A bassy tone and flashing amber light pulled Cato out of his light sleep. He'd been in and out of consciousness for a few days. The slow crawl of starvation made everything smear together. What in hell's name was that blinking light? His head was swimming. Cato fixated on the control panel until he forced… Continue reading The Strawberry Gambit
Tag: FTL
Cold Boot Attack
I thought I was drowning. Hypersleep left me heavy and dumb. Emergency waking protocol. I was rapid-thawing; should be mobile in an hour. The ship’s android stared into my tank with dimly glowing eyes devoid of soul. It tapped a polycarbonate digit to its aural receptor. I activated my earpiece. Its synthetic inflection was colder… Continue reading Cold Boot Attack
The Crypt at the End of Time
"Martin...what is this place?" The intricate web of the jump-gate network was the backbone society. Without it, every star system would be as isolated as if it were its own self-contained universe, at least as far as humans were concerned. But the jump-gates weren't built by humans. They were built by someone else; someone long… Continue reading The Crypt at the End of Time
Inside the Prohibition Zone
“These jump coordinates don’t look right.” “How so?” “They’d put us inside the Prohibition Zone.” “That’s right.” “It would take a full Federation armada to have a chance of anything getting back out again. Are you serious?” “Serious, yes, and also the captain of this ship. It would do you good to remember that. And… Continue reading Inside the Prohibition Zone
Blood in the Algae Garden
Between the dark rocky plain and the low gray cloud cover there was a narrow strip of light the color of tarnished silver. Ari adjusted his face mask as he walked between the modules of the remote base. Everyone wore the masks, even though the weren't strictly necessary. Imai II was classified as a shirtsleeves… Continue reading Blood in the Algae Garden
Slip
Josie's arm was jammed into one of the Thresher's exterior maintenance ducts past her elbow, but she still hadn't found the ruptured cell. The attack had left the ship vulnerable—it was a miracle they'd managed to limp it away at all—but nothing made you feel quite as exposed as being out in the vacuum with… Continue reading Slip
I Think, Therefore I Amnesia
“That event horizon’s only getting closer, ExI. Punch the coordinates and jump us out.” The android froze and tilted its face up toward the overhead above the helm. “Aw hell, Exoanthropic Intelligence my left foot! Don’t tell me you can’t remember.” “Bulk expulsion of superannuated data is a hallmark of higher-order cognition.” It pressed its… Continue reading I Think, Therefore I Amnesia
Mind is Mind
The small jump shuttle, its name and serial numbers and various tracking devices destroyed in faraway systems, hard docked with the remote outpost. The ship had never been here before, but the pilot had. Sofia shut down the engines and locked the thrusters. Then she started up the various maintenance cycles, including the FTL scrubber… Continue reading Mind is Mind
Gears of the Spheres
"Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton all lived one right after the other. Then there was a pause. There were plenty of smart people, probably, but not a need. Where Newton left off was pretty good for a while. Anyway, then there was Einstein, and that was a big jump that was good enough for a few… Continue reading Gears of the Spheres
Something to Fight For
Jules stood alone in the Proteus desert on Empyrean. He'd never been first before, not in any of the trillions of light cones. Good. He was at the front then, making a real change. He wouldn't be alone for long. But as the seconds dragged on he didn't know what to do with himself. Always… Continue reading Something to Fight For
Warmup Pages 