Author: DJ Lunan The spokesman for the Nui, Jesús the Giant, considered me with a foreboding and weakly threatening glare. “I have negotiated successfully with races on twenty planets. I know you have something to tell me, Gloria.” “It’s the ostriches.” I blurted ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Red emergency lighting makes more shadows than seem possible. President Booker leans back from the table and looks sideways at the one shadow he knows. “Clarence Dimitri. I’ve always meant to ask, agent: how did you end up with a name ...

Author: Beck Dacus Perhaps the most famous planet in the colonized Galaxy-- aside from Earth, of course-- Centauri B Prime may have the highest standard of living in the Milky Way. It is a center for scientific innovation, has borne some of our most accomplished artists, ...

Author: Michele Roger I make the coffee in the French press like I do every morning. Then, I regret it by the time I reach the City Freezing Works. A doubled edged elixir, the coffee rouses me from my bed and then inspires uninhibited vomiting by the time I reach downtown. ...

Author: Mina It’s the lack of sleep that’s the worst. I can live with the brutal beatings, the agony of untreated broken bones, the drugs that fuck with your head, the insidious cold, the gnawing hunger, the burning thirst and the routine rape, but I would literally kill to ...

Author: Jules Jensen Things are changing. The line in the sand is gone, washed away by changing tides that everyone saw coming but not this fast. In his eyes, I see the difference. I see the tech. “You have no idea how good this feels.” He says, smiling, and I bite back ...

Author: Henry Peter Gribbin There is a young boy who lives all by himself in a meadow. For miles and miles, there is nothing but soft flowing grass which sways in a gentle breeze. In a small depression stands a tree, an apple tree. This tree plays an important part in the ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Broadbeam seems heavy tonight. That’s silly. It’s not like I’m holding it myself. There used to be a thing called ‘karma’. It marked your soul for doing good or bad things. WorldOne tells us superstitions like that are fiction. I wish I ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Manik pulled up to the curb, powered down the engine and looked across the dusty roadway at the diner. As if on command, the neon sign over the doorway sputtered to life, strobing weakly at first before coming on strong, 'Starlight' in ...

Author: DJ Lunan Barden loved Saturday mornings, rambling with his young daughter through the deciduous forest. Perpetually wet underfoot, the forest always kept the eight-year-old entertained. “Look! Dad!” shrilled Megan. “Someone’s dropped their train ticket!”. She ...

Author: David C. Nutt “Are you insane? This was supposed to be a negotiation of terms for surrender. You made it a slaughter!” COL Mikalelan holstered her weapon and gave her two aides the command to stand down. “I’ve been fighting them for twelve years, Ambassador ...

Author: David Monteyne His hideout is a tidal cave, little more than a crawlspace gouged into a seaside cliff. He rarely leaves it. He starts brushwood fires to keep warm and forages by moonlight for the limpets and starfish and anemones that populate the tidal ...

Author: David Henson Susan Wiggins lost an arm at work today. That’s called “making a donation” since the Mandolins took over. We’ve averaged about a donation a month over the past year. I myself donated a finger a couple weeks ago. It’s no wonder. The machinery we use — to ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Yosun blinked in the afternoon sun, the viewport on her hazmat suit filtering the harsh UV rays but doing little to reduce the glare. Her shuttle had settled a few hundred meters from the blast site, the ground compressed into a large ...

Author: Mina - Bravo-tango-delta-three-nine-zero-zulu, you are cleared to dock. - Affirmative, docking sequence initiated. K8 docked manually; it was against procedure, but nobody would have been able to tell with her level of precision. It was one of the small joys ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “You’re going to record this?” “Of course. The world must know.” “So, this is where I’m supposed to tell all about the nefarious schemes my diabolical organisation has planned?” “Something like that.” “About the slaves working on Mars ...

Author: Rick Tobin Baylen continued with standard disease treatment questions for applicants, after verifying Sheila Barston’s financial capabilities. Baylen took on a wizened senior’s appearance for his younger, highly spirited clientele needing a thimble full of respect ...

Author: Hari Navarro I lay naked on the beach as the tide it nudges, teasing as it tucks me beneath its gossamer sheet before then retracting and sluicing itself back through the curves and crevasses of my body. A gentle wind peaks, whipping into a gust, one that scoops ...