She's in my Head, While I'm in Hers

Author : James McGrath I began by stealing money. Hacking mindchips isn't new; thousands across the planets survive by stealing bank details, logins, passwords, and rerouting what they find. Making it disappear, to pop-up elsewhere without the slightest of trails. It was challenging ...

Procrastination

Author : Jaime Astorga John_357897453 woke up, looked at the timer which sat next to his bed, and realized that he only had five minutes to live. Five sidereal minutes, anyway. For him, it would feel more like several hours, not that was an excuse to waste any more time. With a ...

Inter

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer “But it’s been almost two hundred years sir! How could this be?” “I don’t know. No one on board can explain it, but there are definitely at least a dozen human lifeforms showing on scanners down there.” The ancient story of the plankton combine, ...

The Waiting War

Author : Bob Newbell "May 18th is totally unacceptable!" says the Thrike admiral. "That date falls in the middle of the Feast of the Blessed Serrod, the Great and Enlightened. But on June 4th, then...THEN," he raises his neck frill for emphasis,"you should beseech the Mother of All ...

Starbird

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer It emerges from whatever variety of nowhere that allowed it to traverse the vast distances between the worlds of the Beacon, and I know that it’s a Stranger. I’m about to slap the alarm pad when the nine-hundred meter form dips its prow and opens ...

Birds of a Feather

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer There are trillions of them and they fly in layers. The larger ones at the top interlock together during mating season, puzzle-piece continents drifting above us. The whalescoops dive down to feed on the krillsparrows below them. Turtlehawks and ...

The Mind

Author : David Wing It was clear from the read-outs, we were going to fire. The question was, how bad? Barnes had reset the system, but it didn’t work, the countdown remained and the Mind kept on ticking. Its lights shone a staunch red and while we ran here and there, flicking ...

Rover's Return

Author : Roger Dale Trexler They heard the sound of the approaching vehicle and looked at each other. “That can’t be,” said John Hemington, “the rover’s been gone for three weeks. It’s programmed to stay gone for two months.” He looked quizzically at Daniel Hepford, ...

Unmanned

Author : Bob Newbell General Vlank walked along the corridor toward the Research and Development Lab, his motors whirring quietly with each step. Quietly, but perhaps not as quietly as they once did. He'd been neglecting routine maintenance. A lot of the High Command had as the war ...

Physics Minor

Author : Gray Blix "The universe is holographic? Surely you're joking." "I am not joking, Dr. Feynstein. But I did not say THE universe. I said YOUR universe. Your universe is a simulation. Pay attention. There is not much time." The young man appeared jittery in the flickering ...

All the Time in the World

Author : Cliff Cymrot I once thought living forever was a gift. We all did. At first it was the rich and affluent that benefited from nanobots (bots); those impossibly complex micro-machines. They cured disease, maintained proper hormone levels, repaired damage, even healed wounds so ...

Dreams Go Sideways

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer It all started when Amelia and I were sat in the deserted faculty restaurant at 3AM. In reply to a piece of silliness that had being going on all day, I said: “What if the dream goes sideways?” The silence of mutual epiphany descended and we ...

Info Obsoleto

Author : Rob Sharp 'What the hell!' A dozen pairs of eyes turned to glare at Jerry. A little black dot on the front page indicated that question seven, the question he was halfway through, had been altered. He read it again; it was different. 'Sorry,' he mumbled and hunkered back ...

Getaway

Author : Bob Newbell I'm gonna make it, I think to myself as my ship streaks past the Asteroid Belt. Only a few small colonies in the outer solar system. Soon I'll be safely in the Oort Cloud. It's a good place to lay low until the heat's off. Probably need to hang out there for a ...

Rejection

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Carter Blake woke screaming into sweat soaked sheets again. It had been over a year, but the memories were still crystal clear and relentless; from the calm serenity of an afternoon patrol to the searing heat, the sudden impact and as his ...

Silverfish

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Wings of Night. That’s what Jeffrey thought the ship should be named. Instead, the bonehead Captain James had named her Silverfish. Jeffrey sat at his small, cramped station going through his pre-launch checklist, face lit by the screens and ...

Firmware 451

Author : Gray Blix Leaning across the table, "Either you start talking, or I start dismantling you." "Excuse me, Detective Gibbon, but aren't you supposed to read me my rights?" "You're a robot. You have no rights." "May I please call an attorney now?" "You're a robot. You don't ...

Teamwork

Author : Emily Stupar The rain swirled over tiles and across rooftops before spreading like drapes down the sides of each decrepit building. Lights from the richly populated northern quarter dyed the clouds a deep purple and orange, giving the two fugitives in the west just enough ...

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