Mixtape Stories

Steve’s been thinking that his dreams have been a little weird lately: one had a film score, another had credits at the end. Sadly, he didn’t dream it up. It’s a new app in his implant where companies can now advertise in your sleep. Steve thinks it’s just the worst and considers removing his implant entirely, but it is through this app that he is introduced to someone who needs his help. If you l...

Story by Tim Melody Pratt As the reigning Queen of Hell, Marla prefers her privacy. Unfortunately, her wife Zufi insists that they’ve got to keep the gates of hell open to petitioners to keep things real. Despite Marla’s best efforts to discourage seekers, one such mortal named Hannah has made it through the gates on a desperate, some say unhealthy quest. That’s fine. But Marla wants something in...

Ellie Hartsmith just graduated from college and is rearing to pay off those student loans. Unfortunately, with AI taking over all the entry level work, jobs are hard to come by. So, when Chronos Office Solutions offers her a temp position, Ellie takes the elevator up to the 22nd floor to work for Big Tex Blinds. One thing about the job. It’s in 1983. It might be in the past, but it’s steady work. ...

The cosmos is truly wondrous, but the truth is it was also designed by committee. Everyone had a say in its creation and that has led to an emerging problem. God has requested a meeting with all the stakeholders through their assistant Gabe who sent out calendar invites and brought in donuts for the meeting. Whatever this problem is, Gabe suspects that it isn’t something that could be done over em...

The dream of the 1190s is alive in Oregon as we’ll be discussing “Dies The Fire,” the first novel in SM Stirling’s “Emberverse” series. Set in the Willamette Valley in 1998 the Change strikes across the globe rendering all electronics inoperable and making rapid combustion impossible.  Be warned: there will be plenty of spoilers and “Portlandia” references. If you like our work, you can donate at...

We’re going to explore Octavia Butler’s 1993 release of the dystopian classic “Parable Of The Sower” set in America of the 2020s. Spoiler alert: It’s even uglier than our disappointing reality, which is quite a feat.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Specialist Sandip "Sandy" Dhaliwal and Dr. Larbra barely escaped from the armed insurrectionists, which begs the question, "Why is Dr. Larbra running from her own people?" Find out in the concluding episode of "The Human Corps."  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

When he signed up to join the Gray Defense Force’s Human Corps of Volunteers, Sandip “Sandy” Dhaliwal thought he’d be fighting to liberate a fellow primate race from the nihilistic cephalopods. It turned out the Jancalli didn’t want to be “liberated” as they’ve been waging an insurrection ever since the Grays unleashed the Human Corps onto the native population.  Serving as an interpreter in the 2...

Inspired by Alex Garland’s "28 Days, Weeks, and Years Later" series the following is a recording of Dr. Smith’s 28th session with a patient who remains one of the only confirmed cases of a person infected with the “rage virus” who recovered. This is her story. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

In 1986, with the global economy in ruins, the Americans and the Soviets were ready to launch a full-scale nuclear exchange when the United Gray Consortium stepped in, made first contact, and brought the escalation to a halt. In the years since, Grays and other races of the Consortium explored Earth to experience its many authentic, primitive cultures. They discovered the miraculous elixir “coffee...

Back in 2004, John Birmingham published “Weapons Of Choice,” the first novel in the “Axis Of Time” trilogy where a multinational fleet from 2021 was accidentally thrown back into 1942 carrying not only the technology and knowledge of future events, but also the cultural sensibilities that clashed with the locals. “Mixtape Stories” will provide a retrospective of Birmingham’s detailed description o...

It’s been 40 years since “Back To The Future” was released and we’re still talking about it. We’ll do a rundown of the story, why it worked, and what if it were made today and a young Gen Z Marty from 2025 went back to 1985.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

While doing research on a trilogy I read back in the mid 2000s about a multinational fleet from 2021 that got thrown back to 1942, I did some research and came across a quote from FDR about us being a nation of "immigrants and revolutionists." Check it out. And join us in September when we will have new episodes.  If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/M...

In the finale, Lewis contends with this reality where the Regent has the force of the government behind him and has turned the Reverend into a target. But all is not lost because nobody––nobody expects the militant Unitarians! If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Lewis learns that he's not the only one from his world who emerged into this reality. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Lewis Henry awoke into a world humming with electricity, rush hour traffic, social media…a reality where the Shift never happened. He is a survivor of a cataclysm averted, a veteran of a war that never was. And it is here that Lewis finds his old enemy perched in the seat of power once again. Alone and alienated in our digital-dystopia, the only thing Lewis has left is the determination to bring j...

In the final episode of the miniseries after learning about his friends’ deaths Chris stands on the precipice of Y2K and must face a future that is now unwritten. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

Old Chris meets young Chris to deliver a dire warning as 1999 roles into the end of history. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

In the fourth episode of the six-part miniseries, Chris surrounds himself with a community of bike messengers, revolutionaries, sober alcoholics, and techies as Austin becomes increasingly crowded in the dotcom boom. Meanwhile old Chris returns to the ‘90s. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

In the third episode of the six part miniseries, Chris comes to find what Project McFlyveon is about and old Chris has a mission. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

In the second episode of the six part miniseries, serendipity leads Chris to become a bike messenger for The Stubb Foundation led by Dr. Catherine Kohl. She can’t say what it is they do (it’s a common problem with dotcoms back in the day), but she asks Chris to participate in an experiment. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

It’s the ‘90s. The Cold War is a distant memory, and modems are chirping in this new World Wide Web. According to some, it’s the end of history. But for Chris Lamb, the world seems to have it in for him. When he gets chased out of his hometown of New Orleans, he flees to Austin. Armed with a philosophy degree Chris becomes a bike messenger for an obscure dotcom who won’t say what it is they are tr...

Music is humanity’s soul. Perhaps it has its own life. In this Mixtape short, a song becomes conscious and follows a man. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!

In the retail time travel economy, Bo Nguyen makes a living as a delivery driver for Anachronis Eats, picking up orders from restaurants that closed long ago and delivering it to your doorstep in the present. But he’s also got a side hustle––smuggling contraband up and down the timeline like cigarettes purchased in the 1970s and sold up in the 21st century, or defunct iPods sold to the locals in t...

Strange things are afoot at the Stubb Foundation. In the concluding episode, Chris’ mom Lulu whisks him and Donna away from the clutches of Orcon, delivering them to the bizarre startup where contemporaneous Chris works. It is here where the fate of the world will be decided. If you like our work, you can donate at Mixtapestories.net or at Patreon/MixtapeStories. Thank you!