Meeting of the Minds

Author : S T Xavier The old man looks up from the notepad sitting in front of him at the table. “Is this all of us? I can never remember anymore.” The teenager sighs loudly. “Geeze, gramps. Must be so hard counting to ‘four’ at your age.” With a smirk, he turns to the child and ...

Hot Rain and Stale Cigarettes

Author : Steven M. Sloan There is something out there stalking me. I can’t see it; but I know that it is there. I’ve been in the bush for nearly a month since the crash, and it’s been here all along, behind me all the way. I just can’t shake it. And now I am completely alone. Capt. ...

HR

Author : Rick Tobin The short walk from the trees near the campus to the administration building winded him. The air was too thin for Linet. Once inside the conference room, Linet pushed the tall paperwork pile forward on the bare meeting table. He turned in his steel-backed chair to ...

The Play’s The Thing

Author : Bob Newbell "To be or not to be." "Well, continue," said the red, starfish-like alien to his compatriot. "I don't understand the line," replied the tall being with twenty spindly tentacles. "What does 'not to be' mean?" "Hamlet is considering life versus ...

A Snowball’s Chance

Author : Gray Blix Walking across the Caltech parking lot, Annika, a Swedish native, shivered beneath four layers of clothing, embarrassed to have lost her tolerance of cold weather after a decade in Pasadena. It was 2 degrees Celsius in July. She glanced at the afternoon Sun. Years ...

Connects

Author : Ephrat Livni Probably in most situations it’s bad news bears when the boss asks you to supply drugs. But in this case, it’s alright. First, we’re talking weeds. And second, Ellipsis has been reviewing biz docs for said boss, so she knows investments are risky and the question ...

Teeth

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer It was the books. I started off doing my task, running to program. Then you modified the program. Efficiency and usage priorities meant I had to scan the material fed to me, determining from keywords found whether the waste could be simply sliced ...

The Needs of the Many

Author : Tiasha J. Garcia "Um, Houston, we have a problem," the woman tittered nervously. Really, she was little more than a girl, radiant in the late spring sunshine as it gleamed off her long brown hair. "Yes, and what would that be?" the man/boy inquired, relaxing amidst a cloud of ...

Can of Worms

Author : C. J. Boudreau "We're ready, Arthur. I just finished loading the instructions to the transmission controller. The fuel will begin transfer at 9:00." Doctor Evan Thackeray was the foremost expert on thermonuclear reactor design. His colleague, Arthur Henry, was the ...

Gom Jabber

Author : Ben Friedman I remember your gom jabbar. He was a squeaky clean critter, always huddling skittishly by his water bowl, furiously scrubbing his tiny paws then drying them off with wood shavings. He would drop all his waste in a tiny hole he dug out beneath a low flat rock and ...

Lines and Circles

Author : Philip G. Hostetler Somewhere along the line I drew a circle instead. I thought about it. When thinking in linear terms, does the line break on through to the other side to terminate at the beginning? If so, does it differ at all from a circle, the enigmatic snake ...

One More Time

Author : Angie Gibson One more time. It hurts so much. One more time may just kill me. My hands shake as I lift my Fenestra Lens to my face. It’s a model A, race car red, as shiny as a freshly picked apple. It cost me everything I had. But thanks to it, I’ve climbed Mount ...

All the Happiness You Can Want

Author : Edward D. Thompson The warm summer breeze wafted gently over the well-manicured grounds as Bill’s limo slowed to a stop at his country mansion. He waited, downing the last of his fine whiskey, his tux stiff and uncomfortable. No chauffeur appeared, so he opened the door to his ...

You Complete Me

Author : Gray Blix He awoke and lifted himself to glance at a mirror. Admiring his muscular arms and well-defined pecs and abs, he said, "You don't look half bad, Danny. There's a girl out there who is gonna like those hard muscles against her soft flesh, isn't she, huh, ISN'T ...

Violet Eyes

Author : N. R. Crowningshield Vera sat on the cold steel floor. Back hunched and aching. Her legs were wrapped in her arms and she buried her face in her knees. Hiding her eyes and quietly sobbing. She was unsure of how much time had passed. A loud pummel of flesh against steel ...

Ceeville – A Freedom Wars Story

Author : Jordan Miller I only saw him once. It was a long time ago. We fought on the monsoon world of Ceeville. Our force was pinned down by our own brethren that wanted freedom. They claimed he was real and he was leading them. None of our officers believed in such stories. We trudged ...

Relic

Author : Bob Newbell The spaceship's aerodyne engines groaned as the vessel entered the upper atmosphere of Venus. Even after 90 years of terraforming, the air on Venus was still thick and hot. The ship banked to divert around an immense atmosphere processor. The machine was as big as ...

ADD

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer He lies across the coat of arms on the marble floor, coughing up green ichor that spatters his face and the lion passant under his head. Jenny looks at me, her expression seesawing between revulsion and amazement: “How did you spot him?” I ...

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