Constant Cravings
Wheeze.
I struggle to snatch a breath, wondering with each one if I’ll get the chance to have another. Life’s never felt so fleeting and basic as I fight with its raw elements, breathing and trying to keep the blood pumping round my withered ...
Special School
When we were both sixteen, we made a pact. We said to each other that we would never race ahead without each other. Now we’re eighteen and I barely see you.
I’ve had a whole arsenal installed in my arms and head. You cook the food in ...
Moving On
Vivienne awoke after nine, but lazed in bed for another hour before finally getting up and padding to the window.
The curtains drawn she had a perfect view of the garden, the tree branches hung with golden leaves, a carpet of leaves coating the ground, ...
Survivor of Olympus Mons
Allan sighed and took a deep breath.
“I’m from the Olympus Mons colony, I was a kid when it happened.â€
‘It’ didn’t require any explanation, all the worlds knew of Olympus Mons. With over 3000 people tragically killed, it was the ...
Domestically Disabled
Inside, she was free.
Her consciousness flitted from desktop to watch to media player. Her sight was composited from surveillance videos, streaming webcams, and a million stuttering stills uploaded from cameraphones. She flexed her arms, and cranes swung ...
Observation
"I'm not one of your lab monkeys, I'm your investor, so don't give me any more of your scientific jargon." Mr. Bates pointed his cowboy hat at Dr. Copenhagen. "Don't tell me about electrons, tell me about how your machine will send Leroy ...
To Whom It May Concern
Dear Fontilibus Corporation rescue crew, space explorers, other would be rescuers, or whom it may concern,
How are you?
Good, I hope. Whether or not you've found my remains,it should be clear to you that I've been better. If I were alive, we would ...
Ansatz
Adjustment
Second Coming
I’ve gone over and over that time with the shrinks here on the ground. It was a time-sensitive mission to repair satellite Oricus-11. We were on schedule and nothing was in the red. We were in the pipe, five by five and on ...
Dinner Date
"Make your own damn dinner."
He coughed, sputtering foam from his after-work beer onto the cluttered endtable. She showed no signs of malfunction. There were no sparks, no telltale wisps of smoke from the delicate wires in her wrists. Her voice utterly ...
The Governor
I look down at the seat as I climb into the car.
“Well, get in honey,†says a lady entering from the other side. An attractive lady. She’s talking to another attractive lady in a familiar pink outfit, and the familiar pink pillbox hat ...
Brought to You With Limited Commercial Interruption
Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 9:00 Central – 11 hour delay on the Lunar Colonies
HT-MA
Warning – this broadcast contains real battlefield footage, viewer discretion is advised.
This program is broadcast in ...
Veteran of the [CLASSIFIED] Wars
VETERAN OF THE [CLASSIFIED] WARS
I/We are/am the last survivor. Hodge-podge helter-skelter jigsaw man/men/woman/women. I/We am/are not sure there's anything left of me/us. I/We sit in this red, red room, alone with my/our thoughts. All of them. ...
Subtle Influences
“Of course we are not the first!â€
These words were unspoken, and were in other ways communicated. No human alive would even understand the rough approximation. Sound waves were non-existent, and no mess of soft tissue and bone could begin to detect ...
Raindrops Keep Falling On The Dead
Peter's office was on the fifteenth floor of Landfall Tower. He spent a lot of time staring out of the floor-to-ceiling window, at the neat, ordered rows of caskets on the field around the tower. They were still a shocking white, even after a year of ...
The Oort Cloud Turnaround
The colonization vessel SS Godspeed was the first super-sleeper ship to leave the solar system. The 1032 human passengers, and 4000 or so assorted farm animals, were destined for the Gagarin settlement on Rigil Kentaurus II. The Godspeed was ...
Trust Your Doctor
Hurley sat on the examination table, naked to the waist, and sneezed for the umpteenth time. He reached for yet another tissue, his eyes watering, as he watched Dr. Mills flipping through charts and scribbled notes and rather pointedly ignored him. ...
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