The Role of Plumage in the Mating Habits of the Karraw

"I am never going to get laid with this plumage." said Gruick, picking at his feathers. "It's so dull, people are going to think I'm a girl." "Oh Gruick, you're not brown, you're just a deep maroon." said Jason, scratching his goatee and leaning back against the violet Lurilura tree. "What ...

Vacation

He'd offered him some lemonade because he assumed he would like it. After all, Lupert himself liked lemonade, so it only made sense. With a shaky hand, he set the glass down on the table next to the man decked out in military regalia that Lupert had never seen before. Lupert watched a lot ...

In Style

"Silver hair is in this season," the technician suggested helpfully. Mary made a face. "Won't that just make me look old?" "No, no," the technician assured Mary with a laugh. "It's silver, dear, not white. Definitely unnatural," she added. Mary signed and fingered the swatches. Silver wasn't ...

It Comes In Waves

Marco can leave the hospital bed, and for that, he is grateful. His balance is unsteady, but with a cane and time, he should be able to get around much the same way he used to. Dana smiles when he moves his hand to touch her cheek, the way she did for him for so long, and, that makes him smile ...

Le Roi Soleil

Four days after his wedding, Philippe discovered the moon was made out of cheese. He made this discovery when his mother-in-law, who was a witch, threw him up to the moon using her magic. His mother in law would have been unpleasant even if she were not a witch and were his wife not the ...

It's The Same Old Song

I am activated again, forced to perform another single for the drunken masses. Yet another lead singer struts his beer-engorged gut on the stage in front of me, as my bandmates and I react to his motions and signals. We cannot help it. We are programmed to be his backup. Perhaps, this one ...

The Game

There had been another coup, but that didn't matter to Alba. All Governmentalists were alike; so what if they exchanged one secretary for another? The anarchist papers were cheering over the shift, but Alba knew better. If the "coup" had reached the newspapers, it was little more than a PR ...

The Hawk and the Heartbreaker

Gabriella Hawk limped though the skywalks of The Hall. She could have slung her body into her metal skeleton to move quickly and easily, but Gabriella was determined to make use of her waking hours when she could. She wanted to make her body move under her own power. There was no use in being ...

20/20

"How much money are we talking?" Jake asked. "Fifty thousand dollars." Jake couldn't see the doctor's face, but he'd developed a mental image of the man over the past few days and was certain that he had grey hair, a white jacket, a mustache, and an utterly blank expression. His voice ...

Level Up

"How's it going, Cody? Got another level yet?" Miss Katrina knelt down next to Cody's desk and peered over his shoulder at the game displayed on the screen. Cody looked up at her and grinned without pausing. "I'm almost level 28!" he declared. "I finally got past that mountain with the ...

Curing the Stupid

Molly was just 14 but she'd already been the best in her class every year since she was allowed to grow and develop in the school system. It was no wonder that her hands shook today, staring at the vidscreen at school. "… I'm not the best? How could Hans best me!? I was well past his ...

Tête á Tête

“I need to find a man.” Jahobie Muranme let out a huge, cracked-tooth grin at the dark fellow across the table from her. “There’s Long Trousers’ down the street. Betcha you could fin’ some hunk to brokeback with ‘fore the night is over.” Jahobie slung her right arm-the real ...

Halloway

HALLOWAY, The Ancient House of Entry: Bridget Halloway. 2004 (Born) - 2096 (Digitized) - Present Blogging sources agree that when Bridget Halloway went to the copyright office on July 8th, 2021, she was poor, out of work and pregnant with her second child. (See Arthur Hallway) As seen from ...

Elementary, My Dear Bell

Doctor Bell crouched behind the bulkhead as a burst of plasma fired past his head. His friend, Basil Casa (the renowned "consulting detective" for the Galactic Yard), scrambled out of Engineering and took cover next to him. "Well, this is a fine predicament, Mr. Casa," Dr. Bell said ...

Back to Basics

Another blast, and that one nearly scorched away Wemble's shoulder. He was trying his damndest to keep out of sight, tucked behind an old medipak crate. Battle had been going on for almost a year now and they were close to extinction. The enemy might have outnumbered them, but the worst of the ...

Revenge

"I got it!" Dave cried, exuberant, brandishing a cheap plastic comb as he burst into the dorm room. "Jake! I finally got it!" Jake looked up from his fuel cell textbook and eyed Dave, unimpressed. "So your hair will finally stop looking like a rat's next. Great. The world will rejoice." He ...

Fury Of The Widowmaker

They called the ship a Widowmaker, a relic of a time when the black of space was scarred by the war and the machines that made it possible. There were no windows save at the top and few doors; little was done to make the metal monstrosity look like anything other than the heavily armed coffin ...

Applied Linguistics

How are your studies progressing? The liaison asked, once he was within range of the professor. The professor, a hoary man whose moustache seemed to be made of white wire, glanced up before placing his stylus on the desk beside his tablet. They're progressing, he answered, ...

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