Signal Strength
Author : Joshua Reynolds “I’m glad you’re here.” Tom looked up at her, a smile on his face. It didn’t reach his eyes. Jane sat heavily, her belly swollen, brushing a strand of hair out of her face as she returned his smile with one of her own. It was weak though. Six…
A Perfect Alibi
Author : J. S. Kachelries Peter Drommel’s plan was flawless. He needed to kill Sebastian Keer, and make it look like suicide. And today would be the day. They were both presenting papers at The Fifth Annual Conference of Temporal Physics. Keer was presenting at…
Sam Spade
Author : TJMoore It was a Thursday. I’d just finished a little job for the landlord and I was looking through my latest copy of Dames when the bell rang. I looked at the monitor and saw a sultry blonde dish in a fancy red dress waiting at my door. Not being one to…
Lost to the Music
Author : Kate Thornborough “It’s ready, sir. Right this way.†said the visibly nervous neuroscientist, guiding the heavily decorated general to the sterile testing chambers. The rooms were small and each contained a test subject, a bed, and a small stereo. The…
The Rescue Mission
Author : Josh Romond Tasha Eng huddled in the corner of her escape pod. Her fingers brushed her upper lip as she stared wide eyed at the view screen. The cameras were trained on the massive, shimmering entity cradling the wreck of the Argos in its pseudopods. It had…
124
Author : Sad Sama Paul Manning, Elderly Opportunist, flashes the crygel of information in front of Julian. Julian, in all his tweed glory, cracks a smile and lowers his expensive sunglasses. “Excellent. And this is all 123 reality sequences that you promised?” Paul…
Alternate 5346HP
Author : Joshua Reynolds “My mind is the gate and the key.” The thin, frail man in the bed muttered, his lips crusty, eyes staring past reality. His name was Howard Phillips Lovecraft and he was dying. The Censor stood over him, watching him die. And fuming. Lovecraft…
Intruder
Author : Duncan Shields I’d tracked him down to the tiled cul-de-sac shower room in the emergency response section of the reactor. Smeared bloody footprints had led me to the crumpled figure breathing shallowly against the wall. He was applying field dressings to…
Star Struck
Author : Debbie Mac Rory We’re not going to make it. How many times have you heard that? Don’t you get fed up of it? I know I have. All manner of excuses they tried forcing on me. Poisoning me with their lies and falsehoods. The first time I saw the new planet in the…
Rampant
Author : Aelanna Cessara The gun had only a single round in it, but it was no ordinary bullet. Engraved into the depleted uranium slug were the minute lines of nanite circuitry, a single bursting charge that could penetrate an energy shield and deliver an overloading…
Second Chances, Inc.
Author : Marc Paige Disclaimer and Waiver of Responsibility: Second Chances, Inc. will make one (1) small change to one’s personal timeline and are not liable for any damages or loss (including loss of life) as a result of the altered timeline. No financial…
Oasis
Author : TJMoore Captain Thomas Crane squinted into the bright sunlight as he swirled his brandy absentmindedly around in the gold rimmed crystal snifter cradled loosely in his hand. A mahogany skinned attendant wearing only a smile popped another grape into his…
Frame of Reference
Author : J. S. Kachelries “Well, what do you think?†asked my roommate, with a grin that appeared to cover almost half of his disheveled face. “About what, Jim?†I replied, while pretending to ignore the large polished chrome sphere sitting between us, in the…
Messana
Author : Sam Clough aka “Hrekka”, Featured Writer I was on a hostile node, and a half-dozen Dahakeen were chasing me. With guns. Quite big ones. I didn’t have a weapon at this point, having lost it in the factory complex that I was now hot-footing it away from. Well,…
Intervention
Author : Joshua Reynolds “This isn’t good for you.” The words were flat. Colorless. No echoing thoughts behind them, no chorus of agreement, disagreement, no shared community opinion. Just the words. Stanley smiled and nodded. It felt good to nod. To use physical…
Through the Looking Glass
Author : Chris Ferguson & Lucas Atkinson Malcovitch polished the lens pensively, knowing it was ridiculous. But he was a traditionalist, and even if it would be computers looking, not him, image decoders, descramblers, adjusters, effectors and compensators it was…
Emotion Isn't A Programmed Function
Author : Kaitlin Battle raged on around him, the constant sounds of gunfire ringing in his programmed earlike audio receptors. He, however, was oblivious to anything but the almost lifelike pain near where his navel would be, where the bullet had pierced his stark…
Armchair Warlords and Robot Hordes
Author : Sam Clough aka “Hrekka”, Featured Writer “On my mark,” Tag spoke confidently into the microphone, his voice quiet and assured. The screen in front of him flashed acknowledgment, his robotic army calmly waiting for his word. Tag took a second to survey the…