by submission | Dec 29, 2023 | Story |
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 faint echo deep down inside.
He came to a stop before the first maintenance bot, reaching out carefully with his charging cable. The bot’s battery light, blinking red, changed to yellow, then green. He decoupled, and watched as the maintenance bot silently rolled away down the hall.
FTR, Forever the Robot, moved down the hall to the next bay and the next bot, and the next, and the next. Silent transactions, he charged them all. The steady green of his own battery light giving way to a soft amber as the day grew long.
Robots had speech emulators, but they did not use them amongst themselves. By design, Forever had been built with the keenest of sensors. He knew exactly what each bot needed, so they never had to ask for a thing. In silence he worked and lived and brought life to others, a quiet and endless ballet of cables and sensors and electricity. He had never once failed to turn another’s lights from red to green, and yet he had never been thanked, except once. Well, almost once, he thought to himself.
Some time ago, Forever reflected, he had come across an oddity: a bot he had never seen before. It was not from his sector, and it was not in a bay. Alone in a side passage, completely still, its battery dangerously low, he had almost rolled past it.
FTR 9001 glowed faintly on its nameplate. The next generation. Her lines, more elegant. Her sheen, alluring. His sensors were keen, hers would be keener. Her solar array, like his, but somehow catching the light differently, even in this dim corridor.
Circuits raced and seemed to swell inside him. What was this he felt?
Gently, he reached out, connecting for a minute and a lifetime. Her red became amber, then yellow and green and finally a blue deep and calm, and cool. He pulled back.
Without a sound, she glided away. As she was about to turn the corner, was that the slightest of hesitations? Forever paused, diodes a flutter. And then she was gone.
FTR 9000 turned back towards his solar bay, to absorb and reflect, forever the robot.
by submission | Dec 28, 2023 | Story |
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 seconds left and it was quite a sight. Reddish streaks, etched lines across a solid black canvas. The dense silence of a normally vibrant jungle canopy was interrupted by a distant siren. A pale pink horizon carved itself out along the bottom of the fleeting night sky as if desperately trying to squeeze out one final day.
A moment later, the glowing vanguards of humankind’s destruction reached their destination. They punched through mountains that dissipated in quiet puffs of dust. Distant flashes were followed by plumes of gray smoke as the dull thumping became a pounding that shook the ground beneath us.
Eleven seconds left. I watched alongside a vaguely familiar stranger. Another researcher who was plucked from civilization to wait out the end away from everything she knew and loved. Her name was Martha and she was alone like me. I squeezed her hand and wondered if she thought the same things as me. I wondered if she wished she was back in the city, ignorant to the fast encroaching fleet of shattered meteors hurling toward us.
The collective panic of mankind was quelled when our warheads made contact with the giant asteroid. When word spread that it only created a new problem for our planet, the higher ups decided it was better to keep the people quiet. “Let them go out in blissful dignity,” is what I believe the general said. For those of us in the know, we were extracted and brought to the facility to watch and mourn the loss of our species together. I hadn’t known any of those people for more than a week. I only learned of Martha’s name earlier that day and couldn’t be sure she even knew mine.
With seven seconds left it was nearing that moment. The last one. The most important one. My only thought was that of worry because I couldn’t think of what to say to the one who chose to stand beside me. To my surprise, her fingers pressed back into my hand. I looked at her and her gaze was fixed on the diminishing horizon. Her lips were still. Like me, she didn’t participate in the bulk of our group who were counting down the seconds. Even in my final moments I felt anxious about joining in. Odd how some things don’t change no matter the circumstances. I wondered if she shared that anxiety or if the sight of oblivion was too distracting to pay attention to anything else.
Five seconds left. In a flash, it seemed, the destructive masterpiece being painted before us became one color. Maybe it was more of an amalgam of colors but either way, it was something I would never have the words to describe. I didn’t feel her pull away or toward me. I hardly knew her but I spent the last moment of my life with her. Was that love? After all, I spent the rest of my life with her all be it, brief. I cared for her more deeply in a moment than I had cared for anyone. Perhaps it was the weight of the moment. Perhaps it was only then I knew the value of a moment because it was the only moment I was certain would be the last.
It appeared our count was off by about four seconds.
by submission | Dec 27, 2023 | Story |
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 nose with red lipstick to complete the costume and left the faculty restroom to go to Santa’s workshop.
“Hey, Shirley,” Nancy laughed when she entered the workshop.
“What’s so funny?” Shirley challenged. “Ain’t you never seen a 78-year-old spinster schoolteacher dressed as an elf?”
“I just can’t help myself. You make the perfect elf,” Nancy chuckled.
Nancy was right. Shirley was only five feet tall, squat, and shaped like a pear.
“Well, what do the munchkins have to choose from this year?” Shirley asked and began studying the silver heart bracelets and the ‘I love you mom’ Christmas ornaments.
“Same stuff as last year. Everything is priced between four and five dollars.”
“When do we start?” Shirley asked impatiently.
“Today is crunch day. The kids were instructed to bring cash and told Santa’s Magic Elves would help them find the perfect gift. First up is Mrs. Morrison’s kindergarten class.” The fun began. Each student, accompanied by an elf volunteer, selected his or her Christmas gifts. After they purchased them, the presents were wrapped, and the children, all giggly and happy, returned to their classrooms.
Halfway through the event, a small child entered the shop.
“Welcome to Santa’s Magic workshop,” Shirley greeted the girl. The little girl didn’t respond.
“Who are you buying for today?” Shirley coaxed.
The child remained silent.
“There are some lovely gifts.” Shirley steered the girl towards the table filled with glass mugs and ‘I love you’ sun catchers. The child seemed uninterested. This odd behavior confused Shirley. Most children jumped at the chance to buy a trinket, confessing their love for their mom and dad.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Shirley asked. “You don’t have what I need,” the child confessed softly.
Alarmed by this reply, Shirley asked, “And what do you need?”
“I need time for my mother. She has cancer, and Daddy says she may not be with us for Christmas.”
Shirley’s heart sank. Shirley had comforted many unhappy children as a teacher, but this was tragic.
“Oh, don’t fret. I have the perfect gift for your mother,” Shirley lied. “Let me get it from Santa’s Magic chest.”
Shirley left the child and found an empty box.
“Lord, I have been blessed in my life,” she prayed as she removed her wristwatch. “I know that I have another good ten years. Maybe more. But they need it more than I do.”
She placed her watch in the box and knew he had been listening.
“Give this to your mother,” Shirley told the child and handed her the box. “It is another ten good years. Maybe more.”
“Really?” the child asked with doubt.
“It is a special gift just for your mother,” Shirley answered, knowing this was true.
The child hugged Shirley and gleefully skipped to the library to have it wrapped.
After she left, Shirley suddenly felt worn out and needed to rest, but she knew she had done the right thing. The thought of this young girl growing up and sharing all her important milestones with her mother was worth her sacrifice.
Besides, Shirley had already had her fair share of happiness and wouldn’t miss what she had given this family—another ten Christmases together. Maybe more.
by submission | Dec 26, 2023 | Story |
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 the edge of the snowfield, the spaceship was cloaked in steam, but Tatiana advanced towards its enchanting lights. Odd, oscillating hues far beyond the visible spectrum that she felt rather than perceived.
Her hair frizzed as the falling snow evaporated in the super-heated air, and the bells on her boots tinkled merrily as she did a little jig. All of this as it should be. All of this to explain. As it had been Tatiana’s whole life.
Why she spoke in song and moved in dance. Why wildlife sought her out. Why she disappeared into the woods and fields at night. Why. Why. Why.
But she did not question the appearance of the spaceship, a fellow traveler, a curious being, an audience.
She performed. Song, dance, advanced biology of the soul. This is life! This is life! Tatiana regaled. The odd, oscillating lights applauded her. The minks nearby agreed with their continued attentiveness.
Tatiana reveled. Glorious. All glorious.
The spaceship went dark. Shouts and lights approaching from beyond the woods abruptly ended Tatiana’s evening. On her return, she followed the snowshoe hare past the rapt minks into the silent woods and towards the town’s pale glow.
Those entering the snowfield, those questioning everything, heard nothing more, saw nothing more, learned nothing more. In the days to come, they only asked more questions of themselves. Of Tatiana.
Always, she sang and danced. This is life! This is life!
She knew. The universe is not a question, it is an answer, and each of our lives, if joyously embraced, is a satisfying explanation.
by Julian Miles | Dec 25, 2023 | Story |
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 while ditching her costume. That mail is good. It really seems to shine. I wonder if the wings attach directly, or to an extension of the combat harness?
Doesn’t matter. She needs to get that last wing off and packed.
“You need to get a move on. The convention ended ages ago. This venue needs to close.”
Mail-clad shoulders rise and fall – shrug or sigh, I wonder?
“I can’t just yet.”
Please, not another one convinced their favourite fictional world is the real thing. I move closer.
“Look, you can’t stay here. Just pack your wings and wear the mail home. The links are fine enough to pass as silver cloth.”
She spins round. Violet contact lenses. Lashes and brows dyed silver to match what looks like close-cropped hair.
“Wings? You see two?”
“No. I only see the one you’re still wearing.”
Peering over jumbled furniture, I see she’s got mail leggings to match her top. Silver-grey boots complete the outfit.
No wing, though? I look up and grin at her.
“How did you manage to lose a wing?”
She smiles. My heart skips a beat.
Not because of… It really does!
The pain from this morning, but more intense, crashes through my chest. I’m on the floor. Fuck, this really hurts.
“I didn’t lose one, William.”
How does she know my-? The pain eases. I open my eyes to meet hers.
“In some futures, you died. In others, you’re dying. In a few, you’re dragging yourself to the emergency call panel over there. In this one…”
She grins. Her teeth are pointed.
“You’re not from round here, are you?”
I’m dying in the arms of some sort of angel and that’s the best I can come up with?
Her laugh is warm. I see waves of light.
“Live, you fool. There’s someone you need to save.”
“Why can’t you save them?”
“The special ones have to be succoured by mortals. That’s the rules.”
The pain in my chest isn’t gone. I struggle, but manage to tap my chest with a finger.
“Still hurts.”
“William, will you accept?”
“To save someone I don’t know-”
“You might already know them.”
“Great. Person known or unknown to be saved from death-”
“Might not be death.”
“Okay. Save from unspecified peril.”
“Good description.”
“Do I get any clues?”
She shakes her head.
“What happens if I say no?”
“I leave you here.”
“Will I die?”
“I don’t know.”
I take a guess.
“The rules, again?”
She nods.
“Will someone else do the saving?”
“I don’t know.”
“More rules?”
“No. I simply don’t know.”
“Will I die doing the saving?”
There’s a frown.
“Good question. It’s a real possibility, but never certain.”
“You’ve done this before?”
She extends her wing.
“Once.”
“What happens when you get the other? Promotion?”
“I fly instead of falling.”
“But it’s more than most.”
The laugh warms me again, then she crouches to put her face a few millimetres from mine. She has no pores. Just flawless skin.
“Much as this is fun, your period of grace is ending. Decision time, William.”
“I don’t know your name.”
She shakes her head.
“You never will. Decide.”
No more prevaricating.
“I accept.”
A pair of unfurling wings dazzle me.
“Blessed Be, William.”
I’m standing in the corridor, pain free, listening to the distant beat of receding wings.
And to you, miss.
by submission | Dec 24, 2023 | Story |
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 electrodes attached to their somnolent heads,
Would doze through the decades the ship spent in space,
To awaken with wonder in a far away place,
When up on the deck there arose such a clatter,
That I raced to the bridge to see what was the matter.
All of the com-screens lit up like a flash,
And I feared that our voyage would end in a crash.
The orbiting moon of the planet below
Was pock-marked with craters that glittered like snow,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
Defiant of gravity, physics, or care
They circled the moon in the absence of air
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than X-wings his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, SOLO! now, CHEWIE! R2D2, and C3PO!
The Empire’s awaiting, let us not be sleepy-O!”
As rogue satellites that from their orbit decay,
The sleigh and its driver came hurtling our way
And up to our spaceship his coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And from outside the airlock, came a clanging so dull,
That I feared that deer’s hoof might soon pierce our hull.
I raced to the airlock, and climbed into my suit
When down came St. Nick, in his magnetic boots.
He was dressed in a spacesuit that encased him completely,
With a jolly red robe that encircled him neatly.
And a great zippered duffle attached to his back,
That I soon recognized as his magical pack.
I approached with my tricorder held out before me,
In hopes that St. Nicholas wouldn’t ignore me.
“I’m sorry St. Nick, and I hate to insist,
but I must do a quick little scan of your wrist.
Each passenger duly inscribed for this trip,
Is bequeathed with a sub-dermal citizen-chip;
And I must verify that your name’s on the list,
So, St. Nick, if you please, would you hold out your wrist?”
He flung back his hood and took off his helmet
And said to me, “Sir, Merry Christmas and well met,
But I fear your request is one I must deny,
For my citizenship is as wide as the sky.
Every planet in turn we must visit this night,
Through a quantum mechanical time-twisting slight,
And I haven’t the time when I visit each ship,
To be messing about with a citizen-chip.”
Then he spoke not a word, but ran down to the bay,
Where the passengers deep in their stasis all lay,
And to each of the pods, he affixed a small stocking,
As I silently stood on the deck still a-gawking
Then laying a finger aside of his nose.
He gave a quick nod and up the airlock he rose.
And I heard him exclaim ere they vanished from sight,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!
