Author: Fawkes Defries Stuck out in the black sand, lodged between trunks of thin stone, Kayt lit life to her cigarette and drew the clear smoke in. Her silicon eyes fluttered between the deactivated droid she’d excavated from the Rubble and her sister’s body lying ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Kinswaller reads the report with a mounting feeling of doom: another failure, this time with casualties on both sides. The appended note from the monitoring A.I. cements the feeling. ‘Have recommended Field Combat Intervention. Combat ...

Author: Orin Might They covered the sky like the blanket of the Milky Way. From horizon to horizon, twinkling and watching, countless points of silver light in the black void of the night. They arrived in a flash, sentinels of silent defiance, ominous and horrible. I ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher The wispy antennae that lined the perimeter of my mass sensed a fluctuation. I do not have traditional vision, but I can pick up changes in molecular atmospheric disruption allowing me to judge shape and movement most accurately, and what was ...

Author: David C. Nutt I was having trouble with my rotator cuff again. “Shouldn’t have bought that cheap snap in online sweety” the spouse says. I just grumble and nod. She’s 100% correct of course, but what’s a guy to do? The cheap part offered free same day delivery. ...

Author: Francesco Levato The end of the world was fast, like a ruptured heart, a laceration tearing ventricles apart, flooding the chest cavity with one final gout. It rained actual blood for weeks after, and muscle fiber, and an oily substance like rendered fat. In the ...

Author: KM Brunner Nora didn't mean to yell. She knew better than to make noise in the city. First rule of running: keep quiet. So her question, “Where were you?!”, desperate and sharp in the stillness of the Park Street station, startled both of them. Mac winced at its ...

Author: Majoki Carson knew they were being watched. Quiet in this part of the city was for the birds. Days earlier, he’d been wishing for the damn things to shut up. Now they’d gone silent and the ominous hush made his skin crawl. “What are they up to?” he hissed to ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The thief is sprinting away before I realise they’ve taken my bag. I go after them. “Thieving bastard!” They swerve between parked cars. A silver coupe comes out of nowhere and knocks them flying. It screeches to a stop, smoke or steam ...

Author: RJ Barranco The calculator said "Error" but Davis kept pressing the keys anyway. "You can't divide by zero," said the calculator in a small voice that hadn't been there before. "Why not?" asked Davis. "Because," the calculator replied, "I'd have to think ...

Author: Evan A Davis “Another round for my friends,” Dallas announced, “on me!” Every patron in the Four-Finger Saloon loudly cheered, raising a glass to the famous outlaw. The barkeep tried to protest, but was quickly drowned in the oncoming tide of customers. The ...

Author: Alastair Millar He awoke with a start. Cockpit red with emergency lights. Tried to move. PAIN! Slipped back into darkness. He awoke again; air still red. “Ship?” he whispered. “Yes, captain?” “Need medical help,” he gasped. “Affirmative. Medimechlings ...

Author: Hillary Lyon The tall lean figure stood before the honeycombed wall, searching the triangular nooks until he located the scrolls for engineering marvels. Tsoukal pulled out the uppermost scroll and unrolled it on the polished stone slab behind him. He placed a slim ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey On some mornings, around eleven, the postman will drop a letter or two into the mail slot. But many of these are not letters - they are coded messages disguised as bills or advertisements. Only I know their secrets. You see, I am a messenger of the ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The control room is gleaming. Elias Medelsson looks about with a smile. The night watch clearly made a successful conversion of tedium to effort. He’ll drop a memo to his counterpart on the Benthusian side to express thanks. “Captain ...

Author: Chelsea Utecht Today is the day our masters treat us to sweet snacks of expensive corn and sing a song to celebrate their love for us – “Happy Earth Day to you! Happy Earth Day to you! Happy Earth day, our humans!” – because today the orbit aligns so that we can see ...

Author: Kelleigh Cram I told my daughter I didn’t want the dang thing but you know kids; they understand technology and we are just senile. The robot folds my clothes, which I must admit is nice. The shirts are stacked so precisely I just take whichever one is on top, ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher He turned the corner at a run and slammed his shoulder into the white partition leaving a smear of sweat and blood but kept going. His bare feet slapped franticly on the tile-like floor as he sprinted down the hall. He wished he could wake, but he ...