The Russian Package

Author : Viktor Kuprin

Father was up late cleaning his long rifle and my old musket. Mother fried biscuits and packed pickle dog for us to take on our trip to Fort Needmore.

No, we don’t eat dogs. That’s just what we called pickled baloney. We always took it when we went ...

Temporal Psychosis

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Kathleen Wright entered the Temporal Control Room after being notified of a Class I permutation to the Primary Timeline. "I got your message, Williams. What's the problem?" "Sorry to bother you on your day off, Ms Wright, but it appears that ...

The Art of the Sky

Author : Sam Clough aka "Hrekka", Staff Writer "What's that?" Cal asked, gesturing to the ornately patterned box resting on the mat in the centre of Petra's cabin. His passenger had a southerner's skin, and the wrist spurs that showed her to be a Kadian, a native of the desert. "La ...

Agent 13

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer

Agent 13 jumped out of the bomb-bay doors of the scrambler jet into silent extended twilight.

He fell for three calm, wind-buffeted minutes before starfishing his teflon squirrelwings out. The wrist-to-ankle elastic bodychute ...

Afar

Author : Simon Petrie

Afar contemplates lifting something small, a souvenir, but is distracted by the conversation at the next table:

"…forgot our anniversary, so I'm sending flowers back."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"You kidding? It's just one day. Not going ...

A New Kind of Data

Author : Beth Mathison

She knew it was a bad idea when the man dropped dead in front of her.

She had seen death before, when she had lived on the streets. But that had been long ago, almost a different life. The suddenness of this man’s death had caught her off guard. ...

Spot

Author : Debbie Mac Rory

The thing shrieked like a badly tuned violin.

“It’s been making those sounds for days now”, the woman said. The white-robed man nodded absentmindedly; he was unable to tear his eyes away from the creature on the examining table.

A ...

The Star Prince

Author : J.R.Blackwell, Staff Writer Lucias XI, the Star Prince, son of Byron II, the Merchant King, threw open the double doors to the marble war room. His demeanor was fierce, his face chiseled, displaying no emotion. His wiry body was tense, coiled. He pointed as he stomped into ...

Just Like Everyday

Author : Steven Holland

You awake; the familiar smell of synthetic, processed food greets you. The pneumatic tube has delivered three packages of food. They contain artificial eggs, sausage, and pancakes today, just like every day. You, Stackhouse, and Sergeant Zimmerman begin ...

An Android's Story

Author : Tim Brown

The wind blew fiercely from behind him, ruffling his long chestnut colored hair and brushing it over his eyes. Absentmindedly he took his slender fingers and pushed the shoulder-length strands aside, hardly putting thought to the bellowing gales coming from the ...

Sun Surfing

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer

The red vinyl of the gearshifter was warm from conducting the engine heat. I readjusted my grip on the softening plastic and aimed for the sun. This was gravity surfing at its finest.

The cab of my surfship was alive with luck ...

Freedom Pets

Author : Grady Hendrix

Tom Rush (D-Massachusetts) squatted and hugged his Labrador-Beagle mix at the perfect angle for the camera to see just how much he loved his dog.

“Mashudu is the luckiest dog in the world and I am so proud to play a part in what has been one of the ...

Pinups

Author : Viktor Kuprin

"B83-1 was the human designation for the devices. We first thought the images might be related to the trigger mechanism, but it isn't so," explained Intelligence Reporter PLOF-873 as he followed his commander into the storage bunker. "We have the human leader ...

Slice Street

Author : Nate Swanson

Slice Street is the place to be on a weekend. Part time med students scurry out of university complexes to ply the skills they picked up during classes for a few marks. The sounds of nipping, tucking, and all variety of additions can be heard all over. When ...

An Imperial Promulgation

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer With his lone eye properly focused on the Emperor’s hooves, Secretary Uith’eems said with a clear air of submissiveness, “Pardon the interruption, Your Majesty, but our advanced scouts have detected a new intelligent lifeform in the Sirius ...

Hold Hell at Bay

Author : Sam Clough aka "Hrekka", Staff Writer When I was sixteen, they gave me the viruses to force my body to adapt to the heat. The process was...painful. It's the most pain I can ever remember experiencing. Nerve and muscle and bone, all being stretched into new shapes, all at ...

God the Pilot

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer

Two-Hands passed the biofilter test, allowing him into the cockpit to talk to God. The door to God’s house irised open and he stepped through.

Two-Hands had the gross overbite and mental retardation that went hand in hand with the ...

Annabet

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Terrence paid for a coffee and fifteen minutes of net time with cash, and, careful to keep his eyes down and away from the security camera, worked his way to the back of the café where he could chat in private. Positioning the coffee cup ...

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