Author : David Henson I was working in the lab late one night. My assistant Igorbot had left, but there was nothing for me to go home to since Loretta had moved out. Left alone, I'd poured myself into my work even more than usual. We were on the verge of a breakthrough ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Swerve left and dive over a fence, roll once and spring through a gap in a wall, landing in what used to be a lounge, my face inches from a dead someone's diary. As a former librarian, I can’t help it: I have to read the words neatly ...

Author : Samuel Stapleton Classified Hearing AF:145-34a C3 Interviewer: Charles Witcomb “If you could go back commander, would you alter your decision?” “No.” “I’m going to note for the record that you didn’t even seem to reconsider…” “I don’t need too. If I ...

Author : George R. Shirer The alien wore a red flower in her hair. It was vibrant against her pale hair. “What do you think of her?” asked Jon. “I don’t know.” Jon gave me an incredulous look. “What do you mean? You don’t know?” “Honestly. I don’t know. I mean, ...

Author : Anamarija Slatinec An oppressive light is shining into my face and it jolts me out of my sleep. A thought hits me hard before my eyes are even open. “It’s Inspection Day” I say aloud. Every month it feels like it has come around sooner than the last. You start ...

Author : Charles Paul Wallace The microscope sat on Lena's desk exactly where she'd found it. It had been there when she got home from school. Her mother just looked at her blankly when asked where it had come from. It was grey, a clunky thing with an adjustable dial on ...

Author : Samuel Stapleton “Megan! Sweetheart! You’re on time!?” “Not here to chat.” She hissed as she paraded in. “I know, I know. I’ve got your new look ready, stand still please.” She complied as best she could, but every now and then quivers of excitement would ...

Author : Russell Bert Waters Their Emperor once conquered vast expanses; like Genghis Khan, who cried when he ran out of lands to conquer. But the Tar don't cry. They don't hear, see, or speak. Their home planet was a silent and dark place. No vibrations, no ...

Author : Hillary Lyon The old woman leaned over the tombstone, and wiped the flat screen embedded in the front. It was grimy from exposure to the elements, but with a few gentle, conscientious strokes with her handkerchief, came clean. She sighed wearily, stepped back, and ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The sub-tropical jungle steams in the sultry afternoon heat as the sun reappears after the mini-monsoon. Sapping humidity returns. Two figures appear: the leader moving with the ease of long familiarity with the terrain, the follower ...

Author : C. James Darrow Human? Yes, my friend? I feel. . .different. The old man cleared his throat and looked up from his desk. We’ve been over this, my friend, you are a machine. You do not feel. Not yet. The machine had been in the shadows, playing with ...

Author : Jules Jensen “John. What is that sound?” There was a moment of tension as John’s mother, still wearing her hospital scrubs, sat at the head of the table. John heard the noises. Little high-pitched squeals and miniature explosions, muffled but obviously coming ...

Author : Suzanne Borchers The hot breeze whispered through the sparse vegetation around their home. Heat waves rose choking Sybil’s lungs with the acrid fumes. She knelt on bruised painful knees in her garden and began digging up tufts of clay with her torn fingernails ...

Author : Philip Berry Dropping out of purple clouds into a thin brown layer of wind-scour, Gess identified the Pinnacle City, capital of Fenlan Found. Waves of refraction formed pulsatile auras around the high, glass-clad buildings, making them warp in the relentless ...

Author : David K Scholes “Did you hear that K1983441 was beaten at chess by a, ah___,” J3343578 hesitated for just a moment, “by a, ah ___ human being.” Somehow she managed to make the word sound quite dirty. I made a computer note that her diplomacy chip might need an upgrade. No humans ...

Author : Jules Jensen His sword vibrated painfully when it made contact with the thick-skinned creature that towered over him. It clawed at him with a hand large enough to engulf his whole body if he let it. He dodged to the side as the creature lunged again, huge black ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “What is that which burns like the star had a child?” “Terra of Sol Three, my bairn. Its residents called it ‘Earth’. It was beautiful.” “Why does it burn, pata?” “They had the war they said they’d never have.” “That seems ...

Author : David Henson "Sign here, human, to give us permission." A titanium alloy finger taps the document they've put in front of me. Here we go. "Permission?" "Yes, just sign here." Tap. I look over the paper, but everything is written in robotistic lingo I can't ...