Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer James was sick of his grandfather’s racism. He didn’t care if he was a war hero. “They’re not people, Jimmy. They have no feelings.” His grandfather shouted fr…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer We’ve had kids stealing our garden gnomes for years. Some came back, some didn’t, and some sent me postcards, usually from Skegness or Blackpool. As years went by, t…

Author : Suzanne Borchers Rachel closed her eyes to the grayness surrounding her. She shut out gray clouds overhanging the gray sky and gray broken concrete and the metallic landscape. Heavy eyelid…

Author : Debbie Mac Rory The weather had turned bad during the night; the low air pressure finally bringing on the threatened storm. All occupied buildings had been sealed to maintain environmental…

Author : Sarah Klein General Elias Knox sat staring at the paperwork at his desk, utterly confounded. “Would you care to explain what happened, lieutenant?” The lieutenant swallowed ner…

Author : JD Kennedy It is interesting how seemingly unrelated technologies become connected together to create new and unexpected capabilities. First, there was the successful development of cryoge…

Author : Jared R. Cloud The General and the Secretary of State sat in the Oval Office, waiting for the new President to return from the bathroom. Although both had jumped in their seats when they f…

Author : Philip Smith Most of the bots you see in diners are the ones that serve the food. We have one but it was a bad decision on my part. Real waitresses give you a smile and make you feel welco…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It’s dawn. Unisun now, Twosun later. Wee mickle Trisun appresta that. The colony’s ticking up. Auld’uns like me waken up early. Shipment-time belding crops bac…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer There are over a billion species represented. Finding out information and language about a species happens quickest during coitus, they say, and the more plent…

Author : Roger Dale Trexler They gathered, all of those interested in watching, at a position twice the distance Pluto was from the sun. Onboard the maiden ship, Corosin, Trya watched intently. “It…

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer As the relative calm of midnight in the projects was broken by a series of tightly spaced explosions, Tiberius knew he’d made a serious, and perhaps fatal m…

Author : Morrow Brady Pressure surge from the Reece tube flung slaters from the nozzle. I batted them away into space with a dirtied glove. “While you’re there, get rid of them too!&#82…

Author : Ray Burke Maybe he was broken. It would certainly explain a lot. He always felt lost, hurt, angry even. It never mattered how many were around him, who he talked to, even when sleeping wit…

Mrs. Lansing slapped the back of Edward’s head. “What is this?” she asked, pointing at his computer pad. “It’s the site I built!” whined Edward, rubbing the back of his head. His teache…

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Judge Roy Phantly entered his chambers and took the seat at the head of the conference table. To his right, sat Stanley Matthews, CEO of Buy Gones Inc, and h…

Author : Duncan Shields The helmet amplifies my own breathing and makes me feel uncomfortably confined. It’s like when you can hear yourself chewing and it sounds so noisy because of the bone con…

Author : J. S. Kachelries “Objection, your honor; asked and answered,” stated the defense attorney. “Sustained,” replied the judge. Then addressing the plaintiff’s attorney, “Move on, c…

Author: Ádám Gerencsér In all probability, this is our final broadcast. It will be repeated on all available automatic relays in binary code for as long as power supply persists. The time left is e…

Author: Mark Thomas It was Monday, June 18th and three sets of new customers carrying identical “cosmic pet shuttles” were lined up waiting for the “Hubble Bubble” pet boarding facility to open. Ea…

Author : David Wing It was clear from the read-outs, we were going to fire. The question was, how bad? Barnes had reset the system, but it didn’t work, the countdown remained and the Mind kept on t…

Author : Joey To Tris slowly opened his eyes. He let his head remain on the cold workbench for a second before sitting up and rolling his stiff shoulders. Wincing as he rubbed his neck, he squinted…

Author : Phill English Bob leaned back in his chair and sighed. The first day had been a long time coming. Every time they thought they had the whole project licked, a new feature came to light tha…

Author : J.R.D. Skinner “So, are ya?” He’s maybe twelve, wearing blue shorts and a Mexico City Raptors t-shirt, a leg up on the wrought iron patio fence. My lobster is getting cold. “What?” I ask. …

Author : TJMoore Lightning struck her left wingtip sending a twinge all the way down to her ribs. Finally it had begun. She flapped her enormous wings, increased her speed and altitude. She needed …

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer “You know, puny human, you’re about to die?” The voice reverberated off the store fronts, assailing the ears like broken glass. “You think…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer It looks too soft. This thread-like network of blue filaments and their pale red host substrate cannot possibly give me my right arm back. For the eighteenth time, …

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer “Exactly what do you expect is going to happen, Dr. Erwin?” asked Captain Podolsky as he stared out the aft viewport. “Well, Captain, if Schrodinger’s unpubl…

Author : Rick Tobin “Low fuel before Jupiter station. Why stop for a wasteland?” Christa Arnold monitored guidance system readings, adjusting orbital programming for Saturn’s crusty moon, Hyperion.…

Author : J.Loseth, Staff Writer It was good money. Everyone said so, on the newscasts and the Internet, repeating the slogan from the billboards: Everyone’s Rich in the Colonies. Drake had re…