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Steve Trower

@sptroweresq.bsky.social

427 followers 500 following 1.3K posts

👽 Sci-fi | 🕹️ 80s Nostalgia | ✝️ Accidental Theology 📚 Author of 👾 The Ambivalence Chronicles; 🚀 Countless as the Stars; and 📺 Where Do All The Calculators Go?

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Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 24m

#AuralVisualConnection #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 4 👨🏻‍🎤 The Kinks 🎵 Powerman (1970) 💿 Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One Ray Davies spent so long on the snappy title to the Kinks' eighth album that he completely forgot to write Part Two.

The Kinks - Powerman (Official Audio)

YouTube video by The Kinks

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 39m

#Octember | Day 4 It's at times like this that I really wish I'd listened to Tanya from out of 90s jangle pop band Belly when she invited us to be there when she fed the tree. Still, it Ent what you do, it's the way that you do it, amiright? #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 47m

#emojisounds #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 4 | 💳 👩🏼‍🎤 INDI x Badger 🎵 Card Declined (Brimful of Asha) (2025) Of course it was, there's a £5 minimum on card purchases at the Cornershop. I'll get me coat.

Card Declined (Brimful of Asha)

YouTube video by INDI - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 20h

#LitHodgePodge | Day 3 This is Gary. As far as we can tell, ninjaing is his hobby, because his job involves working in a warehouse. He's quite interested in starting the viral trend #BeMoreGary, but has no idea how. #TheAmbivalenceChronicles #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Selfie of Gary wearing a black ninja-style hood and face mask that leaves only the eyes visible, with a high-visibility yellow safety vest over a black jacket, pointing a ninja katana at the camera.

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 21h

#SciFiOdyssey #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 3 | Doctor Who 👨🏻‍🎤 The Timelords 🎵 Doctorin' the Tardis (1988) 💿 Solid State Logik 1 Not to be outdone by the American pretender to the sci-fi throne, Doctor Who got a novelty number one the following year, complete with Temu knock-off Daleks.

The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis (Official Video)

YouTube video by KLF

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 21h

The only petals in The Ambivalence Chronicles so far are in the 'romantic sub plot' of Bit#4: The Dragon Download. #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Grell fumbled with candles far too delicate for his cumbersome fingers, persisting until the candlelight danced, disguising the room's bareness in an attempt to look romantic.

'Rose petals,' he muttered to himself, scattering the wilted rhododendron blossom he had collected to mark the path from the door, to the table, and from there to the sofa, a hopeful indication of the course the evening may take.

In an unlit corner of the room, the old computer sat quietly. Once he turned the monitor off, it would be all but invisible; Grell hoped its effects

the effects of the Entelechus Hex - would not be.

At the knock of the door, he tapped the ENTER key.

Nothing happened.

Grell's heart stopped, and panic gripped him. He was about to push the button again, when a random sequence of characters appeared, and started raining down the screen.

'Oh thank goodness,' he whispered, and turned off the monitor.

Another knock at the door. 'Grell?' Fella tried the handle. 'Are you in there?'

'On my way!' he called back, watching wide-eyed as the digital rain poured out from the monitor and began to cross the floor.

'Come along Grell, what is so important you had to drag me over here anyway?' Fella shouted.

'Oh no no no no,' Grell whispered as the room filled with flickering green and black light.

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#emojisounds #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 3 | 3️⃣ 👨🏻‍🎤 The KLF 🎵 3am Eternal (1991) 💿 KLF Present the Moody Boys Selection If the number 3 isn't an excuse for a trip into the KLF remix archives, I don't know what is.

The KLF - 3:AM Eternal (Klonk Blip Every Trip)

YouTube video by Emperor Palpatine

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#Octember | Day 3 The Ambivalence crew have some experience with terrifying dinosaur shaped creatures so it's hard to answer fully without spoiler warnings. Part of the plan, however, is 'Put your foot down we'll lose him easy.' #TheAmbivalenceChronicles #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#AuralVisualConnection #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 3 👨🏻‍🎤 The Kinks 🎵 Afternoon Tea (1967) 💿 Something Else By The Kinks Ron is clearly actually having afternoon tea, and this totally isn't stretching a point to get another Kinks song.

The Kinks - Afternoon Tea (Official Audio)

YouTube video by The Kinks

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#pretendpanel 1. Myself 2. Anyone else who needs either Old Testament Space Opera or 8-bit GameLit 3. That one guy who keeps asking me at comic cons when the next book is out #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#LitHodgePodge | Day 2 Well the Ambivalence crew basically live in Monty Python's Ready Player One anyway, but I would pay good money to see them giving honest but ridiculous answers to Philomena Cunk's ridiculous questions. #TheAmbivalenceChronicles #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#SciFiOdyssey #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 2 | Star Trek 👨🏻‍🎤 The Firm 🎵 Star Trekkin' (1987) In the UK we take music seriously, which is why in 1987 we removed one of the greatest voices of all time from the top of the charts in favour of this work of heartbreaking genius.

The Firm - Star Trekkin {1987} HD

YouTube video by Remember The 80s

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#Octember | Day 2 Gary has the strength, speed and stealth so he's the ninja legs. Phil is in the middle, handling swords and digital sorcery. Bryonetta is the face, because anywhere else risks spoiling her favourite hat. #TheAmbivalenceChronicles #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#emojisounds #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 2 | 🍓 👨🏻‍🎤 Strawbs 🎵 Part of the Union (1973) 💿 Bursting at the Seams This song came to my attention as part of an ad campaign for an insurance company I later fell out with. Still, best not blame Strawbs, they have the Union behind them after all.

Part Of The Union

YouTube video by Strawbs - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#pretendpanel Originally, because no-one else was reimagining the Old Testament as a space opera. Now, as a parent of young people with autism and hidden disabilities, to tell their stories and represent them in fiction. #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#AuralVisualConnection #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 2 👨🏻‍🎤 The Kinks 🎵 I'm On An Island (1965) 💿 The Kink Kontroversy This has inadvertently become a challenge to see whether The Kinks are the answer to every musical question.

The Kinks - I'm On An Island (Official Audio)

YouTube video by The Kinks

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Dent, as in, the late Dentarthurdent? Here's a snip from Bit#6: The Master System, in which Sir Philip of Grundy, Magic Knight Who Says 'Arg', arrives in a mysterious place known as The Glass. #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Phil Grundy did not know where he was.

A few moments ago he was in a dark tower in a spooky forest in the grounds of Romford Castle. He had rescued Charlie, and then... somehow he must have glitched that world out of existence and ended up here, landing awkwardly with an uncomfortable clatter on a floor which was hard and glass-like, denting his armour and bruising his bottom. An angry squall of pixels illuminated the void as they fell around him, drawn into neat lines which then flowed away in neon blue pulses toward the horizon, which was marked with vast towers, pyramids and monoliths of bright green and red, which struck a weird note of familiarity despite the utter weirdness of the entire place. 'Fascinating,' he Spocked, peering into the glassy floor at the gridlines which glowed deep within it, all silver and angular, and giving off the same backlit Tron vibes as the neon pulses and monochrome background illustration. 'What is this place?'

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#SciFiOdyssey #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 1 | Star Trek: The Next Generation 👨🏻‍🎤 Pogo 🎵 Data and Picard (2016) 💿 Weightless You know, back when I was in the academy, we would follow every toast with a song!

YouTube video by Pogo

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#LitHodgePodge | Day 1 Hi, I'm Steve, I mostly write in various #SciFi subgenres, currently finishing up the second volume of #TheAmbivalenceChronicles, a #GameLit comedy in 8 Bits. #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

This or that:
Paperback
Standalone
Laughs
Tea
Hero
Plot driven
Computer
Sweet
Soundtrack
Panther
Minimalist
Vomit draft
Midnight

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#emojisounds #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 1 | 🏁 👨🏻‍🎤 Fleetwood Mac 🎵 The Chain (1977) 💿 Rumours The theme tune to the BBC's Formula 1 coverage for literal decades. Go! Go! Go!!!!!

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Fleetwood Mac

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#Octember | Day 1 Honestly I don't even know what day jobs (if any) the misfits in #TheAmbivalenceChronicles have. But based solely on the ubiquity of mazes in early computer games, I'm gonna say there'd be a Minotaur involved somewhere. #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#AuralVisualConnection #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 1 👨🏻‍🎤 The Kinks 🎵 Autumn Almanac (1967) 💿 Something Else by The Kinks May be playing my autumn trump card a little early, but I'm pretty sure George is writing in his Autumn Almanac there.

The Kinks - Autumn Almanac (Official Audio)

YouTube video by The Kinks

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We are approaching the time when The Knight Errors is longer a WIP, but until then, hopefully this isn't too spoilery. #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Phil lunged, clanking, his no longer dextrous fingers just managing to grip the ZX81 before it took a potentially fatal tumble down a stone spiral staircase. After a quick visual inspection revealed little outward harm, Phil placed the little computer carefully back inside the handbag - which, upon closer examination, he noticed was labelled 'POPPINS', and not Prada after all - gathered up the other various items that had dropped, and hurried back to the familiarity of the Ambivalence, praying that Dexy had not suffered any internal injuries.

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 30 | Dungeness 👨🏻‍🎤 Athlete 🎵 Dungeness (2003) 💿 Vehicles & Animals It's not exotic, but I dream of being able to just go to the other end of the country, hole up in an old fishing cottage for a week, disconnect from the world and write a book.

Athlete - Dungeness (Official Audio)

YouTube video by AthleteVEVO

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Well? Snip from early in Bit#6: The Master System. #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

In the middle of the room, on a slightly raised platform beneath beneath an expansive dome of computer screens, the familiar silhouette of Benito 'Benny' Stetson, surrounded by keyboards and computers, turned to Bryonetta, then did a double take at the rest of them. Then he did a triple take at Lady Nectarine, who he appeared not to recognise. Bryonetta gave him a look which unambiguously meant 'Well?'

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 29 | Turin 👨🏻‍🎤 Quincy Jones 🎵 Get a Bloomin' Move On! (1969) 💿 The Italian Job Original Soundtrack Being a life long fan of The Italian Job, I did visit as many locations from the big chase sequence as possible when I got the chance!

Getta Bloomin' Move On! (The Self Preservation Society) (From "The Italian Job" Soundtrack)

YouTube video by Quincy Jones And His Orchestra - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm not saying that most of my writing is deliberately unplanned nonsense, I'm just saying it seems like #Octember is the #WritingPrompts game I've been waiting for. (And will probably still forget about until about 10 days in)

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Multiverse shenanigans in this snip from Bit#4: The Dragon Download. #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

'If we're going to make sure this,' she gestured at the scenes of destruction around them, 'doesn't spread across the multiverse, we need to get to The Master System.'

'To the what now?' Sam said as they joined her in the Ambivalence.

'The Master System. The Prime Universe. Earth Zero, Bryonetta smiled. 'The Original, you might say.'

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 28 | Xenia, Ohio 👨🏻‍🎤 They Might Be Giants 🎵 Out of Jail (1994) 💿 John Henry 🎶 Long before the screen door slammed She was out of Xenia A stranger could have loved that town But she had to leave 🎶

YouTube video by They Might Be Giants (For Kids) - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Delayed vibes for this #WIPSnips, from The Knight Errors. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

'You're late.'
Startled, Phil dropped the copy of Romford Now and Then he had only just picked up, managing to catch it between his right knee and the 'local celebrities' shelf. Embarrassed, he straightened pages 34-42, and placed the book back on its shelf before turning to face the oddly metallic and echoey voice which had addressed him.
'Um... Late?' he started. 'Did you text me a reminder, because I'm terrible with appointments...'

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I can't really sit here calling myself a #GameLit author and not share #My9Games that got me gaming in the first place.

My 9 games that shaped who I am:
1. 3D Monster Maze, ZX81
2. Cookie, ZX Spectrum
3. Jet Set Willy, ZX Spectrum
4. Ghostbusters, ZX Spectrum
5. Magicland Dizzy, ZX Spectrum
6. Gauntlet, ZX Spectrum
7. Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, ZX Spectrum
8. Kick Off 2, Amiga
9. Lemmings, ZX Spectrum/Amiga

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 27 | Whitley Bay 👨🏻‍🎤 Dire Straits 🎵 Tunnel of Love (1980) 💿 Making Movies 🎶 And girl, it looks so pretty to me Like it always did Like the Spanish City to me When we were kids 🎶

Dire Straits - Tunnel Of Love (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by DireStraitsVEVO

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 26 | Vienna 👨🏻‍🎤 Falco 🎵 Vienna Calling (1985) 💿 Falco 3 The second UK top ten single by the famous one hit wonder from Vienna.

Falco - Vienna Calling (Official Video)

YouTube video by FalcoVEVO

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 25 | Watford 👨🏼‍🎤 The Orb ft Alan Parker 🎵 Grey Clouds (2007) I had a more picturesque location in mind for W, but this track is too good not to post, so here it is as a Friday bonus.

The Orb ft Alan Parker - Grey Clouds (unofficial video)

YouTube video by Scotto Moore

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I don't have any meddling, but I do have this bit of tampering going on in The Master System. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

The bad news turned out to be that in the chaos and confusion of the Bootlebot battle, Viktor Wendig had somehow gained access to the Cartography Room.

With nothing more than a 'I'm on my way,' Gary was a blur of yellow, making a speed run through the Manor's corridors until he burst into the Cartography Room, katanas flashing with the reflected glow of dozens of PC monitors, and threw a warning star at Wendig, who was hunched in a corner tampering with something, until the shuriken whistled past his ear and sunk into the wall with a ching.

Wendig turned slowly, an unpleasant grin on his already unpleasant face, flexed a hand wearing some sort of electronic glove, and casually pulled something from inside his suit jacket.

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#BrownAlbums #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 10 👨🏻‍🎤 Röyksopp 🎵 A Higher Place (2001) 💿 Melody A.M. We finish our epic journey on the orange end of the brown spectrum, where a couple of Norwegian blokes are twiddling knobs in the chill out room.

Röyksopp - A Higher Place

YouTube video by LolloBix

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 24 | Union City 👩🏻‍🎤 Blondie 🎵 Union City Blue (1979) 💿 Eat to the Beat Union City is where my first novel opens, so when the film finally gets green-lit, this is what will play over the opening credits.

Blondie - Union City Blue (Live - The Old Grey Whistle Test 31 December 1979)

YouTube video by Pop Preservation Society

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#BrownAlbums #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 9 👩🏽‍🎤 Nia Archives 🎵 Crowded Roomz (2024) 💿 Silence Is Loud Playing catch-up, and who knew brown albums would be so eclectic?

YouTube video by Nia Archives - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Phil lunged, clanking, his no longer dextrous fingers just managing to grip the ZX81 before it took a potentially fatal tumble down a stone spiral staircase. from The Knight Errors - Bit#5 of The Ambivalence Chronicles #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 23 | Transylvania 👨🏼‍🎤 Tim Curry 🎵 Sweet Transvestite (1975) 💿 The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Original Soundtrack Fun fact: I hate musicals. Except this one and that episode of Buffy.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show "Sweet Transvestite" (1975) - (4K)

YouTube video by VideoXL

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#BrownAlbums #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 8 👨🏻‍🎤 The Kinks 🎵 Drivin' (1969) 💿 Arthur (Or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire) Drivin' is the perfect soundtrack to a country drive in a Mini, but has the dubious honour of being the first Kinks single since You Really Got Me to fail to chart.

Drivin' (2019 Remaster)

YouTube video by THE KINKS - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 22 | Swindon 👨🏼‍🎤 XTC 🎵 English Roundabout (1982) 💿 English Settlement Our round the world musical odyssey inevitably arrives at my home town, and that of XTC, and promptly gets stuck on the Magic Roundabout.

English Roundabout (2001 Remaster)

YouTube video by XTC - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The Ambivalence went on, weaving through the stream of frogs with all the certainty of Werner Heisenberg plugging in a boot sale Amstrad. from The Dragon Download - Bit#4 of The Ambivalence Chronicles #WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 21 | Rochdale 👩‍🎤 Lisa Stansfield 🎵 All Around the World (1988) 💿 Affection Rochdale's favourite daughter brings us the unofficial anthem of the challenge, straight from the top ten of Britain's 1989 flu epidemic.

Lisa Stansfield - All Around the World

YouTube video by LisaStansfieldVEVO

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#BrownAlbums #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 7 👨🏻‍🎤 Orbital 🎵 MONDAY (1993) 💿 Orbital 2 As it's Monday (Brown Monday in the electronica calendar), we're going to jump in the House of Orbital.

YouTube video by Orbital - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Today in #WIPSnips, a couple of nice Easter Eggs in The Dragon Download. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Bryonetta shook her head. 'Feeding the originating device into a hex portal unprotected... That would be bad.'

'Wait a minute,' Phil stepped out of the shadows and announced his return. 'I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?'

'Try to imagine a self-perpetuating Entelechus Hex, feeding on all our random thoughts, making them real and spewing them back into the universe at the speed of light.'

'Weakening the fabric of reality,' Nectarine added, 'in a feedback loop of chaos and destruction.'

'Right,' Phil said. 'That's bad. Okay. Thanks, BB.'

'So how do we stop it?' Charlotte said.

'There's always a way to do that.'

'In theory,' Bryonetta said, 'if we could find the computer that's generating the Hex, shut it down properly...'

'I thought you said they fed it to the portal?'

Nectarine glared accusingly at Grell and Fella.

Bryonetta made the interdimensional hand signal for 'wibbly wobbly'. 'It's back,' she said, indicating the general weirdness around them.

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 20 | Queens 👩‍🎤 Caravan Palace 🎵 Queens (2012) 💿 Panic Is it even a Music Challenge without Caravan Palace making an appearance?

Caravan Palace - Queens

YouTube video by CaravanPalace

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#BrownAlbums #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 6 👨🏻‍🎤 HOG vs World Wide Message Tribe 🎵 Jumping in the House of God (1996) 💿 Jumping in the House of God II As it's Sunday (Brown Album Sunday in the ecclesiastical calendar), we're going to jump in the House of God.

Jumping In The House Of God

YouTube video by Hog - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

#WorldAtoZ #MusicChallenge #MusicSky Day 19 | Paris 👨🏼‍🎤 Gary Moore 🎵 Parisienne Walkways (1979) 💿 Back On The Streets

Parisienne Walkways

YouTube video by Gary Moore - Topic

Steve Trower @sptroweresq.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

There's actually a character called Tube in The Master System, but I've gone with this short and potentially amusing #WIPSnips from The Knight Errors instead. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #TheAmbivalenceChronicles

Inside, lights flickered reluctantly into life, like the bored fluorescent tubes in a maths classroom. Phil followed the badly lit - and even more badly cleaned - corridor, to something called ‘Gort’s Giftorium’.
It was not immediately apparent whether Gort was the name of the large hairy dog which blocked the entrance, snoring contentedly, oversized paws resting on what was probably a superfluous iron mace, or that of the dog’s owner.