Author: Jeff L Mauser The soft high-count sheets are cool against my skin. I’m greeting by soft spring sunshine, I smile. Throwing the curtains aside, the green fields of home flow from beneath my window as far as I can see. The aroma of coffee sashays in, overlaid with ...

Author: Greg Roensch You’d be 40 years old today, my age at the time of the first strike. There’s some comfort knowing you didn’t have to live through the disasters that came like seasons – drought, famine, disease, war, more war. I awoke one morning without sight, which ...

Author: Chad Bolling "I'm not sure I remember your name,” a soft, gender-neutral, synthetic voice said. “I can't see anything,” a human, female voice responded. "Can you smell or hear anything?" the synthetic voice asked. "No. Wait. I can smell. It smells like a ...

Author: Dave Ludford “Well, what do you think?” You turn from the window to face me and the force of the emotion I suddenly feel hits me like a physical blow. Your third face is pure, serene, and beautiful beyond words; it is the face of love. An unbelievable ...

Author: Rick Tobin He wandered in idle thought. Not like practicing poking on oranges or pigskin, before both disappeared. Can’t get them shipped to Mars since the war. This guy’s skin is tougher than expected. A wrong needle plunge and free-range nanobots will rip him up. ...

Author: Lance J. Mushung My patrol ship, Topaz, entered the upper atmosphere of Earth. I always watched the black of space change to a sky of blue when returning home. Logan, my best friend and Topaz's AI, said, "Liz, we set down at the Ellington Naval Station in 2.37 ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “This project costs more than every other clandestine operation put together! In fact, I could equip a division with the best we have right now, and still have change to buy a squadron of F35s!” Senator Godley starts hammering his fist on ...

Author: Maura Yzmore I tossed and turned late into the night, being kept awake by a soft wail coming from the woods. Was it an animal in distress? A mating call? I remembered a saying from centuries ago, that cats in heat sounded like human babies crying. Only the ...

Author: John Carrick Charles had been at the station for six months now. Housed in a small assembly to the right side of the ammunition drum, the belts rattled as they cycled through their daily reseating. The heaters ignited and the cold of the evening was offset for a few ...

Author: Don Nigroni On September 2nd, 2049 at the Prime Storage Facility, Jules Deschamps told me, “In the 12th century, the Templars, whilst looking for the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Land, stumbled upon a three-foot diameter tungsten sphere hidden in a cave beneath a ...

Author: Helen Merrick Theresa Davies wrung her hands. “It’s not been an easy decision.” “You co-signed both contracts, agreed to the payments.” “Yes, but circumstances have changed. Please, I have no choice.” * Shielding his eyes, George scoured the horizon. “I give ...

Author: Samuel Stapleton For a long time, we have dreamed of finding our next home planet. And yes, we know the probability is that it’s out there already, but you see it’s finding them that’s the difficult part. I mean have you seen how big space is? No, you haven’t, ...

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 ...