Mick McLoren was quite an ordinary sort of guy. He was married, had two children, and had held the same clerical job for more than 17 years. He owned a house on the outskirts of London and spent all of his Sundays reading the Sunday newspapers. Like everybody else in his neighborhood, he left the … Continue reading Encounter at Midnight, by Irene Maschke
Deep in the woods, let evil beware The children's friend, the Wizard Bear With tooth and claw, staff and spells Monsters he fights, darkness he fells If you be goblin, ogre, or troll Growing thunder will be your doom's toll If wisdom you seek, Wizard Bear is wise His knowledge is great, as is his … Continue reading The Saga of Wizard Bear, by Leo Byrne Jenicek
(Editor's note: The following story is a sequel to "Mutant XX Embryo".) There is no visible light in the horizontal passage that stretches away toward the harbor underground. Two pirates left several minutes ago in search of a way out. Silence is growing to a ringing in the ears of the rocket-van crash survivors, who … Continue reading Embryo Transfer, by Edward R. Heard
"See what I mean, Master Gorean?" My diminutive guide pointed to me and shook his head, briefly revealing pointed ears as his long black hair swung to the side. "Danek does not even know who you are -- his own father!" I looked over at my supposed father again. No. Right age, but my dad wasn't … Continue reading Crossover, by F. Alexander Brejcha
Tomorrow, the System Defender, Captain White, fell on his ass in humiliating circumstances. Here is how it will happened. Exactly somewhere between Mercury and Pluto, which is to say perfectly and imprecisely in the center of the edge of the system, his trirem, Remember the Argo, finally will overtake the Cymbal of Eve, flagship of … Continue reading A Standard Space Tale, by NoMan
The driverless cars Cruise past see-through offices to ownerless homes * About the author: Andrew G. McCann edits Planet Magazine. About the artist: Romeo Esparrago does not edit Planet Magazine.
"Tell me again about when I was born,” he said. “Which time, my prince?” Yes, oh which time, little brother, she thought, though she knew. She had knitting in a basket in her lap but the King was absent from court and so his son had none but his sister for company, and his … Continue reading Little Brother, by Gryffyd Eamonn Dempsey
What do I want Escape from this chaotic environment for the inherent inconvenience, the consequent struggle through which bores and repels me. Would that I could upload my mental profile into some cyberspace medium, that my biographical self, the consciousness of which, might be recreated in the process of some future AI entity’s scrolling of past … Continue reading The Resurrection, by Carl Johnson
Turning to Stone, by Bill Suboski Call them the Medusans. A billion years ago they ruled the galaxy, end to end and completely. Many artifacts, such as planetary outposts and derelict spaceships, are still being discovered, but the Medusans themselves are gone. Nothing remains but ruins, and in very rare cases, barely functioning and enigmatic … Continue reading Turning to Stone, by Bill Suboski
A man wearing a black wool cap and an overcoat slips through the narrow opening at the gate of a chain-link fence. He ducks into the shadow of a building. The dumpster beside him -- labeled Geneticorp Laboratories, BIOHAZARD -- exudes a rancid chemical odor that stings his nose. He looks up at the sky … Continue reading Mutant XX Embryo, by Edward R. Heard
