The Window
Author: Tina Mullane
Through the grid of the window in the lab, I view the much-hailed apparatus. It seemed to glow with shiny promises of freedom from the heavy cloak of medical tyranny. I misinterpret the glint of fluorescent light bouncing off the small metal tag, which ...
Ascension
Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer
"Traffic's wild tonight," the driver offered, making brief eye contact in the rearview mirror.
She gave him a thin smile but didn't respond. She caught her reflection in the Plexi partition and wondered if he noticed her eyes. Wondered ...
Lateral Striking
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer
I come through the doors at a run, dodging consoles and furniture while trying to figure out how they got past our drone hunters.
“Give me the casualty count first.”
Might as well get the worst out of the way. Then I can focus on ...
Kludge
Author: Majoki
“We’re humans. Earthlings. Terrans. We are not Kludge!”
“You are to us. You’ve been Kludge for eons. Get over it,” the platypus-like creature said dismissively from its anti-grav sedan chair. It belched lustily, exhaling the unmistakable stench of Corn ...
Side by Side
Author: Oliver Hunt
Kylin sunk down into the cockpit of her mech, Trisha. Flicking the ignition switch, various lights on the control interface blinked into life. Readings show that she was ...
Clauspiracy
Author: David C. Nutt
I have to keep this brief. I don’t know how much time I have and if they find me… well, let’s just say they won’t be delivering glad tidings of comfort and joy.
I never thought a government conspiracy would get me killed. Certainly not this one. If it ...
Before
Author: Andrew Dunn
Before we were forgotten, we were myths. People read of us, and learned about us in school. The day we set sail on a column of fire was still a holiday – one celebrated with sales and bar crawls by all but the truest adherents. The true believers still ...
Toothbrush
Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks
Now it's up to me, ooh, what will be
-Hall & Oates
Jakob’s favorite record was damaged. Every time Daryl Hall would sing about “one less toothbrush hanging in the stand,” the lyric repeated on an endless loop. This was ...
Parallelograms
Author: James Eustace
The lights had been flickering in the study for quite some time, but it wasn’t until the room itself seemed to switch off that Greg was concerned enough to call the power company. “Don’t worry,” the lady on the phone reassured him, “we’ll send someone ...
Cairns of the Lost
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer
Day 2. Pieces of the Eridani Dawn are still leaving blazing trails across the sky, day and night. Not that there’s a lot of difference between them on this world. It’s always some sort of twilight. Estoro says the cold will be our main ...
Jeremy’s House
Author: DJ
The house smelled of rotten eggs. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Jeremy took a sip of coffee. The lines on his face suggested that he had had his share of stress in his life. His brother Leon, was cradling his coffee mug. “It’s so cold in this ...
The Future Has Stopped Messaging
Author: Connor Milligan
Reece Elliot rushed into his manager's office, Tim Woods with the last printout that the pre-Dic machine will print. The print said "The situation in the future is unprintable. The exit door has now closed." Reece handed over the sheet to Tim. Reece ...
Necessary Beings
Author: Majoki
The speed at which Michiko's roboto folded the origami crane was breathtaking. She would have her thousand orizuru in mere minutes and then her prayer must be answered. She knelt on the tatami resting her weary arms delicately on the edge of the kotatsu as ...
Five Things to do on the Way to the Bottom of the Sea
Author: Andrew A Dunn
1. Check your ticket.
The starfish-shaped station is large. Yes, there are maps to help navigate faux marble floors and moving sidewalks to find your departure gate. Once you find it, check signs from time to time to make sure your gate hasn’t ...
Protocol 369
Author: Rick Tobin
Adam Three Horses shuffled past an unmarked drab gray metal door into a cold sparse room filled with file cabinets and a single, elongated metal desk with one laptop in front of a squinting goat-faced military officer bearing colorful astronaut patches on ...
Sleeper Agent
Author: Alastair Millar
It’s time I let you in on my secret, doctor. You deserve to know, because you made me what I am.
After all, you were there when I was de-tubed; it was you that called me Jane, though it was years before I found out that my surname was Doe. Of all ...
Containment
Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer
Dawn breaks as we head uphill, the path laid on top of the trench that covers the power cables. Passing through the bulwark, the noise of the chillers drowns out all natural sounds.
Patrick gestures to the viewport. I pull the lever that ...
The Heritage Paradox
Author: Jude Curtis Greaves
I stared in disbelief at the fracture, in reality, contemplating its sudden appearance in my apartment. Hypnotized by the apparition, my muscles moved in the direction of the fortuitous scientific hypothesis while my consciousness told me it ...
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