Laughter in the Shadows
This collection blends the adrenaline of illicit activities with the sharp edge of humor. These unfinished tales are snapshots of heists gone wrong, undercover operations, and social commentary, all cut short to leave the consequences hanging in the balance. As narrative fragments, they rely on the reader to appreciate the setup and the tone without the release of a punchline or a getaway.
Situated at the intersection of human creativity and applied artificial intelligence research, this project explores the potential of digital tools as partners in the writing process. It seeks to define new methods for storytelling and scriptwriting, using technology to expand the creative palette and enhance digital literacy workflows.
Today’s post features a mix of high-energy genres, including Crime Thriller and Espionage / Spy Fiction, juxtaposed with the wit of Satire and Dark Comedy. It also includes grounded elements of Contemporary Fiction to anchor the collection. The authors bringing these diverse tones to life are Jamie F. Bell, Eva Suluk, and Leaf Richards.
We invite you to step into these chaotic scenes and decide how the chips fall. Read these short stories and use your imagination to write the final chapter, completing the narrative arc that these fragments have started.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Featuring a compelling blend of Crime Thriller suspense and the biting wit of Satire and Dark Comedy, these short stories push the boundaries of genre fiction. The collection moves effortlessly between the high stakes of Espionage and Action-Adventure to the intimate tension of Domestic Thriller and Medical Drama. As pioneers in the new landscape of publishing, we prioritize digital literacy and the exploration of creative technology. Through our work with AI-assisted narrative, we aim to bring a fresh perspective to Surreal, Absurdist, and Poetic storytelling.
The Macaw Repeats the Sum
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Crime Thriller
Arthur liked his work. He enjoyed the quiet ritual of it, the methodical transformation of chaos into order. He was a cleaner. A specialist. Tonight’s job was a ‘level three spillage’ in a 24-hour convenience store just off the M4. He entered through the back, the manager having been paid handsomely to close for ’emergency plumbing issues.’ The ‘plumbing issue’ was currently being arranged in neat, black bags in the walk-in freezer. Arthur’s job was to erase the process.
The Absurd Reclamation of Concrete Dreams
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Surreal / Absurdist | Genre: Satire
The air, crisp and biting, carried the scent of wet leaves and the distant, metallic tang of a bus idling too long. It was one of those Winnipeg autumn days where the sky hung like a bruised plum, promising nothing but more grey. Streets, usually bustling, felt hollowed out, punctuated now by the insidious, low thrum emanating from the city’s newest, most baffling installation: the ‘Optimism Orbs.’ These iridescent, basketball-sized spheres pulsed a sickly violet, hovering just above eye-level at various intersections, supposedly to uplift spirits. They mostly just gave people headaches.
The Scoured Banks
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Poetic / Lyrical | Genre: Dark Comedy
The sluggish river, a ribbon of murky green, meandered under a suffocating summer sky. The air, thick with the scent of wet earth and distant urban decay, pressed down on the narrow bank where scattered debris clung to the roots of an ancient willow. Humidity clung like a second skin, promising no relief from the sun’s relentless glare, making every movement a minor act of defiance against the oppressive heat.
A Certain Shade of Crimson
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Medical Drama | Genre: Espionage / Spy Fiction
The city simmered, a vast, indifferent beast humming beneath a relentless summer sky. Air conditioning units rattled their metallic song from every window, a mechanical chorus against the chirp of unseen cicadas. Inside, the cool, artificial quiet of the university halls offered little respite from the oppressive heat, yet it carried its own brand of suffocating calm. Kim, a flicker of northern ice still in his gaze, navigated this unfamiliar landscape of concrete and quiet desperation, his mind a tangle of homesickness and nascent unease.
A Cadence of Rust and Ochre
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Action-Adventure | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The wind coming down off the Ogilvie Mountains had teeth. Jennifer felt it bite at the exposed skin of her neck as she leaned back on the scissor lift, squinting at the wall. The brick was old, unforgiving, its porous surface drinking the expensive paint and demanding a second coat she hadn’t budgeted for. Below her, the single paved street of Altimack was a study in silence, a collection of boarded-up facades and the occasional plume of woodsmoke betraying the presence of the town’s last dozen inhabitants.
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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