Author: Mark Renney I once had the Anti-Bad. A petty criminal, a repeat offender I was deemed suitable. Someone who couldn’t help but help himself. They made me an offer and I didn’t refuse. The prospect of prison, of another chunk of my life diced and cubed behind bars, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer When you were Josie and I was Serena, not J0513 and 53R3N4: silly affectations to make us ‘more robotic’. Back then you had hazel eyes and brownish-red hair. Now you’ve got blue optics and dreadlocks made from braided string. I’m still ...

Author: David Barber “What you mean, we can’t land?” The Captain looked about, bewildered. The flatscreens and yellowing presskeys of the Pilgrim’s bridge were from a bygone age. People stepped forward one at a time, shy, yet proud of their empty titles. Shaking hands ...

Author: Gwynne Weir We looked at each other; the native and the alien. She (‘it’ didn’t seem like a polite way to refer to the creature, even in my own head) kept her eyes locked on mine, her whole body taut. I didn’t blame her; I’d come crashing into her life – quite ...

Author: Moriah Geer-Hardwick It was early morning when the impact woke her. Although muted by distance, there was still enough force to send an ominous tremor through the center of her chest. She clutched at the spot, even before her eyes opened. Patiently, she waited for ...

Author: William Gray Look, we don’t have much time here, okay? Corporate really cut corners on these new spacesuits. That ripping sound is not reassuring...I’m pretty sure I’ll get a view of Earthrise before….well... This all began years ago. After earning an expensive, ...

Author: David Henson When earth passed through the Great Inter-dimensional Anomalous Wave, everything went blurry. After things cleared up 56 hours later, it was a different world. Great Grandpappy Goose was one of the last to remember when the world had three spatial ...

Author: Anthony Nguyen I woke up outside my body. My husband welcomed me onto a server called dasn.incorporealliving3.mw. Like normal, my mouth moved and words emerged,"Hi John, it's been a while." "Yeah babe, ya don't have to be so formal." "I feel like I'm ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I raise my hand above my head, knuckles to the rear, palm to the sky, fingers softly curled, thumb tight. As the weight tips the arm leftward, I let it drop and curve away to the right, knuckles uppermost until that extension stops like ...

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 ...