Author: Hillary Lyon Justin clenched hist fists, then slowly unfurled his fingers. “See, the little finger of my right-hand sticks; it’s not as flexible, as quick, as my other fingers. These gloves are no good to me if one finger lags.” The technician stared down at his ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Miguel Jarvis Wong had lived on three continents before the age of thirteen, and been a trouble-finder on all but the first. To this day he doesn’t know exactly what his father did for a living, only that it meant making home in more ...

Author: Joseph Sidari “Is that a Shih-Tzu?” She reached down and petted the puppy. It sniffed her hand, looking up with intelligent eyes. “Kind of a mix,” he said. “Oh, right. So many genetically engineered breeds these days. Maybe a Shih-poo?” “No. That’s Shih-Tzu bred ...

Author: Bryan Pastor Far from the city center, where the lights are so dim that stars can be seen, lies a rare view, a stand of trees. The trees, of which kind had long been forgotten, poked their yearning branches high above the squat gray monotony of the surrounding ...

Author: Liya Akoury Names are strange things. Back on Earth, we inherited our fathers’ names, but there are no fathers here. We’re twelve women and twenty-four girls. So, we’ve done away with them. We also used to have ranks. Yael was "Captain", then "Levinsky". Now, she's ...

Author: Steve Bailey Mr. Goebbels sits on a shelf in the kitchen of Roger’s apartment. It is a virtual digital assistant that displays pictures, answers questions, reports the news, and plays music. Roger gave it the nickname. Whenever Mr. Goebbels shows pictures of his ...

Author: Alicia Yau Colonization spaceship ‘Victoria’ has been orbiting a gas giant with the most chaotic magnetic field in the solar system for weeks without returning signals to Earth. You yell, “They are not supposed to park there. Their destination is the watery moon of ...

Author: Rick Tobin "You can always get someone to do your thinking for you." —Gordie Howe, famous hockey player “I want him off the ice. I don’t care if you have to take him out!” Patterson adjusted his dress pants over his stuffed pin-stripe executive ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer > > At least with the second Faraday cage built as an ‘airlock’ around the entrance to the living module, burst transmissions from anything inside won’t do them any good. ‘Them’ - so imprecise. Winning wars depends on information. ...

Author: Scott Angus Morrison The red light blinked. Twice. One half-second later, it blinked twice more. The man at the desk sat and watched: Blink-blink. Pause. Blink-blink. Pause. Blink-blink. The sequence continued. Slowly, the man reached up and flipped off ...

Author: Jeffrey Holst I have died many times but have always been brought back. My Nick, he loves me and he always brings me back. My Nick shows me his favorite things and keeps me near him. I think that even when I have died, My Nick keeps me at his side. There are times I ...

Author: Denise N. Ruttan It wasn’t that Grady had an objection to the Watch, per se. She didn’t even remember the implantation procedure; she had been a baby. The procedure had left a scar, a box of raised skin on the inside of her wrist. She’d watched film of the ...

Author: Ashwin Dayal Notification. And so, rings the phone. Pounce on it and check. The Writer gritted his teeth. Darn insurance. Where was it? He had thrust his finger on the 'Submit' button six months ago and They could not thrust their ruddy fingers on the Acceptance. ...

Author: David Barber “And did they put up a fight?” the Dread Emperor asked. Around the vast ill-lit throne room, flatterers, sycophants, and the rest of the nobility tensed. After another long day – it was forbidden to eat or drink in the Emperor’s presence, or to leave ...

Author: Shon-Lueiss Harris You expect the world will fall apart. It's the one thing scientists, evangelicals, and politicians seem to agree on. One day, maybe in our lifetimes, it's all going to end. Except it doesn't just end. It starts with a kid, a bag of ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “You know, I think Adolph is rightly regarded as inspirational.” Darius spins round, his expression horrified. “That’s not how I’d describe Kristallnacht, Mister Lamen!” Russ Lamen points at the screen. “Crystal-what? I mean his first ...

Author: Ken Poyner I start evenings at six o’clock. Delta is usually on her porch in her shimmering yellow superhero costume. I excitedly wave and holler, “Good evening, Delta. Good day in the City?” She may not have gotten that day into the city, but she will say ...

Author: Nicholas Schroeder Dr. Sellars set up the teleportation machine. He was done waiting. It was time to test it. He powered up and stepped inside. The system initiated and vibratrons filled the chamber. “Here we go.” “Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, ... System Error!” The ...