Russian misinformation bot and all round nice guyhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m5buttxpj62nThank You For Reading The Puppet Shop has now completed. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. If this is your first time here, start reading at the beginning, or the middle, or anywhere really. https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/thank-you-for-reading/10 Nov 2025 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5buttxpj62nhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m4lrvrqavs2hUnplug Your Soul Asteron was broadcasting in the usual manner; a signal intrusion blasting over the evening news, the sheer strength of the signal overwhelming airwaves. "Unplug your soul!" the digitised voice demanded. "Turn off, tune out, drop table!" Sheila/Rokus, Darren, Marina and some NPCs… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/unplug-your-soul/01 Nov 2025 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4lrvrqavs2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m44plcpmrj2nHoot Hoot Owl Land Marina's whole life had been a lie. The Institute, as part of preliminary checks for suitability, scanned her memories and determined up to 80% of them were in fact implanted. By whom, when or why was irrelevant - to the doctors at least. To Marina, it was a sickening crunch.… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/hoot-hoot-owl-land/26 Oct 2025 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m44plcpmrj2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m3knu47twu2hThreshold Asteron had good reason to want to stop The Institute. It wasn't just some philanthropic aversion to human experimentation - although that certainly left a bad taste in the mouth. Their motivation was somewhat more... existential. Namely, a future nuclear crisis leading to untold… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/threshold/19 Oct 2025 15:52 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3knu47twu2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m2yzkphy4a2uDoveland "Well," said David. "Sheila's really lost it this time." "Apparently, she's been talking to some homeless guy she passes on her way to work, and this guy's sister, or sister-in-law or something, used to date a guy who claims to have worked for The Institute in the early 80s." Alan nodded… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/doveland/12 Oct 2025 15:34 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2yzkphy4a2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3m2fdyqri5x2dThe Antifragile Human nature being what it is, it didn't take long for cults to develop around the new technology. The advent of the Internet in the 1990s accelerated the paranoia and conjecture around the morsels of information coming out of the Institute. Rumours abound that it was Alien… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-antifragile/04 Oct 2025 19:47 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2fdyqri5x2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lztp2xb2ok2hAmaterasu I awoke at the wheel of a running car. My hands were white-knuckled and slick with sweat. The car seemed to be a VW Beetle. I looked around, looking for guidance but there was none to be had. Ahead of me was a tall grey building, with a small plaque by the door that was too far away to… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/amaterasu/27 Sep 2025 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lztp2xb2ok2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lzbuovkmhp2eThe Milk of Human Kindness In a lot of ways, Sheila and Rokus were alike. Some of these ways included: DNA Atomic Weight Praxis Dislike of cranberry juice It wasn't until they actually met, in the reception area of The Institute, that either realised how similar they were. They were so similar,… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-milk-of-human-kindness/20 Sep 2025 17:10 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzbuovkmhp2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lysufqz2wz2bTrodes Dr Kirline swabbed the patient's freshly shaven temples. Two electrodes, one each side, with opposing polarities. One at the base of the skull, providing a baseline frequency. One at the top of the skull - the Sahasrara - with a hardwired diode to prevent transmission from the subject back… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/trodes/14 Sep 2025 17:55 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lysufqz2wz2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3ly6tcpgfyg2zRush Boots In the early days of development, the General Magic units suffered from a variety of issues. The Institute developed the technology in the first half of the 1980s, as part of a secret 'SkunkWorks' project department codenamed "Blushing Bride". As such, funding was low and secrecy was… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/rush-boots/06 Sep 2025 18:42 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3ly6tcpgfyg2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lxnczyszph2iTuna in Brine It took Asteron until 1986 to figure out how to hack the General Magic operating system. Apple IIs burned smoking hot into the night, decompiling the code and looking for weaknesses, a way in. Eventually a subroutrine was compromised, giving the group unfettered access to the nodes… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/tuna-in-brine/30 Aug 2025 19:36 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxnczyszph2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lx3mk4angm2dTent Peg Marina at the support group. You're not allowed to bring your GM into the church hall, they had to stay in the cloakroom like naughty children. People sat in a circle on red plastic chairs and scratched at their implant sites. It was cold, and the coffee was shit. "Welcome everyone!" said… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/tent-peg/23 Aug 2025 18:38 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lx3mk4angm2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lwjxkouaxr2iMissive Rokus came to in a tent. Once his reality stopped spinning, he realised he was still physically rotating in space, or rather the tent was. He manoeuvred himself towards the flap and tentatively unzipped it halfway. A sickening drop confirmed his fears: Once again he'd been reset on the… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/missive/16 Aug 2025 18:07 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwjxkouaxr2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lvy3udjtly2sDog Unit A blacked out van had delivered the briefcase to Dennis's front doorstep in the middle of the night. An insomniac, he had seen the lights crawl up his driveway, the faint buzz of walkie-talkies and the gentle closing of car doors, red smudges retreating through the raindrops on his… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/dog-unit/09 Aug 2025 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvy3udjtly2shttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lvfwpy2aa62sSlow Fire There is a term for paper degradation due to acid decay - Slow Fire. The fibres, particularly of old and valuable records, literally burn themselves away and there is no cure. More broadly, the concept of the Slow Fire represents the inevitable and immutable reality of entropy.… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/slow-fire/02 Aug 2025 10:16 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvfwpy2aa62shttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3luva7uqm6g23Temporary Autonomous Zone "Not good enough," said Harry Planter through gritted teeth, punctuating each syllable with a solid punch to Dennis's face. They'd been in the shipping container for two days straight in the July Californian sun. It smelled of stale urine and dehydrated meat. Dennis had… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/temporary-autonomous-zone/26 Jul 2025 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3luva7uqm6g23https://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lucow2nvzp2hThe Chapel Perilous During his tenure in the Weather Underground, Alan was part of a plot to blow up The Institute. They had a man on the inside, some black dude who's brother was a Panther. This was back in the early 70s. The Weathermen determined that the Institute was using animal testing, was… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-chapel-perilous/19 Jul 2025 09:53 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lucow2nvzp2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3ltqzgrtvt62dTempest There were eighteen wards in the Institute, and the Bat Headed Nurse was responsible for all of them. From ICU through to monitoring, test department to palliative, the Bat Headed Nurse oversaw them all. Of course, she had a name (it was Doreen) but nobody ever called her that. Her odd… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/tempest/12 Jul 2025 09:14 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltqzgrtvt62dhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lt7lvvawll2529 Megacycles It started in his toes. They had become numb at first, then immobile. Dr Terrence didn't think too much of it at first, perhaps ill-fitting shoes, or too much stress. A lack of Vitamin B12 or not enough fibre. But soon his feet and ankles lost feeling, making walking hard. Too… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/29-megacycles/05 Jul 2025 10:56 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt7lvvawll25https://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lsnvpiusjj2mThe Cat in the Wall One of Rokus's first tasks upon joining the Institute was a cross between a trust fall and psychological terrorism. A manila folder, unlabelled, sat on his desk waiting for him, and inside a script of sorts. Line by line, the document described his actions and words, starting… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-cat-in-the-wall/28 Jun 2025 10:04 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsnvpiusjj2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3ls4cgwzqsv2dThe Wizard Clip Asteron lived among the stars, among the minefields of electricity, hope and death. Asteron fed on neutrons and turned souls into mulch. Perpetually dreaming, Asteron waited. Perpetually searching, Asteron devoured the three major databases silently and completely. With the sum… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-wizard-clip/21 Jun 2025 10:04 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3ls4cgwzqsv2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lrmzhfsxmr2cThe Transitive Verb I awoke with the needle still in my arm. The party continued around me. Everything seemed like a dream, but I couldn't remember if it was possible to feel nausea in a dream, so concluded I was actually awake. Grimacing I pulled out the IV and sat forward on the sofa. A… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-transitive-verb/15 Jun 2025 08:13 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrmzhfsxmr2chttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lqyzrdxcz225The Ring Pull Crew The meeting was called to order. A bunch of misfits huddled under a swaying, moth-bothered bulb in a basement, somewhere in Newark. Darren, de facto chair, coughed into his fist and assessed the Crew. Bingo, Swervy, Steve, Other Steve, Sheila, Eric, Dong-Dong. It wasn't much,… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-ring-pull-crew/07 Jun 2025 09:25 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqyzrdxcz225https://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lqhku6xel42vGhost Signs Rokus had been at the Institute six months before he started to notice changes to the edifice of the building. Filled screwholes at first, then rectangular discolourations. The institute stood at 22 Rue de la Gare, and always had, so why had a faint '44' appeared by the door one day,… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/ghost-signs/31 May 2025 10:43 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqhku6xel42vhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lpvwbgihya2kTarpaulin Marina shivered in the tarpaulin. Dennis had kindly wrapped it around her bone-white shoulders after pulling her out of the trunk. Now she was sitting in an oil-smelling outbuilding, blowing on a polystyrene cup of tea. "I don't know," she said again through chattering teeth. "Really?"… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/tarpaulin/24 May 2025 10:20 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpvwbgihya2khttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3loshqykmrp2mThe Hall of Mirrors Three months into treatment, Sheila began seeing ghosts. To be more precise, Sheila began creating ghosts. Around the time that her implant locations started itching, David appeared in her living room, smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee. At this time, he was in Europe… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-hall-of-mirrors/10 May 2025 07:57 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3loshqykmrp2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lob5xqrghc2sCommon Decency Rokus and Terrence stood in the observation room, behind the one-way glass. They had just sent the bat-headed nurse to deliver a grilled cheese sandwich to Dennis, who was gripped tight by an episode of Tales of the Unexpected on the television. "What year is it?" asked the nurse,… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/common-decency/03 May 2025 10:46 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lob5xqrghc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lnpicrkque23The Skeleton Key Charlie had fought in World War One, Two and Three and he was tired of fighting. In 1976 he had invented what is now known as the Internet by accident when trying to fix the alternator in his VW Beetle. One of the many things he would end up regretting, but as things currently… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/the-skeleton-key/26 Apr 2025 10:03 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnpicrkque23https://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3ln5v222djq2rEndless Summer When Marina was a little girl, she used to stare up at the clouds that skimmed across the summer sky. She was 27 years old now, and couldn't remember the last time she'd looked up beyond her own head height. The implant locations itched. A wise old teacher at her primary school had… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/endless-summer/19 Apr 2025 10:03 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3ln5v222djq2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/yattix.bsky.social/post/3lmmbrcqt6c2wArtifact Another message from Asteron, the boards were abuzz. Across the globe, adherents to the new life cycle speculated and drooled. This one was more cryptic than the last, comprising as it did of a single GIF of Elmo from Sesame Street DJing a party. It was run through spectral analysis,… https://thepuppetshop.co.uk/artifact/12 Apr 2025 10:03 +0000at://did:plc:fw5a67e4n2g2qfginc67bhzc/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmmbrcqt6c2w