A black hole has overstayed its welcome and forcibly kicked out of its galaxy. Leaving a mess in its wake. It’s complicated. https://www.msn.com/en-us/science/astronomy/james-webb-sees-a-supermassive-black-hole-getting-kicked-out/ar-AA1SPsz4
“Time”by RomeDome Prest Phor-Tyme was late. Not a little late. Not the sort of late that could be healed with a sincere apology, a folded excuse, or a hurried message sent from a wristpad while running down a moving walkway. Prest was professionally late. He was late to cyberwork. Late to holo-appointments. Late to digiConcerts, virtual … Continue reading Time
Mike lived a simple life. When he wasn't working at the gas station down the road, he was always on the beach, not far from his seaside cottage where he lived alone. Every day he knelt down and plunged his hands deep into the sand, grasping the grains and shaping them, letting them take form … Continue reading Story: ‘The Sand Girl’ by Kathryn Singer
The letter arrived inside an interoffice envelope and was put in Paul’s inbox, and in that way it was ordinary. But there is where ordinary stopped. The address read like this: Messrs L. Parsnip & P. Looseleaf 752 Inside Thoughtful Lane Chamber of the Next to Last A North-South Webbton, Old York The Borough 123456-654321The … Continue reading Story: Odd Missive, by Leo Byrne Jenicek
Winter was coming to the Black Valleys, and the first snow was grey sludge beneath the mercenaries’ boots as they struggled up the mountain. With no interest in a seventeen-year-old girl too tired to keep up, they staggered past Althea using their spent matchlocks as walking sticks. She tried to catch her breath. The forests … Continue reading Story: The Woman Who Must, by Roderick Gladwish
Vampire in the bar eating peanuts, had gone upstairs to check caskets. As the flattened chords of B-flat blues wandered through her oak pollen-filled nostrils, she awoke with lace around her body. The priest was a Martian with a love for whiskey. He took confession at the corner table. Despite vampire's tastes in blood, he … Continue reading Story: Carbonated, by Tom Grayhorse
Our story begins with a series of extraordinary events. The first involved a small mouse that burrowed through an inch of steel at the base of a street lamp. After biting its way through, the mouse leapt up a series of wires and, reaching the top, rewarded itself by nibbling away on a juicy red … Continue reading Pink Goo, by Steven Lombardi
Aliens' attack Kills less of population Then we do ourselves * * * Black hole Pulls spaceship To the dark side * * * Buried under Mars For millions of secret years Lies Earth's history * * * New robots for sale With Feelings or No-Feelings -- I could not decide * * * … Continue reading Five Haiku, by Denny E. Marshall
“Good afternoon, Mr. Whitaker, Charlie,” said the waitress, nodding her head at the old man and young man sitting across from each other in the red booth. “What will you boys be ordering today?” The waitress was perhaps a bit too bright and perky for her age, Carl thought, as he squinted down at the … Continue reading The Final Request, by Sheri Rosen
“What still separates us from the gods,” Doctor Lohmann said, a little testily, “is processing power.” He sipped his glass of sherry, out of habit, and instantly regretted it. “Yes, yes,” replied the young software engineer, whose glass was already three-quarters empty, “that detail. But in theory we can create minds like ours, beings with … Continue reading Making Minds, by Sean Goedecke
