The heavy door lock clicks open, and in stumbles Raphael de Visviri, leading his consort by the buttocks. He tells her to make him a drink as he shoves her toward the liquor cabinet, and then he shuts the door and reengages the lock. He flicks on the light switch, but nothing happens. He flicks… Continue reading Money Is Not the Only Power
Category: Creative Writing
The Highway
"It's alright. We'll take the Highway." Alexa's eyes widened like twin full moons, large and desolate. "We can go around." Her voice was small against the wind. Joel waved his arm at the wasteland before them, still smoldering and stinking sourly of burnt outgassing. "It goes on like this all the way to the coast."… Continue reading The Highway
Deathmind
"You are the Deathmind." Tul shivers, though the humid blackness that envelopes him is warm. A salivating steel maw. The solitary red point of light shifts in an implacable way. "A weak statement, more so for its implications than its approximations." It hurt just to hear the Deathmind speak, like its voice turned Tul's bones… Continue reading Deathmind
Starslinger
"They say it's the work of a Starslinger." Eyes widened and hands covered mouths during the rapturous silence that followed. Only Bilia had something to say, and it was as against the grain as ever. "Then they're wrong." Nine turning faces made him the focal point of a human parabola, wearing expressions that said I'm not… Continue reading Starslinger
Neon Orbits
Caracara 7-12 had been daydreaming, for lack of a better word, for...well, for a long time. Objectively speaking, anyway. He—it still thought of itself as a he, old habits and such—was watching the neon orbits of the galactic center, stars whipping around Sagittarius like a carnival swing ride. It was hypnotic. When he slowed his… Continue reading Neon Orbits
A Bad Way to Go
"Goddammit, Darian! Let. Me. In. That's an order!" She pounded on the plexiglass partition, leaving a sticky palm-shaped residue like strawberry preserves. Ensign Darian Harn knew that he was safe on this side of the airlock, but he took two steps back anyway, bracing himself against the back of the flight chair. "I can't do that,… Continue reading A Bad Way to Go
Right on Schedule
Lena sat up gasping and reflexively covering her heart with one hand. She swallowed bitter bile, and with it her temporary confusion. It had only been a dream. No. Not only a dream—she was slipping into lucidity—a terrible memory from a lifetime ago. She had been twelve. Her smile was crooked and her bangs were… Continue reading Right on Schedule
Fluke
Far away, in a galaxy which we have not yet catalogued, in a time we could call the present—though to do so would be at the midpoint of a span terminating at impractical at one end and meaningless at the other—there is a planet that we shall call Fluke. On planet Fluke, there are things… Continue reading Fluke
Revelations of Pilgrimage
Enev wasn't the least bit interested in the pseudo-religious Pilgrimage, but was even less enthused about making the journey with his parents. Going with his grandfather, Hershel, had been the compromise. Grandpa Hershel had nearly a century on Enev, and the two remained cordial but had little in common—they didn't even look alike. They spent… Continue reading Revelations of Pilgrimage
Professional Courtesy
"Captain Itsu to the cockpit, please." There was no acknowledgement, but moments later there were two klanks against the hatch. I buzzed him in. "Problem, Aviator?" I looked back over my shoulder, past the captain, at the squadron seated in the cabin, and then nodded at the co-pilot's chair. He made his aggravation known but… Continue reading Professional Courtesy
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