Author : Alicia Cerra Waters We were lost in the desert on Omega, sitting under one of those skeleton trees, slowly drying out like everything else around us. They call Omega the first and the last…

Author : Priya Chand, Featured Writer I put two bottles and two cards in front of the NGO lady. She scooped them and nodded. “Karen Wallacho. Your sister isn’t here?” “She’s eight. She doesn’t get …

Author : Thomas Desrochers Jean steps out onto his sunlit balcony and sits down at the glass table. He sweeps the surface off with his hand and then lays down a piece of creamy stationery. Pen in h…

Author: Paul Williams Siblane started work when his phone told him it was 9 am in the United Kingdom. He connected to the network, listening to the clicking of the automated dialer. He never saw th…

Author: Rick Tobin “There is simply nothing we can do for you medically Mr. Tambor. Digeenia is fatal in mammals, like you. Perhaps someday there will be a vaccine or treatment, but considering its…

Author: J.D. Rice As the sun rises, the ruins of the city begin to glimmer in orange and gold. Mangled hunks of metal and shards of glass reflect the rising sunlight, making the landscape come aliv…

Author: Martin Lochman You love watching your human sleep. You love watching as she lies on the bed almost motionless, eyes shut, her face a mask of perfect serenity. You love seeing what she is dr…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer By the time the stubborn git drops, I’m not sure if my nose is numb from the cold or from him hitting it. Christ, what a night to be out earning. Snow up to my ankle…

Author: Matthew Harrison “Good morning, Robert, how nice to see you,” Jenny said. “What do you want to do today?” Robert smiled as he settled down at his PC, even though he knew Jenny couldn’t see …

Author : David Botticello “…Ma’am?” Major Vorwith questioned. “…Ma’am?” “Yes Major,” intoned his captain, her voice betraying the long night behind them. “We’re receiving a message. No author ident…

Author: A.K. Blake “You can’t be serious.” The President squints, shielding his eyes. “We find blunt assessments most expedient.” The agent from UPRA oozes twenty meters away, sunlight glancing off…

Author: David Henson The table is still set, and one of the plates is untouched— baked cod, peas, potatoes. Cold. Ruined. I was so upset at work, I forgot to call and tell Helen I wouldn’t be…

Author: Mina I don’t know how I came to be. I only know that I am the only one here now. Immortality is not all it’s cut out to be. Not when you are alone in the vastness of space and time. The oth…

Author: David Henson My daughter is marrying a goddam Martian. They’ll probably end up living with me and Edith ‘cause he’ll never hold down a steady job. Martians is lazy. Just ‘cause Mars was the…

Author : Grady Hendrix Tom Rush (D-Massachusetts) squatted and hugged his Labrador-Beagle mix at the perfect angle for the camera to see just how much he loved his dog. “Mashudu is the luckiest d…

Author: Kim Kneen “It’s rare but sometimes Saplings simply fail to thrive.” Dr. Moran peels off her gloves and drops them into a bin labeled Hazardous Waste. Moran hands me a leaflet entitled Recal…

Author : Christopher Kueffner “I thought you didn’t smoke,” she asked. “I did, and I quit,” he replied through a bluish cloud, “but it seems an appropriate time to pick up the habit aga…

Author : M.S. Smith The sun sinks in the west like a heart as I row towards the city of lights. I do not know what the city is called. I have been rowing for so long that names have become vulgar s…

Author : Lewis Richards Today is my 456th birthday. Growing up everyone is made to think space is a dangerous place full of Alien space pirates and impending doom, ( I’m looking at you, Sigou…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer John trundles the pallet truck toward the ramp. “A few of us acquired some things from Centra Medico on your behalf. Doesn’t seem right, just throwing you out.” He s…

Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer Battles in space aren’t the cool atmosphere bound dogfights of the twentieth century that are still depicted in movies. Battles in space are a matter of orbi…

Author: Samuel Huang “It’s time, Ms. President.” Sarah Juanita Chen wanted to run, but a dozen secret service agents filled the Oval Office, barring every possible avenue of escape. The regal room …

Author : Desmond Hussey, featured writer “You the new guy?” A massive Velorian Lobster asks me, a clawed hand over his head mic as I stand in the doorway of the busy office. There’s a muffled squaw…

Author: Janice Rothganger Subject 9581 swam against the waves, edging nearer to her objective with each stroke. Salt water crusted her lips. The storm surge pulled her away, then forced her tantali…

Author : C. Clayton Chandler They came out of the sky like plumes of fire, these green-skinned sickos with their saucers and their death rays shearing the air, burning atmosphere, coasting smooth a…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The mists swirl about our feet and the cold blues of brushed steel surfaces surround us. There is distant hubbub, like a monster stirring in its lair – which …

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Rosa jumped, spilling her latte as the man dropped heavily into the seat across from her, long hair mussed, his face a shadow in the halo cast by the late afterno…

Author: Thomas Tilton I am not the creator, just the keeper. People say that bots don’t have human feelings, that to assume they do is even more dangerous than assuming, say, the crocodile swimming…

Author: Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “Look we rescued you, correct?” “Yes, but-” “You were floating in a derelict colony vessel. You were a corpsicle. A cryo refugee. …

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Peck met Richards at the door of the diner. They stood staring at each other without speaking for a long minute before Peck opened the door and ushered his partner…