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Ignoring the Overlay

By submission | May 27, 2009
Author : J. M. Perkins Jenny sat, tapping her fingers to keep from biting her nails. She was having trouble concentrating. She was having trouble being here and now, in this hot vinyl booth in the retro burger joint. The display contacts in Jenny's eyes flashed red, all ...
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Awakening

By submission | May 26, 2009
Author : Juilan Kehaya It was bright and he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. William panicked. Every limb tingled like static running through his veins. Something was in his throat. His eyes adjusted, a ceiling, a light. Electric shock forced him to blink. Hadn’t he just been ...
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Duty, Honor, Planet

By Patricia Stewart | May 25, 2009
Author : Patricia Stewart Conflict ('kän-,flikt), noun: The opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to a dramatic action or struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, wishes, or demands. **** “Captain,” announced Lieutenant Harriman at the Tactical ...
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Sunset

By submission | May 24, 2009
Author : Debbie Mac Rory “It’s beautiful” “What is?” Jake looked over at Sara, sitting on the ledge where the window used to be. She was hugging her knees and staring out at the sunset. “The sky. It’s pretty tonight, like someone reached out with a paintbrush and dabbed ...
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Burial at Sea

By submission | May 23, 2009
Author : Steven Odhner It was May when the Highway arrived from some distant place in the Northwest. On the fairly open ground the caterpillar-like monstrosity traveled at the alarming rate of about a mile per day, efficiently clearing away rubble and brush, flattening the ...
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Synchro-City

By submission | May 22, 2009
Author : D. K. Janmaat They breathed in unison. All over the city, all over the planet, the bots were breathing together. They moved and walked and spoke as their individual programming dictated, but their breathing was synchronised, in and out with the constancy of a ticking ...
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The Scan

By submission | May 21, 2009
Author : Helstrom In a flicker, it was gone. I just caught a glimpse of it, not enough to make out anything more than the sweep code overwriting its tracks. It cycled fast. What it left in its wake, though, was unmistakable. Lobotomized subroutines churned through aimless ...
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Righty

By submission | May 20, 2009
Author : Roi R. Czechvala They were on me like white trash on Velveeta. I knew being a courier was risky business, but damn these guys were playing for keeps, and all I had was this lousy Chicom .22 semi-auto. I was in deep kimchee. I should have known this wasn’t a normal ...
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Yes Boss

By Duncan Shields | May 19, 2009
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “Oh please let me die for you! Please!” said the gleeful soldier in front of me. Soldier. I couldn’t believe we called them soldiers. I mean, she’d had the proper basic training and had passed all the physicals and all that but I don’t ...
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Anomaly at Titan

By Patricia Stewart | May 18, 2009
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The twin doors swooshed aside and Roger Oakley entered the Control Room of the EATES (Experimental Advanced Tactical Exploration Ship). The room contained only one piece of furniture; a large reclined chair on an elevated platform. ...
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It's A Small Universe

By submission | May 17, 2009
Author : Jeff McGaha My head ached painfully. I squeezed Matthew's hand tight as he squirmed. Sweat seeped between us, lubricating and aiding his attempts at escape. I sighed and gave up on holding his hand. I grabbed his wrist instead. He continued to struggle, but it ...
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The Belly of the Beast

By submission | May 16, 2009
Author : Todd Hammrich

My name is Jeffrey Donahume and I’m making this report in case anyone out there is listening. I am the pilot of Single Shot 5 of the one-way exploratory expeditions. I was on my way out of the system when, unfortunately, my ship was damaged entering the Oort ...

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Trade-In

By submission | May 15, 2009
Author : Benjamin Dunn Little Tyler looked around nervously. Tim dragged him into the reception area by the hand, a scowl engraved on his face. He marched up to the reception desk, hoisted Tyler by the armpits, and sat him down in front of the receptionist. “I want a ...
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Collision Course

By Patricia Stewart | May 14, 2009
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The caravan of return vehicles lifted off the comet in rapid succession. Allen Culbert looked out the porthole and watched silently as the comet shrank into the distance. For the last nine months, the 1288 men and women of the Comet ...
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Hauntingly Beautiful

By submission | May 13, 2009
Author : Jann Everard “Isn’t that Giselle?” Laura nudged her husband. “She looks amazing.” Jake flipped his sandy-colored bangs into place and unconsciously flexed the muscles at his shoulders. Jake’s rapt attention to her teen-age nemesis across the auditorium made Laura’s ...
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Runner

By Duncan Shields | May 12, 2009
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “Hit him again,” said Milly, “Let it go for six seconds this time.” That smile played into her lips again, making me glad that it was this blubbering, fat loser in front of us that owed money and not me. “Please!” he begged between ...
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Trains

By submission | May 11, 2009
Author : Jacob Lothyan “It’s an old family story. A mystery, really. Or was. I just know it meant a lot to my dad, his dad, and so on. That’s the only reason I held on to it. “So it goes, my great great-grandfather worked at the Santa Fe Depot in Leavenworth—first city of ...
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Skeletons

By submission | May 10, 2009
Author : Jacob Lothyan The strobe effect of the cherries in my rear window made me instantly nauseous. All uniforms made me nervous these days. Now I had one walking up the side of my car, and I couldn’t help feeling suspect. I rolled down the window before he arrived, ...
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