Author: Kip Pratt Dear Supreme Being, Thank you for the commission. And now, the results… On the planet Earth, in one of your cleverer little galaxies, the bugs are all deceased. Take the car out at dusk, and the windscreen returns squeaky clean. No squashed ...

Author: Cecilia Kae I woke early yesterday to catch the last glimpse of the island. It took twenty minutes getting to the pier. I wanted to be there before it got crowded but it already was. Most were there because it was the first time Mantasia, our neighbouring country, ...

Author: Alastair Millar Lemme tell you, time and cost are serious issues if you want to meet an Offworlder. Which was a problem, because I did: Earth girls are so narrow-minded. The Solar System just doesn’t exist to them. My life partner’s gotta have a wider outlook, you ...

Author: Majoki Everyone said the Charmers had really known what they were doing fifty thousand years ago. Trema’s quandary was that no one had ever been able to figure out what they’d really been up to. Sure, they’d left some mage-level techno artifacts. Seemingly random ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer It’s raining again. Mike looks up at the dirty brown sky and frowns at an errant childhood memory where rainclouds were grey. His headware comms activate. “Papa Ten, Papa Ten, you watchin’ the skies again?” Mike grins at Samantha’s way ...

Author: Aishwarya Srivastava They called it The Orb because “What the actual….!!!!!” did not sound proper in physics journals. It appeared on a random Tuesday, a bright globe hanging next to the Moon. Telescopes were pulled out (a great tussle ensued to display who has the ...

Author: Shinya Kato Rockets began failing the year they were removed. It took time before anyone admitted what “they” meant. Engineers blamed valves. Politicians blamed budgets. Commentators blamed culture. The honest answer was simpler. They had stopped bringing ...

Author: Mark Renney We are encouraged to forget and, in the Aftermath, there is no denying we are hampered by grief, traumatised by the loss of our loved ones and all that we have seen and experienced. Even so, I can’t help but feel the Government campaign has become more ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks Where I live there are many stories about what we call, ‘the town on the edge of the abyss. It’s a town on the verge of something mysterious. Most of these stories go something like this: “That town is a town of women.” “No, it’s a town of ...

Author: Frank T. Sikora Each time I look at my reflection, I’m disgusted. I’m hideous. A  monstrosity, and yet, I’m amazed. I’m alive. I’m breathing. I’m conscious, and given the alternative, I shan’t complain. I got what I paid for: I’m a turtle, technically — Chelonoidis ...

Author: Majoki Welcome, Robot Overlords! reads the sign on my lawn. Before the singularity, it was worth a few laughs. Now, the friendlies want me to remove the sign from my yard. They can’t come right out and say that to me. It would be pushy and might blow every ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Investigator Mellio considers the narrow doorway. “You say this was never opened?” “Logs confirm it, sir.” Mellio glances at the sergeant. “Thank you, officer-?” “Sergeant Parx, sir.” “Good to meet you, Parx. So, the brief said this ...

Author: David Sydney Like most people, Mort hadn't paid much attention to reincarnation. During the week, he was up to his neck in work. On his day off, as he took a leisurely drive to clear his mind, if that is the proper term, he didn't think of the future. He had the ...

Author: James C. Clar The evening before the president’s primetime appearance, the West Wing hummed like a server room. “Poll numbers?” President Drake asked, standing at the tall windows overlooking the South Lawn. “Seventy-six percent approval on the infrastructure ...

Author: Hillary Lyon Monte snatched the small chest from the airport where he worked as a baggage handler. He recognized the case; he’d seen it on stage at the fan convention. He jostled it, grinning. By the distribution of the weight inside, it definitely held the author’s ...

Author: CB Droege Tamilla moves carefully and silently through the dark fairground. She knows it’s only minimally guarded, and that the CCTV isn’t being monitored at night, but she’s learned to take every job seriously. Upon reaching the carousel, she checks the photo to ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey Andre Grack wasn't happy with his latest purchase. It wasn't that he didn't like the colour or its size, though those attributes were rather nebulous and indescribable, he now realised. And it wasn't that it was ugly, emitted unpleasant smells, or ...

Author: Mark Renney It is vital that I have somewhere to hibernate, a place where I can lay dormant, for years, decades, even longer if necessary, although I do need to flicker, albeit briefly, from time to time. I have to be seen or at least cause someone to shiver, to ...