She didn’t love you from the start, and more the fool you were for thinking you could change that. But then, magic’s often been the refuge of the fool. If in your sorrow and anger, you fled to ancient books and the whisperings of wizards, who could call that unexpected? You didn’t mean to kill…
An Android’s Guide to Deciphering Emotions by George Nikolopoulos “They made you look human”, Clarissa says, “so you try to make yourself think like one, but that’s illogical.” Clarissa is everywhere. Her app is on half the world’s phones. She’s the most popular digital assistant, and she’s my friend. “You’re the only android that…
Livin’ Doll by Maureen Bowden Sandra Beesley lost her virginity to Eddie Wynstanley on the top deck of the New Brighton Ferry in 1959. She was fourteen. He was seventeen. The rest of the passengers were crowded onto the lower deck, sheltering from the rain. “If my dad finds out he’ll kill me,”…
Smallpox Ate the Americas Once by Leon Perniciaro Will and Santos attacked the farmhouse door with hatchets as Marco coughed blood and clutched his chest behind them. A few miles northeast, both Twofer ships jutted from Lincoln Woods State Park like massive lawn darts. “I’ve never seen anybody survive a Twofer infection this bad,” Will…
Butterfly of the Apocalypse By Adam Gaylord I close my eyes. The warm breeze smells of cut grass and I can hear children playing somewhere nearby. They laugh and scream, chasing one another in some game, unaware that they run headlong into oblivion. We’d spent the better part of a lifetime studying them,…
Correction by Adam Fout The officer, covered in armor like angled obsidian, throws Sithas into the bare room, then speaks, its words guttural, static-filled: “You will not be taken into the prison until you read and follow the instructions.” Sithas, sprawled on his back, says nothing, watches the officer leave. He cannot remember the…
The Deep Down By Anna Zumbro We’re so far out in the country that we can see the Milky Way, a smoky band of red and silver across a star-cluttered sky. Just like last night, I worry that the pool won’t be there, but it is, about fifteen feet from the edge of the service…
HYPOXIA IN THREE-QUARTER TIME by Robert Minto As the dropship plunged through a storm of lasered missiles toward a swirl of grey-green planet, Jander kept his eyes forward, drinking in the juddering silhouette of his squad leader. She was his crush, unspoken: Tabitha. There was no one with whom he’d rather plunge into…
THE DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONAL ATTIRE by Evergreen Lee Detective Umbria picked up the ISC dress code manual left open on her workstation and read the highlighted section: “Employees are only allowed to display two eyes each, and they should be in the traditional locations (see diagram, left).” The picture showed a human face, with human…
Monochromatic Mandate by Milo James Fowler Black or white. No other option. You either agree or disagree. Black for YES, white for NO. No wiggle room for cognitive dissonance or seeing potential with both sides of an issue. No gray areas allowed. Binary is best, all things considered. Less confusing, at any rate….
