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Elevator Episodes in Seven Genres

Mysticism and Spirituality:
“I had to get you alone for a few days so that we could sort out our problems without the outside world intruding upon us,” Jim explained later. It had been an hour since the elevator had left its anchor pad on earth. The acceleration had eased of and they were nearing zero g.

“I think it was fate. God wanted to get us together again. A month ago, I was about to enter the travel agency downtown in order to explore some vacation options when I saw you coming out of the door. You were as lovely as ever. You seemed preoccupied and didn’t see me. The travel agent was my friend so when I asked him about you, he told me you were leaving for the moon. As soon as I heard this, my vacation plans were made. I booked the same elevator for myself and here I am.”

“But why were you following me today?”

“Oh, you know me. I like playing tricks. Just wanted to scare you a bit, I think.”

Horror:
The space elevator gave a lurch and stopped. Both of them looked up at the view screen. It just showed the blackness of space, interspersed with pinpoints of starlight.

The communicator came alive.

“We are sorry to report that there has been a malfunction in the elevator. Please do not panic. Rescue is on its way.”

Sex/Romance:
Daniella looked at Jim and Jim looked back at her. Suddenly, as if by tacit agreement, she and Jim undid the straps on their chairs and were in each other’s arms, kissing and being kissed passionately.

The communicator sputtered again.

“Are you okay? Please respond. Rescue shuttle is being sent out.”

The control tower must have been surprised to hear two voices, a male and a female, say simultaneously, “Don’t bother.”

And after a pause, the male voice added, “At least not for a couple of hours.”

Mainstream:

“My teacher is going to the moon on the space elevator,” John informed his parents at supper.

“There ain’t no such thing as a space elevator,” growled his father. “It’s all a hoax.”

The End

Ahmed A. Khan is a Canadian writer, primarily of speculative fiction. His works have appeared in several magazines including Interzone, Strange Horizons, Skive, Anotherealm, and others. His collection of short stories, Sparks, is available from Golden Acorn Press and Amazon. He has also edited the anthologies, SF Waxes Philosophical and A Mosque Among the Stars. He maintains a blog at Live Journal.

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8 comments

1 Redstone Science Fiction #2, July 2010 | Redstone Science Fiction { 07.01.10 at 1:00 am }

[…] Elevator Episodes in Seven Genres by Ahmed A. Khan […]

2 Chris { 07.01.10 at 10:36 am }

Totally fun — and a great premise, to boot!

3 Ahmed A. Khan { 07.03.10 at 11:18 pm }

Thanks for your nice comments, Chris.

4 Merc { 07.04.10 at 12:46 pm }

Hah! That was a lot of fun–I enjoyed it. :)

5 crowolf { 07.06.10 at 4:41 am }

Quite enjoyable indeed.

6 The Great Geek Manual » Free Fiction Round-Up: July 5, 2010 { 07.06.10 at 3:31 pm }

[…] “Elevator Episodes in Seven Genres” by Ahmed A. Khan at […]

7 Ahmed A. Khan { 07.09.10 at 5:23 am }

Thanks also to Merc and crowolf. Merc, I have friended you on livejournal.

The Great Geek Manual is such a treasure trove. And to think that I did not know about it until now.

8 Heating Up | The Blog at GateTree { 07.09.10 at 9:37 pm }

[…] are quite good. I love the weirdness of Michelangelo’s Chisel and the clever metafiction of Elevator Episodes in Seven Genres. Quality essays and our science interview was with a leading surgeon. The first two have gone […]