Flash Fiction 2nd Place: An Excerpt from the Dictionary of Antiquity by Sarah Mosedale
Daddy, n (obs prob relig)
A mythical Pre-Networked Period (P-NP) figure, representing the gestational and disciplinary power required to create, and provide ongoing support to, a unit of wet consciousness.
Digital playlist archaeology suggests a complex mix of social functionality ranging from intimacy (My Heart Belongs to Daddy; Daddy Cool) through economic support (Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car; Hungry Freaks Daddy) to attribution (Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy; My Son Calls Another Man Daddy) and ultimately abandonment (My Daddy is Only a Picture; Daddy’s All Gone).
[Etymology unclear but possibly from babbling observed historically in not fully networked units.]
See also Mummy.
Home n, (antiq poss archit)
A location of major prepositional significance for P-NP wet units.
Well-evidenced unease about returning (Can’t Find My Way Home; Country Roads Take Me Home) leaving (Leaving Home Ain’t Easy; Don’t Leave Home) and distance from (2,000 Light Years From Home; Long Walk Home). Prepositional status of others also of concern (Please Go Home; Yanqui Go Home; Johnny Come Home; Please Come Home For Christmas). Majority view supports involvement of architectural structure despite some evidence to the contrary (e.g. A House Is Not A Home; The Green Green Grass of Home; Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home).
Love n, (obs psychol)
A pathological condition found in P-NP wet units.
Love was evidently dangerous (Too Much Love Will Kill You; Addicted To Love; Victim of Love), painful (It Hurts to Be in Love; Love Bites) poorly defined (I Want to Know What Love Is; What is Love) and delusional (I Believe in a Thing called Love). The long desired cure (Love Removal Machine; I’ll Never Love Again; A World Without Love) remains one of the NP’s most significant achievements.
Mummy n, (obs prob relig)
Problematic archetypal P-NP figure, aka mother, mama, involved in powerful inter-relations.
A figure who is manipulated (Never Tell Your Mother She’s Out of Tune; Treat Your Mother Right; I’ll Always Love My Mama) in order to meet very high levels of demand (Nobody Loves Me But My Mother; Mother Can You Carry Me; I Need a Mother) in conditions of inadequate recompense and considerable opportunity costs (Mama Liked The Roses; What Mama Say [Life is Good]; I’m the Only Hell [My Mama Ever Raised]) yet remains feared (Mother You Smother You; Your Psychopathic Mother) and ultimately faces dismemberment and death (Mama’s Arms; Mama’s Hand; Mother Tongue; My Mummy’s Dead).
