Out In The Cold

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I'm writing haiku as the black snow falls across the darkened surface of Faust. I stop as the laser overheats. The obsidian boulder in front of me smokes and sizzles in the sub zero evening. "Tatto Musheen, you'll catch your death!" I ...

Alone

Author : Drew Dunlap The sun curls itself over the mountain, sneaking golden fingers gently over the hill and down into the valley to touch my arm. Like a lover waking another, the warm caress encourages me to rise while nudging me into the comfort of consciousness. Oh, the ...

Christmas in July

Author : Garrett Harriman Flagons of goat milk strewn before him, Mr. Rudolph propped boots on his musty bag. Sun-wrung but cheery, he'd drunk nonstop the whole interrogation, whistling once winter classics between questions and guzzles. Their purpose, their lyrics, had all ...

Uniquely Qualified

Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer Thirty seven people packed into the conference room. The table sat twenty four. The rest stood along the walls. They didn't care. The excitement in the room was nearly palpable. Low murmurs circulated throughout the cramped space. ...

I Am A Dog

Author : Clint Wilson, featured writer I am a dog, a happy dog. I have found my way. Found my way I have, right through the loose part of the fence. I have worked the loose part for some time. Some time now I have three or four days at least. I have pushed with my head and ...

Control-Alt-Delete

Author : Timothy Marshal-Nichols Black; void. Agnieszka did not believe she had seen anywhere this empty. It was unexpected. Thus far it had not been a particularly good life: the degenerative illness; stuck in the minuscule grey bunkers of the menials accommodation block; ...

Lonely Life

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer There is a tremendous amount of other life in the universe. The universe is encrusted, moldy, infested, slushy, teeming, and stuffed with life. The amount of life in the universe is staggering. Much as the earth is populated with a ...

All Consuming Passion

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer They met at Darlington's; exchanged glances, bought each other drinks and before the lights came up and the bar spilled out they were in the back of a taxi heading back to his flat. He'd never done anything like this; ultraconservative, ...

Just Us

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Life has always been hard at the bottom. My grandparents survived the collapse of 2013 and my parents made it onto the first exodus in 2055. It was considered simpler to test the tech and logistics on fifty thousand poor people. If it ...

Friend

Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer SSG Ray Mansfield raised his rifle and glassed the valley below with powerful optics. His men, stretched out behind him, were virtually invisible, their chameleon skin armour blended seamlessly with the sparse vegetation and oily, rocky ...

The Future of Man

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer "I don't give a damn," bellowed Senator Orcus as he slammed his fist onto the conference table. "They knew this day was coming, and they did nothing to prepare for it! Why the hell should we bail them out?" "They were there for us," ...

Blank Disc

Author : Donovan Pruitt "It itches," the soldier complained, scratching at the data socket on the back of his neck. Seated across the table, the doctor offered a sympathetic smile. "That's normal for a new download, Sergeant Jax. Just don't think about it. Think about ...

Primates of Suburbia

Author : Robert Vennell I stumble down the road through the hazy tungsten half-light. Padded headphones suck out the ambient noise and replace it with the hum of distorted guitars. An empty street, a dim coating of artificial light and the buzz of electric instruments. I have ...

Homo Tardus

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I am too old to enjoy the future. I am physically unable to. People, like older trees and metal from the ground, could not be retro-engineered. Transporters were finally here but everyone who had dreamed of their existence could not use ...

Shinobi

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Seventeen days to travel two kilometres through the most extreme security ever deployed. My rations are finished and I have drunk the last of my urine. The moon is bright yet anyone monitoring the meeting hall roof would find nothing. The ...

Requiem for a Prospector

Author : Steve Jopek A man lies gripping a slowly tumbling boulder of ice and stares into the distance of space. His broken femur pokes sharply into the material of his white skinsuit threatening to rupture it. His foot and leg are numb, his boot full of thickening blood. ...

Vinnie

Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer The music was deafening. New wave fusion jazz. Whatever the fuck that is. I had an "appointment" with Vinnie "The Fag" Scarpacci. Most men would have been pissed to have a moniker like that. Some would kill you for even whispering it. ...

Freedom

Author : Clint Wilson, Featured Writer The eighteen foot tall robot stared down at the park worker in pleading disbelief. Sam jabbed the giant's leg with his broom, "Come on, off you go. You can't stay here anymore!" "But I don't comprehend this request. My place is here in ...

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