Gathering Brains

by Howie Amourscow

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Dr. Reinhardt turned from the window. The peasants had been easy to deal with, but the Abomination was proving to be a disappointment. It had a tantrum when it found out there was no cable, and only calmed down when Lorencz produced some dice and a pencil and suggested the Abomination could “make a character,” whatever the Hell that meant.

He grabbed Lorencz by the scruff of his shirt when he went past. “You never told me where you got the brain!” he quietly snarled.

“W-w-well-”

“Did you go to the University like I ordered?”

“S-sorta.”

“Where, Lorencz? Explain, ‘Sorta’?”

“In t-town, th-th-there was a c-convention.” Lorencz suddenly smiled, a terrifying sight the doctor had never seen before.

“I saw a woman dressed as a kunoichi with kitten ears. She was beautiful, and wasn’t scared of me at all. So I hung out with her gang at the con for three days, when I remembered I was late and needed a brain, so I borrowed one from a guy at one of the 40K tables.”

Reinhardt was speechless.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

  1. Gathering Brains

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 11 months ago

    A Look Behind The Screen:
    Before anyone asks or comments: Yes, Lorencz stops stuttering when he reminisces about the con, and no, that wasn’t a “cheat” to cut the length down to nirvana.

  2. Gathering Brains

    Alexa ♥'s Buddy Icon Alexa ♥

    Posted 11 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    So Lorencz is faking the stutter to appear stupid. Nice twist.

  3. Gathering Brains

    SKermitgorf's Buddy Icon SKermitgorf

    Posted 11 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    so Lorencz stutters when he’s scared of the Abomination, but when hes’ thinking of more pleasant things his stutter disappears. i buy it. Good series, Young Frankenstein-ish.

  4. Gathering Brains

    SKermitgorf's Buddy Icon SKermitgorf

    Posted 11 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    also afraid of Dr. Reinhardt, aaa the Germans’ as villian, classic.

  5. Gathering Brains

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 11 months ago

    Lab assistant and abomination as RPG nerds. I love it. Took me a bit to get the ‘make a character’, but I got it. And yes, stutters, tics and other nervous disorders can increase or decrease depending on emotional state, stress level, etc.

  6. Gathering Brains

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted 11 months ago

    Intesting to see at least three interpretations of why/how Lorencz stutters!
    I’m not trying to Bogart anyone’s ficlets, just jumping in when I have a notion – please add your own contributions to the series. I sort of feel like the big collaborative chains of the early days of this site, where six or seven people might keep the story going, may be waning: I’d love to see some more joint efforts!

  7. Gathering Brains

    midaregami's Buddy Icon midaregami

    Posted 11 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    20 points for knowing the word kunoichi. :)

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