The Weight of History and Law
From the dust of the frontier to the polished wood of a courtroom, these stories set the scene but withhold the verdict. They are unfinished tales, intricate setups that establish time, place, and conflict before abruptly yielding to silence. This format relies on the reader to interpret the clues and anticipate the consequences of the actions described.
This collection acts as an experimental program at the intersection of human creativity and applied artificial intelligence research. It demonstrates how digital tools can act as a partner in the writing process, particularly in establishing genre-specific tone and structure. The project enhances digital literacy skills through the practice of scriptwriting and narrative development.
This selection spans a vast timeline, featuring Historical Fiction, Westerns, and Legal Thrillers, underpinned by Literary Fiction. The authors guiding this journey through time and law are Leaf Richards and Jamie F. Bell. Their words establish the stakes.
We invite you to step into the boots of these characters. Read the testimony and survey the horizon, then use your own judgment to deliver the justice or tragedy that these stories are building toward.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
In an effort to redefine the boundaries of publishing, we utilize creative technology to foster digital literacy and experiment with AI-assisted narrative. This volume of short stories bridges the gap between the past and the fantastic, merging historical fiction and western tropes with steampunk adventures and literary fiction. By incorporating elements of legal thrillers and journalistic realism into slice of life and coming-of-age dramas, we provide a forward-thinking perspective on narrative construction.
Asphalt’s Fevered Pulse
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Journalistic | Genre: Historical Fiction
The Chevrolet Bel Air, a tank of rust and ambition, chewed up the kilometres, its exhaust pipe rattling a rhythm against the endless prairie. Heat shimmered off the asphalt in waves, distorting the horizon into a watery mirage. Inside, the stale air conditioner groaned, barely winning against the August sun beating down on the cracked vinyl seats. The radio crackled, half-tuned to a distant rock station, the tinny guitar solos barely audible over the wind noise. Every surface felt sticky. This was freedom, or at least the sweaty, slightly uncomfortable prelude to it, and it was stretching out, flat and boundless, towards something they couldn’t quite see.
A Nickel for a Parallel
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Fantasy | Genre: Legal Thriller
The oppressive weight of a Winnipeg summer noon pressed down like a hand, the air thick with the scent of hot asphalt and something faintly metallic. Marvin Jessop, a man whose tailored suits had seen more courtrooms than dive bars, adjusted his spectacles, the humid sheen on the glass a minor irritant. He pushed through the glass door of ‘Tommy’s Sundries and Curios’, the jingle of the bell above his head a thin, reedy sound swallowed by the heat. Inside, the cool air promised by the humming, struggling air conditioner was a lie. It was merely less hot, heavy with the cloying sweetness of stale sugar, old newspapers, and something else – something indefinable, like damp dust and the ghost of forgotten ambition.
The Singing of the Brass Colossus
Category: Steampunk Adventures | Genre: Literary Fiction
In the sweltering heat of a late summer afternoon, the airship *Gilded Icarus* sits docked and dormant. The crew has departed, leaving only the Chief Engineer to perform the final shutdown. The silence of the hangar is heavy with the scent of hot metal and finality, until a sound that defies physics shatters the peace.
A Bastion of Pressed Tin
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Coming-of-Age | Genre: Western
The air, sharp enough to cut glass, carried the muffled sound of traffic from three streets over. Here, in the narrow canyon between two brick warehouses, the only noise was the squeak of boots on packed snow and the shallow, steaming breaths of children trying to be invisible. A single string of malfunctioning Christmas lights, stapled to a fire escape, flickered a frantic, festive Morse code onto the ice-crusted brickwork.
The Weight of White
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Slice of Life | Genre: Contemporary Drama
The city awakens beneath a silent, insistent descent of snow. A hush falls, muting the usual urban clamour, drawing the world inwards. Inside, the quiet hum of an old refrigerator is the only sound breaking a young man’s vigil by the window, a steaming mug warming his hands against the chill.
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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