Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Is your head deformed in some way?” I spin left, taking the still-habitual extra step to back off a bit while doing so. It’s an Uglonos herder, complete with brow spines painted blue. The contrast with his lime green hide is striking, ...

Author: Majoki “You wrong. Dead wrong, O’Bob. The slowpo didn’t do this.” Mikal nodded absently around him at the decay, the gloom, the malaise, the rotting bones of the city they scavenged everyday. “You did.” “You mean we all did. All of us.” Old Bob sighed. His ...

Author: Ross Field “You are ready to hear the story of our people my son” With their backs to the blinding light and whipping sand they descended down the wide tunnel worn smooth from time, through the carcasses of toppled skyscrapers, museums, and churches compacted ...

Author: David Barber One of the aliens was strolling through the city centre as easy as you please. As if the war had not happened. For an instant the Pilot saw worlds burning, air spilling from nests, the sparkle of detonations amongst their swarming craft. He'd ...

Author: CL Farley Light turns the insides of my eyelids red. A strange smell, burning and sharply sweet, sticks in my nostrils and the back of my throat. This is not my cool backyard, where the damp breeze chilled my skin and sunset painted the looming clouds purple and ...

Author: Rachel Sievers Throwing shadows in the black of night and moving quickly under the heavy cloud cover we move over the rocky terrain. Fear of darkness is not an option anymore. A crevasse springs up and catches my shoe tip and I stumble. The ground comes up to meet ...

Author: Hillary Lyon “So, ponder this,” Drew began, “Thomas Jefferson was a Deist—he subscribed to the idea of the Clock-Maker. Remember?” “Yes,” Brady nodded. “I recall.” He loved thought experiments. “The belief was, a cosmic clock-maker—God—created this perfect, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The advantages bestowed by the digitally-enhanced lifestyle are many. On the other hand, I’ve never found it… Warm. There’s an intimacy to tactile media, an emotional connection with the turn of a page, the smell of a second-hand bookshop ...

Author: Shannon O'Connor I wait in line to get on the space shuttle, ready to leave Earth. I carry a bag with my belongings I think I might need. I didn’t know what to pack; I tried to only bring essentials. My kind are being sent away, since we are no longer needed. We ...

Author: Steven French “You’re kidding me!” Roberts exclaimed, “You mean they make their spaceships out of wood?!” Alari’s eyebrow tentacles waved in affirmation but then they added, “Well, it’s a kind of plant found on the Travok homeworld but a tree would be the closest ...

Author: Deborah Shrimplin "Dr. Bessot, welcome to Planet Chaldea. I hope your journey from Earth was a pleasant one. Please, do have a seat," President Seints said as he gestured toward the chair next to him. He searched Dr. Bessot's face for physical signs of the brilliant ...

Author: Bill Cox Bardumel floated in zero gravity on the ship’s bridge, watching the final descent. The asteroid, the Horned Skull of the Great Herd, crashed through the atmosphere, causing the white clouds to part like the petals of a Soona flower. Two seconds later the ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...