Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I can hear his controller yelling at him to shoot. His eyes flick left and right, then he stares at the woman with the kid a short distance behind me. That shouting must be deafening. It’s certainly not helping him do anything ...

Author: Jason Graff I was a child, asleep in a patchwork oxygen tent when he first appeared. Since I’d slept through it, my first encounter with him was in my imagination fueled as it often was by the ramblings of the others who shared the apartment with my family. He came ...

Author: Andrew Dunn Araceli’s stars sparkled like diamonds in a patchwork piece of sky, ringed by the edge of the caldera that towered over the city. Jennifer had a story about why she wanted that sky, and Araceli’s stars, inked into her skin, droplet after droplet of ink. ...

Author: Alzo David-West Pellucidar Corp. had launched a new campaign: “7 million dollars for the year 7 million.” In a time of mega-trillionaires, the price was cheap change, and the prospect was attractive. Decisively, the distant future promised wonders the year 2143 ...

Author: Rick Tobin “Know the right people and get your right place.” Ted Aaronson’s huge fingers straightened wrinkles in an undersized, blue t-shirt irritating his neck. “The right people get the best.” Aaronson twisted his powerful, athletic frame, popping noisy vertebrae ...

Author: Morrow Brady A silver float-stone fell silently, colliding with Birb the hover lamp. Birb flickered as his failing battery redirected power to his stabilisers. Shadow and sulphurous light warred over the silvery rock tunnel. “Nice Birb, nice” I mumbled ...

Author: Hayden Waller It is impossible to determine where my body ends and the universe begins. My blood cells are stars, my veins their galaxies. Every muscle feels as if it were coated in a thin layer of cloud, cool and dewy, gently lifting me into the sky above like an ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Have you ever tried to outrun God? An idle question, but valid. Can any sinner avoid their fate? Pondering such considerations passes the time. Hunkered down in a grassy nook amidst the densely planted fields that surround Karnourie, a ...

Author: Alzo David-West 1. “Lilly, can we?” “Not tonight.” 2. “Lilly, how about today?” “I'm tired.” 3 “Lilly, maybe …” “Next week.” 4 “Lilly, it's been a week.” “I changed my mind.” 5. “Lilly, I was wondering.” “Is it all you think ...

Author: Brian Etta Rohan had been on an antiquities jag ever since he happened on a curious program on NOVA offering the viewer insights into some of the most mysterious books of arcana in history, The Rohonc Codex with its Christian, Islamic and even HIndu symbology had ...

Author: David Barber Over the generations, many scoundrels had sat in the Pilot’s chair, though folk said this one was the worst, presiding over the scandal of the dark decks, and the blight years of algae and roachcake. Now the corridors echoed with angry voices. Men ...

Author: Josh Price Everyone watches television. It's the law, dummy. We sign in our hours so we can get our credits; we get prizes and stuff. I got a gift certificate to the online store and got a super cute blouse for picture day. The blouse has flowers on it. I've never ...

Author: Jessie Atkin The pairs line up at the life tubes. They wait patiently. It has been nine months; a few extra moments will not break them. When the white light begins to flash everyone stands a little straighter. The first pairs in each queue step toward the receiving ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks Franco had fainted. It was 105 degrees in the city, and despite all the warnings on radio and television, he had insisted that he would go birdwatching. Franco had heard that a male bobolink had been sighted in one of Detroit’s many tallgrass ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m running down a corridor lined with tall computers. There’s a government goon hot on my tail. What scares me most is his non-stop shouting about “can’t fire on the slippery bastard because hitting a system will ruin my shot at ...

Author: Daniel Mainwaring “Fuck! He’s not breathing,” whimpered Kai. His friend was delirious when they dragged him from the crashed vehicle but he had slipped into unconsciousness as they laid him out on the desert floor. “Stop freaking out, Kai,” Eli retorted. “He’s ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks There was a fur farm, the Edward Fur Farm, in Livingston County, about fifty minutes northwest of Detroit. When a group of city-resident foxes, whom Detroiters called “sentients,” got wind of the farm they planned to pay it a visit. The foxes ...

Author: Andrew Dunn My ex hated the spaces between terraformed colonies on Mars. “There’s nothing there. It’s all dead.” She’d complain, as we glided through thin atmosphere, a meter over unforgiving land where bioengineered chaparral was taking root. When we still loved ...