Author : Aaron Henderson “It’s going to be a kick-ass weekend,” Gus thought to himself as he maneuvered the ratchet and claw, carefully removing a panel from the dusty robot that lay a few feet in front of his maintenance pod. He was looking forward to watching not one but two great games and spending [...]
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer “Don’t show it, please don’t show it, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t show it.” “Gentlemen, as you can see from the footage, the XA – 4 reactive armour system is effective against all small arms ballistic ammunition as well as low wattage phased [...]
Author : Liz Lafferty Life insurance was easier to write now that Sovereign Earth had established a predestined day of death. I’m not saying that everyone died on the predestined date, but some politician with a mind toward the future had discovered that incentives and tax credits went a long way toward getting a perfectly [...]
Author : Andrew Brereton Now he understood what his master had meant when he said that some people come here only to never leave. The place was truly magical. Even as he watched, a man and his assistant walked by carrying two strange skulls with long ridged horns curling out the back. His imagination was [...]
Author : Rob O’Shea Too little time. Too many meetings. I turn on the Transmit and zimmed out of office and back to home. In the wardrobe there is a skin I put on. Have to look fresh. The girl — blonde, cancer free, young — cries. I detach her body from the hanger; unhook [...]
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Headfirst into the mainstream with my lawsuit buzzing, that’s the only way to do it. The cold data can stop your heart. Bright red crosses dance around me, warding off viruses that can infect my setup and make it drain others. The pile of reflexes and soft meat back [...]
Author : Waldo van der Waal “Don’t worry,” she had said, “I’ll be there to take the straps off once we come out of stasis.” She had smiled at me. A pretty smile. She was pretty all over: Dark hair, pixie-like features and perky breasts. I could see her nipples through the thin fabric of [...]
Author : Leland Stillman Dustin is dusting off the cutting-torch. I am pulling on my space boots. It is odd to think that we are farmers, the true first profession, now done only on space platforms. “We’ll be cuttin’ a while,” he says to me. Space hooligans have mangled our dairy equipment. They come up [...]
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer “Well, Eleanor, have you figured out why the warp drive isn’t working?” “Yes Seb. Believe it or not, this star system is in the center of a super large dark matter donut, and we’re in the hole. Apparently, it’s creating erratic gravity waves that are preventing us from initiating [...]
Author : Matthew Callaway Leaving for work Chip noted that this day, like every other held about a 98.3% chance of tedium. The prospect was as oppressive as the permanent lighting that lines the streets, serving for the unseen sun below a sky full of buildings, their upper levels in the clouds. The air is [...]
Author : Andrew Hawnt I didn’t look back. The explosion tore through the upper floors of the building first, raining white hot debris onto the street below. It was late enough for the streets to be empty, so no harm was done beyond a few damaged cars and scorched pavement. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed. [...]
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer “Don’t go,” he cried. “I am here Vasilly. I will always be here. I will always be with you. I love you,” she said as she slid away. Those last few months, she suffered horribly. Almost all forms were curable, and the ones that weren’t, weren’t much of [...]
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Atto hovers at the end of the bar furthest from the dance floor. Under the harsh lights his skin seems translucent even to him. The revelers around him tipping bottles back and clinking glasses look right through him. He knows a kind of invisibility now he’s never felt so [...]
Author : Liz Lafferty “Abbot Cryogenics. Pod 47. Earthdate: 2870513. Final log entry. Dr. Amanda Davidson, Director, Abbot Cryogenics. All pods have successfully entered cryo-preservation.” I punched the final sequence starting the five minute countdown to my first wake cycle, hopefully to occur in 3870 minus 10. “All pod directors have confirmed successful shutdown. I [...]
Author : Matthew Banks Dr. McLaren stood in front of the tank with a printout in one hand and an ampoule of pale yellow liquid in the other. Octopus 2935 squirted through the tank in front of him, dodging nimbly around the tall coral outcrop in the middle. Excited waves of white and dull brown [...]
Author : Adam J Keeper I swear there’s a curse on my spaceship. As my vision returns I see the spiderweb of cracks in my visor, the now familiar sight of bodies spinning in zero g, the red pulse of the warning lights, the squeal of the proximity alarm. I try to reach out, grab [...]
Author : Mike Marsh “Tell me again about the dime. How is this relevant?” Charlie was tired. This was the end of a long day; his head hurt. He swatted at a buzzing fly. “The dime is just part of it, doc. Don’t you get it? Who’s on the dime is just the start.” The [...]
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Earthforce engaged the Denebian fleet in the gap between the asteroid belt and Jupiter. During the battle, a lone Denebian ship broke formation and streaked toward the inner solar system. “Pursue the Denebian ship, warp factor three,” ordered the captain of the Endeavor. “Open a hailing frequency, Lieutenant.” When [...]
Author : Cesium To my love, By now you will undoubtedly have gotten the news. Yes, it’s true. The train did derail… and I was one of the casualties. I am sorry this final message could not bring better news. I cannot bring you hope, or ease your pain. But… take joy in our daughter; [...]
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It’s one of those moments everyone dreads. You’re standing in front of an observation window looking out at open space and you see a crack silently trace its way up from the corner and across the glass. Once when I was seven, I stayed with my mom on an [...]
Author : Thomas Desrochers We’ve turned into such a peaceful race. We are so… So… Dull. We never fight any more, wars are a thing of the past. Even violent crime seems to have just disappeared. The typical city needs, maybe, one law enforcement officer per every million people. Yes, violence has been replaced with [...]
Author : Waldo van der Waal Nobody warned me about the pain. Creeping from your brain and slowly extending to every bloody nerve-ending. Hot acid makes way for molten lava before the really hot stuff arrives. A million tiny needles prod at every part of your body. From the inside outwards and from the outside [...]
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Walter had felt cold before, but nothing like this. In the hours since sundown the temperature had dropped steadily, but in the last hundred yards it had been dropping twice as fast. He had to find shelter quickly or risk freezing to death. Cresting a small hill, Walter came [...]
Author : John Logan At 34 years old, I was in bad shape. Sixty pounds over weight and wheezing like a dying man every time I trudged up a flight of stairs. The cigarettes didn’t help. My wife, Claire, constantly nagged at me to stop. She hated the smell. I also drank heavily. I’d abused [...]
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer Drop capsules are virtually impregnable to anything man or xeno can throw at them. They have consistently proven themselves many times in combat under the onslaught of increasingly sophisticated weaponry. We don’t feel anything during a drop since we are in complete stasis until planetfall. Hell, we really [...]
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Jason Hausen studied the 3D holograph of the star Adhara in the constellation Canis Major. Imbedded within the image were the telemetry tracks of the two dozen spaceships that had entered the star system in the last 20 years. Entered, but not exited, noted Hausen. In each case, the [...]
Author : K.S. Kim It’s certainly nothing new. Shipping off the old to make way for the new. They used to call them homes for the elderly. They would have them everywhere, just to make it easier for the younger generation to pursue their everyday lives and goals, without having to care for the increasingly [...]
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Jeanine walked the length of her racer, running her bare hand across the seams, feeling for any fastener stressed out of place, trying to get a sense of any uneasiness in the craft. She paused and read the name stenciled down the side, “Spirit of America : Ultra III”. [...]
Author : W. Kevin Christian Damn it, he thought. The delirium had stopped. Again he felt the pain and heat. Burning, sizzling, scorching heat, like tar on a summer sidewalk. It was the middle of the third week. Changes had begun innocently enough around day three. A little fatigue, a headache, a bit of a [...]
Author : Phill English We welcome. They are quickening their destruction of planets at an exponential pace. We acknowledge. But what can be done? We encouraged their growth, gifted them technology that could build worlds. They were only exerting their free will by opposing our wishes. We accept. Nevertheless, the destruction must cease. The planets [...]
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I remember entering the room. I was eighteen, cold, naked except for the paper underwear, bred for this and still nervous. I suppose terrified is more apt. Even after the rigorous physical training I was still very skinny. My breathing came in quick gasps as I struggled not to [...]
Align Software Inc.
Coilhouse magazine + blog
Futurismic
Spilling Ink Review
Wilcox Studios