YEAR FIVE

Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a glowing circle with the Storyfeather feather logo, a feather quill shaped like the letter "f" with a drop of ink hovering below its tip. To the right of the image, the acronym "S.T.E.A.M." At top right, the word "Year." Below "Year," the numeral "5."

NOVEMBER 2017 TO OCTOBER 2018

Every year’s short stories (mostly) follow a theme.
Each Year 5 story features science, technology, engineering, arts, or mathematics.

ENTER A PORTAL…
below to watch a trailer, listen to the podcast episode, and find a link to the short story post.
To go directly to the story post, click on the tag labeled “STORY” under the main button.
Each tag or button will open in a new tab.

GO TO BOTTOM
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "This Egg Is Not An Egg." Below the title, the tagline. "A scientist finds a unique egg and eagerly awaits the day it cracks open and reveals the mysteries within." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "When the Androids Asked for Hearts." Below the title, the tagline. "The human heart becomes the supreme object of fascination for a race of artificial beings." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "I Dreamed A Cookie." Below the title, the tagline. "A finalist in a cookie contest recalls a classic locked-in-a-bakery-overnight dream for inspiration." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "I Surgery." Below the title, the tagline. "Upon the insistence of a loved one, a person decides to undergo a life-altering elective surgery." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Lesson Number Undefined." Below the title, the tagline. "A mother uses myth to teach math and math to teach humanity to her three children." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Mysterious Tracks in the Snow." Below the title, the tagline. "A medical doctor, a supernaturalist, and a philosopher investigate mysterious tracks that appear in the snow." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Blinding of the Mice." Below the title, the tagline. "An ordinary mouse was once chosen to receive a great honor that came at a great cost." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Mission ICE 19." Below the title, the tagline. "A captain and her crew investigate the fate of those who set out on a mission to study an intriguing cosmic chemical." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Caves of Hephaestus Island." Below the title, the tagline. "A team dispatched to a tiny island to investigate the source of a strange signal make an unexpected discovery." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Salvage of Core 925." Below the title, the tagline. "The crew of a salvage trawler comes upon a hundred-year-old satellite and must determine if it is a piece of space junk or a valuable artifact." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Black Dwarf Star." Below the title, the tagline. "In our first excursion into the greater cosmos, humanity may have stumbled upon an epic discovery, one so rare as to be mythical." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Brontide Beast." Below the title, the tagline. "A sheriff investigates the mysterious quakes that have beset her small town." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Mythical Slug." Below the title, the tagline. "A floundering molecular biology researcher is captivated by a seemingly common creature in a marine biology article…a sea slug." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Gamma's Forever Soup." Below the title, the tagline. "A magician creates for his empress a powerful elixir that can only work on one person, but the empress desires to share the power with her people." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Panfloria Magnifica." Below the title, the tagline. "A researcher studies a common-looking flower with an uncommon origin." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Flickering Frieda." Below the title, the tagline. "For as long as she could remember, Frieda had been haunted by a general trend of weirdness." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Inseparate." Below the title, the tagline. "A student fascinated with conjoined twins uncovers the lives of two brothers whom history only remembers as fortune tellers called Two-Man." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Architect and the Aristocrat." Below the title, the tagline. "A brilliant architect impresses an ambitious aristocrat with more and more wondrous constructions." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Neotrillium." Below the title, the tagline. "A woman caught in the middle of an ecological attack becomes a subject of interest for the group who is responsible." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Serpent Who Sang Like A Bird." Below the title, the tagline. "For it is a most spectacular thing, for a bird to hiss and a serpent to sing." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Sam and the Sequence." Below the title, the tagline. "An ambitious freshman believes her research project will uncover a hidden historical mystery." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Eleventh Arm." Below the title, the tagline. "A mural painted by an anonymous artist inspires both dread and wonder." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Cloaked in Clay." Below the title, the tagline. "A sculptor working through a creative block notices something strange about the sculptures molded from a particular brand of clay." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Hideous Horace and Beautiful Boris." Below the title, the tagline. "When a terrible creature stalks a little boy’s nightmares all the way into adulthood, he uses his imagination to summon an unlikely ally." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Prosopokaf's Fusion Cream." Below the title, the tagline. "A malfunctioning beauty product gives whole new meaning to the term 'vanishing cream.'" Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Chosen by Chance Dance." Below the title, the tagline. "When a small town is chosen by chance to receive a visit from the leader of the realm, they must present a great spectacle to show they are worthy." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Strange Chamber." Below the title, the tagline. "An abandoned factory that was once filled with a life-saving technology is haunted by the ghosts of its past." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "One Killer Jacket." Below the title, the tagline. "A young woman wonders if the strange 'behavior' of her new high-tech jacket is due to her roommate’s tampering or to an ever-escalating malfunction." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "An Aphid Named Quintillion." Below the title, the tagline. "An aphid named Quintillion seeks to investigate the rumors that the insects are not the only sentient species in the world." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Festival of the Triumphant Locks." Below the title, the tagline. "In a town renowned for their long hair and unique styles, one hairdresser learns the value of her trade." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Mrs. Santi's Prism Mask." Below the title, the tagline. "A new technology may help a woman regain some mobility and independence by developing an ability she never had before." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "A Sewing Machine From 1919." Below the title, the tagline. "A man inherits his grandmother’s antique sewing machine, and the mystery of a secret treasure hidden within it." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Transpogum." Below the title, the tagline. "A pair of inventors aim to ‘think outside the box’ and imagine a new purpose for an everyday item…chewing gum." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Princess Number Four." Below the title, the tagline. "In a kingdom ruled by threes, Princess Number Four was never meant to be..." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Porphyrion Machine." Below the title, the tagline. "When people in a newly prosperous town fall ill from mysterious blood disease that doctors cannot cure or treat, one patient invents his own treatment." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Humans: A Blorgnathian Delicacy?" Below the title, the tagline. "A man struggles with his decision to become a 'Cultural Ambassador' to a newly befriended alien species." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Spectral Camera Model 57." Below the title, the tagline. "A rookie agent assigned to test a new piece of technology makes a momentous observation about a young woman at a taco truck." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Lady in my Headphones." Below the title, the tagline. "A girl is haunted by a mysterious voice that she can only hear through her headphones." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Flight of Flea." Below the title, the tagline. "The smallest bird in the world embarks on a quest to recover a lost gift left to him by his mother…his true name." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Thief of All Sounds." Below the title, the tagline. "An unassuming artifact in a small museum might be a powerful mythical object from whence all sound arises." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Singing Safecracker." Below the title, the tagline. "With his uniquely gifted voice, Nate tries to right a wrong by doing wrong." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Plotz Hole." Below the title, the tagline. "The passionate people involved with making movies at Plotz Hole Studios hail from all the many corners of the universe, and beyond." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Anomaly Valley." Below the title, the tagline. "An explorer gets lost in a spatiotemporal anomaly that was once the treasure vault of an alien pirate." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Rise of the Prokaryotes." Below the title, the tagline. "Why and how are the world’s bacterial species suddenly banding together?" Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Unstrange Face in the Mirror." Below the title, the tagline. "A man overwhelmed by the good but stressful changes in his life wishes he could switch places with his reflection." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Transmutation of Mister Lang." Below the title, the tagline. "After closing his latest case, a private investigator who specializes in finding missing persons starts experiencing strange changes." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Haunted Harpsichord." Below the title, the tagline. "A young investigator must spend a set number of nights in a haunted house to earn a hefty inheritance." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Monstrous Men of the Moors." Below the title, the tagline. "When the Lavendars sought to settle on new lands, they were warned that the surrounding moors were haunted by strange creatures." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Attack of the Giant Cyclops Worm." Below the title, the tagline. "A cast and crew of middle school students put on an original play about cosmic heroes and deadly aliens." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Midnight 45." Below the title, the tagline. "Every evening, one woman undergoes an unfathomable transformation. She turns into a cartoon." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Remedy Men." Below the title, the tagline. "A pair of physicians observe the bizarre and dying practices of their profession’s predecessor, the remedy man." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Mokkie's Double Diner." Below the title, the tagline. "Most people think the 'double' in Mokkie’s Double Diner means that the diner has two levels. That’s…not what it means." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Digital design. Hazy rings of light and color emanating from the center.

When I finish a year of stories, I write a thank you post. Here’s the one for Year 5.

READ YEAR FIVE THANKS
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