ADMITTEDLY • Ike Lang
I hated to admit it, but Lee was usually right. Not always, mind you. No one is always right. He would sometimes say stupid things like “I only got Earl Grey because I could’ve sworn you said you liked Earl… Continue Reading
Science Fiction
THAG: BURUK-TUK SOLDIER • Anthony L. Abraham
The earliest memory he could hold En-capsule was binding scraps into breathing limbs for Riggers on Skaars Round near Mars. First folds and remnants of the past were more akin to jilted frames in dark hallways far too close. When… Continue Reading
TRAUMA MOMMA • Jack Powers
As an ER nurse, I’ve delivered a few emergency births, but never a male birth and never on the Lunar Shuttle. And never eight-months pregnant myself. But when the new chef — Ricky Valdez — went into labor, a quick… Continue Reading
AND YE SHALL BE AS GODS • K.C. Thomas
Hannah takes a moment to steel herself before opening the door to her office. Evelyn looks up at the noise, smiling. Her face is calm and pleasant, but Hannah never feels quite at ease when the A.I. looks at her.… Continue Reading
A BRIGHT ORGANISM OF DIFFERENCE • by Stephanie A. Smith
Never give up. That became the family’s mantra, even after the basement flooded with sewage for the third, fourth, fifth time. By number five, old Grandad Uchytil figured it was going to be an annual visitation, a smelly, inconvenient, unavoidable… Continue Reading
BONSAI GENESIS • by Cliff Hannan
“Hima da,” Keisho complained in Japanese, collapsing dramatically into a heap on the floor. Katarite tucked the silk of her kimono behind her knees and sank gracefully to the carefully manicured lawn. “Today we speak English,” she admonished the girl,… Continue Reading
EASTER WITHOUT CLOSURE • by Antonia Saavedra
Mari Estrela did not close the minimarket. There was no final gesture, no shutter falling, no moment that could be recognised as an ending. She left it running, as one leaves a system in motion not out of trust, but… Continue Reading
THE MARLOWE EFFECT • by João Miguel Alves Ferreira
The emotional verification protocol activates the moment the consulting room door closes. Dr Marlowe remains silent for three seconds — the precise interval recommended by the WHO-Psy algorithm to prompt self-awareness in neuro-regulated patients. “You may begin whenever you like,… Continue Reading
A BRUSH WITH THE PAST • by Gregory Ballinger
The oxen steadily trudged through the damp field, turning the soil neatly, while Isidore whistled tunelessly at the reins, only stopping on each turn to tell his two sons, sitting on the back, “Make sure to look out for rocks.”… Continue Reading
BIG SASSY AND THE SPACE MINER’S CRAPSHOOT • by Anne Wilkins
Big Sassy had a knack for breaking two things — balls (not the bouncy kind) and hearts. I’d been stationed at Lunar-Oho on mining duty when I first cast eyes upon her magnificence. Hair caked in grease, a pot-belly that… Continue Reading