[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Raven” © 2004 by Judith Warthen, has been lost.] He lay back on the gurney, staring at the lights suspended above him. The bright glare burned his eyes, but he scarcely had the strength to close his weary lids. He was dimly aware of shapes … Continue reading “Second Chance” by David Murphy
Editor's Note: This story has been removed at the request of the author. About the Author: Zia Ahmed lives in the Boston area and reluctantly aids corporate world dominance for a living. (c) 2004 Zia Ahmed ziahmed@yahoo.com About the Artist: Romeo Esparrago is one man, but his artwork can be many places at once. (c) … Continue reading “The Traveler” by Zia Ahmed
*Pr--Sh--Error. Reindexing.* *No threat.* The computer's voice came from nowhere, but just leapt into Allela's eardrums fully formed. It sent a shiver down her back. She looked at Lukas. "Damn it, would you stop that?" Lukas was hunched over the console, paying no attention to her. She couldn't tell why, but his customary arrogance seemed … Continue reading “Mind Weld” by Tristan Palmgren
Malorchia was content, savoring the newness of her first birthling on Pollis as Iron Feather steered his craft out of the Equuid system. Now that the most important and personal matters had been attended to properly, it was time to police the quadrant for the Confederation. The first order of business was for Iron Feather … Continue reading “The Tremors of Squirm (part of The Langford Joh Saga)” by William Alan Rieser
[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “X-Stove” © 2004 by Andrew G. McCann, has been lost.] Thurman stood and walked over to Jeffries, eyes wide, mouth convoluted in a warped smile. "I am reality!" he screamed into Jeffries' indifferent face. "I am being!" Richard cowered behind Barker, the largest of the … Continue reading “Entity” by James I. Wasserman
"Don’t pay the ferryman Don’t even fix a price Don’t pay the ferryman Until he gets you to the other side" - popular song, Second Millennium * I was climbing the mountain to be closer to the stars. It was nearly dark when I came upon the hidden cabin and the old woman. She said … Continue reading “Searching for the Ferryman” by Derek Smith
My code name is Iron Feather, and I am writing this to honor an old request from my father, the former Earth Ambassador to the Confederation, the recently departed and much-admired Langford Joh. I refer to a conversation we had once in which he chided me on my poor ability to select a proper mate. … Continue reading “Malorchia (part of The Langford Joh Saga)” by William Alan Rieser
JOURNAL ENTRY #3138 Date: 11/04/2199 Time: 1046 This is Cory Dealth, captain and pilot of the cargo freighter, Alexa. I’ve just chartered the final leg of our course for Delta Centauri, but I’m certain that I won’t reach journey’s end alive. I am in the grip of “the Sorrow”, “the Loneliness”, “the Pilot’s Despair”; it … Continue reading “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Star Pilot” by Lee Moan
"No longer are laser guns the stuff of Hollywood and Strategic Defense Initiative fantasy. The Pentagon inside of a decade could be armed with such a beam weapon...." -- Oakland Tribune, October 19, 2003 "You are the one, Neo." -- The Matrix 1. Professor Paula J. Lynch plopped her duffel bag on the steel deck … Continue reading “Light Source” (a Prof. Paula J. Lynch story) by E.S. Strout
I sensed no movement in the air and heard no sounds except my bare feet slowly padding along. I felt exposed walking down the deserted long hallway, so I kept as much to the side of the corridor as I could, though diffuse white light from the ceiling lit the ash-white walls and made hiding … Continue reading “Expetais” by Jeff Hemsley
