The Web

Author : Townsend Wright “What––Where am I? How did I get here?” “Oh, good, you’re here.” “Who are you? What am I doing here?” “Don’t worry, a little amnesia, happens to ...

Robot Dance Party

Author : Bruce Lin “They’re all dancing,” Charlie said. “It’s a robot dance party!” He giggled, and tried to dance too. Joan observed her son with measured curiosity and abundant concern. “A software issue,” she surmised. Their Butlerbot was doing the Electric Slide through the ...

Topside

Author : Desmond Hussey, Staff Writer Thick mist clings to the water when I enter Topside, my body still changing. Below, I’m Dolphin, but as I rise above the pre-dawn waves, cool sea water cascading down my shifting form, my body attempts to mimic a half-remembered land creature. A ...

Street Preacher

Author : Bob Newbell In the center of the vast shopping plaza, standing atop an old wooden crate, a robot harangued the passing crowd. The automaton was an outdated model, few of which were still in service. Its motors whirred and groaned with every movement and the machine's left ...

Long Live The Resistance!

Author : Eric C. Prichard “There is a certain sickening irony one finds in the pre-contact “science” fiction of the Utamin. They depict people from other worlds as invaders. To be fair, sometimes they are kinder. Sometimes “aliens” are diminutive bug-eyed sage-like psychic helpers who ...

Penalty Claws

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “It’s a vampire!” “No, it’s not. It’s a biological construct designed to look like a creature from mankind’s horror mythology.” “It’s got slicked-back hair, fangs, pronounces ‘double-you’ as ‘vee’ and is dressed for a black-tie reception under it’s ...

Hands and Eyes

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It’s the hands and the eyes that give it away. They’re too quick, too exact. There’s a precision and surety there that ‘belie the tech’, as they say. I wouldn’t say that there’s a war brewing but the division between the haves and have-nots is ...

Titan

Author : Bob Skoggins Jacob Nash was the first man to penetrate Titan’s ice and explore the world beneath. With a heat suit resistant to the dense atmosphere, for thirty-six years he lived in a small sphere of ice and metal. It was from him that we exist. Though we’re called Titans, ...

Matchmaker

Author : George R. Shirer The saleswoman had gray hair piled atop her head in a beehive. Her lips were painted a garish shade of red. Tremaine thought the color would have looked more appropriate on a whore. The pantsuit she wore was black polysilk; her boots were made of vat-grown ...

Parallel

Author : Bob Newbell Rancent-1664 walked into the office of his Preceptor, Ferrin-3411, and waited to be acknowledged. "Enter, Rancent," Ferrin said to his understudy. Rancent's thirteen pairs of legs glided the excited young scientist up to the workstation of his ...

Pink Planet

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It was the tails that gave them away. Like the ostriches back on earth, these aliens would stick their heads in the sand and think that they were hiding, safe from hunters. They weren’t. Here on this interminable pink planet, we were clearing the ...

The God Complex

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer Captain Alexander sat strapped into the pod. The others watched him through the facemasks of their sterilized white suits. Dobson, the head of the project gave him one last nod through the window of the control room as the countdown finished and the ...

The Stud

Author : Desmond Hussey, Staff Writer I hear the electronic lock on my door buzz open, waking me from my brief nap. I crack one weary eye and spot a nervous, but pleasant looking woman, 30ish, standing timidly by the entrance to my sanctum sanctorum. “Come in,” I say. “Welcome to my ...

Tears of a Clown

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer They wrote me to catch the quiet ones, the ones who live in the shadows of the glittering cities that are spread across so many worlds now. They stole the latest research and incorporated it into my build. They put me in a moon-sized data centre ...

The Locket

Author : Mae Thann “Akita General to base, do you read me?” A crackling voice finally answered. “Base to Akita General. Report.” “I have visual on Target Cougar. Akita Pack is out of reach. Request permission to pursue alone.” From my vantage point near the edge of the forest, I felt ...

Your Species Needs You!

Author : David Kavanaugh YOUR SPECIES NEEDS YOU! That’s right, you! All of you brave men and women out there who watched the skies light up on January 8th and felt your hearts swell with rage, passion, and love of species. Never forget that day, brave humans, for the Silvers certainly ...

Party for Two

Author : Kevin Richards I stepped up the walk of the gravel drive, breathing in the cool, quiet night air. Ringing the doorbell, I was greeted by a sharply dressed woman with a pleasant smile. “I’m here for the party,” I said, pulling the invitation out of my jacket. “Right this way.” ...

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