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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#174: Evolution

On November 25th, 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking book, On the Origin of Species. The idea of evolution was controversial; to claim that the world wasn’t unchanging and had not always been the same chafed against human ideals of perfection. But as we well know, nothing in life is truly static.

In the spirit of this anniversary, this week we want to explore evolution and new discoveries; because sometimes change can be terrifying, but it can also be freeing.

This week's prompts

Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”

Dramatic – 59 stories

Write about two old friends meeting for the first time in years.

Adults – 60 stories

Write a story about someone coming to terms with how different they are from their younger self.

Angst – 49 stories

Write about someone whose desire to constantly improve something borders on obsessive.

Dramatic – 25 stories

Write a story about a brilliant scientist making a startling discovery.

Science Fiction – 45 stories

Stories

“"the love that dare not speak its name""” by Robert Radcliff

Submitted to Contest #174

(a different and modern take on a well-known event)*****My phone has begun to ring. It's 2.30 a.m and it has to be my brother Ernest. Following several rings, I answered:"Yes, my brother. What's going on?"Jody, my partner who can sleep through anything, continued snoozing."It's resolved," Ernest declared.What was resolved I asked myself in my head?....I was just waking up, I needed to organize my thoughts."Please wait a moment." Still buying time to gather myself, I then remembered and stated:"Do you mean your so-called time machine?"He...

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“A Boon and a Bane” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #174

My high school friend and I had a great relationship with similar interests in biology. Because we lived on opposite ends of the school district, we didn’t hang out much outside of school, but we did spend the occasional summer weekend at each other’s house—given we could convince a parent to make the drive. We botched many an experiment during that time together. We graduated with honors and were co-valedictorians of our class. We were both influenced by our parents to pursue a medical degree with the goal of becoming surgeons. As you may...

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“Is my world real?” by Jacob Rainey

Submitted to Contest #174

“Just please listen to me. I am not crazy.” A raggedly dressed man spoke. His wrists chained to the middle of the metallic table that sat in front of him. “Maybe what I did in the past was the wrong course of action, but you must understand I was–” “You caused panic amongst many of your beloved listeners. Indoctrinating them of some sort of “Existence beyond ours”. Then you take it further and attempt to begin a riot in the streets of Iota. The city is still cleaning up the damage caused.” The stern voice flowed from a spe...

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“A Regretful Landing” by Edward Lane

Submitted to Contest #174

The end, when it came, happened while he was making coffee. An innocuous act, one he carried out close to a dozen times each day, idly staring at the whiteboard he set up in his kitchen, so as to not miss out on a chance to scribble equations while his refreshment brewed. His phone chimed, forgotten on the counter behind him. Initially, his surprise was that it still held a charge - when was the last time he’d even brought it back to the lab with him? - but that bemused observation quickly shifted when he glanced over the not...

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“Wormholes” by M. Bradley Castellini

Submitted to Contest #174

PART ONE: WORMHOLES AND HAPPY ENDINGS Dr. Zednik (Zed) tinkers frantically, yet masterfully, with his creation before him. He slams on his keyboard in short bursts, measuring, calculating, but never resting. Indecipherable code runs across the many screens in the lab. Zed's eyes leap from screen to screen, triple checking for mistakes in his calibrations. His machine slowly comes to life with bright lights and strange humming sounds. On the other side of the lab, Aaron sits in his Gravchair and watches his older brother erratically...

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“Spoils of War” by Dylan Patrick

Submitted to Contest #174

My body was protected, but my soul absorbed the destruction of a poor Syrian town that served as a stratagem. The nuke we dropped on them was metaphorical, but it was as if I absorbed the radiation of the strike. As if I were struck mad, I couldn’t help but laugh as the world burned around me, as my weapon of destruction was set loose on the unwary. If I still had my mind about me, I’d have dropped to my knees, weeped over the humanity of the carnage carved through the Middle East like I set the fire that set the Hindenburg alight. But I di...

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“HOW MUCH CHANGE IS IN YOUR POCKET?” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #174

Somethings change and some things never change. I thought about this for quite a while and looked back on life's ups and downs. Smirking while going down memory lane was fun, until I pondered and criticized myself. Of course, I found a lot of self-doubt, stupid and dumbing down moments that were not cool. Why? The kids in the middle of the family had the good, the bad and the ugly moments. I was in the middle and more times than not, had to play the nice card. Big sis had the say, all the time, and was a bulldozer from the get-go. Sometimes ...

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“The Change” by Rena Aliston

Submitted to Contest #174

My mother said everything was changing while clutching my hands, squeezing my fingers together. She begged me to go to the cabin and stay there until it was over. Until what’s over? She never replied. Instead, she handed me a picture of her mother. My grandmother was a troubled woman. At least that’s what I heard growing up. She had visions, weird dreams. My earliest memory of her was when I was ten years old. She used to pace up and down the hallway in the middle of the night. A whisper escaped her lips every nine steps. I mentioned it to...

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“The Lucky Ones” by K. M. Jacobs

Submitted to Contest #174

The car shudders in the cold December afternoon, and Tanner drums his fingers against the leather of the steering wheel. The sooner he gets this done with, he tries to reason with himself, the sooner he can leave. And then, the sooner he can get his life together and move on, the sooner he can forget about Holland and his begrudgingly-charmed smile and his warm embrace and– He’s getting off task. Again. This is exactly why he’s been sitting here for twenty minutes and hasn’t managed to unglue himself from the driver’s seat. Step one, he ...

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“The Last Journal Entry ” by Macoy Hampton

Submitted to Contest #174

September 20thEverything is changing. The same as every year, it starts with the colors. Amber splotches grow and spread through the trees and the green fades from the ground cover, leaving a dull gray blanket across the land. Nonetheless, it's always been my favorite part of the year. The whole world seemed to be getting ready to rest its weary head. God knows it needs rest.These days there isn't much to do but sit and ruminate on things, and I've grown quite fond of observing the changes around my small cottage. For years I've watched the ...

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“A Heavenly Meeting” by Karin Nutt

Submitted to Contest #174

It was December 30, 2013. An infamous date to be sure. It was the day he died. As George felt himself released from his 83-year-old body, shriveled almost beyond recognition from atrophy, lack of nutrition and dementia, he felt free. For the first time in nearly four years, he felt like himself, even though he was dead. What an odd sensation but other than feeling freedom, he felt elated. He could think clearly, understand what he was thinking and above all, felt what he loved most in life, that he was in control. It dawned on him th...

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“What's New?” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #174

It’s funny how things constantly change. Even if they don’t seem to… For instance, if you place a teacup on a table, go away for a few hours, then return to see if it had moved, you wouldn’t see any change in location. However, as the world had spun around a certain distance on its axis, while revolving around the sun, which itself is spinning around the Milky way, you could say that it had moved! Sorry about that… My head is spinning at the thought of it, but you get the point, and this concept also applies to people. I had grown up in ...

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“Six Years Ago” by Alex Burgess

Submitted to Contest #174

Trigger Warning: This story discusses themes of sexual violence and physical violence. Val pulled his shirt down and re-adjusted himself in his seat, his back to the window with his eyes on the door of the coffee shop. He was antsy, anxious and all other sorts of feelings that he couldn’t put a finger on at this exact moment. He was waiting for an old friend, Hamm, who he hadn’t seen in at least six years. Last time they spoke, it was due to an obstinate disagreement about the situation they had found themselves in which led them to not sp...

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“Last Night at the Bonfire” by KP Savitt

Submitted to Contest #174

TW: Death, burning Do you remember when we’d lay down by the ocean, sun beating on our backs until we were lobster red and hobbling back inside? When we would drink as many piña coladas as possible, not caring that we were one sip away from the bartender cutting us off? We must’ve been in our twenties. Twenty-three? No, twenty-four. That’s right. It was twenty-four. There was that Friday night when we went down to the bonfire and Steven Long was there. Oh man, did you have a thing for Steven Long. He was that kind of tall, dark, and...

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“Brewing Up a Tale” by Aurora Martin

Submitted to Contest #174

Julian was waiting at a coffee shop, sipping on a decaf latte. Having a scientist for a father had interesting affects on his life, including knowing how caffeine would affect him. He tended to avoid it. He was waiting on his friend Kaleem to show up. The man had been over the moon about another friend visiting from another kingdom. Apparently the two were close enough to be called brothers, despite how they were obviously from different families. Julian sighed as he mentally went through the shock of having his father returned to him after ...

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$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

96

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 02, 2022 EST

Won by Sam Porter 🏆

Title: Playing God

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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