Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

“Eianna's Tale” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #274

Eianna spread her hands out into the air, catching the nourishing light. She had many hands, just like her brothers and sisters. And just like them, she sometimes made her hands fall away, once they became too weak and useless. Her species had thrived on this planet for almost four hundred million years. They have reached their utmost evolutionary goal - to grow, take nourishment and reproduce with minimal effort. The unwritten law of biological least resistance states that the most evolved being is one that can grow and nurture itself effor...

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“The Six” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #253

The morning sun shone through the windows at Unusual Appraisers Ltd., illuminating tiny grains of dust drifting in the air. Situated on the eleventh floor with a view of the littered river, the office was small and unassuming. The equipment was the only thing that revealed the seriousness of the issues Unusual Appraisers handled daily—the computers, designer lamps, and audiophile stereo equipment. Reiner, a plump, balding man of sixty, reclined in his opulent, twelve-grand office chair and lost himself in the music.“Fucking Austrians. They’r...

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“The Test” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #240

Klara boarded an early train to Universitat Stadt Bern. She jumped on board and felt a whoosh on her face as the doors closed and the oxygen generators sent a light breeze through the carriage. She made herself comfortable in the soft foam chair and closed the door to her solo cabin. Her phonestick rang. The smart wall detected her phone and displayed the details of the call. She glanced at the date: September ninth, 2393.  “Thank you so much for writing my appeal. I am most grateful,” she said into her phonestick, “I only missed the ma...

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“The Buzzmachine” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #234

“We have all the time in the world,” Frank sank into his fluffy armchair and sighed. He loved his job. All he had to do all day was to sit in a room filled with action figures and memorabilia, with his best friend Burt at his side, drinking coffee and joking around. Only once in a while, an order was delivered. It came in an envelope, and as soon as they received it, they had to type in a special type of code into the buzzmachine. He had been working here for over two years, but if anyone asked him what he did, he'd have trouble explaining i...

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“THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #228

“As the President of the World, there is something you need to be made aware of. I’d like you to prepare yourself. It may come as quite a shock,” the android assistant said. His name was Adrien and he had been the presidential chief aide for the last ninety eight years. “Don’t you worry your pretty rubber head about it,” Jason Stratophalus chuckled in a heavy New York accent, “I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in my day.” Yes, Jason Stratophalus had been around for a while. He was eighty six years old, even though he looked no more th...

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“BIRTHDAY” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #218

The family huddled in the bunker. The smell of mold, damp concrete and old wood tickled their brains, bringing back memories of long summers spent playing hide and seek in this post-nuclear relic. On one side of an old fashioned coffee table sat Alice. She was a fifty-five year old, well-meaning, overweight woman, who sold insurance. She had a cute childish face framed with brown, curly hair. Next to her, on a weathered, old rattan couch, sat John, her husband of forty years. He had just turned sixty. John had a mane of thick salt and pepper...

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“Rick's Adventure On A Class F Planet” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #205

Rick "Collard" was a peddler. He’d peddle anything to anyone anywhere all across the Milky Way. He’s won Io’s independent salesman of the solar system award not once but twice. He had people skills. He’d sell a ball strap to an eunuch. He didn’t care what he peddled, whether it was Belgian tulips, transparent toilet seats or Martian earthworms. He loved bargaining, arguing and most of all he loved making a good profit on things that people didn’t necessarily need, but ended up buying anyway. Rick had just turned forty-two. He was slightly ov...

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“The Button of Origin” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #191

The master wasn’t pleased with me. I wasn’t making much progress, even though I honestly tried my best.“You try too hard,” he said, “your thoughts are the problem.” I gave him a long look. I deeply resented his cryptic communication style. I had to admit it was very Zen though. “I don’t even know what that means,” I sighed, “um, respectfully,” I added, seeing his eyebrows come together. Master Hao gave out a growl and stood up. His brown, oak silk robe rustled and I felt a delicate smell of citrus flowers. He walked to a small table in ...

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“The Cup” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

“Noooooooooo! Not the llama cup!” Ally cried out as the cup shattered on the floor. She froze, looking at the broken pieces with terror, her mouth half open. I looked at her, a little startled. We had lived together in our tiny house in the far suburb of the capital for the last two years. I always thought I knew my soon to be wife, but in small moments like these, I discovered I really didn’t. We both worked at the university. She was an associate professor and I was the head of the IT department. Ally had short brown hair, black rim glasse...

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“Lunnetes Horribles” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #173

The box arrived at eight AM, at the headquarters of “Thonx”, an up-and-coming, indie fashion magazine. The delivery robot placed the box on the floor an patiently waited for Cassie to sign the delivery. Colleen ran past the reception desk squeaking like a little girl.“Oooooooh, I’ve been waiting for this!” she said.“Are these the gowns for the photo shoot?” Laura, her friend yelled from the back of the office.“Uhuh,” Colleen replied and started cutting through the tape with a paper knife.“Careful!” said Cassie. She had to unpack dozens of bo...

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“The Meeting” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #172

Kai set out early in the morning. The cabin had no heating so he jumped out of bed as soon as he felt the cold creeping under the blanket. He went outside to stretch and breathed in. The fresh spring air smelled like frost but warmed quickly in the sun. The cabin sat on a slope facing east. Below was a green valley, dotted with hawthorn shrubs and wild apple trees covered in white flowers. There was some mist below and droplets of dew on the grass. He could see the rays of the sun pierce the mist as it rose up. He took in the view and felt b...

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“The Megaspiracy” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #167

1850 - The OthersThe dawn broke. A ship loomed in the sky. Silent, immobile, impossible. Voices echoed inside the metal hull. “Why are we here?” a young voice asked.“We can’t know. You know that. We never know,” another voice answered in a deep baritone.“Only at the very end?” the young voice asked.“Yes,” The old voice confirmed.“Alright then. When will it be time?”“Soon. Soon,” the old voice said.“I can’t believe this is happening again. Will I forget everything?”“Yes. Everything.”“It seems so frightening. Surely there must be somethin...

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“The Douche Hunt” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #164

„Where I come from, the air is unbreathable,” Jack murmured to himself and took a deep breath. Here, in the countryside, the air was clean, fresh and warm. He was a bald man in his thirties, dressed in black leggings, shorts and a black hoodie. He now jogged down the road like he did every evening on his weekend getaways in the countryside. He adjusted his airpods. The sun started to set and the sky took on a beautiful shade of pink. No human in sight. Behind him, a triangle of lights flew over the evening sky a...

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“The Sweepers - My Pleiadian Wife” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #158

“I’d like to go see it,” I said one Saturday morning, when we were lying in bed.“See what, Mark?” Surya, my wife stretched herself lazily.“The most famous painting in the world… you know.”“You must mean the famousest painting in the world. Please use real words,” she said and smiled.„Why did I marry a Pleiadian?” I said with a heavy sigh. Before 2030, famousest wasn't even a word. Surya giggled and rolled over in the sheets. She kissed me on the neck. Yes, why? I thought to myself. They’re pompous, boring and are alw...

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“The Residue” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #156

THE RESIDUE “Trillionaire – how does that sound, huh?” Samson Heitt said to his assistant. She flicked her long black hair back and sighed. His blubbery butt rested on the edge of her desk. She hated that. “It sounds impossible,” she said. He paid her extra to tell him the truth. When you’re rich nobody tells you the truth anymore. “Nothing is impossible when you’re intelligent,” Samson chuckled. Hannah looked at him. Samson Heitt wasn’t intelligent. He was just greedy enough to use every trick in the book, like all modern monopolists. He wa...

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