment are Tony Eetak and Jamie F. Bell, who bring distinct voices to these fragments of Psychological Drama and Contemporary Fiction.
We invite you to step into these scenes not merely as an observer, but as a participant. Read what is written, and then imagine the resolution that remains unwritten.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
This collection explores the dynamic intersection of action-adventure and noir, blending satirical military fiction with contemporary psychological drama to create a compelling reading experience. By integrating these diverse themes into our growing archive of short stories, we aim to redefine the landscape of digital literacy and modern publishing. Our project is dedicated to examining the potential of creative technology in crafting complex narratives, offering readers a glimpse into the future of AI-assisted storytelling while maintaining deep roots in traditional journalistic and romantic storytelling styles.
The Scramble for Stone
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Adventure | Genre: Action-Adventure
The city of Winnipeg still slept, wrapped in the cool, grey embrace of an early spring morning. A faint, almost imperceptible blush of rose coloured the eastern sky, hinting at the sun’s reluctant ascent. In a narrow, brick-lined alley, two figures moved with a clandestine grace that belied their years, their breath misting in the crisp air, the air alive with the promise of burgeoning life and a touch of mischief.
The Haze
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Satirical / Ironic | Genre: Noir
The asphalt shimmered under the faint, sickly glow of a busted neon sign, exhaling the day’s accumulated heat back into the already thick, humid air. It was a summer night that felt less like a season and more like a heavy, wet blanket draped over everything. A broken fire hydrant wept a thin stream down the gutter, carrying with it a faint, cloying scent of stale rubbish and something metallic, almost like old blood. Above, a single, tired cicada sawed away at the silence, its song a frayed thread in the oppressive stillness of the back alleys. Simon, leaning against a graffiti-scarred brick wall, felt the grit of it through his thin shirt, the fabric already sticking to his skin.
Where the Bearings Seize
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Military Fiction | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The rain didn’t fall so much as it moved in horizontal sheets, slamming against the control room’s single pane of reinforced glass with the sound of thrown gravel. Inside, the air was a stale cocktail of hot vacuum tubes, damp wool, and the faint, coppery scent of failing electronics. It was a smell Kenny was coming to associate with his new life: the smell of decay held barely at bay.
The Humiliation
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Journalistic | Genre: Satire
The oppressive summer air, thick with the scent of pine and something vaguely chemical, hung heavy over the Arcadian Enclave. Beyond the hand-carved, intricately locked gates that boasted ‘Sanctuary for the Seekers,’ the world outside felt like a fading rumour. Here, a perverse kind of peace reigned, woven from forced smiles and the constant, low thrum of self-congratulatory purpose. Cassidy, perched precariously on a rough-hewn bench in the ‘Communal Harmony Pavilion,’ felt her shirt stick to her back, the polyester chafing against her skin. The humidity was a constant, almost physical presence, pressing down, making every breath a conscious effort. It was a place designed to soothe, yet it humled with an underlying current of frantic energy, a manufactured serenity that felt dangerously close to snapping.
A Collapsed Street
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Romance | Genre: Psychological Drama
The world had become a jagged, broken thing. A sudden, violent tremor had torn through the city, twisting steel and pulverizing concrete into a choking dust. Emmond, pinned by an impossible weight, tasted grit and wet dust, the metallic tang of something burning on his tongue. The air, thick with the smell of wet asphalt, ruptured gas lines, and the sharp, clean scent of static electricity, vibrated with distant, terrified screams. Above him, a sliver of grey spring sky peered through a chaotic jigsaw of fractured buildings, threatening to collapse entirely. Time had ceased to be linear, stretching and snapping like a frayed rope, leaving only the visceral, insistent beat of his own heart.
About the Project
By design, these stories have no beginning and no end. Many stories are fictional, but many others are not. They are snapshots from worlds that never fully exist, inviting you to imagine what comes before and what happens next. We had fun exploring this project, and hope you will too.
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection is part of an experimental, creative arts and research program by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. Each chapter is an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment focused on two key areas: AI-Assisted Scriptwriting, where researchers explore using AI to generate story ideas, plot structures, and alternative story arcs to enhance creative development; and Talent Development and Training, where the project studies the necessary skills for creative professionals to manage AI and immersive technologies in production, helping to inform future training curricula. The project was made possible with funding and support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation research and innovation in Ontario.
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