Seed
Hoard
I was twelve when the world went mad. Mom saw it coming well before then and she prepared, stocking up on goods and drilling into me the importance of keeping secret our supply. At first the epidemic seemed to spread slowly, starting in ...
The Key
Tandoo sat on the steps, turning the key over in his hand. It was a silver stick, long and blank, and heavy. The door behind him stood solid and bright, just as without character as the key.
He held the key up and let the sunlight glint off the surface. ...
We Are the World
“There’s not much of anything in Rorongi. No electricity. No running water,†Walter Bennett said earnestly. “No hope.â€
Emaciated children, feet ...
Remember
The Latest Model
To any who watch television, the researcher’s setup should be plenty familiar, especially so to an old R&D man like myself. Two rooms, divided by a big sheet of glass; on one side sits a table loaded with datatablets and a control panel of various buttons ...
Secret Agent World
John’s antenna went up, his senses clicked into hyperdrive, adrenaline slammed through his veins: grilled chicken breast!
“Really?†he said.
“I picked it up at Fairway. You want to eat while we watch ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’†...
The Last Days of an Imaginary Man
I am in a hole. It is a filthy place in a bad neighborhood in Bucharest, surrounded by government troops who are about to evilly stomp their way in here. They are having some trouble getting past my photon tent. It creates an alternating series of forty-two ...
Blue Plumes
The new planet’s soupy air made twin blue plumes out of his suit’s exhalations when the carbon dioxide reacted with the unbreathable atmosphere. It turned into blue rust flakes that scattered around him like snow.
He walked over ...
Press Conference at March Field
March Air Force Base, California.
"These are the rules," instructed Major Diehl, the public affairs officer. "Report your observations. Tell them what you saw, but if they ask for your personal opinions about little green men, the press conference is ...
Before the Previous Crunch
So Thirsty
“Oh man…†Jeremy sighed as he stared out the window. “The old man’s at it again.†He pulled himself out of the chair and lumbered to the front door, seizing an rain slicker from the coat rack as he went. Thunder crackled in the distance and he ...
Insist to Exist
William rode the Green Line, making the passengers hostage to his presence. Here, they couldn’t walk away, far. They could only avoid his glare, his insistence at existence. The train stops at Parkway Station and a pretty teenage girl with soft brown ...
The Cult of Personality
Origami Stars
Trick or Treat
Visiting the in-laws on Rigel 12
“I hate this bit.†Tress settled back into her trans-seat and blinked as the young man in the blue uniform smiled and sprayed a puff of Tranq into her face.
“Blurq!†In the next seat, her husband lay back too as his host closed the canopy and ...
A Matter of Control
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