Echoes of Time and Action
This collection presents a series of unfinished tales, not as polished final drafts, but as glimpses into unfolding events. Each piece functions as a moment captured mid-scene, a few critical pages lifted from a more expansive narrative. Readers are invited to consider the missing context, to imagine the preceding events and the subsequent outcomes, becoming an active participant in the story’s completion.
This project stands as an experiment exploring the intersection of human creativity and artificial intelligence. It examines how digital tools can serve as a partner in the writing process, fostering new forms of storytelling and advancing digital literacy. The aim is to showcase technology’s capacity to augment creative endeavors.
Today’s selection moves through Historical Fiction, grapples with Environmental Fiction, offers intimate Slice of Life moments, delivers high-stakes Action-Adventure, and plunges into the shadows of Noir. These diverse worlds are brought to life through the contributions of Leaf Richards and Jamie F. Bell, who lend their unique perspectives to this varied collection.
Step into these narratives and let your imagination take hold. These unfinished tales await your mental completion, transforming partial glimpses into full, personal experiences. Become a co-creator, shaping the destinies of these characters and worlds.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Dive into a diverse collection spanning Historical Fiction, Environmental Fiction, Slice of Life, Action-Adventure, and Noir, complemented by unique Dark Comedy, Comedic Misadventure, Satirical / Ironic, and High Fantasy narratives. Through these short stories, we champion digital literacy and innovative publishing practices, leveraging creative technology to explore the evolving landscape of AI-assisted narrative and the future of digital publishing.
A Goose for Percy
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Dark Comedy | Genre: Historical Fiction
The prairie wind howled its familiar, desolate tune against the snow-drifted panes of Aunt Cathy’s kitchen. Inside, the air hummed with the strained warmth of a wood stove and the sharp, almost metallic scent of a freshly plucked goose. Vicky stood before the vast, white bird, her breath still misting faintly as the last vestiges of outdoor cold clung to her. The scene was set for a Christmas meal, yet the silence felt heavier than usual, laden with the recent, raw absence that no amount of festive bustle could truly displace.
Synthetic Grass and Fraying Edges
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Comedic Misadventure | Genre: Environmental Fiction
A humid summer evening hung heavy over the fairgrounds, pulling the scents of burnt sugar, stale oil, and something indefinably chemical into a cloying, inescapable blend. The air shimmered above the cracked asphalt, a distorted mirror for the neon glow of the Ferris wheel, its grand, circular motion a tired grind against the muggy sky. Even the laughter, thin and sharp, felt dulled, absorbed by the general hum of generators and the distant, tinny music. Dust, fine and red from the temporary pathways, clung to everything, a perpetual film over the plastic prizes and the faces of the milling crowd. Jose, already feeling the subtle ache in his left knee, scanned the scene with a practiced, weary eye, searching for the familiar bob of Annie’s bright, floral hat amidst the synthetic chaos.
The Glazed Imponderable of Highway 16
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Satirical / Ironic | Genre: Slice of Life
The Manitoba summer pressed down, thick and hazy, outside the Trucker’s Respite. Inside, the air conditioning unit, a relic of indeterminate vintage, struggled against the heat, emitting a continuous, low growl that permeated every conversation. Fluorescent tubes hummed overhead, casting a pallid, unwavering light that bleached the colour from the faded plastic booths and the perpetually damp Formica tabletops. The scent of stale coffee, deep-fried remnants, and a faint, cloying sweetness hung in the air, a testament to countless meals consumed by weary travellers.
A Gust of Ill Tidings
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Historical Fiction | Genre: Action-Adventure
The *Sea Wolf* cut a grumbling path through the iron-grey swells of Hudson Bay, the ship’s timbers groaning under the constant buffet of the autumn gales. Salt spray, sharp and cold, coated every surface, freezing to the rigging in thin, glassy sheens. Below deck, the air was thick with the scent of damp wool, stale rum, and the faint, metallic tang of iron. Above, the sky was a bruised canvas, heavy with unfallen snow, and the wind, a relentless bully, howled its grim song through the shrouds.
The Heat Death of the Gilded Lilly
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: High Fantasy | Genre: Noir
Simon and Marie are pinned down on the roof of a high-rise wizard’s tower during a magical heatwave, forced to share a hiding spot while a predator circles above.
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.
