Dead Letter Office

MacTonnies

 

Fiction:

Note: The stories included here are either original to this website or else “reprints” from online publications. Stories that have been submitted to current fiction markets will not be posted.

The Restoration

“We had all studied the disappearance, tracking down and interviewing witnesses, pondering the quantum fluctuations that emanated from the city’s erstwhile perimeter. There were no answers. And our questions had been unformed, fleeting: more an exclamation of our collective ignorance than proper attempts at deduction.”
Hot Rain

“As her sensorium comes to life she stumbles under the sudden deluge of discomfort, the sun’s blade shoved deeper into her flesh, threatening to rend the slender fiber-optics that run through her spinal column. Animal fear grips her; she marshals the discipline to remain hunkered on the hot pavement while her brain severs the barrage of input.”
Disintegration

“I emerged on the stadium’s uppermost level, my hands sticky and colorless on the back of a collapsible plastic chair. An airplane passed silently; I could make out its wings against the clotted sky, and imagined them as veined and restless as a mosquito’s.”
The Symbiosis

“He thought he felt the sim’s versatile flesh wrapping around him, womblike, encasing him in a pliant shell of machine warmth. Tendrils wriggled into his ears, up his nose, latching onto interface ports he had long forgotten existed.”
The Reenactment

“Cloying black smoke issued from the shattered cockpit as instruments fizzled and fuel lines split open like vivisected snakes. And then Clayton could hear the rain again, hammering its endless watery code on the Jeep’s hood.”
The Visitors

“We would lie on our backs, the sand molded to our bodies, and watch the Halo’s slow disintegration, our muscles tightening as fragments succumbed to gravity and plummeted to the horizon with a faint dopplered roar…”

Essays:

The Roswell “Hieroglyph” Controversy (illustrated)

“If the designs witnessed by Marcel weren’t the designs described by Moore, then it’s plausible that the official explanation for them is in error and that an unconventional aircraft of some sort indeed crashed near Roswell in 1947.”
Sentience and Circuitry

“Reproduction, per se, may never become obsolete, but at least we will no longer be at the mercy of its evolutionary mandates. Aesthetics and the definition of pleasure will necessarily adapt to our own caprices and augmented cognitive abilities.”
Skeptics, Debunkers and Believers

“The Earth of the early 21st century is a deceiving, perilous place, and we may ultimately pay for the luxury of our zealously guarded tunnel realities with our own extinction.”
Reactions to the “Alien Autopsy” Footage (illustrated)

“Interestingly, the pathologists seem to know what they’re doing–to the degree that it appears they’ve already dissected a similar cadaver or have been briefed by others who have.”
The Universe Viewed as a Cybernetic Dream

“Nerves take root under alien skies and explode into illumined matrices of pure thought. Time and matter are made as mutable as the softest of clays and sculpted into yet new forms of life.”
Who’s There? (illustrated)

“The entities encountered by Betty and Barney Hill appeared genuinely startled by the fact that Betty’s teeth were removable while Barney’s were not. Is this really the behavior one would expect from visiting extraterrestrial anthropologists?”
A Case for Agnosticism

“There is an unspoken suspicion that asking too many questions violates some cosmic statute; individual gods are not only jealous, it seems, but oddly insecure in their own existential status.”
Ashes in Rain (illustrated)

“Royo’s post-‘Blade Runner’ pin-ups are as numerous as they are distinctive: women in corroded metal collars; sensuous cherubs with delicately furred wings more beastly than angelic; waifs with cruel halos of skull-penetrating chrome…”
An “Interview” with Whitley Strieber

“[Strieber’s] humility and willingness to question the apparent reality of his visitations were traits lacking in the ‘contactees’ of the 1950s, who more or less divulged the secrets of the universe to anyone willing to listen.”
Of Venusians and Coffee (featured as “Coffee Shop Encounter” at Paraview Press)

“She was probably in her 50s (or 60s); her face had the taut quality associated with cosmetic surgery, and she wore big black sunglasses that made her look a bit like the cover illustration from ‘Communion.'”
Morrissey and Kafka

“Kafka’s labyrinthine prose style and exacting grasp of nuance and character reveal a world riddled with bureaucracy and corruption; his protagonists are burdened by anxieties grown to mythical dimensions.”
Pencil Protruding Through Piece of Styrofoam

“Why, specifically, a pencil (made out of the quasi-archaic medium of wood) when a ballpoint pen or computer stylus would have maintained or augmented the Styrofoam’s sense of sterile modernity?”
Journal Extracts

“Stripmalls seen from the highway, their signs lit yellow-white by concealed neon. They recede to the horizon, following the curves and clefts of the landscape like spinal columns defining the backs of ungainly creatures.”

139 thoughts on “Dead Letter Office”

  2. Thanks for your thoughts. One thing I’ve got noticed is the fact banks in addition to financial institutions understand the spending behaviors of consumers and as well understand that the majority of people max out and about their cards around the breaks. They smartly take advantage of that fact and then start flooding ones inbox in addition to snail-mail box having hundreds of no interest APR credit cards offers shortly after the holiday season concludes. Knowing that for anyone who is like 98% in the American general public, you’ll soar at the possible opportunity to consolidate consumer credit card debt and switch balances towards 0 interest rate credit cards. mllkjmn https://headachemedi.com – migraine headache meds

    Reply

  7. Hello

    YOU NEED HELP TO BUILD SEO LINKS FOR: mactonnies.com ?

    I just checked out your website, and wanted to find out if you need help for SEO Link Building ?

    WE OFFER YOU THE BEST SEO STRATEGY FOR 2021.

    Build an unlimited number of Backlinks and increase Traffic to your websites which will lead to a higher number of customers and much more sales for you.

    If You Are Interested, I’m waiting for your response here => seosubmitter@mail.com

    Thanks, Willa Mathews

    Reply

  9. Tanhu; İthalat ve İhracat Seçenekleri ile, Toptan ve Perakende, İhtiyacınız Olan Ürünleri Tedarik Edeceğiniz En İyi Şirket ve Güvenilir Alışveriş Ortamı.!Tanhu; Toptan ve Perakende Alışveriş İçin, En Doğru Adres. Gönül Rahatlığıyla Alışveriş Yapabileceğiniz, Yeni Nesil Güvenilir Bir Alışveriş Platformu.!

    Reply

  10. Hello

    YOU NEED FAST PROXY SERVERS ?

    Check it out this Anonymous and Private Proxy Servers.
    – HTTP & SOCKS5 Proxy supported.
    – IP Authentication or Password Authentication available.
    – MORE INFO HERE: https://zeep.ly/UotLg

    Thanks, Herbert Carstensen
    If you no longer wish to hear from us, please reply this email.

    Reply

  11. Hello

    YOU NEED QUALITY VISITORS FOR YOUR: mactonnies.com ?

    WE PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY VISITORS WITH:
    – 100% safe for your site
    – real visitors with unique IPs. No bots, proxies, or datacenters
    – visitors from Search Engine (by keyword)
    – visitors from Social Media Sites (referrals)
    – visitors from any country you want (USA/UK/CA/EU…)
    – very low bounce rate
    – very long visit duration
    – multiple pages visited
    – tractable in google analytics
    – custom URL tracking provided
    – boost ranking in SERP, SEO, profit from CPM

    CLAIM YOUR 24 HOURS FREE TEST HERE=> ventfara@mail.com

    Thanks, Trista Primeaux

    Reply

  13. Takipçi satın almak sadece gelir elde etmek isteyen kişilerin değil hesaplarındaki takipçi sayısını

    yükselterek popüler bir profil oluşturmak isteyen kullanıcılarında tercih ettikleri
    bir yöntemdir
    . Instagram fenomeni olmak için İnstagram takipçi sayınızı
    megatakip adresi ile güvenilir sekilde takipci alabilirsiniz

    Reply

  16. Hey! Quick question that’s entirely off topic.

    Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My weblog looks weird when browsing from my
    iphone 4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to
    fix this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share.

    Appreciate it!

    Reply

  56. The road seemed to stretch on endlessly before us, but Alexis assured me that our journey was near an end. We’d turn before long into thick woods and travel through narrow, winding roads until we reached her family’s cabin. I had no choice but to trust her as GPS had given out nearly 20 minutes ago.

    “There’s good wifi and okay reception at the cabin,” she’d told me, “but you can’t get there unless you know the way.”

    So here I was, driving alone in the middle of god knows where with a girl who was my student just a couple of weeks ago. Her and her four best friends had been together from first grade all the way through high school and now they had graduated with very different futures ahead of them. They had decided to kick off “the best summer ever” with a week long stay at Alexis’s family cabin. Alexis and I were heading up before everyone else, the four other girls and four guys.

    Reply

  78. I did however expertise a few technical points using this website, as I experienced to reload the web site lots of times previous to I could get it to load correctly.

    Reply

  83. Excellent pieces. Keep writing such kind of information on your
    page. Im really impressed by your site.
    Hey there, You have performed an incredible job.
    I will certainly digg it and in my view suggest to my friends.
    I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this website.

    Also visit my page … best delta 8 thc carts

    Reply

  98. I was suggested this website by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You are amazing! Thanks!

    Reply

  99. Wonderful website. Lots of helpful info here. I¡¦m sending it to some pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you for your effort.

    Reply

  106. Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem along with your website in internet explorer, might test this¡K IE still is the marketplace chief and a huge part of other people will leave out your great writing because of this problem.

    Reply

  109. Hello just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.

    Reply

  113. Excellent items from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re simply too wonderful. I really like what you’ve acquired right here, really like what you are stating and the way by which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you continue to take care of to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read far more from you. That is actually a wonderful web site.

    Reply

  114. Once i to begin with commented I clicked the “Notify me when new responses are additional” checkbox and now each time a remark is included I get 3 e-mail Using the exact same remark. Is there any way it is possible to get rid of me from that support? Many many thanks!

    Reply

  118. Hi everyone, i am Very competent Search engine marketing and linkbuilding skilled. I’ve Intense Functionality to build bulk Backlinks within a shorter time. In the event you are trying to find Bulk hyperlinks, then Call me or Look at my gig. Many thanks

    Reply

  137. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon on a daily basis.

    It will always be interesting to read through articles from other writers and use a little something
    from their sites.

    Take a look at my web-site: best delta 8 thc

    Reply

  138. First off I would like to say wonderful blog!
    I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.

    I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear
    your mind prior to writing. I’ve had a tough time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts
    out there. I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems
    like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost simply just trying
    to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
    Thanks!

    Also visit my web site delta 8 thc for sale

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *