Stories about people facing pressure, uncertainty and hidden forces.
New 1-page fiction
I’m interested in what people reveal when systems stop giving them easy answers.
- The Forbidden Question [1-page story]
A closed meeting with the Head—a first for Evita. Impress him. One helpful statement would prove her. “You represent the students,” her department head explained and sent her to the… Read more: The Forbidden Question [1-page story] - When the Door Closed [1-page story]
Suzanne closed the door carefully, as wary of its ancient wood as of the publishing house’s history. She turned her back on the stone pillar and faced her colleague. “He… Read more: When the Door Closed [1-page story] - Cheating the system [1-page story]
The perfect AI job, at last—Maarisa figured. Her enthusiasm was met by an HR person with a stained tea mug and a frown: “Your CV is… unusual.”
Earlier true-life stories from professional life
Longer stories from my professional work. Anonymised after consultation.
Legacy material from the period when I was developing intelligence-informed commercial methods.
- “Stop the panic” – crisis communications example
This is a stakeholder engagement example from a project that hits a crisis, and the previous strategy breaks down. A new strategy is needed immediately. - “Fightback” – manage a technology failure – a case study
A technology failure. This is a case study of a quality assurance manager facing his worst nightmare, and how he reacted. It’s an example of intelligence-based project management. - “Today will be different” – how to achieve chaos resolution
Chaos surrounds Libby’s work. She dreams of order. Then a new manager arrives and claims he has a magic wand. … This is a story of chaos resolution. - Rehan Haque and Metatalent.ai – what makes an entrepreneur?
This is an account of the creation of Metatalent.ai and the emergence of its founder, Rehan Haque as an entrepreneur. It’s a true story, written by an insider.
Earlier intelligence-themed fiction
Very short stories about intelligence workers and the people impacted by their actions.
Legacy fiction from the period when I began the first of my espionage novels, imagining the pressures, feelings and consequences around intelligence work.
- Sweet and Sour Chaos – escape from an intelligence agency to industry
An intelligence analyst tries to find a “purpose” after escaping from the “Agency” to industry. Konstantina must save her colleagues from disaster. … The story illustrates challenges of taking intelligence practices and adding them to project management in industry. - Drumhead Trial – an example, and 6 ways to fight it
“Drumhead Trial”. An intelligence researcher is accused of incompetence when investigative journalists outsmart him. The story shows the danger of being a scapegoat – in almost any job. - An agency man – a story of an ex intelligence officer in industry
Ex intelligence officers face many challenges adjusting to civilian life. This is a 4 page story to illustrate the transition, and the challenge of hiding their background. - Spy catcher rivals – using AI in counter intelligence
Spy catchers (counter-intelligence). An intelligence analyst competes against a researcher armed with AI. Who will catch the spy first? - Donat’s story – choose soft skills vs hard skills
Donat’s going to miss his dream job to more experienced candidates, unless he can work a miracle. … A story of soft skills vs hard skills. - Too many presidents – how to protect data privacy rights
A young business analyst must confront her feared boss. The 3-page story covers data privacy rights in a large company, and snooping by intelligence agencies. The story also illustrates how to manage unknown-unknowns. - The secret devil’s advocate – a story of managing the unknown
The Secret Devil’s Advocate is a fictional account of managing “unknown unknowns”. The 7-page story illustrates standard methods, listed here. - “The 4 Seasons” story – elevator pitch example
Radha reread her resignation letter. It was a huge step. The Agency had been her home, and her dream. - The Three Newbies – find your best career path
Saleem wrinkled his nose. “They laughed when we all talked about career goals for intelligence professionals. What’s wrong with a career path?” - The Poltergeist – an intrusive surveillance example
Poltergeist! The words throbbed in Sabra’s mind as she inspected what had moved. …[This story is an intrusive surveillance example.] - Rage – an intimidation case
“Intimidation case.” Hans listened to the man in the red shirt. The man in the red shirt inspected Hans’s mobile then powered it off. “Secrecy first,” he said. - Person Lurking – story of AI in intelligence analysis
Person lurking by Zone Sierra. Nervous movement, potential improvised explosive device. The automated intelligence analysis flashed on Tessa’s screen. - Judicial oversight – a 2-page story of illegal intercepts
They arrived without warning in José’s office. A high court judge, a policewoman from Operational Security, and a clear implication of illegal intercepts. - Wuhan and biological weapons capability – a story
The professor stared at the words Top Secret on the analysis report. She lifted it and read the title: Wuhan Biological Weapons and Covid-19. She shrugged. - The assassination – a 2-page story of an ethical dilemma
‘Is he actually proposing a kill order? That we should become involved in an assassination?’ The intelligence researcher’s eyes widened. - Paranoia – a 2-page story of work overload and OSINT
The paranoia was returning. Isabelle’s head throbbed with pain and her eyes were loosing their focus. She had too many types of intelligence feed to research. - Forced confession – a 2-page story of an analyst’s dilema
The forced confession was in stilted Arabic with words that the suspect never used, and the recording from the interview had been replaced by a transcript. - Suicide risk – a story of a failed intelligence officer
Death or the classroom. Mohammed planned to sit at the back of the room and contemplate the appropriate method of suicide for a failed intelligence officer. - Presumed guilty – a story of intrusive surveillance
‘She’s a journalist, that makes her guilty,’ the intelligence officer declared. ‘Get me evidence for intrusive surveillance and we’ll find her dirty secrets.’ - The price of secrecy-first – a 2½-page story
Mikael’s secrecy-first speech was cut short by the minister. ‘Tell me more about this cyber-attack. Are they really intending to cripple our railway network?’ - A delicate liaison – a 2-page story of fear and bullying
“Francesca will be in danger,” Graziano warned. It wasn’t the role of an intelligence liaison operative to state the obvious but he feared for her. - A special kind of odd – a 2-page story of intelligence research
Jon screamed silently at the quantity of raw intelligence. There were thousands of suspicious persons, highlighted because the AI computers had seen patterns that matched people on the terrorist watch list. - The intelligence collectors’ AI Awayday – a 2-page story
The AI Awayday for the intelligence collectors had been in the calendar for weeks, and the mystery had added to the excitement about Artificial Intelligence.
Longer fiction
I’m also working on several novels. The first is written and is seeking representation. Two more are in development.
Two are espionage stories with the pace of thrillers and the investigative pressure of crime fiction: not a who-dun-it, but a how-to-stop-it. The other is contemporary fiction about institutional suspense.
The novels explore the same territory as the stories here: judgement, hidden forces, misrecognition, adaptation and human cost.