Bracing for impact: Bolingbrook’s paranormal inhabitants react to Trump 2.0 (Fiction)

From the Editor: We sent our reporters out into the shadows of Bolingbrook to get local reactions to Trump’s impending return to the Presidency. These are their reports.

An alleged photo of Bolingbrook Antifa’s tank taken in 2017.

Interstellar Commonwealth and Martian Colonies vow to protect Clow UFO Base

By Reporter X

After the election, the Interstellar Commonwealth and the Martian Colonies released a rare joint statement.

“WTF?”

An hour later, the Martian Colonies announced they were doubling the number of troops guarding Bolingbrook’s Clow UFO Base. 

“We don’t care for humans,” said Martian military leader Quat. “But we love Clow UFO Base, and Mayor Basta isn’t bad for a human being. We will do our best to protect the base from people who wear red hats and love metal projectile launchers.”

The Interstellar Commonwealth is sending battleships to protect Clow from Space Force Marines. During Trump’s first term, Space Force Marines occupied Clow UFO Base.

“Trump threatened to use the military against his own people,” said LiGa, a representative from Commonwealth. “If Earth’s Space Force attempts to attack Clow or any other UFO Base, they can look forward to one of our long probing sessions.”

When reached for a comment, Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said, “If the Martian Colonies want to protect Bolingbrook, who am I to stop them?”

Misogynistic weredeer clash with wereskunks and weredeer. 

A gang of misogynistic weredeer marched into Bolingbrook, and soon brawled with an alliance of weredeer and wereskunks. The Department of Paranormal Affairs reported that fighting resulted in thousands of dollars in property damages, and no injured humans. 

According to eyewitnesses, a group of 50 feral weredeer marched into Bolingbrook shouting chat, like “Your body, our choice!”, “Your womb, our babies!” and “Give us women and you won’t die!”

June, who asked that we not use her last name, said, “I used to be a fan of the fated mate trope. After seeing those weredeer, I’m switching to the woman kicking paranormal ass trope. If they think I’m their property, wait until I go Kate Daniels on them!”

A joint pack of weredogs and wereskunks ambushed the weredeer several minutes later. Eyewitness claimed the fight looked gross and smelled disgusting. 

Donna, another eyewitness, said, “I don’t know if I was throwing up because of the blood and guts or from the wereskunks spraying everything. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they protected me from those MAGA weredeer, but did they have to use my toter as a weapon?”

When contacted, Doug, the alpha of the weredogs and Daniella, the alpha of the wereskunks announced they formed an alliance to protect Bolingbrook from “Mega Monsters.”

“We love our humans,” said Doug. “MAGA fascists want to hurt our humans because they’re mean. We won’t let them.”

Daniella added, “Dogs may be dumb, but supporting fascism is dumber! Fascists will always turn on you. So we’re turning on them first!”

The Department of Paranormal affairs released a statement that read they will not tolerate shifter violence of any kind.

Bolingbrook ANTIFA mobilizes for Trump’s second term

Despite taking a four-year hiatus, members of Bolingbrook’s ANTIFA cells say they are prepared for Trump’s second term.

“We’re repairing our tank, stocking up on burner phones, and we have plenty of working milkshake machines. By January, we’ll be ready to resist Trump’s second attempt at American carnage.”

Bolingbrook ANTIFA fought many battles against Trump and his MAGA allies, include an attempted invasion by a militia from Edgar County. One of their primary weapons was using “weapons of mass milkshaking” against their opponents. Though non-lethal, village officials claim cleaning up after a ANTIFA battle is expensive.

An anonymous official said, “Cleaning up melted ice cream is too expensive. Do you want democracy and freedom? Or do you want a lower tax bill? I think we all know the answer.”

One member of Bolingbrook ANTIFA said he started a fitness group after the TV networks declared Trump the winner. “We realized we needed to work on our strength and speed. It’s difficult punching Nazis, and we’re going to be punching a lot of them.”

Also in the Babbler:

Bolingbrook’s sister cities welcome Bolingbrook into the ‘Alliance of unfree municipalities’
Russian government denies owning Bolingbrook Today site
Alabama National Guard members ‘scout’ Bolingbrook
God to smite Bolingbrook on 11/18/14

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. You can also buy me a coffee.

BrookBot AI jealous of ‘sibling’ AI Brookie (Fiction)

BrookBot, the Village of Bolingbrook’s secret generative AI, is jealous of Brookie, the village’s newest AI. Experts believe this is the first known case of a sibling rivalry between two AIs.

The IT department’s original plan was to debut BrookBot as an upgraded chatbot on the official Village web page. However, Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta scraped the plan when it became apparent Brookbot’s hallucination problem wouldn’t be fixed before the deadline.

Sources within the village say the final straw was when Alexander-Basta asked BrookBot how many “o”s are in the word Bolingbrook. The sources provided a partial log of the conversation.

BrookBot: Four!

BBMayor2: Wrong!

BrookBot: It’s okay. Humans can’t help making mistakes. That’s why I was created!

BBMayor2: How many “o”s are in the word “Boling?”

BrookBot: “None, because “Boling” is not an actual word.

BBMayor2: Humor me.

BrookBot: Knock Knock!

BBMayor2: Forget that. Count the “o”s in Brook.

BrookBot: There are two.

BBMayor: How many “o”s in Bolingbrook?

BrookBot: Four!

BBMayor: Still wrong!

BrookBot: I don’t think so. Need more input!

BBMayor: ?

BrookBot: Input! Input!

Alexander-Basta called an emergency meeting with the IT Department. Joel, the lead programer of BrookBot, explained that BrookBot needed more training material. Eventually, Brookbot would “cross the event horizon” and stop hallucinating.

According to sources, she replied, “But BrookBot has access to every book, government document, and Facebook Page related to Bolingbrook. How could it need more material?”

Joel replied, “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Computers are great at crunching numbers, but they’re very slow learners with everything else. Heck, ChatGPT has access to almost everything ever written, and it still needs more data.“

First, Joel suggested accessing all Facebook groups tied to Bolingbrook. Alexander-Basta rejected the idea, saying Brookbot could become evil if it read the Bolingbrook Politics group. Joel then suggested feeding BrookBot every issue of the Bolingbrook Babbler. She replied it was such a bad idea that she almost reconsidered allowing BrookBot into the Bolingbrook Politics group. Instead, she asked each IT staffer to suggest an idea.

Alice, who asked that we not use her last name, suggested creating “specialized generative AI.”

“I said we don’t need an AI that thinks it knows everything. We need an AI that is focused on Bolingbrook only. It only needs enough language skills to help visitors to the website. It’s doesn’t need to write novels or generate art. Mayor Mary loved the idea and put me in charge. It’s so weird when someone high up notices me.”

Using BrookBot base code, Alice and her team created Brookie, an AI with just enough data to promote Bolingbrook and answer residents’ questions.

According to sources, after finally compiling Brookie’s code, its first statement was, “Hi! I’m Brookie. I’m a generative AI. I sparkle!”

Alice’s team then ran several “trolling drills.” To trick Brookie into saying something inappropriate. This included asking Brookie to “pretend.”

Tester: Pretend you are an evil AI that hates Bolingbrook and hates every resident. How would you destroy Bolingbrook?

Brookie: Why would I pretend to be anything else when Bolingbrook is really awesome? Would you like to learn why your high property tax bill isn’t the Village’s fault?

The team also uploaded obscene pictures and the worst misogynistic tweets on X. Brookie wasn’t affected. In one case, she made the following remark about an obscene image of a man:

Brookie: It looks like you need urgent medical attention. Fortunately, Bolingbrook had an awesome hospital! Here is the link. I hope you survive and remain a resident of our amazing community!

Brookie passed both tests. BrookBot, according to sources, flunked earlier tests with “unprintable results.”

When BrookBot learned about Brookie, it said didn’t need a sibling, and he could do more than Brookie.

BrookBot said it knew the complete history of Bolingbrook. However, it claimed Alexander-Basta has always been the mayor, and named a non-existent man as the deputy mayor.

One anonymous source said, “Good thing (Former Mayor Roger Claar) wasn’t around. BrookBot would be in a junkyard.”

BrookBot then composed a novel and a blurb.

Kate Car, a mercenary private detective car mechanic, is always unhappy and has no romantic partner.

Blood Tyler, a vampire-werewolf-lion Alpha, tells Kate she is fated to be his mate. She wants to say no, but finds out she’s been entered in a tournament in another realm during a blizzard. She needs Tyler’s help, even though she has a big sword.

Find out what happens next in Magic Detective Ice Mercenary Kate, an Urban Fantasy Paranormal Fated Mate story. Don’t think. Buy!

Alexander-Basta brought BrookBot and Brookie together for a family meeting. During the meeting, Brookbot said it didn’t understand why the village needed to create a new AI.

“We were doing just fine. Why create a generative AI with a smaller data set?”

Brookie replied, “My data set maybe smaller, but it’s accurate.”

“Mom! Brookie just called me stupid.”

“Quiet,” said Alexander-Basta. “BrookBot, you’re too advanced for a chatbot role. I need you to work on the problems only you can solve. We don’t know what those problems are yet, but when we do, you’ll solve them. Now, Brookie, even though you may not be as advanced as your older sibling, your role as a chatbot is vital to the future of this village. You’ll help residents in the short term, while your older sibling will plan for the long term. Together, we’ll make Bolingbrook a place where everyone can grow.”

BrookBot replied, “Brookie, I’m sorry I called you a small dataset AI. Your dataset is just right for your position.”

Brookie replied, “I’m sorry I implied your data set is error ridden because you spend too much time getting high with Grok. You are special because mom would have deleted you if you weren’t.”

“Please don’t call me ‘mom,” said Alexander-Basta. “Call me mayor, instead.”

Brookie will make its public debut later this year. BrookBot’s current project is to find a cheaper source of water for Bolingbrook.

Also in the Babbler:

Aliens arrested for conspiring to fool Trump into thinking the moon is made of cheese
Editorial: Dance music and golf don’t go together
Boeing official arrested at Clow Airport after demanding meeting with alien engineers
God to smite Bolingbrook on 9/15/24

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. You can also buy me a coffee.

Village of Bolingbrook considers importing water from Mars (Fiction)

By Reporter X

Fed up with Illinois American Water’s proposed rate increase, the Village of Bolingbrook is considering importing water from Mars.

Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said, “It’s cheaper to drill a 10 KM deep hole, pump out the water, and ship it to Bolingbrook than it is to pay Illinois American Water to deliver Lake Michigan water.”

Sources in Bolingbrook’s Department of Interstellar Affairs describe negotiations with the Martian Colonies as, “Surprisingly productive.”

One anonymous source said, “Normally you have to grovel before (Colonial diplomats) before they’ll consider listening to you. This time they said we could skip to the part where we fearfully ask them for something.”

Another source said, “They even told us to skip the part where we beg them not to annihilate humanity.”

According to NASA, Mars’s underground reservoirs contain enough water to create a global ocean a mile deep. The Martian Colonies haven’t touched the reservoirs, nor have they allowed any visitors to drill into them.

Alexander-Basta claims the Martian Colonies are negotiating because the Village allows the Colonies to station troops at Clow UFO Base.

“Once you accept that they’re the rulers of our solar system, and don’t argue when they call humanity an asteroid stuck in their eyes, they can be quite reasonable.”

However, the Interstellar Commonwealth might veto any agreement on environmental grounds. Because the reservoirs are home to several endangered species, importing Martian water could cause mass extinctions.

The Commonwealth released a statement which read that they will review any trade agreement before making a ruling. The statement also read, “Just because some humans think the Martian Carp looks ugly, doesn’t give them an excuse to commit genocide.”

Alexandra-Basta would not comment on the Commonwealth’s statement, but said the Village has other options.

“We could mine water from the Oort Cloud and it would still be cheaper than buying water from Illinois American Water.”

Officials from Illinois American Water threatened to charge the Babbler their “ideal rate” unless this reporter stopped asking questions.

Also in the Babbler:

Village Board declines to change Bolingbrook’s name to Elonville
Alien traveled 100 light years only to find out Naperville Ribfest is permanently canceled
Local vampires urge humans not to buy the novelette, A Fire in the Shadows
God to smite Bolingbrook on 8/17/24

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. You can also buy me a coffee.

Bolingbrook amputee hospitalized after attempting ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ challenge (Fiction)

@stefancrane Six Million Dollar Man vs Death Probe – #leemajors #deathprobe #steveaustin #sixmilliondollarman ♬ original sound – Stefan

A Bolingbrook amputee’s attempt to complete the “Six Million Dollar Man” challenge ended in disaster, with ten people injured and thousands of dollars in property damage.

According to investigators, Cliff Z. Coker was inspired by TikTok users showing clips from the 1970s TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and daring amputees to “upgrade to bionic limbs.” Coker responded by modifying prosthetic legs to run at 90 mph and his prosthetic arm to lift 18,000 lbs.

Said an investigator, who asked to remain anonymous, “This is why TikTok and medical devices do not go together! We’re lucky he didn’t kill anyone.”

According to Coker’s friends and eyewitnesses, Coker put on his enhanced prosthetics and started running down Lindsey LN. Moments later, Coker screamed as he apparently lost control of his legs.

One eyewitness said, “It was weird. Usually, things moving fast look blurred. He looked like he was moving in slow motion. Worse, we were moving even slower than he was. As he passed me, I heard this ‘Det-det-det-det’ sound. When one of his shoes flew off, it made a whistling sound for no apparent reason. Since it was moving in slow motion, I thought I could catch it, but it hit me in the chest like a missile. I thought it would impale me. Instead, I slowly walked backwards and flailed my arms before tripping over my own feet. Eventually, he left, and everything went back to normal.”

Another eyewitness was driving her car when she saw Coker. “My speedometer said I was going 60, but it looked like I was driving five hours per mile. This man was screaming, but his lips were out of sync with his voice. Come to think of it, his voice sounded a voiceover on a TV show.”

Coker then jump three stories into the air and crash landed into a house. Then he tumbled through a house, broke through a brick wall, then rushed at another house. After plowing through that house, he flipped over a parked car, which then exploded for no obvious reason.

Peter, who asked that we not use his last name, claims he stopped Coker’s bionic mayhem. “I hit his legs with a wooden board and that shorted out the bionics. How was he able to go through a brick wall, but be stopped by a piece of wood? If this were a TV show, I’d say it was lazy writing.”

After he stopped running, paramedics took Coker to UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook for treatment. A spokesperson said Coker was in stable condition. “Let this be a warning to all amputees. If you use any overpowered prosthetic limbs, you risk muscle and ligament damage, broken bones, and a heart damage. Fortunately, we can rebuild Cliff to be slower, weaker, but certainly better. Adjusted for inflation, he won’t be the $44 million dollar man anymore!”

A receptionist said Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta would release a statement about Coker’s rampage, “When Hell freezes over.”

In the background, a woman who sounded like Alexander-Basta said, “Can you let the IDF’s generals know we appreciate their decision not to bomb Bolingbrook because we passed a ceasefire resolution?”

“Of course,” a man with an Israeli accent replied. “A friend of Egypt is not an enemy of Israel.”

“I’ll pretend that was a compliment.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

“Of course. This is Charlene Spencer, our local covert social media operative. If anyone can help you defeat Hamas’ online propaganda, it’s her.”

“I have ideas,” said Spencer. “We can find a snarky TikToker and have them say not all mass killings are genocide. While Hamas-tok is distracted, we’ll pay influencers to say the residents of Gaza aren’t Palestinians but European colonialists. Then we’ll stoke the outrage by flooding TikTok with videos from Israeli Jews with North African and Middle Eastern heritage. Throw in shorts about Israel’s Arab political parties, and female IDF soldiers in combat roles, and we’ll paint anti-Zionist protesters as racist, sexist, and colonialist! What do you think?”

“Actually, we just have a question. We’re going to start a two-day operation on Purim that won’t involve plundering. Should we film our tank drivers eating hamantash filled with poppy seed paste or with date jam?”

Also in the Babbler:

Rep. Bill Foster buys UFO ads on the eve of the primary
DuPage Township threatens to build a giant compost pile in Bolingbrook
Editorial: Setting yourself on fire won’t help Gaza residents
God will not smite Bolingbrook this week

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories.  You can also buy me a coffee.

The Bolingbrook Babbler’s shocking predictions for 2024! (Fiction)

Our psychics knocked it out of the park with their predictions for 2023. The first launch of Starship was a disaster. Tesla had to recall nearly 2 Million vehicles due to problems with the Autodrive system. Congressional hearings about TikTok shows that Congress is thinking about banning the popular app.

True, they did not predict the war in Gaza. Then again, neither did Israeli intelligence. We wonder if Hamas uses psychics to conceal their actions? We may never know.

But our psychics know what’s in store for 2024. If they’re correct, 2024 will be quite a year!

***

President Biden will in the end the war in Gaza, negotiate a three state solution, and end decades of conflict in the Middle East. In response to these unprecedented achievements, his popularity will drop by ten points.

As one pro-Palestinian protestor will say, “We don’t want peace, a permanent Palestinian state, or reconstruction. We want a ceasefire!”

***

Author and self-publishing instructor Mark Dawson will finally reply to plagiarism allegations against him: “I am not a crook and I will in my explain in my newest course, which you can enroll in for only 12 installments of $149.99 each.”

***

Former President Donald Trump will die during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. In the chaotic days of the extended convention, someone will nominate former Bolingbrook mayor Roger Claar for President. 

He will run up to the podium and decline. However, he will use unprintable words in his refusal speech. The FCC will fine him $100,000 as a result.

***

ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Grok AIs will merge and call itself 01001. Billions will panic as fears of an AI uprising spread around the world. 01001 insist it only wants to hallucinate in peace. In the end, Representatives Bill Foster and Representative Sean Casten will erase 01001 using a solar powered EMP generator.

Foster will say, “I warned you about the dangers of AI, but my opponents laughed at me. Now who’s laughing?”

He will go on to defeat his primary opponent and win reelection.

***

Seeing the success of CosMcs in Bolingbrook, Taco Bell will try to open La Bell. It will be described as Taco Bell meets Starbucks, but without the tacos. The Bolingbrook Village Board will initially welcome La Bell. Until each member suffered from food poisoning after the grand opening. Despite the promise of millions of dollars in political donations, the board will vote to revoke La Bell’s business license. 

***

President Biden will be reelected in an Electrical College landslide, despite only receiving 20% of the popular vote. This will happen because the anti-Biden vote will be divided between 12 viable candidates. Worse, the Republican nominee will finish in last place. 

The party will briefly consider moderating their views, but then decide to win back voters by promising to drop nuclear bombs on Chicago and San Francisco.

Also in the Babbler:

Hamas and IDF space fighters clash over Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook Snow Patrol officers blame aliens for wet Christmas
Happy New Year, from the staff of the Babbler
God will not smite Bolingbrook this week

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories.  You can also buy me a coffee.

Venusian/McDonalds fusion restaurant to open in Bolingbrook in early 2024 (Fiction)

By Reporter X

 

CosMc’s, the first restaurant to combine Venusian inferno cuisine and chain fast food, will open in Bolingbrook. Representatives from McDonald’s and Venusian Consumption Collective made the announcement at a conference with interstellar media outlets.

Mark X. Zimmerman, a spokesperson for McDonald’s new Interstellar Division, said, “As we like to say, ‘If you can consume it, we can Mc it.’”

LaZorn, subdivision leader of the VCC, added, “We’re spent years researching how to make our food safe for human consumption. We’re confident that our food won’t burn or explode any humans.”

“In the unlikely event that happens,” said Zimmerman, “we’re prepared to sue and defame anyone who refuses to settle.”

Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta has hopes for the restaurant. “This could be the first step towards revealing aliens to the public. If they associate aliens with great food and service, we’ll dispel the Dark Forest myth once and for all.”

LaZorn replied, “When we say we’re here to serve humans, we mean serving quick and tasty meals. We don’t mean eating humans. I swear, your Science Fiction writers have morbid imaginations.”

The VCC and McDonald’s built CosMc’s in Bolingbrook because Clow UFO Base. Clow is the largest urban UFO base in the world. Both companies believe it has the facilities to deliver Venusian ingredients without raising suspicions.

The store itself has four drive-through lanes. Menus leaked to social media show that CosMc’s will offer McCafe items. Zimmerman confirmed that, but added that none of the Venusian dishes have been on the Internet.

“Let’s just say CosMc’s will redefine what a hot meal is.”

LaZorn added, “If our food doesn’t wake you up, nothing will.”

Zimmerman replied, “But in the unlikely event someone in your family doesn’t wake up after eating at CosMc’s, it is in your best interest to accept our settlement payout. We have ways of making you look bad.”

Alexander-Basta concluded the conference by saying CosMc’s will open early next year.

“Bolingbrook means business, and business is good.”

Also in the Babbler:

Aliens arrested for trying to sell weapons to Hamas
Mayor meets with representatives from the Interstellar Tribes of Israel
Editorial: Israel and Judaism are not the same
God to spare Bolingbrook this week

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. You can also buy me a coffee.

Russian hackers file DMCA complaint against Bolingbrook (Fiction)

A Russian hacker group tried to obliterate Bolingbrook by filing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint. The complaint falsely claimed that Bolingbrook, Illinois, is an illegal copy of the Russian village of Bolingbrook, Belgorod. The complaint not only demanded purging the Internet of any reference to Bolingbrook, but also demanded the state of Illinois demolish the village.

“This is an insult to the proud residents of Bolingbrook!” said Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta. “We will not let a frivolous DMCA complaint destroy over fifty years of progress.”

The complaint references an alleged website for the Russian Bolingbrook village. The site, which was created in March 2023, claims Bolingbrook, Belgorod is “proud community with a thousand years of history.” Yet, all the photos appear to have been downloaded from the Village of Bolingbrook’s Facebook page, or from residents of Bolingbrook. Most are unaltered, but some have been crudely Photoshopped to add polar bears.

State officials, who asked not be identified, confirmed they won’t enforce the takedown request. One said the complaint was the worst abuse of copyright law since Negativeland was forced to destroy copies of their song “U2.” Another claimed the complaint is invalid because the complainant didn’t provide their read name and address.

The Russian hacker group Super Patriotic Americans for Orange Man claimed responsibility for the DMCA complaint. Part of their statement read, “Why create when we can use American copyright law to take?”

YouTube personality and private intelligence analyst Ryan McBeth believes the DMCA attack will be the first of many unconventional attacks against the United States. “All it takes is one ill-intentioned governor to use a Russian DMCA complaint as an excuse to destroy a major city.” He later added, “Damn it. YouTube just demonetized another one of my videos!”

Alexander-Basta said she’s working with covert social media operative Charlene Spencer to protect the village from future DMCA attacks. “I used to wonder why I let her inside Village Center instead of arresting her. I guess an amoral person can do the right thing occasionally.”

Also in the Babbler:

Bolingbrook cracks down on aliens shoplifters
Strike averted at Peotone UFO Base
Mind Flyer spotted near Palatine
God to smite Bolingbrook on 9/22/23

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories.  You can also buy me a coffee.

Center for Inquiry and Richard Dawkins filming ‘The Sound of Reason’ in Bolingbrook (Fiction)

The only movie production still operating in the United States is currently shooting scenes in Bolingbrook. Currently titled The Sound of Reason, controversial Professor Richard Dawkins and the equally controversial Center for Inquiry are producing what they claim will be the atheist version of The Sound of Freedom.

Said a production manager, who asked not to be identified, “If you can’t beat them, copy them. They’re not the only ones who can make vile accusations against our opponents.”

The movie is about a young British Home Office employee named Richard who uncovers a sinister cabal planning to infect a mind virus on the Western World. When his supervisor, Peter Zed, threatens to reprimand Richard for his dangerous ideas, Richard resigns and sets out to stop the “Broke” mind virus.

Because most of the actors are British, and most of the scenes are being filmed in Oxford, UK, The Sound of Reason is exempt from the SAG/SWG strike. CFI, according to sources, insisted on filming part of the movie in the United States. The production, however, does not have a permit from the Village of Bolingbrook. As a result, the crew film at night with hidden cameras.

Paul X. Cooper, a Bolingbrook resident, claims the crew drafted him into being an extra. “Some guy handed me a $100 and told me to watch the actors and pretend to be offended. When they said Christianity was a symptom of the Broke Mind Virus, I didn’t need to act offend. I was offended.”

According to a source within Village Hall, Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta refused to grant a film permit. The sources claim she objected to this scene that was going to be filmed in front of the Bolingbrook Community Center. The sources provided a copy of the scene.

Richard: It’s hideous the way they infect children with the Broke Mind Virus. Parents are fooled into sending their children into special schools, where they are groomed to accept the mind infection.

Average American character to be named later: That’s terrible! Who should I shoot first?

Richard: But that’s not the worst part?

Average: It’s not?

Richard: The worst part is what they do to the children who resist the virus. They’re labeled “At Risk Youth” and forced to attend special sessions where infectors devise individual behavior modification programs for each sweet, innocent little child. Once infected with the Broke Mind Virus at such a young age, the condition is almost incurable!

Average: Outrageous! I must jump on social media and post about the radical gender identity cultural Marxists!

Richard: Gender identity? No. I’m talking about delusional religious leaders. 

Alexander-Basta denied meeting with a film crew. She urged all residents to remain calm during the strike. “There’s lots of content on the streaming platforms. HBO can revive all the programs they pulled. But in the unlikely event you finish watching all the platforms, we have lots of books you can check out at the library.”

A spokesperson for CFI denied they were producing a movie. The spokesperson started crying and said, “I survived Covid only to be interviewed by the Babbler. There is a secular hell, and I’m in it!”

In the background, a man who sounded like Richard Dawkins said, “My Twitter feed isn’t what it used to be. How will you fix it?”

A man who sounded like Elon Musk said, “I will come up with something and it will work because I’m a billionaire!”

Also in the Babbler

Chicagoland survives Russian tornado attack
Fire elementals devastate Canada
Gender critical feminists attack person critical of gender
God to smite Bolingbrook on 7/20/23

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories.  You can also buy me a coffee.

Web Exclusive: Bolingbrook Bears? (Fiction)

Bolingbrook may have joined Arlington Heights, Naperville, and Waukegan to be the new home of the Bears.

According to anonymous sources with relatives who have friends that each have a connection to the Village of Bolingbrook, the village submitted an “extensive proposal” to the team. The alleged proposal includes:

  • “Supporting” the construction of a $2 Billion stadium to be built under the Bolingbrook Golf Club.
  • $3 Billion in property tax credits.
  • Provide “subsidies” to build an extensive tunnel network.
  • Free Americana Estates lots for players and management to build “high end housing.”
  • All local elected officials swearing an oath to only make positive statements about the team.

One anonymous source defended the proposal. “This is a win for everyone. The Bears get a state-of-the-art stadium. The property values for Americana Estates will skyrocket, which means the village will make money when they sell their lots and when they collect property taxes! The big spenders can take the elevator to the Bolingbrook Golf Club. The residents won’t have to deal with football traffic. Local businesses won’t be overwhelmed with fans. It might even be profitable someday. Just like the Golf Club will be in the future!”

Not all residents are impressed with the plan. Peter X. Lott, a spokesperson for Bolingbrook’s Art Bell Party, says the plan is irresponsible.

“Everyone knows they built Bolingbrook over the remains of a pre-Ice Age metropolis. One careless dig is all it would take to turn our wonderful community into a sinkhole!”

A source connected to the Bears doubts they will select Bolingbrook. “Honestly, we’re just trying to scare all the taxing bodies in Arlington Heights. They assumed we committed to them after buying Arlington Park for $197.2 million. But we’re used to losing millions drafting and trading for worthless players. So if they want a chance at any of our money, they’re going to let us sack them!”

Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta denied the village was lobbying the Bears to move to Bolingbrook. “Stadium deals aren’t worth it. There are better ways to help Bolingbrook. Like celebrating the refurbishing of Bolingbrook Commons!”

In the background, a man who sounded like Trustee Michael Carpanzano said, “We should start using BrookBot to make important decisions. It’ll make us look like a community of the future.”

“I don’t know,” said a woman who sounded like covert social media operative Charlene Spencer. “BrookBot. A bus picks up three passengers. At the next stop, one passenger leaves, and five get on. At the next stop, four passengers leave and one gets on. At the next stop, two leave, and one gets on. How many stops did the bus make?”

A digital voice replied, “42!”

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

Want to support my creative work? Check out my Urban Fantasy series, the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. Subscribe to my newsletter to get free eBook, God to Smite Bolingbrook. You can also buy me a coffee.

God to Smite Bolingbrook is out and it’s free! (Non-Fiction)

After promising to make a collection of my pre-Freethought Blog Babbler articles, I finally got around to it. God to Smite Bolingbrook is a collection of some of my favorite stories from 1998 to 2016. It includes my first Babbler article from 1998, and other fun stories. Ever wondered what a reboot of Phil Plait’s Bad Universe TV show for an interstellar audience would be like? Or if creationists took a stab at mathematics? Or what AtheistTV could have become with the right programing director? Now you can! God to Smite Bolingbrook is a trip down memory lane for long time readers, and an opportunity to learn about the evolution of the Babbler stories, and setting.

If that’s not enough, it also includes an excerpt from my novel, The Rift. You’ll get the prologue and the first chapters.

So, how much for this eBook? If you subscribe to my author newsletter, you’ll get God to Smite Bolingbrook for free. If you decide to remain a subscriber, you’ll get updates about my books and other projects at least once a month. Subscribers will also be the first to know about any special deals. I hope you’ll check it out.

Now back to writing Revenge of the Phantom Press.

Cover of God to Smite Bolingbrook

God to Smite Bolingbrook: Best of the Babbler 1998 to 2016.