Stretch your brain
"I don't know how to fucking fly this thing!" My would-be kidnapper pressed the muzzle harder against the back of my neck. "Then I hope you're a quick learner." The radio squawked again. "Shuttle 2-2-Libra-5-Neptune, this is is Harbor Tower 8. You're out of pattern and off grid. Escorts dispatched. Copy?" "Why can't you fly… Continue reading Gimme a Hand
Aero was in some kind of forest. The ground was solid stone with only loose bits of gravel surrounding the rents where the trees had broken through. They were thick, impossibly so, some so much that they first appeared to be sheer walls of wood extending beyond the clouds. A great canopy of leaves of… Continue reading Ghost Walk
"Thanks for coming on such short notice." Sascha waved the nicety away. "Tell me who I'm looking at." The live security feed showed a lanky young man in the next room—mid-twenties—with disheveled black hair that pointed in every direction in a fashionable imitation of bed-head. His lumpy face was the color of a ripe plum.… Continue reading Self-preservation at the Chop Shop
The sky was clear and the suns were up. Light rays bounced off the dust particles in the atmosphere, making the daytime sky seem full of stars. Charlie tried to enjoy it. She liked being outside the settlement, even with the bulky envirosuit. She tried to marvel at the bioelectric technology that surrounded her as… Continue reading Charlie’s Anchor
There was an Attack Macaque in the courtyard—AM-120 from the looks of it: forward infantry mecha, fast, and trigger happy for an AI. But that's not what worried Daiju. He was worried about the mushroom cap standing guard, so called for their umbrella-like helmets. It wasn't a nice term. Wasn't meant to be. They fancied themselves… Continue reading Big Wins
It was a gray day—overcast but bright, and the brightness amplified by a patchwork of melting snow. Cold puddles formed in the mud like tidepools along the shore of some vast alkaline ocean, still and lifeless. Karsaca remained vigilant, her finger at the ready, and tried not to think about the dryness of her eyes… Continue reading Bait
Kartika walked through the soft grass of her family's orchard, smiling as the sun warmed her shoulders. The first promise of autumn was in the breeze. It was nearly time to harvest. Even with her prescription sunglasses she had to squint against the multifaceted reflections of the sun. Rainbow prisms flitted in her periphery vision… Continue reading What Grows in the Orchard
Kayla was lost in the light of the sun tunnel. In theory, she only had to move in a straight line. But the exotic matter that comprised the tunnel walls appeared to branch out into twisting fractals. At a certain point, the concept of a straight line simply ceased to have any meaning. Dust devils… Continue reading No Place for a Human
Meredith Aves looked upon her husband's ashen face through a veil of hot amber sparks that erupted in the space between them. His voice carried a dread she'd never before heard as he asked her pleadingly, "Are my eyes open?" She awoke with a start and barely suppressed a scream. Carter was standing beside the… Continue reading You’re Not Yourself
You've probably heard the name Linda Beckman. Early twenty-second century visionary industrialist, world's first trillionaire. She made some unfortunate political alliances late in life that stained her reputation, but overall she did more good than bad. During the decades between her meteoric rise and her shameful final years, she spent her fortune and her energy… Continue reading Human-Overkill Theory
Warmup Pages 