“I want everyone on that planet eliminated, Shadrach,” proclaimed Braux, the leader of the Kestel delegation. I nodded once, and with a wave of his hand he dismissed me. The species would not die as mine had. There would be a few left to start over. I always made sure a few were left. I … Continue reading “The Eliminator” by Frederick G. Soper
[Illustration: “Yous Guys” © 2007 by Carl Goodman.] "What are you doing?!" a disembodied voice repeated. An intricate spiderweb of cracks fractured 2.z's anthropomorphic face, at the center of which was not an arachnid, but a word. That word was "you". It protruded from the bridge of 2.z's nose. Until that moment, 2.z had not … Continue reading “Yous Guys” by James M. Ladd
[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
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
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
“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
driver-less cars glide to gambler-less casinos from owner-less homes
"Look, if you'll just inspect the implant in the back molar on the left side of my mouth, you'll know I'm telling you the truth." Dr. Karrow looked at the disheveled man in ragged clothing who was sitting in the dental chair. They were now behind the partitions and the door, and the hearing of … Continue reading “The Qual” by Neil Burlington
