Stories

Author : David S. Golding If seen from above, the highways appeared to be carved in symmetrical patterns. Beneath, the trails of people on foot were more spontaneous, clustered here around a cheap …

Author : Cesium When the food ran out, we all responded differently. The Cythalans engineered themselves into cold-blooded pygmies, with slow perception and quiet metabolism, tending their meager c…

Author : James McGrath The knife blade gleams in the half-light, sliding through its target. The tape then gives and the box lid opens. This must be box five-hundred, I think as I pack the circuit …

Author : David Zhou “Have a good weekend, Mr. Lark,” he said, scooting his chair underneath his desk and shuffling his papers a bit. “Don’t stay too late, y’hear?&#822…

Author : Seth Koproski “Mr. Jones, is it?” “Yep.” “Hello. I’m Doctor Jack Worth, head of the research team. Do you have any questions you’d like to ask?” “So how much ‘compensat…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer I look up as Anthony strides in, closing the door behind him. “You closed the door. What’s gone wrong?” He grins, then hands me a metallic tube. I turn it over. A c…

Author : Sarah Klein As soon as the hovercar came to a stop, they opened their doors and jumped out as fast as they could. Nicole strode toward the object, her eyes bright with joy. Drew dusted off…

Author : Aaron Emmel The King of the Ruins was perched on the crumbled wall of an old building. He appeared to have been sleeping, but jerked up like a startled bird when I approached. His overlarg…

Author : Ken Carlson Parallel universes can be tricky. They create confusion, fear, and a false sense of hope. So when I informed Nelson, my best friend from our original lives in Manhattan that I …

Author : Janet Shell Anderson I’m just a kid on my own. The question I have is, should I try to save the man who killed my Dad? It’s just after dawn; the river’s still, silver, silken, the banks, s…

Author : David K Scholes Canberra, Australia 2095 “It’s limited to a few long term users – one hour access every month to the future view function of face book,” I was face book chatting to a…

Author : Thomas Desrochers There was a warm glow as the Core began to wake up, followed by a spiraling light that worked its way around the room. After a moment a thousand pairs of eyes opened, and…

Author : Dylan Otto Krider After I got out of prison, I stopped by the O’Malleys place first. I passed a sicky on my way, babbling to himself, screaming about the spirits. “The spirits are upon you…

Author : Ljubo Popovich On the planet Yug-Yuk, a glandular toad called Opziggle effervesced into a translucent jar. On the stone pedestal twelve similar jars were arranged in a circle. “What took y…

Author : Charles Paul Wallace Ladies and gentlemen of the Commission, I wish to explain my actions before I am sentenced. It was me who named the alien civilization the Aeolians, yes. It’s a …

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Jack stood a few feet to the side of the station wagon, the door hanging open, the engine having just rattled and coughed into silence. Ahead, bathed in the yello…

Author : Bruce Lin “They’re all dancing,” Charlie said. “It’s a robot dance party!” He giggled, and tried to dance too. Joan observed her son with measured curiosity and abundant concern. “A softwa…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “Wow, you’re so small,” said the pink humanoid creature looking at me. It had created eyes for itself and a very primitive nervous system to replicate as many …

Author : Fred D. White After crossing the interstellar void for more than half a century Captain Carey, now fully awake, and his passengers, still in cryo, escapees from the toxic nightmare that Ea…

Author : Mark Renney Thomas was having a bad day. The bugs were everywhere, he was rife with them and he was writhing. He hated this – he knew how he looked. He had seen others like it, in a …

Author : Amy Sutphin She was perfect in every way. Her soft blond curls framed her perfectly proportioned face and amber, almond eyes. Not a single blemish marred her perfect skin. Yes God had made…

Author : Vanessa Kittle Something was wrong. Bear sniffed the air. There was no meat where meat should be. The sky was bright but there was no meat. The flocks of watchers were not watching. His st…

Author : Jeremy Koch Little was known of Planet Bes save that it was a world of impenetrable darkness, and according to the chronometer in Simonova’s exoarmor, she had already been there for …

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer I’m standing a little too close for his bodyguard’s liking, but it’s crowded in here and I have to be sure. I stumble a little and Ileo himself reaches a hand to he…

Author : David Henson One morning I have a horrible pain in my right side. I go see Dr. Ivan, my organ manager. She concludes my body is rejecting my liver and quickly puts in another. Less than a …

Author : Jonathan Wooldridge I finally finished converting enough of the ore to fuel for the flight home. My knee had healed almost completely from the landing, and the patch in the tank looked sol…

“There’s a storm coming,” Leaphorn said, and moved to close the shutters. Zhang removed his ear-buds and glanced up from his monitor, looking out the window. Beijing looked as cle…

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Dr. Kathleen Haley walked into the dimly lit Advanced Physics Laboratory at Cambridge and spotted Dr. Thomas Mitchell staring intently at a one meter in diam…

Author : Charles Paul Wallace I thought I’d got lucky. She was my type, you know? Late ’20s, not-too-pretty-not-too-plain, intelligent…and, apparently, interested. I was in one of…

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Levon leaned against the shower tube, letting the jets of water assail his body from all sides. As the sweat of the previous night’s activities rinsed away,…