Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nightmare Fuel, Day the Fourteenth

Dialog is fun. I sometimes like descriptive texts, and sometimes like to play by setting a scene with nothing but dialog. SF writer Terry Bisson is terrific at that; he has some classics (the beautifully titled "They're Made of Meat" comes immediately to mind) which are nothing but all-dialog flash pieces.

I didn't even use dialog tags here, but I think it's clear who's speaking at which point.
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"We're lost. Can we please ask for directions?"

"We're not lost and we don't need to ask for directions. You always want to ask."

"Admit it. You have no idea where we are or how to get there. Why do yo always think you know where you're going, even in a city you've never been to?"

"I know where I'm going. I read the map beforehand. Look, there's the bridge."

"that doesn't look right. I'm checking."

"Don't check. I know where we're going."

"CONTINUE ON GRAND CENTRAL P-KWAI FOR THREE MILES"

"See? We're supposed to continue. Not get off here." "No, this looks right. Trust me. It will be an adventure."

"STAY LEFT AT THE FORK TO MERGE ONTO GRAND CENTRAL P-KWAI WEST"

"You're not listening."

"The damn thing doesn't even know how to say 'Parkway'. This looks right. I can see the bridge."

"...RECALCULATING..."

"Where? I can't see anything."

"We would see the bridge if it weren't for this fog."

"...RECALCULATING..."

"Turn that useless thing off. If it's just going to say "recalculating" it's no use."

"If you won't listen it's no use. I really think this is wrong."

"...RECALCULATING..."

"It's fine. Let me pay attention. Look, there's the bridge, right in front of us."
"...RECALCU... ERROR. ROUT TO DESTINATION CAN NOT BE FOUND. PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER DESTINATION."

"See? Useless. You can't even use the thing right. Where does it think we're trying to go?"

"It still says the hotel. It just cant find it. Honey... the map is gone."

"Like I said, useless. Things like GPS are a crutch. We keep relying on those we forget how to walk. Now quiet. I can barely see."

...

...
Fogged Bay Bridges by Toby Harriman
Source: 
http://goo.gl/Gu0Y3T
...

"This bridge is going for a long time."

"GPS SIGNAL LOST. SEARCHING"

"Great. Now we can't use it to get back even if we tried. Why is the bridge so long"

"I don't know. Please... let me drive."

"I don't see the road."

"I know."

"I don't see any cars."

"I know that too. Look, we're on the bridge. It has to get us somewhere, right?"

"You never listen."

"GPS SIGNAL LOST"

"I can't see anything outside."

"SEARCHING"

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