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    Former Selves and Other Stories
    Former Selves and Other Stories
    Former Selves and Other Stories
    Ebook40 pages32 minutes

    Former Selves and Other Stories

    By Michel Clasquin-Johnson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    seeker after knowledge in the Himalayas. An old man whose kind secretly runs the world. A historian with an unusual source of knowledge about things past. A very ... special child. These are the characters that come to life in the four short stories in this collection.

    1. Thou art that. All of it.
    Would you like to recall all your previous lives? You may end up remembering more than you can handle ...

    2. Better Nature
    For three hundred years we have ruled your world. All of you, the chimeras and the few genetically pure humans we keep around as a reference point. But how long can it last?

    3. Former Selves
    Yes, of course I thought I was going crazy when I first started hearing the voices. But they turned out to be quite useful.

    4. Charlie
    Some children are forced to grow up quickly. For Charlie, milliseconds were enough.

    With four 100-word flash fiction stories as a bonus.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichel Clasquin-Johnson
    Release dateJun 28, 2012
    ISBN9781476019000
    Former Selves and Other Stories
    Author

    Michel Clasquin-Johnson

    Michel Clasquin-Johnson is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Africa and was, until recently, the entire Buddhological establishment on the continent of Africa. He lives in Pretoria, South Africa with his wife, son and two motorcycles. Michel likes to think that he practices Buddhism (in his own way) as well as writing about it. The entire Buddhist world disagrees, but is too polite to say so. In his spare time, he writes what can loosely be called science fiction. Not a lot of science involved, and a fine disregard for the rules of fiction. He also writes application software, but only for utterly obscure and/or obsolete operating systems that are never going to lead to a payday. Let's hope he hangs on to his day job.

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      Book preview

      Former Selves and Other Stories - Michel Clasquin-Johnson

      Former Selves and Other Stories

      Published by Michel Clasquin-Johnson at Smashwords

      Copyright 2012 Michel Clasquin-Johnson

      1st Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Background to cover image courtesy of NASA.

      **********

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Thou art that. All of it.

      Better Nature

      Former Selves

      Charlie

      Flash Fiction

      **********

      Introduction

      I can't remember a time I didn't like science fiction.

      This is not the first time I tried to write it myself. It is the first time I didn't immediately delete the file after the first few paragraphs. I had to grow up, get married and start raising a child before I was able to immerse myself into another person's head to the extent that I could write their story. Even a fictional one.

      I always intended to publish my stories independently, but I owed it to myself to investigate the traditional route. So I sent my stories off to science fiction magazines. And collected some polite rejection notices. I was not surprised at all. These stories don't follow the latest whatever-punk fad, and they are not the thinly disguised fantasy that often passes for sf these days. I have nothing against fantasy, but I like science fiction. Old-fashioned science fiction. And I prefer the short-story format. Maybe one day I'll write a novel, but never the vast multi-volume sagas that clog up contemporary bookshelves. In any case, once you go e-book, the distinctions between short story, novella, novelette and novel start to fade away. It's all just data.

      The four stories in this collection do not take place in the same fictional universe. They do not make clever references to one another. Each story exists in splendid isolation. I hope you enjoy them.

      I am already working on three more stories for the next collection. Strangely enough, all three ended up involving time travel …

      **********

      Thou art that. All of it.

      It had been a hard journey. Physically, yes, but that was to be expected. I had made my way to secluded places in the

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