Clankers
There’s that clanking, again. There’s that ratcheting, sound. There’s that grinding of gears and that whining of servos. He’s gotten used to the way his guest bedroom sounds like a robot factory, ever since Grife Marauder showed up.
“Jim, you ...
Glittering Tumours
That’s the thing about silicates. They get cancer from radiation, just like us, except their tumors are jewels.
The silicate in front of me here has a head full of diamonds.
He’s looking up at me with his prism eyes. When ...
I've Got Mail
Sarah's eyes went dim for a second, and I figured she was getting mail. She squinted with one eye and said, "That's weird. I just... got... headmail from my... from Richard."
"What's he say?"
"'Wanna get dinner? Wear the red dress.'"
"Are ...
Uncommon Values
Second Childhood
Demeter
“Why is there no Zeus, Vale? Why am I the only one?â€
Dee sits on a pile of aquamarine thermal pillows. Cushions of air, tinted and pressurized, hold her aloft, warming her blood and chlorophyll and making her glow red and green like ...
Everyone
When we finally made contact it wasn't in the way that everyone expected. It wasn't like Star Trek, or Sagan, or Alien.
It should have been kind of obvious, looking at an atlas of the universe that there were so many of us. Tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny ...
LOLcats
"Can I has cheeseburger?" the cat whined plaintively. It's voice was an electronic squeal that grated on Jim's nerves. Jim swatted the cat on the butt and pushed it off of the desk.
"No."
"Plz?" it mewled up at him, eyes unblinking. Jim shook ...
The Capellian Option
Captain Goff sat at the head of the conference table. “Well, we find ourselves in a rather precarious situation. The Capellians have seized our ship, as well as the flagship of the Rana. They claim that our war with the Rana has violated ...
Crossing The Lines
Dawn's light angled off the blank brick walls of the narrow alley. The air shimmered, then expanded like a large soap bubble and softly popped. Iyo stood there for a moment to orientate herself. She glanced up and around. No windows. Bioforms reading ...
The Last Kremer Prize
The Gossamer Comet hung motionless 10 meters beyond the Folkestone Colony’s outermost habitation “wheel.†The Gossamer Comet was a one-man “human-powered†spacecraft that was about to attempt to win the last unclaimed Kremer Prize, a £100,000 ...
Tommy Texas
Social Service
The Little Nothing
White. Sterile. No roof, no walls, no floors. No shadows. Make a sound. Hear anything? Of course not: no acoustics. You look nervous, Ben. Don’t. We’re not there yet. This is just a test. Plugged into your parietal lobe, running a line into your implant. ...
Troublesome Customer
“Welcome to Chrono-Real Estate-Advertising. How may I help you?â€
“I'm here to buy from March 1, 1650 to March 30, 1650 for the entire city of Jamestown, Virgina.â€
“Sir, we can't do that.â€
“I have a suitcase with several ...
Glory Star
See Food
When the alien ship reached us, we were down to four hours of oxygen and nothing in our prospector ship’s food storage.
It was the Tsoor who rescued us, the ones who look like walking man-of-war jellyfish. Oh, they were nice and polite enough, and ...
The Prodigal
“Have a seat, Jim,†said the General.
“Is this what I think it’s about, sir?†the Colonel asked, shutting the hatch behind him.
He sat down. Across from him, a LED nameplate proclaimed “Major General David Pietz USAF, ...
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