Author: Lewis Richards The Creature moved its great head forwards, releasing a long mellow call into the night. It waited for a moment, listening for a response, but when one didn't drift back on the wind, it ambled slowly back through the tough, knee-high grasses ...

Author: Elena Horne Darkness is all she sees, at least at first. She blinks, her eyes closing from left to right. The darkness lets through yellow stripes; little strips of light. The sky here is like a pinstriped suit of black and gold. It’s hard too, and so close it ...

Author: Thomas Tilton I am not the creator, just the keeper. People say that bots don’t have human feelings, that to assume they do is even more dangerous than assuming, say, the crocodile swimming next to you isn’t hungry. Sure, there are dolly bots for kids, ...

Author: Mark Thomas It was Monday, June 18th and three sets of new customers carrying identical “cosmic pet shuttles” were lined up waiting for the “Hubble Bubble” pet boarding facility to open. Each carrier happened to contain an over-sized Maine Coon cat. Edwin ...

Author: Janice Rothganger Subject 9581 swam against the waves, edging nearer to her objective with each stroke. Salt water crusted her lips. The storm surge pulled her away, then forced her tantalizingly close to the buoy. The marker bobbed in the ocean. It was topped with ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Pass it.” Jez hisses at me. “Shan’t. M’readin’.” “Borrox!” Kate’s disbelievin’: “What it mean, then?” Lookin’ over the page, I hunt for really long ‘uns: “This word is ‘mountain’. That one is ‘distance’.” “Bloody ‘ell, you ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Felix rolled out of his bunk and immediately regretted every decision he'd ever made. Well, at least those of the last dozen hours or so. The steel deck plate was cold against his feet, and he considered pressing his head against it ...

Author: Russell Bert Waters Charlie is throwing a tantrum, that’s all it amounts to. He had stumbled upon the case files; he had seen the end. A siren wails in the distance, deeper within the subterranean facility. Each Charlie we compile begins as a child, knowing ...

Author: Thomas Tilton I was five minutes late to work, which meant an extra 1/10 of a mile on my MPH for the day. But I didn’t care. It was the day after my birthday. I was nursing a killer hangover and had contemplated calling in sick, but that would mean a demerit and ...

Author: Mark Thomas The boy and his robot companion walked along the ruined wall to a school complex, as they did every morning. “Here it is,” the companion said. He pointed to a spot where the stonework changed subtly. “I still don’t see it.” The boy looked closer. ...

Author: Samuel Huang “It’s time, Ms. President.” Sarah Juanita Chen wanted to run, but a dozen secret service agents filled the Oval Office, barring every possible avenue of escape. The regal room where she had once guided the course of world events now felt like the ...

Author: Janice Rothganger This was the spot. No longer needing his compass, Jackson tucked it inside his shirt. He dropped his pack and went about setting up the campsite: pitching a tent, igniting the fire, cooking dinner. He had planned the trip right down to the number ...

Author: Tyler Hawkins Bernard gasped awake suddenly, and his eyes frantically darted around the darkened room looking for threats. Greeted only by the slow, rhythmic breathing from his wife laying next to him in bed, he focused on remembering the harrowing dream he just ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The dim room is momentarily illuminated as the door opens to admit two men in dark suits. They sit on the sofa, facing their guest across a low table. The door silently closes. The left-hand figure produces a badge that glows with a pale ...

Author: Rollin T. Gentry Moira-1403 awoke, eyes wide open, ignoring the slight feedback in her sensors. She stood next to General Sabatyn in a small cave of which she had no record. The last thing she remembered was helping the General select the Cadet of the Year in his ...

Author: Kemal Onor Arkwell sat at the kitchen table. He was looking down into his coffee cup, admiring the roll of clouds. It reminded him of fast-moving July storms, and of rain on grass fields in the country. He made no attempt to stir the liquid. The mug was still full ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Peck met Richards at the door of the diner. They stood staring at each other without speaking for a long minute before Peck opened the door and ushered his partner inside. Gwynne was at a booth in the very back corner. There was a halo ...

Author: Vanessa Kittle Robert Stolz looked at the body on the table. The problem seemed simple. He had to get into that thing. It was only centimeters away. The best scientists in the Solar System had been working on this problem for two decades, and now Stolz was ready to ...