Sci-Fi

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 […]

Author: Clare Strahan Pat had to turn the drone over, to get to the metal hatch door and unscrew the screws that fixed it to the body. What did the drone think of, when Pat wasn’t there? Did it remember the battlefield, the shrapnel and wounding, the fall into the ocean, the washing up on […]

Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being by A. W. Prihandita

Author: David C. Nutt I took a swig straight out of the bottle of the rare, vintage wine- didn’t even let the damn thing breathe. It cost me only $8,420.00 USD, on sale from $10,000.00. As a relatively new multi-billionaire I didn’t even feel the cost. The wine sucked. Tasted like grape flavored caustic lye. […]

Author: Don Nigroni I met Nancy in college, and we got married shortly after she received her PhD. While I’m smarter than the average bear, Nancy is brilliant. I work for a stock brokerage firm, and she worked for the Department of Energy until three years ago when she joined a private consortium to do […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “DAY-NA!” The roar of anger is so loud it stops everyone. Dayna, presumably the being we’ve managed to corner after a three-hour citywide chase, was dubbed ‘Jaqueline the Ripper’ by the newsfeeds. Surrounded by rings of armoured vehicles and furious enforcers, she was laughing. Now she looks scared. What’s coming? […]

Author: Majoki To dream is the dream. Anyone thinking that we need to sleep to live is missing the real payoff. We should be living to sleep. Snow White had it right for the wrong reasons. She didn’t bite a poisoned apple, she micro-dosed from the forbidden fruit of the real tree of knowledge: somna. […]

Author: Mark Renney Each time Rod pushed his way through the portal, his initial response was disappointment. Although he hadn’t been aware of it the first time, he was actually stepping into the future. He realised this was an immense and astounding feat but it was just his flat, a perfect replica, albeit a little […]

Author: Hillary Lyon “You have three minutes,” Harmon said, sticking the end of an unlit cigar in his mouth.“Go.” “Okay,” Jepson nervously began. “Picture this: an unlikely romance between a peppy vacuum cleaner and a stoic lawn mower.” Harmon struck a match and lit his cigar. Jepson continued, “Defying the conventions of their middle class […]

Stranger Seas Than These by L Chan

Author: Stephen Dougherty The wind picked up the dust with brutal force. It ripped up the scorched land and tossed it into the never-ending night. Through the dark maelstrom, he could see what he hoped was Beacon Five through the scuffed glass of Beacon Two, its amber light scything through the burnt dust like the […]

“What’s your favorite tale?” I ask, voice quivering. My audience of thieves and killers, their gaunt, dirty faces illuminated by flickering firelight, eye me with equal parts skepticism and…

Author: Jean-Philippe Martin The traveler came to our house the day before harvest, detective. I did not notice anything amiss. He said the had nothing but was willing to work, so we housed him and showed him the next day how to pack, haul, and stack the boxes of fruit. He went along fine with […]

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks ‘Sir, I hope you’re happy with the service you’ve received thus far.’ ‘Please alter your voice to that of a woman.’ ‘Sir, I hope you’re pleased with the services you’ve so far received.’ ‘I am, Moneypenny. May I call you Moneypenny?’ ‘You may call me whatever you like, sir.’ ‘Thank you.’ […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer There’s an angel on the veranda, stealing my tomatoes. Well, not actually on the veranda. She’s too tall for that. Got one foot at the top of the steps, the other on the ground. My daughter’s fascinated by the flickering shadows cast by the shimmering energy fields that make up […]

Author: R. J. Erbacher Timmy woke with a start and looked up. He heard scurrying overhead. On the roof? Hooves, maybe. He laid perfectly still and listened intently. It only lasted a moment and then stopped. For a while there was nothing and he began to lose hope that he had actually heard anything. A […]

Author: Majoki Pioneering computer scientist, Alan Kay, once said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” I have to disagree. I’ve found the best way to predict the future is to control it. And the easiest way to control the future is to be in charge of time. In my case […]

You think you’re going to get me, don’t you? Well, you’ve got another think coming, ‘cause I’m ready for you.

In a post-nuclear event Silicon Valley, a man grieving the loss of his wife struggles to find comfort when he is forced to communicate with his neighbors’ AI devices, rather than the people themselves.

A comatose patient undergoes an experimental procedure that uses favorite childhood stories to pull the patient back into consciousness—but the experiment doesn't go quite as planned...

A new Lady Astronaut story! Dawn struggles to fit in with the rest of her team--the backup crew for the next lunar mission--but she and her colleagues may have more in common than anyone realizes...

A Brazilian freelance journalist confronts the grim reality her past choices created when she covers a community of people living in a landfill and what they must do to survive...

With her friends vanishing and her home planet of Ayeshij crushed under the weight of occupation, gemologist-turned-con artist Mitayre’s planning a very special retirement--the kind with telepathic birds, sharp teeth, and gory retribution...

Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal. Publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror books.

During one of the much smaller disasters that preceded the really big disaster, I met a lot of my neighbors online. I can’t remember if we set up the WhatsApp group because of the pandemic or the civil disorder or both. My Minneapolis block had always been reasonably friendly—people would take their kids around on […]

Author: Majoki He hadn’t planned on becoming a ghost hunter, but that’s what Mordem Letac felt like now. A trained naturalist, he’d come to the northern reaches of the Yukon Territory earlier in the summer to study migration patterns in the face of ecosystem collapse related to rapidly accelerating climate change. In some ways studying […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer George is waving his arms about again: never a good sign. Neela catches my eye and nods towards him, raising her eyebrows and frowning. Receiving the ‘sort it out’ message loud and clear, I take a last drag, then stub out my smoke. His voice fades in as I approach. […]

Author: James Callan The holographer did more than tell us who was next on their list to be murdered, though that alone would suffice as unnerving. They didn’t mention names at all, opting for an artistic approach, something avant-garde to demonstrate their next dreadful slaughter. The holographer had their modus operandi, their eccentric, sadistic show-and-tell. […]

Author: Joann Yu A woman sat on a plane next to a man. He had blond hair tied in a tiny bud, wore a blue sweatshirt, and a black mask covered half of his face. She didn’t know if he had blue eyes. She didn’t dare to look at his face. On the plane, she […]

Author: Mark Renney The moment is almost here. At last, after all the speculation and rumour, the grand reveal. A cage has been wheeled onto the stage, sitting at its centre, covered by a white sheet, pristine and perfect. Everyone is certain that, when the cover is pulled away, it will be intricate and ornate […]