Nicephorus

Like Kafka, but crap

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The Mechanism by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

The Mechanism

The Engine was the product of decades of work. My experience in engineering, the craft of the finest artificers in London and an unparalleled input of funds from my benefactor, John Carey. It was a work of monumental import, the continuation of a project abandoned sixty years before, when Charles Babbage failed to create a prototype of his Difference Engine. John stood next to me as it whistled through its first calculations. "It's a fine machine, George. Testament to the intellect and ingenuity of its creator." I must confess to clearing my throat in embarrassment at such praise. "And it can calculate – at speed – any equation

Night Fighters I by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Night Fighters I

The air was quiet; the sky was mottled with a few clouds unmoved by wind and the half moon hung high above us as we sat. This was enemy territory, deep into France, and even in the distance I could hear the thrum of motor vehicles and faint thud of ordinance. The front line was some hundred miles behind us and there was no chance of reinforcements. We'd parachuted in the previous day, sat like ducks at a fairground shooting range while anti-aircraft and small arms fire whistled past us, puncturing the silk and sending more than a few of the squad tumbling to their deaths. Still more were so perforated by the time they hit the ground we had

What Rough Beast by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

What Rough Beast

The throaty roar of airplane engines filled the large hall. Outside was the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber; inside was sanitised and antiseptic. The walls were white, and the carpet an institutional beige, designed to be blandly easy on the eye. I hugged Avi close to protect him against the milling, circulating crowds. There were a lot of them. Overhead airplanes circled like great falcons, waiting for the order to land. Someone, somewhere on the site was probably watching events, deciding when it was safe for those birds to meet the tarmac. Armed security personnel roamed the aisles and the spaces between the moulded plastic seats. Gre

From the Archives: Anti-Trust by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

From the Archives: Anti-Trust

Well, the Revolution happened, but not in the manner that any vaguely ideological could have predicted 100 years before. The great war, the thermonuclear destruction that was to have been the harbinger of either the resurrection of a utopian human race, or the genesis of a bestial existence in a desolate, post-holocaust world, never materialised. The ageing and antiquated weapons of mass destruction remained moth-balled in their silos, their launch codes forgotten; now nothing more than a poignant reminder of the quaint days when military might was thought to be equivalent to power and influence. A weapon was discovered or, perhaps, rediscove

Mr Griffin's War by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Mr Griffin's War

Sandra was worried about George. It had been two years, but he still seemed drawn in on himself, unwilling to talk to friends or neighbours or even his own wife. She left him to it most of the time, and spent her days tending to the garden. That was what you did in retirement wasn't it? Tend to the garden. But the garden at the back of their small semi-detached house was dying, despite everything she could do. She listened to Gardener's Question Time on the radio, she assiduously spread compost while trying not to think about what was in it, she re-potted and pruned, but the garden was withering. It was all she could do not cry when she loo

The Legacy of St. John by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

The Legacy of St. John

Claire had only joined because she had to. The school Judo club had wanted someone first aid trained, and she'd volunteered because, well, volunteering for things - showing willing - was about all she did well. From first aid training she'd been suckered into joining the organisation proper. The St. John's Ambulance Service. And now she spent her weekends sitting around in a draughty tent on the outskirts of Parson's Field, kept company by an assorted group of middle aged, knitwear-loving bores, while the rest of her class enjoyed the amusements of the fairground parked on the grass. It would be doing the group she spent these dull days wit

Sonnet I: Freedom by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Sonnet I: Freedom

Although tears wet my skin like bitter dew, and muscles falter 'neath their heavy load, if legs should fail, I'll stand anew, wipe clean my face and walk the road. If fate and desp'rate men should stay my stride, and should the fist of chaos close around, I shall stand tall and calm and fight with pride, and journey on to whither I am bound. If I'm told to bow before a tyrant's might, I'll continue as my journey began, a firm and measured pace towards the light, and shall not bend my neck for any man. I'll fight and never shall this world break me, for I am my own guide. I am free.

City of the Dead by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

City of the Dead

There were no lights in New York at night. Power was at a premium, and the government stopped all support to the region on order of the new President. New York was dangerous at night. She knew that, as she crept from one doorway to the next, heading west through Brooklyn. It was hard to walk the streets at night, even though they were all but deserted. And you had to walk; there was no gas for cars any more. No one would make the journey without a good reason. She had one, although she wished she hadn't. Insulin. Type-1 Diabetes is a wicked master, and she was running low on shots. From dirty doorway to untended alley, she threaded carefull

Dark Sidhe by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Dark Sidhe

People told stories about the sídhe, those strange misshapen knolls and mounds that flecked the countryside. People said that they were tombs; when the Morning Star and his rebels had fallen from Heaven, their long, calamitous descent saw them career headlong into the receiving earth. The gates were barred behind the fallen and their paths back to the living were closed. But sometimes, sometimes, mothers would whisper to naughty children, the Devil and his host would return to the world to carry away the wicked. The sídhe were gateways to the other place. * My footsteps were muffled on the heather, each footfall sinking into deep

Twilight of the Thegns by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Twilight of the Thegns

Hwat! Hear, O herald, honest England's muse, my tale of fear and fight; of flight and force, a blood-bathed battle Britain mustn't lose, King Godwinson's stand 'gainst the mighty Norse. So, kin of dooméd kings, hark kindly to the tale. For none, not Norse nor Brit did long outlast, the crimson carnage and the fletcher's hail, once Wotan's warlike, ashen spear was cast. Terrible triumph from terrible wrath gave carrion ravens a rare, rank feast. So vanquishing the Northmen from the North, he then would face the Northmen of the East. But onwards, to calamity, we haste

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The Mechanism by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

The Mechanism

Night Fighters I by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Night Fighters I

What Rough Beast by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

What Rough Beast

From the Archives: Anti-Trust by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

From the Archives: Anti-Trust

Mr Griffin's War by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Mr Griffin's War

City of the Dead by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

City of the Dead

Dark Sidhe by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Dark Sidhe

Guerra de los Muertos by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Guerra de los Muertos

La Guerra de los Muertos Texas is nothing but scrub, dust and Spaniards. An endless vista of ochre mediocrity punctuated by gloomy cantinas and dead eyed prostitutes wearily calling their wares from white balustraded galleries. Thousands of square miles of empty sand, vicious Apache and the dried, cracked blood of good American soldiers. It was in '47 that my command found something else hiding among the flat, arid plains and rocky promontories of this dead land. We were sixty miles west of el Paso, and had been given the order to intercept a Mexican supply caravan coming up from the south. Like the last time, and the time befor

The Devil's Fugue by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

The Devil's Fugue

Andrew settled at his keyboard. This was his daily practice, assigned him by his tutors at the Royal Academy, and about the only quiet time he would get, away from the frenetic bustle of his flatmates. Of course, 'quiet' was relative; with his headphones plugged in, the sounds of the keys filled his world. He set his shoulders back, raised his hands dramatically and imagined he was Arthur Rubenstein, fingers flexing, palms hovering over the black and white keys, the audience vibrating with anticipation. He breathed deeply, looked at the music in front, down to his hands over the keys, and back to the music in front. He brought hi

Risen Waters by Nicephorus, literature

Literature

Risen Waters

Risen Waters May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan -- JOB: 3:8 Undersecretary to the Admiralty C/O Cabinet War Rooms, Whitehall London 13 September, 1939 Dear Sir, Many strange things happened in the Great War. Many great and terrible deeds were wrought, and nameless horrors were inflicted by man upon his brother. The battles of the Somme, Paschendale, and Verdun showed the horrific nature of modern war. But it was at sea that the true desperation reigned. The Germans began using their new sub-marine boats, small metal monstrosities that defied the very fabric of Archimedan law. My post in

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maybe it's warranted. by DEbree93, literature

Literature

maybe it's warranted.

“I believe in karma.” She shoves her face into pillows That never sink deep enough. Sleep is her favorite refuge But it doesn’t last long enough. Reality followed her into her dreams. She is gullible & oblivious She believes every word Laced with hopes, laughs, dreams Till she fell for you so hard That she mixed reality with fiction A dim-witted combination Where you force two puzzle pieces together Just because they’re similar Even though they will never fit. “karma means you get what you deserve.” She tripped down an elongated stairwell Scathing her knee on hardwood’s edge Smiling with

Mine by aquarius-stereotype, literature

Literature

Mine

Mine I could still feel the heat of the fire against my skin, warming my chilled surface from the bed of snow I had fallen upon. Someone had cut the power to my body, and I was left paralyzed. Above my right brow, not even the searing pain and white hot fluid escaping me could revive my limbs. Crying out inside my only haven, my will was a cotton whip fluttering against the hide of my disobedient body. It started in my fingertips. The flames were slipping away, no, I was mistaken. I was slipping away. Life was running away, scattering into a million pieces. As I listened to the last gust of breath leaving my chest, even my own mental cries w

Of A Gay Teenager's Lover by SinceDecided, literature

Literature

Of A Gay Teenager's Lover

Confessions of a Gay Teenager’s Lover August 30, 2008 To his mother: Your son loves you so much. He loves to see you smile and it breaks his heart to know he made you cry. He wants you to accept him and love him like you used to. He wants you to hug and compliment me like you did his first and last girlfriend. He wishes you could see how much his heart breaks every time you turn your head away. To his father: He loves you too. He wishes you would see him as something other than a wimp and a sissy. He wants to play basketball again with you. He wants to live underneath the same roof as you again. It hurts him worse when you call him a

About Nicephorus

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Deviant for 15 years
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Nicephorus

May 30, 2010

On new jobs, new houses and writer's block

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It's been about 9 months since I last uploaded anything to this account, and about the same length since I last had an original idea. Writer's block is a fucker, but everyone goes through it. Various other changes (new job, moving house etc.) have kept me occupied and tired enough that I haven't really had time to work on writing. Still, I'm hoping I can get back into it soon, and re-activate what is rapidly becoming a dead account. I'll also try to start reading the thousands of lit deviations I have queued up in my message area. Look for comments coming to a deviation near you.

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Nicephorus

Aug 18, 2009

On word count and critique

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On a whim, I totalled up the number of words of 'literature' I've submitted to DA since I joined about a year ago: 49,100. That's half a novel so far, even if it was on such unrelated subjects as the evolution of the Hospitaller Knights,  Mexican zombies in 1846, and a fanatical religion based on imaginary gods. Actually, I think that's the plot of Dan Brown's latest novel. Burn. Anyway... I guess I've realised that DA is a community rather than just a place to store work, and so I'm trying to give a little back and spread the love. I don't really want to be that guy who just posts his work and leaves. That's like being the bloke at the ope

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Nicephorus

Aug 7, 2009

On freedom, fantasy metaphysics and loss

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Finally finished the Wheel of Time series, and brought an end to the tragic compulsion that has gripped me for the last month. The taste of freedom is glorious, and I'm back on the wagon until the new one is released in November, at which point I'll be down to the bookshop so fast I'll leave a sonic boom in my wake. I'm working on another story, one that's been percolating for a couple of years now, but I've started to realise that if you're going to write any sort of coherent fantasy or sci-fi you need an internally consistent world to set it in. That's a lot harder than it sounds. In trying to map out the vagueries of the world I have in

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Jenu1

Oct 8, 2009

Hello! My name's Jenu, and I noticed that you gave a very detailed and nice critique on Antram's story, and I was wondering if you'd like to check out my story and critique it. I'm looking to improve it in any way possible, so any remark will be appreciated.

[link]

Martin-Kewish

Sep 23, 2009

Have not seen an update in some time. Looking forward to reading new work mate.

Nicephorus

Sep 27, 2009

Hah, cheers mate. Moving house, no internet connection. An eternity of putting up bookshelves. Hopefully get time to write soon.

Still, will have a lot deviations to check when I finally get the internet.

VulpesFulva

Aug 26, 2009

Thanks for the fave, the watch, and (again) especially the critique!

NamelessShe

Jul 20, 2009

I wanted to say thank you for suggesting Snow Red for a Daily Literature Deviation! It absolutely made my day.

Nicephorus

Jul 20, 2009

I'm glad! ~Miss-S-Bird asked if I knew of any good literature to put forward, so I suggested a couple of stories from my favourites. Glad she chose that one, it's a great piece.

ProjectComment Jul 13, 2009

Thank you for the

and the support!