The Hugoverse

On one fateful day, everyone in the world received a slip of paper with a date on it. (Date as in M/D/Y) It turns out that this date is when the person closest to you dies. The slip of paper that you have has tomorrow's date. [ Link to post. ] “I can never thank any of you enough. It has been a joy, and an honor to know each and every one of you.” I raised my glass to toast my friends and family. They gathered to celebrate my final day. They all cheered and wished me luck. It was the best evening of my life, and I made sure they all knew it. The party would stretch well into the morning while they celebrated my passing, but my wife and I left early. “You have the confirmation number, right?” She asked me on our way out the door. I nodded. I’d reserved a death suite months ago. The event happened before I was born, but every child born after is born with that same slip of paper. Humanity has adjusted. Death is normal, inevitable, celebrated as much as birth. The car drove...

People lose the ability to dream if they have committed a murder. And you are desperate to end your constant nightmares...[ Link to post. ] Tuesday. No one expects much on Tuesdays, but this particular Tuesday was a big day for me. Tuesday, today, I get to commit murder. At least that’s how I’ve been looking at it. At night, my dreams are only despair and horror. To keep my sanity I’ve been forcing myself to stay positive during my waking hours. I fought to stay off the easy path, to keep my humanity. Everyone knows murderers don’t dream. As far as I can remember, my only dreams have been nightmares. My parents even offered to take the blame if I murdered someone, but I never took them up on it. I stayed strong as long as they lived. Now with them gone, I finally broke. I heard something on the news about some child molester getting away scot-free. Why should people like that be allowed to sleep at night when I can’t? I’ll do the world a favor. It’s the perfect ...

“So why exactly is there a cow on the roof?” [ Link to post. ] “Yeah, that’s what I’m asking you,” I said with a slight sigh. I burned up all my willpower trying to maintain my patience. “We don’t even own a cow. I talked to you last night, to tell you I’d be home today. Do you remember that? You didn’t say anything about a cow on the roof.” “Wait.” Johnny held a hand up to interrupt me while his gears turned. His light brown eyes stared off into the distance. “Yeah, I remember talking to you. I told the guys it was our last night to party. They rushed over…” his expression went blank when he lost his train of thought.   “Alright, I’ll ask them. Who’d you invite?” I helped Johnny keep his balance while he sat down. “Tully, Puck, and Copper,” he said. He sat back and rested his head against the back of the rocker. He began moving himself back and forth gently. I vowed to punish him when he was sober enough to appreciate it. Tully and Copper were a fine couple of guys,...

Chuck's stories in chronological order. D.M. - Demonic Master Timeless Picking Sides Bureaucratic Hell

Summonning a supernatural entity and then running before it manifests becomes the new teenager craze. All the cool kids are ding-dong ditching demons. [ Link to post. ] “Boss wants to see you,” Elaine said. Her cheerful voice came through the intercom. Rudy sighed, but did not bother replying. He rolled his chair back and stood from his desk. He grabbed his jet black coat on the way out the door. “Thanks Elaine. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off,” Rudy waved to his secretary as he stepped out into the long corridor. After an hour of walking he reached the boss’ office. He walked in and nodded at Debbie, the chief’s secretary. She smiled. “No rest for the wicked, eh Rudy?” She said. Rudy shrugged in return. “Not when it’s my job,” he said. Debbie waved him in to see the big man. He heard his boss’ deep booming voice as soon as he stepped into the office. “Red! Glad you’re here.” He showed his ivory teeth, and walked over to shake Rudy’s hand. “You promis...

"Oh come on, how was I supposed to know that robbing one bank would lead to all this shit?!" [ Link to post. ] “Was that a skeleton?!” I asked my daughter. We ran through the back alley, away from *her*. “I. Think. So,” she replied between breaths, without turning around. She turned a corner, and I followed. We ran into Alex’s Tattoo Shop and Pizza Parlor. He often tossed us freebies in exchange for letting him practice. “Crystal! Ryan! Great to see you guys. What’s up?” Alex came from around the counter and gave Crystal a hug, then offered me a firm handshake. Alex was a big man with a big dark beard. “We need someplace to hide!” Crystal said. The biker gang that frequented Alex’s stood from their table and walked over when they heard the panic in Crystal’s voice. I held my hand up to stop them. “No. We’re just catching our breath and moving on. I appreciate the help guys, but this is way out of your league.” “DaaaAD!” My daughter glared at me through her glas...

Ballisea is trying to conquer as many Earths as she can. She's a natural born Sun(#46). Here are Ballisea's stories in chronological order. Zero Hero Necro Romancer Flutter Bye Abort, Retry, Fail? Magitech Trash Tourism Picking Sides

Rudy's story in chronological order. Free dinner Timeless Picking Sides

Vegas' story in chronological order. Vegas (first appearance) Vegas Joins the Resistance Party Music Recruitment Lucky Lee The Rundown Soldier of Peace Vegas Destroys a City Getting the Band Back Together

This is where I will start storing information about my Universe to help add some context to my short stories.  Magic: Magic is a natural force present on all Earths, though not all Earths have a population that can tap into it. Once a Soul learns how to tap into magic on one Earth they can tap into the magic from other Earths. Nanos:   Microscopic machines that excel at efficiency. As a result they work together and learn to optimize the tasks they're trained for. On some Earths they allow Zeroes to tap into magic, while on other Earths they evolved to mimic magic.  AlterNet:  A network that allows users from alternate universes to communicate with each other. It is an Earth that is completely dominated by nanos. Earths with the right technology can project their consciousness to that Earth, and the nanos will form an artificial body for their consciousness. This is primarily used for gaming, and has essentially become a giant cross universe M...

You can talk to plants. [ Link to post. ] “Rise and shine!” The familiar wake up call cut through my slumber and my eyes flitted open. “Morning, Glory.” I sat up and turned to the purple flowers sitting on the window sill. The potted morning glory stared out the window at the sun. “Rise and shine!” It repeated. Being able to talk to plants had its benefits, but in general they weren’t very smart. “I’m awake, Glory.” I stood up from my bed, then tickled her soil on my way to the restroom. Her roots detected the vibrations. “Morning!” Glory said. I flipped on the light switch in the restroom, and this woke up Vera, the aloe plant. “I’m thirsty!” “No you’re not, Vera. I watered you last night,” I said to the plant. She continued to nag while I finished up my morning routine. After my teeth felt clean I decided to give her a couple drops of water. I let a partial handful of water drip on Vera’s soil. “I’M DROWNING!” She yelled at me. I chuckled and left the b...