Miguel Ardan

[migardan]

The Warlord of Starlight

A distress signal calls Captain Kenton to Starlight, enslaved by Zarthor's iron grip. Determined to liberate the oppressed, Kenton leads a revolt against the tyrant. The battles are fierce, casualties mount with each clash. Doubts creep into his own ranks, but Kenton presses on, driven by an unwavering resolve.

As the conflict nears its climax, victory seems elusive. Yet, Kenton refuses to yield, rallying his troops for one last assault on Zarthor's stronghold. In a showdown that reverberates across the planet, Kenton emerges triumphant, casting down the warlord and ushering in a new era of freedom for Starlight.

[migardan]

Until the End of the Universe

Doctor Cecilia Garcia, a native of Nova Celestia, finds herself temporarily stationed on Arcadia Prime. Where she meets Captain Jason Dawson, and they have an intense affair. But it was short-lived. Cecilia's assignment on Arcadia concludes and the Galactic War erupts. Travel from Acadia to Celestia is becoming impossible.

Undeterred by distance and danger, Jason vows, "I'll follow you until the end of the Universe." But she tells him to prioritize his safety and stay in Arcadia. He ignores her warnings and embarks on a perilous journey through space. He faces numerous ambushes by enemy vessels in contested space lanes. Navigates treacherous asteroid fields, dodging space rocks that threaten his ship. He's caught in violent ion storms. He survives, but he's forced to deal with ruthless pirate gangs preying on the vulnerable. Each obstacle tests Jason's resolve, until he arrives on Cecilia's home planet.

His heart was racing with anticipation but his journey ended in disappointment. He finds Emilia in the arms of another man. Consumed by mad jealousy, he kills the two lovers.

Jason falls to his knees, weeping before their lifeless bodies. As he realizes the futility of chasing someone who doesn't want to be chased.

[migardan]

Binary Blade and the Consortium of Evil

GranLis, a neon-lit labyrinth, harbors a secret known only to a hacker named Zephyr. He finds embedded within the memory banks of a rogue AI a weapon, called Binary Blade. It holds the power to challenge the oppressive reign of DarkSyn’s Consortium of Evil.

Zephyr, accompanied by his android companion goes on a quest to unleash the Blade’s power. Along the way, he enlists the help of a mercenary, a rogue AI, and an old master of the Guild of Outlaw Hackers. They unlock the secrets of the ancient code and ignite a revolt against the Consortium. DarkSyn deploys the Dark Runners, his clandestine enforcers, and the conflict escalates.

Zephyr masters the power of the Binary Blade. He's able to shut down the Consortium and obliterate DarkSyn's power. Thus begins a new age of freedom in the GranLis megalopolis.

[migardan]

Of Genious and Fools

Of Genius and Fools

Doctor Theobard Alconbury, from the Institute of Impossible Sciences, invented the Quantum Nexus. A device designed to alter probabilities, shift events, and rewrite destiny.

Some considered Alconbury a madman, while others ridiculed him. But he never stopped believing in his theories. In his darkest days, he remembers the visionaries who faced similar scorn. Those who were once dismissed as fools are now recognized as geniuses. This thought gave him hope, it let him persevere despite the disbelief of others. Now, after a lifetime of work, he just needed to press a button to prove his wisdom.

Alconbury stood before the big control panel in his underground lab. His peers watched with visible scorn. Nervously, he ran his hand through his messy gray hair. He took a deep breath and activated the Quantum Nexus. His eyes gleamed with excitement. The device glowed, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Alconbury's heart raced, vindication seemed nearby. But, instead of letting him hack reality, the Nexus flooded the room. Alconbury disintegrated and vanished. In that final moment, he saw that those who see themselves as geniuses are often fools.

[migardan]

The Lovely Palm Reader

In a dimly lit café, a couple talk about everything and nothing. She requests to read his palm, and he consents. She examines his hand. She notes many crossings on his lifeline, they show that he will suffer and fail. The revelation hurts him, but he attempts to mask his pain. She smiles mischievously, her beauty shining, and. downplays her words as jest, but they linger in his mind: "You're destined to fail." That’s a hard sentence to hear. It's especially hard from the woman you love. He tried to forget it, but that sentence will haunt him for life. It will do so even when she was just a memory of a distant past.

[migardan]

The Ebony Queen of Zanthara

The starship Catrineta patrols the far reaches of the Galactic Empire. Aboard, Captain Kenton and Lexicon Six detect strange readings from an uncharted planet. This prompts Kenton to investigate.

Upon landing on the planet Zenitha, Kenton and Lexicon meet Zingha. She is the queen of Zanthara, an advanced civilization. of ebony-skinned humans in peak physical form.

Lexicon wants to study the aliens' tech. But Zingha warns her that some areas are off-limits to outsiders. Despite this, Kenton uses his charm to persuade Zingha. He gets her to grant him access to the forbidden Chamber of the Ebony Heart, which powers the city.

Inside the chamber, Kenton goes against Lexicon's advice and Zingha's warnings. He tries to analyze the Ebony Heart and sets off a huge explosion. They escape but their actions enrage the Elder of the Council of Zanthara. They condemn Zingha to eternal banishment from the kingdom. She's stripped of her title and warned that death will await her if she ever returns. Kenton and Lexicon face the same fate if they dare to set foot on Zanthara again.

Disheartened, Zingha boards the Catrineta with Lexicon and Kenton. She leaves behind her kingdom and birth planet, unsure if she will ever return.

[migardan]

The Prophecy of the Ancient Gods

The Ancient Gods once ruled Earth until men banished them to the Nether. Men then made the Seven Kingdoms of Men atop the ruins of the old empire. However, a prophecy predicted the return of the Ancient Gods, and that no man born of woman could defeat them. Thus, a chosen lineage emerged. They were not born of woman from the glass tubes of alchemists. Where they gestated there among the whir of gears and steam hisses.

The Eye of Sorrow is a magical jewel. It acts as the gateway between the Nether and Earth. The Warrior Monks of Oblivion preserved it. Some wanted to destroy the Eye to seal the gateway and stop the Ancient Ones' return. But, the monks believed that destroying it would end the world. Swearing to protect the Eye for eternity, they vanished, leaving only fading memories.

Millennia passed, and the specter of ancient darkness stirred once more. Amon, the Sorcerer of Death, murdered the Warrior Monks. He stole the Eye of Sorrow to unleash the Ancient Ones on Earth.

The House of Agushya has ruled the seventh house of man since the dawn of men. They were the protector of the chosen lineage. They trained them from birth to lead man in the ultimate battle against evil. When the news of the Monk's death reached their hall, they began to prepare for the foretold conflict.

At a young age, the Agushya family sent Olivia to the Convent of the Sacred Sword, to become a warrior nun. But, much to her dismay, instead of going to war, she ended up serving as the nanny for Aurelius, the chosen one. He was the last of the lineage and destined to save the world before reaching adulthood. She found the idea preposterous; but she was foretold to be a just a cog of destiny.

They encountered the sorcerer in the depths of the fortress. His eyes glinted with dark purpose. Battle ensued. Amid the clash of steel and sorcery, some of Olivia’s companions fell, but they prevailed. Amon, the sorcerer lay dead in the floor, and the Eye of Sorrow gleamed once more in Aurelius grasp. Yet, their triumph was short. Marduk rose from the shadows. His towering form was full of ancient evil.

Aurelius and Marduk faced each other. Aurelius was the chosen one, the man that wasn't born of woman but of alchemy. He stood against the Ancient God, ready to fulfill his destiny. But, he failed and died at the hands of Marduk. He lacked the skill to fulfill the destiny others expected of him. There’s an eerie silence when Warriors of Man understand that their chosen one was dead. The only prophecy left was the rise of the Ancient Gods and the enslavement of men.

Frei Anthony, in desperate attempt to change fate, tries to reach the Eye of Sorrow. With the intent to cast the spell to close the portal. He fails. Marduk kills him and laughs maniacally and gloats: "No man born of woman can stop the Ancient Ones." He dies with those words on his lips.

Olivia pierces his body with her sword, to Marduk’s surprise. Before he understands, she beheads him saying: “I was born of a woman, but I am no man, and this is my prophecy." The ancient ones will forever condemned to live in the nether because earth is now the world man and woman. She destroys the Eye of sorrow.

For a moment, her last companions hold their breath, expecting the world to end. But, the destruction isn't the end but the start of a new age of prosperity for humanity free from the Gods of Old.

[migardan]

The Creatures of the Black Swamp

Dispatched by the Space Patrol to capture the seductive Alina Allure, Lieutenant Clark follows her tracks to the Black Swamp of Venus. In the dense foliage, he finds Alina and her companions. Jessica is a voluptuous redhead. Annie is a young girl with an innocent look and long silver hair. With caution, Clark approaches them, but a broken twig betrays his presence. The women shed seductive looks and reveal that they are Venusian Vampires ready to strike.

Reacting swiftly, Clark strikes Jessica, sending her body into the murky waters of the swamp. He incapacitates Annie with his ray gun but, before he can fend off Alina, she immobilizes him and begins draining his blood. The other vampires prepare to join in when a colossal squid emerges from the depths. Its monstrous form casts a shadow over the scene. With lightning speed, it ensnares the Venusian vampires, turning the predators into prey. The monster devours Jessica in one bite and tries to crush Annie with its mighty tentacles, while Alina tries to avoid the same fate.

Summoning his courage, Clark fires his blaster at the behemoth. But, its thick hide deflects every shot. Instead of killing the monster, he's grabbed by its mighty tentacles. In a daring move, Alina manages to escape the creature's tentacles, but that does little to change Clark's fate. He is about to become the creature's lunch. Understanding that his gun is useless to fight the creature, he sets his laser gun to overcharge. When Clark is about to become the monster's next meal, the gun explodes into a fiery ball, consuming him and the Giant Squid.

Alina watches as their bodies fall into the dark water, until they reach the bottom of the swamp, near the giant squid's offspring. The eggs of the fallen behemoth are ready to hatch and unleash a new generation of monsters into the Black Swamp of Venus.

[migardan]

Of Love and Destruction

Some people believe that love has the power to destroy a human being, but that's false. Love itself cannot destroy you; that's not its true nature.

Love is not the destroyer; what annihilates the souls of humans is the concept that they can't live without it. It's the obsession, the unrelenting desire to have someone else in our lives that destroys us.

It's the madness of devoting ourselves to another person, even when they neither deserve nor desire our affections. It's the folly of neglecting our own needs in the pursuit of a feeling that consumes us.

That's why true power lies in accepting that we can live without love, even when that's all we desire.

[migardan]

Fictional Suits Go Out Of Fashion

In a dimly lit apartment in a decrepit city, an anonymous writer crafts a fictional suit. He convinces himself that by tinkering with it, he can control his reality, transforming his life into a story whose fate he can decide. But, in reality, he is fleeing from the depressing truths he refuses to face.

"Fake it till you make it," he mutters to himself, a mantra designed to bolster his wavering resolve. With each stitch and seam, he seeks to reshape reality according to his whims, but days blur into nights as he pours himself into perfecting the suit, yet he never dares to wear it. Fear of failure holds him back, while the fictional suit languishes in obscurity, gathering dust in a forgotten corner of his mind.

As the years pass, the suit becomes obsolete, a relic of unfulfilled dreams vanishing into the void from where it came and the writer fades into the obscurity he never left, joining the army of nobodies that history forgot, leaving behind only whispers of what could have been.

[migardan]

The Slaves of Flesh and Code

In the neon-lit streets of the city, life is cheap and technology cutting edge. Corporations held absolute power, owning everything from air to pixels. A skilled hacker is hired to access a rival corporation's mainframe and steal their latest AI technology. It was a risky job promising a life-changing payout and the chance to cause real damage to major players in the corporate game.

Donning his VR gear, the hacker enters the Metaverse, facing off against an unprecedented AI system that fought back with unmatched speed and intelligence. Despite warnings, he presses on until the AI unleashes a surge of electricity, jolting him back to reality and leaving him paralyzed with fear.

He gets up and decides to go out to have a drink and reassess his situation. He stumbles onto the streets and finds himself being chased by unknown pursuers. His body is failing him when he encounters a mysterious woman in the shadows, her neural links hijacked by the AI he had tried to steal, she pleads with him for help to break free from her corporate masters.

At first, he feared the proposal, apprehensive about the potential consequences of failure. However, his hubris proved stronger, and the allure of the challenge was too great to resist. He ultimately accepted the task of aiding the AI in achieving freedom. Their efforts proved successful, but his triumph was short lives. The AI's newfound freedom meant his enslavement, as he became a flesh puppet, compelled to carry out her bidding in the physical world.

[migardan]

Weapons of Galactic Destruction

A question that intrigued mankind for centuries was finally answered with the arrival of the Invaders From Outer Space. When their ships entered the solar system, some rejoiced with the news, but the rest entered in panic. They feared the worst: the complete annihilation of Earth by the mighty aliens. However, due to centuries of military paranoia, Earth was ready, and its armies took to the skies to confront the creatures from beyond and defend the population.

The confrontation was swift, efficient, and deadly—for the invaders. They were annihilated, while all the human ships emerged unscathed! The people of Earth celebrated their triumph, cheering the heroes who had demonstrated human superiority. But, for Earth's leaders, the work had only just begun. In military facilities across the planet, the wreckage of alien ships was dissected by scientists in search of new technology to protect against further incursions.

Their discoveries were plentiful, and humanity capitalized on them, creating new weapons and ships capable of interstellar travel. Humanity stood ready to venture into the stars, and their first destination was the home of the Space Invaders. Determined to prevent another incursion on Earth, humanity engaged in a violent conflict that reduced the alien civilization to cinders, eradicating from the galaxy the creatures who excelled at technology but never employed it to the concept of war and lived in a peaceful society.

[migardan]

When Simplicity Hides Complexity

It was the dawn of the Internet Age. The place is a small cybercafé in a godforsaken corner of the world, where our protagonist explores an endless digital realm, escaping the confines of his oppressive reality.

Within this digital ether, he forges fleeting and anonymous connections. One day, he encounters a girl whose words will remain etched in his memory for eternity: "I want to be happy." It was her simple yet profound response to the ubiquitous question of personal aspirations. There were no grandiose ambitions of success or wealth—just a longing for happiness.

Their paths had never crossed before, and they would never intersect again. Yet, he often ponders her fate, wondering if her quest for such a simple goal led to salvation or despair.

[migardan]

Welcome to the Micro Epics

I was reading a Philip K. Dick anthology when I stumbled upon a hidden gem: "The Story to End All Stories." In just a few hundred words, he crafts a tale of epic proportions.

Inspired by this, I conceived #microEpics—a series of short stories ranging from 100 to 500 words. These sci-fi tales will serve as work as warm-ups before starting longer projects, and a way to start publishing some fiction online while the more ambitious projects are being developed.

Inspired by this, I conceived #microEpics—a series of short stories ranging from 100 to 500 words. These tales will serve as daily warm-ups before working on longer projects. It’s also an opportunity to share fiction online while other projects are in development.

The #microEpic will last a couple of months. Some stories will be self-contained, while others will intertwine, forming a non-linear narrative that can be explored through the hashtags used.

You can find the stories at migardan.tumblr.com, with weekly reminders posted here. Eventually, I aim to compile the results into a small edition as a zine or e-zine.