Setti knew the woman for a ghost the moment she appeared. It was the pink hair that gave her away, short and spiky. Real people didn’t have hair like that. Also, you couldn’t see the scratchmarks on…

Planet Lion by Catherynne M. Valente in Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy Issue Four.

Author: Allie Nava They say your life flashes before you as you fold into the arms of death, and perhaps that is what happened to me when I lost those eight minutes and twenty seconds. I was a child peddling gleeful “whee’s” on a red bicycle, over a calming ocean of green hillocks. I was […]

Author: Jaime K Devine How long has it been November 15th? I’ve pulled this same picture of a hamster on a running wheel off the One-A-Day Cute Animals calendar for at least a week now. I feel like I’m losing it, so I call my sister. “Yesterday was November 15th, right?” “No, today is November […]

Author: Caley Schneider ‘Ha. Not if you were the last man on Earth.’ That’s what she’d said to smirking Cole Hamilton when he, not so subtly, suggested an intimate rendezvous in their bustling Interlaken hostel. He thought them both being American was enough to push her into his gym-bro, I-never-forget-my-protein arms. How the times have […]

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The radiation levels following the Great Holy War of the twenty third century made living on the surface of the Earth impossible. Consequently, humanity moved underground. After millennia of self-sufficient, artificial environments, humanity lost all ties to the surface. Eventually, the sum on the “known universe” consisted of 50,000 […]

Author: Alastair Millar I was between cons and heading down towards Damascus, Arkansas, when I heard the Word. It being Sunday, the holoscreens in the corners of the diner were showing a syndicated broadcast from one of the Texan megachurches. “Welcome, friends! Welcome all, whatever your age, sex, gender, ethnicity or degree of cybernetization! The […]

Author: Majoki So not painterly. Not even close. Too pixelated. Too blurred at the edges of reality. Not a good start in your first soloverse. Always so much to learn. Tamp down the expectations, go back and study the masters. Phidias. Caravaggio. Kurosawa. Leibovitz. Marquez. Einstein. Know their mediums. Stone. Canvas. Film. Page. Chalkboard. Seek […]

Author: Thomas Desrochers It is one of the great mysteries of the late 21st century that the land of Alaska remains as nearly untrammeled as it was a hundred years before. Though its harsh climate was well-preserved by the collapse of the Atlantic Gyre, the exodus from Europe caused by that same calamity created a […]

Punk Voyager was built by punks. They made it from beer cans, razors, safety pins, and a surfboard some D-bag had left on the beach. Also plutonium. Where did they get plutonium? Around. f*** you.

Author: Bill Cox Sirens sound behind him and it feels like the walls are closing in. Always running as fast as he can down the street, but his legs are tiring already despite the adrenalin surging through his body. A small lane leads off into darkness and if he can’t run then hiding is the […]

Author: Elizabeth Hoyle “There don’t need to be multiple universes for me to fall in love with you over and over again,” Michael said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “One lifetime must be enough, though there is no such thing as too much time with you. I’ve seen you as a daughter, […]

Author: Emily Kinsey A high-pitched scream tore into the night air, and Jules, leaning against the battered frame leading into her little brother’s room, uncrossed her arms and reflexively placed her hands over her ears. “Mom, can’t you get him to shut up?” Jules asked. “He’ll wake the neighborhood.” “He has nightmares,” Jules’ mother said […]

Author: David Dumouriez Rex sleeps a lot more than they do. Well, that’s not so difficult: they don’t sleep! Instead they put themselves on standby, which complicates matters for Rex when he wakes up. Sadly, whatever he does, he can’t make them hear him as he lacks the capacity to return them to their version […]

“This place is trash, garbágio, blechalicious,” Rocky Cornelius said appreciatively. “All we gotta do is, as they say, sublevel the vibe.” “Really? You think so?” The greengrocer, Franklyn…

SECURE PRIORITY COMMUNIQUE distribution SOLITAIRE, keyword MASQUERADE, source PENTACLE FROM: TRIPLE INTENT TO: ASPHODEL BEGIN CONTENT Even if you’re my enemy, I’m glad to hear from you. Given that you’…

Author: Ann Tandy Good morning, and welcome! You may be feeling a little disoriented: this is the natural result (and, indeed, intent!) of the stimulating effects of the musk exuded by the Great Beast. Your appendages may feel a bit stiff, but they will grow strong and agile once more, never fear! You may be […]

Author: Ruby Zehnder “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, mom. I can’t pass it up.” Rachel didn’t reply. She had heard these words before. When Naomi moved to India to live with her father, Rachel didn’t stop her. When she moved to Cambridge to attend MIT, she encouraged her. And the two years she spent on Mars […]

Author: Dave Ludford He reached the brow of the steep hill just before noon with the blazing sun at its apex making him feel drowsy and slightly nauseous. He dismounted from the equus and the sure-footed but cumbersome beast grunted in relief. The sense of unease he’d felt all morning seemed to be getting stronger […]

Author: J David Singer Alex hummed as she crossed the desert. Not with any kind of tune, just a prolonged contented sigh; almost a purr. In her arms, she held a small, rectangular, steel container with ridges on two sides. These ridges, she knew from long experience, should fit into the racks of the mainframe […]

Author: James Kelbert There was a tuna casserole baking in the oven as X forked its human to death. The timer went off just as the half-crusty blood oozed from the pale corpse onto the Formica countertop. In a vain expression of regret, X repeatedly smacked its trapezoidal head with its rusted digits. After the […]

Author: David Penn On this planet in the Emerson V system, sardonically named Jacob’s Ladder by its first explorers, the dominant species looks superficially like an Earth stick insect. However, these creatures are as large as our blue whales, have ten minutely-jointed legs, each ending in an eye, and mouths which operate more like ancient […]

Author: Kristen Henderson Her right hand was so chewed up by the churning machine at the mill that she was left with little choice. Little choice but to have a dowdy female surgeon attach a claw-like contraption to what straggly shattered pieces were left behind. If only she’d been left handed, but she was so […]

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I thought the skinny functionary nodded my way. The two of them are approaching, all eager smiles, curious glances, and whispered asides. “Are these seats taken? The server said they weren’t, but you know, they sometimes get things wrong. So, are they?” At least there’s two of them. Hopefully they’ll […]

Author: David Broz There is plenty of time to think out in space, in the middle of nowhere, just me and the dark and the pinpricks of the stars. And I think about how I miss you. I want to ask you, do you ever think of me? My mind is wandering. What if I […]

Author: David Barber The final part of the plan involved capturing a Jirt Princess. Morgan led one assault team, a band of Earthers who took terrible losses before the Jirt security swarm was destroyed. A last Jirt warrior blocked the way down into the palace. Evolution had selected the soldier caste for single combat with […]

Nanlee was a woman with the sort of past that necessitated moving to a non-extradition treaty country, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t planned on enjoying her “retirement” on Luna Colony.

Author: Mina – Oi! Shortarse! Cap’n says we got company in just under two standard hours. You gotta put that fucking pest in the cage. Cyn sighed and put down his welding pen that he used for small repairs. He patted the feline lying in orange and purple glory the usual four foot away from […]

Author: Lindsay Thorimbert She was perfect, even if she was so often indignant, given to suspicions and conspiracies. I couldn’t resist her, but I didn’t believe what she said. Not at first. We met in a chat room, less than a year before the internet finally died. She said it was already gone, whether or […]

Author: Dan Leicht Jade slumped into the Captain’s chair as she watched her crew on the navigation hub. Their route beeped on the screen in front of her. The four-person crew were relying on her to swoop in for a rescue if needed. Jade crunched down on a kale chip as she tried her best […]