The Dovecote
Author : Elizabeth L. Brooks
Every morning after the war, Joshua went up to the roof to take care of the dovecote. The chore gave him an excuse to get away from the pounding resentment and fear that throbbed through the living spaces below.
He enjoyed it when they needed ...
A Line in the Sand
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
I was sound asleep in my San Agustin home when I was awakened at three in the morning by a member of Homeland Security. Without explanation, I was unceremoniously whisked from my comfortable bed and hustled onto a LJ40 Learjet. It ...
Locked Out
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer
Someone’s hacked my bank accounts and left me out in the cold.
My chip is being recognized as zero balance. None of the doors work. I don’t even have enough money left in my account for the surcharges that would let me into a public ...
Crossed Wires
Author : Milly Rowe
“Now all we do is cross these two wires, and were done!”
Anna slammed the lid of the robots head down and turned to her student.
“That’s all? Two wires!” DJ was stunned.
How could reprogramming a robot be so simple? DJ had always assumed it would be far ...
Long-Distance Relationship
Author : William Tracy
A woman sat in a surreal coffee shop. The floor was paved with rough slabs of hewn granite. The small, round chairs and small, round tables were solid oak. The walls were of the same stone as the floor, punctuated by ornate stained glass windows.
The ...
Data-Entry
Author : Peter Pincosy
“Accuracy is the primary road to access”
A large white room with banks of computers lined up in rows, was home to Primary English. Sanjay had worked here for three years. He'd won the lottery, the chance to immigrate to the United States. His ...
Just Friends
Author : C.S. Germain
“Why did you pick me, out of all those big, strong guys?” asked Richard as he walked out of his tiny apartment on Neal Street.
“Because you are a good person. No amount of health or youth can replace that.” was the immediate reply from within his ...
Code of Ethics
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
“So, that’s him?” asked Benjamin Goldberg, the reporter from the World Post that was assigned to cover the Berlin Massacre.
“Yes,” replied Doctor Ludwig. “That’s the scum that brought the Procyon Virus to Earth. It’s killed twenty ...
Biological Relay
Author : Sam Clough, Staff Writer
The Shian are a spacefaring race. They are both reasonably telepathic and fairly omniscient: they are also our allies. We - that is, the human race, nothing to do with me personally - built a machine that taps the same frequencies as a Shian ...
Ferryman Father
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer
I’m thinking of my daughter LaHayne and the upcoming marriage. It’ll be her third.
Her other two husbands have met the new fiancee and they like him. They’ll all live together in a series of connected apartments in the cave wall. Modest, ...
House For Sale
Author : Steve Davidson
"Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!"
I couldn't stop my head from repeating that over and over and over again. Every time I tried to reboot my thought processes, all I managed was a brief "I don't freakin believe this", before returning to my yoga-like ...
Guinea Pigs
Author : Jeremy M. Hall
“Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen of Third Platoon, Alpha Company, Harod's Harriers, ” Sergeant Major Clarkson intoned, “you have become the official guinea pigs for the outfit. If you look at the table in front of you, you will notice that there ...
Not an Imaginary Figment
Author : KJ Hannah Greenberg
Charles lingered in the treetop. Not munitions or bribery had coaxed him from his lair. Charles defended his sanctuary with occasional conflagrations and, less frequently, with bad puns. Charles continued to sup on jerboae and lorikeets. He even ...
John Smith
Author : Phillip English
Once the guests had arrived and were seated in the confines of the oak-panelled meeting room, the host for the evening rose to the lecturn, introduced himself, and began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you may be aware of the theory that the people ...
Mazzaroth
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer
“What’s the status of the quarantine field, Mr. Conrad?” asked Captain Germex.
“As terminal as an event horizon, Captain,” replied the ship’s Science Officer.
Mazzaroth was the fifth planet of the bright star Alpha Boötis, a Class ...
Multiple Sufficiency
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer
As the relative calm of midnight in the projects was broken by a series of tightly spaced explosions, Tiberius knew he'd made a serious, and perhaps fatal mistake letting their prey separate him from his brother.
Tiberius shifted his ...
The Robot's Wish
Author : William Tracy
A luxurious coat of trees springs from the earth’s skin. The morning’s clouds have burned off, and the jungle canopy stretches to the horizon in every direction. A single towering industrial complex pierces the rolling sea of leaves.
The structures are ...
Leaves
Author : Phillip Gawlowski
The glitter of hyperspace was replaced with stars, as we crashed through the light barrier. Sensor input filled the screens, and the computer placed markers on the transparent steel.
"There." Mike pointed at a small blip. "That looks promising."
I ...
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