Author: TJ Gadd Anna stared at where the panel had been. Joshua was right; either The Saviour had never left Earth, or Anna had broken into a vault full of sand. She carefully replaced the panel, resetting every rivet. Her long red hair hid her pretty face. When ...

Author: David C. Nutt The uniformed Da’Ri officer saw me enter the bar and nearly ran to me. He was at my booth before I had a chance to settle in and was talking at light speed before the first round hit the table. Things did not go well for the Da’Ri today. As an observer ...

Author: W.F. Peate A child’s doll sat in the deserted street pockmarked with missile craters. Little orphan Tara tugged away from our hands and reached for the doll. “Booby trap,” shouted a military man. Quick as a cobra he pushed me, Tara and my grandfather behind him so ...

Author: Majoki “You’re mad!” The humming stopped. “Yes, sir! I’m YRMAD.” “You’re mad.” “Yes, sir! I’m YRMAD.” The humming returned. Major Biers turned to his non-com. “Corporal, can we have this thing shot?” Corporal Khopar frowned. “On what charge, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m not one to fight against futile odds, no matter what current bravado, ancestral habit or bloody-minded tradition dictates. That creed has taken me from police constable to Colonel in the British Resistance - after we split from the ...

Author: Charles Ta "We're sorry,” the alien said in a thousand echoing voices, “but your species has been deemed ineligible for membership into the Galactic Confederation." It stared at me, the Ambassador of Humankind, with eyes that glowed like its bioluminescent ...

Author: Stephen Price The stranger arrives at the community hall dance early, before the doors open. No one else is there. He stands outside and waits. Cars soon begin to pull into the parking lot. They are much wider and longer than the ones he is used to. He watches young ...

Author: Ken Carlson Mrs Bellingham frowned at her cat Chester. Chester stared back. The two had had this confrontation every morning at 6:30 for the past seven years. Mrs Bellingham, her bathrobe draped over her spindly frame, her arms folded, looked down at her ...

Author: Soramimi Hanarejima When the Bureau of Introspection discovered how to photograph the landscapes within us, we were all impressed that this terrain, which had only been visible in dreams, could be captured and viewed by anyone. This struck us as a huge leap, but ...

Author: Frederick Charles Melancon The scars don’t glow like they once did, yet around my pants’ cuffs, neon-green halos still light my ankles. Mom used to love halos—hanging glass circles around the house to create them. But these marks from the bombing blasts on Mars ...

Author: Majoki The float bobs and I feel a slight tug on the line, a nip at the hook. A shiver of guilt, a nanosecond’s exhilaration. I finesse the reel, patient. What will rise? There’s nothing like fishing in a black hole, quantum casting for bits and pieces of worlds ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Condor’s back. Ten years ago he stood in front of me, the rain streaming down his face failing to dim the fire in his eyes. In reply to my question about why I should hold off reporting, he offered me a datacard. “Your enthusiasm gets you ...

Author: Aspen Greenwood In a world gasping under the heavy cloak of pollution, the Catalogers—scientists driven by a mission—trekked through dwindling patches of green. Among them, Maya, whose spirit yearned for the vibrant Earth imprisoned in old, faded textbooks, delved ...

Author: Janice Cyntje Alfonso stood near the podium of his community center's conference room and waivered. Although he was grateful that his niece had invited him to speak at this 12-step support group, he was nevertheless cautious of the emotional fallout from airing his ...

Author: Jennifer Thomas Get advice from three generations of Thompson women: Sara (age 90), Lydia (age 60), and Willa (age 15)! They all receive the same questions but answer independently. Today they discuss the most-asked question of the year!

Author: Jeremy Marks One morning an unfamiliar odor filled the air. Sweet at first, the scent soon reeked of rot. It was not a domestic smell but something wild: a floating carpet of flowers a few kilometers offshore. Townsfolk used spyglasses to study a mysterious group ...

Author: J.D. Rice "I remember them." My hand moves the candle with perfect precision, carefully transferring the exothermic reaction from its wick to that of the taller candle in front of me. The combustion thus spread, I place the first candle back in its holder. The ...

Author: Majoki “It’s not a case that we can’t see the fuckdam forest for the fuckdam trees,” Lipton spat as she whirled on Parrati, “because anywhere, anyhow we look at it that fuckdamn beast is waiting, ready to bite our fuckdamn heads off.” Parrati tapped slender ...