Phantom Limb

Author : Kate Runnels “There,” said the doctor. “Try it now, agent Sasaki. The neural connection should be hooked in.” Lia stared down at her cybernetic left arm, recently attached after a case went horribly wrong. The murderer, after killing her last victim, sliced Lia’s arm, ...

Robots Don't Kill People

Author : Gray Blix "Why do we have a dog bot in the first place?" Offended, "Robot K91 is my PARTNER, sir, and its very shape deters crime by evoking a primal human fear of wolves." "'Deters crime'? The only bot on Mars that can harm humans has KILLED one." "K91 is not ...

Robots Don’t Kill People

Author : Gray Blix "Why do we have a dog bot in the first place?" Offended, "Robot K91 is my PARTNER, sir, and its very shape deters crime by evoking a primal human fear of wolves." "'Deters crime'? The only bot on Mars that can harm humans has KILLED one." "K91 is not ...

Gaps

Author : Jess Cowburn ‘You know what’ll happen as soon as you set foot on that ship? You’ll start changing. You will. I read about it. You won’t notice it but just being there, it’s not natural for us.’ Hack. ‘Little tiny bubbles will get in between your bones and then the gaps will ...

Message from Space

Author : Victoria Randall General Jackson was not exuding patience. His lips were thinned, his gray eyebrows bristled in irritation and he snapped at the two men standing before him. “Well, can you or can you not decipher the messages?” Charlie had never seen his boss so nervous. ...

Deception

Author : Suzanne Borchers Lieutenant Sher took a deep breath then pushed the button to open the door to the officers’ lounge. She made sure her open friendliness included the five officers in its beam. Her eyes met a gray-haired general fighting to keep his gaze above her breasts, ...

The Maintenance Man

Author : Rachelle Shepherd Two men sit together at a desk. Both men hold their glasses as if to warm them. All of the other desks, which spread like shadows across the open office floor, are empty. They drink to the end of an era of domination. They are soldiers on the wrong side ...

True Believer

Author : David Nutt “Not just a thousand millennia ago, you sat in that chair and told me point blank that the only way to prove it to you was through mathematics.” “You are correct Dane, but this isn’t really proof at all.” “Lyle, you are such an intellectual fraud of the worst ...

They Live in Starlight

Author : David Botticello “One last bit of business for the day,” barked the ship’s loudspeakers, “I must to inform all crew and travelers that one of our esteemed passengers is a Sunsprite. Please take all necessary precautions,” the Captain’s voice trailed off before quickly adding, ...

She Who Weaves

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I woke to one of those ‘phantom impacts’ on the bed. The source of the bump was one of the legs of the spider looming over me. I will admit to squealing a little before grabbing my glasses to restore things into perspective. The glasses allowed ...

Tipping Point

Author : Rick Tobin “I need a short break. You,” he directed, pointing to his second. “Move the weapons to the dark side of the planet. We may be able to hold them off there if we can hide the missiles during transit.” The junior officer nodded and began sending orders to the ...

Asymmetric Warfare

Author : Bob Newbell Another Ezerfol battle cruiser came in from the inner system and joined the other vessels surrounding the Earth ship. The latter was the UESS Curtis Newton commanded by United Earth Defense Captain Anton Tao. Tao and his crew were wanted by the militaries of both ...

The Politics of Non Sequitur

Author : David Botticello When the Nezzan ambassador abruptly walked out of a Council session, nobody really thought much of it. It was a time-honored method showing political irritation. Not that the Nezzan had ever used it before. They were a quiet species—fundamentally reasonable we ...

The Tower

Author : William Ovide Richardson On a clear day, the tower was a perfect filament of white, stretching from its mile-wide root before you to its faded terminus directly over your head. The human mind is not accustomed to seeing straight lines at such massive scales. It interprets ...

Defying Nature

Author : Dominic Constable Jacob stood in his garden. The sky was clear and the sun cast it's early morning, summer rays across the long strip of grass where the clover had taken hold, it's white flowers, scattered across the green vista. He could hear the hum of the bees and see the ...

Don't Touch That

Author : Cheryl Wood Ruggiero You're right. I really should not have touched it. I certainly know better. My mother always told me not to touch odd things I found in the woods. I told my own children the same, and my grandchildren. But it was so shiny. And so smooth. And when I ...

Drake Park

Author : Gray Blix Late afternoon in Drake Park. In the red-orange light of the setting sun, he walks down the path towards the footbridge and pauses. Should he cross the river or turn and walk along the... A bicycle blur brushes by him and swoops onto the footbridge, barely missing a ...

Tunnel Rats

Author : Rick Tobin “You speak English, Mario? I don’t know German and you don’t speak French.” Emil put the phosphorescent torch down by the other resting miner. They took their break secretly, amid the dust and constant reverberation from other slaves mining the deep caverns. ...

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  • Visions

    Author: Judith Pratt The statues were falling apart. I knew …