Stories and thoughts about being a queer girl geek in the 21st Century.
Author: joanne the geek
I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. My interests include writing, film, music, art, books, and pursuing my geek interests such as Star Wars, and Magic the Gathering.
As the saying goes: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Imagine if you suddenly had absolute power: How long would it be until you became a tyrant? The Lord of the Rings, for example (not related to the above fiction), acknowledges this issue. Both Gandalf and Galadriel are offered the Ring of Power at different times, but they both end up refusing it as they know where it will lead. Yes at the beginning their intentions would be good, but gradually they would end up becoming Dark Lords themselves. Something to think about…
Daylight
some days are clearer
you wake up &
jump off down
to the money machine
& find there is
enough to buy
a new packet of
cigarettes
& you go back
home & open the
windows & the sun
glares into the room
& a breeze pushes itself
past the window frame & plays
with bits of loose paper
across the polished
wooden floor-boards
& you sit there smoking
listening to your
favourite R.E.M. album
wondering
how life could get
any better
Joanne Fisher
“Well’s gone dry.” Sarika stated. Both her and Kali stared at the dusty ground.
“We’ll have to dig a new well then.” Kali said. She knew if they didn’t find water, then they would have to find it somewhere else, but water was scarce in this parched valley. In fact the whole world seemed dry now.
“If we don’t find water, then we die.” Sarika stated. This was the constant reality all survivors now faced.
“Then the sooner we build a new well the better.” Kali replied trying to sound upbeat. They went to find the others to help.
Joanne Fisher
Word count: 99
This was written with the prompt well’s gone dry provided by the Carrot Ranch May 23 Story Challenge.
The delegates looked upon the blue world of New Earth, or Omphalos as it was also known (being the centre of the New Earth Federation). Each delegate felt trepidation as their starship began to land. New Earth had finally agreed to talks with the Alliance of Free Worlds after years of bloodshed. Though they weren’t happy with the location, and feared it may be a trap, nevertheless they had agreed to come.
Once they sat down against their opposites, they knew there was now a real chance for peace in the galaxy…
Lewis Pass
you and I
lying together in the darkness
individually wrapped
in our sleeping bags
the heavy rain
drumming
on the corrugated roof
of our tramping hut
today we stomped over
river flats & paddocks
perhaps
in some alternate dimension
where the stars are lanterns
fixed in the sky by angels &
the sun orbits the Earth
after swapping stories
of past lovers
we reached across the spaces
between our distant bodies
& held on to one another's hands
in the darkness
through the night
the rain falling
you & I
strangers to each other's
touch
the rain exploding
above our heads
& slowly filling
the river beyond
Joanne Fisher
Falling in Love
it's those smiles she beams at you
when she serves flat-whites & toasted bagels
that makes you notice her
her face shimmers as if
under the layer of her skin
there is a clear light
making her translucent
eventually you muster the courage
to ask her out fearful
her face might suddenly
succumb to frost
when shes says "Yes!"
your heart detonates
the world opens up into light
as if you so willed it
you could just float away
& walk among pristine white clouds
the tides rising in your heart
you grin like the village idiot
you go out to the movies
& walk home with her
the dark hides you both as you hold hands
as cars race furiously past
then on porch
your arms wrap around each other
as the night enfolds the hills
you hope this will be
a happy ever after
Joanne Fisher
“Congratulations! By rubbing the lamp, you have released me from my prison! I shall grant you one wish.”
“Ooh, I thought this only happened in fairy tales! I wish to live forever.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yup. Immortality.”
“Okay your wish is granted.You will never die.”
“Wahoo! I’m never going to grow old!”
“You never said anything about not growing old. You just wanted to be immortal. So you will keep aging indefinitely from now on. You’ll spend an eternity as some wrinkled old prune in constant pain and unable to move, and you will never be able to die. How do you like that?”
“I think I’ll pass on that. Can I change my wish?”
Morning Love
I can feel summer coming
bursting the flowers open
warming the old bones
of the earth
above a fighter jet sears
a long white scar on an
unblemished cerulean
sky
this morning we have
scrambled eggs together
a golden yellow on
wholemeal toast
after we had been
through the night
consuming each other
the new light floods
through the windows
reflecting in your burning
sapphire eyes and shimmering
blonde hair
love...
roll that word around
succinctly in your mouth
for a while
on a morning like this
it tastes so sweet
Joanne Fisher
The blows from the Inquisitor’s lightsaber forced Sadeya backwards. He was definitely much stronger then she was. She parried with her lightsaber, but each blow from him almost wrenched it out her hands. As he brought another blow down on her, she unexpectedly sidestepped it and his blade instead hit a container. Sadeya counterattacked, but he quickly spun round and parried her blow. He was much stronger than her, but she was more agile. Know your opponents strengths, and your own, for once you know these, then you are more evenly matched, Master Ordol had told her.
“Do you think you can defeat me with just brute strength?” Sadeya asked. The Inquisitor smiled. His yellow reptilian eyes stared directly at her.
“For a padawan, you are more skilled than I had expected. Master Ordol taught you well. This might be a decent fight after all.” The Inquisitor replied. “Of course if you join us, I can complete your training.”
“Never.” Sadeya responded defiantly.
“I can feel your anger. It must have been so difficult to have been abandoned by the Jedi and trying to survive on your own all this time. There is darkness in you, I can feel it. Join with me and I will spare your friend. I know you have feelings for her.”
“No!” Sadeya shouted. She launched an attack at him, but he parried it with ease. He smiled again.
“That’s more like it! I can feel your hatred. Let out your anger, and you will be more powerful.” The Inquisitor taunted. Their blades met. He pushed her back again. “It’s the only way to defeat me.” As he attacked, Sadeya dodged and swung her blade round. Again, he quickly parried her, but her blade skipped onto his lower arm making a small cut. The Inquisitor laughed.
“Why are you Sith always overconfident? You think hate and anger is the only path to victory, when clearly it isn’t.” Sadeya told him.
“Why do you Jedi think you can only win without the Dark Side?” The Inquisitor countered. He launched another attack at her. She parried, but was driven back until she hit a wall. “You have nowhere to go.” He began a series of savage blows against her, and the only thing she could do was parry them. While he showed no sign of tiring, she knew she was. It was only a matter of time until he broke through her defences… Then unexpectedly there was a laser blast. It had come from Will’s light transport. Losa must have opened fire on him with the ship’s gun. While the Inquisitor was momentarily stunned, Sadeya chopped off his right arm. His arm fell to the ground still holding on to his lightsaber. Before he could react, Sadeya then drove her blade into his head. The Inquisitor’s lifeless body collapsed before her. Sadeya sighed, and then collapsed herself. She lay there shaking as Losa ran over, and helped her up to her feet.
“We’ve got to go now!” Losa urged. She supported Sadeya as they walked over to the spaceship. Sadeya reflected The Inquisitor had not considered Losa a threat, and that was his downfall in the end. Maybe love and friendship was more important than the Sith realised.
to be continued….
Joanne Fisher
It’s been over a month since the last installment of this this story. Sorry for the wait.
Half Past Four
two lovers enfolded
at a busy intersection
cars going past, a cafe
in the foreground
oblivious to the rest
of the world watching
them in wonder
except each other
it's like a back & white
photograph you've seen
of two lovers kissing
as monochrome cars
stream past their horizons
it could be Rome, Paris,
or New York, at least
somewhere more exotic
than Christchurch.
Dostoevsky wrote that
beauty will save the world
it's time like this I know
what he means
Joanne Fisher
joanne the geek 