Elevator Music

Three Petitions to the Queen of Hell

Story by Tim Melody Pratt As the reigning Queen of Hell, Marla prefers her privacy. Unfortunately, her wife Zufi insists that they’ve got to keep the gates of hell open to petitioners to keep things real. Despite Marla’s best efforts to discourage seekers, one such mortal named Hannah has made it through the gates on a desperate, some say unhealthy quest. That’s fine. But Marla wants something in return.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Elevator Music

Ellie Hartsmith just graduated from college and is rearing to pay off those student loans. Unfortunately, with AI taking over all the entry level work, jobs are hard to come by. So, when Chronos Office Solutions offers her a temp position, Ellie takes the elevator up to the 22nd floor to work for Big Tex Blinds. One thing about the job. It’s in 1983. It might be in the past, but it’s steady work.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Celestial Committee Meeting

The cosmos is truly wondrous, but the truth is it was also designed by committee. Everyone had a say in its creation and that has led to an emerging problem. God has requested a meeting with all the stakeholders through their assistant Gabe who sent out calendar invites and brought in donuts for the meeting. Whatever this problem is, Gabe suspects that it isn’t something that could be done over email. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Dies The Fire Retrospective

The dream of the 1190s is alive in Oregon as we’ll be discussing “Dies The Fire,” the first novel in SM Stirling’s “Emberverse” series. Set in the Willamette Valley in 1998 the Change strikes across the globe rendering all electronics inoperable and making rapid combustion impossible.  Be warned: there will be plenty of spoilers and “Portlandia” references. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Parable Of The Sower Retrospective

We’re going to explore Octavia Butler’s 1993 release of the dystopian classic “Parable Of The Sower” set in America of the 2020s. Spoiler alert: It’s even uglier than our disappointing reality, which is quite a feat.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!