Author : Cesium Artichoke “Hey, Tom, uh… you got a minute?” Robin ambushed him as he came out of his office. He had a meeting with the Secretary of Energy about space-based power,…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer That leaden feeling in your gut as you trudge from transport to entrance. The warmth of the lift buttons under your fingertips. Those shooting pains in your head as …

Author : Alex Skryl “Computer, report!” yelled the Captain. “Sir, all primary systems are online but the star orientations do not match anything in my database.” “What…

Author : Pete Clark In the vast, senseless void of space, a new star appeared. Darin watched from the observatory with wide eyed wonder at the glowing orb, reflecting on the War, the unknown enemy.…

Author: Jeff Mauser They peered through the small site-port of their shuttle in astonishment. Their small ship had been designed for docking purposes only, not for landing on a planet. The sky was …

Author: Kaelen I’m tired, yet I can not sleep. Of course, sleep is not something I need or can even do, but I do enjoy taking quick naps, as I call them. Getting disconnected for short periods enli…

Author : Curtis C. Chen Lucy’s hand shook as she traced the stylus over the text of the contract. Her agent had assured her that this was a good deal, but she had to make sure there were no s…

Author: DJ Lunan President Nugrubyev looked deep into the lens of the RTV and BBC cameras and smiled broadly. He caught his image in a control monitor. All those hours with his hot voice coach, bod…

Author : Sarah Vernetti The entire thing was the wind’s fault. Yes, she (not the wind) had ripped up her Form 1908, but that didn’t mean she wanted to get rid of it completely. She had intended to …

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer When Lieutenant Parks and a lone Private lifted off from the rooftop in the only available escape vehicle, they were painfully aware that they were leaving behind…

Author : Harris Tobias I felt a shifting in my circuits like I got when I rebooted, a slippery, falling feeling that signaled stress— or was it joy? The whole idea of feelings and emotions was new …

Author : Jeff Kirchoff A few short keystrokes and the room sprung to life, bare, the walls black yet glowing with the subtle aura of electrical potential. Rico strolled to the center of the small s…

Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer “I’m not one of your lab monkeys, I’m your investor, so don’t give me any more of your scientific jargon.” Mr. Bates pointed his…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer My entire celebrity life is online for people. There are over a million people looking out through my eyes, breathing in time with me, feeling my exhilaration …

Author : Jennifer George Lisilia was the epitome of fashion from her perfectly quaffed faux-hair to her dainty four-inch stiletto shoes, hiding her painted, clawed feet. She spent her entire life s…

Author : Emily Stupar The rain swirled over tiles and across rooftops before spreading like drapes down the sides of each decrepit building. Lights from the richly populated northern quarter dyed t…

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The Pai-Toxh beings of the twin planet set, Andromedae 2787A and B, were nearing their migration time. The entire flock had just about finished feeding and were …

Author: Mark Joseph Kevlock I remember a day I hadn’t remembered. I stood in the field, at the edge of where the woods began. Childhood came through the trees with the morning sunlight, at ju…

Sparg By Brian Trent Sparg had difficulty making pancakes, but he was trying. In the empty apartment, he clutched the silver bowl with one tentacle to hold it steady. With another, he attempted the far trickier business of whipping the batter as he’d seen his owners do many, many times. The bowl was bigger than …

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Erik heard them in the lobby, dividing up the elevators and the stairwells. He owned the building’s cameras and their audio. The Situation Commander barked o…

Author: Mina – “Mind if I sit here?” – “Go ahead,” I mumble as I look up. Then do a double take. Hey, this guy is gorgeous. I look around the small café and I see that there is nowhere …

Author: Ken Carlson I was scrambling around my apartment for my shoes. How does anyone lose his only decent shoes in a suburban studio apartment? That’s what Deanna would have asked before she walk…

Cat Pictures, Please By Naomi Kritzer I don’t want to be evil. I want to be helpful. But knowing the optimal way to be helpful can be very complicated. There are all these ethical flow charts — I guess the official technical jargon would be “moral codes” — one for each religion plus dozens more. …

Author: Colin Lubner The year is 2296, and she’s doing that thing, with her knuckle. She doesn’t bite down, but she sucks on it, you know, so her bottom lip’s lipstick makes a little top lip on the…

Author: Hari Navarro The Martian, he creeps through my window and sits on my chest whilst his steed it looks on with eyes swollen and glazed. Eyes whose voyeuristic bulge look set now to split and …

Author : Jason Frank I sure don’t mean to say that the pods they sent us here in aren’t nice. There is a chance that they might be too nice, though. I’d be the first to admit that…

Author : Dan Whitley “What is this?” Marc demanded, shaking a little plastic baggie in front of his son’s face. “This better not be what I think it is.” “What, it’s not like you didn’t do that sort…

Author : Aldous Mercer Septu’s core-temperature rises as soon as he steps out of the wind. But he keeps his eyes to the ground. The trembling of his father’s hand has nothing to do with the heat an…

The picture made the cover of the Tzarin colony newsletter: a petite, blond-haired girl kneeling in the center of a flock of hibernating escravo, her arms wrapped around her skinny stomach and her …

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Janice faltered in the dark apartment. It wasn’t hers. She was sobering up, the guy was snoring, and it was time to go. She had her panties in her pocket and h…