Fear and the Future
The most effective stories are often the ones that haunt us because they remain unresolved. These unfinished tales operate on that principle, offering setup without safety. They are moments captured mid-scene, designed to evoke a sense of mystery and unease, forcing the imagination to construct the monsters or miracles that lie just out of sight.
This collection is the result of an experimental program blending human creativity with applied artificial intelligence research. It investigates the capacity of digital tools to partner in the writing process, influencing the structure of storytelling and scriptwriting. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of digital literacy in the arts.
Today, the focus shifts to the darker corners of imagination, featuring Horror and Sci-Fi alongside grounded Contemporary Drama. The authors contributing to this unsettling mix are Jamie F. Bell and Tony Eetak. They provide the atmosphere, but the outcome is yours to decide.
We invite you to read these excerpts with the lights on. Engage with the tension they build, and challenge yourself to conceptualize the ending that makes the most sense—or the one that frightens you the most.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
As pioneers in creative technology, we are committed to exploring AI-assisted narrative and setting new standards for digital literacy and publishing. This curated set of short stories navigates the complex intersection of horror, sci-fi, and contemporary drama, touching upon themes of cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic survival. By employing expository styles alongside gripping mystery elements, our work demonstrates how advanced tools can amplify the emotional resonance of contemporary fiction.
Glacial Stain
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Post-Apocalyptic Survival | Genre: Horror
The world had long forgotten the colour of green. Now, it was a study in desaturated greys and bruised whites, an unending expanse of ice and hard-packed snow stretching to a sky the colour of old lead. The air itself felt like a physical weight, cold enough to ache in the bones, carrying with it the scent of frozen earth and distant, unburnt ash. Here, in the forgotten northern reaches, survival was less a fight and more a slow, constant negotiation with the elements, punctuated by sudden, brutal disruptions.
The Crystalline Path
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Sci-Fi
The wind howled a relentless, cutting song through the jagged peaks, whipping ice crystals into Tobin’s face. Below, the chasm yawned, a black maw swallowed by the swirling blizzard. He gritted his teeth, the thin metal of his harness biting into his ribs, the sheer scale of the rock face above mocking their ascent. Every breath burned, a cold fire in his lungs, as the aged grappling line groaned under the dual strain of their bodies and the unyielding grip of winter.
A Simmering Hush
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Cyberpunk | Genre: Contemporary Drama
A crisp, silent Christmas Eve descends upon a quiet residential street, the lamplit snow muffling the usual hum of the city. Inside a modest ground-floor flat, the air hangs heavy with the scent of spices and an unspoken melancholy, a palpable absence echoing in the warmth of the kitchen.
The Cold Trace
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Mystery | Genre: Sci-Fi
The station hummed, a low, mechanical thrum that was more a part of the cold than any sound. Outside, the blizzard howled, a ceaseless, predatory song against the reinforced walls. Inside, the air tasted of burning copper and stale coffee, a metallic tang that never quite left the tongue. This was the world of Station Cerberus, a frozen speck at the edge of the habitable zone, and the only thing colder than the air was the growing dread in the silence between the clicks and whirs of the instruments.
The Bare Branches Remember
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Expository | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The world stands exposed in the early grip of winter, stripped bare of autumn’s vibrant pretence. A young woman walks a familiar path, the biting air and skeletal trees mirroring a quiet internal shedding, leading her to an unexpected, grounding encounter.
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.
About the Author
