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    The Anything Machine And Other Stories
    The Anything Machine And Other Stories
    The Anything Machine And Other Stories
    Ebook102 pages1 hour

    The Anything Machine And Other Stories

    By Simon Black

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    About this ebook

    Visit an ABANDONED HOUSE that Egan quickly finds out is actually a camouflaged time machine. He gets an offer to use the machine and go to any time that he chooses. How long will he contemplate this proposal?

    Help to build the ANYTHING MACHINE with Blaze and see the results. Just type it in on the keyboard and the machine makes it for you. Whether it is the latest laptop or a set of magic paintbrushes. However, is anything really ever free?

    Then a young girl is abducted into another dimension, where she is kept in an ALIEN ZOO as an exotic animal. She quickly learns that this is her home for life and any attempts at escape are futile.

    Finally, we move right into dream on a SUNDAY morning. Strange things can happen and usually does in a morning-dream.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBakerman Books
    Release dateJul 27, 2016
    ISBN9781370513635
    The Anything Machine And Other Stories
    Author

    Simon Black

    Simon Black is creative, expressive and intuitive. He had succeeded in looking inside himself and thus discover his true self. (He also visited the Underverse, but only came back as a writer, as all Lord Marshall titles have been already been taken) His true self is of course not without problems. This makes it possible for him to use that self-knowledge in his art, his poetry and especially his writing. Like most writers he is introverted, but that never bothered him. Like a great man once said; to be a writer is to be alone. His past is full of exploratory experiences, most of which he is probably pretty embarrassed or ashamed about. When these come out, however, he is quick to confess to them and claim them as all part of who he is. A writer. He has a sense of humour, oh yes. That is why he like to talk about himself in third person. Like an undercover king.

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      Book preview

      The Anything Machine And Other Stories - Simon Black

      The Anything Machine

      And Other Stories

      Copyright © 2016 Simon Black

      Published by Simon Black at Smashwords

      Thank you for downloading my book

      Copyright © 2016 Simon Black

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

      ISBN:  9781370513635

      Author: Simon Black 

      Publisher: Smashwords, Inc.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favourite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      CONTENTS

      Abandoned House

      The Anything Machine

      Alien Zoo

      Sunday

      Abandoned House

      BACK TO CONTENTS

      The Offer

      As Egan approaches the house, he looks down at his shoes. Both are torn with the one sole almost separated from the rest of the shoe. Every time he gives a step, it makes a very irritating flapping sound. It is very clear that he will not be able to wear these shoes for much longer any more. But they did last him a very long time and at least for that he should be grateful. Now it is cold and night is approaching fast, so he is glad he found the house. Now he will just have to make sure it is safe.

      He pulls the old threadbare brown jacket tighter against his body as he approaches the front door of the derelict house. He gives a quick look around to make sure there is no living thing close by. These days one cannot be too careful. Not a soul in sight, just the whistling of the cold wind around the corners of the old house.

      The house is a one-story building, in what would have been a middle class neighbourhood in its hey-day. It is clear that there were no people near it for a very long time. The paint is almost completely peeled off the walls, the garden is in total disarray and dry (how else). Some of the plaster is missing, leaving the red bricks exposed. However, he feels a rush of relieve when he sees that all entrances - all door- and window openings - seem to be closed up with some kind of plate - the material of which he cannot determine from this distance. If he can gain entry to this house, no one else will be able to enter it, once he closed that one opening. At least not without making a hell of a lot of noise and by that time, he will be awake and ready to defend himself.

      Danger is all around and always present.

      He walks up the ghost of a footpath to the front door, but sees that it is also covered by the same type of plate that covers the other entrances. He does not know how, but he instinctively knows that there will be an entrance to this house. He does not have much of a choice in any case, as darkness will soon fall over the land and then he does not want to be outside, no matter what. The world had become a dangerous place and for someone like him, there is no protection. He knows that very well. He will have to find entry to this house. He starts walking around the house. As he does this, he gets a faint chemical smell in his nostrils. It seems to be coming from the house itself. This is something he did not smell for a very long time. That smell comes from a time long ago. At a time when he was still employed, when he still had a good income. Now he was a nothing. He was only fodder for those who were more powerful than he was.

      At the back of the house, he pushes at the only wooden board he finds there in front of a window. The board moves and he sees that he just has to use more power to push it inward. He does not want to break it, because he will have to use that board to cover that opening once he is inside the house. Because he is so careful, he has to give it several pushes before it falls inward. He is not eating, as he should, because he simply cannot afford the right food. That means he does not have his usual strength. Not anymore.

      Then whatever is holding the board in place, gives and he pushes it in. The heavy board falls with a loud bang inside onto the floor. The man quickly looks around again to make sure the sound did not attract unwelcome attention. Then he climbs through the window opening into the house.

      The chemical smell is stronger now, but not overwhelming. It is almost a clean smell. He looks around the place. This seems to have been a kitchen many years ago, but because it is abandoned, nothing is in a repaired state anymore. There are even pieces of brick and concrete lying everywhere on the floor, mixed with other garbage. He knows for sure, there will be nothing of value to him inside this house as it has been stripped long ago. He only needs the safety of the house for tonight.

      All the floor-tiles are broken and in some places missing. There are two huge beams, which he can use to put that board back onto the window opening. Those beams, with some of the concrete blocks will prevent anyone else to gain entry into the house. He immediately starts to work on that. Nightfall is close and by then he wants to be done and quiet.

      In quick time, the board is up, with the beams against it and two heavy concrete blocks to keep it in place. Now he must quickly explore the place before it gets dark. There are light coming through the gaps in the some of the plates and he can see well enough for the moment. He picks up a heavy plank that he finds on the floor and walks as quietly as possible as he starts searching the abandoned house for any other form of life. The man knows he will kill any other form of life he found in this house. No matter what. When he climbed through that window he took ownership of this house and any other living being here, is trespassing. That is just the way the world works. No morality, no rules, only survival.

      He really does not know what happened in this house, but there is no other life in it. Although the place is dirty and clearly roughed up, it further seems to be in a decent state. At least for the purpose he wants to use it. That purpose will be for warmth and partial protection from the dangers out there. At least for

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