The picture made the cover of the Tzarin colony newsletter: a petite, blond-haired girl kneeling in the center of a flock of hibernating escravo, her arms wrapped around her skinny stomach and her …

Author : Aldous Mercer Septu’s core-temperature rises as soon as he steps out of the wind. But he keeps his eyes to the ground. The trembling of his father’s hand has nothing to do with the heat an…

Author : Dan Whitley “What is this?” Marc demanded, shaking a little plastic baggie in front of his son’s face. “This better not be what I think it is.” “What, it’s not like you didn’t do that sort…

Author : Jason Frank I sure don’t mean to say that the pods they sent us here in aren’t nice. There is a chance that they might be too nice, though. I’d be the first to admit that…

Author: Hari Navarro The Martian, he creeps through my window and sits on my chest whilst his steed it looks on with eyes swollen and glazed. Eyes whose voyeuristic bulge look set now to split and …

Author: Colin Lubner The year is 2296, and she’s doing that thing, with her knuckle. She doesn’t bite down, but she sucks on it, you know, so her bottom lip’s lipstick makes a little top lip on the…

Author: Ken Carlson I was scrambling around my apartment for my shoes. How does anyone lose his only decent shoes in a suburban studio apartment? That’s what Deanna would have asked before she walk…

Author: Mina – “Mind if I sit here?” – “Go ahead,” I mumble as I look up. Then do a double take. Hey, this guy is gorgeous. I look around the small café and I see that there is nowhere …

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Erik heard them in the lobby, dividing up the elevators and the stairwells. He owned the building’s cameras and their audio. The Situation Commander barked o…

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The Pai-Toxh beings of the twin planet set, Andromedae 2787A and B, were nearing their migration time. The entire flock had just about finished feeding and were …

Author : Emily Stupar The rain swirled over tiles and across rooftops before spreading like drapes down the sides of each decrepit building. Lights from the richly populated northern quarter dyed t…

Author : Jennifer George Lisilia was the epitome of fashion from her perfectly quaffed faux-hair to her dainty four-inch stiletto shoes, hiding her painted, clawed feet. She spent her entire life s…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer My entire celebrity life is online for people. There are over a million people looking out through my eyes, breathing in time with me, feeling my exhilaration …

Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer “I’m not one of your lab monkeys, I’m your investor, so don’t give me any more of your scientific jargon.” Mr. Bates pointed his…

Author : Jeff Kirchoff A few short keystrokes and the room sprung to life, bare, the walls black yet glowing with the subtle aura of electrical potential. Rico strolled to the center of the small s…

Author : Harris Tobias I felt a shifting in my circuits like I got when I rebooted, a slippery, falling feeling that signaled stress— or was it joy? The whole idea of feelings and emotions was new …

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer When Lieutenant Parks and a lone Private lifted off from the rooftop in the only available escape vehicle, they were painfully aware that they were leaving behind…

Author : Sarah Vernetti The entire thing was the wind’s fault. Yes, she (not the wind) had ripped up her Form 1908, but that didn’t mean she wanted to get rid of it completely. She had intended to …

Author: DJ Lunan President Nugrubyev looked deep into the lens of the RTV and BBC cameras and smiled broadly. He caught his image in a control monitor. All those hours with his hot voice coach, bod…

Author : Curtis C. Chen Lucy’s hand shook as she traced the stylus over the text of the contract. Her agent had assured her that this was a good deal, but she had to make sure there were no s…

Author: Kaelen I’m tired, yet I can not sleep. Of course, sleep is not something I need or can even do, but I do enjoy taking quick naps, as I call them. Getting disconnected for short periods enli…

Author: Jeff Mauser They peered through the small site-port of their shuttle in astonishment. Their small ship had been designed for docking purposes only, not for landing on a planet. The sky was …

Author : Pete Clark In the vast, senseless void of space, a new star appeared. Darin watched from the observatory with wide eyed wonder at the glowing orb, reflecting on the War, the unknown enemy.…

Author : Alex Skryl “Computer, report!” yelled the Captain. “Sir, all primary systems are online but the star orientations do not match anything in my database.” “What…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer That leaden feeling in your gut as you trudge from transport to entrance. The warmth of the lift buttons under your fingertips. Those shooting pains in your head as …

Author : Cesium Artichoke “Hey, Tom, uh… you got a minute?” Robin ambushed him as he came out of his office. He had a meeting with the Secretary of Energy about space-based power,…

Author : Roger ale Trexler The proximity claxon awoke him from a dead sleep. He jumped out of the storage container he used as a makeshift bed and yelled, “Buddy!” He ran down the corridor that led…

Author: Kim Kneen Recently I have taken to sitting at portholes. I angle myself so I can see my reflection; reach out as if to clutch a hand or stroke a cheek. I choose remote locations where Gala …

Author : A. Munck Man claims a bad joy. He has his hand on the radar. The oil, sweat sheen on his palm reacts with chemicals on the screen and reveals ships in the darkness. Man has waited a long t…

Author: Ajith S Nair It was a Friday and in Saudi Arabia, Friday is a holiday for most people. I just got home after finishing the night shift. I am not supposed to be back for work until Monday ni…