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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 Hippocampus” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #174

           When I was just beginning medical school, and I heard the term ‘hippocampus’ for the very first time, I joked with the guy beside me in the class, both of us feeling safe from scowls sitting at the back. I said, ‘The hippo campus must be a place at the university where people of exceptionally large size like to hang out and float in a very big pool naked.’ We both laughed, but then our very serious teacher gave us a stern stare that silenced the two of us for the res...

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“Evolution” by Johanna Parry

Submitted to Contest #174

Have you ever noticed that right there, embedded in the word evolution, are our human operating instructions? Those first four letters are the clue. Flip them around and you have the word love. Follow the word further, and from love, you also have volution. I love word-play. I love that volution means literally to be compelled forward. My dictionary calls it “a rolling or revolving motion.” If we are true to the instructions of the word evolution, we then have to admit that the word itself literally means love compelled forward, or love go...

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“Benny” by Yameena D

Submitted to Contest #174

I patiently wait beneath the tree where we met for the first time nearly a decade ago. It is a maple tree, tall and majestic. It is the season of autumn, so the foliage is a rich red, like a deep red sunset.  This tree is in a quiet clearing at my favorite park. There is a small pond on the other side of the trail. The trail goes around the lake and then leads further into the woods. Occasionally, I see dog walkers and determined joggers rush past me. But not many. Not enough to ruin the peacefulness of this picturesque park.It’s t...

2 comments 2
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“The Void Between the Living and the Dead” by Hilary R. Glick

Submitted to Contest #174

I float in the void between the living and the dead. Between memories and actuality, with no identifiable time, space or purpose.It’s cold, I think, but I cannot feel the shivers as they run up my spine. It’s quiet, I think, deafening maybe, but I don’t hear the usual ringing in my ears. It’s empty here, and isolating, I imagine, but I feel nothing.As I float, or maybe walk, through this abyss, the darkness around me begins to lighten. Growing larger and brighter now, I can make out the familiar white frame of an approaching doorway. I glide...

3 comments 3
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“The Picture” by Isaac Walker

Submitted to Contest #174

I have spent half of my entire life trying to become an artist. I spend days upon days perfecting a picture that eventually ends up in the trash. I wish to change my thinking, but I fear that it is too late. It is already day 234 of trying to draw the perfect picture. I keep failing and failing, and I am starting to hate myself for it. But soon, that all changes . . . I am applying the orange paint to my canvas when he knocks, causing me to leave a streak across my canvas. I groan, throwing down my paintbrush angrily. I look at the clock. I...

4 comments 4
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“Dew of God” by CoCo Lee

Submitted to Contest #174

CW: Gore, death, mutilation, depictions of assault, violenceThe Governor's hands shake with delight as he scribbles onto the slab of paper the plans for the new Church. His little piece of charcoal barely suffices for the massive plans shaping in that pinhead of his.He stays up until the break of dawn, a streak of sunlight floods into the musty wooden room. Daylight dancing across the finished architectural plans.The Governor clasps his hands together, a shy smile forming across his small face, "At last, the people of my town can praise our ...

2 comments 2
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“Finding Contentment ” by Alissa Williams

Submitted to Contest #174

I am fifteen the day she dies. I press my hands to the wound in her stomach, trying in vain to staunch the steady stream of crimson. The thick, metallic scent hangs in the air, staining every breath with the taste of blood. She lifts a trembling hand and places it ever-so-gently on my cheek. "Lyra," is all she says, her voice pinched tight with pain, but the look in her eyes tells me what she won't say: she isn't going to survive this.A sob forces it's way out of my throat, my vision blurring over with tears, and press my hands even harder i...

3 comments 3
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“Barneus Love” by Franke Lucifer

Submitted to Contest #174

(Content Warning: Strong Language. Adult Themes.) “So what’s going on Professor East?” David kneads through the tense muscularity of his patient, expertly modulating the pressure and position of his touch. East lets out a deep sigh as he succumbs to the rough strength of David’s experienced hands. David takes a mental note. After a long pause, East replies to the question. “Well, I’m back on Xanax if that answers anything.” East. What a strange name. Evolutionary biologist. Tenured professor within Harvard’s Department of Reptilian Instr...

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“Elf #1 Reporting ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #174

Elf #1 ReportingEverything has changed since the Abacus, the first calculation instrument we used in this workshop. I realized how slow and unreliable it was. It evolved into the hand-held calculator and the modern-day computer. I know many think IBM built the first computer but here is how it happened; please keep this quiet.We elves invented the device that you all call the BlackBerry in 1790. It made it much easier to record and track inventory, from the looms to a pair of jeans or the tree to the rocking chair. Like you, we also used it ...

4 comments 4
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“Desires are made for slaughter” by Vedrana Komlenac

Submitted to Contest #174

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t understand what his eyes were seeing. The mass continues to spin in front of him, flesh layering over flesh and teeth scraping across puss-filled wounds, smearing the awful liquid across itself. Once he thought he saw an arm poking out, but it quickly twisted and cracked to turn in to a head, then it split open and became a claw, then it melted into a tentacle and then it disappeared back beneath the congregation of organs that continue to spin around itself like a hungry dog looking for its tail.For a mom...

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“Everything is changing” by Rya Johnson

Submitted to Contest #174

‘Do you know what this means? Everything is changing and you are going to have to grow up fast.’ Mom irately states.  ‘And this is just the beginning. You are only 21 , haven’t finished school, unmarried, and now pregnant with a biracial baby by that asshole! Seriously? Have you told your father?  What am I suppose to say to your grandparents! They will NEVER accept this. God I don’t even want to hear my dads response.’ She groaned as she threw her hands in the air in frustration.  ‘And an abortion is out of the...

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“DEATH AT THE GRAND CANYON” by BRUCE MARTIN

Submitted to Contest #174

There are individuals in this world whose success is predetermined. Hailing from wealthy families and spawned of experienced and wise parents, their paths in life and the trappings of their existence are paved in gold. Their only requirement to achieve success is simply to show up.Then, there is another type of individual. This is the self-made variety, those who had to work and strive for every advantage, to scrape bottom and endure hardship, power through life’s difficulties, and reach the pinnacle of success on their own.Charles Cameron w...

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“The Natural Machine” by John Merino

Submitted to Contest #174

The foul breath of technology choked everything. Sunlight was the color of urine from bad kidneys, and every day was lived underneath the churn of the new engine. Fumes spilled from East to West, oozing over California and then reaching down through the length of the Pacific in a striated arch, until the winds of the southern hemisphere caught them up again in a sharpened line of clouds that skewered the whole of South America like a rusted fishing hook, pushing into the continent at Chile and poking out at the border between Uruguay and Bra...

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“Old Friends and Bad Guys” by J.C. Vayda

Submitted to Contest #174

Old Friends and Bad Guys A SWAT team was seen stacking up alongside a brick wall outside an unfinished and abandoned warehouse. There were five members, four of whom were veterans, and one was a new guy. There always had to be a new guy, right? He had been a police officer for several years, but finally, after multiple attempts, he was picked up to be on the Special Weapons and Tactics team. This was his first operation. He could feel his heart thumping under his bulletproof vest, his hands tightening around the foregrip and handle of his...

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“My Apology ” by Ruby Pix

Submitted to Contest #174

August 1 I didn't realize what I had until it was gone. I didn't realize how much I needed you, how much I misunderstood you. I didn't realize just how much I was ungrateful for. August 2 I miss being you. Being the YOU I understood. But now I'm not anymore. I'm just..me. I should clarify, in case anyone finds these letters. These are my letters of apology. August 3 My name is Ruben, and as you're aware, I'm 35 years old. These last few months have been pretty rough on me. I've escaped a near death situation, but now I'm in hot...

3 comments 3
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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