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Troll Hunting

By submission | April 24, 2015
Author : Lee S. Hawke Cxx61 stares down at the knife embedded hilt-deep in his chest. It’s so cold. Without thinking, he takes a breath, then stutter-shrieks in pain as his muscles shift and contract around the blade, shredding himself from within. He has no measure for how much this ...
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White Sol

By submission | April 23, 2015
Author : Roger Dale Trexler They gathered, all of those interested in watching, at a position twice the distance Pluto was from the sun. Onboard the maiden ship, Corosin, Trya watched intently. “It’ll happen soon,” Gavin said. He smiled, revealing a perfect row of teeth. Long ...
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Java

By submission | April 22, 2015
Author : Bob Newbell I handed the teenager her milk and syrup laden drink and went back to the cash register. Just then, a Yedla walked into the coffee shop. He was a good seven feet tall and had a row of sharp teeth in his two mandibles. The other patrons in the shop fell silent. As ...
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Blue Jumpers

By Duncan Shields | April 21, 2015
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer They call them Blue Jumpers. I've also heard them referred to as the Kangaroos. It's a space version of the Screaming Meemies or the Heebie Jeebies except that it happens in low gravity atmospheres. You get carried away with how high you can jump ...
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Leer

By Julian Miles | April 20, 2015
Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The Gynler are a race that specialises in winning wars by slow, psychological means. They pride themselves on not having had to use a weapon of war in over a century. When it came to conquering Earth, they spent a long time in planning their ...
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10th Plague

By submission | April 19, 2015
Author : Rick Tobin It all started in the spring of 1977. I remember Sunday afternoon in Houston, in my future wife’s apartment, slouching on her couch while listening to public radio. The sunshine wafted through flowered drapes, dancing across her handmade Afghan, covering her ...
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History Lesson

By submission | April 18, 2015
Author : George R. Shirer “Do you ever feel guilty?” Red asked. “About what?” asked Blue. “About lying to the humans.” “No,” said Blue. “Why would I feel guilty? They’re happy. They get to live full lives.” “But they don’t know the truth,” said Red. “They don’t know that they’re ...
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Spare Parts

By submission | April 17, 2015
Author : Joey To Tris slowly opened his eyes. He let his head remain on the cold workbench for a second before sitting up and rolling his stiff shoulders. Wincing as he rubbed his neck, he squinted at the window: snowflakes fell and white glare flooded the room. The control-cube laid ...
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Thoughtful Gift

By submission | April 16, 2015
Author : Bob Newbell The hunting party moved toward the caves at Es Skhul, about 20 kilometers south of Haifa, Israel. Of course, no one in the tribe would have recognized any of those geographic designations any more than they would have regarded the time as being 50,000 BC. The hunt ...
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Jobs Worth

By Julian Miles | April 15, 2015
Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Tom! Tom!” I shake my head and massage my jaw as I sit up. The pretty woman crouched by me looks worried. Behind her I hear a struggle occurring. That has something to do with the pain in my jaw. “Are you okay?” Good question. I raise my ...
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Grommets for Hanging

By submission | April 14, 2015
Author : Jay Knioum The buildings so tightly packed that the roofs became a city unto themselves, new roofs erected from detritus hauled up from the streets below, built by human versions of same. Old rooftop was floor space now, shingled and tar-papered carpet subfloor under layers of ...
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My Moon

By Duncan Shields | April 13, 2015
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I used to be a very technical person. People can get to a level of reliance on their stealth tech that can end in their death. Like the wide-eyed 20-year-old quivering around the shaft of my spear. Her camsuit flickers like a broken wall display ...
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Consider This

By submission | April 12, 2015
Author : Brandon Crilly I finished chewing a bite of deep-fried haddock – my fourth such meal of the week – and said, “I beg your pardon?” Across the table, my teacher-turned-colleague and very good friend stared at me over his glass of stout. He savored his next sip with exaggerated ...
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An Epitaph from the Expanse

By submission | April 11, 2015
Author : David Botticello “…Ma’am?” Major Vorwith questioned. “…Ma’am?” “Yes Major,” intoned his captain, her voice betraying the long night behind them. “We’re receiving a message. No author identification. It’s coming across all frequencies, and in over 12,000 languages, including ...
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Dedicated

By submission | April 10, 2015
Author : Chinmaya Dabral "We must use The Weapon. I see no alternative." Most other Council members nodded in unison, but Salah seemed surprised. Hesitant, she finally spoke. "You mean a Torkh? Do we even have those now?" Hohn looked at her. "You are new, aren't you? There's a ...
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Nothing

By submission | April 9, 2015
Author : Larry Hinkle The ship had brought her out of stasis three hours ago, which meant the A.I. had finally found something worth checking out. Nothing could override its programming. Vanessa checked the log and found she'd been in cryo-sleep for almost 87 years, making her ...
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Permission

By submission | April 8, 2015
Author : Craig Finlay Stella was watching the blue plastic ice cube fall from her hand to the glass at quarter-G, about 2.25 meters per second. D-deck in the outer rings had the most gravity. And the emergency hatches on d-deck, recessed a further 5 feet out, actually delivered a ...
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The Editor

By submission | April 7, 2015
Author : Philip Ryburn "600 words?! I'm expected to create an entire universe, complete with believable characters that the reader can relate to and care about in a mere 600 words? Are you outta your ever-lovin' mind?", Christina Hoffman was exasperated. Clearly, this was not going ...
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