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

Posted in Science Fiction on Nov 25, 2022

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✍️ 45 stories

“The Next Step” by Emily Nghiem

Submitted to Contest #174

The house was exactly as he left it. When Uncle Steven moved to hospice last spring, he had already transferred all the rights to his books and published articles to his nonprofit foundation, the Lamont Library. After he died in August, he left his house to me, his only niece, since he never married and had no children of his own. Months had passed, but nothing had been touched. Even his last two case studies he had planned to archive for the library were scattered in boxes stacked to the ceiling in the study. No one had shown much...

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“Redesigning people” by Laura Tensen

Submitted to Contest #174

Redesigning people A lot of people say stupid things. Possibly because they don’t think before they talk, but more likely because they just can’t think that well. Stupidity takes a heavy toll on our economy and slows down scientific progress, because a lot of time has to be invested in trying to explain these concepts to people. Stupidity might even be increasing in numbers, because anybody can breed as much as they like. Stupid people are equally good at survival as smart people, and they often have more babies because they can’t think ab...

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“The Price” by Roxanne Ward

Submitted to Contest #174

The shop was not intended to be inviting or profitable, and its host was anything but welcoming. It was a ruse, an entrance, that a very select few even entered. The solemn man walked in the run-down coffee shop and nodded at the stocky barista behind the counter. The small dive at the bottom of a skyscraper had escaped the meteorite storm of several decades ago that rained absolute devastation upon the Earth. The oversized man behind the counter eyed him while reaching for something out of sight. He studied the visitor long enough to r...

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“The Apex Theory” by Stary Knight

Submitted to Contest #174

Before the sun rose, Avery was getting ready for her first day of class. She dreamed of attending the university all her life. Her father was an alumni, and his father, and his father too! She felt it was only right to assume the tradition, despite her mother urging her to go in a different direction. “That’s too far from home, Ave, you won’t know a soul,” her mother spouted right after receiving her acceptance letter. However, the long-distance was what thrilled her. It was going to be like visiting a foreign country, where no one...

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“Frankenstein 2.0 ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #174

I ran his fingers over the naked skin of his subject lying on the table. His fingers told him his specimen was perfect. The skin was like the skin on his own hands. I was warned not to play God with the double helix, but once you taste the sweet juice of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, it's hard not to eat it right down to the core like Adam did when it was offered to him by Eve. There was a strong heartbeat and his breathing seemed normal with a high percentage of oxygen filling his lungs. His eyes fluttered and then ...

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“Cyber Simulacrum” by Os Cole

Submitted to Contest #174

Sensitive Content: Story contains references to violence, suicide, and sex work. I knew as soon as I woke up that I would have to kill myself. I couldn’t stand at first and my eyes would hardly focus even in the dim blue light. It was all I could do to cast a cross-eyed glance across the lab. He was already gone. He must have woken up from the procedure first and fled. I tried to blink the fuzziness from my eyes. What possessed me to do this? Initially, even I didn’t think it could be done. After years of research, I convinced mys...

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“Things in the night...” by Dylan Mass

Submitted to Contest #174

CW: Harsh language *Static* “Good evening passengers. This is your captain speaking. Today’s flight will be a beautiful and easy flight to Cartaria. Fasten your seat belts, and wait until the plane has fully left the tarmac before getting up from your seat. Have a safe flight.” *Static* “God I hate flying,” A gruff voice says in the seat across the aisle. “Then why’d you buy a damn ticket?” the woman next to him asks. “Just get me a drink, Greta.” he responds, slamming the window shade shut with a sharp, and might I say, unnecessary thunk. “...

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“Staring at a Phone.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #174

Daniel was his name, a retired scientist, a dreamer. He was getting older. His hypertension was a concern. It was a challenge, but Daniel was uniting with his trusted doctor in regular check-ups and increases in his medication. It was like a tune up for his physical health. So far, so good. Daniel presented to the receptionist at the medical center right on time. He sat down, as he had a 9 am appointment. First cab off the rank. The good doctor was nowhere in sight, so Daniel stared at his phone. Browsing, browsing, browsing. Half an hour w...

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“The ghostly hero.” by Jonathan Escobedo

Submitted to Contest #174

The invisible hero By: Jonathan Escobedo It was a sunny day, the date was 6/14/2042. Today, Jacob and his fellow classmates were going to be presenting their projects for science class. Jacob was a 16-year-old like no other, he was considered a genius for his age, and his project happened to be first. Jacob’s project was an invisibility potion. He tested it on one of his old toys in front of the whole class and his project worked! Right before everyone’s eyes, the toy simply became invisible. Jacob then picked it up and...

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“Perpetual Motion ” by Gill James

Submitted to Contest #174

Thomas Adler grinned as he watched the full-sized vehicle make its way along the track. It accelerated quickly and was soon going at a steady ninety kilometres per hour. No emissions whatsoever. It was getting its energy in three ways: directly from the sunlight, from the saved-up energy in its battery, charged from the movement of the wheels, and from wind power, all successfully stored in a second battery which was turned on and off by a gyroscope. The small model had performed successfully; he was gratified to see the full-sale one doing ...

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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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“The Narrative” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #174

“To make sense of something you have to know its narrative. If the story makes sense then the subject of the story makes sense. Essentially, what I do is decode the story. I find the story and I translate it. That’s what I do.” Harlan was being modest. He was also dumbing down what he did so that his audience might have a clue as to what his day job was, having been asked what do you do? Peggy nodded and smiled, “I like stories.” “That’s good,” said Harlan. He was doing his best to give Peggy his attention, but his eyes were darti...

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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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“Spice Water” by Ellen Barker

Submitted to Contest #174

The night of the biggest mistake of my life, I was trying to make dinner. I had pulled out my cook book as I searched for the recipe for chicken cacciatore. I discovered I was missing two ingredients, so I decided to look to see if there was anything I could substitute.Unfortunately, when the two missing ingredients are chicken and peppers, it pretty well destroys the chances of making anything with chicken for dinner. Oh, well.I scrounged up some vegetables and made a soup, instead. It was not as fulfilling, but definitely more doable. In e...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“The Next Step” by Emily Nghiem

“Redesigning people” by Laura Tensen

“The Price” by Roxanne Ward

“The Apex Theory” by Stary Knight

“Frankenstein 2.0 ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Cyber Simulacrum” by Os Cole

“Things in the night...” by Dylan Mass

“Staring at a Phone.” by Julie Grenness

“The ghostly hero.” by Jonathan Escobedo

“Perpetual Motion ” by Gill James

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

“The Narrative” by Jed Cope

“Is my world real?” by Jacob Rainey

“A Regretful Landing” by Edward Lane

“Spice Water” by Ellen Barker

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #174

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

96

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: