Fortnightly Writing Competition - ALTERNATIVE TRUTH (Results)

Started by Baron, Sat 03/06/2017 05:00:38

Previous topic - Next topic

MiteWiseacreLives!

I'd appreciate it if you didn't stare at my proboscis, Baron...

Ponch


Baron

I don't think Grundislav is a very reliable informant while he's being anonymous. :P

Two more days, folks!  Keep those entries coming!

Mandle

Ponch, I hope you realize what kind of can of worms you have opened, shee!

Peder has hired a hit out on you for tryin' to muscle in, shee?!

Ponch

Baron: Grundy's identity was only outed due to shoddy journalism. What I find more disturbing was the revelation that he's saving up enough money to buy a 3/4 scale RealDoll of himself. Goodness! :shocked:

Mandle: I've been putting out issues of AGS Today for years and years. Here's one from 2011: http://www.barnrunner.com/pics/misc/AGS_Today_6.png  If anything, Peder is stealing from me! :wink:


Sinitrena

I'm working on something but I'm not sure I'll finish before the deadline. A small extansion would be nice. :-[

Baron

I don't know about extensions, but I am open to Alternative Deadlines.:)  How about Monday night?

Blondbraid

I was thinking of writing an entry, but I simply haven't been able to come up with any good ideas,
since no matter how preposterous or weird thing I would make up, someone out there is already beleving
an even more bizarre version of it.

Just to give you a real-life example, the husband of my mother's aunt honestly believed that
The Entire Vietnam War was a lie cooked up by Soviet propaganda in order to
spread anti-american sentiment in the eastern bloc.

(In his defense, he lived in Czechoslovakia back when Czechoslovakia was still a thing, but still, he believed that an entire war was made up...)


Baron


Ponch

I believe him! Just as soon as I get these Alex Jones water filters installed, I'm going to subscribe to Blondbraid's newsletter! :cheesy:

Sinitrena

I guess I didn't need an alternate deadline. Who would ever believe such a rumor?

I'm not entirely happy with it but I don't feel like working on it either. Some stories just don't work out. I wanted to enter it nonetheless.

----------------------------------------------------

Thoughts are Free

“Sir, is it possible for there to be more than one truth?” the boy asked with eager big eyes, so ready to be filled with all the knowledge in the universe.

His teacher, the old master who had already taught his father, always looked friendly at the child, but now an unknown darkness crept into his smile. “How could there be more than one truth? Truth is truth, and nothing else. And if there is ever any doubt, the government would find the truth.”

“Of course, Sir,” the boy said, accepting the words of his teacher without outward sign of doubt.

But the old master was not unused to pupils agreeing without understanding and he put his finger under the boy's chin and gently pressed his head up. “Did anyone tell you that there is more than one truth?”

The boy shook his head. He also chewed his lower lip. A short, indulgent laugh escaped the mouth of the teacher. Everyone knew when the child lied.

“Sometimes people believe things that are not true. Sometimes they think different opinions are different truths. But there can ever only be one truth. Do you understand?”

Shyly, the boy shook his head and the old man sighed. Maybe the boy was still too young.

“Look,” he tried to explain, “once upon a time, people believed that the earth was round. They wrote books, describing how that made more sense than a flat earth. They explained their theory with things that they thought were prove. And for a while, people believed them, even though it doesn't make sense. When you look around, it is easy to see that the world in general is flat, except for hills and mountains, of course. But people believed it, ignoring the knowledge of their ancestors. That they believed it, that doesn't make it true. Do you understand?”

The boy nodded, and the teacher smiled satisfied. But the thoughts of the boy were racing and while the teacher started to discuss another topic, the boy suddenly asked: “Is it forbidden to think the earth is round?”

“Forbidden? Thoughts are free. - Now please concentrate. What is three times four?”

*

When you argue, you always believe to be right. How else can you properly support your argument? The boy followed this rule without really understanding that it even existed. He fought with his sister, he fought with his parents and sometimes he fought with his friends, like all children do from time to time. He always believed that he was right and they were wrong and that they only had to learn the truth and then they would acknowledge it and apologize to him.

Strangely enough, they never did. They, too, believed that they were right.

His parents were not happy. As a child who always believed to be right, he was a nuisance.

“There is just one truth!” the boy shouted when they tried to discipline him. “You can't order me to think what you think!”

It were empty words of an unworldly child. The parents didn't realize that just two things an old teacher had taught him years ago had stuck with him: that there is only one truth and that people believed a long time ago that the earth was round.

And so the boy learned to keep to himself and read because it was easier than to argue. After all no-one seemed to accept that he was right.

*

His sister studied at the university. She talked a lot about freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion â€" freedom to think. He listened, but he was still too young.

“You have to learn to lie in this world,” she said, “otherwise you'll get arrested. For a different opinion, of all things. We're supposed to be free.”

“We are,” their father said dismissively and puffed his cigar. “You're thoughts are free.”

“What good is it when the thoughts are free but the body not? When the mouth is not? When I'm not allowed to say what I want, believe what I want?”

“There is nothing to believe,” her mother said gently. “There is only ever one truth.”

The young woman snorted. “As I said, I'd have to learn to lie. It's the only way to survive, isn't it?”

“Once, there was no objective truth, only subjective truth. Until everyone agreed on one truth and now we only learn this truth. There's nothing bad about this.” The mother did not understand her daughter's problem.

As a matter of fact, she understood neither of their children. The one didn't realize that he was sometimes mistaken and the other honestly believed that what she should know to be true wasn't. She shook her head.

“You can think what you want,” the father continued were his wife had left off, “you can say what you want. Your thoughts are free,, after all. Just don't expect anyone to think much of you. They'll just think you're stupid.” A little too late he added: “And we know you're not.”

The sister sighed overly dramatically and threw her hands up in the air. “There's no sense in arguing with you, is there? You just don't understand, do you? Just because someone says something is true doesn't make it so!” With that, she stormed out of the room.

The boy, who had listened silently until now, followed his sister.

“Wait!” he called after her and ran when she didn't stop.

He found her in the garden where she drew numbers into the sand with a stick.

“It does matter what I think,” she grumbled to herself, “It does matter when there are thing we simply cannot know. One truth, as if there can ever be just one truth.”

The boy stood behind her and watched her. He wasn't entirely sure what she had actually argued about but he felt she would at least entertain the thought that the earth was round. After all, a round earth was more exciting than the boring flat one everyone knew. Of course, he didn't realize that it stayed the same boring earth no matter what.

“It does matter when the official truth is wrong. It does matter when believing something else makes you an outsider. It does matter!” She threw her short stick onto the ground.

“Is the earth round?” the boy asked out of the blue. He hadn't learned yet how to broach a subject.

Understandably, his sister was confused and not in the best mood to begin with. “What? Don't be stupid. That's ridiculous. Everybody knows that the earth is flat. There's no reason to even think about this.”

“But... but...” the boy stuttered, “I thought you said -”

She interrupted him, standing up: “I was talking about important things. Who cares what the earth looks like? Ideology, freedom, the right to learn what one wants to learn. Important things. Don't bother me. You don't understand anyway.”

She was right. He didn't understand.

----------------------------------------

The title comes from a German song: Die Gedanken sind frei (Wikipedia - with english lyrics)

Baron

Nice.  Anyone else working on something?  I hinted at an alternative deadline, but if this is everyone we might as well wrap things up on time.  Post an update in the next 24 hours if you need until Monday; otherwise we'll start the voting tomorrow.

Frodo

Quote from: Baron on Sun 18/06/2017 03:24:16
... otherwise we'll start the voting tomorrow.

But which tomorrow is that?  Tomorrow's tomorrow, or the OTHER tomorrow?  :tongue:

Mandle

The Scent Of Victory

I walked into the family reunion as a complete stranger but, of course, everyone knew me.

After some awkward socializing with people I had never laid eyes on before, "Uncle Phil" approached me, pumped my hand up and down at least thrice with a fake smile on his face, and then dragged me to a corner by his grip.

"I'm guessing you've heard of the Mandela Effect?" he whispered in my ear, his breath reeking of vodka and vermouth, with an undercurrent of olives... Ahhh, "Uncle Phil" was a Bond martini man apparently.

"I tagged you as a Skipper the moment you walked in" he continued, "But now I must know which sides of the multiverse coins you flipped in from. What sides of the wars do you align with?"

He pulled me closer and pressed a knife to my ribs as we both smiled politely at a passing "relative".

I told him "I come from where Mickey wears suspenders."

He replied "Excellent... But does the Ford logo have a piggy-tail F or not?"

I said "Of course not."

I felt the pinpoint pressure of the knife on my ribcage ease off slightly.

He asked "Does Dolly have braces?"

I told him "As a Bond fan, which I suspect you are, you should already know that she does not."

A waiter approached, holding a tray of drinks, but we waved him away as I felt the knife relax further in "Uncle Phil"'s hand.

"Okay", said "Uncle Phil"... "I can tell that you come from our sides of the coins... Now, our next missio..."

I seized the moment and the knife from his hand, reversed it, and slid it cleanly between his ribs.

As he started to slump in my arms I whispered into his ear "I also happen to come from where vodka has no smell."

Baron

See, this is why we can't  be too quick to close these competitions. ;-D

I'll leave it open one more day.  Voting tomorrow: I promise!

Baron

...And that's a wrap folks.  We have five alternative entries to vote on:

Truth Bomb by kconan
You Really Want the Truth? by Frodo
AGS Today Vol.69 Issue 8008135 by Ponch
Thoughts Are Free by Sinitrena
The Scent of Victory by Mandle

Voting will be by the following categories.  Given the number of extremely meritorious entries (and kconan's) there will be a maximum of two votes per category.  Your categories are:

Best Alternative Truth
Best Alternative Truth Spouter (or best character)
Best Alternative to a Plot
Best Alternative Writing (think 90s grunge lyrics ;-D)
Best Alternative Thought Provokingness  Which entry really made you think a bit?

There are going to be some seriously glitzy faux-hairpiece trophies, so make sure you are generous with your votes for the entries you liked the best.  (You could also throw a vote or two to kconan so he doesn't feel bad. (roll))  Voting goes for three days and will tabulated at some point on Friday June 23.  Good luck to all participants!

Frodo

Some brilliant entries.  :grin:

Here's my votes:


BEST ALTERNATIVE TRUTH:  KConan.  His whole 'Baron conspiracy theory' made me laugh so hard!   

BEST ALTERNATIVE TRUTH SPOUTER:  Mandle.  For lulling Uncle Phil into a false sense of secuity, until he could kill him. 

BEST ALTERNATIVE TO A PLOT:  Kconan.  Beware of the Lizard People! 

BEST ALTERNATIVE WRITING:   Ponch.  Love his newspaper-style articles.

BEST ALTERNATIVE THOUGHT PROVOKINGNESS:  Sinitrena.  I felt sorry for the boy, trying to make sense of the world, when there is more than one truth. 


Sinitrena

Best Alternative Truth: Frodo - I love the idea of dreaming micro-organisms. I have to ask though, was this intentional?:
QuoteThere's nothing left but a baron wasteland.
If not, then you want "barren". Unless there's a meaning of the word baron I'm not aware of.

Best Alternative Truth Spouter (or best character): kconan - This story sounds very much like the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist, so kudos for that.

Best Alternative to a Plot: Ponch - For the work that went into the layout. But I really wanted to read the rest of the main article. Wh not show us the whole front page?

Best Alternative Writing: kconan - Either kconan put a lot of time into looking through Baron's old posts or he knows Baron's post way too well off the top of his head. Are you cyber-stalking Baron, kconan? Be honest, it's just between us. ;)

Best Alternative Thought Provokingness: Mandle - It made me think, certainly, probably because it left out a lot of information of what is going on.

Frodo

Quote from: Sinitrena on Wed 21/06/2017 17:07:14
Best Alternative Truth: Frodo - I love the idea of dreaming micro-organisms. I have to ask though, was this intentional?:
QuoteThere's nothing left but a baron wasteland.
If not, then you want "barren". Unless there's a meaning of the word baron I'm not aware of.

Ack, that's Baron's fault - he got inside my head and MADE me type that.  :shocked:

Well spotted though.  Fixed.  :wink:

Mandle

Quote from: Sinitrena on Wed 21/06/2017 17:07:14
Mandle - It made me think, certainly, probably because it left out a lot of information of what is going on.

Yeah, you kind of have to know a bit about The Mandela Effect to understand what the characters are talking about, but I didn't want to throw in a bunch of clumsy exposition. I just hoped that people who got it could enjoy the brief scene and "twist" at the end.

But yeah, a weakness for sure.

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk