Spare the Rod…

Ornately framed art of a huge wave crashing over a burning city of domed towers under a stormy sky with UFOs

...and spoil the reactor.

“I Am” by Thomas Lee Joseph Smith

Painted illustration: two astronomers in a dark observatory lit by red lights stare at a monitor showing a pattern of connected stars beside a giant telescope, with the dome open to the Milky Way and a city and highway glittering below.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “EyeAm” © 2005 by Andrew G. McCann, has been lost.] Sam talked while looking through the instrument. "Nothing to get excited about," he said. "Just a mix of individual stars. That red one looks to be a lot closer than the others... but that's because … Continue reading “I Am” by Thomas Lee Joseph Smith →

Smooth Sailing for Transoceanic Trucking

Woodblock-style scene of a truck sailing through a great wave, a winged airship above and an octopus below

These are seemingly dark days in the transoceanic trucking industry. The seas are as deep and gloomy as they've ever been. Lotsa truck cabs are unheated and unpressurized, and they typically crumple under the pressure of even one aquasphere. More important, the goods being transported get wet, and flatter, even if they were wet and … Continue reading Smooth Sailing for Transoceanic Trucking →

Skeptic

We are skeptics. We've looked at all the evidence, and we nonetheless do not believe that the strange phenomenon being reported by people from all walks of life reflects an underlying reality. Sure, reputable people have come forth as sworn witnesses: doctors, policemen on duty, lawyers, even children. But when they relay bizarre stories of … Continue reading Skeptic →

“Artefact Nouveau” by Gareth D. Jones

Egyptian-style mosaic of workers digging in fields and carrying people between silver capsules beside a winding river

Dr. Stanley Kelvington looked like a typical archaeologist. It was difficult to decide whether this was because he was an archaeologist, or whether his demeanour had led him to take up this line of work. This kind of philosophy did not concern him, however. He was a practical and methodical man -- ideal traits for … Continue reading “Artefact Nouveau” by Gareth D. Jones →

Year-end Self-Evaluation

The annual year-end evaluation process has just been completed at Planet Magazine. While it's easy enough -- and fun -- to judge others, it's always difficult for employees to write a year-end self-evaluation, especially for our justifiably harsh alien overlords/managers, as there are only so many ways to gloss over the many deficiencies of not … Continue reading Year-end Self-Evaluation →

“The Gurnian Imposition” (part of the Langford Joh saga) by W.A. Rieser

Painted illustration: a clown-faced alien ambassador in a ruffled purple robe sips glowing purple liquid among vats and flasks of it, while a grey big-eyed alien gestures urgently from a screen behind him and ornate starships fly past a ringed planet outside.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Exodus” © 2005 by Carl Goodman, has been lost.] Ablad Cuvapor relaxed his outer docking tubes and allowed the Melkan female to deposit her spherical ovabiche in pleasant parallel tones inside his plastique receptors. So long as his explosion was contained, he felt no need … Continue reading “The Gurnian Imposition” (part of the Langford Joh saga) by W.A. Rieser →

“Time Share” by E.S. Strout

Painted illustration: a sleek experimental spacecraft with a dark-haired woman pilot in its cockpit streaks away from a ring-shaped orbital station above Earth as space warps around it in swirling rings of blue and gold light.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “TimeShare” © 2005 by SenthilKG, has been lost.] The possibility of faster-than-light travel has fascinated astrophysicists and propulsion engineers, as well as science fiction writers. With the arrival of gravity-drive thrust, the possibility becomes a probability, with apologies to Albert Einstein. Trials are under way. … Continue reading “Time Share” by E.S. Strout →

Website: Galacticsurf.net

An astronaut on a floating platform of machinery drifts in a kaleidoscopic space near a black hole and ringed planet

Dear Editor: A link to Galacticsurf, the portal to the stars, is present on one of your web pages: http://www.etext.org/Zines/planet/pm33/pm33edit.html. Thank you very much for that. Galacticsurf has changed its URL. It used to be http://www.galacticsurf.com/ but is now http://www.galacticsurf.net/. Best Regards, Edouard Galacticsurf.net Webmaster galactic@galacticsurf.net

“Business is Business” by S.K. Twyford

Painted illustration: a smiling businessman in a pinstripe suit sits at a glass conference table facing a small, iridescent pink, pig-snouted alien with orange eyes standing on the table, glowing purple swirls between them and mining towers on a desert world outside.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Mind Cow” © 2005 by Andy McCann, has been lost.] The Centrac minerals representative was undoubtedly the strangest-looking being that Janson had ever seen. He, or was it she -- there was no way of telling -- was only a metre tall with a skin … Continue reading “Business is Business” by S.K. Twyford →