Illustration: “Green Stripes” © 2005 by Romeo Esparrago The real estate agent’s car crunched to halt in the gravel at the curb. Maria twisted around to face the backseat. Her hair -- an intricate weave of curls and swirls, all carefully sprayed into an immovable shape -- bobbed as she spoke. “This is it, dear. … Continue reading “The Greener Grass” by Matthew S. Carroll →

Illustration: “Herr Highness” © 2005 by Romeo Esparrago "A ship landed at the port!" Danny said, pacing frantically. "I saw it! I know I did! This one is real!" "How long has it been since your last episode, Danny?" "I'm not seeing things! Not this time." Danny whirled about to confront Leslie. "I'm sure you're … Continue reading “Sane in This Present Madness” by Tamara Wilhite →

Illustration: “Paradox” © 2005 by Ellie Jane Tull Ahmed Cohen is standing on the edge of the building looking down through the hundred metres of thin air which is, at the moment, the only thing separating him from something very wide, flat, and hard, not to mention a tad unfriendly to those who attempt to … Continue reading “Paradox” by Michael A. Kay →

Illustration: “Lab Rat” by Patrick Stacy © 2005 Michael Delaney was in his cubicle at Consoldyne Aerospace Industries, rotating a view of a new jet engine design on his workstation, when his telephone rang. He released the computer mouse and picked up the phone receiver. "Delaney speaking." "Michael, it's Kay Dunston." It was his girlfriend's … Continue reading “Lab Mice” by George J. Condon →

Illustration: “Blueface” © 2005 by Zac Lowing Einstein’s theory of relativity is not just conjecture, Mulder. - Dana Scully Friday, July 11th, 2008: Message encoded 0923 hours EDT this date. Top Secret. NASA/Hubble Telescope complex reports unusual configuration of bogeys approaching solar system from Sagittarius region. Speed near or in excess that of light. Azimuth, … Continue reading “Tunguska Retro” by E.S. Strout →

Illustration: “Darfang” © 2005 by Patrick Stacy. Peter Beckin was positive he’d never been so cold in his life. Or this scared. The tunnel stretched for half a kilometer through the dark reddish rock, curving in a downward slope to disappear in a blue glow of lighting tubes that illuminated the mine. He paced back … Continue reading “Darfang” by John Cowan →

Illustration: “Scanman” © 2005 by Romeo Esparrago. "We used his soul to mend the hole bound the fabric of time..." When he first came to us, his mind was contorted by conflicting ripples of thought. His tiny body arrived packaged carefully in amniotic fluid, the limbs curled and foetus-like, the head grossly expanded. A genetic … Continue reading “Elevator to Eternity” by Greg Guerin →

U, Robot sat in a room. (As will be learned later, it is here that U stopped reading) It was a big room, not that size was important, which it wasn’t. After all, the size of the room had nothing to do with the size of the robot, nor with how important the robot was, … Continue reading “U, Robot, and The Totally Unremarkable Paper” by NoMan (A.L. Schuhart) →

Illustration: "ET Kid Gets Rocket" by Steve Cartwright (c) 2005 When the Solinarians asked me to save their planet, I told them it would cost at least $10,000,000,000,000 credits. “Plus expenses,” I added. We’d met for lunch at Hammerhead Hank’s Intergalactic Multi-Ethnic Bar and Grill, and I was eating the Telexu squid burger with pickled … Continue reading “If You Don’t Help Us, We’re Doomed” by Cole Haddon →

Cursing the Guardian, Jerrine glanced at the digits counting down the release cycle for airlock CX2. It served no purpose. Nothing she could do would speed up the replacement of argon with nothingness. The other transcendentals used to mock her impatience as irrational, but she clung to every remaining human trait she possessed, thinking it … Continue reading “Virtual Parenting” by Tim C. Taylor →