Unfinished Journeys: Love, Futures, and Daily Lives
The unique format of these short stories invites readers into worlds already in motion, or moments on the brink of change. Each piece functions as a window into an unfolding narrative, capturing scenes, dialogue, or internal monologues that hint at broader arcs. They are pages torn from a larger, imagined book, encouraging readers to consider what came before and what might follow, fostering a sense of creative participation.
This project explores the intersection of human insight and artificial intelligence in creative writing. It serves as an experiment in how digital tools can complement the writing process, shaping new avenues for storytelling and fostering enhanced digital literacy among both creators and readers. The aim is to demonstrate a partnership where technology aids in the development of fresh literary forms.
This collection traverses diverse genres, including heartwarming Romance, speculative Sci-Fi, grounded Slice of Life, and thought-provoking Psychological Sci-Fi. These compelling unfinished tales are brought to you by Jamie F. Bell, whose distinctive voice guides us through these varied landscapes.
We invite you to engage with these unfinished tales not merely as an audience, but as a co-creator. Allow your imagination to bridge the gaps, envision the untold beginnings and unseen conclusions, and complete these narratives within your own mind.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Dive into compelling short stories spanning Romance, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, and Psychological Sci-Fi, along with Epistolary, Post-Apocalyptic, Time Travel Paradox, and Domestic Thriller categories. Our project champions digital literacy by exploring AI-assisted narrative, pushing the boundaries of creative technology in modern publishing and shaping the future of digital publishing for readers and writers alike.
The Kiln’s Last Warmth
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Epistolary | Genre: Romance
The heat hit Leo first, a solid, tangible thing. It wasn’t the searing blast of a freshly opened kiln, but the deep, baked-in warmth of twenty years of summer sun on a corrugated iron roof. It smelled of dust, dry clay, and something else—the faint, ghost-like scent of Christine’s apricot shampoo. He hadn’t smelled that in a decade, but his memory supplied it instantly, a phantom limb of the senses. The key felt stiff in the lock, groaning as he turned it, a sound of protest from the building itself.
Splintered Threads
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Post-Apocalyptic | Genre: Sci-Fi
The Conduit’s central atrium, usually a quiet drone of individual Spheres, felt heavy with the new ‘Proximity Protocol’. Jae leant against a cool, exposed conduit pipe, the hum of the air recyclers a familiar thrum against his cheek. Fluorescent panels above cast a sterile, even light over the carefully spaced clusters of ergonomic chairs, each occupied by a person lost in the shimmering world projected from their personal device. The engineered quiet was a paradox, a monument to a world that had forgotten how to simply *be* together.
On Batholiths and Fibre Optics
Category: Slice of Life | Genre: Slice of Life
The team struggles with equipment failure in the freezing autumn air of the Revell site before retreating to their workshop to discover a surprising connection with a university in China.
Parallax Approaches the Asymptote
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Time Travel Paradox | Genre: Psychological Sci-Fi
Sasha found Maxine in the north field, where the grass had been baked a pale straw-yellow by the relentless August sun. She wasn’t wandering, or crying, or doing any of the things Sasha had rehearsed comforting on the walk over. She was sitting, legs folded, in the centre of a vast, intricate pattern of stones. It wasn’t a spiral or a circle, but something that seemed to violate the very ground it rested on, its lines appearing to curve into impossible dimensions. Maxine was perfectly still, a small, calm island in a sea of geometric madness.
The Unstuck Nickel
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Sci-Fi
The bell above the door of the ‘Quik Snax’ hadn’t so much chimed as it had given a weary, metallic sigh. Leo, who was in the middle of a profound study of a grease stain on the counter, didn’t look up. Tuesdays were for the ghosts of the night shift, the people who moved through the world on a different frequency. This one felt different. The air tasted of ozone and burnt sugar, a combination that wasn’t on the store’s usual olfactory menu of stale coffee and industrial floor cleaner.
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 an experimental, creative research project by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners Storytelling clubs. Each chapter is a unique interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment, born from a collaboration between artists and applied AI researchers, designed to explore the boundaries of creative writing, automation, and storytelling. 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.
