Author : Todd Wells Jon approached the pearly gates. The kindly old man smiled. "Welcome," he said. "Here, everyone spends their immortal life together with their true love. Soon, you will be reunited with your wife, Julie." "That's wonderful. Thank you so much!" Jon entered the gates ...

Author : A. A. Woods When I approached the dominant species of that vibrant blue planet, they bowed to me as their new ruler. Queen, they called me. Big oneness. They allowed me into their web of minds without hesitation. I entered their war-ravaged colonies and ...

Author : Andreea Daia Yesterday’s art show was a disaster. Again. No surprise that Howard was a jerk, but this time he called me a wuss in front of Aliena. “Your solar system looks like it’s been blustered by a magnetic storm. Don’t tell me you think anything could live there. Aww... ...

Author : Austen Woodward It had been a normal Saturday, I’d got up, done my hair, my makeup, slipped on my dress and walked out of the house, making sure to lock the door behind me as my parents always sleep in and are worried about intruders. I turned the key in the ignition and set ...

Author : Morrow Brady When pigeons deviated in mid-air and windless leaves rustled, the hidden dreamers were about. A detector notified me it had seen something, so I went to my balcony and tuned my visor to the corresponding wavelength. Carpeted with warm dappled light, the Italian ...

Author : JWH Gobbin hated this place. It stank of death and soldered metal. But then again, so did everywhere else in the belt these days. Resulta, as the locals now called it, was originally settled as part of the water-ice mining boom in Orkon Crater, the only remaining traces of ...

Author : Bob Newbell Queen Chandrietta VI motioned for her Prime Minister to stop speaking while she gave instructions to the royal hairdresser. Her majesty was only one point nine three meters tall, fairly short by the standards of a native of Earth's Moon. After thirty six ...

Author : Ian Hill Harsh white floodlights drenched the area in a sterile haze. Hundreds had gathered at short notice, all saturated with stomach-burning anxiety as they tried to figure out what was going to happen next. There they stood, packed together tightly, wondering if they ...

Author : Roger Dale Trexler The ship touched down on the barren planet. Tabitha Sandor piloted it alone, because the thing in her belly had killed everyone on the ship. It made her destroy the ship. There was no way for her to go home. She looked down at the ever-growing lump of her ...

Author : Callum Wallace “Well, this is a little awkward, but we’ll have to destroy you. Only literally, of course. Metaphysically you’ll be right as rain.” Paul shrank back from this. “Metaphysically?” The speaker nodded, the soft beak spreading into what could have been a smile. ...

Author : R Gene Turchin The lumbering thing on treads wasn't sophisticated or complicated, a 0.50 caliber machine gun mounted on tank tracks. An array of sensors rotated on top along with a pincushion of antennas. “We can send it into neighborhoods where the bad guys are without ...