A locked door, surrounded by scandal and rumor, stands in the middle of an office. No one ever goes in or comes out.
This story is from Year 8, The Year of Revisitation
I revisit one of the stories I’ve already written, and write a new standalone story connected to or inspired by the existing one through a character, a place, an object, a continuation of events (okay, sequel), and so on.
What if there was no such thing as permanent damage? This question occurred to me at random (as thoughts sometimes do) and seemed an interesting start for a story. I imagined the words “Permanent Damage” written on a door. What does it mean? What’s behind the door? Is it dangerous? Is it wondrous? Is it nothing but a plaster wall?
I sometimes get an idea to write a story that isn’t related to the current theme. This story is one such story. I considered artificially linking it to an existing story by throwing in mention of characters or something. But that didn’t seem necessary. The theme of the year is not a strict rule to be followed. But a guide and a challenge to my imagination.*
*Having said this, I later realized I make reference to “permanent damage” in a previous story called “My Homunculus is Malfunctioning,” in which it’s the future, and all physical ailments have been healed, leading to a rise in non-physical ailments.
[Video Description: Trailer. Duration, 35 seconds. No sound. Digital drawing. Front view of the top two-thirds of a closed door. A hazy glowing light emanates from bottom left across the face of the door. Scattered bits of redacted text appear over and around the door. The visible words are as follows: Science…in its current state. Project Manager. Project No. Existent…charge and…key…fakery. The first letters of “project” and “existent” are cut off. The words “Short Story” and “Genre: Mystery” are displayed in front of the image. The words recede and are replaced by quotes from the story, appearing then fading letter by letter over some of the black redacting blocks. “What if there were no such thing as permanent damage?” and “The only way to know the truth is to go through the door.” The story quote blocks fade revealing a plaque on the door that reads “Permanent Damage.” The story title appears at the end. Website URL is displayed at the very bottom throughout.]
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction
Tags: DOOR, ELEVATOR, EXPERIMENT, GEORGIO, MEDICAL ADVANCE, MILES, PERMANENT DAMAGE, PROJECT, STARLA
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