Category Archives: Short Stories

Some free short stories and story sketches

Western Hellenism

Posted on October 14, 2019 by dan

Here’s scenario I spun a while back on the Constructed Languages list serve: Philip of Macedon isn’t assassinated. As Hegemon of the League of Corinth, he invades the Achaemenid Empire. Under the command of Alexander, the invasion is successful. Philip … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged | Leave a comment

Valuable Asteroid Strikes Ethiopia

Posted on May 10, 2019 by dan

This may be a silly idea, but I was wondering about what would happen if an asteroid composed of some valuable mineral struck a random place on Earth (on land). With the help of Random.org, I decided that the asteroid … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged | Leave a comment

Wealthgiver

Posted on March 27, 2019 by dan

So, I’m starting a new book… The Thracians were an ancient people who lived in various places on the Balkans north of Greece, and spoke a language that was (maybe) distantly related to Albanian, the Balto-Slavic languages, and Greek. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Short Stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Neo-Thracian language

Posted on February 22, 2019 by dan

Let’s think about the Neo-Thracian language. The Point of Divergence is a vision received by a early 4th-century Bessi oracle, telling the Thracians to switch from worship of Dionysus to Pluto and unite against the Christians. The oracle’s charismatic interpreter … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Alternatives to water?

Posted on January 25, 2019 by dan

Here’s an old old specbio question. We on Earth are made of fat suspended in sugary seawater. That is, phospholipids, with one pole salty and water-loving and the other pole oily and water-hating, surround blobs of water to form cells. … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Axes of Assymetry

Posted on January 20, 2019 by dan

I read Your Inner Fish and got inspired for a new creature:) So we humans are bilaterally symmetrical, with a functional difference between front and back, and another between back and belly. But there’s no functional difference between left and … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Lands by the Waters – An Ucaptian Myth (4)

Posted on August 24, 2018 by dan

(start, previous) For the hunt, with his hair he (Ptahh) strung the bow of cedar. For the memory, with papyrus as the writing tablet he painted (words on) it. For the steering, with his hand as an oar he paddled the … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Homo sapiens Long Term Evolution Experiment

Posted on August 4, 2018 by dan

https://danbensen.tumblr.com/post/176617090275/so-i-am-into-my-third-white-russian-and-i-am

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bulgarian words for try

Posted on July 26, 2018 by dan

Sorry I don’t have much for this week’s Wonderful Awful ideas. Just four Bulgarian words that might all be translated as English “try.” Opitvam se (опитвам се) is related to pitam (I ask). As in opitah se da pobedya, “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Language is Great!, Short Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Save us from the Whale

Posted on July 20, 2018 by dan

“People need a way to stave off the constant possibility that common understanding may break down.” — N.J. Enfield, How We Talk Royal tangs wobbled serenely between the softly undulating tentacles of sea anemones. Bubbles rose in a shimmering curtain. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Serialized Stories, Short Stories | Tagged , , | 1 Comment