Welcome to the eighth Kerth quiz, brought to you by the letter J. This is the quiz for BEST SUPER SHORT STORY, for stories between 1-10KB.

SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGY! All the stories featured in this quiz qualify for the Best Super Short Story, but this quiz is not a stamp of recommendation for nomination. There are other stories which qualify for this category, but I have limited myself to twelve.

Recommendations for other eligible stories are *very* welcome and encouraged!

QUIZ RULES: Two points for getting the story and author from the quote; one point for getting it from the excerpt. Specify which is which, or you'll automatically get one point instead of two. Open hard drive and archive, *don't* forget to snip the excerpts in your replies, and don't forget the spoiler space when you post in the replies thread.

The DEADLINE for entries for this quiz is Thursday by 11:59 p.m.

More elaborate quiz instructions can be found here.

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Quote 1:
It's strange what you think of when you're dying.

Quote 2:
"We got engaged last night. I'd better know her, and we met at a White House security check point."

Quote 3:
Clark let out a bitter, humorless laugh that turned into more of a choked sob. "A suicidal Superman. Who wouldda thunk it?"

Quote 4:
No one, not in a million years, ever thought he would leave. No one thought he would die.

Quote 5:
"Perfect! I will send an email to Superman at once, requesting his bank details..."

Quote 6:
He had loved this island; its diversity in both human culture and wildlife.

Quote 7:
"Lois, I really don't think you're fat," he spoke quietly.

Quote 8:
"So Kent's story wasn't just a fairy tale? There really was a Superman?"

Quote 9:
"Tell me the truth, Clark. Did you do this just for sex?"

Quote 10:
If it was a Tuesday or a Thursday.... Did any of that matter to you? If I asked you to tell me what I was wearing, would you answer me?

Quote 11:
Their joy, however, was overshadowed by the knowledge that, no matter how much they loved each other and their growing family, they would be parted.

Quote 12:
"Oh, that looks good. What's the occasion, Farmboy? Hoping to get lucky?"

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Excerpt 1:
I never wanted to be a soldier. I never wanted to be a tactician. I certainly never wanted to be a general, sending people into a battle that I know will result in death.

Excerpt 2:
"The Mayor had a crime wave and a nuclear reactor leak, the Governor had a scandal with a woman not his wife and I've got an economy in the tank. Yes, he's actually 4 percent higher than all our numbers added together, and adding them is irrational."

Excerpt 3:
His face screwed up in pain, the tears squeezing out of the corners of his closed eyes. He dug his palms harder into his head. And then it happened; the images he had tried so hard to block out flooded through his mind.

Excerpt 4:
Things changed over the years, acquaintances came and went, tomorrow's paper became yesterday's news and life went on. He was as faithful in his duty as the sun comes up each day. It was simply who he was.

Excerpt 5:
"This Lane woman," said the CEO of Lexcorp Nigeria. "What is wrong with her? We send her email after email; she does not even do us the courtesy of responding. And it would be so much to her advantage."

Excerpt 6:
Landing behind his apartment, he went in and packed at a frantic pace. His job was freelance. Though the local editor had offered him a staff position, he hadn't wanted to take the chance...and he had been right not to.

Excerpt 7:
Their lips touched softly, tentatively, at first. But the sweet power of their kiss soon blocked out any insecurity. Clark leaned into her, bringing them closer, and she reached back to place a hand on her desk for support.

Excerpt 8:
Spock nodded solemnly. "Our Mister Kent appears to be the most recent of a long line journalists and writers with that name, dating back to the late Twentieth Century. But again, the records are fragmentary.”

Excerpt 9:
Lois started singing, "You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch onto the affirmative, and don't mess with Mr. In-Between."

Excerpt 10:
You were so full of light, too, that it went straight to my heart and warmed up all the emptiness that was left behind, inside of me. You were like a breath of fresh air that I couldn't outrun, so clean and naive. So full of hope.

Excerpt 11:
They had spent many happy years together. As a team, they had won many awards. As a couple, they had been so much in love. People who looked at them together knew without a shadow of a doubt that Clark Kent loved Lois Lane, and Lois Lane loved Clark Kent.

Excerpt 12:
Clark Kent was worried. A quiet Lois Lane was almost a contradiction in terms. But, in the last two days, ever since her return from the alternate universe and that other Clark Kent, she'd been quiet.


Clark: "You don't even know the meaning of the word 'humility,' do you?"

Lois: "Never had a need to find out its meaning."

"Curiosity... The Continuing Saga"