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 ...

Author: Thomas Tilton Hard, mean knocks at the door. That would be Mr. Farcus, the landlord. Chuck was already two months behind on rent, and today was the fifth day of month three. Mr. Farcus was coming to collect. “Just a minute!” Chuck said, opening his closet and ...

Author: Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Slow Jim Parker. That’s me, friend. Please to make your acquaintance. Nasty accident you had there, friend. Nas-teee accident. And I’ve seen some! And this shack of a hospital won’t do you any good, either, no offense. Well, I’m ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer It breached the atmosphere in the late evening, the sun beginning to warm the far side of the little blue planet as it tucked into the shadows and dropped down to the clouds. It swam in the moist air, swirling and cavorting with the ...

Author: Servaya It began, as many things do, in the dead of night. “Dad!” cried the boy. “There’s monsters under my bed!” The covers were down before he was fully awake, and as he rolled smoothly to his feet, his mind begins processing the situation while his body ...

Author: Garrett Frechette We have called ourselves a great number of names over the course of these many years. At times, we presented ourselves as federations and republics, our history records our imperial conquests and peaceful coalitions. We are Milky-Wayans, we are ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Trent sat in the small office cradling the cup of hours-old coffee until the clock showed twelve. He then unfolded himself from his chair, collected his flashlight and his hat and started his rounds. Every hour, on the hour. Up the east ...

Author: Joachim Heijndermans Darren rushed into the bathroom as if hell was on his heels. With his shoulder, he slammed the door open. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure that stood before the sink, greeting him with a “Pardon me! Growing a tail here!” as he ...

Author: Suzanne Borchers I pinch my arm. “Ouch!” It’s real! I might have met him only a few hours ago, but I know. I’m traveling to Xeron with my soul mate. “It’s not going to happen,” my friends chant, mired in the gooey slime here on Syren. They are so wrong. That ...

Author: Gerard Hutchings The postman was early and had left something for me. I threw on an old tracksuit to go out and check the letterbox. As I approached I noticed a dollar coin on the footpath, so I went to pick it up. The cord on my pants decided it was the right time ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Have you ever grown your own computer? It’s not like they show on MeVee. There’s a lot more liquid blend used because spillages occur all the time. The damn things sweat out unused elements constantly, overflowing the moulds. On a hot ...

Author: Marcel Barker NPA 002 PRENATAL - AUTH GRACE HOSPITAL “And? What does the brain scan say? Is little Baby J going to be a Johann?” “Beg pardon?” “As in Sebastian Bach.” “I see. No, the neuroaptitude algorithm reports no musical affinity. Reasonable potential for ...

Author: Steve Pool Rosalee loved her job. She loved taking care of the home and family of her employers as much as she loved anything that she did. Well, technically, “love” was a bit of a stretch. Rosalee was a robot. Could she feel anything as complex an emotion as love, ...

Author: Chris Stewart In the Spring of 2028, a press conference was held announcing that the Phanes Project, the largest database of human DNA ever gathered (some samples going back many centuries), was joining forces with The Coeus Computing Collective in a bold effort to ...

Author: R.J. Sadler Herman sat at his cubicle nervously waiting for the next round. He could hear the wheels whoosh along the carpet tiles. “Here ya’ go jack.” The forms fell on his desk with a splat. Herman stared at them. “Need’em done by 2.” He looked up at ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer I drag the chair into the middle of the room, close to the table and set myself and my coffee down. "Hello Gladyce, you wanted to see me?" The question felt stupid, but she had trouble with social cues, and I knew we'd sit in silence ...