Vintage Vignettes: Path of Lilies part-1

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Welcome, everyone.  Finally, I have a new story to share.  It’s science fiction. The video above added my vintage element.  Now, you might ask what could the film Lilies of the Field have to do with a science fiction story?  Read on — I tied it together.  The nuns inspired an element of the story.

Fellow blogger, Dave Williams has been posting some interesting experiments with artificial intelligence (AI) apps. He’s included everything from random word generators, to image apps, to AI writing apps.  For details of just how he did his experiment, click here.

Image collage by Teagan
Image collage by Teagan

I’ve been wanting to write something new, so I used Dave’s experiment as a challenge, but with one major exception.  I am NOT using an AI app to create my story.  However, I did use Dave’s collection of random words to drive my story.  I also plugged them into an image generator (as Dave did) to get an inspiration image.  (Thanks to Chris Graham for letting me know about the free Playground app.  It’s a good one.)

Computer generated image apps give back frustrating results. It takes a lot of trying.  They seem to be random too, if unintentionally.  It added a person in a spacesuit.  That figure took me back to a world I created last year for a story on which Dan Antion collaborated, The Inyan Beacon.  So my response to Dave’s prompts is set in that universe. 

Enough of my blah-de-blah.  Here are Dave’s random words:  runner, announcement, first-hand, soldier, lily.  I used some today.  The rest will go in the conclusion next week. Here goes.

CGI by Teagan via Playground

Path of Lilies

Part-1

The window in the puddle-jumper reflected a perfectly symmetrical blue face.  Placing fingers to her cheekbone, Compass wondered if she should change the color of her skin, if only for the duration of her stay.  As a synth, she could easily do so — change her complexion, or the color of her hair, or whether she had hair at all.

“I like this metallic-looking blue.  I refuse to be a phony and let anyone assume I’m a regular human,” she muttered to her reflection.

“Compass, you are a real human,” she imagined the voice of Tank telling her.

Tank, Tatanka Cody, was the human who created her.  He was also her best friend.  However, that time she was flying solo.

A news broadcast about a story she had been following caught her attention.  Disease was rarely a problem.  Yet a strange plague had been reported.  She had followed the story with interest.  The sickness didn’t respond to any medication.  It had ravaged one planet in a distant solar system, and it showed signs of spreading throughout that system.

The artificial intelligence of the little ship sounded from the headrest of her seat, interrupting her thoughts. The commuter craft that carried Compass from the space station to the outlying planet called Waxčá stated that they would land momentarily.

She looked again at the announcement that had appeared in her inbox.  She had been invited to the cloistered world by the Mother Superior herself for a “research opportunity.”  Compass had indeed been a researcher, but also a soldier for hire and a mental health worker in her varied career.  However, she had done nothing that would warrant such an exclusive invitation.

Compass imagined Waxčá as a colorful world of undeveloped beauty.  Abruptly, she wondered if going there would be a mistake.    She glanced down at her blue hands.

In centuries past the little planet had been colonized primarily by monks and nuns.  They had kept the world pristine and isolated. 

The nuns only use technology where necessary.  How will they react to a synthetic woman?

Waxčá is a natural world.  Maybe they didn’t understand what I am.  I’m more of an outsider than they probably realize, she thought, again looking at her reflection in the puddle-jumper’s window.  She took her eyes away from the mirror-like image as the small craft sliced into Waxčá’s atmosphere.

Scant moments after she disembarked, the puddle-jumper rocketed away.  Compass looked at her surroundings uneasily.  Waxčá station was virtually deserted.

What did you expect? she asked herself silently.  It’s both a cloistered planet and a world that mostly rejects technology.  Why would anyone be at the space depot?

Hoisting strap of her duffle bag to one shoulder, she began walking along empty corridors to the front of the station.  As she came to an intersection of hallways, sudden brightness caused her to look to her right.

A flash like light glinting off a faceted crystal split the air in that hallway.  A man dressed all in white stepped out of the slice of brilliance and rushed toward her.

Trained in several martial arts, Compass moved to a defensive stance.  Her hands automatically went to the two shuriken which were her weapon of choice.  The throwing stars had been modified with a power boost that let them travel as far as a sonic blast.  They would also slide across the ground, returning to her voice command.

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End Part-1

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Tune in next weekend for the conclusion.  Wishing you a wonderful weekend.  I love to hear from you, so friendly comments are encouraged. Hugs!

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Of course, there’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion…

Thistledown - Midsummer Bedlam. New cover by Teagan R. Geneviene

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B082RFN9GF

Paperback:  relinks.me/1675233632

♣ ♣ ♣

This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2024 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

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69 thoughts on “Vintage Vignettes: Path of Lilies part-1”

  1. Pingback: Vintage Vignettes: Path of Lilies part-3 – Teagan's Books

  2. Good one. By the way, the moment I saw that video link with nuns in black and white I instantly assumed this one was going to be some kind of religious horror like many of the nun horror movies these days. I recently watched The First Omen (a prequel to The Omen 1976) and it was good. The Omen 1976 remains my favorite horror movie in English followed by The Exorcist and The Shining.

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    1. Haha. I wondered what various reactions there might be to the sight of the nuns. I don’t write real horror though. My novella series “A Medium’s Peril” is kind of close, but not what I think of as “real” horror.
      I was able to get a really fun image for a nun who shows up in the next installment. Hugs.

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    1. You’re so kind, Teri — thank you. I know how it is to get stuck. I’m mired down more often than I’m writing. For me it’s always about overwhelm with things unrelated to writing. I can know everything about the story, and still be unable to write. Yours may come to you when you’re doing some household task that busies your hands, but doesn’t require thought. That kind of thing helps free the mind. Big hugs.

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  8. Wow, Teagan! I’m impressed—five random words, and you create an amazing story. I can’t wait to read the next segment of this Sci-Fi cliff-hanger. Bravo!

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    1. That’s kind of you, Gwen — thanks.

      For 10+ years, I wrote blog serial stories, but using sets of three random things to create the story. Most lasted about 33 episodes, but one went twice that long. Although I’ve “resigned” from serials. This story just happened to be too long for a single post, especially with the explanation. I’m not quite finished with it yet, but it should conclude this Saturday. Thanks for visiting. Hugs.

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  11. Very neat that you also used the five random words to feed into an AI image generator, then to chew on the random words and come up with a story. And what an intriguing beginning! After I read the story a second time, I realized I was caught up in the cliff-hanger about the mysterious man that I temporarily forgot about the strange plague. You have a talent for adding eclectic ingredients to stories. Here, we get a synthetic human, nuns, a plague, shurikens. I’m looking forward to the next part!

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    1. Thanks for the great inspiration, Dave — and for reblogging.
      I was actually surprised by Compass’ popularity in The Inyan Beacon. So, I was happy to be able to put her and that universe into another story. And who could resist the idea of syfy nuns once it pops into one’s head? LOL. I know… I’m just not wired right. 😀 Hugs.

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    1. Thanks very much, Jan. When the spaghetti western/syfy world of the Inyan Beacon came to me, I just couldn’t resist. The Avatar world was stunning. But actually, I see a space cowboy universe somewhat along the lines of Cowboy Bebop, but not as violent. (That was both an anime series and recently a live action TV series (Netflix?) I haven’t seen the live action version.) Not quite lawless, but… well, like old westerns. That setting is more apparent in The Inyan Beacon than in this story though. Hugs.

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  17. Thanks Teagan, for this bit of fun. I await the conclusion!

    Amazing how (seemingly) easily you come up with new characters.

    As odd as it is that “Lilies of the Field” got you going, I do remember seeing it a long time ago. I remember thinking it was okay at the time. I was going through a Sydney Poitier movie phase.

    Have a fab day, every day! Hugs!!!

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    1. As a teen I loved his movies, Resa. (Though I didn’t see them until they were old enough to be on the local broadcast stations.) To Sir with Love is my favorite, followed by A Patch of Blue. Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs winging back to you.

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    1. Hi, Darlene. I don’t know what happened to my reply yesterday… Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed this one.

      Yesterday I made so many notes for the other installment that I hope I can keep it down to just two episodes. LOL. Thanks for reading a commenting. Hugs.

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  26. So far, it has me thinking the person in white is like Tattoo on Fantasy Island. I look forward to the rest of the story, Teagan. Your creative ideas are boundless.

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    1. Oh! I had to stop commenting to write down an idea. LOL.
      Yes, that was a sudden turn… It might have been fun to leisurely explore entering that world. There are always decisions like that with short stories. Thanks for reading and commenting, Fraggle. Big hugs.

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