Kismet Short Fiction: Main Sequence (canon)

See also the comics and graphic novels.

I think of the Kismet stories roughly in terms of a Hertzsprung-Russell stellar spectrum diagram. The canonical stories cluster like main sequence stars, with the rest of the stories (the Apocrypha) drifting farther and farther from the main sequence, out into white dwarf and supergiant territory (in keeping with the star metaphor). Canonical stories are listed in chronological order; dates are Galactic Standard.

Stories may contain sex, violence, adult situations and profanity.


239 - Battening Down [1900 wds; Reber March] A glimpse of Linton's childhood. (written 2007)

246 - Souvenirs [926 wds; Jackie] Children play with shiny things. (written 2006)

250 - Aubergine [1100 wds; David Aubergine] In which David is creepy (but when is he not?). (written 2001)

250 - The Seaweed Pool [1700 wds; Guido, Seymour] Frank's bodyguards meet a mermaid. (written 2007)

272 - It Must Have Been Your Eyes [5500 wds; Fleetwood, Frank, Meg] Epic romance fail. Warning for non-consensual sex. (written 1999)

273-ish - Henchmen [7400 wds; Guido, Seymour, Frank, Fleetwood] Automation puts Frank's bodyguards out of work. (written 2002)

275 - Father's Day [4800 wds; Fleetwood, Frank, Morphine] We all try to do better than our parents. Sometimes we succeed. (written 2002)

275 - Tradition [2200 wds; Gil, Zack, Ru] While Kismet celebrates Founder's Day, its national holiday, some people keep their own sorts of much darker traditions. (written 2002)

276 & earlier - Five Ways Fleetwood Didn't Kiss a Co-Worker [2700 wds; Fleetwood + various Customs employees] Like the title says. (written 2006)

early 276 - Candles in the Shadow Market [8900 wds; Morphine, Melpomone, Loki] They dwell in the shadows of their technological society. (written 2001)

276 - untitled Signy vignette [550 wds; Signy] A short follow-up to Hunter's Moon; contains major spoilers. (written 2007)





Kismet Apocrypha (non-canon)

Some of these stories are closer to canonical than others (see stellar main sequence metaphor above). Some of them could be a dream ("A Kismet Carol"); some used to be canonical but have diverged from canon (these have not been added yet, but will be soon).


A Kismet Carol [6500 wds; Frank, Leslie, bodyguards] This one is only a little bit off the main spectrum; depending on the amount of mind-altering substance ingested by the main characters, it might even be canon. (written 1999)

Wizard of Aaargh! [6300 wds; Frank, Guido, cameos by nearly everyone] Parody of a certain famous tale. (written 2002)