Archives
-
August 6th, 2010 Concept Scope by submission
Author : Daniel Fuhr “The concept is simple enough. We send a very powerful telescope out faster than the speed of light to a calculated area, then zoom in to the Earth at a specific location and hopefully we can watch past events.” “What you’re talking about is time travel?” “Nonsense, were talking about a [...]
-
August 5th, 2010 Sea and Wind and Fishermen by submission
Author : Credentiality “This is our in-system debugger, for when we want to get really close-up. It isn’t necessary for setting up hurricanes, but it’s a good excuse to go down and play.” Bar helped Nim set up his avatar and load in. “Heya Phil, how’s business?” asked Bar, stepping into the tackle shop. “Good, [...]
-
August 4th, 2010 The White Room by submission
Author : W. Kevin Christian The room was not cold. It was not wet. It was not noisy or colorful. It was quiet and white. No pictures on the walls. No carpet on the floors. There was just a table with a man on it and a black-and-white digital clock hung from the ceiling directly [...]
-
August 3rd, 2010 Missing Lockdown by submission
Author : Andy Mee It would be easy to say that they had disappeared, but that wasn’t quite true. What was once a row of Victorian terraced houses still lingered in the cold swirling air, now just a choking dust, like a visible air-borne virus. An hour before sunrise, as she trudged through the dusty [...]
-
August 2nd, 2010 Jumpstarting Earth’s Hydromagnetic Dynamo by Patricia Stewart
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer The weakening of Earth’s magnetic field was becoming critical. It had been decreasing five percent a decade since the early twenty first century. If the decay could not be reversed, near-lethal doses of charged cosmic radiation would bombard the surface of the Earth without being diverted. Although humans could [...]
-
August 1st, 2010 Likeness by Steve Smith
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Thomas was spending another Saturday afternoon looking for deals. Today it was furniture, specifically something unique to fill the vacant corner by the window in his apartment. “That’s Ralph Lauren,” he hadn’t heard the salesman approach and he jumped despite himself. The salesman ignored the reaction and continued speaking. [...]
-
July 31st, 2010 As Long As It Takes by submission
Author : Aaron Henderson “It’s going to be a kick-ass weekend,” Gus thought to himself as he maneuvered the ratchet and claw, carefully removing a panel from the dusty robot that lay a few feet in front of his maintenance pod. He was looking forward to watching not one but two great games and spending [...]
-
July 30th, 2010 A Chink in the Armour by Roi R. Czechvala
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer “Don’t show it, please don’t show it, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t show it.” “Gentlemen, as you can see from the footage, the XA – 4 reactive armour system is effective against all small arms ballistic ammunition as well as low wattage phased [...]
-
July 29th, 2010 TC47 by submission
Author : Liz Lafferty Life insurance was easier to write now that Sovereign Earth had established a predestined day of death. I’m not saying that everyone died on the predestined date, but some politician with a mind toward the future had discovered that incentives and tax credits went a long way toward getting a perfectly [...]
-
July 28th, 2010 The Dream Machine by submission
Author : Andrew Brereton Now he understood what his master had meant when he said that some people come here only to never leave. The place was truly magical. Even as he watched, a man and his assistant walked by carrying two strange skulls with long ridged horns curling out the back. His imagination was [...]
-
July 27th, 2010 Two Minute Meeting by submission
Author : Rob O’Shea Too little time. Too many meetings. I turn on the Transmit and zimmed out of office and back to home. In the wardrobe there is a skin I put on. Have to look fresh. The girl — blonde, cancer free, young — cries. I detach her body from the hanger; unhook [...]
-
July 26th, 2010 Swimming by Duncan Shields
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Headfirst into the mainstream with my lawsuit buzzing, that’s the only way to do it. The cold data can stop your heart. Bright red crosses dance around me, warding off viruses that can infect my setup and make it drain others. The pile of reflexes and soft meat back [...]
-
July 25th, 2010 Insomnia by submission
Author : Waldo van der Waal “Don’t worry,” she had said, “I’ll be there to take the straps off once we come out of stasis.” She had smiled at me. A pretty smile. She was pretty all over: Dark hair, pixie-like features and perky breasts. I could see her nipples through the thin fabric of [...]
-
July 24th, 2010 The Lonely Cutting Torch by submission
Author : Leland Stillman Dustin is dusting off the cutting-torch. I am pulling on my space boots. It is odd to think that we are farmers, the true first profession, now done only on space platforms. “We’ll be cuttin’ a while,” he says to me. Space hooligans have mangled our dairy equipment. They come up [...]
-
July 23rd, 2010 Lemonade by Patricia Stewart
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer “Well, Eleanor, have you figured out why the warp drive isn’t working?” “Yes Seb. Believe it or not, this star system is in the center of a super large dark matter donut, and we’re in the hole. Apparently, it’s creating erratic gravity waves that are preventing us from initiating [...]
-
July 22nd, 2010 A Fresh Start by submission
Author : Matthew Callaway Leaving for work Chip noted that this day, like every other held about a 98.3% chance of tedium. The prospect was as oppressive as the permanent lighting that lines the streets, serving for the unseen sun below a sky full of buildings, their upper levels in the clouds. The air is [...]
-
July 21st, 2010 The Moment Of Freedom by submission
Author : Andrew Hawnt I didn’t look back. The explosion tore through the upper floors of the building first, raining white hot debris onto the street below. It was late enough for the streets to be empty, so no harm was done beyond a few damaged cars and scorched pavement. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed. [...]
-
July 20th, 2010 Tatiana by Roi R. Czechvala
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer “Don’t go,” he cried. “I am here Vasilly. I will always be here. I will always be with you. I love you,” she said as she slid away. Those last few months, she suffered horribly. Almost all forms were curable, and the ones that weren’t, weren’t much of [...]
-
July 19th, 2010 Out of Sync by Steve Smith
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Atto hovers at the end of the bar furthest from the dance floor. Under the harsh lights his skin seems translucent even to him. The revelers around him tipping bottles back and clinking glasses look right through him. He knows a kind of invisibility now he’s never felt so [...]
-
July 18th, 2010 World Without End by submission
Author : Liz Lafferty “Abbot Cryogenics. Pod 47. Earthdate: 2870513. Final log entry. Dr. Amanda Davidson, Director, Abbot Cryogenics. All pods have successfully entered cryo-preservation.” I punched the final sequence starting the five minute countdown to my first wake cycle, hopefully to occur in 3870 minus 10. “All pod directors have confirmed successful shutdown. I [...]
-
July 17th, 2010 Octopus 2935 by submission
Author : Matthew Banks Dr. McLaren stood in front of the tank with a printout in one hand and an ampoule of pale yellow liquid in the other. Octopus 2935 squirted through the tank in front of him, dodging nimbly around the tall coral outcrop in the middle. Excited waves of white and dull brown [...]
-
July 16th, 2010 A Girl in Every Port by submission
Author : Adam J Keeper I swear there’s a curse on my spaceship. As my vision returns I see the spiderweb of cracks in my visor, the now familiar sight of bodies spinning in zero g, the red pulse of the warning lights, the squeal of the proximity alarm. I try to reach out, grab [...]
-
July 15th, 2010 The Dime by submission
Author : Mike Marsh “Tell me again about the dime. How is this relevant?” Charlie was tired. This was the end of a long day; his head hurt. He swatted at a buzzing fly. “The dime is just part of it, doc. Don’t you get it? Who’s on the dime is just the start.” The [...]
-
July 14th, 2010 The Denebian Solution by Patricia Stewart
Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer Earthforce engaged the Denebian fleet in the gap between the asteroid belt and Jupiter. During the battle, a lone Denebian ship broke formation and streaked toward the inner solar system. “Pursue the Denebian ship, warp factor three,” ordered the captain of the Endeavor. “Open a hailing frequency, Lieutenant.” When [...]
-
July 13th, 2010 Ave Atque Vale by submission
Author : Cesium To my love, By now you will undoubtedly have gotten the news. Yes, it’s true. The train did derail… and I was one of the casualties. I am sorry this final message could not bring better news. I cannot bring you hope, or ease your pain. But… take joy in our daughter; [...]
-
July 12th, 2010 Crack by Duncan Shields
Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It’s one of those moments everyone dreads. You’re standing in front of an observation window looking out at open space and you see a crack silently trace its way up from the corner and across the glass. Once when I was seven, I stayed with my mom on an [...]
-
July 11th, 2010 Peaceful World by submission
Author : Thomas Desrochers We’ve turned into such a peaceful race. We are so… So… Dull. We never fight any more, wars are a thing of the past. Even violent crime seems to have just disappeared. The typical city needs, maybe, one law enforcement officer per every million people. Yes, violence has been replaced with [...]
-
July 10th, 2010 Small Print by submission
Author : Waldo van der Waal Nobody warned me about the pain. Creeping from your brain and slowly extending to every bloody nerve-ending. Hot acid makes way for molten lava before the really hot stuff arrives. A million tiny needles prod at every part of your body. From the inside outwards and from the outside [...]
-
July 9th, 2010 From Far Away and Deep Below by Steve Smith
Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Walter had felt cold before, but nothing like this. In the hours since sundown the temperature had dropped steadily, but in the last hundred yards it had been dropping twice as fast. He had to find shelter quickly or risk freezing to death. Cresting a small hill, Walter came [...]
-
July 8th, 2010 A New Life by submission
Author : John Logan At 34 years old, I was in bad shape. Sixty pounds over weight and wheezing like a dying man every time I trudged up a flight of stairs. The cigarettes didn’t help. My wife, Claire, constantly nagged at me to stop. She hated the smell. I also drank heavily. I’d abused [...]
-
July 7th, 2010 High Crimes by Roi R. Czechvala
Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer Drop capsules are virtually impregnable to anything man or xeno can throw at them. They have consistently proven themselves many times in combat under the onslaught of increasingly sophisticated weaponry. We don’t feel anything during a drop since we are in complete stasis until planetfall. Hell, we really [...]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.