To share (a short story)

The room was filled with loners who felt connected by a common understanding. 

The music was loud and easy to dance to and although nobody actually danced, 

the dance floor was fairly crowded.

A few people reclined along the walls and in sometimes newly-formed couples 

enjoyed what they no longer would be able to enjoy in freedom twenty years later.

He danced next to her, although dancing was not the right word, 

and in his mind he danced with her.

When it was time to sleep and there was only one more sleeping bag to be had

 they decided - without words - to share.

============================

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Can we trust science?

The discovery of a new Covid variant led to arguments. Could the discovery of  'Deltakron' (click) be the result of a laboratory contamination? According to the scientist from Cyprus who discovered this 'mix' of the Delta variant and Omikron the strain he discovered is the result of the virus' evolution. But not all of his colleagues are convinced. In short: they don't really know. That's right: real scientists are almost never sure of themselves. If they are, you can bet on it that they don't know that science itself evolves and never ever can a single person be absolutely right. That means scientists who claim they are absolutely sure should not call themselves 'scientists' but 'smug'.

Scientists are people. Who knew?

The amount of data they process is so vast that they need computer programs to help them determine which piece of information is trustworthy, which is well-meant but wrong and which piece of data is simply false. But as humans they can - eeringly easily - be fooled. In this example (click) experts on cyber security were fooled by a 'scientific' piece created by...artificial intelligence. It shows that if you put enough convinving technical terms in a piece, it's easy to trick people into believing that piece is genuine. To know what I mean you only need to listen to speeches and debates from politicians: they actually practice on using catch phrases meant to appeal to their targeted audience. For instance - if they want to sound really scholared - they might say: 'It has come under my attention through personal visual observation'. Sounds like they really know what they're talking about, doesn't it? But all it really says is: 'I've seen it.'

Even the greatest of experts and scientists made and make mistakes. Well, Einstein and Darwin don't anymore. Because they're dead. But they did make some head scratching mistakes in their thinking. Charles Darwin (you know, that dude who deducted living creatures evolve and didn't magically appear or were shaped from clay brought to life by a favourite deity) was right on his theory of evolution. But he was wrong on his idea of the nature of heredity (click) 

Albert Einstein once was convinced the universe was static and later admitted other scientists were right and it's actually expanding.

There are - of course - more examples. Point being: science is constantly moving and even when there's consensus amongst the scientific community, some facts stay firmly in place. Like that the Earth is not flat. It's also not perfectly round. But more shaped like a football that your mother-in-law sat on for an hour.

Recently scientists thought they had found evidence they succesfully 'quantum entangled' a tardigrade. A feat that was only once performed with simple particles, not with a living being. The resulting paper was immediately under heavy scrutiny and it looks like they were mistaken. Most likely pressured by subsidy givers who want quick results they probably didn't take enough time to check, check and doublecheck their research and have it thorougly peer reviewed. Although the research itself is promising.

Too bad Erwin Schödinger isn't around to join the discussion. His famous cat would have made minced meat from the tardigrade. 

Speaking of Schrödinger's Cat (click): it wasn't the famous scientist's way to make quantum physics understandable but more to make fun of the concept of an object being this or that. In his view any object could only exist in one state of being at any given time. If I understand the idea correctly that is. Because - just like scientists - I too am only human and thus not always correct in my assumptions.

In conclusion: scientists are people. Just like you and I. And even politicians.

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

His Dreams (a poem as a picvoice)

In the shining of the lamp post

all he could see was it and its shadow.

A similar shadow hung over his thoughts.

That were once his dreams.

(Music in background: Deep Purple - Child in Time)

==============

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Freedom!

A message for anti-vaxxers and other gullible and uneducated people:

'You can't say what you want anymore! I demand the freedom and the right to say what I want and where and when I want it!'

When was the last time you got arrested for speaking your mind? When was the last time you got banned for expressing an opinion? And no, an anonymously posted provocation is not an opinion.

Did you get ever thrown out of a bar for disagreeing with someone? And if you did, are you sure you didn't express your 'opinion' with your fist or a beer bottle?

When you say you want more freedom, do you mean 'freedom for all' or just for you and the people who look and think like you? Consider you want the freedom to drive drunk and as fast as you like; would you like others to have that freedom too? You want the freedom to sit in a bar without social distancing or having to perform a corona check? 

How about the freedom of the bartender and other clients to not be confronted with a selfish douchebag?

And while I'm at it, please stop saying nonsense like corona doesn't exist 'because none of my two* friends died from it'. 

*Selfish people have more relatives than friends

Using the same reasoning you could claim hunger and malaria don't exist. And it's by far not just the death toll (although world wide more than 5 million deaths is not a small number) but also the millions upon millions who are unable to work or perform simple tasks like getting groceries anymore. Putting a heavy strain on society and the healthcare system. But don't worry, doctors and nurses will even help you, should you get ill from contracting the virus. If you want to lower the chance of getting seriously ill from the coronavirus, get yourself vaccinated. 

And stop whining you don't have freedom. You don't know the meaning of the word

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Her name (a short story)

It was a gallery opening like many others. A well-known Dutchman held a speech, the host cracked some inappropriate jokes that got a laugh from just a handful of the guests and the lukewarm champagne was of an expensive but tasteless brand.

He didn't stay long but on his way to the cloakroom he saw her. She stood out thanks to her guts. You need guts to come to a black-tie party dressed in blue shiny hotpants. The amazing thing was that she looked good in them.

Her conversation partner could apparently not amuse her or else she would not have noticed him. The half-smile she gave him made him decide to approach her.

'I prefer a name to go with my fantasies',    he told her without even introducing himself. Completely ignoring the self-absorbed man in front of her she said she felt flattered and gave him her name.

She spoke. If the light of a half-moon in November had a sound, it would sound like that.

====================================

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Survival of the fittest

For those who want absolute freedom. To do what you please, when and how you want. No rules, no laws but just you and whatever you want. 

Just imagine the same goes for everyone else. No government. No rules, no regulations. Everyone can live his or her life exactly as he or she wants to. 

What if there was only one water source? And everyone wanted that. 

What if everyone defended his or her property? With semi-automatic rifles and other weapons.

What if everyone wanted what you have? And would be willing to obtain it, no matter the costs.

What if no one would let someone else tell them what to do or how to do it?

Would you like that?

Are you fit enough to live in a world with only one law?

'Fittest' is not 'most physical fit', nor is it 'strongest' or 'tallest'. Nor is it 'smartest' or even 'best equipped to withstand hardship'. 

'Fittest' basically means: 'Best adjusted to their environment. Well enough to succesfully reproduce.'

Could you adjust to your environment without any government assistance? Where you and you alone control your actions and others control theirs? What do you think would happen if people all stopped working at water- and powerplants? No more oil would come out of the ground? No more children would dig for the precious metals that make your car and cell phone work? You would eventually have to grow your own crops, make your own clothes, build your own house. You could choose not to do all that of course. You're totally free to do as you please, remember? You wouldn't have to cooperate with any government or other people. But you'd also be totally dead pretty soon.

Granted, you'd be absolutely, totally free. But could you survive if there was only one law?

That law would be called: survival of the fittest.

 

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

In a fire (a short story)

He forced himself awake from a disturbing dream.

Although there was no need, he decided to have a pee 

and then try to clear the cobwebs in his head with a handful of cold water.

He looked in the bathroom mirror and was relieved to see himself 

rather than one of the creatures from his dream.

He smiled when he saw the newspaper clipping 

that was pasted on the bottom left corner of the mirror. 

Nice memories. Now he knew that all was well.

And then he remembered that the clipping, along with the bathroom mirror 

and half of what a person collects in the course of a lifetime 

had been lost in a fire. 

==================================

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Do you decide what you want?

You don't want the government to tell you what to do. I get that.

You're your own boss and nobody can tell you what to do! Right?

Well, maybe just your boss. And your partner. And your children. And your mother.

But no one else! Really! Because you have free will and have the right to use that all the time! Right?

So, how many hours in last week was it really you and just you who decided what you did?

Was it really you who deciced not to go for a walk because it was raining? Or did the rain actually decide for you?

Was it really you who decided what to watch or was it a recomendation when you opened the Netflix-app? Or did you see it because a friend said you should?

Did you decide what posts you saw on Facebook or did some algorithm float some posts for you to see, without showing you posts by other Facebook friends?

Did you decide what song was played next from your speakers or did a dj or the Spotify algorithm decide for you?

Did you decide to buy or rent the house you're living in now? Or did 'the market' or perhaps your partner decide?

Our whole life we let other people and circumstances decide for us. More and more those people are replaced by algorithms: Google dishes up links when we look for something, social media decides what we see and read, Netflix decides what movies and series we can or can't watch (in the US you can watch series people in other people can't) and advertisements make us buy stuff and services we never chose to want.

Yes, I get it that you don't want the government to decide for you.

But do you really want Siri to tell you what you can, can't or should do?

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Her again (a short story)

'You can sleep at my place, we just bought a new sofa bed', she offered. He accepted gratefully since there were no night trains to his hometown.

Half an hour later she put the key in the lock of her front door and giggled. 'What's so funny?', he asked. 'I forgot that we ordered the sofa bed, but it hasn't been delivered yet.'

-'Oh', he said, 'what now?' -'You will have to crawl into my bed. But hands to yourself, eh?' she said with a mischievous note to her alcohol-hoarse voice. 

While she changed into her nightshirt he looked around in her room and saw, amongst other things, a handsome narrow double bed and her exciting shadow behind a folding screen. 

Not much later he settled comfortably next to her wonderfully warm body and enjoyed a much-deserved sleep.

Over a meagre breakfast she spat at him 'I thought you liked me!?' Unaware of any wrong-doing he reminded her of what she had asked of him. 

He never saw her again.

========================

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon