Jarick frowned at the tiny robotic bug perched on his fingertip. It called to memory the legends of his childhood – of everyday things made of earth and blood and bone.
Since CORP had become the official world government, they had mined and chopped and burned their way to a barren planet. Until the era of Operation Nightingale, that is. Now every tangible object – from the astro-turf beneath his feet to the pressed foam and plastic “trees” around him – could claim a factory origin; the earth made into a giant organic echo.
Sighing, he pinched his fingers together, crushing it, and wondered – if it had been a real insect – would he have felt its sting?
_____________________________
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Karen B. Nelson 
Dear Karen,
Kind of makes you glad you saw the real world and all the creatures that live in it, doesn’t it? Very well imagined story with the right tinge of sadness.
Aloha,
Doug
Very dystopian! As with all your Friday Flash Ficton, I wonder what happens next?
Paula
Operation Nightingale? What an ironic name for elimination of organic matter. Sounds like a world void of emotion. I wonder how Jarick knew that real insects sting?
A great story.
A horrifying insight into what the future might hold for us.
So glad to have found the ‘Friday Fictioneers’ – I’m reading some great 100 word stories.
Wow, great story, Karen. Very dark and forbidding for the future. Well done. 🙂
Oh, Neat! Nicely written, in the true sense of the word.
Very well done!
A new dimension!
Great! This is very close to my next sci fi novel. Sad, but a very true prediction of our future.
Nice writing,
Lindaura
I wonder if it had techno-blood?? Good job!
This is a beautiful and haunted snippet of something I would love to see evolve into a longer piece. There are already questions I have about this world such as breathable air production without plant-life. I know such things are scientifically possible on a small and temporary scale now, but I would be curious to see what you could come up with. 😀
Excellent work!
This is the link to my drabble: http://quillshiv.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/thetiniestspy/
I have a particular weakness for Orwellian worlds, and this was no exception. Loved it Karen. I’m glad he somehow knew that real insects could sting.
Wow, Karen. You’ve created a whole story in less than 100 words. I love it, especially the way you ended it.
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