Author: Ben Fitzgerald Right on cue, Morgalith’s robotic guards escorted in the tax agent. The king was sitting on the other side of the throne room, and he bellowed to them as they entered: “Approach!” The tax agent complied. He could see the king more clearly now, the ...

Author: Travis Gregg Jeff had to crank the handwheel for ages till the bolt reluctantly slid back and the 3" thick steel door finally swung free. His stores were empty, the larder was bare. He'd been saving the one last meal and had made a little feast of it last night. ...

Author: Girish Kamplimath Ailean felt herself freezing in the liquid engulfing her. She could not see it, but she knew what it was. Although she did not feel any pain, she failed to understand why Ken would do this to her. He loved her more than any father loved his only ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer "We have a problem," Gates was talking as the door was still swinging shut behind him, "a massive fucking problem." Cooper switched the displays between them from opaque to semi-transparent and nevertheless managed to regard his ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer He stares from the screen, hair in fashionable disarray, jowls freshly barbered, teeth so white they nearly shine, eyes like glass beads. “Good evening. I am appearing before you tonight to explain a few things that have been attracting ...

Author: Mark Wallace Peter was on edge as he walked down the corridor to his apartment. It had been a routine day at work in the Public Communications Office, but on the walk home his nose had started to feel a little stuffy, and a sense of foreboding filled him. His ...

Author: Mark Renney Davis misses the road. More accurately, he misses the discipline it has provided and he no longer expects it to re-appear. Davis isn’t searching for the road, in fact he believes that if he is to find the centre, to reach the point of impact, then it is ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher David rushed up in his period woolen tunic, out of breath. It had taken him forever to get there traveling by foot over the mountains into the Valley of Elah. He looked out over the two amassed armies, facing off at each other on the flat battlefield. ...

Author: David Henson Colors are less vibrant, flowers without scent. Water doesn't feel as wet. All this and more so our simulated world consumes less energy. And data errors slipped through. In NewWorld my toes are webbed — a constant reminder of where I am. Still, life ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Not for you, but for me. “Emily, Uncle Karl, and the twins. All together in that great big truck of his. They’ll be laughing and we’ll laugh too.” Laughter. You’re my only source of that, but I’m not the only cause of it for you. ...

Author: Isaiah Stott The ship drifted through the starry sky. Its engines long cold. The walls on the inside of the ship had been stripped, cables and mechanical parts littered the halls. The emergency lights on the floor flickered, as somewhere in the ship another ...

Author: Ananya Bhatt I heard the bell. It was time for science class. I took a computer chip out of my brain and put in my science class one. By the time I got to class, the information was downloaded. I was ready for my test. My name is Ava Johnson. I am 14 years old, ...

Author: Michael Anthony Dioguardi Important information for all Galpasorean invaders! It is imperative that you read this entire message before invading this human-occupied quadrant. Following the initial provocation that concluded with the deaths and consequent ...

Author: Michael Anthony Dioguardi The last man on earth to beat a cyborg on the track? That would be Galen Ryan, of course. To this day I don’t remember why he did it, or rather, what point he was trying to prove; he wasn’t any good, at least in the professional sense. He ...

Author: Irene Montaner I take one last look around the beauty aisle. Combs, hairbrushes, face creams and cleansers, body moisturisers, shampoos and conditioners, bath foams, hand soaps - empty racks by the way - ear buds and cotton pads. And then, black ragged plastic bags ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer We’re eighty-four days out from Sondehaven before we pick up the right beacon. I get everyone’s attention with a short blast of the klaxon, which prompts a round of rude guesswork as to my parentage and next sexual partner. “You’re all ...

Author: Mike McMaster “South.” said the captain. “But that doesn’t make sense,” complained his crew. “There are no magnetic poles here, so there is no North or South.” “When you travel and everything cools and then chills and then bites into your very bones, when the ...

Author: Baishampayan Seal The yellow two-rotor postal-drone comes down to me as I walk down the pavement with the whole week's grocery. Generally, these drones are Prussian blue, with no biohazard symbol like it has of course; so this one must have something to do with the ...