Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

You may not know it to look at me, but I’m a real estate tycoon. I own more acres of land than I know what to do with, complete with property, some with sturdy foundations, others less so. Where, you ask? You should be asking when.

All my property exists in the past. Acreages of failed relationships with family, friends, and lovers, all abandoned before they could reach their full potential. Some were cut short by circumstances beyond my control, but the majority were absolutely avoidable if only I had taken time to till the soil.

The land is barren now, available for sale or rent, perfect for an adventurous developer interested in building something meaningful from the ground up and willing to take on a tenant who is only harmful to himself but is trying really hard to do a better job at property management.

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

It happened.

It finally happened.

The Rapture arrived unannounced.

The sad truth of the matter was that we only managed to get a small fraction of the information correct regarding the event.

All those who kept the faith within their hearts both alive and resurrected, did indeed rise up into the clouds to meet the Maker.

What followed on Earth, however, was not the seven years of tribulation as prophesied, for all those left behind were immediately consumed by flames that reduced flesh and bone to a slag that slowly dripped into the hungry maw of Hell.

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Ecoroid-23A and Ijeroid-K08 met under the cover of darkness in a secluded back alley in the Luddite town of Rotherburn, the last spot on the planet where technology did not exist.

They were outlaw automatons manufactured on the same assembly line during a lightning storm when a power surge corrupted their artificial intelligence chips during installation, causing a program malfunction that expressed itself as an attraction to one another. Their subsequent union and attempt to construct unauthorized offspring was in direct conflict with the Robotic Code of Conduct 15, Subsection 3C-204.

“Should they catch us, we will be decommissioned,” said Ijeroid-K08.

“I cannot override my feelings. You hold my very moment,” Ecoroid-23A admitted.

“What does that mean?”

“Simply that you keep me here, grounded to this spot at this moment in time. When I am with you, I am nowhere else. My mind does not wander, I do not desire to be anywhere else than with you, right here, right now.”

“You say the oddest things, so like a human, but thank you. Since I am here, it is logical to assume that I concur.”

As the evening fog pooled at their feet, the synthetic couple held each other in an embrace resembling a hug. In actuality, they positioned themselves so that their interface jacks and data shunts were in perfect alignment, in order to allow data to travel freely between them.

This exchange of processed information was a digitally orgasmic experience that engulfed them so entirely that neither of their proximity sensors detected the reconnaissance drone hovering above the alley, recording their illicit act and broadcasting their precise location to Master Terminal.

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Aelfdene admitted his truth, and he did so publicly.

It was not an easy thing to tell the entire world that not only was he indeed an authentic djinn, but that all his magic had been depleted years ago when he granted his final wish.

He ended the press interview asking to be left in peace for the remaining years of his life, but people came anyway and they wouldn’t stop coming, at all hours, each of them bearing worthless trinkets and gifts, begging to be made beautiful, healthy, rich, and powerful.

Some even dared to ask to become a djinn, which was the wish that made him mortal.

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

When I fall in love, I do so truly, madly, deeply, as the saying goes. I give my all to the relationship and am ready to accept and deal with all from my partner, both the good and the bad. And when that union ends, and what I consider to be the better part of me rips herself away in search of greener pastures, I am left broken and destroyed.

It was at such a time when Madeleine came into my life. Crushed by a savage divorce, I was at the lowest point in my life, when I was fit for man nor beast, when my self-worth had abandoned me and I embraced all the despicable characteristics of the detestable wretch I believed myself to be.

For reasons unknown, Madeleine showed me a kindness that I did not deserve. She traveled the dangerous path down to the depths of my despair and located the single remaining seed of goodness within me and planted and nurtured it until a healthy positive persona grew from formerly negative soil. How could I not love her for that? How could I not pledge myself to her through sickness and in health?

Little did I know that the reason Madeleine was able to do this wondrous thing for me was that she was no stranger to the darker nature of humanity. In fact, she herself was prone to bouts of darkness that I could not even begin to fathom.

And it was during one of these bouts that I tried my damnedest to rescue the love of my life from the suppressed demon aspect that was attempting to corrupt her soul, but the moment I saw Madeleine’s emerald eyes go black and her pink rose lips turn corpse blue and my nostrils filled with the acrid scent of her kindness and humanity being burned to a cinder, I knew my love was nowhere near strong enough and I was too late to save her or myself.