The Eye of the Beholder | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NoNdUs

The tip of the cigarette glows red as I slowly inhale. The taste of the black tobacco momentarily overwhelms my receptors. I wind their sensitivity down and cancel the ‘inhaled toxin’ warnings. The second drag goes down without alerts. I exhale and …

Honour the Bride | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2I94SyB

Mercy in the Upper Room | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2DxJYub

The Shallow | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2pxHfqL

Author : Callum Wallace They stepped into the city, ignoring the barrage of smells assaulting their nostrils. People swam in and out of view, chatting animatedly, gracing the travellers with only t…

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The thundering blasts of the plasma cannons hammered us relentlessly like meteor-sized fists, as the Zalkanthian war ship maintained its attack position directly…

Author : Bob Newbell, Featured Writer The aliens came in a spherical spaceship that would have been at home on the cover of a 1930s pulp sci fi magazine. Their ship was nearly a thousand miles in d…

Author : David Atos He landed his ship on her front yard. The spare key was still underneath the ceramic frog, so he let himself inside. The living room looked right. Their vacation pictures were h…

Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on Io, I thought I would sail about a little and see the mo…

Author : Tino Didriksen At the mid of the 21st century, we received the first signal, overriding the output of every speaker on and off the planet with a coherent but seemingly meaningless message.…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The metallic grey blob shot across the cavern and landed with a wet ‘splat’ in the circular tub of turquoise gel. The conical lid had an aperture the exact size to …

Dropping from his vantage point, Sijen kicks out, snapping the neck of the first guard. Hearing his partner’s choked scream, the remaining patrolman swings about, weapon leveled. Rising from his landing crouch, Sijen’s blade like hands take the man …

Ellison looked at Anstis, then back down at the person lying on the bed. “And you say he’s been like this for hours?” he asked. Anstis grinned and nodded. via Pocket

Keiko 610618, or ‘keiko610’, as her work is signed, has just returned from yet another business meeting in a far flung industrial sector. Making idle conversation, we ask her if she enjoyed her flight, we ask her where she’s been. via Pocket

The black button seemed to sneer from its instrument panel at the two technicians facing each other with their hands resting on either side of it. They were the only two humans left on the warship. Neither had tasted battle with the aliens. via Pock…

She released her grip on the yoke of her De Havilland, and the pain in her hands eased. Even with a quarter century of experience flying to remote locations in Alaska, no medical emergency could compel her to try a night landing on a pitch black lak…

I had a fever and a headache and my joints were complaining. I shuffled across my carpet into the light. I stood looking out over the city while holding a steaming zipmug of CitruSinus in my hand. The windows overlooked a new age of wonder. It was a…

Author : C.S. Germain “Because you are a good person. No amount of health or youth can replace that.” was the immediate reply from within his head. via Pocket

There had been another coup, but that didn’t matter to Alba. All Governmentalists were alike; so what if they exchanged one secretary for another? The anarchist papers were cheering over the shift, but Alba knew better. via Pocket

Author : C. James Darrow Yes, my friend? via Pocket

Tony Scandone, the Director of The Ministry of Global Economy, motioned to the servbot to refill his coffee cup. After satisfying himself that the coffee was properly sweetened, he raked the last few morsels of his desert onto his fork, then squeege…

At the mid of the 21st century, we received the first signal, overriding the output of every speaker on and off the planet with a coherent but seemingly meaningless message. via Pocket

TURN THE SCOPE. Earth-124. Subject: Davis, Conner. Occupation: Car Salesman. It was an ordinary day of waking up, drinking coffee, and making his way to the lot again but Conner was glad that every day had its predictability. via Pocket

When you’re eight, this sounds like the perfect career. I could see myself in a starched white lab coat surrounded by petri dishes and beakers as I looked into an antique microscope all day, and then, at night, charting the courses of stars. via Poc…

Dad shuffled around the kitchen in his bathrobe slamming cabinet doors so hard they bounced back open. His muttering was punctuated with little crescendos each time something banged closed. The roar of the shuttle could be heard from outside, though…

Lieutenant Jvora shuffled down the corridor considerably slower than his four legs normally carried him. He was not looking forward to his meeting with Commander Skal. Jvora entered the commander’s office and raised a pincer in salute. Skal returned…

Author : A. S. Andrews Four months ago, it started. Everyone, everywhere, coughing. Day two brought bloody sores and panic, followed by the aches and fever of day three, the vomiting of day four. Day five dawned to thick, red scales, all over, even …

It was a shock to learn how short their life spans were but not surprising considering how much naked energy they threw off. We do not know how long we live because none of us have ever died, only changed form. They called themselves Humans. They ar…

“There’s a lot to be said for old technology. Mainly: ‘ooh looky, spares’. Me and the old bus are both getting long in the tooth. But as she’s got six hundred years and I’m only approaching fifty, we’ll not embarrass the lady with ageist stuff. via …