Author: David Henson *The distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion.* A stranger is standing on the stoop. Ben lifts the ax and pulls it down in a smooth arc. "Cup of coffee for a wanderer?" the stranger says. As the couple eats, there's a knock. ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer John trundles the pallet truck toward the ramp. “A few of us acquired some things from Centra Medico on your behalf. Doesn’t seem right, just throwing you out.” He smiles and I hope my embarrassment doesn’t show. ‘Civil war’ is a ...

Author: David Barber The new doctor mangles my name. “What is that, Iranian? Arabic?” I have learned to be still while their thoughts congeal into language. To slow the movements they mistook for nervous tics. “Is this part of the review?” Speak slowly, so they can ...

Author : Lewis Richards Today is my 456th birthday. Growing up everyone is made to think space is a dangerous place full of Alien space pirates and impending doom, ( I'm looking at you, Sigourney Weaver). But as it happens, space is just empty. The majority of problems ...

Author: Rick Tobin “Get out of here, now!” Telerman yelled into his beleaguered colleagues’ faces over blaring dance music inside Omnia, as lights flashed around them, from above, over a vast dance floor of writhing partygoers. “Chill pill, Telerman,” Sheila Barsted ...

Author: Marcel Barker Rrrtx class destroyer Ssstnbrx hung high over Earth’s southern pole, invisible and silent. Commander Tttx read from the onyx screen in front of him. 10 Facts About Bananas Doctors Don’t Want You To Know Beneath the English text, the display ...

Author: Kevin P Michaels George Tompkins hated almost everything. He hated buildings for being too tall, he hated cars for being too loud, he hated animals for being wild, and most of all he hated people for being . . . people. George yearned for a time when things were ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The cooling towers hum less at night, as the temperature drops in the world above. ‘The World Above’. Oh, how our leaders love that title. They use it everywhere, usually presented in ways that used to be reserved for heaven and similar ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer "Do you know what happens when a black star dies?" Tony asks, rhetorically, not waiting for an answer. "It collapses in upon itself, and in one last gasp, ejaculates a single burst of energy into the void." His assistant nods, numbly, ...

Author: Vivienne Burgess I remember Agni on your lap, myself on the faded mat in the mess hall, practicing knots. Agni couldn’t keep his head on his shoulders, but I was listening. You started with the small things, shutting your eyes to speak, said it was important to pass ...

Author: Anthony Rove I am sorry, Samuel. You are thirteen and a man. Today, we go to The Grid. Oh, nephew. Shed your tears in here with me. You are a man now. And, as a man, it is okay to be frightened. It is okay to cry. I cry sometimes too. Sometimes, I am so scared ...

Author: Kate Runnels Ara studied the Avatar for a moment, liking what she saw. It wasn’t enough like her to raise suspicions if anyone she knew played the game, but she would be comfortable playing in this body she had tweaked from the stock body given by the game ...

Author: Duncan Shields, Staff Writer "Look we rescued you, correct?" "Yes, but-" "You were floating in a derelict colony vessel. You were a corpsicle. A cryo refugee. We could have LEFT you there!" "Yeah, I know. You revived me and the other two hundred surviving ...

Author: Sam Matey Nnenna Inkar Uzoma, first human consul to the Empire of Mhunghelvardh, walked out of her spaceplane onto the dais and into a fantastical wonderland. The palace gardens of Mhunghelvardh spread out below her, kilometers of alien vegetation in every color. A ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer We’d been down for a long while before Commander Bramson came up with the idea of linking to the orbiter, getting it to swing into low orbit and tractor beam us off this damn rock. I objected on the grounds that humans can’t extract oxygen ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Baxter found the fortune teller at the very back of the carnival grounds, as far away from the entrance as one could get without leaving the sprawling complex. It was either an afterthought or the origin point, which exactly was ...

Author: Kim Kneen “It’s rare but sometimes Saplings simply fail to thrive.” Dr. Moran peels off her gloves and drops them into a bin labeled Hazardous Waste. Moran hands me a leaflet entitled Recalls: your obligations and I stuff it into a pocket and bundle Saffy up in ...

Author: David Henson My daughter is marrying a goddam Martian. They’ll probably end up living with me and Edith ‘cause he’ll never hold down a steady job. Martians is lazy. Just ‘cause Mars was the first to be terraformed, they think they shouldn’t have to work, that ...