Author: Dave Ludford He reached the brow of the steep hill just before noon with the blazing sun at its apex making him feel drowsy and slightly nauseous. He dismounted from the equus and the sure-footed but cumbersome beast grunted in relief. The sense of unease he’d felt all morning seemed to be getting stronger […]

Author: J David Singer Alex hummed as she crossed the desert. Not with any kind of tune, just a prolonged contented sigh; almost a purr. In her arms, she held a small, rectangular, steel container with ridges on two sides. These ridges, she knew from long experience, should fit into the racks of the mainframe […]

Author: Allyson Foley His breathing was deafening in the confines of the helmet as he clung to the wreckage of the Palindrought. That thing had looked like one of theirs. Its clearance codes had checked out. Its hull, the call sign, even its frequency and flight path had all cleared. The ship had been Telphi […]

Author: Dan Leicht Jade slumped into the Captain’s chair as she watched her crew on the navigation hub. Their route beeped on the screen in front of her. The four-person crew were relying on her to swoop in for a rescue if needed. Jade crunched down on a kale chip as she tried her best […]

Author: Majoki Thor got thunder. Prometheus got fire. Shiva got a laser eye. Me? I got a measly quark. Smallest thing in the universe. Two and a half trillion times smaller than a grain of sand. What’s a god supposed to do with that? Make the masses tremble and beg mercy, pledge obedience and fealty–to […]

Author: Morrow Brady I was beside myself, beside myself. I looked across at where I was and could see through me to where I was again. All three of me there. Two lesser versions of the original. And me, the least version, knowing far less than the lesser version. Content to be ignorant of the […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Nine at night and residential roads are empty. Everybody is safe inside, either working or enjoying approved leisure activities. Meanwhile, on the intercity hyperways, traffic provides cover for duels between the dishonest and the diligent. My control board emits an annoying bleep. Somebody is being exceptionally diligent. “Unidentified perpetrator, westbound […]

Author: Majoki Francis was helping the elderly lady cross a busy street when the call came. He waited until she’d thanked him with a little pat on the arm and entered the drugstore even though the shelves were almost bare. His phone was still buzzing. Oscar. He hesitated, but knew that was impolite and so […]

Author: Aubrey Williams “Look, we understand that this is a strange request, Mr. Human… but we repeat again: our planet’s security… even galactic security, may depend on us acquiring one of these devices. Please, we implore you— surrender your microwave to us!” So spoke the little alien being, its four hands wrung in pleading, its […]

Author: Hillary Lyon Kaz tumbled through the centrifugal force of the prismatic vortex, finally landing on the planet’s surface with a cruel thud. Medical nanobots lining the interior of his suit immediately went to work, infusing themselves through the pores of his skin, worming their way into his bloodstream. From there, the minuscule bots traveled […]

Author: Dave Ludford Had he been walking at a faster pace or with any real sense of purpose Ryan Jennings would have missed it completely. Scuffing the forest floor aimlessly however with first one foot then the other, his meanderings revealed something that he at first thought was some kind of weird seed or pod […]