The Mundane and the Macabre
These short stories offer a window into worlds that are both familiar and unsettling. By presenting these narratives as unfinished tales, we remove the comfort of a tidy conclusion. The reader is left with the tension of the scene, forced to rely on their own imagination to decipher the consequences of the characters’ actions and the nature of their reality.
This collection is an exploration of the synergy between the arts and applied artificial intelligence research. We are testing how digital tools can serve as effective partners in the writing process, aiding in the generation of scripts and stories. The project highlights the evolving landscape of digital literacy and creative production.
Today’s post presents a stark contrast in genres, moving from the quiet observation of Slice of Life to the high-stakes environments of Dystopian fiction and Horror. The authors responsible for these works are Jamie F. Bell and Leaf Richards. Together, they provide a look at the spectrum of human emotion, from tranquility to terror.
We invite you to read these fragments and explore the potential outcomes. Consider what lies in the shadows of these stories and complete the narrative in your own mind.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Exploring the stark contrast between slice of life intimacy and dystopian horror, this collection highlights the versatility of allegorical and magical realism themes. Designed for fans of young adult fiction and Boys Love (BL), our short stories leverage creative technology to redefine the reading experience. We are committed to the future of publishing and digital literacy, employing AI-assisted narrative methods to bring fresh perspectives to science fiction and speculative storytelling.
A Murmur in the Frost
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Allegorical | Genre: Slice of Life
The air in the community hall was thick with the scent of lukewarm coffee and the damp wool of winter coats. Outside, a blizzard had begun its slow, deliberate crawl, pressing against the windows like a curious, heavy spirit. Inside, a round table, scarred with decades of craft projects and bake sales, served as the epicentre for five young adults, their faces illuminated by the flickering fluorescent lights and the stubborn glow of a projector displaying a chaotic spiderweb of ideas.
The Brass Mechanism
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Magical Realism | Genre: Slice of Life
A cluttered, dusty aisle in an old antique shop in Winnipeg, filled with random historical debris.
Unfurling Tarnished Copper
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Young Adult (YA) | Genre: Dystopian
The prairie city, usually stoic under the expansive autumn sky, hummed with a low, electric thrum beneath a veneer of carefully maintained order. Leaves, the colour of tarnished copper and dried blood, skittered across the neatly swept boulevards, driven by a wind that carried the metallic tang of coming snow and the faint, ever-present scent of ozone from the omnipresent atmospheric monitors. It was an afternoon like any other, designed for predictable progression, until a flicker on a public display shifted the meticulously curated civic calm.
A Flicker in the Crystalline Wastes
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Science Fiction | Genre: Horror
The wind howled, a banshee’s shriek through the skeletal remains of what was once a downtown core. Ice, thick and glowing with an internal, unsettling blue, coated everything – concrete towers, skeletal lampposts, the twisted husks of vehicles. It was a cold that bit, a cold that seeped into bones and refused to leave, a perpetual winter since the Scourge had truly taken hold. Every breath was a puff of white, every sound a brittle echo in the crystalline wastes.
A Grating Calculus
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Slice of Life
The asphalt, a dark, bruised ribbon, buckled under the relentless summer sun. Heat waves danced above its surface, distorting the already distant horizon into a liquid smear of ochre and dull green. A lone, aging sedan sat on the shoulder, its front driver-side wheel a deflated mockery of mobility, a flat, sad grin against the backdrop of a vast, indifferent sky. The air, thick with the scent of baked earth and exhaust residue, seemed to press down, stifling any impulse for swift action.
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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