Paul A. Merkley
Bio
Mental traveller. Idealist. Try to be low-key but sometimes hothead. Curious George. "Ardent desire is the squire of the heart." Love Tolkien, Cinephile. Awards ASCAP, Royal Society. Music as Brain Fitness: www.musicandmemoryjunction.com
Achievements (1)
Stories (101)
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Ardent Desire
No, the honor is mine, sir. You are the herald of his most Christian majesty the King of France. Now that your king has inherited all the earthly property and possessions of the happy memory of my illustrious Lord René, you need to understand everything about his state that a herald needs to know. The names, the references, the traditions. Everything! I was his favorite painter. This was my honor. This is my honor. I asked to meet with you here, before this painting, because it is my best piece and it explains so very much.
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Art
Blockchain
Major mistrust means escrow, that's me. Many can plan a blockchain crypto heist, but how to split the proceeds? A and B rob C, then A robs B? No, so A, B, and C, rob D, money goes to escrow (me), A, B, and C assign armed guards to me in person, and I split up the proceeds, taking a reasonable cut for me. I'm held hostage until they get their money. I'm known. It's a good living. I make the blockchain to receive the heist. They give me blockchains to their own accounts. I'm in my office, three goons with pieces watching me, my own goon watching them, and my finger's on the button, watching the clock for the microseconds when the crypto vault is open. Huge score. All of us on the call. Counting 4, 3, 2, BLACKOUT! "Damn! Missed it!" Struggle in the dark. Shouting on the call. Lights on again. Two goons knifed, dead. My shirt bloody. My guy holds a gun on the third man. Two men on the call collar their third man. "Instructions?" One answers, "Replay, retire." My man shoots. Call ends. Idiots. Earlier blockchain. Brazil. Maximum mistrust means my retirement, no replay.
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
What Dad Taught Me
For years I have liked to go to the mall on Father's Day. People who have fond thoughts of their father see a little of him in me, and a lot of good will comes my way. I realized I was a fraud because I had no children, but that did not stop me from enjoying the experience, and I also had the joy of finding the odd sized 3XL shirt that some thoughtful person "accidentally" put in the sale bin at the department store.
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Men
Now and Then: The Time between the Lightning and the Thunder
WEDNESDAY, June 21, Wotan's Day, Odin's Day It all started with a dream Wednesday morning, or maybe it started earlier and things were already in motion. There was a storm, but I don't think that's what woke me up. I saw sheet lightning, but heard no thunder, so how could that have woken me up? I think it was that dream. I looked at the clock: 6:21. Odd that the time matched the date, June 21... but just a coincidence. I turned on the bed lamp and reached for my notebook. The dream, if shocking, was crystal clear in its details, but the connection to the present and the import were not at all evident. I wrote rapidly, sensing that already precious details were fading. Probably the dream had not taken more than a couple of minutes, but the sensations and memories were lengthy. And what an ending, what a way to wake up--I was a pre-historic man and my enemies broke my bones and drowned me in a bog! Was that even a thing? And wait, one enemy was, yes, my brother in that lifetime and two other men... think... think... yes brothers of my fiancee, or what passed for that in prehistoric England... yes in the time of Stonehenge. In my present life I have no brothers or brothers-in-law. Maybe that's for the best!
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
Puzzles
'Keep friends close, enemies closer'. R, first-class enemy: smart, ruthless. I shorted his company, made a million five. Classy enemy he invited me to try out his new escape room. Trying now. Clue: 'Trader, solve 3 in 3 minutes or retire without honor. Find the mistake.' Time pressure. I broke your company in 3 minutes, R. Hmmmn. R's a Canuck. Wants a 'u' in honor. Bingo. Next. 'Solve the derivative'. Well, math, okay, but no. You had derivatives and I shorted you. Short! Good. Third question. 'No exit. Scream.' I don't get it. What's that smell? Gas? R! Noooooooo!
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
Dancer on the Nameless Plane
A short delay? IRREGULAR! 4,320,000 Earth years and that’s the Manvantara! No extensions! I’m the one who has to dance every little cause stream through the fourteen planes, and they know most of my work is for the lower five—the scrapes those bottom dwellers get into! They’re supposed to fold the bottom five up for the next 4 million. So why—Oh! Forgive me, I didn’t see you here, Miss, Ms, attractive Soul. No one ever stops by. You would dance with me? Through eternity? Oh it’s entirely my pleasure. Please take my hand!
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
10 Days in Iceland
Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. I don't like complicated back stories or heavy introductions. Maybe you don't either. Best to get going with the interesting bits, I think. So I'm keeping this introduction to the bare essentials then straight to the main story. What do you need to know? A bit about me, that's necessary and fair. I like history. I own a bed and breakfast in downtown Reykjavik just across from what used to be one of the greatest churches in Europe. My name? Oh we all just use patronyms. My name is Agata and my father's name was Alfred, so Agata Alfredsdottir. Before the occupation I gave tours of Thrihnukkagigur, the only volcano in the world with an intact lava crater. That is how you spell it in English, and that is how we say it, but we use a rune for the Th, so Þrihnukkagigur, because there are three peaks. I used to take tourists inside the volcano to the floor on the window washing stand. I love my country.
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
Wall Chat
"If walls could talk, which of us do you think would be worth listening to? Oh my goodness, you heard me--Hallelujah! Almost no one does! What was that? I told you, I'm the Wall. You may call me Wally, if you like. Oh there's no one here but you and me, you needn't be agitated.
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
Time and Tide
.... MARCH Relationships... as far as I can tell, the best ones are between people who are, well, not exactly opposites, but different enough that they're not twins. Take me and Sue Ellen. I get up early, she stays up late. She's a scientist, theoretical physicist. I'm a high school music teacher. She loves sci-fi and conspiracy theories (that's quite a heady mix for a physicist). I'm more of a facts-and-history guy. Thing is, I would be bored to tears living with a carbon copy of myself, and she is anything but. Sometimes she wakes me up late at night to tell me something she's excited about. This night was quite a trip...
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
Of Small Stuff and Sweat
This Caribbean vacation was turning out to be a bad idea. My friends back home warned me not to go. "Mitch," they said, "you don't like lying on the beach. You sunburn in 10 minutes flat. You're in to the dermatologist every two months to get something cut off. You don't sail, you don't surf. You don't speak Spanish."
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Fiction
