Fictional Worlds

Author: Mina Dr Carlson looked up wearily as the last patient of the day came in. She was a new patient, Emily Mitte-Kunagi. He noticed that her body language and her clothes were aimed at not draw…

“Hello,” answered some whiteman. “Good morning! Could I speak with—?” He mispronounced her last name and didn’t abbreviate her first, as nobody who knew her would do. “Young lady,” he said. “Can you please tell me whether Miss Jean-Louis is there or…

Author : Thomas Desrochers I found her on my way home from a party. She was sitting in the middle of the park’s square in the four shadows of the four streetlights, and she was hugging her kn…

PodCastle 535: The Threadbare Magician — Part 1

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer “My mum said that wouldn’t fly.” She stands there, looking up at me, hands behind her back, daisy-print summer dress blowing in the hot breeze. “Why did she say tha…

PodCastle 536: The Threadbare Magician — Part 2

Author : Saurja Sen The scanners showed signs of the same life-form across the galaxy, so it was safe to assume that the species, whatever it was, had discovered space travel. Thus communication wi…

PodCastle 537: To the Moon

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer A savannah night is interrupted by the snarls of attacking lions. I hear screams, see flashes of weapons as wielders fall. They keep popping in. I’ve become adept at…

PodCastle 538: Itself at the Heart of Things

Author : Rebecca L. Brown They hop-scotched their way to work, jumping between the numbered squares and collecting coloured stones as they went. The inner child told them they had to. On arrival, t…

PodCastle 539: Godfall

Author : Bob Newbell It’s rotating. It doesn’t look like it, but instruments show that it is. Right now it takes around 24 hours to complete one rotation. Since it’s just over two…

PodCastle 540: Flash Fiction Extravaganza! The Three Phases of Equinox

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer Shore leave at last! Ensign Pull Crimson was wide-eyed as he made his way through the dirty bustling streets of Port Tidaria. Thousands of aliens, both humanoid …

PodCastle 541: Andromache and the Dragon

Author: Mark Joseph Kevlock No one ever supposes they’ll witness a miracle. Mary Ann McBlake witnessed one when she was ten years old. And then she had to live with it for the rest of her lif…

PodCastle 542: Waters of Versailles — Part 1

My hands are sweating something fierce, even though they shouldn’t be. Just nerves, I guess since I’m here under false pretenses. Got arrested on my birthday for violating societal acts of moral turpitude. Federal law stipulates you can’t stay a vir…

PodCastle 543: Waters of Versailles — Part 2

Max had started the day with anti-anxiety medication, some painkillers and a mild sedative. He was so relaxed that the nurse had to practically pour him into a wheelchair to get him down to the transfer station for the procedure. via Pocket

PodCastle 544: Waters of Versailles — Part 3

Henry became suddenly aware. Aware that he was sitting upright in a comfortable chair, wearing comfortable clothes made from warm white fabric that he did not recognize. All around him was whiteness, save for a wide bay window across the room that l…

PodCastle 545: The Aunties Return the Ocean

Captain Dean returned home late. The welcome party had already made coffee and spilled through the halls and rooms to talk in bursts of stories. There was the initial buzz of salutations and welcoming home. Cups were raised and health was toasted. v…

Anywhere else in the fleet she would be an impossible escort. Her dull-black skinsuit was topped with a spiked leather jacket, her hair gelled into liberty spikes, her face painted like a skull. She still showed her rank and rate, but the only name …

PodCastle 625: Salt and Iron Salt and Iron By Gem Isherwood There’s a gash across her cheekbone, glass in her arm and her lower lip is twice the size it should be, but Dagna Müller is hardly a stranger to pain. She slumps on the steps outside th… There’s a gash across her cheekbone, glass in her arm and her lower lip is twice the size it should be, but Dagna Müller is hardly a stranger to pain. She slumps on the steps outside the tavern, feeling her nose to check if it’s broken again. via Po… PodCastle 625 Salt and Iron - PodCastle via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2SE4QFu

Author: Alex Z. Salinas Something nobody says anymore. So when a guy behind me at the café whispered that in my ear, I turned around and shushed him. Put my hand over his mouth. I told him we could get killed if somebody heard that. via Pocket

PodCastle 626: DOUBLE FEATURE! A Sharp Breath of Birds; A Guide to Birds by Song (After Death) Authors : Tina Connolly and A.C. Wise Narrators : Tina Connolly and Dani Daly Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums … PodCastle 626 DOUBLE FEATURE! A Sharp Breath of Birds; A Guide to Birds by Song (After Death) - PodCastle via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2WptETR You are two on the day you see your first personal bird. It is the sort of thing you barely remember later, at six, seven, twenty. via Pocket

The Sergeant sat down across the table from me. “Hello Mr Ambrose, I am the Legal Resolutions App for ExcellentWear,” she said. “You used one of our copyrighted words three times without permission. Would you like to pay the fine now? There’s a ten …