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Backup

By submission | September 6, 2013
Author : Amanda Schoen I was at work when the chat program pinged. We weren’t supposed to take personal calls so I ignored it. Two seconds later it pinged again. And again. Oh hell. One conversation couldn’t hurt. My sister’s handle popped up. <Mel, I have some bad news. Dad passed ...
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Runaway

By Duncan Shields | September 5, 2013
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I suppose if it was anything that drew me to her, it was the scars on her face. Four parallel lines on one cheek. Too precise to be accidental, I assumed, but too faint to be for show. Too far apart to be a bar code, and just near enough to each ...
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Spark

By submission | September 4, 2013
Author : Mickey Hunt "Welcome to the edge of the universe," I said cheerfully. "The very edge." The clutch of tourists easing into my parent's store seemed overawed. At night, part of our sky is lit with nebulae, pulsars, galaxy clusters, and all sorts of stuff, but the rest of the ...
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Plain as Plain Can Be

By submission | September 3, 2013
Author : C.L. Guerrieri I sat at the monitoring bay as he stood there, roughened hands folded calmly behind his stained, dark brown overcoat. His receded cheeks mostly hidden by a thin, graying beard and a matted ponytail, the captain smiled as his thinned eyes squinted out the front ...
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The Morrow Upon Midday

By submission | September 2, 2013
Author : Timothy Marshal-Nichols Dearest, Humblest and most Obedient Sir, Please be informed, as agreed in mutual undertaking, that yourself named Mutch, first name, Alfred, are contracted to duty and that the lease of said duty is due forthwith to expire. Thus upon the thirtieth inst ...
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The Etheronian Situation

By Patricia Stewart | September 1, 2013
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer It had been four days since the ship’s doctor had quarantined the galley and shut down the deck’s gravity plates, and Captain Carson was becoming concerned. Not about the unwanted patient that was hold up there, but about his ship, its crew, and ...
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Do Me a Favor

By submission | August 31, 2013
It was my lunch break. I was eating my turkey on rye on the roof of the Jefferson Bank Building in downtown Spartanburg just like I had every day for the last fifteen years. That sandwich needed the South Carolina humidity and roofing-tar smell or it just didn’t taste right. I’d never seen ...
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Oracle

By Desmond Hussey | August 30, 2013
Author : Desmond Hussey, Staff Writer “Oracle, will she love me forever?” Tim whispers to the shimmering, liquid amber orb hovering in its special alcove in the family room. It’s late and he should be in bed, but he must know the truth. He can’t sleep. All he can think about is her ...
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FilmScape

By submission | August 29, 2013
Author : Lindsey McLeod "Good afternoon!” The teller chirped happily as Nagano sat down at the first available desk. "Welcome to FilmScape! What may I help you with today?" "I'd like to cancel my account," he said, sliding his card across the counter.   The robot picked up the card. ...
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Nature's Gavel

By submission | August 28, 2013
Author : David Kavanaugh “Your honor, counsel, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good morning. Over the last two months, we have heard so many rambling excuses for the accused’s illegal activities, that I’m sure you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. So I want to take the final moments ...
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Quintari At The End

By Clint Wilson | August 27, 2013
Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer Quintari looked out the huge view screens at the inky night sky. The eight dying stars still visible to the naked lens were faint and alone against their velvet backdrop. She addressed her long time companion. “Ventry, do you recall the old sky, when ...
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Copy and Paste

By submission | August 26, 2013
Author : Bob Newbell I slowly wake up. I'm in a hospital bed. An IV in my left antecubital vein slowly infuses normal saline. I feel like I need to urinate, but I have a suspicion. I look. Yep, Foley catheter in place. I smile. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," I ...
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Of Stars And Obscurity.

By submission | August 25, 2013
Author : Sevanaka It is an unnatural sensation. A man is meant to know - thoughts firmly grasped in hand. Oh, for the sweetness of emotion, the joy and sorrow and bubbling laughter and the deepest pits of despair. For the solid stoicism, the reassuring taste of logic and math and the ...
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Jobsworth

By submission | August 24, 2013
Author : Rob Sharp ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this. This is the greatest moment in human history and I’m missing it. I need to be let through!’ ‘I’m sorry sir, but you can’t come in,’ the Security Guard said. He stood firmly in front of a pair of heavy oak doors into the conference ...
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Testimony

By Julian Miles | August 23, 2013
Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer The post-incident review was in closed session and after the presiding officer read the first line of the bonded testimony, the session was restricted to herself and Brevet Captain Danyls alone. “We are in complete privacy, Danyls. Having read your ...
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Illicit Consumption

By submission | August 22, 2013
Author : Bob Newbell The policeman and his young partner crouched down by the doors of the warehouse. Their night-vision contact lenses allowed them to see perfectly in the darkness. "You ready?" asked the older cop. "Ready," said the rookie. The veteran officer considered his ...
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My Orbit is Not Done

By Duncan Shields | August 21, 2013
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I’ve stabbed deep into the envelope around the white dwarf sun at the center of this solar system. My gravity repellers are maxed. I’ve skimmed the perihelion right in the onionskin. I came in at .75c and the slingshot here has nudged me just ...
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Intentional Paradox

By Clint Wilson | August 20, 2013
Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The team signaled goodbye to the assembled early humans. The tribe of twenty-three men, woman and children stood there in their animal skins. Many of them held the new tools. All of them now held the knowledge that had been passed on to them in the ...
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