Author : Andrew Bale How is it that death is an instant? A few seconds ago, the gasping, struggling, savaged body of Ensign Harper had been a living person, and then, in an instant, he was gone. She held his body, felt it settling, relaxing from its former struggles, ...

Author : Leanne A. Styles I skip down the corridor, swinging my gun in delight. Even above the wail of the alarms, Ben’s screams carry, amplified by the lofty glass walls. As I enter the stairwell, I contemplate why, out of everybody in the office, I’ve spared ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The monsters are just about to carve into my flesh when the fright-spasm finally wakes me. I struggle to breathe until panic releases my chest; gasping breaths hiss and thunder. The viewport is fogged with condensation and I’ve wet ...

Author : K.A. Magrowski The giant handprint appeared on the hill sometime during the night of April 30. No one in the nearby farming communities and town saw or heard anything, but on May 1 everyone woke to see the imprint in the distance, across the cow pastures and ...

Author : Iain Macleod "Dude! We are so boned, dude! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Jimmy frantically tapped at his console, sweat beginning to drip off the end of his nose. "They're sentient, man" "What? All of them?" replied Carl, the older of the two keeping calm, ...

Author : Timothy Marshal-Nichols “So this bloke then, this Galvano bloke, so this Galvano della Volpe is dead.” The Local Defence Officer thought for a few seconds while twiddling with his moustache. Then spoke into his radio, “Sucker's dead.” “Repeat,” came back the ...

Author : Daniel Helman One time there lived a small planet that decided to invent some silicon-based machines to serve as emissaries to the rest of the universe, to be a good neighbor. A few apes had some promise, as being able to develop, maintain and enjoy these machines, ...

Author : David Henson The module thuds onto the planet's surface. Commander Stevens adjusts the stabilizers. "No prize for that one." Lieutenant Johnson cuts the engines. "You always think you can do better." "Do you have to take everything I say ...

Author : D.J. Rozell Jordan didn’t flirt with Alex until the divorce was final. The marriage had been full of broken promises, but why add one more? However, with the papers signed and a few weeks of decent sleep unknotting the muscles that had been locked in perpetual ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The moon is a purple crescent that stretches from horizon to mid-sky. The few stars are scattered pinpricks of yellow, too far apart to make any sort of constellations. Consequently, the available light is less than ideal for people ...

Author : Janet Shell Anderson I saw the full moon last night, and it reminded me. Jonathan has been gone a week. Sometimes I hole up in Rock Creek Park; I know places in the woods, in the sweetbriar and holly and tulip trees where no one ever comes, hear mockingbirds ...

Author : Beck Dacus Before she went outside with her friends, the most she had ever seen of the Sun was the great gleam in the sky directly above the dome. Every twelve hours, the dome would shade itself from that light to make an artificial night. Then the screen would ...

Author : Philip Berry From the couch, engineer Stanislaw Hast looked past the grey-suited, female psychiatrist and through the broad window. The star, a long dying sub-giant, threw a dusk of burnt ochre over the orbiting city, its rays painting the sunward face of tall ...

Author : M. Irene Hill “The Nation’s Ethics Commissioner has released her public disclosure statement after completing a probe into whether a company providing Assisted Ersatz-Suicide services has contravened laws in relation to assisted para-suicide. The Commissioner has ...

Author : Joachim Heijndermans Danny was convinced the moon was an eye. A single, blind eye that stared down at the world, slowly closing once a month. An eye that stared down at the little people, watching them with an intense hunger. He knew this was the truth, but no-one ...

Author : David C. Nutt “I don’t need to explain it to you again Mr. Ambassador. There’s absolutely nothing you can do but accept our terms.” “This is an outrage! It’s piracy! It’s – “Yes, it’s all that and more- but it doesn’t alter the facts one little bit now does ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer This precious space used to be an overgrown park, rarely visited by day and a haven for crime by night. Now it sits as a spot of verdant life amidst ruined towers and shadowed thoroughfares. Those who dwell here call it ‘Greenheart’. It ...

Author : Beck Dacus Azova, Girgin, and Rastat floated through a hole blasted in the alien ship’s hull. Inside, everything was trashed. Whatever had destroyed this ship had been thorough. The computer systems were all but disintegrated. The ship was in complete vacuum, in ...