Now Get Out of My Starship

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m covered in blood and squishy bits that slide and splat on the floor. In that, I look the same as the entire boarding bay. Even the shipsuits are reduced to ribbons, and I can’t recognise a bodypart or weapon component anywhere. She stands ...

The Edge

Author : Ellie Snyder We arrived at the edge of the universe yesterday. I don’t know exactly what I expected to see but it wasn’t this. I guess I figured it would be blackness—that the last tendrils of matter that had worked their way here would dissipate into the void. Until the ...

Transcience

Author : Beck Dacus Earth is largely habitable. There are some places that are especially hot, cold, dry, irradiated, and toxic. And, sometimes, the entire Earth is subjected to extreme conditions; mass extinctions, periods of volcanic activity, Ice Ages, snowball Earths, and so on. ...

Scareware

Author : Julian Miles “My microwave just exploded.” Here we go again. Mrs Jolene Public and her inability to program white goods. “Certainly madam. Now, I’ll need some details. What did you put in it?” “A damp face towel with a couple of drops of lemon juice on it.” “What ...

Water Shamans

Author : Gray Blix, Featured Writer [ bio ] She released her grip on the yoke of her De Havilland, and the pain in her hands eased. Even with a quarter century of experience flying to remote ...

The Garbage Approaches

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The garbage approaches. I yell at the family to get down as I swing the schooner around in a tight arc, heading away from the massive undulating island. The strong afternoon wind fills our sails yet I am nowhere near satisfied yet. With a loud ...

Fast Times in Slo-Mo

Author : Gray Blix, Featured Writer [ bio ] At a Calgary hockey camp, parents and players watched a goaltending 8 year old novice stop everything shot at him. Might as well have been a brick wall. ...

Incurable Optimist

Author : Bob Newbell "We're almost ready," said Olav to his companion, Isak. "Are the others out of range?" "Yes, all the ships are gone," replied Isak. "It's just us now." The two of them watched UY Scuti waver on their ship's display like a reflection in water distorted by ripples. ...

After Life

Author : Hannah Jenkins What is the nature of the human soul? That old favourite after-dinner topic of philosophers and theologians has suddenly become much more important, as it is dragged out of the hypothetical realm into cold, hard reality. What is the soul made of? Where does it ...

The Gravity of You

Author : Michael Ryder I see fear in your eyes as the door to the gravity chamber shuts tight. Not fear for yourself. You accepted your assignment long ago. No, I see fear for me. Fear of what I will become without you. We cannot hear each other through the chamber's heavy door. But ...

The Door To Nowhere

Author : Roger Dale Trexler Gilfred stood at the door. “Where does it go?” he asked. He turned and looked at Samuelson and Thromby. Both men shook their heads. “We don’t know,” said Thromby, his thick jowls quivering as he spoke. He was the oldest of them and self-professed smartest ...

Invasion Redux

Author : Gray Blix, Featured Writer [ bio ] It's a 20 degree C heat wave near the Martian equator as Commander Vlad says, "Follow me," and clumsily leads his exploratory party into a ...

Button

Author : J. Eckert Lytle Ten year old Danni stepped cautiously from a pine needle carpet to stones smoothed by eons of rushing water next to the quiescent pool of a peaceful stream. Her and grandfather’s stream. It meandered amid lofty, sweet smelling ponderosas--endlessly battling for ...

Welcome Home

Author : Travis Gregg The brightness was overwhelming at first and it took several minutes for his eyes to adjust. The dirt was warm under his bare feet, and the smell, the smell was like something from his childhood. The smell of dirt and wind and sun. He'd forgotten that ...

Some Kind of Game

Author : Benjamin Sixsmith The planet was nothing to look at. An immense red desert, it was so flat that one could hardly have believed it curled. As FO James Beckwith alighted on its sands he looked about with a frown. SO Mary Harding appeared beside him and opened her mouth to ...

Sibling Rivalry

Author : Lewis Richards Here we go.. The sound of self-entitlement.. Max Holmes glanced up from his Med-Tab as he heard the rhythmic tapping of heels on the sterile Metal floor; Heels that could only belong to the companies most valued Customer. Striding down the Ward towards him, ...

The Last Watchmaker

Author : LB Benton I am a simple watchmaker. Once I owned a watch repair shop on West 38th Street, near the jewelry district. The shop was very small and, now, I barely remember it—worn wooden floors that softened the footsteps of customers, the sweet smell of lubricating oil, a door ...

Triangulation

Author : Gray Blix, Featured Writer [ bio ] "I remember when there were forests and farms right up to the border. I'd shout hello from my dad's tractor and Americans would shout back. We crossed the ...

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