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No. 8 – Night of the Gypsy Queen
It had thus become a house of
tricksters, magicians, and illusionists. The presence of just one or a
few jokers would have sufficed to make quite an impression, and their
great numbers had managed to make me feel uneasy, jumpy, and on edge to
such an extent that several of my regular guests couldn’t help but
notice. Although the source of my considerable discomfort should be
obvious, the guests did not seem capable of appreciating that there was
a problem. Or maybe it was just that they wanted to be entertained at
any cost.
Sir Gordon, a British nobleman, finds his
mansion overrun by gypsies possessing magical powers. Historical drama
with elements of mystery.
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| No. 9 – Reign of Sir William
The
scandal caused by the gypsies’ frivolous and vulgar behavior during
their stay on the property spread slowly across the country, as did the
wicked rumor that Sir Gordon was himself a Satanist who had poisoned
his wife and paid a bunch of gypsies to celebrate her death with
perverted rituals. Determined to preserve as much of the family’s
hard-earned fortune as possible, William was quick to realize that the
situation left him no alternative. All land, buildings, livestock and
farming equipment had to be sold at the highest possible price to one
of the wealthy neighbors, all other possessions had to be auctioned
off, and the family would have to begin a new life in a more hospitable
foreign land.
William must pick up the pieces after the gypsies have finally abandoned Heatherford. Historical drama with elements of mystery.
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| No. 10 – Reform and Confiscation
When
the king had a change of heart, the Peers had been enjoying such
privileges for so long that they had gotten to the point of taking them
for granted. Complacency would be a fair characterization of a
situation in which they had been lulled to sleep by their privileged
situation, one in which they had forgotten all about the importance of
regularly ensuring that such privileges would in fact be continued.
Sir
William and his family are prosperous in Spain – perhaps too much so
for the beleaguered king, who needs money for his wars and scapegoats
for his political struggles. Historical drama.
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| No. 11 – Certain Nuances
Let
me draw at this juncture a critical distinction between “non-believers”
and “atheists.” The former is characterized by the fact that the
individual merely finds religion unpersuasive or – as is just as often
the case – simply hasn’t bothered giving the possibility that a Divine
Creator exists much though. In either case, the individual is prone to
becoming religious or, at the very least, to become a reluctant
churchgoer, which may or may not lead the individual to actually become
religious. The atheist, by contrast, has already spent much reflection
upon the subject and decided, presumably having carefully weighed all
of the pros and cons, and upon having considered all of the arguments
for and against, that God does not exist! Alas, the atheist is
considered an enlightened individual deserving of a certain measure of
respect.
An atheist moves to a religious town. Essay/drama.
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| No. 12 – A Christian Charity Program
The
pleasure of fully sharing a vision with her beloved husband had made
Mrs. Dee think that if only everyone in general, Sue in particular,
were to share the same visions and rejoice in true Christian harmony,
then a lot of problems would be solved, and she herself would be truly
gratified and obtain the peace of mind she so desperately needed and so
richly deserved.
Mrs. Dee is a brave Christian woman,
independent but with a heart of gold. She gets her hands full when she
sponsors an illegal immigrant woman, who has a boyfriend with a
criminal record. Satirical drama.
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| No. 13 – Court of Metaphysics
This
was red tape hell, a place built entirely upon rules and formalities, a
place where cracking an innocent joke might be looked upon with the
gravest suspicions, and where the polite refusal to answer any
questions would almost certainly result in further inquiries.
“I’m telling you, there is something utterly sad about this place. Is
it because it is so stuffy in here, you think?”
She
looks up to him, he has all the right answers, but both are in trouble
with the law. A short piece about the morality of
guilt-versus-innocence.
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| No. 14 – Miss Emily's Good Fortune
Not
that there is anything snobbish or arrogant about her, far from it
even. She is of the local breed, well-mannered and soft-spoken. It is
more that her audacity comes from some faculty deep inside of her,
causing her to rush forward and act spontaneously.
It so happens
that since I’ve known her since she was a baby, I do know her well
enough to reliably predict that her restlessness will keep her moving
on, jumping from one item to another, which in turn means that she does
not tend to be very persistent.
In New Zealand many years
ago, a tailor tells the story of young Miss Emily, whose life and
temperament could hardly be more different from his own.
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| No. 15 – Promises, Promises
“I'm
not jealous," he said softly. 'Why should I be? I don't believe you
ever caught me being jealous of any of your business connections no
matter how many hours they have spent here, sitting and talking your
evenings away.”
“With business talk.'
“Exactly. With business
talk. But I am afraid that one day you will accept one of those
invitations, become his partner, and move up to Boston. I'm afraid I
wouldn't be able to follow you because of my work.”
A graphic designer keeps receiving “partnership offers” from an opportunistic architct. Drama.
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| No. 16 – Sweet Revenge
She
felt an inner sweetness. She had taken care of the wine, which had done
her good. She felt so comfortable, well aware of how splendid she
looked. She had a tan, her weight was perfect, quite well-trained. Her
face was steady but receptive, and her feeling of being in control
appeared to be growing.
They used to be lovers, now they
are playing different roles over dinner at a restaurant. If he thinks
showing his vulnerable side will get him anywhere, he’s got another
thing coming. Drama.
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| No. 17 – Dominique the Dominatrix
Dominique
became a Doll, but due to some weird Diabolic phenomenon, El Diablo,
turned her into a Dominatrix, and finally passed her from bed to bed as
a sexually Disturbed and mentally Diminished Demon.
An
illegal immigrant, Dominique has had her share of pain and humiliation.
She is tough, a real survivor. As her status is gradually improved, she
does not become a well-adjusted citizen, far from it. She experiences
insatiable appetites, feeling the urge to dominate people.
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| No. 18 – Ancient Power Struggle
The
merciful were hard to find in those days. Imagine their desperation as
everyone from foot soldier to general were trying to position
themselves in what had become an unprecedented internal struggle, a
real rebellion. The contingency planners of that day and age never
contemplated anything like this; not even in their worst-case scenario
did they foretell that, one day, Spaniard might turn against Spaniard.
At the core of this struggle lay two things: a dispute of the right of
succession to the throne, and territorial claims and disputes towards
the other great European powers.
Event that lead up to
Spain’s seccession of Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 are viewed through
the watchful eyes of various people close to the king. Historical drama.
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| No. 19 – Crumbling of an Empire
Immobility
at the physical level served to reinforce the mental constraints. He
did not know for sure which one was harder to endure. For someone who
had hitherto been paying so much attention to his intellect and taken
it for granted that his mind would always be permitted to develop
unrestrained, this seemed intolerable and maddening. He had few means
of information, was not allowed to read, and thus it felt as if time
was standing still, except he knew only too well that on the outside
time wasn’t standing still at all.
Events that lead up to
Spain’s seccession of Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 are viewed through
the eyes of a king’s prisoner. Historical drama.
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