Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The truck crests the ridge with a loud whine from the drive servos momentarily rising above the sound of tyres on rough ground. “There!” A slim figure leans against a rocky outcrop: shirtless, barefoot, a cigarette hanging from her ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Walter moved purposefully around his small kitchen, pulling out bottles and tins, each marked with black ink on hastily applied white labels. Jasika read them while he worked; garlic powder, dried dill weed, flour and bread crumbs, and a ...

Author: Ian Hill Farmer Hoggins stood bent in his field, working over a particularly embedded knot. Sweat dripped from his brow and mixed with that of the ground as he repeatedly scratched at the sinuous snarl with the jagged end of his plow. The fibers before him were so ...

Author: Rick Tobin Tight bindings held her fast to something upright and cold. She stood blindfolded before her captors. Sweat trickled over her eyebrows, infiltrating throbbing eyes, and then eroding mascara into rivulets over her black cheeks and paralyzed quivering lips ...

Author: P. T. Corwin He had to bring her back. Even now, so close to the end. When the smoke from the machine parted Grace rushed out wearing that strawberry dress he had bought her for her sixth birthday. And Victor scooped her up in his arms – his Gracie – and held her, ...

Author: John McLaughlin "Children are a protected resource!" The nine-year-olds repeat the Camp Haven creed and then take their seats, gaze never wavering from the flag. At the head of the class, a strapping man swells with pride at the sight of these glowing youth. "Hi ...

Author: Mina Excerpt from Dr Harriet Walters’ report: We can confirm that the new procedure has been a resounding success from a physiological point of view. The subject has not reported any headaches or other adverse physical symptoms. Psychologically, the ...

Author: Hari Navarro My daughter was raped as a baby. Does the fact that she was nine and not a baby make me a liar, does it take any of the sting from an opening sentence surely designed to shock and pull you into the tawdry undertow that sweeps through these words? But ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Dmitri shuffled through the crowd, his handler's grip tight on his elbow. Someone had draped a jacket over his hands, tightly zip tied as they were in front of him, presumably to stop onlookers from becoming anxious. "When you're on the ...

Author: Rick Tobin “He’s blind. He ignored shielding restrictions.” Carose bent away from his medical monitor while speaking to Captain Wolir on video screen. “There’s nothing to do. Earthers never evolved protective eye membranes for such space encounters. How did he get ...

Author: Susan Cornford Breakdowns always happen at the worst possible times and places. I was already running late on my last cargo run between the Four-Parsec star group and home base. If I got a little creative with my log entries, the old crate could be pushed up to just ...

Author: David K Scholes Canberra Airport Australia 2045 “The Qantas flight QF 2134 that left Perth for Canberra 10 years ago and never arrived,” Bathr hesitated. “It is held, ageless, in a time vortex – held for eternity or until the vortex ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Dax found his usual seat in the back corner of the cafeteria and unpacked his lunch. He laid out a sandwich, a can of iced coffee, and an orange on the table in front of him, then fished a lock-blade knife from his jacket pocket and set ...

Author: David Henson When I finally got my M-plant, I couldn’t wait to try it out. I went to a local cafe, approached a woman wearing a TP earring and touched my TechPath lapel pin. She immediately raised her index finger. I held my fingertip to hers, and we both thought ...

Author: Hari Navarro I crawl through the flap in the folds of my midnight sheets and touch her again. I touch the cold stipple of her naked skin and it is not the hollow caress of dreams. I am not in that place where images scatter and reform into half-remembered fragments, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “‘The shell is the key’? He said that?” “Yes. The carapace is the most remarkable aspect of this truly unusual species. In layman’s terms, it’s a pico-honeycomb that has all the useful properties of a hybrid of Kevlar and graphene. Add ...

Author: Kristin Kirby You get coffee. You glance around. A dozen people sip beverages or talk or stare into their computers. You sit. Then you spot him. He’s at the counter. He looks at the menu board. You watch him order, watch him pay. “Thank you,” he says with a ...

Author: Antoinette Constable A three-year-old boy stumbles along the streets, long after bedtime, holding his mother's hand. They are skirting barricades, guns, uniforms. The mother longs to lie down and sleep a long sleep somewhere safe, somewhere dry, yet she keeps ...