Our Tune (short story)

Our Tune was the seventh story in the anthology Iris: Fifteen. It was written by Ross Douglas. It featured a future incarnation of Iris Wildthyme with black hair.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The date is 15 August 2015 and Iris Wildthyme is in the headquarters of the Ministry for Alien Incursions and Ontological Wonders. A senior officer is outraged at something that Iris just offered to a group of bloodthirsty aliens via radio. Iris slaps the man and says that what she did will save the Earth from the aliens. They receive a broadcast from the aliens that says that they accept Iris' offer of a gathering on Saturn's moon.

The next day, Iris prepares a party at the temple of the Lord of the Clock using decorations and food supllied to her by MIAOW. She smiles as she sees a large spaceship land outside.

Two days earlier, Iris is playing a game of multidimensional poker against some bloodthirsty aliens. She loses, and the price for losing is death. To save her skin, Iris makes a bet with the aliens: in two days time she'll throw them a party with mountains of alcohol and she'll make MIAOW pay for it. The gamblers take the bet because they all hate MIAOW and Iris creates a recording that she tells them to transmit the next day. She then hops into her bus sets course for MIAOW headquarters.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Iris Wildthyme

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

• The MIAOW senior officer compares MIAOW's communications technology to a broken Commodore 64.
• Iris' birthday is 16 August.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

• This story spells Iapetus with an I at the beginning. Most DWU stories spell it Japetus. (PROSE: Legacy, So Vile a Sin)

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

• A Naxian is among the aliens that Iris plays poker against. (AUDIO: The Sound of Fear et al)
• MIAOW first appeared in PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen.