Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Max had started the day with anti-anxiety medication, some painkillers, and a mild sedative. He was so relaxed that the nurse had to practically pour him into a wheelchair to get him down to the transfer station for the ...

Author: Kemal Onor Captain Dean returned home late. The welcome party had already made coffee and spilled through the halls and rooms to talk in bursts of stories. There was the initial buzz of salutations and welcoming home. Cups were raised and health was toasted. The ...

Author: Alex Z. Salinas “I got to know some people.” Something nobody says anymore. So when a guy behind me at the café whispered that in my ear, I turned around and shushed him. Put my hand over his mouth. I told him we could get killed if somebody heard that. Nobody ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer How did everyone miss a cabin in this Protected Nature Zone for so long? The windows are covered in ivy and the veranda is thick with brambles. “Hya! Hya! Bellit, come now! We must away!” The shouted sentence comes from a woman standing ...

Author: David Henson A gust of wind found us while we were walking in the park. She opened her arms, skipped backwards, pretending to be a kite. Like you used to do. Before you got sick. Before you helped them create her, your dying gift to me. We came upon the spot ...

Author: Neil Otte “What a strange way for an Arkansas farm boy to die”, he thought. He could imagine Gramps shaking his head and saying, “Son, you are a caution”. Of course, his love of numbers, ability to fix mechanical systems, and delight in growing things – all ...

Author: Arkapravo Bhaumik I am sitting outside the Department of Surgery & Smart Implants and I can see the operation theatre beyond the glass door. Radha is clasping my palm tightly. We both know that this has to be done, and we have discussed it between the two of us ...

Author: David Atos Are you familiar with the musical composition called a canon? It’s a piece where the main melody is repeated over and over in counterpoint, with some kind of transformation. Sometimes, it’s delayed in time. Sometimes, it’s played backwards. Even if you’re ...

Author: DJ Lunan For centuries clever clever men have sought in vain to authenticate the future invention of time travel. But I have proof. Laura is a seven-foot partially invisible time traveller from 3031 zip-tied to a hairdresser’s chair in a flat above a carpet shop in ...

Author: Mina The prisoner was marched across Swan Bridge. It was the pride of space station Methuselah-3, a crystal bridge designed to resemble the curve of a swan’s neck. It was not actually structurally possible and was held in place by a force field. It was a world apart ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer He spins round, leveling a huge pistol. The pursuers halt in disarray. A breeze whips between silent vehicles, picking up litter and dust. His enhanced eyes blaze red in the muzzle flash. A deafening report echoes as Sven backflips to ...

Author: Morrow Brady Meetings downtown were always a bore and as the driverless cab pulled up, I began mentally preparing for what lay ahead. I blackened the windows to stop the view of the street beggars and urban decay. They always brought me down. "Good morning Sir. ...

Author: Katelyn Prince The rolling hills and grassy fields glowed beneath the soft light of the full moon. The air was cool and clear, the breeze hardly noticeable as it brushed against the long grass. Stars lay scattered across the deep blue sky, twinkling and reflecting ...

Author: Mark Joseph Kevlock No one ever supposes they'll witness a miracle. Mary Ann McBlake witnessed one when she was ten years old. And then she had to live with it for the rest of her life. "Why do you deny it?" her granddaughter Cinthia asked her. "Why can't you ...

Author: Iain Macleod Drop pods are not made for comfort. They are made to launch a soldier at supersonic speed from a dropship, fly him into position and decelerate fast enough to prevent impact from killing but at the same time not so fast that the g-forces from ...

Author: Ann Zimmerman “The treatments aren’t working,” I tell my assistant, Marcy. From the observation window, we watch our prisoner writhe on the sterile bed. Marcy increases the output and the patient screams. His tortured body begins to convulse. “Shut it down,” I ...

Author: David Henson Randall disengages from his charging port when Director Gravasin of the Institute for Research on Eternal Life enters the office. “Good morning, Director. It's early. Are you getting enough sleep?" "Don't start, Randall. Activate the Cellular Decay ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer A savannah night is interrupted by the snarls of attacking lions. I hear screams, see flashes of weapons as wielders fall. They keep popping in. I’ve become adept at making sure they don’t leave. While watching, my mind returns – as usual ...