“Thomas the Rhymer” by Resha Caner

Painted illustration: a faerie queen on a white horse hung with silver bells rides down a heather-covered Scottish hillside toward a startled young bard holding bagpipes, with hounds and a glowing cave entrance behind her.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Fairyworld” © 2006 by D'Wayne Murphy, has been lost.] Bobby Burns is gone, and with him the fair tongue he spoke. I pray, therefore, the ancient Celts to forgive me as I interpret the Gaelic tongue in order to bring appreciation of it to a … Continue reading “Thomas the Rhymer” by Resha Caner →

“Echoes from Radioland” by David Wright

Pulp cover "Echoes from Radioland by David Wright": two women in spacesuits at a radio console on the Moon, Earth beyond

“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 →

“Gas Planet” by Arun Ahuja

Folk-art style scene of three astronauts on a brass platform firing a cannon of swirls into a bubbly green nebula

Spatters of pure oxygen Poisoning us, bubble-hard Then comes the sweep cycle --methane never smelled so good * About the Author: Arun Ahuja is a science fiction writer with an MS in biomedical engineering. His piece "Pomposity Penalized" won Editor's Pick in the University of New Mexico's magazine. Poem (c) 2006 Arun Ahuja helioray@netscape.net About … Continue reading “Gas Planet” by Arun Ahuja →

“Den the Deedworthy” by Adam Hanisch

Painted illustration: a bearded blacksmith with a hammer stands in the doorway of his glowing forge, looking out at snowy hills where smoke rises from a hilltop fortress and an army with dark banners marches toward the town.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Den” © 2006 by D'Wayne Murphy, has been lost.] Den had made himself a good life after leaving the service of King Alexander. He started a small farrier’s shop in the northern border town of Gladia, the kind of town that was full of a … Continue reading “Den the Deedworthy” by Adam Hanisch →

“Stone Me” by Roderick Gladwish

Ornately framed art of Bronze Age people hauling a huge stone on log rollers toward a row of standing stones

Thousands of years ago on a flat bit of land that eventually would be called Salisbury Plain, in what eventually would be known as Southern Britain, stood a ring of wooden uprights that would be compost. For generations the ring had taken many forms and signified many things, including the free availability of wood and … Continue reading “Stone Me” by Roderick Gladwish →

“Fortune Maker” by Teresa S Rich

Painted illustration: two teenage girls, one in a grey hoodie, sit in a dark carnival tent as an elderly fortuneteller in a headscarf unveils a glowing pink crystal ball, while a yellow-eyed black cat creeps along a shelf above and a striped tent glows outside.

[Illustration: New illustration created for the archive; the original artwork, “Fortune Maker” © 2006 by D'Wayne Murphy, has been lost.] “Eww, there’s that creepy Johnny,” Amanda said, squishing her face up. Megan wondered why her face didn’t look that cute when she practiced that expression in the mirror. Then she was fighting to keep her … Continue reading “Fortune Maker” by Teresa S Rich →

“The Midnight Carney” by Michael Jay Katz

Byzantine-style mosaic of a robed king beside a swirling time tunnel, with scenes of a dinosaur, aurora and a mill

It’s two for a dollar the Whirlie-Warp ride just past the Fun House through the white gate climb the wood tower slide into the tunnel and disintegrate to cosmic scintillas a boreal glow in Devonian skies a sparklet of moonrise in dinosaur eyes a night planet's wink at the prayer of a Sikh aswirl through … Continue reading “The Midnight Carney” by Michael Jay Katz →

“Last: an Eventuality Tale” by Brad Andrews

Sepia art of a crashed, segmented spacecraft in a vast crater as a meteor streaks across the sky

On Bishop-34’s southern hemisphere the wind started to pick up. I could already tell, experience being the best sensor, that this was what I considered a "Classic" storm and as the first of the hydrogen-sleet began to sever land sensors and pelted what remained of my belt armor, I just shut down. No sense in … Continue reading “Last: an Eventuality Tale” by Brad Andrews →