A possible future in less than 500 words, if plastic wins. This was my entry for the WattPad/National Geographic #PlanetOrPlastic competition back in late 2018. It reached their Top 10 Submissions which, given that there appeared to be well over 5000 entries, was a very pleasant surprise! The competition itself had a limit of 500 words so, for those who keep asking if I intend continuing the story, the answer (for now!) is no - unless I can find a very good reason for adding any more. Many thanks to everyone reading and voting on this story and getting it to number 1 in the #sciencefiction category in May/June 2020! I did try to thank the voters individually on their pages but Wattpad have a daily limit on the number of times I'm allowed to do that and there are now too many of you (not that I'm complaining)! Here's the top 10 submissions page: https://www.wattpad.com/list/738243473-planetorplastic-top-10-submissions If you want to read the story in Polish please head over to https://www.wattpad.com/story/236405960-m%C4%85dro%C5%9B%C4%87-staro%C5%BCytnych-t%C5%82umaczenie-pl where @juliatlumaczy has done a fine job - thank you, Julia! @juliatlumaczy has now sent me a version of the cover she used for her Polish translation - thanks again, Julia! @alex_sokolova has also translated the story into Russian as well. You can read that here: https://www.wattpad.com/976002417-мудрость-древних - many thanks, Alex! We now have a third translation! @AlfonsoLucassen has kindly translated it into Spanish and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/1063634347-la-sabidur%C3%ADa-de-los-antiguos

Peter's life is perfect - he's rich, young, talented, and maybe even handsome. And then suddenly his joy-ride in "one of those new-fangled horseless carriages" goes all wrong, proving fatal, but mercifully crippling him. Now he's disgusted with himself and dreadfully lonely, living on the third floor of his gilt townhouse with some dusty books and too much money. And then there was Emma...

Captain Cole Stanley was a man bound to the sea and lands beyond the stifling industry of London. There was no space in his busy lifestyle for a woman, especially not a prim little miss like Oriana Brightmore. Yet despite her shyness, there appeared to be an underlying wit and spirit to her personality that Cole begins to find irresistible. Oriana always thought that her future-husband should be charming and even-tempered; none of which belonged to Captain Stanley- the odious guest residing with the Ashcroft's for a short spell. Although the obnoxious man vexed her beyond reason, he also may just be her only solution to finding a man who will want her- one that was currently on his way to the Americas.

The Napoleonic Wars have kept Captain Luke Cassidy away from home, and away from his wife and son, for three years. There was nothing more in his life that Luke wanted than to see his son for the first time. There was nothing more in his life that Luke wanted than to reunite with his family after three long years apart. But just as Britain can begin celebrating victory, Luke suffers an injury at the hands of the French that will change his life, and the life of his family, forever. Can a marriage between two people that have spent more time apart than together survive such a test? Or will Luke and Isabella succumb to the obstacles in their way? Not everything is as it seems.