Author : M. Irene Hill “The Nation’s Ethics Commissioner has released her public disclosure statement after completing a probe into whether a company providing Assisted Ersatz-Suicide services has …

Author : Philip Berry From the couch, engineer Stanislaw Hast looked past the grey-suited, female psychiatrist and through the broad window. The star, a long dying sub-giant, threw a dusk of burnt …

Author : Beck Dacus Before she went outside with her friends, the most she had ever seen of the Sun was the great gleam in the sky directly above the dome. Every twelve hours, the dome would shade …

Author : Janet Shell Anderson I saw the full moon last night, and it reminded me. Jonathan has been gone a week. Sometimes I hole up in Rock Creek Park; I know places in the woods, in the sweetbria…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The moon is a purple crescent that stretches from horizon to mid-sky. The few stars are scattered pinpricks of yellow, too far apart to make any sort of constellati…

Author : D.J. Rozell Jordan didn’t flirt with Alex until the divorce was final. The marriage had been full of broken promises, but why add one more? However, with the papers signed and a few weeks …

Author : David Henson The module thuds onto the planet’s surface. Commander Stevens adjusts the stabilizers. “No prize for that one.” Lieutenant Johnson cuts the engines. “Y…

Author : Daniel Helman One time there lived a small planet that decided to invent some silicon-based machines to serve as emissaries to the rest of the universe, to be a good neighbor. A few apes h…

Author : Timothy Marshal-Nichols “So this bloke then, this Galvano bloke, so this Galvano della Volpe is dead.” The Local Defence Officer thought for a few seconds while twiddling with his moustach…

Author : Iain Macleod “Dude! We are so boned, dude! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Jimmy frantically tapped at his console, sweat beginning to drip off the end of his nose. &#82…

Author : K.A. Magrowski The giant handprint appeared on the hill sometime during the night of April 30. No one in the nearby farming communities and town saw or heard anything, but on May 1 everyon…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The monsters are just about to carve into my flesh when the fright-spasm finally wakes me. I struggle to breathe until panic releases my chest; gasping breaths hiss…

Author : Leanne A. Styles I skip down the corridor, swinging my gun in delight. Even above the wail of the alarms, Ben’s screams carry, amplified by the lofty glass walls. As I enter the stairwell,…

Author : Andrew Bale How is it that death is an instant? A few seconds ago, the gasping, struggling, savaged body of Ensign Harper had been a living person, and then, in an instant, he was gone. Sh…

Author : Catori Sarmiento It will only grow bigger. The abdominal bloating that began as a minuscule bump is gradually becoming more obvious. He placed a hand on the swollen mass, now full enough t…

Author : Roderick Holl Elijah checked the readout on the pen-sized tool, cursing to himself as he placed a hand on his helmet and spoke into the communications channel, “Hamlet do you read me? I do…

Author : Austen Rodgers They spawned from the Heavens Burst and raced beyond the measure of speed and distance, and for a time longer than the total existence of any other species. Like streaks of …

Author : Beck Dacus While the feds brushed their feet on my welcome mat and walked into my kitchen, I was scanning my mind for things I had done wrong. I hadn’t reported any alien sightings. Never …

Author : Lisa Jade I still recall the sorrow of the Project Head when he said I was leaving Earth. I’d questioned it; there were plenty of people more qualified than me. I wasn’t sure why they’d ch…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer My guardian wakes me with a mental alert: “Intrusion!” I lie there, unmoving, keeping my bodyware idle. The first rule of surviving killsoft: do nothing to allow it…

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Sometimes, when we got bored, we’d turn off the artificial gravity and do mundane things in zero gee. Sitting on either side of what passed for a mess room …

Author : David Henson The chaplain sits beside the young man and lays a small box on her lap. “Mr. Parker, would you like to pray with me?” “That’s not for me, Chaplain. But…

Author : Beck Dacus From the window of his cabin in the I.P.S. Red Baron, Admiral Mortigna sipped coffee and watched as the last repairs were made on Jupiter’s dynamic orbital ring. A hoop of solid…

Author : Travis Gregg The snow was falling gently all around, big thick snowflakes that stuck to everything. It was the first real snow of winter and in a few weeks the whole area would be under a …

Author : R. W. Warwick I ran from the parking area up to the back of the queue. It was huge. I tapped the shoulder of the woman in front of me. “Why is it so busy today?” I asked. She half turned b…

Author : Malcolm Carvalho “Do you have to leave so soon, Arun?” Arun slipped an arm under Eliya’s head, allowing her to snuggle closer to him. “Eli, that’s the nature of my job. I can’t stop at jus…

Author : David Kavanaugh “First day on the job?” asked the women in the lab coat, twirling a set of digikeys on one finger. “Yep.” “You excited?” “Sure am. I’ve been on the waiting list for ages! I…

Author : D.J. Rozell Agent Jackson sat down across the table from the bio-hacker and started in before the guy had a chance to size him up, “We’re not here to collect evidence – we’ve got plenty of…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The prototype bodyguard robot stands over both of us, waiting for emergency services that will arrive too late. “Git.” John’s voice is a whisper. I’ve never seen an…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer Crystallized atmosphere streams in slow motion from shattered windows and blown-out doors. It catches the light and paints rainbow banners against the starry night …