He had a long dagger for a forearm. You don't need to reread that. I'll repeat it so you know there was no mistake. He had a long dagger for a forearm. These were the kind of folks I was dealing with. I couldn't tell at first, because he wore a leather coat with long… Continue reading Long Enough
Category: Creative Writing
House Cleaning
The house was unoccupied. Private Fritz and Private Altamin had cleared it in the usual way, breaking through the sliding door at the rear, securing the mostly open downstairs including the tricky closet in the half-bath, and then getting through the choke point made by the staircase to check the loft and two bedrooms upstairs.… Continue reading House Cleaning
Multigenesis
The dust got into everything; wrinkles in the rubber gaskets, the edges between a helmet and a visor, under the plastic joints around an elbow or between the proximal and distal phalanges of a thumb. Everything. It doesn't matter how much compressed air you got blasted with in the airlock or if you were diligent… Continue reading Multigenesis
Pipes
The copter drew slow, low-altitude arcs through the thick air around Akkarfor Arco on Rypfe. Heavy storms pummeled the hills to the north but hadn't yet reached here. The copter piloted itself autonomously with only occasional interruptions by Governor Dalen, who would nudge the stick this way or that to point out some mundane feature,… Continue reading Pipes
Milo Meets the Civilgorithm
On the day before my 15th birthday, it occurred to my father that perhaps I was not ready. "Milo," he asked, "what will you tell the civilgorithm tomorrow? How could you best serve your life?" "I don't know," I said. He scolded me harshly, planting little seeds in my arms and back with his fists… Continue reading Milo Meets the Civilgorithm
The Past Casts Shadows As Long As the Future
Marshall sat on the ledge of the fountain in the square in front of the Naluo Center, tucked between the imposing towers of the city and the more imposing crowds that scurried frantically at street level. He was early for his interview; career change. Naluo had a good program, or so he'd been told. He… Continue reading The Past Casts Shadows As Long As the Future
No Vacation
They were less than a klick from the structure and Yebin was already holding them back. Desh made it ten paces before he realized her footfalls over the soft leaves had ceased behind him, and he turned to find her staring into the sky with her arms in the air like a child who wanted… Continue reading No Vacation
Io
The small freighter fell out of FTL after what felt like only a heartbeat to the two-man crew. "That's it?" "That's it," said Gilderson. Technically he was a pilot, but the onboard AIs did all of the real flying. This left him with a lot of down time, which suited him fine. Under the neon… Continue reading Io
Spacejacked
The Phorcys 72-72 was unremarkable for a passenger spaceliner as far as most people could tell. However, a handful of engineers at Beryl Manufacturing could point out that it was the only commercial spaceliner with a cargo hold that had a dedicated pressurization system and seals. The design was a marketing tactic that failed to… Continue reading Spacejacked
Copies of Copies
They were still called printers, but the machines were unlike anything imaginable to Gutenberg, or Galvani, or Gates. They looked like empty rooms. Drop in your raw material—didn't really matter what it was, as long as you had enough mass—and let the nanomites turn it into something else. Turn ashes into drinking water; spent power… Continue reading Copies of Copies
Warmup Pages 