“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
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
(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
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
Oh my god, let me tell you, it was so totally drama! One minute we were just sitting there at the café, drinking our non-fat sugar-free French vanilla lattes, and the next, wham, it was total alien invasion! And Bruce was just vaporized, like he wasn’t even there. Just a puff of smoke. Not even … Continue reading Kasha Chatham, Alien Fighter-Person, by Katherine Sanger
When the ship crash-landed on the blue and green planet, we thought, at first, that a terrible tragedy had befallen us, and we had failed. * * * But then we learned that our mission was complete. * * * Like the youths of Athena sent to the mighty Minotaur we were to be the … Continue reading Giving Thanks, by Katherine Sanger
"Remember the senator who was attacked by Triffids?" He caught me unawares; he always does. He only shares a few stories a year, always on the trail, never at the Fire Watch. And always after dinner, when I am cleaning up. He leans back against the tree, stirs the bowl of his pipe and relights … Continue reading The Day of the Kudzu, by William Suboski
Detective Lace zipped up her uniform and stepped into her hovercraft. Her suit was a single one-piece, skin-tight, navy blue, stretching from her ankles to her head. She pulled the hood over her hair; it clung to her scalp like a diving cap. It was thin as a ply of toilet paper - and one … Continue reading The Nemesis, by T.L. Rese
