Ordinary Lives and Extraordinary Spies
The contrast between the mundane and the fantastic is a fertile ground for storytelling. These unfinished tales juxtapose the quiet observations of Slice of Life with the high-stakes deception of a Spy Thriller. Presented as incomplete fragments, they offer a cross-section of different worlds, inviting the reader to find the common humanity—or the common danger—that threads through them.
This project is an experimental endeavor combining human creativity with applied artificial intelligence research. We are examining how digital tools can function as partners in the writing process, influencing the generation of diverse genres and narrative voices. The aim is to advance digital literacy skills and refine the workflows used in modern scriptwriting and storytelling.
The selection for this post is particularly eclectic. It includes Sci-Fi, Contemporary Fiction, Slice of Life, Boys Love (BL), and Spy Thrillers. We are proud to introduce the works of Jamie F. Bell and Leaf Richards, who navigate these varied genres.
We invite you to explore these tales and bridge the gaps left by the authors. Whether it is a quiet conversation in a coffee shop or a confrontation on a spaceship, the resolution is yours to define. Read these fragments and allow your imagination to finish the story.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Blending sci-fi, spy thriller, and Boys Love (BL) genres, this collection highlights the intersection of traditional creativity and the future of publishing. Our mission involves using creative technology to analyze AI-assisted narrative structures within satirical ironic and psychological thriller categories. By presenting these unique short stories, including slice of life and superhero elements, we hope to advance digital literacy and foster a deeper appreciation for the evolving nature of contemporary fiction.
All the Seconds Are Wrong
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Superhero | Genre: Sci-Fi
Another Tuesday, another flat white. John settled into the worn leather of the armchair, a throne from which he conducted his daily surveillance of the mundane. The air in ‘The Daily Grind’ was thick with the reassuring smell of roasted beans and damp wool coats. Outside, the city of Manchester presented its usual grey, rain-streaked face. But John wasn’t watching the traffic. He was watching the second hand on the large wall clock, and for the third time this morning, it had just stuttered, jumping backwards two full ticks before resuming its placid journey.
The Glare of a Thousand Summers
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Satirical / Ironic | Genre: Slice of Life
The air itself seemed to shimmer, a thick, visible current rising from the asphalt, distorting the horizon into a wavering mirage of nothingness. August, in the forgotten heart of Manitoba, tasted of hot exhaust, stale coffee, and a faint, lingering tang of distant prairie fire. Inside the greasy, echoing cavern of ‘The Junction Stop & Go’, a symphony of humming refrigerators and the clatter of a perpetually struggling ice machine provided the soundtrack to another impossibly long afternoon. Flies, fat and lethargic, orbited the fluorescent lights, occasionally dive-bombing a forgotten smear of ketchup on the laminate countertop. Every surface felt tacky, every breath carried the weight of impending, inevitable boredom, and the distant, almost subliminal thrum of semi-truck tyres on the Trans-Canada Highway was the only reminder that a world, any world, existed beyond this humid, self-contained universe.
The First Unfurling
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The morning light, still thin and cool despite the late spring, spilled over the rolling acreage of the ranch. Dust motes, caught in the weak beams through the barn’s open wide doors, danced a slow, indifferent ballet. The air carried the crisp scent of damp earth, hay, and the distant, metallic tang of rainfall from the night before, a promise of new growth struggling against the stubborn remnants of a long, cold winter.
The Geometry of Anxious Waiting
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Psychological Thriller | Genre: Boys Love (BL)
The checkered blanket is perfectly square with the path. On its surface, a carefully curated ecosystem of a date: a container of slightly-crushed egg mayonnaise sandwiches, two bottles of lukewarm lemonade, and a bag of crisps, already going soft in the humid air. Everything is ready. Everything except the other person.
The Tremor in the Porcelain
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Superhero | Genre: Spy Thriller
The thing about tradecraft, Terry mused as he watched the street, is that it never really leaves you. It’s a cancer of the soul. He sat with his back to the wall, a clear view of the door and the large plate-glass window. The little bell above the door was his early warning system. The window, with its reflection of the room behind him, was his rear-view mirror. ‘The Daily Grind’ was an excellent location: two exits, predictable morning traffic, and coffee strong enough to strip paint. It was, for all intents and purposes, a perfect place to receive a warning.
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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