Morrison grew up on a rye farm outside of Cenesthesia, a typical arcology in the midlands. And, as do most children who grow up on farms, he was going to become a farmer himself one day. He didn't find it especially fulfilling, certainly not exciting, but it was as lucrative a career as you could… Continue reading Most Unthinkable
A God in Our Own Image
Dr. Rykovanko had finally done it; she'd mastered the process of digitizing human minds. It had taken a lot of trial and error, made all the more unfortunate by the destructive nature of the procedure. But progress is rarely a linear path. The procession of brain boxes in her office laid out the milestones, lest… Continue reading A God in Our Own Image
Dust to Dust
For all his political posturing and his penchant for charismatic public overtures, Leon Brault was having second thoughts. It wasn't an ideological shift he was experiencing, but an awareness of his survival instinct. He was close enough now to see the Artifact with his own eyes, separated only by a few kilometers and 4mm of… Continue reading Dust to Dust
Late Night Walks
When I was in college, I used to take these late night walks around town. I might leave at one or two in the morning. It didn't matter if it was a sweltering summer night, when the muggy air pressed back against every step and the night was still—the freshman not yet moved in—or if… Continue reading Late Night Walks
Welcome to the Peregrine
Antonio's fine jacket and leather shoes were already soaked and dripping, but he shielded himself from the freezing rain beneath the bulk of the space freighter on dock seven. He set down a bulging duffle bag to shield his eyes from the spotlights on the ship's ramp, a briefcase hanging heavy in his other hand.… Continue reading Welcome to the Peregrine
An Elegy to Youth
Before she'd even made it off the front porch, Greta was lost in thought. She didn't hear the cruel taunting of the crows or smell the impending rain on the horizon, coming to melt the last patches of spring snow from the hillsides. The grass clawed at her boots and blue jeans, leaving imprints like… Continue reading An Elegy to Youth
Towers
They were beautiful, inexplicably. Two white towers stood strikingly against the gray night sky, which was itself somehow diminished by the uplighting of city lights and the memories of snow still recent in the wind. Their many pointed angles seemed purposeful and implied the curves of the natural world without sacrificing the immediacy of unbroken… Continue reading Towers
Shark
For a pool shark, Logan didn't have to work very hard on his hustle; he was naturally terrible. He had no feel for where to hit the cue ball: left English, squirt right, follow, draw, stop—it was all gibberish to him. He was just happy to keep the ball from flying off the table. But,… Continue reading Shark
A Premonition
Costa stood beneath the dead hawthorn tree at the edge of the crater, peering downward against the sting of rising smoke. He was transfixed, and stood staring late into the night. His body shivered against the breeze coming off the cold rock face behind him, and the mockery of the hyaenas did not abate, but… Continue reading A Premonition
Mapmaker
Tenley looked through her spyglass at the edge of the world. The ocean spilled over in a waterfall that stretched from north to south as far as her strained eyes could see. The sails were already down, but pretty soon they'd have to paddle their great ship against the current to keep from going over… Continue reading Mapmaker
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