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.
...
A New Beginning
Author : Nick Sousa
My senses returned to me slowly as I took stock of my surroundings.
“We’ve been watching, and waiting for quite some time. Your last day on earth has come and passed. You’re safe now, and you will never have to return to earth ever again. Take some time to ...
Help Wanted
Author : Suzanne Borchers
“Hey, Cuz, why are you sitting on that refuse pile?” George5 glided by snickering. “Thought you were high end, not dead end!”
Eddie kicked at the garbage beneath him. He couldn’t be obsolete! He could still warm and cool his skin with just a thought.
He ...
The Utopia Society
Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer
Upon a world a lot like our own, amidst ruins of wonders long fallen, there lies a single legible artefact, its surface unblemished by time, with words still clear under the transparent layer that keeps its metallic surface pristine.
Year 0001 ...
Alternates
Author : Bob Newbell
"Another ten billion dollars a year?!" said the Senator incredulously. "And that on top of the billions already spent annually? And for a scientific toy that only worked one time for a few minutes? And that had some kind of radiation leak or something right after ...
Scale
Author : Beck Dacus
For most the difference between being stranded on an island and being stranded on a distant planet is merely numerical. But while stranded on the planet Ergingad, I could feel it.
Probes had been there before, so it had been explored. We knew about the atmosphere, ...
Ghosts
Author : Amy Sutphin
Sargent Pedlson watched the foggy mass forming through the streets from his birds eye vantage in the radio tower. It was thinner than traditional fog, but behaved as though fluid. The ghost oozed through the streets, around the houses, creeping though any crack or ...
God must have blinked
Author : Helstrom
“Hey honey, come look at this.”
I took my bearings and found Samantha's voice, drew a bead on it and pinched space in her direction. She was far out on the edge of the universe, casually riding the expanding frontier.
“What is it?”
“Have a look. Out ...
Shutters on Main
Author : Matthew Marchitto
The rain was heavy and it blurred the faces of the crowd on Main Street. Deb stood in an alley off to the side watching the people move like a herd of cattle. Neon signs for places like Rucker’s Bar and the Harlot Peepshow glowed with muted light. A ...
What We Remember
Author : Thomas Desrochers
Tomov couldn't help but climb up to the marble altar. It was underwhelming: red shroud embroidered with a white shepherd, a single candle, an offering of roses. A quiet place, hidden from the world by the rows of towering quartz, the vast and ancient ceiling ...
Mr. Clean
Author : Rick Tobin
“C’mon, judge, you can’t be serious. That’s an old Earth name for an ancient product. There can’t possibly be trademark claims. There isn’t anything living in North America…it’s under a mile of ice.” Praxton Billings sat up straight before the judge. He rubbed his ...
The Roamer
Author : Ian Hill
Tumultuous ocean waves crashed against the ship’s vertical hull, spraying the flat deck with salt, white froth, and chunks of viscera torn from oceanic creatures by the raging storm that had passed over only a few minutes before. The vessel crested the dune-like ...
Spanners and Dust
Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer
They call me Wrench. It’s not particularly imaginative, but it does the job. Just like Socket, who still has a case to keep all the fiddly bits together. I like the adaptability and extra weight of a wrench, though. Socket has to be sneaky, coz if ...
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