Author: Majoki Not long after a distant star suddenly brightened a thousand-fold and gamma rays gobsmacked life on earth, a prairie dog emerged from its burrow in a deep narrow canyon in what was once southern Utah. Ever wary of predators, it fed quickly and returned to its burrow unable to remark on the extreme […]
Author: Kye Shamblin The first human being to set foot on Mars. That was all I’d ever wanted to be. Even at a young age, when the other children shared equally impossible dreams, this was mine. Other children eventually were sobered by reality and would settle for far more realistic opportunities. I never gave in. […]
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer She’s down by the landing gear, waiting for the moment when the dockhands retreat before launch. There’s about forty seconds when a determined stowaway can get into the ventral landing leg housing and climb inside the survival shelter built into the back of it. “Martine.” My step-sister doesn’t even twitch. […]
Author: Marcus Nielson The rain thrummed a little tune on her helmet before turning into a cacophony of sound. Each time the rain changed the tempo, she wondered if this was the time that it would finally stop raining. Then, without fail, the pitter-patter would become a tap-tappy, a hum-drum, or a class 3 orbital […]
Author: David Barber “I’m not asking you,” cried the small grey. “I’m telling you!” The other, droopingly tall and thin, as befitted one of its great age, made a not while I’m eating gesture. “No, listen. They bury them in the ground. Or set fire to them.” Greys could be unpredictable. Sometimes facts disturbed them, […]
Author: Armand Diab The inattentive student stared at his phone in the middle of the lecture. The professor was none too pleased. “Mr. Reddit, no phones during class”, the professor said. “Sorry”, replied the student. The hand device minced no words in letting him know its dissatisfaction by softly speaking in a Siri-esque voice: Robert, […]
Author: David Penn As with many worlds in the Small Megallanic Cloud, Ah! presents intriguingly aberrant evolutionary features. The dominant species, dubbed “exploders” by early missions, has, over several million years, developed a unique response to danger. Each individual possesses the ability to shatter into thousands of tiny fragments whenever threatened and reassemble itself once […]
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The room is full. The courtyard is too. They’ve put up holoscreens in the grounds for those who couldn’t get in. General Perkiss gestures for me to come up front. “Warriors, I can’t end this memorial. It wouldn’t be right. Major Cyo Surtees will.” He steps back and bows to […]
Author: Alastair Millar It should have been paradise; a warm, azure sea lapped the shore, separated from a verdant pseudoforest by a broad expanse of golden sand. When it came to xenobotany, this was as good as field trips got, and Maggie still couldn’t believe the grants committee had agreed to fund it. Nevertheless, here […]