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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#134: Look Up

This Friday, the 18th of February, marks the 92nd anniversary of Pluto being discovered — and though it’s no longer considered ‘big enough’ to be an official planet, it will always have a big place in our hearts. With it’s hot-to-cold cycles and snow-capped mountains, this almost-planet almost looks like home. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend it for your next vacation!)

To mark the occasion, this week’s prompts are a love letter to our favorite forgotten planet, and the spirit of discovery in general.

This week's prompts

Your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. They see something unusual — what is it?

Dystopian – 53 stories

Set your story beyond our own world.

Science Fiction – 50 stories

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

Character – 30 stories

End your story with a character looking out on a new horizon.

Narrative – 63 stories

Write from the POV of someone, or something, that experiences gravity differently.

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Stories

“The Absolutely True Story of Gork and Slarb” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #134

Many time cycles in a different notion of our galaxy, Gitfangula was born. Wait, that really is not fair. How could I possibly begin the story of those two that way? In the celestial voids of Marnus and Minuous, there was a plan (oh, yes, that’s much better). In the minds of the elders of those sacred spaces, there was an urgent need to create a place where their thoughts could meander and grow without causing too much of a headache. At first, this idea, like all great ideas, was considered controversial and silly, so no more was said about ...

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“Space Cat Adventures” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #134

My stomach gurgles in the engine room and I have to set down my wrench to address the emptiness. I pat my vest pockets for some semblance of food and I feel flatness. A bag of freeze-dried barracuda strips. Beautiful. Beggars can’t be choosers though. First one out the bag and down my throat launches my body into a uniformed squirm. It’s edible enough. The engine is fixed at last. The hull has seen better days but I’m a room over from the gravity chamber according to the blood-muddled journal of the nameless, long-deceased engi...

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“Negotiations” by L.M. Lydon

Submitted to Contest #134

“When the red planet transits the constellation of Gemini,” the white-bearded old wizard blathered, “there is an increased probability of windstorms. But when the red planet crosses through Leo, you may expect at least a ten-day of warm, dry air. In particularly dry years, such a transit may signal a lasting drought.” My jaws ached with the effort of keeping the yawn clenched behind my teeth. Finally, I surrendered, trying to crack open my mouth as narrowly as possible. Maybe he wouldn’t notice, I thought hopefully. Even if the less...

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“Planet NFW” by David Phillips

Submitted to Contest #134

“Son of a,” I said out loud as I tripped and fell on my face again. I had no idea what was happening on this planet. According to all the readings, this world should have had a similar gravity to earth. The last instrument reading I took before landing my tattered ship showed the g-force would be just ten percent greater than that of my home world. I had experienced much worse conditions and was not worried when I decided to land here for some much-needed repairs. As with all terra landings I was required to recon a boundary around my land...

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“Lunar Apocalypse” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #134

Astronomical enthusiast, Walter Higgins, stood with his son, Jason, on the back deck of their Southern California home one evening peering through his Celestron Power Seeker Telescope. The sound of the waves crashing against the pier had a calming affect on Walter. During the day, the beach was crowded with thousands of people, but at night, it was peaceful. That was the time that he and his family sat outside taking in the cool air and stared at the billions of stars that lit...

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“The Man in The Mirror” by Anna Mayo

Submitted to Contest #134

I looked out across the room. I saw him in the reflection of the mirror as he reappeared next to me. His presence was cold, bare. I whispered; He stared; I spoke. “Please, just hold me. Just hold me and tell me you care. Hold me when the stars come out, and hold me when the sun wakes. Hold me in your arms. Shelter me from the pain. Hide me from the evil doings of those who passed. Please, just keep me safe. I don’t want to lose you. My craving for your love grows with every kiss. I need to be held. Please, just hold me.” “I wish you knew h...

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“Green Door” by Susan Whitlock

Submitted to Contest #134

Adam stared at the keyring handed to him by the estate lawyer, Saul Kroll. He felt empty of thought and emotion until that point, but suddenly had the desire to stab Saul in the eye with the large skeleton key. “Better not,” his mind whispered wisely, “your brothers are watching.” Adam Everclay was the eldest son of Juniper Rollins Everclay – the billionaire investor. His two younger brothers, Troy and David, were each two years apart. His mother, Darlene, was dead. “Well, then,” he croaked, “that seems to be that.” Everyone stood up, excep...

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“Cry The Wolfe” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #134

ALERT: Childish behaviour and Adult profanity… “JÜRGEN! Kommen Sie!”“What is it?”“Quickly! I can’t believe I’m seeing this!”“Seeing what?”“I was focusing on der exoplanet, Proxima B and I spotted a naked woman on der planet walking away from my view!... Ja! You can see her tucus, look!”“Ridiculous!!? Let me see…”Dr. Jürgen Muller, head of the German branch of SETi - Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, nudged his colleague, Instrumentation Engineer Thomas Wolfe, away from the telescope’s eyepiece.“…Are you crazy? There’s no naked ...

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“Blur” by Jaimee Randall

Submitted to Contest #134

This telescope has been in the attic for as long as I can remember. It's tall, taller than me and an old sort of metal, shiny silver. It stands in its own space next to the big window right at the end of the room. Right now, the moonlight spilling in from the massive floor to ceiling window shines right on the telescope and makes it look like there's nothing else in the room. I pad softly across the wooden floorboards towards the telescope, creaky enough to wake my entire family but by now my bare feet know the places to step in order to kee...

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“I Think It Might Rain” by McKayla Hall

Submitted to Contest #134

Twice in her life, she has been told, “I feel like I am walking on eggshells around you.” Coincidentally, both times have been by people she loved and trusted the most. A part of her knew there was a connection between her and being told that, but she couldn’t stop blaming the world. How could it be her fault when she’s the one who suffers the most? People never thought about how she felt. They never thought about how she doesn’t want to feel this way. She has tried to explain how horribly exhausting it was. She has tried a thousand t...

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“Another Sunrise, Different Setting” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #134

WRITER NOTE: This is a retrospective of my main character Terance Tavf through his eyes in Chapter 61 of The Blacksmith's Nephew.I have been traveling with my group of companions for a majority of the week. We're close on saving Princess Ruth; the love of my life. I woke up that seventh morning before everyone else did for I was very much anxious and nervous as to be expected. For not only was I, a humble squire going to save my lovely Princess, but I was also going to see her after an entire week. I got so much to tell her. A lot has happen...

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“New North” by Sam Wilson

Submitted to Contest #134

Gravity separation is the idea that two items can be separated by weight, using gravity as the filtering factor.The idea that a soul weighs twenty-one grams has always seemed a bit foolish to me. However, the soul must have mass, and our souls must weigh the exact same, down to the milligram, because there’s no way I can imagine we would have found each other if not for the gravitational separation. Everyone else had been filtered out from the world, and we went colliding into each other like atoms in a molecule bound for an inseparable chem...

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“Explore Weight” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #134

Auriel plummeted through the layers of ether. Dark colors spiraled behind her. It was the only evidence of her having passed through the thin atmosphere. This atmosphere was not made of air, however. It was of a spiritual substance. The ether was also her home. Looking to her south she noticed Michael struggling to catch his fall. His wings he depended on to keep him aloft in the ether had disappeared, much like hers. Streamers of red and green billowed out behind him. To the east she noticed Raphael blazing a purple and gold trail through t...

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“Merry Spacemen” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #134

The cockpit of the fringers’ freighter rocked violently, as a portion of cargo in its hold shook loose and slammed against the bulkhead. Warning beacons and alarms blinked and panicked across the ship’s dashboard and heads-up displays like the desert lights of old Las Vegas. A shrill klaxon sounded as the vessel’s commander tried to hold her ship on course, but suddenly the bulky transport was outside the Q-space shipping lane and tumbling wildly through the void. If the pilot and co-pilot were not strapped in they would’ve found themselves ...

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“The Ones from the Stars” by Silvia De Matteis

Submitted to Contest #134

The hive lazily groaned awake. And at the same time, It lay down to rest. In truth, It never truly slept; some beings were active during the day while others favoured the night. Fewer were crepuscular, bridging the gap between life in the light and in the dark. Sunrise and sunset were troubling times, with microbes either powering down or coming to. But it was a predictable sort or confusion. Most things were. And it was always day and night, sunrise and sunset, somewhere on the Surface. Nothing like local disturbances, setting regions awake...

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$250

Prize money

223

Contest entries

128

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 25, 2022 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: The Hovering Age

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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