Author: Matt Ivy Richardson The man marches through mud and muck and gore. One foot in front of the other, pulse rifle at the ready and helmet crushed tight on his head. There are others at his side and behind him, marching through mud and muck and gore, burying bones into the wet earth. If […]

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast. This page: Celestial Migrations by Claire Jia-Wen

Esteemed neighbors, emissaries, ambassadors, and dignitaries, I write to you today not only as a statesman but as a scientist. We in the city of Omelas have been exceedingly lucky in recent years. The wars, diseases, and financial instability that have rocked the world have so far passed us by. Partly that’s been due to prudent precautions and smart public investments, but it’s also true that our fine city benefits in unique ways from ancient, dearly-held customs.

“We cannot sustain the farm, Gozie.” I don’t like the way the words fall easily from Iyeh’s lips, even though I know he speaks the truth. I don’t meet his eyes. I cannot. Instead, I focus on the…

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m all for elegant combinations of form and function, but I’ll never agree that bioreactors sat every hundred metres is an improvement over having trees and streetlights. These ‘greenboxes’ even have benches on their pavement sides, charge points, and community notice boards: which look suspiciously like digital advertising hoardings. Anyone […]

In an apocalyptic, depopulated city, a young man named Bhu struggles to feed his ailing dog Lucy. Phan, the local pizza parlor owner, takes pity on Bhu and provides the meat Lucy needs so she can survive. But what exactly is in the meat? And how far is Bhu willing to go to save his dog?

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

AntipodeanSF publishes the best speculative flash fiction (SF, F, H) on the web.

Life Sentence by Gelian, translated by Blake Stone-Banks

Sappel whistled as he walked to the construction site, the sound echoing off nearby buildings in a muffled way. It was early spring, and the city was bursting with the vibrant green of new growth.

Author: David Henson Medical advances made a valiant run at organic immortality but couldn’t advance beyond the millennium barrier. Not surprisingly, immortality in our epoch is digital — just as you folks in the past speculated in your movies and books. Here in my time, virtual life tech evolved until the quantum blossom was booted […]

Author: Timothy Wilkie Swathed in star shine and hidden behind the sun was our destination. I couldn’t wait to be buried in the bosom of old mother earth where the worms and insects thrived on bacteria not chemicals. A long time ago I threw away my mother for life among the stars. I had forgotten […]

Author: David Barber Across the gulfs of space, intellects bold and curious observe our world and hasten their plans against us… Buried deep in our cold, slow cities, age after age passed unregarded and we cared nothing for the world above until fiery scouts began falling from the skies. The Elders would have ignored this […]

continued from Part 3) MICHAËLLE-ANNABELLE FEAT. JEAN-MICHEL I strap into my rig, take a really big swig from my hydration dispenser tube I call The Ultra Black Vig, and settle back to begin this…

Continued from Part 1) JEAN-MICHEL FEAT. KINSLEY CHASE Lòske jounalis sa yo gade m— Hold up. Let me say that again. I’ll wait. Y’all go grab y’alls paper an’ pen. When these Stater journos look at…

INTRO: ALL I’M EVER GON’ DO IS STAY BLACK AND DIE JEAN-MICHEL FEAT. KINSLEY CHASE Kinsley Chase sits on manman mwen plastic-covered couch. The InTell HumbleBrag subprogram Stanford Sutton Industries…

A phone can be so much. Your memory, your edge against boredom, your source of inspiration. There’s always an app for whatever you need. Renee valued her phone accordingly, even celebrating it by…

Author: Neil Burlington Detective Gallant holds me down while his partner hits me even harder than he hit his wife last night. I bleed from my nose, my lips, and pretty much everywhere a face can bleed when under merciless attack by cops. I’m squeaky clean and eighteen, but do they care? “Where is it!” […]

Have you ever killed someone you love – I mean, really love? I did. I did it as surely as if I’d fired a bullet into her brain, and the fact that it was perfectly legal, that everyone at the hospital…

Author: Don Nigroni From my source, I knew there was a lot of debate concerning whether we should blow up that spacecraft before it got near Earth. It had suddenly and inexplicably appeared between Mars and Earth last night. It was obviously from another planet and might have been manned, but the fear was that, […]

Author: Cal Wallace “So,” Ftk’al said, slithering gently down the steps next to his friend. “You were cancelled.” “Yeah, man,” said Karl, chewing gum and spitting nothing despite his best efforts. “That’s how it goes out here. Dog eat dog.” Ftk’al tried to shrug, all tendrils pumping. Karl seemed to understand. He said, “You gotta […]

It is known that the Rootless are only ever leaving. Always moving on, never embracing soil long enough for connection. A life tumbled and tossed, and if it touches ours, it is only by chance…

Author: Majoki On Splinx, you have to follow the rules if you wanna break the law. Rule 1: Phasespace is your friend. Rule 2: In phasespace you have no friends. Seems simple enough until you try to skirt the laws of thermodynamics and attempt the biggest heist in quantum gambling history. And Splinx, being the […]

Author: Trinity J. Choi “W-who are you?” Those were the three most painful words I’d heard my entire life. “Someone who loves you dearly.” I responded, unable to control the slight crack in my voice. I could see my face shining back at me through her empty eyes. The reflection of a sister she doesn’t […]