Author : V.M. Bannon They came for the treasury first. I talked to somebody who used to work there, and they said that it was like watching a timer tick down, those numbers rapidly falling down to nothing. Then the banks shut down. They told us that it was for our own ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Mareck's Sensei had spent countless hours sitting in front of his bonsai tree, studying it, almost communing with it, and occasionally making an almost imperceptible cut. For years, Mareck thought the old man was crazy. The sun, ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I hate old servers. Not ‘old’ like they peddle on the upgrade-your-old-one-now streams, but genuinely aged kit still running despite all odds. There’s a lot of it out there. Even back in the late twentieth century, corporates had no real ...

Author : Rollin T. Gentry Ever since the drone dropped Arnold off on the balcony, his language had been atrocious. He continually dropped the F-bomb, the D-bomb, and the S-bomb, not to mention both C-words and the recently coined Z-word. Mary Ann jacked the children into VR ...

Author : Tyler Hawkins As the first warm, reassuring rays of the sun peek into the habitat, they begin to creep across a blinking computer terminal, as they've done countless times before. There's a soft thump from far away, and the still air is coaxed into a whisper of a ...

Author : Sean Wilkins On a star-laden beach near a rocky shore, wrinkled hands held, step in step toward a monolithic solar-tower. Mason felt the rounded edge of the tower, remembering the years, and was sad it had no use anymore. Alla watched the storm rolling in over a ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Chase peeled off her evening attire slowly, the fabric offering some resistance in the numerous places it was still actively staunching blood flow. The garments dropped haphazardly to the bathroom floor. The time for precision and planning ...

Author : David Henson I was working in the lab late one night. My assistant Igorbot had left, but there was nothing for me to go home to since Loretta had moved out. Left alone, I'd poured myself into my work even more than usual. We were on the verge of a breakthrough ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Swerve left and dive over a fence, roll once and spring through a gap in a wall, landing in what used to be a lounge, my face inches from a dead someone's diary. As a former librarian, I can’t help it: I have to read the words neatly ...

Author : Samuel Stapleton Classified Hearing AF:145-34a C3 Interviewer: Charles Witcomb “If you could go back commander, would you alter your decision?” “No.” “I’m going to note for the record that you didn’t even seem to reconsider…” “I don’t need too. If I ...

Author : George R. Shirer The alien wore a red flower in her hair. It was vibrant against her pale hair. “What do you think of her?” asked Jon. “I don’t know.” Jon gave me an incredulous look. “What do you mean? You don’t know?” “Honestly. I don’t know. I mean, ...

Author : Anamarija Slatinec An oppressive light is shining into my face and it jolts me out of my sleep. A thought hits me hard before my eyes are even open. “It’s Inspection Day” I say aloud. Every month it feels like it has come around sooner than the last. You start ...

Author : Charles Paul Wallace The microscope sat on Lena's desk exactly where she'd found it. It had been there when she got home from school. Her mother just looked at her blankly when asked where it had come from. It was grey, a clunky thing with an adjustable dial on ...

Author : Samuel Stapleton “Megan! Sweetheart! You’re on time!?” “Not here to chat.” She hissed as she paraded in. “I know, I know. I’ve got your new look ready, stand still please.” She complied as best she could, but every now and then quivers of excitement would ...

Author : Russell Bert Waters Their Emperor once conquered vast expanses; like Genghis Khan, who cried when he ran out of lands to conquer. But the Tar don't cry. They don't hear, see, or speak. Their home planet was a silent and dark place. No vibrations, no ...

Author : Hillary Lyon The old woman leaned over the tombstone, and wiped the flat screen embedded in the front. It was grimy from exposure to the elements, but with a few gentle, conscientious strokes with her handkerchief, came clean. She sighed wearily, stepped back, and ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The sub-tropical jungle steams in the sultry afternoon heat as the sun reappears after the mini-monsoon. Sapping humidity returns. Two figures appear: the leader moving with the ease of long familiarity with the terrain, the follower ...

Author : C. James Darrow Human? Yes, my friend? I feel. . .different. The old man cleared his throat and looked up from his desk. We’ve been over this, my friend, you are a machine. You do not feel. Not yet. The machine had been in the shadows, playing with ...