Author: Sarah Klein The Mind is awake, and it's hungry. This is one of its most difficult tasks. Synapses yawned and stretched, crackling. Former individual minds shifted within, sending their desires down the main conduits. Fried chicken. Pizza. Kale salad. The ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer No matter where you go in this universe, no matter how strange the dominants or disgustingly lethal the atmosphere, you'll always find a watering hole serving hot drinks and simple food to a motley, and largely transient, clientele. Last ...

Author: Bill Cox I wake up drowning, fluid choking my lungs. I sit up and vomit, every part of my body heaving, liquid gushing from my mouth onto the floor. I gradually become aware, with each convulsion, of a voice, speaking softly, soothingly, the same words on a ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks At ten minutes to noon on February 7th, 2024, a tremendous roar went up across the city of Chicago. It was a roar that many witnesses described as a “tremendous sucking sound.” People flocked to apartment and high-rise windows and rushed to the ...

Author: Alastair Millar “All of you are now old enough to learn, children. So hear how it was, and is, and will be.” The Elder settled himself into his chair and smiled benignly. He had his audience’s full attention: it was rare for grown-ups to take them seriously, and ...

Author: Phil Temples I was an English Lit postdoc, down on my luck—and money—when I saw an advertisement seeking test subjects for a sleep study at a local university. It paid well; well enough that I glossed over the cautionary warnings describing the potential risks and ...

Author: Sarah Klein Mark stared at the screen on the small object. He shook it gently. He was fascinated it was still on. An object like this from salvage, an object he didn't recognize – it meant it had to be at least twenty years old. As he tilted it, he saw the small ...

Author: Henry Peter Gribbin My name is Ben. I am a middle-aged schoolteacher from Pittsburgh. I am also a homeowner. I recently bought a house that sits on a busy street in a thriving community. The previous owners were an elderly couple who recently passed. The husband was ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer "What are doing?" I step the lance down to standby and look round. There's a Luminarian fledgling regarding me, eyes lit in glorious shades of orange. "I'm clearing droppings from this rooftop, young edular." It waves stubby wings in ...

Author: Diego Lama, Translated by Rose Facchini God called Alberto on his cell. “Hey, it’s God,” He said. “I wanted to let you know that the world annoyed me, so I’m getting rid of everything except you, okay?” “Okay,” Alberto responded. Then he added, “Thanks!” “Now, ...

Author: Daniel P. Douglas When a sleek and shiny bizbot from Rush, an upstart Venusian drift-pod vendor, showed up on the same mid-day shuttle to Godessa, Ogleblatt fumed. He glared at the bot’s silver and blue pinstriping and decided to call up Ortega on holo. He punched ...

Author: Deborah Coy Clarise thumbed through the thick album on her lap. Her mother, sitting next to her, pointed to a rampant unicorn just like the one glowing a proud blue on her wrist. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had legacy tats?” Clarise didn’t answer but quickly ...

Author: Jackson Lanzer A man is silhouetted by a sunset, the heavenly light decorating him in immaculate golden armor and a tattered cape of shadows. His rusty hair flows in the wind, and his oak eyes stare into the celestial abyss. “Just me, alone, suffering in ...

Author: Majoki *Influence of the stars,* Breezy Hicks answered her daughter. The teenager looked at her curiously. *The stars? Why would anyone think the the flu originated there?* Breezy smiled. *They were literally medieval. Plagues. Pestilence. Why not blame the ...

Author: Elizabeth Hoyle “Virtual breakfast with President Mahlers is at 8:30 followed by a joint press conference with the heads of NASA, Earth Only, and The Time Organization at 9:45—” “Who invited those idiots from the T.O? All they want is to keep their rich investors ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Another street carpeted in things once considered essential. I wait. Nothing moves. Picking up a can of beans, I swing my arm back, then stop. Put the beans in my backpack. Spotting a can of prunes, I throw that instead. It lands hard and ...

Author: Andrew Dunn Anonymous hotels on dusty roads close to chaotic ports wasn’t Nick’s favorite part of being an independent fidget. It was worse when the ship he was contracted to meet was three days late, the desk clerk he was bribing told him adherents of the latest ...

Author: Rick Tobin All lounge tables were separated far from the hideous Braxel’s corner booth. A cleared semi-circle void reeked of rampant terror regarding the infamous diner now surrounded by nervous alien species, some tentacled, slurping preferred living or semi-living ...