What Remains, the Echoes of a Flute Song by Alexandra Seidel

Timelock by Davian Aw

Tigers for Sale by Risa Wolf

Clio's Scroll by Brenda W. Clough

Author: David C. Nutt “Excellency, the Chair of the Preservist department is here as requested.” “Very good, send him in.” The Chair of the The Preservist Department, formally The Office for the Preservation and Purity of Galactic Standard Language, floated in, his formal saffron and scarlet robes billowing behind him. The Galactic University High Chancellor […]

“It’s all gone.” The ethereal voice whispered—almost robotic and clearly distant—its desperate lament choked off with a gasp, which tugged Itoro back from unconsciousness. Sprawled on her back…

Author: Gaylynne Quince The group of scientists huddled together as they worriedly watched the probe fly towards the rift that had cracked open the skies above. In mere moments, it would cross the event horizon and transmit data back of what lay on the other side of the blackened void. Truthfully, they didn’t think the […]

Author: Andrea Damic Cydra loves the crisp morning air, sitting on the porch drinking her black poison. She rests her gaze on the frosty pastures immersed in the morning sun. The anticipation of that feeling of apricity when the warmth of the winter’s sun crawls through the thick layers of clothing until it touches the […]

Author: Samuel Price Frozen heads sat in metal containers with glass fronts like aquariums. LEDs on the fronts displayed names, ages, and social status. Shelved floor to ceiling in alphabetical order, the heads ran the length of the ship. The top shelves were heads of the richest families. The people that would lead on the […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer It’s a bright morning across Ixaroz, the heart of the Consortium. Beings go about their purposes with a spring in their ambulations, buoyed up by decades of peace, and the traditions that accompany it, like traversing the long span of the Great Way to enter the Glorious Citadel. Nothing is […]

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 […]

The glass bottles are caked with so much grime you can’t see what’s in them anymore. It’s better that way because you don’t think you’d be able to do what you need to, if you could. You fish the knife out of your canvas bag, and a lighter with just enough fluid for one more flash of fire. This is your first time—but you’ve seen your mother do the same thing countless times before. Before she made her first mistake. Before you were forced to take her place.

Housing Problem by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner   Jacqueline said it was a canary, but I contended that there were a couple of lovebirds in the covered cage. One canary could never make that much fuss. Besides, I liked to think of crusty old Mr. Henchard keeping lovebirds; it was so completely inappropriate. But […]

Quest of the Starstone – Part Two by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Yarol landed on his feet like the cat he was, gun still gripped and ready, black eyes blinking in the starry dark. Smith, hampered by the terrified Jirel, sank with nightmare ease to the ground and rebounded a little from its sponginess. […]

Author: Hillary Lyon “Watcha got there?” Mik-taa’s co-pilot asked, watching her unfold a large map on a table in the ship’s galley. “It’s a map,” she replied, not looking up. “No duh,” Bix scoffed. “Even I recognize old tech maps like that. Whatcha looking for? Going somewhere?” Mik-taa ignored him. She smoothed the creases in […]

Author: Aubrey Williams I’ve been trying to figure things out. For no reason, I found myself on the side of a lonely road somewhere. I felt like I’d been asleep for too long on a hot day, and couldn’t quite remember what I was doing. It was quiet, with only the sound of distant sky […]

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 […]

Priya begins by striking the words love, hate, heart, and feel from the computer’s vocabulary, and blocks the internet. It isn’t with malicious intent. She d...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The nightlight downgrades again, becoming a dim glow. Frankie squints at it, then turns his attention back to me, pupils wide above the patched duvet cover that contains more shredded dry rubbish than actual duvet. “Tell me about the Call to Arms.” I shake my head. Every week his school […]

“Darling,” Hades says one evening as the two of them are curled up on the couch, “I love you, but we can’t live like this.” “Hmm?” Persephone glances up from her Macbook. At her feet, Perennial Gra…

Drugged and dying, Bigby thinks about dreams. How, long ago, maybe two or three beers in, he told his roommate he wanted to be an umpire. He was going to drop out of school. He was going to spend y…

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: Sean Nelson Taylor “Christ, these Danishes are hard as rocks!” Damien’s heart rate jumped. The lab assistants were chatting as they returned from their coffee break, ready to begin the afternoon session. Strapped down to a cold metal seat, he was helpless. “Alright, you sick fuck. Time for a little Empathy Training.” Damien could […]

Úna’s dad once said to her: “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Spring had turned and they’d come cycling up the highway, fourteen kilometres north through a land bedecked with rocky…

Author: David Barber “You’re not old enough to remember Patty Blue, the singer,” the salesman said. He still wore his hair in a spacer crop, though he hadn’t been out in the dark for years. “Spacers broadcast her songs when coms traffic was slow and that voice would haunt you.” He rotated the hologram of […]

Author: Cheri Vazquez It was 1978 and I was on my way to a job interview at the most exclusive fine dining restaurant in New City. I’d coifed my hair into what I believed to be worthy of the sommelier position. My satin slacks pinched at my waist securing a silver silk blouse I had purchased at Barneys, my throat dry […]

Three pieces of toast—dark on one side, light on the other. A cup of coffee. Rosh’s preference is Blend 14, with hints of Sub-Saharan Africa and caramel, delivered tepid with more milk than expresso.

Author: Jenny Abbott The Bob Hope in the next act is slipping, and I can hear him breaking down a little more every night through the wall. These places off the turnpike aren’t exactly five-star gigs, but you take what you can get—a career in combat leaves you long on synaptic adjustments but short on […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer My peers are very fond of saying how they ‘were fortunate’ or ‘spotted an opportunity’. The more honest have momentary shadows in their eyes when they say it. The raw truth is that to accumulate this much wealth, we’ve taken opportunities, money, and even lives from others. Not theft or […]