In Case of Emergency

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Sergeant Brake sat in the makeshift barracks reviewing the intelligence briefing he'd been handed just moments before. "These used to come on paper," he waved the digital tablet at the spit and polished runner who'd brought him the device. ...

Airlift

Author : Chris McCormick Drone sat upon the empty dresser. A lithe little bundle of rods, wires and wings atop the last piece of furniture not yet pawned. From here it trained a camera upon another little bundle on a pile of towels on the floor. This warm little bundle had stopped ...

A Lesson in Being Human

Author : Doug Robbins His body was made of metal and instead of eyes, he had light sensors that flashed when someone got with in ten feet of him. ''Am I more human than you,'' the robot asked his human class. The human students looked at each other. One student, Todd Hallowell spoke ...

Enhanced Matching

Author : CR Briffett Welcome to Perfect Match. Please sign in through one of your professional or social media networks. Thank you, we will now gather all of your digital data. When you are ready to meet a perfect match, simply come down to one of our centres, donate a saliva sample ...

Zero

Author : Roger Dale Trexler I knew she was dead when I saw the blood. It floated by me and splattered silently on the console. Everyone else—Yanders, Diorino, and Rector—was dead, too. They were floating at the far side of the cabin, congregated strangely like a bunch of line ...

Mirage

Author : Bob Newbell "This is the day it all ends," said Brosh. "Why don't you take one of the mood stabilizers the doctor prescribed?" asked Querna, Brosh's wife. She often wondered why she'd married Brosh. If I'd married that engineer who had a crush on me, she thought to herself, ...

Ark of Mirrors

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer One ingredient can change so much. In this case, it caused a genocide that’s lasting my entire life. It’s my birthday today. Me and my siblings. Well, I call them my siblings but they’re just hundreds of variations on a theme. ...

Carnac

Author : Roger Dale Trexler The ship closed in on Earth. They’d been there many, many times before: Easter Island, the Pyramids, and the South American crop circles. Three tweenagers looking for adventure. It was off limits for them to come to Earth, but that was the very reason ...

Send in the Drones

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Bald Eagle, this is Leopard, are you receiving?” “Leopard, good to have you back. Confirm reinforcements. ETA three minutes.” “Bald Eagle, this is Leopard: abort, abort, abort. Total loss inevitable.” “Leopard, intel disagrees. Target is ...

Fruit

Author : Tommy Walker Brian awoke from a blissful and exhausted sleep in his wide and comfortable bed. A successful business had provided a plush penthouse apartment with every possible luxury. He rolled, half conscious feeling for her, the silver haired girl he’d met and shared his ...

Speculative Fiction

Author : Bob Newbell Frejj glided two meters above the street of the marketplace, each pulsation of his gelatinous, umbrella-shaped body propelling him forward through the green chlorine atmosphere toward the cafe at the end of the street. Seeing his friend, Vallier, resting on a ...

Halfway House

Author : Rick Tobin Jason’s pale fingers trembled hesitantly across his gray suit pants. His first suit. Any job. Take anything. His father’s pleading reverberated like a taiko drum. Sweaty palms left dark trails across his scrawny thighs. He gulped. Worms wriggled in his stomach from ...

Door Number One

Author : Christopher Stewart Everything was powered up, the switch thrown, and she stepped through, crossing the threshold out of nowhere. I remember everything about her so clearly. Not that she was remarkable, other than appearing out of nowhere, but shooting the instrument panels of ...

The Last Emergency

Author : Jason Zinnerman Perched high on a sturdy branch, the man marveled at the intruders’ precarious fortune. They tight roped the border between likely and more likely death by landing in the hard green clearing instead of the dusty sun scorched wasteland just beyond their reach. ...

Wired Heart

Author : James Langley Dr. Livett tapped at the graphene strap around her wrist and the beachside illusion dissolved into nothing. She stood in the sterile, empty white room; the fragrant ocean breeze replaced by the smarting odour of bleach. She redressed into her uniform, the white ...

The Empire of Mars

Author : Bob Newbell Shortly after dawn, the Emperor of Mars walked among his subjects. The Emperor was tall and dignified as he strode across the sands of Solis Planum. His subjects were gathered about him in silence. He neither called nor regarded himself as "Emperor". If asked, he ...

Insurance

Author : Katie Stevens I was twenty three when it happened. One minute I was half out the window, high on vodka and ecstasy, arms spread wide, embracing the world, the universe and everything in it. The next minute, my boyfriend, equally high on coke, lost control of the car. There ...

Luna

Author : Cosmo Smith Somewhere, hundreds of feet below, the drying of seaweed soured the air. Elias breathed in deeply and smiled. It reminded him of better times. He was curled in a hammock at the end of the promenade of the Chateau de Lin. Only a terrace with a low parapet ...

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  • Start Something

    Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The city burns behind them. …