It's Complicated
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer
The way my race has sex has made me a natural choice for the role of diplomat, lawyer and event organizer at an interplanetary level.
Our planet adapted to overcrowding by creating new sexes. We have seventeen now. It seems to be holding ...
Flight of the Crimson Dawn
Author : Roi R. Czechvala: Staff Writer
The Crimson Dawn hung in geosynch above the besieged planet. Far out of reach of the meager defenses the primitive populous threw at them.
“Skipper, another salvo is being launched.”
Captain Dimitri Sardukar gave a bored sigh; ...
Plugged
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer
Nick inhaled on his cigarette until the glowing ember reached the filter, then flicked it absently out the driver's window. His younger brother James sat upright and fidgeting beside him, eyes wide trying to look at everything at ...
Pied Piper
Author : Kathy Kachelries, Staff Writer
There are two things I hate about a job like this: Carrie, and the viewer-at-home.
That’s not true. There are dozens of things I hate: network executives, directors, producers, footage editors with their nasally little 'we could have ...
Escapism
Author : Petter Skult
“How was the game?” Ann asked as Jeremy crawled through the hatch. She had to wait with the answer until he had pushed it close, metal screaming.
“It was awesome!” He replied breathlessly, as he threw his bag off his shoulders and went directly for his ...
Machine Monastery
Author : Credentiality
Cynthia was reluctant when it came time to leave the Machine Monastery. Nobody had predicted that machines would be Buddhists. Crazed killers, perhaps. Indifferent to humanity, perhaps. Cold calculators, almost certainly.
She had learned the tactile ...
The Second and a Half Law of Thermodynamics
Author : William Garnett
The day the universe stopped expanding was the same day all the traffic lights failed to turn. But it wasn’t just the traffic lights. Cars didn’t start. Dogs didn’t bark. Radios were silent. Microwaves paused. Automatic drive-thru teller machines ...
Spores
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer and J. S. Kachelries
“Command and Control says that we will not be permitted to land,” stated Taylor O’Leary, the pilot of the return module.
Despite knowing that O’Leary wasn’t responsible for the decision, Jonathan Hartwell argued, ...
Drifting
Author : Bryant Pocock
“Dammit,” grunted Sam as the wrench slipped and he lost his grip, drifting slowly away from the mining craft. “Now I’m really in deep shit.” Mentally running through his options, the panicked miner came up with nothing.
The battered and stinking ...
The Barate
Author : Daniel Fuhr
The haze of smoke lingered over the sharp nose and into aged eyes. Smoking on spacecraft was strictly forbidden according to regulations. Jascon owned this tugboat; he made his own rules and could give a damn about those regulations.
He squinted to try ...
Walkers
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer
I woke up with pain in my head and a shrieking in my ears. All I could hear was this horrible sound ringing around in my head. It was like car tires and screeching baboons and fire alarms all mixed together. A migraine pounded through my ...
In HIS Name…
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer
Put on the armour of God…
to stand firm against
the tactics of evil.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword
of the spirit,
the Word of GOD.
from Ephesians 6:13-17
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, ...
Get off my lawn, robot!
Author : Patrick Kennedy
“Mom, there’s something in the front yard!”
“What is it, Billy?”
“A robot, Mom! What’s a robot doing in our yard?”
“I don’t know, Billy. It must have gotten past the fence somehow.”
“But I thought the fence was supposed to keep them out!”
“It is, ...
Hold on to something
Author : V.L.Ilian
"Hogwash! There was a mathematical proof the sound barrier could not be broken even tough they were breaking it with cannons in Newton's time!
There was a mathematical proof the light barrier could not be broken even tough they were breaking it in ...
Can't You Find Anything Up There?
Author : Sean Monaghan
Sid smiled as Alex handed him the separation results. One more test and they could announce. They'd known all along of course, since the first samples, but Mars Twelve operated on a government testing regime. No disclosure until verified. Too often ...
Flare
Author : Liz Lafferty
“Tell me the story again, Grandpa. Did we really have automatic lights? And could you really talk to someone on the other side of the planet?”
I laughed. We huddled by the fires every night, the children always wanting to hear one of my fantastic ...
Going for Gold
Author : Paul Starkey
The athlete sat before me took a while to speak. At first he just sobbed. It’s a common enough reaction; I see it in many of those referred to me. A combination of fear and guilt, with a spoonful of self loathing mixed in. As was often the case he ...
Civilization
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
Vladislava Demidov and Pierre Rousseau were Space Traffic Controllers for the Alpha Centauri Tri-System. They were half way through their shift when their long range sensors picked up an unidentified ship approaching from the direction ...
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