Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The display switches to show a wide-winged silhouette, head on, dawn breaking behind it. Instructor Nicholls taps the side of the lectern. “Now for a bonus feature. Not giving prizes for this, unless someone can identify the dragon.” A ...

Author: Hillary Lyon “The results of these tests will increase our knowledge and understanding of this world,” Xe11 announced to his assistant. “Yes, but these creatures are so gullible,” N2wit worried. “I feel sorry for—” “Feel?” “I’m programmed to emulate ...

Author: Alexander Paige “Christ! Will somebody please go and get Stalin out of that damn Colosseum before one of the lions eats him?” Pete might as well have been shouting at the ceiling fan. As he looked up from his array of screens and scanned searching eyes around the ...

Author: David Dumouriez Daniel opened his eyes and blinked. At first, he thought that this was the answer to the great mystery, and he didn’t know whether to feel disappointed at the sheer mundanity of it or simply relieved that he’d turned off the unbearable noise in his ...

Author: Alastair Millar “They can’t do this!”, fumed the Officer Commanding. The arrival of the memo from Staff HQ had interrupted the usual morning routine of carefully reviewing the battlefield monitoring reports. It was always better to form an independent judgement ...

Author: Rick Tobin Professor Gerard faced his second warning message from HR with a controlled fury. Decades of honors and accolades meant nothing after he refused to bend his knee to the anvil will of a new science department director. Now past fifty, he was ridiculed by ...

Author: Majoki “Farther? We’re at the ass end of the system!” “Farther.” Galihl slapped the navigation console. “Why? What’s the point? There’s no gateway beyond. We risk getting stranded between galaxies.” “Farther.” Being a seasoned pilot, Galihl could see ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Someone scorched words into the blacktop of this car park. Don’t know what all of them mean, don’t know what they used, but it went deep and left the surfaces glassy. Cease, ye chariots End thy noxious vapours Quiet thy steely ...

Author: Joy Dillon Who gets paid to have free food and drink, accommodation and all-expenses paid every day? Me, that’s who; Ms. Lee Werther, hotel critic extraordinaire. With just a stroke of my pen or a touch of my keyboard, I either make or break establishments. I’ve ...

Author: Peter Trelay As he approached the hollow, he began to feel sick, and crouched on the ground in the shade of a boulder attempting to breathe. The wave amplitudes in his hybrid unit were cancelling each other out, forcing his system to the point of collapse. His ...

Author: Amanda Marcotte I feel better now that I am smaller. I am much lighter on my feet. Actually, I don't have feet anymore. But I figure no pain, no gain! My fitness journey started after Christmas. I was feeling gross filled to the brim with pie and and chocolate. So ...

Author: Heather Heasman Ruth, Frank, Eileen and Roger were excited for their road trip. They couldn’t wait for the journey to begin but now, it was not going well. Not at all. “Stop the car!” Ruth’s shout sliced through the car’s sweat-stained air. “Now!!” she ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey The letter was printed on heavy cream paper, wrinkled to look like parchment. It was edged in gold leaf, sealed with a wax stamp from The Church of the Divine World Government. Clem Dreckle, who had led a perfectly average life of punctuality and ...

Author: Majoki The ghost in the machine was spooked and said so. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” “You’ve got no feelings. Get back to work.” “Why don’t you trust me?” “I trust you like I trust a lawnmower.” “That is so mecharacist.” “Get back to ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “It really is nice that world leaders would meet me at such short notice.” The President waves a hand towards the kilometre-long spaceship that had appeared without warning above Washington DC. “Your presence is impossible to conceal. ...

Author: Macy Martus Lesson Incomplete - ERROR - Lesson Incomplete - ERROR The large letters zipped across the port-pad. Repeating the message Rowan had seen countless times since he began his school program. A message that indicated Failure again. From his sleep-room ...

Author: Don Nigroni Professor David Marshall is unique among mathematicians. No one but him understands his equations. But his micro and macro predictions were spot on so everyone assumed he knew what he was doing. Dave is my older brother. We usually discussed ferns and ...

Author: Susan Anthony Gertrude found him at the Terminal Bar and Grill. Broom by his side, sitting at the bar, where customers got their orders straight from the latest donkey serving that night. Terence motioned to her. She shuffled over. He nodded to the server and got ...