The E-JSD

The E-JSD

Share this post

The E-JSD
The E-JSD
Still as the Machine
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Still as the Machine

A short story by T.S. Dickson

Joseph Street Digest's avatar
Joseph Street Digest
May 17, 2022
∙ Paid
1

Share this post

The E-JSD
The E-JSD
Still as the Machine
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Handman moved silently despite the bulk of his armor, the ballistic plastic of his boots barely making a noise as he ran stealthily to the cover of the wall. The Blat Blat Blat of the rocket launcher was much closer now, only a few paces away and behind the wall that was most of what was left of the old library building. He risked closing his eyes for a moment to concentrate on the noise from the gun. The sound was muffled, probably firing from behind some sort of soft cover - sandbags or dead bodies. The fire was continuous, so there had to be at least three crew members, one aiming the gun and two more serving the ammunition. It was probably a Mark Three or Viri style weapon. The rebels were importing weapons from the Viri or stealing them from the Army. A Viri weapon would have the magazine above and behind the muzzle, using gravity to feed the firing mechanism, while an Army Mark Three was designed to work without gravity and used a spring mechanism to load the anti-personnel rockets from below.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The E-JSD to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Joseph Street Digest/AEM Services
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More