Worlds Converging: The Call of the Unfinished
Presented here is a collection of short stories, each deliberately incomplete. These are not fully realized narratives but rather fragments, moments frozen in time, or excerpts from larger, evolving works. Their very nature encourages readers to engage deeply, to infer missing details, and to imagine the paths they might take.
This project functions as an experimental program exploring the dynamic interplay between human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It demonstrates how digital tools can collaborate in the writing process, fostering new forms of storytelling and enhancing digital literacy skills and workflows.
This collection features the atmospheric depth of Noir Mystery alongside the speculative vision of Sci-Fi, further enriched by Literary Fiction, Contemporary Drama, and Sports Fiction. All stories in this particular selection are by Jamie F. Bell.
We invite you to step into these developing worlds. Your imagination is the crucial element that will complete these tales, transforming them from fragments into whole, resonant experiences.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
All Our Hollow Covenants
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Space Opera | Genre: Noir Mystery
The fog rolled into Halifax harbour like a dirty grey blanket, muffling the world in damp silence. Thomas could taste the salt and diesel on his tongue. He leaned against a rusted piling of the derelict ferry terminal, the wood slick with moisture, and watched the man approach. The man, Chris, moved like a mouse in a hawk’s shadow—all jerky movements and fearful, sideways glances.
A Canvas of Ice and Grime
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Crime Noir | Genre: Literary Fiction
The wind, a cutting thing, swept down Portage Avenue, carrying the scent of exhaust and thawing salt. Every lamppost cast a distorted, elongated shadow that danced over the dirty snow. The city hummed, a low, metallic thrum beneath the howl of the January gale, forcing Cassian deeper into the threadbare wool of his coat, his hands shoved into pockets that felt too thin.
The Weight of Ghostlight
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Grimdark Fantasy | Genre: Contemporary Drama
The flat hummed with the sort of deep, unremarked cold that settled into bones. Outside, a heavy, dull light pressed against the windows, not quite morning, not quite night, just the inescapable grey of a solitary Christmas Day. Audra sat hunched on the worn sofa, a mug of instant coffee steaming forgotten in her hands, the only warmth a faint, metallic taste on her tongue. The small, fake fir in the corner remained unlit, its plastic branches catching the weak ambient light in a sheen that felt more like mockery than cheer.
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.
The Asphalt Debt
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Gritty Realism | Genre: Sports Fiction
The outdoor basketball court, baking under the relentless Winnipeg summer sun, is a crucible of desperation. Sweat drips, sneakers squeak against faded asphalt, and every breath is a ragged gasp. The air crackles with the raw tension of a game teetering on the edge, the distant drone of city traffic a forgotten backdrop to the unfolding drama.
Storytelling and the Arts, Skills Development and Digital Transformation
AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting: Within our research, we’re keenly observing AI’s transformative potential in creative writing across genres like Literary Fiction, Sci-Fi, Sports Fiction, Contemporary Drama, and Noir Mystery. We are particularly interested in AI’s capacity to generate intricate prose for Literary Fiction, develop expansive and imaginative worlds for Sci-Fi, construct dynamic storylines and character arcs for Sports Fiction, craft realistic interpersonal conflicts for Contemporary Drama, and build the atmospheric tension and convoluted plots characteristic of Noir Mystery. This work highlights how AI assists in addressing genre-specific storytelling complexities.
Talent Development and Training: These detailed narrative case studies are central to our understanding of the new proficiencies essential for creative practitioners. We are examining how the integration of AI necessitates a strong foundation in digital literacy, adaptive problem-solving, and skillful management of AI-powered creative tools. This directly informs the development of future-proof training programs for artists and writers, ensuring they are well-equipped for the evolving landscapes of digital publishing and film production.
We’re excited to learn about these new technologies and how they can be applied to expand the boundaries of human storytelling. We encourage you to keep reading, keep imagining, and keep exploring the incredible potential that opens up when creativity meets technology.
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 interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment. It is part of a creative arts and research program by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. This project focuses on two key areas: AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, exploring AI for generating ideas, plot structures, and alternative story arcs; and Talent Development and Training, studying the skills and training needs for creative professionals managing AI and immersive technologies to inform future training curricula. Funding and support were generously provided by the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation, and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) research for northern innovation in Ontario.
About the Author
