Below is a 100-word story for Friday Fictioneers. This week’s photo prompt is courtesy of ©Douglas M MacIlroy.
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Friday Fictioneers prompt for 06062014 by ©Douglas M MacIlroy
An Ill Wind
Hanns watched the news report on his computer in the polar research institute. He was disgusted by the scientists in the television studio who were so busy congratulating themselves for bringing the woolly mammoth back from extinction that they seemed to have forgotten how much destruction humans caused.
Hanns had collected and stored much from the melting ice, not only DNA samples of mammoths and other animals but also previously unrecorded viruses and bacteria, the potential of which made his blood run cold.
Outside the research institute, a chill wind swirled and flexed its icy fingers over continents.
©Siobhán McNamara
A scary thought
It sure is. Thanks for reading 🙂
There’s so much in the story and it could all be happening as we speak.
I gather it is a genuine concern, though I can’t remember where I read about it. Thanks for reading 🙂
You chose a unique story for this week’s prompt, Siobhan. I enjoyed it.
Thank you Gina 🙂
You’ve highlighted a matter of real concern. Well done.
Thank you Sandra 🙂
I love the way the story slowly reveals itself and how the last line hints at the final outcome. Chilling story, Siobhan.
Thank you Karen 🙂
Dear Siobhan,
I see death and destruction on the horizon. Well done.
shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle 🙂
Dear Siobahn,
We’ve been digging our own graves for a long time. I wonder if anyone will try to revive us? Nice story.
Aloha,
Doug
Thanks Doug, and thanks for the photograph. I think this story has been bubbling beneath the surface for a while …
Some things are better left buried in the past. Excellent story.
Thanks Russell 🙂
Nicely topical after they found that prehistoric virus in the ice somewhere a few weeks ago! I worried then what might happen – who knows what could be hidden there waiting for that chill wind to blow it in our direction?
Interesting times ahead – it’s a little bit like going back in time as the ice melts
Yes, fascinating stuff!
An imaginative take. Super bugs from prehistoric times is a great idea.
Thank you, the melting ice is revealing a lot of interesting things
Yes – a dystopian story after my own, cold, cold heart (cold in writing terms, I’m quite a warm person really!). Excellent.
Me too Freya 🙂
I like the premise, could play out in a number of different ways 🙂
Thank you 🙂
aloha Siobhan. a chilling story and premise. one that opens many possibilities for future stories. and bares a remarkable resemblance to a future we seem to be plummeting toward in many ways. and invites discussion. . . . a cool write (erm. no pun truly intended). aloha.
Thank you Rick, here’s hoping this story remains fictional …
Yikes! So much suspense with so little words. Nicely done !!
Thanks Rachel 🙂
Ooh. I’m hooked!
🙂 Thanks for reading
🙂
Now we’re really talking scary.
Thanks for reading, Alice 🙂
You’ve done a wonderful job of capturing a sense of foreboding and impending doom. A vry creative take on the photo prompt!
Thank you Jan 🙂
I’m hooked on the story already! Great job 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Siobhan, Good story. It reminds me of Jurrasic Park where the scientist tells the owner that the scientists have been so busy bringing ancient animals and plants back to life that they haven’t stopped to think whether they should. I especially liked the phrase “a chill wind swirled and flexed its icy fingers.” Well written and food for thought. 🙂 —Susan
Should have checked the spelling for Jurassic before typing it. Sorry about that. 🙂 —Susan
I loved Jurassic Park for that reason – it is so easy to get caught up in the achievement and to forget about the potential consequences. Thanks for your comments 🙂
Such a scary thought that while celebrating, we might be oblivious to impending catastrophes! Sometimes pride brings us to delusion. This was wildly entertaining alone, but it would also be a gripping opening for a much larger story!
That is so true, and ‘experts’ often fail to listen to people like Hanns who are working out in the real world and not in a bubble like those at the top of the hierarchy.
Thanks for your encouraging comments 🙂
Siobhan,
I love this. The moral to the story is couched in a thriller to the point that I am more captivated by the intrigue than I ever expect to be with a story that holds clear warnings for real life. This is a difficult feat. Well done. You left me somehow satisfied and yet longing to read more.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Thank you, I’m so pleased to hear the story worked at that level. 🙂
Which is scarier, woolly mammoths or weird germs? Good take on this photo prompt.
… or the people in charge of deciding what to do with them! Thanks for reading 🙂
god what a frightening future.
🙂
“…flexed its icy fingers over continents.” Absolutely loved this part. Great story!
Thank you 🙂
Ah.. I recon humanity is in for some reduction in numbers… (not far from the truth given that at least the influenza pandemic virus can be revoked)…
That’s true, Björn,
Dear Siobhan, Yikes, the sky really will be falling if people don’t heed warnings from scientists. Good story and a lot of food for thought – we humans, are just like fleas on this earth and hopefully, it will try to shake some sense in us before it’s too late. Very interesting story and well done! I love it – really! Thanks, Nan 🙂
Thank you for engaging so much with the story and for your lovely comments 🙂