{"id":2476,"date":"2023-02-18T14:08:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-18T21:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2476"},"modified":"2023-02-18T14:08:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-18T21:08:03","slug":"cups-and-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/18\/cups-and-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"Cups and Balls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story entirely of dialogue. Nothing but dialogue. No attributives (he said, she said, etc.). No descriptions of scenes or gestures or movements (unless these things are presented in the dialogue). Just words between quotation marks. Pure, beautiful, untainted dialogue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m knackered. Glad that\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou? All you did was sell me out, you Judas. I had to do all the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry. I thought he was another tourist. I have a hard time getting simple directions in this city, and I speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYeah, we\u2019ve all heard it\u2026New York sucks and everybody\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I saw a tall bloke in cosplay trying to get anyone to acknowledge him, I stopped to see if I could help. He just said, \u2018Show me magic,\u2019 so I thought he was looking for a street performer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou thought that was cosplay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cAnd you talked to a freak that looked like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. Why wouldn\u2019t I have done?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cThis ain\u2019t London, darlin\u2019. He coulda drug you off to an alley, and a thousand people would walk by without noticing a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes you think London\u2019s so different?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI\u2019ve performed there. Cameras everywhere. At least there you have the chance that cops are looking at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to involve you in anything other than entertaining another tourist. I really am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou couldn\u2019t tell how creepy he was?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, he just seemed lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cDarlin\u2019 you\u2019s in the wrong city to have a busted creep meter. That guy set me off right away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou really think someone could abduct me in broad daylight, on a crowded pavement, and no one would say anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cWe disappeared from here, what, ten hours ago? And we reappeared a few minutes ago. Has anyone even looked our direction?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey all seem to be actively looking any other direction than this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cExactly. I need a drink. My nerves are shot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cCups and balls\u2026I can\u2019t believe that worked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou what?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t think it would work?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI didn\u2019t have time to think past, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s that cute Brit tourist girl again, with a tall, creepy dude.\u2019 Besides, that ain\u2019t the point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is the point?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cIt worked. They ain\u2019t gonna make us slaves\u2026yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cThe science types have a thousand years to figure out this magic doohickey before they come back. Maybe we\u2019ll get real<\/em> magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn your act you said magic was all make-believe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cWell, I thought it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat changed your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cHow about when a big-ass space elf froze us in place and teleported us to his ship?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpace elf?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cCome on, you were thinking it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was thinking bloody Romulan, or Vulcan, but I guess that works too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou watch too much TV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe. I agree that I believe it\u2019s real now, but for you, why magic? Couldn\u2019t it just be advanced technology?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cCould be. But they really hammered on the whole magic thing. What convinced you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe entire time on their ship I could\u2026feel it? I don\u2019t know how to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI didn\u2019t feel anything except scared that I\u2019d mess up and they\u2019d eat us or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBloody hell. We\u2019ve got a thousand years to arm ourselves against Vulcans with magic and faster-than-light transport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cThey ain\u2019t all that scary when you think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes you say that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cThey say they can do magic, and magic is the only true test of sentience\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSapience, they said, not sentience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYeah, whatever. But they ain\u2019t all that bright. Hell, any grown-up with common sense would tell you that what I do is illusions and sleight of hand, even if they don\u2019t know how<\/em> I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrue, but you are<\/em> quite good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cOuch. I know what that means in British English. I spent some time in London, remember? Then again, you ain\u2019t wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! I meant \u2018quite\u2019 in the American sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cSure you did. Space elves with real magic are convinced that humans have magic because a mediocre street magician \u2014 me \u2014 did every trick I knew, and even flubbed a couple when I was getting tired. If they paid attention, they woulda caught the palm a couple times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was watching closely. You had me fooled when I stopped by the first time, and then the whole time on their ship. I still don\u2019t know how you do any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI could teach you some simple tricks, if you\u2019re up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019d do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYeah. I can teach you the cups and balls to start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat would be lovely. I\u2019d have something to show off when I get home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cHere, hold this thing while I set up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat should we do with\u2014hey!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cIt\u2026turned on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do anything. I\u2019m just holding it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cHand it back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s off again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cTouch it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cOuch! Take it or let go, it hurts!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cIt\u2019s not hurting you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, it feels like it did on their ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cWait, you get magic, and I don\u2019t? Life is so unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my fault, really.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI didn\u2019t say it was. Anyway, let me set up the cups and balls with clear cups so you can see how it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, there\u2019s already balls there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cOf course. The rest is manipulation. I\u2019ll go slow for you, then you can try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow that I see it, it\u2019s so simple. Not easy<\/em>, mind you, but simple nonetheless. Surprising that this was the one that sealed the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cLike I said, they ain\u2019t that bright. I know you<\/em> knew all along it was sleight of hand, even though you didn\u2019t know how, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course. This thing, though\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cCan you make that thing do anything other than light up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe I can\u2014bloody hell<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou, uh, just blew up the bus stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t mean to, I just wanted to make a light over there. Please, take this back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cIt turns off again. Hey, there\u2019s a thousand years to get ready. Would it really be so bad if you took some time to learn how to use this thing, and then we won a bunch of money on that magician show?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would. This should go to researchers right away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cEh, you\u2019re probably right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerhaps we should leave. It sounds like the sirens are getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cShit. Help my pack up my table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s too late for that. There are chaps in hazmat suits coming from both directions. And you said no one notices anything in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYeah, except at the worst possible time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat should we do with the device?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be given a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, bollocks. Before they cart us off, I have to ask about something you said earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cAsk away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou called me cute?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cI wha\u2014uh\u2026yeah. Yeah, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEllen Chambers, from Croyden, London.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cDerrick Little, Augusta Georgia. Ouch! Remind me not to shake your hand when I\u2019m holding the device.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think they want us to set the device down and back away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou should do it, so they can see that it responds to you. Better chance of not disappearing to Guantanamo or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cMy best tricks are escapes. I\u2019ll be out of cuffs before they notice. If I\u2019m really lucky, they\u2019ll use the zip tie type. I\u2019ll bolt the first chance I get. By the way, I slipped my number in your pocket when you were here the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow forward of you. I\u2019ll call the first chance I get. Looks like they want us to separate. For now, we should obey their orders. They got riled when the device lit up. Be safe, Derrick Little of Augusta.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cYou too, Ellen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Write a story entirely of dialogue. Nothing but dialogue. No attributives (he said, she said, etc.). No descriptions of scenes or gestures or movements (unless these things are presented in the dialogue). Just words …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[216,210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-DW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions\/2477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}