See You on the Other Side
Author: Brian C. Mahon
Fleeting fleeing from the pursuing swarm, my viewscreen’s gone red, a thousand alarms blaring constant warnings, “HOSTILE UNITS EXCEED DESIGN PARAMETERS. TARGETING SYSTEM SATURATED… GOOD LUCK.”
Swarmers: one-meter silvered cylinders with complete ...
The True Cost of World Building
Author: David C. Nutt
The Steampunk world Donny created was exquisite. As his genius played out in the programming, fantastic brass edged contraptions filled the scenery. Soaring edifices dotted the cityscape with a few doubling as docking stations for monstrous airships ...
The Monsters From Before
Author: Majoki
498.72 meters down in Olkiluoto, off the southwest coast of Finland, the digging stopped abruptly. That’s when they called me.
Why officials at the Onkalo Repository intended to deep-store spent nuclear reactor rods would call me was, at first, more ...
Pacified
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer
I watch Nona and Paul walk away, then drop back down. Nothing to do for a while. My next workday is Thursday, so I’m free for the next five days. I wonder if Wanda… No, she’s off with Eber doing resistance stuff. I couldn’t do that. ...
The Decoy
Author: Hillary Lyon
Moony stepped back to eye his handiwork. He called to his assistant. “Get over here and tell me what you think.”
Rollo rolled up beside him. “It’s sublime! The coloration, the fine detail. Especially the eyes—they’re so life-life! It’s sure to fool ...
An Opening
Author: James A Brown III
Seismic activity had gotten stronger over the last couple of weeks, along with random power drops. It all started when a hole was punched through the center of the moon to take samples for mining.
Dex was taking a breather, looking out a window ...
Latent. See.
Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer
I'd never dreamed before, at least not that I could remember.
Sure, a lifetime in that chair, I'd hoped for things, but that's different. Sleep was always empty, vacant. Dreamless.
Ever since I've become a retread, the visions have ...
The Calm
Author: Paul Cesarini
Den leaned back in his chair, wishing he were someplace else. The sole lightbulb in his “office” flickered defiantly, daring him to try to fix it. He looked up at the bulb but didn’t budge. He’d much rather be home with his wife and his son. Their dog. ...
Good Old Crimes
Author: Majoki
That frozen day, the father glowered at his son hunched over the laptop in the kitchen. “This is no way to earn a living.”
The teenager leaned further into his screen dancing with code.
“You’re not even dressed. How is this right?”
The keyboard ...
Looking For A Way Out
Author: Ed Lazer
Lew was panting by the time he opened the door. It was 98 degrees outside, and the cool air gave him a chill. Lew noticed the new concession stands as he made his way to the restroom. Even the bathroom was updated - brighter, cleaner, smelling of pine ...
Jessop’s Moon
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer
Standryl looks down from the walkway. It's like peering into one of those curio shops on a winter evening - corridors of angular junk filled with mysterious shadows and twinkling lights - except here, every constellation of lights is an ...
The Arch
Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks
“Life is sweet at the edge of a razor”
-Tom Waits
I was sitting on the levee in the hot sun listening to a trickling sound. Near me, a man was taking a leak in a desiccated bush. I watched the sun turn his stream a brilliant ...
Stuck Here with You
Author: Rachel Sievers
Rothwell had done everything she could to break free, or at the very least change the holding space, but she now knew it was useless. She was stuck in this moment of time and might be forever. It was her torture and her pence for playing with time ...
The Demonstration
Author: Jason Rayleigh
Before him sat an elongated table with seven silent strangers, dressed in elegant corporate attire. Their faces were digital distortions, scrambled puzzle pieces. Taki felt a sudden sense of unease, as if he had stumbled into a secret society ...
Manual Override
Author: Gabriel Walker Land
Rodrick Haagen walked into the palatial master rest room with dual basins and Egyptian terrycloth towels, shutting the door behind him.
He turned on the steam shower piping-hot, switching off the fan so that the air steamed up, wafting the ...
The Elevator
Author: Vruti Naik
I remember pressing the correct button to reach the fourth floor where my father was admitted. I always dreaded hospitals and moreover, these elevators. As the elevator ascended, something went wrong. It accelerated with an unnerving speed, triggering my ...
Virtual Therapy
Author: Kenneth M McRae
“Jimmy, over here!” Mike waved from the corner table.
James grabbed a beer and headed over. “Great to see you! How long’s it been?”
Mike shook his head. “Too long, way too long.”
The former college roommates exchanged stories about work, kids, and ...
Like Death Eating A Cracker
Author: Majoki
Crumbs. That’s how it always starts. Hansel and Gretel trying to backtrack their way home.
Except these are binary breadcrumbs. Bits and bytes strewn unevenly through the program. Through nearly fifty-nine million lines of code. How do you follow ...
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