The Unexplained and the Everyday
What you see here are incomplete stories, moments of suspense or daily routine that have been isolated from their larger context. These unfinished tales serve as prompts for the imagination, presenting characters facing ghosts, aliens, or simple domestic challenges. The lack of a definitive conclusion allows the reader to project their own fears and hopes onto the narrative.
This collection is part of an experimental program at the intersection of human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It is an exploration of how digital tools can act as a partner in the writing process, shaping new forms of storytelling and scriptwriting and enhancing digital literacy skills and workflows.
The featured genres range from Supernatural Thriller and Sci-Fi to the quieter moments of Slice of Life and Sports Fiction. Authors Jamie F. Bell and Tony Eetak provide the creative direction for this post.
Engage with these pieces as a collaborator. Where the text ends, your imagination should begin, filling in the blanks to complete the picture.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Featuring a dynamic mix of supernatural thrillers, sports fiction, and domestic thrillers, this selection delves into the human condition through slice of life and post-apocalyptic lenses. Whether through comedy or serious literary fiction, we are committed to the future of publishing. Our work harnesses creative technology to promote digital literacy, employing AI-assisted narrative to develop short stories that are as intellectually stimulating as they are entertaining.
The Index of Lost Selves
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Romance | Genre: Supernatural Thriller
The smell was what Denny hated most. Not dust, but something else. The scent of decaying information, of brittle paper and silver halide, the ghosts of a million forgotten headlines. The microfilm room in the basement of the Grand Avenue Library was his purgatory. He hunched over the viewer, the machine’s fan whirring a monotonous dirge as he scrolled through an old newspaper, looking for a past that wasn’t his, but one that held the key to his future.
A Cold Kindling
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Post-Apocalyptic | Genre: Sci-Fi
The air, sharp and clean, clung to the barren landscape, a quiet testament to the world’s enduring indifference. Snow hadn’t fallen yet, but the frost, a thin skin over every surface, heralded winter’s true arrival. Inside a repurposed module, the hum of a salvaged generator fought a losing battle against the encroaching chill, leaving the air heavy with the metallic tang of cold and the faint, sweet scent of decaying leaves trapped beneath the floorboards.
In the Beam
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Literary Fiction | Genre: Domestic Thriller
The humid summer air hung heavy in the main hall of the Serpent River First Nation community centre, carrying the faint, lingering scent of last night’s bingo and the pervasive aroma of lemon disinfectant. Dust motes, forbidden from explicit mention yet undeniably present in the diffuse light, danced with a languid indifference as the very infrastructure of the future arts programme seemed determined to unravel itself. The projector, an obstinate, beige behemoth of forgotten technology, offered only a stuttering, lacklustre rectangle of grey, mocking Devon’s increasingly frantic attempts to bring it to life.
Salvaging the Absurd
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Comedy | Genre: Slice of Life
The air in the rehearsal room hung thick and cold, smelling of stale coffee and damp plaster. Outside, a relentless winter wind rattled the single-paned windows, a bleak counterpoint to the increasingly frantic whispers inside. Fluorescent tubes hummed overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on the worn floorboards and the two figures huddled over a script, their expressions a grim testament to the artistic torture they endured.
A Fine Frost on the Sheet
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Comedy | Genre: Sports Fiction
The smell of stale coffee and damp wood hung heavy in the air, a familiar comfort that couldn’t quite mask the chill seeping from the ice. Outside, the last stubborn leaves of the aspens clung to branches, a final defiant splash of yellow against the encroaching grey of an Ontario autumn. Inside, the rink’s single working fluorescent tube hummed a tired tune, casting a sickly glow over the worn, uneven sheet of ice where my broom met its match.
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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