Empty Nest
Author : Richard “Zig” Zagorski Harmonia, in low orbit, drifted over the red planet just as she had done for over a year now. Her electronic ears constantly straining to hear the voices of her children down below. It had been too long since she had heard from some of…
read moreGuardian Angel
Author : Daniel Titus Allan stood alone on the observation deck. He had been there for hours, looking down at the planet below. It was a breathtaking view, the clouds, the sea, the land, but the physical features were ultimately unimportant. What was important were…
read moreEt Tu, Boris?
Author : Q. B. Fox “Ah, Mr. Dolgonosov, welcome to the Vatican,” enthused Father O’Connor. “Please, call me Boris,” the Russian said in barely accented English, thrusting his long fingered hand deep into the priest’s pudgy grasp. “Boris it is,” acknowledged O’Connor,…
read moreOrinoco II
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The three scientists stood over a fully clothed skeleton. “I told Jill not to wander off by herself,” said Anthony Caroni, the mission commander. “Damn. What could have done this?” “I don’t see any animal footprints, and there’s…
read moreFeelings of Remorse
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer The drop from orbit was as uneventful as they ever are, and if they’re not you usually don’t live long enough for it to bother you. Grounding was pretty hard though. After I gathered my senses I saw that somebody’s leg had…
read moreFear no more the heat o’ the sun
Author : Richard Watt They don’t know that I can think. I’ve slowly come to understand that they don’t know much, period. For example, they don’t know about the misalignment on my shields. It’s a matter of a few microns, and it is difficult to detect, but it means I’m…
read moreMy Robot Boyfriend
Author : Adena Brons I didn’t know he was a robot when he asked me out. It wasn’t exactly first-date kind of news. As it turned out, it wasn’t so bad dating a robot. My friends accepted it with the careful approval reserved for choices you support in others but aren’t…
read moreChronomechanic
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I’m a mechanic. I work on time machines. It’s tricky work. Having done this for a while, I’m developing a theory that some people can sense when they’re in the wrong reality. Reality bifurcates and splinters every second and…
read moreThe Little Queen
Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer The royal family is property of The People, and it is The People who determine our fate. When I was eight The People voted to marry brother off to the King of an ore rich moon. He sits now, on a throne of onyx, beside his silent…
read moreThere is No Accounting for Taste
Author : Jason Frank Satisfied that the “open” side of his small sign was indeed facing outward, Harrison parted the dusty blinds and nervously looked outside. The once crowded downtown sidewalks were empty, as they had been since the Tald-Mart had opened outside of…
read moreMarshoppers and Birds
Author : L.Hall Robert Lynch kicked the treads of the small field tractor, clots of dried mud falling off and busting on the ground. He took off his ball cap, looked up in the air and ignored the old man, Paul Gilbert, standing behind him quietly. Bobby, his five year…
read moreSimulation
Author : Omkar Wagh “How many days of funding do I have left?”, I asked. “Well your thesis has been accepted and you have already been given a Ph.D. degree. So the college is willing to support you for about three more months at least.” “Damn It! I would have never…
read moreImpact
Author : Gavin Raine It’s ironic, but I’d been having having such a good day. The children all had their heads down, working on their numbers, and I even had a little time to daydream for once. Then, I had that strange feeling that my chair had just sunk six inches…
read moreNull Geodesic
Author : Jim Wisniewski She smiles and tilts her head to push a lock of brown hair behind her ear. I run the image back a few seconds and watch it again, entranced as always by the fluidity of the motion. The machines can show me any moment of her life, but this is…
read moreArtificial Claus
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Kathryn opened the door to let her fiancée in. He brushed passed her and parked in front of the hall mirror. Carefully, he fluffed the snow off of his hair. Satisfied, he turned to kiss her, but stopped short when he noticed…
read moreCodename Winter
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer The body was huge. Seven feet tall, at least, and heavy. X-Rays had shown a delicate tracery of machinery throughout, strengthening the huge frame to allow it to move quickly. Its bright, neon-blue hair glowed in the dark. It was…
read moreInside Joke
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer Purple waves gently lap at an azure beach. Our footprints quickly wash away in the encroaching tide. The setting twin suns of Rijos, the red giant aptly named Rojo, and her blue companion Danube cast an eerily beautiful violet…
read moreFlipped to the Sky
Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer The last thing I remember before I hit the jagged edge of mountain rock was falling backwards, my feet flipped up, shoes dark against the snowy gray sky. Perhaps that’s a way our bodies and minds conspire to protect us, screening…
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