U

Caesar's Secret Weapon

By submission | February 23, 2009
Author : Greg R. Fishbone Three Roman legions swept into the valley from the south. The defenders launched a flight of arrows while a line of pikemen prepared for an onslaught of armored men. The battle raged through the afternoon, but the outcome was never in doubt. The ...
Read More

Zipper Night

By submission | February 22, 2009
Author : Dave Johnson I have become a zipper. The fad started out harmless enough. A person scheduled a visit to the zipper specialists. A few hours later the same person (for the true insides cannot be zipped) walked out a different gender. Some time later it got easier: a ...
Read More

Serial Redundancy

By Stephen R. Smith | February 21, 2009
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Detective Staind waited in the darkness of an empty doorway. He watched as the man, head down, hands stuffed deep in his pockets, crossed the street fifty meters away. Waiting until the man turned down an alley, he unholstered his weapon ...
Read More

The SS Indomitable

By Patricia Stewart | February 20, 2009
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer I was heading toward the Bridge along Deck 12 just aft of the Station 114 Bulkhead when I heard, sorry, felt, the explosion. The shock wave knocked me into the starboard hullplate, but I managed to remain standing. I felt a rush of ...
Read More

Sentence

By Duncan Shields | February 19, 2009
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer This is the opposite of solitary confinement. It’s called ‘tearing down the firewalls’. They’ve removed my filters. I am plugged into the raw datafeed now for the entire world. The receivers in our heads are tuned to accept the ...
Read More

Company

By submission | February 18, 2009
Author : Rob Burton There’s that tapping again. I’ve been listening to peeling bass music, as loud as my ears can stand it, but it doesn’t shut out that quiet, metallic tap. Perhaps this capsule is resonating, magnifying the tapping. Perhaps it’s just my mind, feeding the ...
Read More

I Bet You Say That To All The Girls

By submission | February 17, 2009
Author : Ian Rennie I give Annabeth one last lingering kiss at the door. "I'll see you next week?" I say, a slight quaver in my voice. "Count on it." she says grinning. I close the door as she turns, my heart fluttering. This is it. The big one, complete with ...
Read More

Dreams of Conceptua

By submission | February 16, 2009
Author : Ryan Somma As I lie in bed at night, I practice going from a waking state directly into REM sleep. It's a meditative practice. You simply stare into the afterimages dancing in the darkness behind your eyelids, and suddenly your brain makes something solid out of ...
Read More

Tome of Edicts

By submission | February 15, 2009
Author : Jeff McGaha “Who’s there?” Brother Peter questioned. “Answer me. I demand to be let go. Do you know who I am? You’re in some serious trouble. The whole planet is going to be looking for me.” The bag covering Brother Peter’s head was quickly removed, pulling a ...
Read More

The Slaver

By submission | February 14, 2009
Author : Benjamin Fischer “You have a very pretty family,” said the offworlder. Pulliam McDermott was a very powerful man, so it took him a moment to register that he’d actually been threatened. High over Lake Michigan in his Zepellin-borne corporate offices, the stranger ...
Read More

Never Enough

By submission | February 13, 2009
Author : Mark Mance I’m in my old car again. These things happen. You’re wondering what’s for lunch, and then--Bam! You're already under, and cruising about. I’m gunning it down Sunset Boulevard, and doing fishtails. I sure miss that car. Cars aren’t made like this ...
Read More

The Bolide Brothers

By submission | February 12, 2009
Author : Glenn Blakeslee Outside Dad's shop stood a steel one-hundred-twenty foot tall hyperboloid structure. My brother had his eye on it. They say Delvin is a genius but he's just my big brother. He's weird, and skinny with piercings and tats. When he's not making stuff ...
Read More

Misunderstandings

By Patricia Stewart | February 11, 2009
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer It began as a simple misunderstanding. The Liturgians were a social-insectoid race. When they negotiated with a graduate student from Cal-Arts, they assumed that she spoke for the entire huwoman hive. The concept of individuality was ...
Read More

Stormbringer

By Duncan Shields | February 10, 2009
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Glass goes green when it gets to a certain thickness. The impurities gang up. It's a great insulator. It's why my entire suit of armour is made of it. I have grill slits and air-holes drilled into the faceplate. The armour weighs close ...
Read More

The Fragile Y

By submission | February 9, 2009
Author : Terri Monture The funeral cortege rolled smoothly down the boulevard, the faces of the witnessing crowd somber and drawn in the grey light. It had stopped raining but was damp and cold. Amanda shivered and pulled Sylvia and Clarice closer into her body. “Mama, what ...
Read More

The Hunt

By submission | February 8, 2009
Author : Waldo van der Waal The sound of an old-fashioned bugle in his aural signaled the start of the hunt. On cue, the chem depositors in his spine fired a burst of adrenaline. His face flushed from the drug and a mad grin spread across his features. He glanced across at ...
Read More

Perforce Performance

By submission | February 7, 2009
Author : Adam Zabell In the darkness of my private soul, I still can’t believe I get away with it. In the light of my studio, I focus on titles. Honestly, the title is usually the hard part. “SunderS” was brutal and well-received, but too abstract for my personal tastes. ...
Read More

The Blue Weed

By submission | February 6, 2009
Author : George Galuschak The end of the world: we expected mad cows, Y2K, global warming, asteroids, nukes, tidal waves, flu-stricken chickens and angels descending from Starship Christ. What we got was The Blue Weed. We don’t know the delivery method – meteor strike, ...
Read More

Random Story :

  • The Handshake

    Author : Hillary Lyon Casey waited in line for more …
Today’s Story