Fate of Our Future Past

Author : Michael "Freeman" Herbaugh “This skull has been carbon dated at being 3 million years old. Yet, clearly it is the skull of a 20th century homo-sapiens. You’ve been trained for the last five years because of the discovery of THIS skull.”

Cartwright listened to the ...

The Unequivocal

Author : S.Clough You've heard of the Unequivocal, right?

Okay, then. I'll assume you've been living under a rock since before you were born. The Unequivocal was the very first flagship of the Earth fleet. One of the early-pattern destroyers: It was lost in its fourth ...

Made in Korea

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer "Man - this is awesome!" John was in a state of constant verbal barrage, his voice unnaturally loud above the diner chatter as he overcompensated for the music playing in his head. "I'm telling you, these Koreans know how to make ...

The Last Question

The Sears catalogue offers dozens of models of BlogBots, but it claims that its most popular is the X451, used to conduct remote interviews. During an average three years of service, the X451 BlogBot will recite hundreds of questions posted to its forum and transcribe the answers of over 50 ...

The Pleasure Dome

Brody looked at the puppies frolicking in the flower garden and beyond them, to where a professional cuteologist, complete with a lab coat and kitten ears, was giving children rides on a friendly lion. Brody shuddered, shoving his hands into his trench coat. “I hate this place.” Chinjin ...

The End of All Things

We have given you so much. We have, for your entire lifetime, watched over you and found you to be needing of our help. In the end, however, you became what you were designed to become. We never made you but we knew your purpose. When you were born of cells we gave you dense matter with ...

All in a Day's Work

When I found her she was seated at the entrance to the 8th street NR station, looking like Huckleberry Finn in faded overalls with a wooden fishing pole resting over her shoulder. She’d been waiting for me, of course, because I was the one with the BB gun, and she damn well wasn’t going ...

The Burden

Yvette stood at the brink of discovery in the next model-Z line. Countless researchers and developers could not dream of the level she had achieved, nor could the social allure of actual interaction hope to compete with the revolution she would create. One could never believe, however, that ...

Clutter Mob

Inigo struggled against the duct tape, trying to work his hands loose. John Kennedy backhanded him. “I told you to knock that off. You sit still till we’re done.” Inigo felt fluid running down from his nose over the silver tape on his lips. Blood ran into his throat and Inigo tried not ...

Old-Fashioned Girl

"So Jeynce and Carr are getting married in three months." Ernest was projecting on the top of the decorative bridge, tossing tiny sticks into the flowing water. They'd chosen an ancient Japanese theme for this afternoon, and he hoped that Ilyah found it relaxing, because Ernest was bored by ...

Forty Days

“She likes the rain,” Ms. Jones explained to her neighbor when the woman called in a panic, yelling that Xue had spent the last six hours sprawled across the top of the house ‘looking like a half-drowned corpse.’ She scowled at the shrill, busybody voice, but saved her choice words ...

The Sky is Full of Diamonds

Jupiter pulled on her wrist, dragging her behind the shed. It was right after evening prayer, and the sky was turning bright orange and deep purple. He kissed her like he had seen his parents do, putting his tongue in her mouth, wiggling it around. She backed away from him, giggling. ...

No Regret

“We’re sorry, but the tissue damage is irreparable. It’s spreading. You’ll start to feel the pain in a few days, then, nothing at all.” The silence in the room gave way to a gentle sigh from Russ, whose eyes looked up at the Doc with longing. “Doc, what’s my time?” he barely ...

Veracity

"Are you sure?" Lena bit her lip and nodded. "Yes. Very sure." Her voice was quiet but strong. She needed this. The counselor nodded, looking down at her clipboard as she checked off items. "All right. I've noted your reasoning. The records will be sealed, of course, after the procedure is ...

The Nightmare Sword

Sunset Lake made Mike nervous, which was something that hadn’t happened since he came home from the war. Sunset Lake was a nice place; lots of natural light, pretty gardens and a big dining room with stretched white tablecloths. Still, all the old people made Mike feel uneasy. Cosmetically, ...

Hemosapiens

There was a time when food could be remembered; a time when you could lick your lips and recall the sweet sting of dehydrated packaged delights. Too bad those days don’t exist anymore. Days like that leave you when the thirst takes over. Travel has just about stopped by now. No one comes ...

The Contract

My brothers made me lay on my stomach, my bare back exposed to their brushes. We are a family of artists; my brothers make a fine design. My father, his fingers stained with ink, watched them work, his face warped in a scowl. “She may not come.” warned my father. “She is the weakest of ...

She is an iLand

The bud blossomed into her ear, its hairlike tendrils snaking towards her eardrum where they fanned out into electric petals, sensors cool against her hot skin. The soft thud reminded Meredith of being submerged, and in a way, she was: holding her breath against the summer rush hour stench of ...

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