three short stories (summer 2025)

i typically uphold a standard for myself to respond to each correspondence within 24 hours. the earlier, the better. sometimes i am forgetful if a series of exchanges are not particularly pressed for time. but even if they weren’t urgent, if i don’t the texts then the queue will sit unanswered forever.

i was responding to a queue of texts.

i texted back a friend at eksAI at 2 AM. he texted back almost immediately.

i then texted back another friend at eksAI at 4 AM. he texted back almost immediately.

i then texted back another friend at OpenBrain at 4 AM. he texted back almost immediately.

i then decided there was a long day ahead of me and so if i did not suffer now then i would suffer more later. i headed out the door at 5 AM.

it was wednesday.

(not really related, but I enjoyed this piece by vincent: alignment)

“nicholas, welcome! i have a surprise for you,” sir duke bellowed, pulling a chair to the table.

on the table was a display: an elegant buffet of decadent meats, candied treats, hard-boiled eggs, and a fruit basket.

“thank you, kind sir,” nicholas humbly expressed his gratitude for the duke’s invitation.

the town had recently made new scientific breakthroughs, and they were due for a celebration. nicholas was a younger student who had, by chance, caught the favor of the duke.

nicholas sat quietly amid the happy commotion all around.

the duke took the seat beside him. “i was thinking about this, and now i have a puzzle for you.” he offered nicholas an egg.

“try to make this egg stand up without rolling over.”

nicholas accepted the challenge.

the bounds of an egg are quietly obstructive. he attempted to turn the egg on its side, and then from different angles, seeking balance. how could an object so round stay so still?

minutes went by, and sir duke interrupted his quest. “would you like me to show you how?”

nicholas nodded, weary yet curious. he handed the egg back.

“watch”, said the duke. he tapped the egg’s base twice against the table, flattening it. the egg stood upright.

“everything seems impossible,” he beamed, “until you realize it is not.”

(question: whose rules?)

ellis received her first laptop in 2nd grade, followed by her first macbook this summer. she wrote stories in Word 2008. she’d make fake worksheets, print them out, and force people to complete them.

up until 2nd grade, she played computer games. these were memorization, sorting, typing, and pizzeria-style games, followed by poker and jelly go!. once she beat the game, she reached a success screen at the end and it was done.

that’s it?, she thought. is there more to this?

this is lame. she resolved to never play another game for enjoyment since then. it wasn’t enjoyable to reach a sure ending like that.

she tried again in middle school. maybe games would be different now. candy crush was a bit different because the levels were almost endless — there were tens of thousands of rounds. she knew she reached the status of an accomplished candy crush player when she started consistently hallucinating each piece on the board, each next move, and each next possible set of moves1. when she stared at the walls and walked in the halls at school, a game stared back in her imagination. worried about her own sanity, she quit and uninstalled the game.

she has not played games since then. she applied this same thinking to movies and tv (though sometimes, to watch films and documentaries for aesthetics).

this is not to say she has not tried. it was difficult to get her to enjoy certain things, but these can be strengths too. maybe she had discernment to help herself snap out of bad things. she traded her time for other things, like reading. this is a fun fact about her.2

(and i suppose you can decide the reward, and when to pull the plug)