Sins of our Fathers
Author : Helstrom Dear Lucas, By the time you read this, you will probably already have noticed that a number of your home appliances no longer function. In fact you may well have overslept as a result. I know how you are before you get your first coffee, so in case…
read moreGod Huntress
Author : Nitz She woke up from her nap damp all over. The sky was grey with clouds and the air stayed still, heating up the city. After she felt a sweat drop rolling from her chin to her breastbone she decided to take a cold shower. Refreshed by the water she dressed…
read moreThe Accident
Author : Iva K. When you start your career in time traveling they tell you it’s safe. They tell you there’s only a one in thirteen billion chance of getting into “The Accident” and that fixing such a problem is usually easy. You can call it simply a collision of time…
read moreInstructions
Author : Andrew Hawkins … 34. Spray yourself with the scent neutraliser. 35. Move west through the woods towards the royal enclosure, being aware of your surroundings. 36. Remove knife from sheath, remember to dust thoroughly with charcoal powder in your belt pouch…
read moreSkyfarm
Author : Martha Katzeff They came riding into the City. Some in cars, some in rusted tractors from another era. Some looked up at the greenhouses glinting in the sunlight. Others stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the life above. Shorter buildings allowed…
read moreAsk Not For Whom…
Author : Q. B. Fox Subject: No man is an island. From: ISowending@EarnestPeople.com Dear Robert, I know that’s not your name. They call me Jane. That’s not my name. Does that remind you of something? If you’d rather, you can call me Maria; because some things we can’t…
read moreFireflies in a Jar
Author : Jennifer C. Brown aka Laieanna One, two, three fireflies into the jar. Just like that, all at once. Probably some kind of pact. I check the remains. Two girls, one boy, none over eighteen. Nobody brings anything to the jar except the young. They don’t plan,…
read moreThe Caverns of Alpha Doore
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Alpha Doore is a Mars size planet orbiting an orange-red main sequence dwarf star called BD+56 2966 in the Constellation Cassiopeia. The oxygen and water rich world had several large continents and a flourishing ecosystem. The…
read moreIn Accordance With Prophesy
Author : Steven Odhner Gerald Forsythe was still too weak to move, his mind still partially asleep, but he knew the walls didn’t look how they should. Ever so slowly he was able to take in bits of information in an attempt to solve this riddle. The walls were flat….
read moreThe Factory
Author : Bill Owens Shift change is a slow-motion affair. Everything is. They lost the ability to move quickly a long time ago. He’s patient; no sense getting uptight, it only hurts him – they don’t care. They lost that ability too. The last spot on the line is filled…
read morewhile (bDarwin) {
Author : Q. B. Fox “Are you suggesting it’s alive?” Calvin was incredulous. “Of course it’s not alive,” Mary was withering. “It’s a computer program.” “Strictly speaking,” Glen interrupted, “It’s a suite of software.” They both glared at him and he fell silent again…
read moreGrowing Pains
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer We lived in a tribe outside the main disc. The arm struts of the cogshield branched out above us like a gear. Where we lived was all angles. It had been this way ever since our creation. My little one was sick. I’d built him…
read moreResourceful
Author : Steven Odhner Come closer to the monument, child. Do not be afraid. You have done well to make it all the way here – I know the journey from your village is hard. Your brother had to turn back the first time, and your mother arrived with an injured ankle and…
read moreAlex
Author : Daniel Bensen Alex This has been a humbling experience. I can admit now that I was a little arrogant. I suppose I had reason to be. I was—I suppose I still am—the best mathematician on Earth. Funny. I know I should have expected this. But then, most of us…
read moreSky
Author : Michael Varian Daly Junior Lieutenant Menat Borsa, Space Force Marines, had the Third Watch on Barracks Platform 2/26 [2nd Regt/26th Batt] because, bluntly put, she was a ‘noob’, barely four months out of the Academy. And she was fine with that Tradition from…
read moreEl Nuevo Capitan
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer (Circa 2256) Epsilon Indi is an orange-red dwarf star located in Ursa Major, near the bowl of the Big Dipper. By astronomical standards, Epsilon Indi is a newborn, having only become a main sequence star around the time that the…
read moreLitmus Test
Author : Phill English Bob leaned back in his chair and sighed. The first day had been a long time coming. Every time they thought they had the whole project licked, a new feature came to light that had to be incorporated into the preliminary model. And there were a…
read moreSufficiently Advanced
Author : Steven Odhner Jacob looked down at his hands, at the skin that had grown wrinkled and translucent over time, veins rising as the liver spots bloomed around them. His wedding ring rattled around loosely on his twiglike finger, secured only by the gnarled joint…
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