Posting short (200 character) science fiction stories based in real science every day for National Poetry Month.

April 6, 2021 Monkey Mind Control

Excited, Joel 14, paralyzed in a ski accident waited as surgeons chipped his brother. The chip sent brain activity in Marty’s mind to a spinal receiver causing movement in Joel’s arms and legs. No one expected the chip to cause Marty to go crazy.

Science: A 2014 study in Nature Communications describes how one monkey can control the movements of another with its mind. “Using two rhesus macaques, scientists implanted a chip into the brain of the “master” monkey that could convert its…

Day 3 — June 15, 2013 on the Hazon (Vision in Hebrew) 2013 Cross-USA Bicycle Ride. This summer I am going to spend nine weeks bicycling 70 miles a day and writing my way across the United States. This is the story of my journey home to love, to Judaism, to a full life.

Light reflecting off the river
blackberry flowers
on the mirrored water
reflected images of the Hazon cyclist ahead

A mirror at a sharp turn
on the path
a big silvery globe
above the traffic
extending sight
around the corner
catching the light

Clouds and shades of…

A 200 character fictional story based in real science and history.

2051: Islam fading, Aarif a Math whiz, Dr. Faaiz, and botanist Sa’id time travelled to Baghdad in 1251. Goal: revive Islamic Golden Age. Redirect the Mongolian hoard to Europe still in the Dark Ages.

Science: Scientific Legacy of Islam: “Although Islamic societies lag behind current scientific achievements of the West, Islamic civilization “was once the unrivaled center of science and philosophy…while Europe was mired in the Dark Ages.” The science developed and practiced during the Islamic Golden Age (about 786–1258) included astronomy, mathematics medicine, chemistry, botany, agronomy, geography, ophthalmology…

A B’nai Mitzvah Torah Planner with Poetry and Inspiration.

Secrets

Leviticus 16:2 The LORD said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron
he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain,
lest he die for I appear in the cloud over the cover

Imagine a world without secrets
no confidentiality
no privacy

Secrets can be hurtful
ask anyone who doesn’t know
the secret handshake

Playful secrets can be
stimulating curiosity
like hide and seek or peek-a-boo

Secrecy gives way to conspiracies and fake news
a veil over corruption
surrounded by secrecy

Like fire the problem
not with secrets
but their…

A 200 character short story based on real science.

I am like a psychedelic mantis shrimp with 12 kinds of photoreceptors. Quicker than the 3 most humans have. Can’t always tell the difference between similar colors but I recognize the color of danger or food. I hear the colors you exude.

Science: “While the researchers aren’t sure exactly what the Mantis shrimp are doing instead, it’s possible that their visual system functions somewhat like a satellite sensor. The eyes of a mantis shrimp move independently — like chameleons’ eyes — and are perched atop stalks on their heads. To see…