Author: Lauren Everling I didn’t want to end up here. I didn’t want to be in a holding cell with five other women who looked like funhouse mirror versions of themselves, wrinkled and geriatric, although one of them was only twenty-five. She got aged sixty-five for robbing a ...

Author: Majoki The universe is a bowling alley. It sets up the pins and we knock ‘em down. That’s pretty much all you need to understand entropy. You’ll need a little more to understand humanity. We are high maintenance. We basically feast on order and crap ...

Author: Julian Miles There he is, tapping away on his communication device. Verify. 2024. Autumn. White House. Executive Residence. Second Floor. The body will be found at 05:14 by Charles Lebruin, one of his security personnel. Time? 05:12. I step towards him. “Mr ...

Author: Chris Lihou Sophia’s hood on her navy-coloured jacket was pulled over her head, her eyes directed towards her feet. She was out walking and needed to ensure a secure footing on the uneven cobbled pavement of smooth dark stones glistening from the recent rainfall. ...

Author: Tony D'Aloisio He'd been in the hospital room for what seemed like weeks, although really it was just a matter of a couple days. The nurse had assured him earlier that morning that he would be able to leave soon. His parents were coming by in the afternoon to pick ...

Author: John Lane Mr. Jacobson. Mr. Denali. Mr. Parker. All of them will be taking a permanent nap very shortly. I remembered conversations with each of the men during my first week of sentience (plus other events in the subsequent weeks and years that followed). I ...

Author: Jarick Weldon Seven minutes of terror. That’s what the humans call it. Screaming through the atmosphere of Mars, not knowing if your fate is to be incandescent firework or twisted fragments strewn in an impact crater. And I am terrified. They have programmed this ...

Author: Aaron Bossig Everything had made perfect sense at the time. That’s the part I can’t believe now. Borrowing Mom’s car to pick up Maggie for our date, that made sense. Taking her to the movie she wanted to see, that made sense. So did stopping by the creek for some ...

Author: Majoki “Look at that classic!” Hajoom pointed down the throughway. “What audacious design.” Bretynne barely glanced. “Must belong to a collector. Hard to believe something that old, that out of date, is still around. Relics like that are so underpowered, so slow, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer There’s another rumble from the clear sky above. More lightning flickers about, and it’s a lot closer than anything produced by weather. “Definitely a Smiter!” I whip my head about. Line of sight to targets and sky are essential, so ...

Author: Alastair Millar It was Fifthday, and time for the weekly appeals audiences. As the Station’s ultimate decider for matters financial, I mostly see cases too controversial or complicated for the civil service - usually because they involve the rich or influential. ...

Author: Olivia North-Crotty The man fell from the sky, crashed into the thicket, and almost shot her before hesitating, then fainting. Eve Winwood dragged his bloody body miles through the forest-- an instinct, not a choice. Body-thick vines were cut and woven to create a ...

Author: David Broz FTR 9000 rolled out of his solar bay and down the ramp at 0800, just as he did every morning. To the naked eye and by every other measure, he moved no slower or faster than he did on any other day. But somewhere, deep in his circuits, FTR felt slower, a ...

Author: Bryant Benson With only twenty one seconds left until the world ended, each moment seemed to pass more slowly than the last. Despite knowing in advance the world was going to end in nine days, I still felt some odd confidence in a supposed future. Seventeen ...

Author: Ruby Zehnder “You silly old fool,” Shirley laughed at her image in the mirror. She was dressed as Santa’s elf in a green dress trimmed with an over-the-top red collar, striped stockings, curly-toed shoes, and an elf hat with attached oversized ears. She painted her ...

Author: Majoki Tatiana crossed the snowfield as if on a ballet stage. She leapt and spun and gracefully bowed when a snowshoe hare crossed her path and stopped. She then encouraged a few curious minks by waving them towards her racing heart. Glorious. All glorious. At ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer There’s always one… I lost rock-paper-scissors with Frank, so here I am: checking the top floor for stray superheroes and wandering warlocks. Didn’t expect to find an angel, though. “Excuse me, miss?” Looks like she got distracted ...

Author: Robert Beech 'Twas the night before planetfall, and all through the ship Not a sensor was stirring, not even a blip; The airlocks were sealed with hermetical care, In hopes of preserving our small stock of air; The passengers nestled in cryofoam beds, With ...