[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Newsbot” © 2007 by Carl Goodman, has been lost.] "Dr. Fudiki, can you help us?" asked Mr. Yakito from the Advanced Robotics Laboratory in Japan. "I'm not sure. I have never observed emergent behaviour like this before. You say that you have already rebooted the … Continue reading “404 Error” by David Such
Dan Constantine had steeled himself and thus was not at all surprised. When Lucian Renoir’s small hand came out in greeting as they stood at a side entrance of the magazine of Dan’s employ, Dan knew not to evaluate what his eyes saw. Here was a fellow, hardly a man yet, with fair eyes and … Continue reading “Nothing Like a Ghost” by Wen Henagan
time dilation we sail headlong towards distant stars blinking at us-- like sirens their cosmic call everywhere at once apparently but the light left so long ago we would be late even if we could eventually arrive there in vestigial time exhausted by the trip & generations later much too late to explain to those … Continue reading Two Poems by Ed Higgins
Recently, the Planet Magazine offices received the following message from "The UFO Pilots Ass'n of Testbed Earth". Interestingly, it came in via traditional fax. We were able to verify the information as correct, however, via the 1-866 contact number on the press release. When we called to ask, "A fax, WTF?! LOL!!", the alien representative … Continue reading UFO Pilots Speak Out!
Illustration: “Self-Portrait” © 2007 by Robert Sorensen The sun was sinking beyond the grotesque spires. There were times when Jacob wanted to topple them. In a few years, maybe the Venus sands will have corroded them enough that a good loud shout would fell them. Somehow, though, he doubted that. No matter how far he … Continue reading “The Crystal Tower” by Owen Crawford
As of February 1, 2007, the Odyssey Writing Workshop is offering free podcasts on its website, http://www.odysseyworkshop.org. Odyssey is an intensive, six-week workshop for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror whose work is approaching publication quality. The workshop is held each summer in Manchester, New Hampshire. The podcasts are excerpts from lectures given by … Continue reading Website: Free Podcasts from Odyssey Workshop
Illustration: “Crop” © 2005 by D'Wayne Murphy Its endless, dreamy half-sleep was broken. It sensed movement in the firm, cool substance that it lay in. The substance shifted around it. A new thing, cold and sharp, that it had never felt before, touched its outer skin. The familiar closeness of the substance that had always … Continue reading “Crop” by William Wilde
Illustration: “Powercell” © 2006 by Patrick Stacy The black security car slipped through the armored gates of the Areadni embassy like a cat sneaking out for a snack. Roger Desprey sighed, got out of his own car at the curb, and waved an arm. The limo slowed to a stop centimeters from his toes. He … Continue reading “Power Cell” by John M. Cowan
[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Fairyworld” © 2006 by D'Wayne Murphy, has been lost.] Bobby Burns is gone, and with him the fair tongue he spoke. I pray, therefore, the ancient Celts to forgive me as I interpret the Gaelic tongue in order to bring appreciation of it to a … Continue reading “Thomas the Rhymer” by Resha Caner
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows.” Maniacal laughter echoed into the emptiness of outer space, and for the next twenty minutes Valerie and Maria were transported to an alien world where men in black fedoras and trench … Continue reading “Echoes from Radioland” by David Wright
