Between Reality and the Future
The stories presented here are not complete novels, but rather glimpses into narratives that might have been. They function as unfinished tales, offering a specific window into a character’s life or a critical juncture in a plot without the comfort of a neat conclusion. This format challenges the reader to engage with the text actively, filling in the silence before and after the text with their own interpretations.
At its core, this project functions as an experimental program exploring the convergence of human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It investigates how digital tools can serve as collaborative partners in the writing process. The goal is to shape new methodologies for storytelling and scriptwriting, simultaneously refining digital literacy skills and creative workflows.
This collection spans a diverse spectrum, moving from the quiet introspection of Slice-of-Life to the high-pressure environment of a Techno-Thriller. It also includes elements of Satire and Sci-Fi, questioning the role of technology in our daily existence. Jamie F. Bell authors this set of stories, bringing a sharp focus to both the mundane and the futuristic aspects of the human condition.
You are encouraged to read these fragments and let them spark your own internal narrative. Consider where these characters came from and where they are going, completing the arc that has been left deliberately open-ended.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Exploring the intersection of Slice-of-Life, Techno-Thriller, and Magical Realism, this post examines how distinct narratives like Crime Noir and Boys Love (BL) shape modern storytelling. Our mission focuses on the future of publishing, utilizing creative technology to analyze how AI-assisted narrative influences genres from Satire to Crime Procedural. Through these short stories, we aim to foster greater digital literacy and redefine the reader experience in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
The Grant Proposal as an Act of War
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Coming-of-Age | Genre: Slice-of-Life
The edit suite smelled of stale pizza, nervous sweat, and overheating processors. Three days until the summer showcase and we were deep in the render-cave, that special kind of hell where time warps and the only god is the blue progress bar. I was trying to colour-correct a short film made by a shy fourteen-year-old about his pet lizard, while beside me, Sam was locked in a silent, furious battle with his own timeline. His documentary. The ticking time bomb.
Algorithm in the Reeds
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Magical Realism | Genre: Techno-Thriller
In the recently refurbished community hall, still bearing the faint scars of a past flood, the air is thick with the scent of damp wood and old coffee. A routine board meeting takes an unexpected turn as the director reveals the ‘arts collective’ is, in fact, an intricate AI research initiative, throwing the small, tight-knit group into disarray.
The Crimson Exhale
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Satire
The air, sharp with the bite of a prairie winter, usually carried the scent of woodsmoke and ice. Tonight, it tasted metallic, like copper and distant ozone. A peculiar amber glow, not quite natural for a January evening, pulsed against the grey-blue canvas of the sky. It felt wrong, like watching a movie frame-by-frame, each breath of the wind a stutter in the world’s rhythm.
The Unseen Architects
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Crime Procedural | Genre: Mystery
A crisp autumn breeze, heavy with the scent of damp leaves and distant woodsmoke, snaked through the park, tugging at the scarves of the three teenagers huddled on a worn bench. Overhead, branches of elm and oak, stripped bare or ablaze in fiery reds, scratched at a sky that bled from pale denim to a bruised violet along the horizon. The air hummed with the faint, far-off rumble of Winnipeg traffic, a mundane counterpoint to the intense, hushed conversation unfolding in the fading light.
A Flicker in the Drift
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Crime Noir | Genre: Sci-Fi
The air in the cramped, repurposed server room hung heavy with the scent of ozone and stale coffee, a thin sheen of dust coating every surface. Outside, the early spring rain hammered against the grimy window, a rhythmic counterpoint to the low, anxious hum of overloaded processors. Fluorescent lights, too bright and too yellow, cast an unforgiving glow on the two figures hunched over a tangle of wires and bespoke hardware, their faces taut with a mixture of grim determination and barely concealed dread.
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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