The Lonely Cutting Torch
Author : Leland Stillman
Dustin is dusting off the cutting-torch. I am pulling on my space boots. It is odd to think that we are farmers, the true first profession, now done only on space platforms.
“We’ll be cuttin’ a while,” he says to me.
Space hooligans have mangled our ...
Lemonade
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
“Well, Eleanor, have you figured out why the warp drive isn’t working?”
“Yes Seb. Believe it or not, this star system is in the center of a super large dark matter donut, and we’re in the hole. Apparently, it’s creating erratic ...
A Fresh Start
Author : Matthew Callaway
Leaving for work Chip noted that this day, like every other held about a 98.3% chance of tedium. The prospect was as oppressive as the permanent lighting that lines the streets, serving for the unseen sun below a sky full of buildings, their upper ...
The Moment Of Freedom
Author : Andrew Hawnt
I didn't look back.
The explosion tore through the upper floors of the building first, raining white hot debris onto the street below. It was late enough for the streets to be empty, so no harm was done beyond a few damaged cars and scorched pavement. ...
Tatiana
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer
“Don’t go,” he cried.
“I am here Vasilly. I will always be here. I will always be with you. I love you,” she said as she slid away.
Those last few months, she suffered horribly. Almost all forms were curable, and the ones that ...
Out of Sync
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer
Atto hovers at the end of the bar furthest from the dance floor. Under the harsh lights his skin seems translucent even to him. The revelers around him tipping bottles back and clinking glasses look right through him. He knows a kind of ...
World Without End
Author : Liz Lafferty
“Abbot Cryogenics. Pod 47. Earthdate: 2870513. Final log entry. Dr. Amanda Davidson, Director, Abbot Cryogenics. All pods have successfully entered cryo-preservation.” I punched the final sequence starting the five minute countdown to my first wake ...
Octopus 2935
Author : Matthew Banks
Dr. McLaren stood in front of the tank with a printout in one hand and an ampoule of pale yellow liquid in the other. Octopus 2935 squirted through the tank in front of him, dodging nimbly around the tall coral outcrop in the middle. Excited waves of ...
A Girl in Every Port
Author : Adam J Keeper
I swear there’s a curse on my spaceship.
As my vision returns I see the spiderweb of cracks in my visor, the now familiar sight of bodies spinning in zero g, the red pulse of the warning lights, the squeal of the proximity alarm.
I try to reach out, ...
The Dime
Author : Mike Marsh
“Tell me again about the dime. How is this relevant?”
Charlie was tired. This was the end of a long day; his head hurt. He swatted at a buzzing fly.
“The dime is just part of it, doc. Don’t you get it? Who’s on the dime is just the start.”
The man ...
The Denebian Solution
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
Earthforce engaged the Denebian fleet in the gap between the asteroid belt and Jupiter. During the battle, a lone Denebian ship broke formation and streaked toward the inner solar system. “Pursue the Denebian ship, warp factor three,” ...
Ave Atque Vale
Author : Cesium
To my love,
By now you will undoubtedly have gotten the news. Yes, it's true. The train did derail... and I was one of the casualties.
I am sorry this final message could not bring better news. I cannot bring you hope, or ease your pain. But... take joy in ...
Crack
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer
It’s one of those moments everyone dreads. You’re standing in front of an observation window looking out at open space and you see a crack silently trace its way up from the corner and across the glass.
Once when I was seven, I stayed ...
Peaceful World
Author : Thomas Desrochers
We've turned into such a peaceful race. We are so... So... Dull. We never fight any more, wars are a thing of the past. Even violent crime seems to have just disappeared. The typical city needs, maybe, one law enforcement officer per every ...
Small Print
Author : Waldo van der Waal
Nobody warned me about the pain. Creeping from your brain and slowly extending to every bloody nerve-ending. Hot acid makes way for molten lava before the really hot stuff arrives. A million tiny needles prod at every part of your body. From the ...
From Far Away and Deep Below
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer
Walter had felt cold before, but nothing like this. In the hours since sundown the temperature had dropped steadily, but in the last hundred yards it had been dropping twice as fast.
He had to find shelter quickly or risk freezing to ...
A New Life
Author : John Logan
At 34 years old, I was in bad shape. Sixty pounds over weight and wheezing like a dying man every time I trudged up a flight of stairs. The cigarettes didn’t help. My wife, Claire, constantly nagged at me to stop. She hated the smell. I also drank heavily. ...
High Crimes
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer
Drop capsules are virtually impregnable to anything man or xeno can throw at them. They have consistently proven themselves many times in combat under the onslaught of increasingly sophisticated weaponry.
We don’t feel anything during ...
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