Author: John Affleck Last thing I remember, before sitting up and screaming, was being pinned down in The Handless Clock while some Viking-looking dude toyed with a hardwood mallet and eyed my leg. My left knee, specifically. Away from us, I could hear a drunken argument ...

Author: Shannon O'Connor Which one do I want? Which one is best for me? How about the former astrophysicist? That would be a smart one. Maybe too high-end for me? But a nice change. How about the woman who climbed Mount Everest? An endurance brain! One that’s been to the ...

Author: Thomas Desrochers There is a disturbance on Deck Four. The Pilot can see it plain as day in the readout, magnified by his attention, an atmospheric ammonia reading eighty times normal. It was pure luck that he saw it at all, one readout among thousands. He calls ...

Author: R.D. Harris A young lady stood in front of me, waiting to vote like I was. Her glances in my direction were not rude but certainly repeated. "You've never seen an android at the polls?" I asked. "No, ma'am," she replied in a thick twang. Others in the library ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Massive wings beat the ground as it tears chunks from Devon’s body, the blue glow of its eyes turned purple by smeared blood. We’re all using laryngophone comms so as not to attract it’s attention. “That’s not my vulture.” I glance ...

Author: Jennifer Breslin He awoke on the pavement, lifted his head, and felt warm liquid pool in his eye. Must be blood. Six months of chemo and six months of radiotherapy had taken their toll. The blood-clots in his legs meant it was a slow, tortuous walk to the shop to get ...

Author: Tom Prentice I shuffle onward, clutching my side. Blood splatters the snow and the ice. Red, white and blue. They’ll be coming. They could follow a blood trail blindfolded if they had to. It’s how they were made. It was Russia that made them, to fight their ...

Author: Ben Fitzgerald Right on cue, Morgalith’s robotic guards escorted in the tax agent. The king was sitting on the other side of the throne room, and he bellowed to them as they entered: “Approach!” The tax agent complied. He could see the king more clearly now, the ...

Author: Travis Gregg Jeff had to crank the handwheel for ages till the bolt reluctantly slid back and the 3" thick steel door finally swung free. His stores were empty, the larder was bare. He'd been saving the one last meal and had made a little feast of it last night. ...

Author: Girish Kamplimath Ailean felt herself freezing in the liquid engulfing her. She could not see it, but she knew what it was. Although she did not feel any pain, she failed to understand why Ken would do this to her. He loved her more than any father loved his only ...

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer "We have a problem," Gates was talking as the door was still swinging shut behind him, "a massive fucking problem." Cooper switched the displays between them from opaque to semi-transparent and nevertheless managed to regard his ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer He stares from the screen, hair in fashionable disarray, jowls freshly barbered, teeth so white they nearly shine, eyes like glass beads. “Good evening. I am appearing before you tonight to explain a few things that have been attracting ...

Author: Mark Wallace Peter was on edge as he walked down the corridor to his apartment. It had been a routine day at work in the Public Communications Office, but on the walk home his nose had started to feel a little stuffy, and a sense of foreboding filled him. His ...

Author: Mark Renney Davis misses the road. More accurately, he misses the discipline it has provided and he no longer expects it to re-appear. Davis isn’t searching for the road, in fact he believes that if he is to find the centre, to reach the point of impact, then it is ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher David rushed up in his period woolen tunic, out of breath. It had taken him forever to get there traveling by foot over the mountains into the Valley of Elah. He looked out over the two amassed armies, facing off at each other on the flat battlefield. ...

Author: David Henson Colors are less vibrant, flowers without scent. Water doesn't feel as wet. All this and more so our simulated world consumes less energy. And data errors slipped through. In NewWorld my toes are webbed — a constant reminder of where I am. Still, life ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Not for you, but for me. “Emily, Uncle Karl, and the twins. All together in that great big truck of his. They’ll be laughing and we’ll laugh too.” Laughter. You’re my only source of that, but I’m not the only cause of it for you. ...

Author: Isaiah Stott The ship drifted through the starry sky. Its engines long cold. The walls on the inside of the ship had been stripped, cables and mechanical parts littered the halls. The emergency lights on the floor flickered, as somewhere in the ship another ...