Reality...

[Azrael]

...what if reality was changing all around us all the time, someone or thing was shifting the planes of existence and because we were part of those planes we would not notice, but what if someone was out of step with reality. Imagine one minute you are happily married wife two kids, then wham you were fighting in the middle of an apocalyse or there were more sutble changes i.e. you open the paper and read a story about hoe Elvis is celebrating his 50th birthday, all around you are looking forward to the celebrations, but you are gobsmacked because to you Elvis died in 1976.

Think about it.

[GordonR]

Actually, in the reality I'm from, he died in 1977.  ;)

[Leigh S]

Such a story had already been told...

There is an Alan Moore time twister about a cockney wide boy who discovers he can shift dimensions by wiggling his back.  By exploiting the subtle differences between the dimensions, he can make a fortune (eg selling Jackboots from a dimension where the Germans lost to a dimension where they were victorious).  Grand it was as well - just about the only future shocks/one-offs worth raving about, IMO.

[2000AD Online]

I think you'll find that particular 'Time Twister' was written by one Alice Morgan.

[Azrael^s at home]

Yeh, I vaguely rem that one, one of the best futureshocks I rem is the one about the guy who lived in a slowed down time frame, where evryone else moved really slowly and could not see him? Do you rem that one?



What are everyone elses fave future shocks?

[paulvonscott]

So Many...  I feel like a complete bore (yup) going on about the Alan Moore ones but they seemed largely funny engaging story's rather than just a tortuous route to a surprise ending (no naming, no shaming).  Obviously Billy the Squid and the Clone rangers was a bit of a shocker :) but even Moore is willing to admit that.

The wages of sin, somewhere on this site I think is a classic.  I think I almost filled in that application form when I was younger on reading this story.  Brian Talbot making the whole thing as funny as can be.

The Hyper Historical Headbang, where they play a disc like planetoid shaped and filled with tiny creatures which make a different sound.

I recently bought a copy of bbest of eagle and there was the eagle equivelant of a future shock, probably called, 'slightly unusual tales, but not too scary or anything.' and in this your stereotypical heavy metal, satan worshipping nazi bike gang is terrorising some small children.  Then up comes a man, a handsome fellow from a 70's grattan catalogue.  You know he's cool because he wear shades, a decent all round great chap.  He challenges the lead biker, an obvious social degenerate and thug to a game of chicken.  The bikes rev, the wheels spin and they charge towards each other.  At the last minute, brave though he probably thought he was, the heavy metal biker (did I mention he wore a german helmet) realises that this guy just isn't going to stop and veers off into a ditch.  he loses the repect of his peers and becomes a laughable figure.

Then our hero gets off his bike.  The kids are astounded.  "Wow!  You could have got yourself killed, you are really brave etc."  To this the man replies, "Well, no, you see there's one thing he didn't know, you see I'm blind!"

An er.. that's it.  Christ on a bike I nearly wet myself.

The lame future shock style story are often as funny as the good ones, although for very different reasons.