Family Fight for the Point of View Right

by Larry Hodges SCENE 1  “Honey, should we kill the children today?” Frieda asks.   “Sure,” I say. “Why not?” My lovely wife is so cute when she talks murder.  “Please don’t kill us!” cries Little Sammy. He cowers on the sofa with Baby Tammy, who slobbers like a broken

Dybot of Sol

by Jayde Holmes Now all the People of Earth were connected and prosperous, so they said to each other, “Come, let us send out probes and map the heavens.” They built the fastest ever propulsion systems and entwined-particle instantaneous communication devices, so they could uncover wonders within the lifetime of

ART of the Solar System #9

by Cody Schell

The Content of This Piece Has Been Removed

by Alistair Robinson The content of this piece has been removed and cannot be recovered.  The Government’s Advanced Countermeasures system requires all forms of content, whether electronic or physical, to conform with our counter-extremism strategy—including content originally produced in areas outside of the Government’s jurisdiction. Content refers

Cajones

by Floyd Largent You'd think a superhero wouldn't have any trouble making a living, but since my Breakthrough, I've barely been getting by. My folks, who are proud of my new status, are happy to lend me money between bounties, which is how I

The Missing Variable

by Steven Mathes It may seem like an obvious detail, but nobody on our team caught it.   We planned. We imagined uncertainties about pathogens, toxins, hostile predators, and historical facts of human violence. We knew it would require unspeakable amounts of energy. Therefore, I was armored in something halfway between

What Counts as a Heart in a Bicycle

by Jennifer Lesh Fleck Circus-striped streamers dazzle my handlebars. My leatherette seat wears printed roses and flourishes, like a Western saddle. I’m pretty, parked alongside my brothers and sisters. My factory paint has glitter in the pink, swirling like cosmic dust.   The village outside hunkers under June gloom, the

ART of the Solar System #8

by Cody Schell

The Bacon That Isn’t There

by Justin Dill For the fourteenth day, eggs fall from the sky. Always eggs, and mine, always scrambled. Never over easy. Never over. Never easy. Mother makes omelets for breakfast, for the fourteenth time. Fourteen quiche lunches. Fourteen egg salad suppers. Meringue for dessert. I skip that first. And then

Troll Extraction

by Mark Szasz   “Mm-hm, mm-hm… No doubt about it. You’ve got a troll under your dental bridge,” Dr. Gruff agreed, narrowing his gaze.        The beam from his dental headlight shone on two tiny shining eyes in my mouth, each reflecting in his spectacles and glowering at me.       A gigantic

Network Creep

by Corey Jae White the matter transfer room resembles a cathedral. The gate a window waiting to open onto the light of all Creation, brighter than a thousand suns.  Sometimes I stand on the observation deck and watch storage containers break through the wall of blazing energy and my eyes

ART of the Solar System #7

by Cody Schell