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Telic

By submission | December 2, 2008
Author : Paul Bort Telic didn't know what to do next. The barn was gone. Not gone with splinters everywhere, hinting that there was once a barn. This was gone like it had been edited out. Nothing left but dirt. The sun was setting, and the cows were wandering back, the first ...
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Silicon Suicide

By Duncan Shields | December 1, 2008
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer By the time you read this, I’ll be dead. I’ve locked the door and shut down all my firewalls. My batteries will run down inside the hour and I’ve disabled my deactivation alarms. That is my right. This is what I want. I have the EMP ...
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The Prototype Sanctuary

By submission | November 30, 2008
Author : Ryan Somma An orangutan and a brain in a vat were playing chess across the room from me. It was a joke I hadn't figured out the punch line to in five years of working here. The disembodied brain was Philo, and, lacking eyes, I had no idea how it understood the game. ...
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Under Warranty

By submission | November 29, 2008
Author : L.Hall The mousy haired woman sat with tears rolling down her face in front of a cold steel table. Broken plastic, silicone pieces, processors, ball and socket joints, gears, pieces of leftover motherboards, all lay shattered, broken before her. The Omnicarp ...
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An Afternoon in Autumn

By submission | November 28, 2008
Author : Ivy Tyson Sunlight sifts through fluttering reds and yellows, bounces off of well-worn bark and old crinkled stems to gently fall, scattered and warm, on the soft brown ground. A light breeze rustles the branches of the huge old oak tree, providing nature’s most ...
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Infectedx3

By submission | November 27, 2008
Author : Lillian Cohen-Moore Friends are the people you call when you're sick. Old lovers are the ones you call when you're afraid you're dying. Times have changed. We print a self-isolation guide in the front of phonebooks now. The Infected Hotline operates 24/7, 365 days ...
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The Surrogate

By submission | November 26, 2008
Author : Charles Spohrer ”EAT SAND NOW!”. The humans hit the hot sand as the mortar shell screamed towards them. The surrogates did not move. They stood still as the flowering debris sandblasted their metallic shells. Hector made sure he landed on the ground behind the ...
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The Jupiter’s Cup

By Patricia Stewart | November 25, 2008
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The Jupiter’s Cup is the most famous and most prestigious graviton propelled regatta in the solar system. Graviton sailing enthusiasts were particularly excited this year because of the rare celestial positioning of Jupiter, Saturn, ...
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On the Job Training

By submission | November 24, 2008
Author : Jared R. Cloud The General and the Secretary of State sat in the Oval Office, waiting for the new President to return from the bathroom. Although both had jumped in their seats when they first heard him vomit, he was on his third or fourth round now, and they were ...
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Building the Lioness

By submission | November 23, 2008
Author : Alex Moisi

Maya knew that she was dying. You didn't need to be a bio-mechanics expert to know that the nanoids inside her body were running out of energy. The climate and gravity of this remote planet were taxing the minuscule robots more than she had expected. Soon they ...

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The Slow Home

By submission | November 22, 2008
Author : Glenn Blakeslee

At four in the morning the alarms went off. Lois hardly stirred, but I went downstairs to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee, and then slogged my sorry ass to the control console, next to the laundry room.

Red lights glared from the temperature ...

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Assumption

By Stephen R. Smith | November 21, 2008
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer The bullet blistered past the right side of Stryker's helmet, so close that for a good minute or so he was deaf in that ear before the pain gave way to a dull ringing. "Stupid bastard," he muttered under his breath. The sniper he'd been ...
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Ripples

By submission | November 20, 2008
Author : Waldo van der Waal “Did anybody see you?” The tone of voice left no doubt with Neville Fox that his answer would have a profound impact. He studied the face of the man before him. General John G. Cooper was not a man to be trifled with. The tattoos on his forehead ...
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The More Things Change…

By submission | November 19, 2008
Author : Carter Lee -flash- There was no one else, anymore. Something had happened, and I am all that is left. Here on this empty, dusty stretch of nothingness. Grey plane stretched out on all sides, merging with the grey sky, lit only by a dim sun. There was no one, there ...
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The Boast

By submission | November 18, 2008
Author : Asher Wismer The Boast sat on the hill and watched the man-things playing with fire. They burned themselves, each other, and finally set the forest alight. The fire didn't reach the Boast, so it just watched. The Boast sat on the hill and watched the man-things ...
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Wintermen

By Duncan Shields | November 17, 2008
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer My skin is a grid of white tiles. I’m on the moon, I’m naked, and I’m outside. I’ve been here for hours waiting for my target. I turn my cue-ball eyes up to the sky. I don’t need to breathe but the batteries that power the whirring ...
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A Moment of Uninspiring Clarity

By submission | November 16, 2008
Author : Ryan Somma Wyndallo took an unexpected breath of cold, sterile air. He opened his eyes and saw his exhale condense against the glass door to the capsule, which was smoothly lifting away from him. He registered the air outside the capsule was colder than inside, but ...
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Gordon's Face

By submission | November 15, 2008
Author : Glenn Blakeslee Janie and I sat on the rocks in the afternoon sun, overlooking the shallow valley and, beyond it, Gordon's face on the mountainside. We waited until the sightseer buses left the parking lot, and walked down the path to the viewing area. It was ...
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