Entries by R. W. Frost

Chop Wood Carry Water, S1:Coda

This is the final report of Rybos.KaList.59E, crd 12.29.SPS.6, documented at the behest of Kelvin Joule, aka DJ Nano, the last and best and brightest of a species known as Homo sapiens.   Here are a few of the things Kelvin said to me the last time I saw him.  He was sitting on an […]

Chop Wood Carry Water, S1:E10

After eleven minutes of furious digging, it appeared that my analysis of the situation had been faulty. I looked up at a small triangle of sky from three meters below the surface of the quad. I could hear Sivayna’s bent tread whistling to and fro as she continued moving the piles of soil and cellulose […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E8

I’m still unsure of what came out of those PaxoSync cannons, but whatever it was, its explosion created a concussive wave that lifted me up and propelled me across the quad. I caught a brief glimpse of the craggy outcrop above Tivnol Quarry as I tumbled through the air. If I could make it that […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E7

T. Sarel Brownmoor was an apparition through a curtain of smoke. He had an arm full of what looked like celo-wrapped packets, dripping ooze. He was rushing toward the labs. “Sarel!” I shouted, “I need you!” He caught sight of me, then Kelvin, and dropped his cargo. Dodging piles of broken stone, he whirred over […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E6

Or, more accurately, my perception of time abruptly quickened again, with the same effect. Enough that I could see an evolving cascade of terrible consequences about to occur, and there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop it. Yet, there I was, in the foolhardy act of trying to do just that. My newfound, […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E5

Instead, I lay back on the ground parallel to Kelvin, blissfully ignorant, as was he, to the catastrophe unfolding little more than a mile away. I didn’t entirely understand what the word ‘blissfully’ meant, but based on definition, context, observed usage, and, in retrospect, (given what followed), it seemed apt. Once I had settled on […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E4

I waited, expectantly. Kelvin had told me many stories about his childhood in Jamaica, but only a few times had he mentioned the mysterious Amoya Zidane. “First time yeye ever mek four wit her…” his voice was soft, and I could tell how tired he was by how impenetrable his patois was becoming. Even with […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E3

“Tomorrow, I’m going to die.” I heard the words, and I understood them. But something odd occurred at the same instant, or more accurately, within that same instant, provoked by the words themselves and their perceived meaning to me. It was a processing time-out. It lasted one lifespan of the exotic molecule positronium hydride, which […]

Chop Wood Carry Water S1:E2

And then, a voice in the darkness. “We’ve made a few improvements.” I awoke to Kelvin’s dark, deeply creased face, directly in front of me. He was tinkering with something and for a moment I watched his bright, burning eyes dancing over something he was studying. He dropped below my line of sight. Far off, […]