Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “Ldclouds” by Sam Crowe Third shift aboard the Star Cruiser "Orizon" was always the worst shift. The crew jokingly called it the "Dead Man's Shift" because you were the only crewmember sitting up awake in the small, locked auxiliary control center. The crew joked that … Continue reading Dead Man’s Shift, by Joe Wocoski
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “Pigg” by Breck Outland "Look mom, a bus!" Pigg Whistle huffed excitedly as he pivoted his new degenerator toward the silver contraption passing in the street below his window. "Don't you hurt nobody!" hollered a voice from the stairwell. "But look at that dumb thing. … Continue reading Pigg Whistle, by Robert Thorn
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “Patch_code_dragon” by Romeo Esparrago I sipped some Stryne's and squinted at the coded pages sprawled across my desk, scattered alph/math-like characters, almost clear if 45 meant "forty-five" or something else: "truth" or "evidence" or "seventeen" or "delusion." It wasn't my desk, not by law or … Continue reading Alone on Fourteen, by A.Y. Tanaka
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration by Stefano Tartarotti (*apologies to Frank Zappa) 1 Can't get used to this. I'm craving Whoppers and Tastycakes, and here I am stuck with Brazil nuts and raspberries. My wife misses the real estate more. She looks at what used to be our driveway and … Continue reading Holidays, Salad Days, Days of Moldy Mayonnaise, by Duane Swierczynski
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “The Hallway” by Sam Crowe Sue fumbled nervously with her broom, working quickly. The urgency in her movements was sharp and jerky. Her dark brown, almost black hair hung in strings that fell about her face and clung to her shoulders. Her face was certainly … Continue reading Oogies, by Kirt Stark
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration by Steve Munsinger "Tarsa, get down from there this instant! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from you," Nana screamed while Tarsa balanced on the thin ledge that overlooked the Central traffic grid. Aerocars zoomed beneath her at high velocities, leaving small short … Continue reading Nana Knows Best, by Phoebe-June Rogers
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “Vortex” by Duncan Long When his e-com woke him at 9:31, Evan Lau-Hobbes couldn't believe he'd slept, let alone slept in. The luminous screen was turned to his bed, but even before he read it he realized his girlfriend Julie had already left for work. … Continue reading The Sisters of Catherine, by Gordon C. McRae
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “Nutai” by Eric Seaholm The white-bearded man who called himself "Captain Ahab" pointed toward the distant spray emerging from the ocean surface as the old-fashioned whaling boat crashed over the waves. The boat was part of the last fleet in the world allowed to hunt … Continue reading According to Plan, by Kevin Gilbertson
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration by Stefano Tartarotti "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." -- Henry David Thoreau, Walden, (1854) "We lead lives of noisy distraction. Prepare to be frazzled!" -- Advance Ad for "Nine Paths to Hell", VR Games, (August, 2003). After prolonged periods of virtual … Continue reading More Real Than Real, by John Gerner
Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 21 (March 1999). Illustration: “From Whence the Woolly Man” by Nicola Stratford Tammuz had first seen the Woolly Man two days before. The sun, red and swollen, set the jagged peaks ablaze with topaz and vermilion. An eagle circled and swooped, and Tammuz's eye, following it, had caught a … Continue reading Time’s Shadow, by J.B. East
