Neo the Hampster

Author : Jeff McGaha A red-haired man walks directly up to the customer service counter. He carries in his right hand a metal cage with a tiny brown hamster inside. Reaching the counter, he drops the cage thoughtlessly, jostling the small creature inside. “Scuse me,” He says ...

Dave

Author : Erin Searles “Cats,”said Big Fat Dave. “It was cats that started it in this reality.” In his channel's feed I saw Archibald, Big Fat Dave's big fat cat, stretch as if in agreement. He continued: “You know how cats will watch something or someone crossing a room ...

Repurpose

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Harry nudged the body in the lobby with the toe of his boot, weapon unwaveringly pointed towards the head. Satisfied he was dead, Harry retrieved his knife and the man's keys, turned and carefully locked the front doors. The entrance ...

If You Say So

Author : Ilan Herman Koy, the sky-blue alien, explained to Jeff that life on earth was really an experiment conducted by him and his associates, an anthropological study of how life evolves from the molecular to the bird, or fish, or tiger, or man. “We planted the seeds of ...

Caught

Author : Amanda Baker Years ago, Christina stayed over at Emily’s house, and found herself belting out this awful pop song in the shower. Some boy band kind of thing. She didn’t remember the song; boy bands hadn’t been popular since the nineties, and she’d be hard pressed to ...

Tiddly-om-pom-pom

Author : Ian Rennie Matron moved almost silently from ward to ward. The faint silken brush of her passing made the nurses look up, meeting her eyes as she passed, exchanging glanced messages that said as much as conversations. The few awake patients did not look. Most of ...

First Words

Author : James Marshall Captain Will Kano of the Aries was sitting on an air-chair watching baseball with the sound muted. The latest round of memos from mission control, or the office as they called it, lay spread out on the floor beside him, along with a Rubik’s Cube and an ...

EULA

Author : Cesium Artichoke "Hey, Tom, uh... you got a minute?" Robin ambushed him as he came out of his office. He had a meeting with the Secretary of Energy about space-based power, but she was visibly nervous and fidgeting, which set off alarm bells. "Sure, what's ...

Eagle 2

Author : Al Vazquez The retro-rockets jolted the ship as it began its decent into the thin, cold atmosphere. Excitement welled-up inside his belly. He felt a slight shaking in his leg, but his hand was steady on the controls. He was known for that; cool as a cucumber when ...

In This Reality

Author : Courtney Raines As I watched myself falling down the hill, I remembered that fairy tale from physics class; the one about the cat in the box. I had been walking home through the wilderness that separated my cul-de-sac from the grocery store, it was a walk I had ...

Wealth Trumps Death Every Time

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Senator Reginald Wadsworth lay in his hospital bed; his biphasic artificial respirator hissed rhythmically as it expanded and contracted every six seconds. Dozens of electrical biosensors monitored his vital signs, while a miniature ...

The Timing has to be Perfect

Author : Q.B.Fox Peter Stovold had hoped to be the first person to solo circumnavigate the sun in his [Manchester Evening News sponsored] Solar Flare 2. The timing had to be perfect; repeated Earth orbits before shooting off on a flawlessly planned course that used the ...

The Cheating God

Author : William Tracy, Featured Writer The royal palace was mostly quiet. It was late afternoon, and the heat from the desert sun drove all but a few guards to seek shade. Even construction on Pharaoh's great pyramid on the far side of the Nile had halted for the day. A ...

Summary Judgment

Author : Charles Spohrer I totaled my motorcycle. Of course, I had no medical insurance. I figured if I ever did have an accident, it would be final. I never expected just a couple of broken bones. The ambulance dumped me off at County. The drivers wheeled me inside and ...

A Moment in a Life

Author : Saurja Sen The scanners showed signs of the same life-form across the galaxy, so it was safe to assume that the species, whatever it was, had discovered space travel. Thus communication with it was allowed and my advance team was sent in to begin all interaction ...

A Catherine Rose by any other name

Author : Q. B. Fox “Each freighter, since the very first one we built, is given a unique name,” the technician explained. “Can I choose a name, if it’s not already taken?” I asked. “I’m afraid not, sir,” the tech was barely apologetic. “A name will be assigned to ...

Insert Coins To Operate

Author : Ken McGrath I roll off her and onto my back, panting, satisfied and with the sweat already drying into my chest. My head sinks into the pillow and I smile. Turning to look at her it slides, like water, right off my face. Her façade is starting to flicker and fade ...

Jennies

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Jennies were shipped world-wide. They were referred to as Jennies because of their genengineered origins. Some people referred to them as Generators because they were filled with energy, hardly ever slowed down, and kept the offices ...

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