Great Hites

Great Hites Bonus October #3

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:45:27 PDT

This bouns Episode is a nice scary poem by Arlene Radasky, Just in time for Halloween. IT has a Pg-13 Rating for subject matter so parents please listen once before you let your kids listen.

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Music By: Kevin Mcloud from Incompetech.com
Production By:Jack Hosley

Here is a link to the Original Audio with no muted sections.

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Great Hites Bonus October #2

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:58:33 PDT

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Spicy Mustard
By: Scott Roche

Sam Clemens took a pull on his cigar, the coal lighting the otherwise
dim library. "The devil you say. Is it that simple?"

Tesla nodded his head. "Yes my friend, yes. That's the beauty of it.
And think, unlimited energy from such a simple, clean source." The
excitement brought his native accent to the fore, as it always did.

No one would believe them. They rarely did when genius brought them a
discovery like this. Not, that was, that this sort of genius or
discovery was in any way common. He stirred the grainy contents of
the jar and marveled.

Spicy Mustard
By: Katharina

The last stop on our very own "Tour de France" through the rural regions led us to the mustard capital of Dijon. We quickly found a tiny store in the old city center where we bought a small glass of spicy mustard full of flavor as well as a baguette at the Boulangerie around the corner. Not long afterwards we were sitting on a bench enjoying the sun. I could smell the mustard and the fresh crunchy baguette, as well as feel his arm around me. Tasting the food and his lips in turns, I knew, life couldn't get any better than that.

Spicy Mustard
by Mick Bordet

"You've got a little bit of..." she said, pointing at the side of her mouth.
Jim felt the blush explode over his face. He had noticed her earlier, standing behind him in the queue at the burger van: way out of his league, he knew.
He pawed at his face, his clumsy fingers confirming the embarrassment.
"Spicy mustard," he said, "thanks."
She smiled back, then leant closer, "You missed a bit."
As her finger touched his lips, wiping away the last of the condiment, he found himself drawn into her gaze: deep, dark pupils that spoke of an undiscovered world.

The Traitor

A chain, each link, human, sped through the sub-terrain tunnel.
For millennia, a river flowed through, eroded and planed the floor smooth and without obstacle.
The boys raced through the thin layer of iron oxide silt, viscous and brown, like spicy mustard.
Each held tightly the belt of the boy ahead; a single flashlight lead the train of panting, panicking, boys.
"You will be safe if you only look. If you take, the cave will take back." They were warned.
One link, the weak link, held the belt of the boy ahead. In the other hand he cradled a diamond.

Great Hites October Bonus #1

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:48:28 PDT

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This week's Bonus Episode comes to use from:
Norval Joe

The Price of Friendship, episode 7
By: Norval Joe

Chad and his mother stood between the first base dugout and the nature trail that followed the creek through the oak trees. He was holding the black box in front of him and looking from its screen to the trees ahead of him.
"It's right there in front of us. It's right there, Mom. Can't you see it?" Chad was trying to convince his mother, as Amy's dad ran up behind them.
"She can't see it Chad. She's not holding the key. You have to hold the box to be able to see the gateway." He told them, slightly out of breath.
"Here, Mom. Take it and look. I'm not crazy." He shoved the game player into her hands.
"Point it over there and look." Chad said, pointing into the trees.
"Oh, Chad. It is there. No wait. Sorry, It's back." She said.
She turned to Mr. Snider, and continued, "It disappeared for a moment, but now it's back."
"That's not good. If won't be here much longer. Chad, you need to go now." Mr. Snider took the box from the hands of his mother and gave it to Chad.
"No, wait. Don't go Chad. We can figure something else out." Chads mother was frantic and angry. She was crying. The sight of the tears on her face stabbed him in the heart. She would be completely alone now; his older brother in Iraq and Chad, who knows where.
Mrs. Snider spoke for the first time, since arriving at the ball field. "Please, let him go. We need him to go. It's not just for Amy, there is more going on, but we don't have the time to go into it right here."
Chad looked toward the oak trees. He loved his mother and wanted to stay with her, but he also felt the need to go help Amy. He felt that need stronger than the need to stay. He felt guilt in putting his, or Amy's, need over that of his mother. While he battled with these emotions the gateway disappeared. The arguments of his mother and the desperate pleading of Mrs. Snider faded from his hearing as he panicked. The gate was gone and he had lost the ability to choose.
The gateway flickered back into view, was gone, and then back again. He didn't wait another second, but ran head long at the gateway. He vaguely heard his mother shout his name and he was through, into darkness and mist. He looked behind him and for only an instant, he saw the scene as if at a movie theater, from the back row.
The view of Amy's parents and his mother worriedly searching the trees closed and Chad was left alone in the darkness.
It was pitch black and reminded him of when he had gone with his cub scout pack to a cavern in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The tour guide turned off the lights to show the kids what absolute darkness was.
Chad scuffed his fee and felt dirt and grass through the soles of his running shoes. He closed his eyes and listened. He laughed and said out loud to himself, "I guess I don't need to close my eyes, it's dark enough already."
His voice didn't echo like it would in a cavern or an empty room, and when he listened closely he could hear the soft gurgling of the creek. If it wasn't the creek along the school, there was another one to his side.
He slowly turned in a circle and listened for other sounds, but there were none. No birds chirping or insects buzzing past. No people sounds either. At the school he could always hear cars driving past on the main street close by.
As he turned the box in his hands suddenly warmed and cooled again. He looked toward the box in the utter blackness and was surprised to find a small red bar flashing back at him.
Before he entered the portal the box displayed a small pulsing red dot. Its brightness had faded with each minute that Chad hesitated to enter the portal, warning of the its impending closure.
Now that he had gone through, there was a glowing red bar that gave off just enough light for Chad to see the sides of his thumbs as he held the box. The bar moved from right to left as Chad shifted his body from left to right. As the bar passed the center of the devices screen the box noticeably warmed in his hands, and then cooled as the bar moved onward to the edge of the screen.
With the bar centered and the box warm in his hands the burbling creek was to his right as it had been when he entered the gateway. Chad assumed that the box was telling to move forward in this direction. But to follow its direction would take him, where, further into the darkness?
Chad was at his first dilemma. He sat down where he was. He could feel the dry dirt of a trail underneath himself and the short grass off to the sides. He felt funny about sitting in the middle of what was obviously a path. Who knew, something could come rushing past and trip over him; or trample him, for that matter. Holding the device in one hand he felt around through the grass to the side of the path to insure that there was adequate sitting space, and moved well off the path, opposite the creek. As he felt around with his free hand he found the occasional dry leaf in the short moist grass, No obstruction prevented him from sitting cross legged in the grass to think.
He reviewed what he knew. The game device may or may not have been left intentionally, so he couldn't trust it. The box was a key to the gateway he had just passed through, and now it was telling him which direction it wanted him to go.
Mr. Snider had told him he would have to pass through a number of gateways, each one taking him to another dimension. Each gateway would need a key. Mrs. Walker had also told Chad to use the box sparingly.
Therefore, his choices were such: He could remain where he was and wait for something to happen, such as a key appearing or a helpful stranger to walk up with a flashlight; or he could follow the directions of the dubious box and walk blindly into the darkness. He wished he could ask someone for advice.
"Wait a minute. I can," he said and felt through his backpack for the cell phone. Logically, his mother and the Snider's were only feet away, though in another dimension. Perhaps they had left already, but it wasn't likely. Chad was sure that his mother was still standing in the spot where he had left her, arguing with the Snider's. She was a strong willed woman and Chad knew she wouldn't accept anything as just given.
He flipped open the cell phone and pressed the power button. The face of the phone lit up enough for Chad to see his hands. He turned it over and faced it toward the ground, but the light was far too weak to reach more than a few inches.
A small hourglass spun in a circle as the phone searched for a network signal. With in seconds all four signal bars lit up, showing a strong connection. Chad quickly punched in his mother's phone number and waited as it rang, once, twice, and "Chad," his mother asked, clearly astonished.
"Yeah Mom, it's me. I've crossed over, did you see me go," he asked?
"Yes. We saw you run into the trees and then...then you were gone." Her voice trailed off. She sounded desolate and Chad felt renewed guilt at leaving her all alone.
Then her voice was back, "Chad, you've got to come back. Now."
"Sorry, Mom. The gate closed behind me. I couldn't come back right now, if I wanted to. I was just testing the phone to see if it would work, from here to where you are. Oh. Tell Mr. Snider it's pitch dark here, I can't see a thing. But the box is telling me which way to go. Should I follow it?"
Chad heard his mother repeat his words to Amy's dad, not removing the phone from her mouth. She said, obviously speaking to Mr. Snider, "What do you mean he has no other choice? Be careful? All you can say is, 'be careful'?"
She was sounding hysterical, "Who wouldn't?" Chad thought. His mother had just seen him disappear from in front of her eyes, and now he was speaking to her on the phone, like he was just down the street.
"Mom. I'm sorry. I have to go. I don't want to burn up the battery. I'll text you when I know something. Text me if you want. I'll check a couple times a day to see if you sent anything. I love you Mom. Stick close to the Snider's, we all need to work together. I love you." His mother started to reply but Chad shut off the phone. He was afraid that if she started talking, she wouldn't stop and let him go.
"Follow the box and be careful. Not a lot to go on." He steeled his nerves and got back to his feet.

Great Hites 72

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:55:55 PDT

This week we have Stories by:

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Norval Joe <--------- This week's Winner
And
Jeff Hite

Under Callista
By Norval Joe

Panicked and anxious shouts sounded through the door of Alphonse's small chamber. He looked up from his philosophy texts, scowled and pondered the door, and the sounds beyond. Most of his lifetime had been spent in this very room, researching and compiling the history, philosophy and literature of Callista's most recent millennia. The room had barely room enough for his bed, a desk with a chair, and book cases that reached from floor to ceiling. It was cramped, his knees were continually bruised from knocking against the chair and bed frame.
Many considered him the ultimate authority on Callista's past and paid him handsomely to present lectures and teach classes at their various organizations and gatherings. He accepted, graciously, whatever amount was paid, and promptly turned it over to the brotherhood; the order of scholars, of which he was a member, vowed to chronicle and preserve knowledge of the past. He would gladly share his lifetime of learning for free, the brotherhood didn't require payment for their services, but they didn't discourage it either.
In his lifetime he had never heard shouting in the hallways of the brotherhood, but hearing it now, he knew it could only mean one thing; Ganymede had learned of their existence, again.
There was a sharp, urgent tap at his door. A familiar voice asked, "Brother Alphonse? You are wanted at the council hall, immediately."
"Yes, Brother Wender, I will leave right away." Alphonse announced to the door, and the man standing beyond, and then to himself, "Indeed, it is Ganymede. For a brother to interrupt and risk such impropriety, it must be a very serious situation."
He entered the crowded council room. In contrast to his own chambers, this room was brightly lit with lighting bars set into the ceiling every few feet. Eighteen of the brothers sat in the front three rows, other acolytes and trainees sat behind. Alphonse approached the front of the room and slowed as he reached the head table. He waited for the head council to acknowledge his arrival.
"Brother Alphonse," a small, shriveled, man slurred. Watery eyes squinted as Alphonse waited for the declaration.
"Brother Alphonse," he said again, "you are recognized by the council and requested to speak freely, yet concisely. Ganymede approaches. We require your understanding and wisdom. Please advise us."
"Yes, My Lord, Head Council." Alphonse said and began his discourse.
"In my studies, I have found evidence of four such invasions in the past 200,000 years. There are other references to the Ganymede before the period, but the accounts are apocryphal and untrustworthy. The four historical instances are similar and indicate that the Ganymede do not maintain records. They have been surprised to find us here each time."
He stepped to the council table and placed a clear, red, crystal box in the center, between the three council men. The shriveled man looked from the box and toward teh man on his left. Once eye contact was made, he indicated the box with a tip of his head and nodded at the other man. The second man reached out to the box and pressed down on its top with the palm of his hand until there was an audible hum. Seconds later a large graphic displayed on the plain white wall behind the head council.
"You see displayed the appearance of the Ganymede on each of the four invasions. Physically, they have evolved little over the 170,000 years between their first and last invasions, though their clothing has changed and their weapons fluctuated in effectiveness."
The third councilman who had sat silently with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke. "Are they going to attack us, Brother Alphonse? Or can we continue this pleasant discussion all day?"
"Lord Second Advisor," Alphonse said, unflustered, "most definitely. With each invasion they have treated us aggressively. The oldest two invasions, upon becoming aware of our presence, they began annihilation of our people almost immediately. On the third, they pretended diplomacy for a short period before an almost complete genocide. The fourth invasion was unclear if they even knew that we existed, as they landed their ships for a short period of time, took some soil samples and left."
Brother Alphonse paused, choosing his words, then continued, "within five years, the Ganymede returned with a countless number of assault ships and bombed the surface repeatedly. The bombing went on for more than a year. It was as if they knew they were destroying our food sources. Our farms, being within 2 meters of the surface, were vulnerable and disrupted by the bombs. Nearly ninety percent of our farm land was destroyed. We are all aware, reckoning time for our modern era began at this most recent near extinction of our people, to commemorate the hardships they faced at that time."
"Very well," the chief councilman said. "We have our decision to make. We have suffered at the hands of the Ganymede, historically. After the last invasion, our forefathers established a defence, which we have faithfully maintained and preserved for this very eventuality. We have the power to vaporize the invaders from our atmosphere, and extend our retaliation to the very moon of Ganymede itself. Brethren, how do we stand?"
Brother Alphonse stepped to the side of the chamber as many of the brethren leapt to their feet in exclamation.
"We are a peaceful people, we cannot assault other living beings, even in self defense," one man shouted.
"We may not survive another genocide by these consistently aggressive barbarians," countered the brother to his side.
The head councilman was on his feet, though unsteady and leaning on the chief council's table. All were silenced when they saw him stand. "We will take a few minutes to contemplate. In silence," he added with a watery scowl. "You have your voting orbs. Make your choice and place the orbs in the reader, before you leave the room."

One thousand kilometer away the long, flat, copper ships of Ganymede, approached their sister moon, Callista, black silhouettes against the glow of the largest planet in the solar system.

Jupiter Was Home
By: Jeff Hite

When I was sent to this priest, I didn't understand why. I still am not sure why he is so important to our cause. I have spent the last three months tracking him down, and now I sit in his small chamber waiting for him to speak to me. When he finally spoke this is what he told me, as best as I can remember.
It was only ten years before the beginning of the Martian Earth wars that Jupiter and it's many moons were settled. Jupiter itself could not be settled due to it's size, but like a mini sun, it's radiation could be harvested for power and, although only though only a dim reflection at one tenth the size of Sol, light. Jupiter, for all of it distance from Earth was a natural place to establish new homes. It had many attributes that made it a suitable place to go. First there was water, Europa had water, and it was close enough to supply the other pseudo planets in the area with all they needed. Io and her mother planet, did a dance that caused huge discharges of energy, that if carefully managed could be harvested and used to supply power for many things, Callisto and Ganymede had stable land that could serve as homes and research stations. There were other things of course. The escape velocities on these planets was low making transportation between the islands in Jupiter's sky if not cheap, much less expensive than it was on the large planets. An of course if you were to choose a jumping off point to the edge of the solar system and beyond, then Jupiter with it huge gravity well that could be used to sling shot a space craft, made perfect sense. So when the Earth Martian war began, the Jupiter colonies Seceded from the Planetary federation in an attempt to stay neutral, and out of the war.
The war, from the opening salvo, was a very ugly and dirty war. It is now known through investigations that Earth sent a troop ship to Mars in an attempt quell the uprising and the desire by the Martian government to unshackle itself from the earth centric Planetary Federation, then deceitfully attached and destroyed their own ship. They were able to Blame it on the newly formed Martian Militia, and use the attack to justify an all out assault on the Martian colonies. Once this information came to light, it did nothing to stop the war. In fact, it had the opposite effect. The Martians outraged at the fact that Earth would provoke a war in such a way, and Earthlings disgusted that the the home world was provoked into such a tactic, fought all the harder to defend their home.
For many years the outer systems were left in peace. The Jupiter colonies became a refuge for civilians on both sides, and for the so called rovers that had been the primary transportation franchise between the planets since the space industry became a commercial venture. But, it was was short lived. The war that has now gone on for more than five decades was bound to draw in the rest of the solar system. The Jovian system, with her newly established colonies on the moons Saturn were to be no exception. These planets and their moons where ripe with resources, which both of the waring planets where in desperate need of.
At first the rovers were more than happy to provide transportation for goods services and people who were interested in fighting in the war. But as both of the planets economies began to collapse under the weight of paying for the lengthy war, many rovers were forced in the service. Some of them, second generation spacers, were seen as better pilots and captains then planet born humans found them selves in the middle of battles in a war that was not their own.
In the sixth decade of the war it was almost ended in a stalemate by two rovers, who had both risen to the rank of admiral in the opposing fleets. They were from the same family, and although distant were cousins had grown up together on a transport ship.
The two cousins, named Marcus and Alexander, were brilliant strategists, and they had arranged the largest battle between the two planets since the wars opening years. They massed to star fleets, with the best weapon systems that both sides could provide, and were to meet and do battle deciding the fate of the war in the space between Jupiter and Saturn. Both man had earned the reputation of being ruthless commanders, known for executing men for not following orders, and so when the fleets met and no one fired a shot, no man underneath them questioned this action.
Alexander and Marcus where able to effectively siege both sides of for nearly 6 months. Earth and Mars sent battle groups to infiltrate and capture or kill the two commanders, but as both of the cousins had the newest and greatest technology both sides had to offer, they were easily and quickly dispatched, and so the stalemate continued. It was not until the twenty second day of the sixth month of the siege that Marcus received word form a Earth commando group that they had captured his cousin and were taking him back to earth for trail that the battle had to begin again.
Marcus sent a group of his trusted men to liberate his cousin, and then with an unknown earthling commander as the new admiral of earthling fleet. He proceeded to destroy earth's fleet, ensure that the losses on both sides were nearly equal, so that neither side would gain an advantage. Reports for the few survivors on both sides say that in the waning hours of the battle, the commando vessel that had captured Alexander was seen docking with the Earth Flagship, shortly before it was rammed into the Martian flag ship. The two cousins were presumed to have escaped on the commando vessel, but had not been heard from of seen since.
This is the History to the last ten years of the war. Both sides suffered greatly at the battle of the traders as it has since been called. Since that point both sides have attempted to rebuild their fleet, and then have both put in place rules governing the ranks and status of conscripted members of their military. Since then the rovers have been hunted as outlaws, but are still desirable as captains of smaller vessels and pilots due to their long background in space.
When he finished telling me the history of my peoples involvement in the war, much of which I knew but some of which I did not, he was silent again, presumably in prayer. It was not until much later that I understood why he told me all of this.

Great Hites Prompt for all of October

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:08:46 PDT

This month we are doing something a little different. We are only doing one prompt for the month of October.

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So this month's Prompt:
"Creation, create your own creation story." This can be a birth story, the creation of the universe, life from lifelessness (thank you Star Trek II), an Adam and Eve type story, whatever you like. Used your imaginations this is a wide open prompt so please have fun with it.

because you have a month here are also the modifications to the rules for this special.

1. Maximum story length is going to be increased to a whopping 10,000 words. I figure if most of the writers were already writing 2000-3000 word stories in a week that they could use the breathing room for a month long project.

2. The rating on these stories will still need to be PG. I am not going to change that. Sorry to all of you that thought that I might but nope.

3. All the other rules stand. I need a story, a recording in MP3 format if you can, and it needs to be in by midnight on October 31st. But you know me on deadlines, ask if you need more time, I am pretty flexible.

4. Please include your Name and "October story" or "December Story" as the case may be, in the subject so I can find it easily I have a busy in box.

Good luck and I can't wait to hear your stories.

Oh one more thing, I will accept multiple submissions. That means if you have more than one story in mind, please feel free to send them all in

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