Author: Matthew Lee Chinese-occupied Philippines, 2034. The palette in Xinghua’s hand was a burst of pumpkin, butterscotch, and persimmon. The colours crept up her arm to her slim elbow. A group of four left the cathedral. With practiced technique, she scraped four ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The wind up here is gentle, bringing the smell of summer fields from the uplands. Below my bloodied feet the valley stretches from side to side as far as I can see, so wide I can only just make out the verdant walls that line the far ...

Author: Hari Navarro, Staff Writer The twins lay entwined, shuddering beneath the sodden pail that unfurled from the peak of the seventh hill that ghosted at their back. Babes, innocent as a mothers whisper, cast into the mighty rivers silted shoulder by the paranoid dreams ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Bennett stood out on the sweeping plateau of rock a mile above the ocean and watched as the planet's orange sun dipped below the horizon. Beneath him, miles upon miles of tunnels and caverns carved out of the living rock by a hive of the ...

Author: Richard M. O'Donnell, Sr. At near light speed, the starship Genesis sailed into the wormhole. Two-point-five nanoseconds later, the ship neared a rip in the wormhole, a rip that had allowed the earthlings to glimpse the multiverse on the other side. Genesis, in ...

Author: Josie Gowler I slam on the retro brakes and skim past the first skyscraper, getting thrown forward and to the left in my harness as I dive within metres of the glassy face. The ship jolts into the gap between the first skyscraper and the jagged remains of the next ...

Author: David Henson The hunt has been good. Zolt feels inside the pouch stitched with sinew to his belt. He removes a long, curved tooth and touches it to his forehead. The charm has worked well, though the tracking took him farther than he intended. Now the light crouches ...

Author: Hari Navarro There’s a galaxy tucked away neatly within a grain of sand on a beach that stretches out within the warm memory of my youth. In it a planet and on it a palace and a windowless corridor that leads to an intricately carved door that opens out and into a ...

Author: Irene Montaner Their planet was insignificant. A pint-sized rock orbiting a small star in the middle of its life cycle. It was geologically diverse and had a rich atmosphere that had allowed life to thrive both on water and land masses. Their technology was ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The laboratory is quiet at last. Carrie crouches down to retrieve a champagne bottle. As it’s not quite empty, she drinks the rest and stands up, pausing to let a lightheaded moment pass. Dropping the bottle into the bin, she turns and ...

Author: Michael Ray Fill in the Blanks' I'd had enough. And it was getting dark. And he was still talking. "They have no concern for our well-being. Why should we? After seeing that. You saw it, right? What are we supposed to do?" he said. "What we are supposed to ...

Author: Steven Holland Unit 153 drummed its fingers on the armrest of its chair. The android’s eyes darted around the room. Frantic. Searching for stability. Finding none. "People are watching me. I know it!" its voice modulator mimicked unease. Behind a one way mirror in ...

Author: Rick Tobin "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…” Luke 14:13 “Colonel, we can’t hold the line. Radars don’t work. The bastards have taken our coasts and Rockies. If Kansas falls…” “Drop it, Major.” The aged Colonel ...

Author: Hari Navarro The bullet that didn’t kill my distant ancestor struck him just above the peak brim of his steel helmet. Our histories are boxed and sent and folded for us so neatly. I received my past on my ninth birthday, no surprise everyone does. Memories gleaned ...

Author: Leanne A. Styles The day the parade came to town was the best day of my life. I remember jostling through the crowd to reach the front, before begging my mother to lift me onto her shoulders to get a better look. My idols were even more beautiful than I’d dreamed. ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The bulb swings in lazy figure eights on its long cable. Somewhere in the darkness above, there must be a breeze. The shifting light is doing more to soften me up than the ministrations of the knuckledragger dancing round my chair like ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Jodie climbed into the passenger seat of the big sedan, the door closing itself with enough force to remind her never to leave anything in its way too long. Jacko was already behind the wheel, flipping switches and bringing the old ...

Author: Lance J. Mushung I tightened my grip on my black mini tote and stepped out of the elevator on the top floor of Parasol Corporation's headquarters. The CEO, Kal Shakti, used the entire floor for his office. A few steps brought me to a human receptionist with ...