Dear Dr Jackson, I have been hearing strange high-pitched noises during the night. They wake me up and I am unable to sleep. What is more worrying is that no one else seems to be disturbed by these sounds.I seem to be the only person who can hear them. Please can you help me? Elizabeth H. Dear Mrs H. High pitched noises at night? Unpleasant, especially as you say that…
Creepy People
Dear Dr Jackson. Every time I come to work I am followed by a rather creepy group of people in a car, right up to the Studio main entrance. They drive right up behind me and stay on my tail. I am worried what will happen if I stop, even though I am moving slowly. I would appreciate your advice. Communications Operative Dear Communications Operative, I was concerned about…
Performance Test – Still into SHADO?
Following recent IAC performance-related targets all operatives are required to complete the following questionnaire to assess their suitability for continued employment. Please answer truthfully: 1. Commander Straker orders everyone to work overtime to repair the computer system in Control. Do you: A. Jump for joy and set to work with a big smile B. Moan quietly but still get cracking C. Mutter under your breath about the evil…
Alec Freeman Reads Your Stars
Colonel Alec Freeman reads your stars: Commander Straker was too busy this month dealing with the recent Herald ‘hacking’ situation, to continue his studies into astrology . However, I used my own personal knowledge to ascertain the coming month’s events for each Star Sign. So here is your August horoscope, with a definite ‘holiday theme: Capricorn: 22nd Dec – 19th Jan Jupiter moves into your sphere this month to play…
S.I.D. – A Speculative History
SID – or to give him his full name, Space Intruder Detector – is the only offspring of Cray XV (mother), Hubble Telescope (father). Sid’s parents met while working on Deep Space Red Shift Exploration in 1976. It was instant love and after a short, but intense relationship the couple coupled. Sid arrived some 20 months later (gestation for electronics is longer than for humans). Sid was educated to PhD…
Just Another Job
I hadn’t stayed in a hotel quite like this before. Minimalist. The rooms are basic. Comfortable but .. basic. A large bed, bathroom ‘capsule’ I suppose they call it, a small niche to hang a couple of shirts. I hadn’t brought much in the way of luggage though. An overnight bag. That was all. Clean shirt, razor… that sort of thing. It was all I needed. This was a…
One Red Square
It was so cold that her breath whispered in the clear, night air and the snow crunched sharply under her feet. A big fat moon, skewered upon the spike of St. Basil’s Cathedral’s central core, vied for attention with the bright, modern lights the square lately had acquired. She walked briskly from St. Basil’s towards the red brick building of the State Historical Museum, less garishly lit and exhaling its…
Moonlight & Vodka: dragon
Sometime in the late 70’s in Moscow. Fix me a drink, make it a strong one, Hey comrade, a drink, make it a long one, My hands are shaking and my feet are numb, My head is aching and the bar’s going round, And I’m so down, in this foreign town; Alec Freeman downed another double vodka shot, his smile never reaching his eyes but the drunken Russian…
A Conversation Piece – Ltcdr
The room was bland and white. Not the glaring white of fresh paint, but a tired, dulled white, as if it had been awake too long, and seen too much, to bother trying to be bright and alert any more. As if anyone really cared anyway. There was a table and two chairs in the middle. The floor was there. That was all you could say about it. It knew…
A Conversation Piece – dragon
Rini-chan looked at the tiny flash drive in her hand. Then she looked at the USB port someone had installed in the back of one of Ford’s computers. She read the instructions in her other hand, stuck the drive in the port and pushed the tiny jeweled button on the end that wasn’t connected. The entire thing lit up as it did whatever it was programmed to do. “Mom, if…