Waiting For Ironwine

They wait for him. They deny it, but they do. They sit with their alcohol and they wait for the man called Ironwine to walk in and regale them with tales of his latest adventures. Ironwine, who they say hears the buzz and modulation of the galaxy. Ironwine, who they say feels the stars and ...

The Economic Laws of Robotics

The robot was white, angular, and roughly waist-high. At least, it was waist-high for Jack, but Jack had always been a tall man thanks to the synthetic hormones he'd been given at a young age. It was a diminutive thing, like most personal assistants, and if one were terribly nearsighted and ...

Day Without Tears

Listen now, my children, to the sparks of our ancestors. This soil was not always touched by flame. When our ancestors first began to weave tales of hydrogen and controlled fusion there was a terrible storm, my children. The storm plagued our wireless networks; it tore away our ability to ...

Surface

Isaac lived on the inner ring of the tower, so he didn't have a window. He had a screen though, and despite the status of having a window, he preferred the flexibility of having a screen. A screen could show a view from anywhere in the world, a window just had the outside. Unlike most ...

The Good Life

It's very hard to describe the sound of a wooden baseball bat hitting the base of a stop sign, especially when the metal has been wrapped in a pillow to muffle the noise. It isn't a clang. There's no resonance, and I firmly believe that the word "clang" applies only to sounds that can echo. It ...

Censorship

They are marching on the block today. Mama and Papa tell me it will all be over soon, and that whatever might happen, this won’t be my fault. My brother Mika refused to chose his words carefully, and now the others don’t want to either. I’m scared for myself, and I am scared for my ...

Hand And Fist

Ossie was on the subway, thinking about getting his hand redone,when it started. He was gently touching the worn mahogany with the still-fleshy fingertips of his left hand, still amazed at the way the circuitry was so completely hidden behind his wooden knuckles. He hadn't had it refinished ...

Sol-5210

DATE: ASBI 68432 PROGRAM: Search for Extra-Serian Intelligence REPORT NUMER: Sol-5210 REPORT TYPE: Interim INTERVAL: Every 100 sidereal years (local time) PREPARED BY: Planetary Observation Probe XTRE43773 This report documents the observations from ASBI 68372-68432. The subject planet has ...

Savings

"Do you love me?" asked Josephine. "Of course I love you." said Arthur "You know that." Josephine looked suddenly distraught. "Okay." Arthur took her hand. "What is it? Why are you upset?" Josephine looked him in the eyes, her whole body tense. "I want you to meet my daughter ...

Sure Shot

Everything was wrong. Jasey hadn’t planned this heist to go this way. Yet, here he was with a shaking hand trembling before a live audience of hostages at the bank. Sweat reigned supreme on his brow and he dared not wipe it to acknowledge its existence. His grey eyes slipped left and right ...

Perfectly Logical Explanation

I'll try to explain this as simp--Yes, I know what time it is. It all makes sense, okay? It's perfectly logical. This is how Navah explained to me: Radiowaves, okay? Radios use' em, so do televisions and cell phones. Navah said everyone knew this, but whatever. You know the static, right? On ...

Static Cling

"I thought it was supposed to be bigger." "Well how should I know? This is what the guy at the shop gave me. It's not like I ever saw one before." The two boys stared down at the black rectangle on the table, breathing in musty basement air. Marty, the older one, was twelve; Chester, his ...

The Price of a Steak Dinner

"See," said Don, as he tapped on the screen, "I told you. Even if I prevent Velocivich from inventing the warp drive, someone else does it within a year, and we still colonize Tao Ceti before the end of the century. You can't change history. History has a way with things." Behind the ...

Flight Of The Majestic

Caleb's hand reached for the rope one more time to hoist himself up onto another ledge. The icy winds howled around him as he hit the heat-release button on the ice-pick to pull it back easily from the sheer face he'd just managed to climb. A breath-taking view of the blue sky melding with the ...

In A Teapot

"There's a storm coming," Leaphorn said, and moved to close the shutters. Zhang removed his ear-buds and glanced up from his monitor, looking out the window. Beijing looked as clear as ever. He dismissed Leaphorn's prediction with a wave of his hand, rose, and proceeded to make tea. Zhang ...

Prevention

“What’s your business?” yelled Marie from the gate tower, pointing her rifle at the small caravan below. A man emerged from the covered wagon holding a wool hat in his hand. He was gaunt, his bones pulling hard against his leather skin. “Ma’m we were hoping we might have a word ...

Simpler Times

Sammy, don’t stray too far now.” Alice had a firm grip on her six year olds hand as they walked through the courtyard of the Faire. A woman stood near the front gates and handed out what was supposed to be paper. For only a thousand credit entry fee, however, Alice knew it was imitation. ...

Seizure

"Dan, please, calm down." Daniel had only been home for a few moments, but the slammed door and Daniel's flashing eyes told Gabe that the results of the subpoena had been poor. "How can you say that? How can you say 'calm down'?" Gabe pressed his lips together but didn't protest when Daniel ...

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