Nature Bites Back
The narratives in this post explore the collision between the natural world and human perception. These unfinished tales blur the lines of reality, presenting scenarios where the environment itself becomes a character or where the laws of physics bend. As fragments, they offer a glimpse into a shifted reality, leaving the reader to navigate the implications of a world that is slightly off-kilter.
This project is an experimental program grounded in the study of human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It serves as an investigation into how digital tools can act as partners in the writing process, aiding in the creation of complex storytelling forms and scriptwriting techniques while fostering digital literacy.
The genres highlighted today include the critical perspective of Satire and the dreamlike quality of Magical Realism. These are paired with the urgent themes of Environmental Thriller and Environmental Fiction, creating a collection that is both topical and surreal. Authors Tony Eetak and Jamie F. Bell are responsible for these evocative and incomplete narratives.
Dive into these ecological and magical fragments with an open mind. We encourage you to read beyond the text provided and imagine the resolution, becoming an active participant in defining the message and the outcome of these stories.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
This anthology highlights the urgent themes of Environmental Thriller and Fiction, enriched by the imaginative possibilities of Magical Realism and Mythological Retelling. Balancing the grit of Hardboiled Noir and Dark Comedy with the emotional connections of Romance and Slice of Life, these short stories represent a bold step in publishing. Our project is dedicated to fostering digital literacy by harnessing the power of creative technology and AI-assisted narrative. By merging Satire with eco-conscious storytelling, we explore how digital innovations can amplify critical narratives for future generations.
The Chakra Harmonizer
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Romance | Genre: Satire
The ‘Zenith Blossom Summer Equinox Gathering’ had promised enlightenment and inner peace. What it delivered, instead, was an overpowering scent of burnt sage and desperation, trapped within a geodesic dome that vibrated with the low thrum of a ‘Chakra Harmonizer.’ Dorothy, already on her third internal sigh of the morning, felt a distinct unease, like an ill-fitting shoe she couldn’t quite kick off. The air, thick with the humid summer heat and the earnest, if misguided, efforts of fellow attendees, pressed in on her, making her silk scarf cling unpleasantly to her neck.
Every Beach Is a Border
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Dark Comedy | Genre: Magical Realism
The tide was on its way out, leaving the beach a mess of kelp and glistening stones. The late August sky over the Moray Firth was the colour of slate, and a hard wind whipped in from the sea, carrying the scent of salt and cold distances. It was a day for walking with your head down, shoulders hunched, and your thoughts turned inward.
Alluvium and the Algorithm
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Hardboiled Noir | Genre: Environmental Thriller
The cabin smelled of woodsmoke, damp wool, and the bitter tang of chicory coffee. Rain hammered a relentless rhythm on the corrugated iron roof, a sound that had been the backdrop to Peter MacLeod’s life for the past seven years. On his kitchen table, weighed down by mugs and a heavy glass ashtray, were the geological survey maps he’d stolen when he left the Commission—crisp, intricate documents from another lifetime. They were the only scripture he had left, a testament to a time when truth was measured in bedrock, not bandwidth.
A Speck of Absurdity on Main Street
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Slice of Life | Genre: Thriller
The wind carried the scent of damp leaves and impending snow, a familiar late-autumn perfume in Winnipeg. Andrew, a man whose wrinkles seemed less from age and more from years of relentless scrutiny, pulled his woolen scarf tighter. The neon glow of Portage Avenue bled into the historical brickwork of the Exchange District, painting the wet pavement in streaky, artificial colours. His boots crunched on fallen ash leaves, a comforting, solitary rhythm that had defined his evenings since Eleanor passed, five years prior.
The Root’s Deep Breath
Category: Mythological Retelling | Genre: Environmental Fiction
A struggling artist, deep in a dense, temperamental forest, stumbles upon a clearing revealing an ancient, colossal tree that reignites her creative spirit and instills a powerful sense of environmental stewardship.
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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