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Garbage Scow

By submission | January 13, 2010
Author : Asher Wismer Jenkis and Layla examined the husky robot. It stood fifteen feet high, maybe nine feet wide at its thickest point, gaping, many-toothed mouth in the front. "It's pretty ugly," Layla said. "Maybe a coat of paint." "Maybe a coat of new parts," Jenkis ...
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Married Life is Strange

By Kathy Kachelries | January 12, 2010
Author : Kathy Kachelries, Staff Writer My husband doubts the existence of history.  I wonder why I married this man. When I woke up to the banshee-screech of a bandsaw, I assumed we were getting another door.  He likes that too, building doors.  But, when I came downstairs ...
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Molt

By J.R. Blackwell | January 11, 2010
Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer The suns rotate around each other, red over yellow, yellow over red, and Sharra's skin sheds again. Yet again, she had refused to mate. He hasn’t had a single sexual encounter during the last sun rotation and her body knows. It thinks it ...
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Relative Weather

By submission | January 10, 2010
Author : S. Craig Renfroe, Jr. The hail slammed the ground like the ground was some poor kid who preferred writing out math problems to kicking a red rubber ball. That ball pitted like the kid’s face. The ground was pretty pitted by the hail. I never had that problem. I ...
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Texicana

By submission | January 9, 2010
Author : Christopher Booth The war was over…sorta…The big one was over. It led to the Texan independence wars. Eventually five states all wanting to be called Texas. He is dressed in blue denim and gray to match the day. A cold dull light comes inside. Vern never liked ...
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Empty Nest

By submission | January 8, 2010
Author : Richard "Zig" Zagorski Harmonia, in low orbit, drifted over the red planet just as she had done for over a year now. Her electronic ears constantly straining to hear the voices of her children down below. It had been too long since she had heard from some of ...
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Guardian Angel

By submission | January 7, 2010
Author : Daniel Titus Allan stood alone on the observation deck. He had been there for hours, looking down at the planet below. It was a breathtaking view, the clouds, the sea, the land, but the physical features were ultimately unimportant. What was important were all the ...
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Et Tu, Boris?

By submission | January 6, 2010
Author : Q. B. Fox “Ah, Mr. Dolgonosov, welcome to the Vatican,” enthused Father O’Connor. “Please, call me Boris,” the Russian said in barely accented English, thrusting his long fingered hand deep into the priest’s pudgy grasp. “Boris it is,” acknowledged O’Connor, ...
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Orinoco II

By Patricia Stewart | January 5, 2010
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The three scientists stood over a fully clothed skeleton. “I told Jill not to wander off by herself,” said Anthony Caroni, the mission commander. “Damn. What could have done this?” “I don’t see any animal footprints, and there’s ...
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Feelings of Remorse

By Roi R. Czechvala | January 4, 2010
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer The drop from orbit was as uneventful as they ever are, and if they’re not you usually don’t live long enough for it to bother you. Grounding was pretty hard though. After I gathered my senses I saw that somebody’s leg had snapped off ...
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Fear no more the heat o’ the sun

By submission | January 3, 2010
Author : Richard Watt They don’t know that I can think. I’ve slowly come to understand that they don’t know much, period. For example, they don’t know about the misalignment on my shields. It’s a matter of a few microns, and it is difficult to detect, but it means I’m ...
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My Robot Boyfriend

By submission | January 2, 2010
Author : Adena Brons I didn’t know he was a robot when he asked me out. It wasn’t exactly first-date kind of news. As it turned out, it wasn’t so bad dating a robot. My friends accepted it with the careful approval reserved for choices you support in others but aren’t sure ...
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Chronomechanic

By Duncan Shields | January 1, 2010
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer I’m a mechanic. I work on time machines. It’s tricky work. Having done this for a while, I’m developing a theory that some people can sense when they’re in the wrong reality. Reality bifurcates and splinters every second and ...
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The Little Queen

By J.R. Blackwell | December 31, 2009
Author : J.R. Blackwell, Staff Writer The royal family is property of The People, and it is The People who determine our fate. When I was eight The People voted to marry brother off to the King of an ore rich moon. He sits now, on a throne of onyx, beside his silent King. ...
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There is No Accounting for Taste

By submission | December 30, 2009
Author : Jason Frank Satisfied that the "open" side of his small sign was indeed facing outward, Harrison parted the dusty blinds and nervously looked outside. The once crowded downtown sidewalks were empty, as they had been since the Tald-Mart had opened outside of town. The ...
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Marshoppers and Birds

By submission | December 29, 2009
Author : L.Hall Robert Lynch kicked the treads of the small field tractor, clots of dried mud falling off and busting on the ground. He took off his ball cap, looked up in the air and ignored the old man, Paul Gilbert, standing behind him quietly. Bobby, his five year old ...
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Simulation

By submission | December 28, 2009
Author : Omkar Wagh "How many days of funding do I have left?", I asked. "Well your thesis has been accepted and you have already been given a Ph.D. degree. So the college is willing to support you for about three more months at least." "Damn It! I would have never expected ...
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Impact

By submission | December 27, 2009
Author : Gavin Raine It's ironic, but I'd been having having such a good day. The children all had their heads down, working on their numbers, and I even had a little time to daydream for once. Then, I had that strange feeling that my chair had just sunk six inches into the ...
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