Author: Cesium I started making a map of the places in my dreams. It used to be that more often than not, when I fell asleep I'd find myself wandering the streets of an old new city. I'd ride the 88 bus alongside a gaggle of frat boys in dresses heading to a Mardi Gras ...

Author: Alzo David-West The Man walked into the empty room. He sat down on a chair. “Why do you want to change?” the Voice asked. “Because I'm tired,” the Man said, “because I'm tired, and I'm broken.” “Please explain your reason,” the Voice required. “Yes. You ...

Author: David Henson Lt. John Peters tosses a foam ball to his son, Petey. The boy giggles when it goes through his hands and bumps him on the nose. Lt. Peters lies back on the gurney. Norene sits, legs crossed, anxiety like a current of electricity twitching her ...

Author: Stephen C. Curro The air is sour with smoke. Emergency sirens shriek in the distance. All around me the world is burning. ​My four arms cut through the haze. I stumble over the rubble, hardly able to believe that this was a busy plaza moments ago. ​“Mal’ven?” I ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “I said I wanted soy milk, not almond.” The lady brandishes her mug at me like it’s a talisman of doom and she’s a banespeaker. I sigh. If only it were that simple. Taking the mug, I tip the perfectly good coffee away, then make one ...

Author: Brenda Anderson The Little Time Machine got tired of ferrying passengers back and forth in space-time. He wrote a polite letter of resignation to his employers, Time Taxis, and fled to the 18th century. Here he discovered a life of culture, refinement and music. ...

Author: Emma K. Leadley Karl twitched in his sleep. He dreamed of tomatoes. Fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes with their firm texture, sweet innards and tantalising smell. He twisted one from its stem and bit into it, juice and seeds running down his chin and-- The hub lights ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher The leather-wrapped handle of his dual-edged battle-axe was slick in his clenching fists. The snow-coated everything of Sverre’s including his helmet, beard, massive bare arms, and boots. He was in the seventh or the tenth line of men, he really ...

Author: Glenn Leung Good evening, parents and teachers. As you all know, I was the engineer in charge of investigating the accident. I'll begin by recapping what was on the news. Eighteen-year-old Samantha Chen was on her phone and did not see the STOP signal for the ...

Author: Hart St. John Ring, Ring… “You’ve reached the dwelling of Socrates, if you’ve called hoping for a public apology, please hang up, and don’t call again. Hemlock suppliers, please leave me detailed instructions on where to procure your wares. Time is of the ...

Author: Irene Montaner Time was born the moment Erisha did. And when she breathed for the first time, in and out, a world was brought to life. A land of flames and fumes. Erisha made herself a home in it and watched time go by from the warmth of her hearth. Decades, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer They throw me through a window, barely a grey panel against the dusk of the underground I’m falling through. I can just about make out the floor - it’s coming up fast. Using the slight angle of my fall, I try for a roll-out and nearly ...

Author: Daniel Tenner Every 10 seconds, we birth another child in the black hole. This one, Amy Freida Felicia Lua, is a daughter, I think, for now at least. She’s three seconds old already. We are traveling through the infoverse together, I’m showing her the data ...

Author: Irene Montaner The planet gleamed faintly under the light of its star. Beneath a thin layer of clouds, its surface was mostly blue. Navy blue, according to the photosensors. Earth used to be the planet’s name. Voyager 11 had traveled for centuries and covered ...

Author: David Berger (The Phenomenon Known As “Soulmates” – Ms. Blu) “Why are you always complaining?” my wife asked me one night from across the kitchen. “You’ve got me; you love your work; we have a nice home; good friends; the sex is great.” “Yeah, great,” I ...

Author: Glenn Leung Levi ducked around the corner, cowering as the teenagers closed in with their crowbars, pipes and other hard-hitting objects. He wanted to run, but his brass soles would give him away. He had no choice but to extract the soft plastic layer from his arms, ...

Author: Breeze Navarro This is it. I remember the nights the scent of mint would gently pull me to consciousness. Our home would be lit by a single candle. You don’t want to disturb the darkness too much, mom would say. I’d sip tea. She’d sip whiskey and tell me the ...

Author: Lynn Finger “How much to fix this glitch?” I said. “You can’t afford it,” he tossed back. We were suspended in our respective amplifications, parked in an enabled space elevator made from light. We were formed and holding in the black expanse, our talk focused ...