Fictional Worlds

archived 15 Aug 2022 15:49:05 UTC

Your Esteemed Majesty Samrat Maurya, All the suns in all the worlds must hide their glow, so bright may the Empire shine. With these words, I offer you peace and great health.

archived 15 Aug 2022 15:46:25 UTC

“How many times have I had the misfortune to die?” Juliet falls into her chair with a dramatic toss of her head. “As many times as the rest of us.” Desdemona rolls her eyes.

archived 15 Aug 2022 15:39:16 UTC

Truths are vile beasts with needle-like fangs. They prefer to nest in the dark, but once they mature and come to light, they grow exponentially and devour all creatures in their path. The cold-bloo…

Author: Hari Navarro, Staff Writer Silicon ash flutes through ink and glints as ascending blackened leaves in my wake. I can hear my vertebrae as they torque. I hear them and the chatter shatters as they arch. I hear them even as my ears sear from my head and the torque turns to a gut-spat […]

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:26:56 UTC

Author: Letícia Piroutek Hayden slams the door of his underground metal shoebox. Technology my ass. Everything is cramped and he can hear his neighbors yelling as if they’re inside his “apartment”. It consists of a sink with artificial water that tastes like plastic no matter how many flavor tablets you add to it, one single […]

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:24:08 UTC

Author: Mark Renney Tanner’s job was to remove the evidence, to wipe away the traces. He considered this task as necessary, that he was an essential part of the system and for more than forty years Tanner’s belief in the system hadn’t wavered. He had remained resolute, diligent and effective. Although he remembered all the […]

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:22:34 UTC

Author: Mark Renney Tanner’s job was to remove the evidence, to wipe away the traces. He considered this task as necessary, that he was an essential part of the system and for more than forty years Tanner’s belief in the system hadn’t wavered. He had remained resolute, diligent and effective. Although he remembered all the […]

Author: Calum Strachan It was an overwhelmingly unlikely occurrence. Somewhere at the end of time, as the universe approached uniformity, a localised phenomenon sprung out of the thin and fragile space. Purely by chance, the particles that had drifted alone for so long coalesced all at once with pugilistic violence and grace. Colliding atoms inadvertently […]

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:21:24 UTC

Author: Andrew Dunn They come every seventeenth year. Momma says they are evil, each one a little piece of hell called forth by her ex-husband to torment springtime before summer’s heat dries our corner of Georgia to a crisp. “Cicadas.” Molly said. “They’re just bugs.” Molly was unshouldering her bra in my bedroom, and then […]

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:18:07 UTC

archived 11 Aug 2022 14:18:48 UTC

Author: Majoki “A synaptic map of the brain.” “Social media pathways on the Internet.” “A spider web. If the spider had taken acid.” The program director waited as each volunteer gave their interpretation of the sprawling diagram being displayed in the research center’s conference room. “A force much more powerful than any robot overlords we […]

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer The tennis-court sized office is lit like a summer afternoon. Everything within is red, but each item is a different shade. “You must tell me who makes those soft ownership collars for you. I’ve only seen that shade of purple once before.” Rooney turns to meet the six-eyed gaze of […]