Pocket Fiction

Thank you for two years of Pocket Fiction

23 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

My patreon is available at patreon.com/giantsreach - see you there!

#103 - Shiner

09 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It's late. Too late to still be interviewing this particular suspect. Too late for his sneering voice, his arrogance, his stolid restatement of the fa...

#102 - Noctis Point, Chapter 36 (Finale)

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The battle is over, and Noctis Point is a smoking ruin. But the war is still far from over...

#101 - Noctis Point, Chapter 35

26 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Aliens and psych clash in the Battle for Noctis Point, as Alex finally accepts the responsibility that his newfound powers bestow upon him.

#100 - Noctis Point, Chapter 34

19 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex has always struggled with his psych. But something is different. Something fundamental has changed for him, changed in the world around him. And ...

#99 - Noctis Point, Chapter 33

12 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The assault by the Jovian Spiders is under way. Princess Ariadne and Alex, both at the heart of the crisis, are forced to work together to try and fin...

#98 - Noctis Point, Chapter 32

05 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

With the space-borne invasion nearing, Ariadne and Sera face a difficult choice.

#97 - Noctis Point, Chapter 31

29 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex, frustrated by his exclusion from the group, lashes out psychically. He is powerful, he discovers, and therefore dangerous. But something else, f...

#96 - Noctis Point, Chapter 30

22 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne discusses options with Principal Reeve, and comes across the psych Razz.

#95 - Noctis Point, Chapter 29

15 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne arrives at Noctis Point bringing terrible news: The Spiders are coming. For Alex, Kingly and Natasha, it means an end to their lessons and the...

#94 - Noctis Point, Chapter 28

08 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne makes her escape from the assassination attempt and finally mends some bridges with her handmaiden. But as the full scope of the political gam...

#93 - Noctis Point, Chapter 27

01 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne receives her largest piece of the puzzle yet; but is the information worth the deadly risk she may be running, to herself and to those she lov...

#92 - Noctis Point, Chapter 26

24 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex, now with some measure of control over his power, begins to experiment with how it can be used.

#91 - Noctis Point, Chapter 25

17 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Her mission complete, Ariadne returns to the Imperial Palace. There are still many holes in her knowledge, but her handmaid Sera holds the largest pie...

#90 - Noctis Point, Chapter 24

10 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Princess Ariadne, in her role as spymistress, finally gets some solid intel on the terrorist plot that festers in London. But things quickly turn sour...

#89 - Noctis Point, Chapter 23

03 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex delves deeper into his skills as an anti-psych 'Null field'. No psych has ever displayed his particular talent... can he make use of it?

#88 - Noctis Point, Chapter 22

27 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne faces the fact that she can't stop her father from waging war. But there are problems closer to home that require her full attention...

#87 - Noctis Point, Chapter 21

20 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What new power does Alex bring to Noctis Point? As he begins to develop his unusual strain of psych power, he soon finds that enemies are easy to come...

#86 - Noctis Point, Chapter 20

13 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex learns about shielding as things slowly return to normal.

#85 - Noctis Point, Chapter 19

06 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

With the Earth Empire on the brink of genocide, Princess Ariadne has one last desperate attempt to convince her father that there is another way.

#84 - Noctis Point, Chapter 18

29 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of a site-wide psychic blackout, Alex finds himself the subject of an interrogation.

#83 - Noctis Point, Chapter 17

22 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As Alex and his friends explore their newfound psychic abilities, they constantly discover new and exciting things that they can do. But they are not ...

#82 - Noctis Point, Chapter 16

15 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Princess Ariadne meets with Principal Reeve on the Noctis Point base. As she learns more about psych biology, and how psychs work, Ariadne works towar...

#81 - Noctis Point, Chapter 15

08 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The focus of Alex's training moves from psychic to physical, and to the psych game Locus - and suddenly Alex finds himself in a position of power.

#80 - Noctis Point, Chapter 14

01 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex finds out exactly what a 'null' is, and just how much danger he is in. Later, as he works to improve his meagre skills, he makes a worrying disco...

#79 - Noctis Point, Chapter 13

25 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

She offered it to Alex, and as he took it a strange tingle ran down his arm. The tube vibrated, numbing his fingers.A vivid rainbow-hued light burst i...

#78 - Noctis Point, Chapter 12

18 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sera frowned. “What will the Spiders do when your father launches the attack?”“They must know that we can destroy Europa and Ganymede,” Ariadn...

#77 - Noctis Point, Chapter 11

11 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Further frustration lays in store for Alex as he begins to test the boundaries of his power, and finds out just how much he can and can't do.

#76 - Noctis Point, Chapter 10

04 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex attends his first classes as a psych in the Mars base 'Noctis Point'. As he begins to explore the depths of his talent as a psych, however, all i...

#75 - Noctis Point, Chapter 9

26 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne attends a briefing that quickly turns into a war council, as new evidence - and an old threat - come to light.

#74 - Noctis Point, Chapter 8

19 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex begins his life as a psych at Noctis Point. Together with his room-mate Kingly, he finds out more about what being a psych means - and how danger...

#73 - Noctis Point, Chapter 7

12 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Princess Ariadne and Sera take to the skies as they continue their investigation into the terrorist attack in London. As Ariadne inspects the site of ...

#72 - Noctis Point, Chapter 6

05 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As Alex sets off towards Mars, and the Noctis Point base, he meets his fellow recruits. But Noctis Point is a school like no other. A paramilitary tra...

#71 - Noctis Point, Chapter 5

29 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alex receives a visit from the Psy-Ops psychic police force, and they give him some information that will change his life forever.

#70 - Noctis Point, Chapter 4

22 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Dimlands, home to the criminal element of London, and unlikely site of Mother Chén's Orphanage. As Alex returns home jobless, he faces the matria...

#69 - Noctis Point, Chapter 3

15 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ariadne Cutter, daughter to the Terran Emperor, is far more than she first seems: spymistress, information broker, princess, whether in her own name o...

#68 - Noctis Point, Chapter 2

08 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Not again. A man, as wide as he was tall, holding someone against the wall up ahead, a knife glinting in his hand. Alex skidded to a halt.The man turn...

#67 - Noctis Point, Chapter 1

01 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Earth, 2154. As the alien Spiders, together with human allies, assault a communications centre in the heart of London, 15-year-old Alexander Deere fin...

#66 - Matryoshka, Part 3

25 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As the Matryoshka's final layer is revealed, the paradox comes full circle for Leonard, Margaret and Ross.

#65 - Matryoshka, Part 2

18 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The plot thickens as Leonard delvers deeper into the mysterious matryoshka doll.

#64 - Matryoshka, Part 1

11 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A scientist takes delivery of a mysterious matryoshka doll. Who sent it? What lies within it? And why does one of the layers have a perfect painting o...

#63 - The Woman in the Red Dress, Part 2

04 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A contemporary standalone story in which a man and a dog explore a mysterious mansion in search of a homeless woman.

#62 - The Woman in the Red Dress, Part 1

27 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A quirky short story about a talking dog and an abandoned mansion house. It's not Scooby-Doo fanfiction, I promise.

#61 - Disloyalty

20 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A short story about loyalty cards, coffee, and the nature of the soul.

#60 - Son of a Bit

13 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This was the story that accompanied Susan Cook's speech at the User-Centred Design Conference a couple of weeks ago. More info can be found at steveco...

#59 - The Last Dinner Party

06 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A man is invited to a dinner party by an old friend, but with a twist: his host has been hired to kill him, and makes no secret of the fact. Has his l...

#58 - Cog519

30 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When a digging team unearths a relic of an ancient war, scientist Nef is called in to recover it. Instead, he reactivates it...

#57 - The Dark Shard, Part 2

23 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

I'd all-but forgotten about the Philadelphia Experiment, which is alleged to have taken place in 1943, but podcast Stuff You Should Know did an episod...

#56 - The Dark Shard, Part 1

16 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A chief engineer decides that enough is enough, and hands his resignation in; but will it be enough to stop the government from using his creation for...

#55 - Progress

09 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A Victorian inventor discovers that he has a secret admirer, and it's Death. But why is the End of All Things so interested in his work?

#54 - Eve and Tic

02 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Eve, a young engineer in the Science and Industry College, tries to uncover the mystery of her partner's construction.

#53 - Depth

25 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ken, a salvage diver, is deeply suspicious of his coworker Jenick's response to a brush with death - enough to perform his own risky dive in search of...

#52 - The Monkey On Your Shoulder

18 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A young man looks to mysticism and monkeys to solve his problems - but will it make a difference?

#51 - Nané

11 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Newly uplifted, Nané is a cat of the Gyb duchy. Together with her friend and rider Gita, she needs to prove her worth to the rest of the armed forces...

#50 - Heaven

04 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Based on a piece from 2011, this is an irreverent look at the afterlife through the eyes of Angel Uriel.

#49 - Slave

28 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When the Red Hand slavers finally catch up them, Tark the otter is injured and Guthry, his human partner, is captured. It's up to Tark to try and moun...

#48 - Lily's Story

21 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lily, abed with the fever that has ravaged her village, receives a visit from her lifelong friend, the Guardian.

#47 - Singularity

14 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The technological singularity is a point where our artificial intelligences will become self-aware, indistinguishable from our own consciousness. But ...

#46 - The Lion and the Lamb

07 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The shepherd of the future tends, not to sheep, but to small mobile photovoltaic cells. But when poachers threaten his livelihood, will he be able to ...

#45 - Art of War

31 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The new Emperor looks out upon his empire, victorious, as his scheming son looks on. Can he avoid the final hazard in his rise to power?

#44 - Before Anvil Part 2

24 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

While healer Kai tends to the wounded, Hellä prepares to meet her foe head-on.

#43 - Before Anvil Part 1

17 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When one of the artisans of Ashenhall is injured, it's up to his apprentice and the village healer to save his life. But, in the darkness, something l...

#42 - Empathy

10 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The social media of tomorrow might use your emotions to make the experience more immersive. Imagine looking at a photo on Facebook and receiving an em...

#41 - The Climb, Part 5

03 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Father Brennan's journey ends at the canopy of the Arbour - his living god - but what will he discover there?

#40 - The Climb, Part 4

26 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As Father Brennan continues his climb up the tree, he makes some startling discoveries.

#39 - The Climb, Part 3

19 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A priest begins his climb of the deific tree around which his religion is based.

#38 - The Climb, Part 2

12 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The journey begins, and as the Arbour grows ever closer the world enfolds the priest.

#37 - The Climb, Part 1

05 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A holy man is given orders: to defy blasphemy and go on a journey that will push the very boundaries of his belief and his faith.

#36 - Hold My Hand

29 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What if death was only a hindrance to consciousness, and not the end?

#35 - Walk4U

22 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What if you were able to walk on cruise control, someone else putting in the effort so that you can check your emails, browse the web, play a few move...

#34 - A Flash Of Power

15 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when an automated steampunk factory goes haywire?

#33 - Safe Seat

08 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What if there was more to the UK Election than we see in the coverage? What if your vote counted for more - or less - than you thought? A dark look at...

#32 - Rejection

01 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A comatose patient is summoned through time at the moment of her death, but what does the distant future hold for her?

#31 - Toshiko

24 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When a personal assistant is stolen, she goes to unusual lengths to ensure her own safe return.

#30 - Sacrifice

17 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A homeowner is convinced to buy 'The Kitchen of the Future!' and isn't prepared for what that really means.

#29 - The Grass is Always Greener Part 2

10 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The training begins as Farmer Merryhew tries to repeat his success and create the world's tastiest beef, but all is not as it seems down on the farm.....

#28 - The Grass is Always Greener Part 1

03 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When local farmer Gerald notices one of his cows acting in an unusual way, he at first thinks nothing of it. But as the animal exhibits more signs of ...

#27 - Whine

27 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week's story comes to you from Rie Sheridan Rose. She edited the anthology 'Avast Ye Airships', into which I was lucky enough to get a story. Thi...

#26 - Witch?

20 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Two people who made deals with witches gamble over the life of their firstborn. However, they only have one firstborn between them. As the witches com...

#25 - Valour

13 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A village blacksmith, under threat of being replaced by a machine, is visited by a living legend.

#24 - Numbers Station & The Wall

06 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A double-bill, with a short standalone story based on the wonderful modern-day mystery of Numbers Stations, written by me, and a wonderfully atmospher...

#23 - NeedFire

27 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first chapter of NeedFire by guest author Amy Braun. Sophia is forced to make a difficult choice when the worst happens. NeedFire is avail...

#22 - The Wishing Cat

20 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A fantasy story about a cat that grants wishes, and the perils of choosing your words poorly.

#21 - Deep In Thought Part 2

13 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Set in the Noctis Point universe, Deep In Thought is a standalone tale. A Psy-Ops operative battles to save the life of a young woman through unusual ...

#20 - Deep In Thought Part 1

06 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Set in the Noctis Point universe, Deep In Thought is a standalone tale. A Psy-Ops operative battles to save the life of a young woman through unusual ...

#19 - The Illusionist

30 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Set in the Noctis Point universe, The Illusionist is the first in a series of Tales From Room 111. A young researcher discovers that an unshakeable be...

#18 - Chance Encounter

23 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A child writes to his soldier father. A standalone story written in the world of Noctis Point, by Steve Cook.

#17 - Poisonroot Chapter 12

16 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Trip and Victor meet Lauren, Engineer Extraordinaire. Apologies for the sound quality in this episode; I’m going down with some sort of cold, and I’...

#16 - Poisonroot Chapter 11

09 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Trip’s turn to train, as Victor finds out how far Trip’s memory talents go.

#15 - Poisonroot Chapter 10

02 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A short interlude chapter, as Anila receives further orders.

#14 - Poisonroot Chapter 9

26 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

After the battle under the tree, Trip and Victor attend a debrief in the Mayor's office, and Victor accepts a new mission.

#13 - Poisonroot Chapter 8

19 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

After an investigation, Trip and Victor discover that all is not what it seems.

#12 - Poisonroot Chapter 7

12 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Trip and Victor investigate the mysterious goings-on in a rural village.

#11 - Poisonroot Chapter 6

05 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the discovery at the farmhouse, Victor and Trip travel to Deep Round. But the village is in disrepair, and the locals are all injured. ...

#10 - Poisonroot Chapter 5

28 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Victor and Trip are attacked on the road, leading to a grisly discovery.

#9 - Poisonroot Chapter 4

21 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Anila, the daughter of High Father Hork, trains. But now, with the destruction of her home, she has a purpose.

#8 - Poisonroot Chapter 3

14 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

As Trip and Victor prepare for their journey, Trip comes to the unsettling conclusion that Victor is not the man Trip thought he was.

#7 - The White Tiger

07 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

A boy goes through some mementoes with his grandfather, and discovers that someone may be watching over him. Mild spookiness.

#6 - Clockwork

31 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Clockwork is a short standalone horror story recorded for Halloween 2014. Like all good horror, the less said about it the better! Best enjoyed with h...

#5 - Diplomatic Immunity

24 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

A peace envoy to the Jovian moons results in catastrophe as the aliens take things very literally.