mad scientists – The Drabblecast

Drabblecast 430 – Notes from the Assistant’s Intern

On August 17, 2020

This week on the Drabblecast: dirty jobs. We bring you a quirky original tale by Bryan Miller about mad scientists and henchmen gone awry. Enjoy!

The bulletin board posting specifically stated that the internship required “special skills,” “unorthodox hours,” and an “old-fashioned go-getter,” so I can’t really complain as I’m digging up coffins in search of heads.

Even though the graveyard muck is hell on my Cole Haan shoes, I roll up the sleeves of my Oxford shirt and keep working that spade. Dress for the job you want. One day some intrepid young man—or woman!—may be fetching moldering crania for me. Assuming all goes well.

Drabblecast 257 – Judgement Passed

By Drabblecast

On September 23, 2012

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

We stared up at the sunlit peaks, each thinking our own thoughts. I thought about Dessica. We’d waited two months after landing to name it, but the decision was unanimous. Hot, dry, with dust storms that could blow for weeks at a time– if ever there was a Hell, that place had to be it. But eight of us had stayed there for two years, exploring and collecting data; the first interstellar expedition at work. And then we had packed up and come back– at an empty Earth. Not a soul left anywhere….

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Drabblecast 255 – The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward pt. 2

By Drabblecast

On September 6, 2012

In Action, Drabblecast, Horror, Sci-Fi

Looking away from the light that showed the Charles Dexter Ward was no longer entirely dead was as hard as opening a rusted zipper. But Cynthia did it, and didn’t let herself look back She pulled Hester a little further down the corridor and said, “Now we really need to know how she killed him. And whether it’ll work a second time…”

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Drabblecast 254 – The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward pt. 1

By Drabblecast

On August 31, 2012

In Drabblecast, Horror, Sci-Fi

Six weeks into her involuntary tenure on Faraday Station, Cynthia Feuerwerker needed a job. She could no longer afford to be choosy about it, either; her oxygen tax was due, and you didn’t have to be a medical doctor to understand the difficulties inherent in trying to breathe vacuum.

You didn’t have to be, but Cynthia was one. Or had been, until the allegations of malpractice and unlicensed experimentation began to catch up with her. As they had done, here at Faraday, six weeks ago…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 250, Trifecta 22, by Liz Pennies

Drabblecast 250 – Trifecta XXII

By Drabblecast

On July 25, 2012

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

My name is… John.

I am…

I have a wife and a daughter. They are visiting me today. Their names– Alice. And Anna.

I can see, sort of. Everything is blurry. I am submerged in a coffin, a clear coffin with green water. There’s a tube in my mouth so that I can breathe, machine-like.

My legs are transparent. I see veins and arteries, thin muscles that look like spiderwebs bundled together. The doctors say my memory will be fuzzy. It’s supposed to come back quickly.

I am…

The theme of this Drabblecast Trifecta is “if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” In Faithful Servant, a long-suffering butler’s poorly timed fit of temper is nearly the end of him. In Selfless, a man with an incurable illness goes to great lengths to ensure his wife and daughter enjoy a normal, happy life. In Prophecy Negotiations, a fateful farm boy learns that if you want to rise to a new station, it pays not to accept the first offer.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 197, Death Comes But Twice, by Phil Pomphrey

Drabblecast 197 – Death Comes But Twice

By Drabblecast

On February 7, 2011

In Drabblecast, Horror

As always, he took delight in my interest in the scientific pursuits. ‘My assistant took the journey yesterday, by way of a shot to the heart. Prior to that, our trials on convicts included strangling, drowning, and beheading. By Jove! That reanimation was a sight to see…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 180, Something Borrowed Something Blue, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 180 – Something Borrowed, Something Doomed

By Drabblecast

On September 15, 2010

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Romance, Sci-Fi

While the rest a’ the country had turned away from the biorevolution, we Best Virginians had become magicians. We had learned how to use the tiniest creatures to change the world in the biggest, most beautiful ways…

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Drabblecast B-Sides 12 – Social Parasite

By Drabblecast

On September 9, 2010

In Comedy, Drabblecast B-Sides, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

“I, Commander Cody Pendant, am asking you, Chief Neo-Eugenicist Shahven Ishtpig the Third, one last time,” the Aryan commander tossed back a shot of vodka. The glass shattered against the wall, “is Project Minnesota Condor ready?” He impatiently tapped his gun…

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Drabblecast 44 – The Arc of Hronos

By Drabblecast

On December 29, 2007

In Drabblecast, Mystery, Sci-Fi

I’ve almost finished checking those measurements. That tooth—it looks homo sapien. This could be huge…

Norm presents, in his inimitable style, a one-minute review of his long-awaited movie indulgence, “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.” The week’s Drabble concerns an auto thief reaching the top of his game through — what else — nefarious means. The feature story’s author, Anden Sharp, gifted the Drabbleverse with Episode #32, “The Warden’s Last Day.” In the feature story, tragedy strikes the marriage of an archaeologist and her time traveler husband. Feedback for Episode #38, the Drabblecast’s first “Trifecta,” debated how well suited the story concepts were for their broadcast length, and was generally positive.

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Drabblecast 38 – Trifecta

By Drabblecast

On November 15, 2007

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Strange

The Drabblecast’s first ever trifecta special, three short stories asking there interesting questions. Is best model, best witness? How much is a dream worth? And what would you do to get a pound of flesh?

This episode marked the first “Trifecta,” as Norm produced an anthology of three short-ish stories connected by a theme. Norm left the specific theme open for speculation by listeners. Was it perhaps, “lethal consumption?” In the first story, “Witness,” a cleaning robot recounts a mysterious incident from its uniquely prosaic point of view. Next, “Wiggin’s General Store,” turns out to be a place that sells dreams. No, really, sells dreams and not the safe kind. (The author, Basil Godevenos, wrote the poem “The Truth about the Reaper” in Episode #34.) The final story, “Pork and Steak Eye” ponders the ethics of willing organ-donor clones. Upon reading the feedback from Episode #33, “Dessert Storm,” a good laugh was had by all.

Trifecta – a run of three wins or grand events. Origin: 1970s from “tri” + “perfecta”

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Tag: mad scientists