“Yous Guys” by James M. Ladd

Digital art of a glowing blue glass dome ringed by metallic machinery and radiating rods

[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 →

“404 Error” by David Such

Painted illustration: orange industrial robot arms in a huge factory, with rows of washing machines behind them, build a sleek silver rocket packed with glowing memory crystals, as two astonished engineers in white coats watch from a railing.

[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 →

“The Crystal Tower” by Owen Crawford

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 →

Website: Free Podcasts from Odyssey Workshop

Greek mosaic of an old bearded man at a laptop with a microphone, surrounded by robed ancient Greeks

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 →

“Crop” by William Wilde

A giant ribbed, grub-like creature with faint red markings resting on rocks in a hazy golden landscape

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 →