Ask Not For Whom…

Author : Q. B. Fox Subject: No man is an island. From: ISowending@EarnestPeople.com Dear Robert, I know that’s not your name. They call me Jane. That’s not my name. Does that remind you of something? If you’d rather, you can call me Maria; because some things we can’t ...

Fireflies in a Jar

Author : Jennifer C. Brown aka Laieanna One, two, three fireflies into the jar. Just like that, all at once. Probably some kind of pact. I check the remains. Two girls, one boy, none over eighteen. Nobody brings anything to the jar except the young. They don’t plan, ...

The Caverns of Alpha Doore

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Alpha Doore is a Mars size planet orbiting an orange-red main sequence dwarf star called BD+56 2966 in the Constellation Cassiopeia. The oxygen and water rich world had several large continents and a flourishing ecosystem. The ...

In Accordance With Prophesy

Author : Steven Odhner Gerald Forsythe was still too weak to move, his mind still partially asleep, but he knew the walls didn't look how they should. Ever so slowly he was able to take in bits of information in an attempt to solve this riddle. The walls were flat. Good. ...

The Factory

Author : Bill Owens Shift change is a slow-motion affair. Everything is. They lost the ability to move quickly a long time ago. He's patient; no sense getting uptight, it only hurts him - they don't care. They lost that ability too. The last spot on the line is filled again, ...

while (bDarwin) {

Author : Q. B. Fox “Are you suggesting it’s alive?” Calvin was incredulous. “Of course it’s not alive,” Mary was withering. “It’s a computer program.” “Strictly speaking,” Glen interrupted, “It’s a suite of software.” They both glared at him and he fell silent again with a ...

Growing Pains

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer We lived in a tribe outside the main disc. The arm struts of the cogshield branched out above us like a gear. Where we lived was all angles. It had been this way ever since our creation. My little one was sick. I’d built him according ...

Resourceful

Author : Steven Odhner

Come closer to the monument, child. Do not be afraid. You have done well to make it all the way here - I know the journey from your village is hard. Your brother had to turn back the first time, and your mother arrived with an injured ankle and had to wait ...

Alex

Author : Daniel Bensen Alex This has been a humbling experience. I can admit now that I was a little arrogant. I suppose I had reason to be. I was—I suppose I still am—the best mathematician on Earth. Funny. I know I should have expected this. But then, most of us ...

Sky

Author : Michael Varian Daly Junior Lieutenant Menat Borsa, Space Force Marines, had the Third Watch on Barracks Platform 2/26 [2nd Regt/26th Batt] because, bluntly put, she was a 'noob', barely four months out of the Academy. And she was fine with that Tradition from 'beyond ...

El Nuevo Capitan

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer (Circa 2256) Epsilon Indi is an orange-red dwarf star located in Ursa Major, near the bowl of the Big Dipper. By astronomical standards, Epsilon Indi is a newborn, having only become a main sequence star around the time that the Great ...

Litmus Test

Author : Phill English Bob leaned back in his chair and sighed. The first day had been a long time coming. Every time they thought they had the whole project licked, a new feature came to light that had to be incorporated into the preliminary model. And there were a whole lot ...

Sufficiently Advanced

Author : Steven Odhner Jacob looked down at his hands, at the skin that had grown wrinkled and translucent over time, veins rising as the liver spots bloomed around them. His wedding ring rattled around loosely on his twiglike finger, secured only by the gnarled joint of his ...

We Love Bunnies!

Author : Grant Bergland “Computer, I am not the captain, I am a fifth midshipman.” “Incorrect. According to Navy regulations you are captain. The captain and first mate were atomized with the science officer and chief engineer. Point seven seconds later, the chaplain, ...

Dinner Time

Author : Debbie Mac Rory Sonia swallowed her meal pills, grimacing. She hated the things, and they always stuck in her throat. Adjusting the infusion cuff on her arm, she picked up the control and started thumbing through a selection of dining experiences: family dinner; ugh, ...

The Future

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “Man, we got ripped off.” said Manuel. He was watching an old tri-D of a Flash Gordon serial made in the fifties. In the show, the year was 1998, just like now. It was hilarious and depressing all at the same time. Manuel’s robot ...

Condensate

Author : Phill English "I just don't want to hear it, Helen." Helen grips Henry's arm as he moves about the household, packing his things into a small carry-bag. She tries to spin him to face her as she pleads, but he remains resolute in his mission. "Please, Henry, just ...

Conundrum on Titan

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The Herschel Scientific Outpost was located on the northernmost shore of the Lacus Ocean at Titan’s South Pole. The outpost housed six earth scientists whose primary mission was to study the life forms discovered on Saturn’s largest ...

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