Shadows and Sterile Lights: A Collection Unfolds
This collection presents short stories in an uncommon form: incomplete narrative fragments, moments captured mid-scene, or pages torn from a larger book. Each piece offers a glimpse into a world, inviting readers to engage their own imagination to consider what came before and what might follow.
This project is an experimental program at the intersection of human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It explores how digital tools can act as a partner in the writing process, shaping new forms of storytelling, scriptwriting, and enhancing digital literacy skills and workflows.
Today’s selection brings together the stark realities of Neo-Noir and Medical Drama, complemented by Coming-of-Age themes and Contemporary Fiction. Jamie F. Bell is the author featured in this particular selection.
We invite you to explore these tales not just as a reader, but as a co-creator, completing the narratives within your own mind and shaping their ultimate meaning.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
The Rust of Applause
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Gritty Realism | Genre: Neo-Noir
The alley behind ‘The Velvet Coffin’ smelt of stale beer and desperation, a perfume Shiro had become intimately familiar with. Rainwater, iridescent with leaked coolant from the wheezing air-conditioner unit above, collected in the cracked asphalt. Each drop was a tiny explosion in the oppressive quiet between bass thumps bleeding through the fire door. He leaned against the brickwork, the rough texture a familiar anchor, and watched his breath plume in the damp air, a ghost of a ghost.
The Finite Geometry of Leaving
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Swashbuckling Romance | Genre: Coming-of-Age
The letter was folded into a stiff, perfect square in the front pocket of her jeans. Tania could feel its sharp corners pressing against her leg, a constant, physical reminder. University of Manitoba. Faculty of Arts. The words were a spell she’d been chanting for a year. Now, with the pines of home flashing past the window in a hypnotic green blur, the spell was starting to feel like a curse. Her palms were damp, and the half-eaten bag of chips on her lap suddenly seemed like the most disgusting thing on earth.
The Humming Machine
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Fast-Paced / Pulpy | Genre: Medical Drama
The siren’s long, ragged cry tore through the damp, still air of early spring, an abrasive sound that never truly faded, only retreated to the edges of hearing. Inside the emergency department’s trauma bay, the fluorescent lights hummed with an indifferent, sterile glow, casting harsh, unforgiving shadows. Dr. Armedi, his scrubs already feeling heavy and cool against his skin, adjusted his loupes, the familiar metallic tang of iron and disinfectant already prickling at the back of his throat. Another Winnipeg night was bleeding into a grey, hesitant dawn, bringing with it the city’s grim offerings.
A Cadence of Rust and Ochre
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Action-Adventure | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The wind coming down off the Ogilvie Mountains had teeth. Jennifer felt it bite at the exposed skin of her neck as she leaned back on the scissor lift, squinting at the wall. The brick was old, unforgiving, its porous surface drinking the expensive paint and demanding a second coat she hadn’t budgeted for. Below her, the single paved street of Altimack was a study in silence, a collection of boarded-up facades and the occasional plume of woodsmoke betraying the presence of the town’s last dozen inhabitants.
Percussion of Rain Against Bronze
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Psychological Thriller | Genre: Coming-of-Age
The sky broke without warning, a sudden, violent tearing of grey fabric that sent everyone in the park scattering for cover. Now, the world has shrunk to the small circle of relative dryness beneath a large, black umbrella, held aloft by two boys who aren’t speaking. The air is thick with the smell of wet earth and ozone, and the roar of the rain on the taut nylon is the only sound between them.
Storytelling and the Arts, Skills Development and Digital Transformation
AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting: At our arts and technology incubator, we are deeply engaged in exploring AI’s transformative potential in creative development, as evidenced by our work in genres such as Coming-of-Age, Neo-Noir, Medical Drama, and Contemporary Fiction. Our research investigates how AI can assist in crafting authentic emotional journeys for Coming-of-Age narratives, build the intricate atmospheric suspense and moral ambiguity of Neo-Noir, develop realistic medical scenarios and character dilemmas for Medical Dramas, and capture the subtle social observations of Contemporary Fiction. We assess AI’s ability to tackle genre-specific challenges like world-building, dialogue authenticity, and plot complexity, thereby significantly enhancing storytelling and scriptwriting.
Talent Development and Training: A core aspect of our project involves understanding the new competencies required for creative professionals in an AI-augmented era. The creation of these genre-diverse stories serves as a vital case study, illustrating the critical role of digital literacy and proficient management of AI tools in shaping future digital publishing and film production workflows. Through this work, we aim to identify and advocate for the talent development programs necessary to empower artists to effectively collaborate with AI, fostering innovation and ensuring they are well-equipped for the evolving demands of the creative industries.
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
