Browsing the Infinite The heaven of the AltUni Mall, with goods from every alternate universe, was the choices. The hell was also the choices. “I just want an American flag with ducks instead of stars,” Nel said for the thousandth time. Every muscle in Kylie’s body screamed. “I’ll make one in Photoshop,” she said. “Ten…
Category: Science Fiction
Bore of the Worlds
Bore of the Worlds When the lights came to Earth, displaying powers beyond anyone’s comprehension, everyone just assumed they’d take over the world. Instead, they ran for city council in Sudbury, Ontario. They ran on a platform of public parks and fixing infrastructure instantly through cosmic rays. They won. As years passed, world leaders flew…
To Be Struck by Lightning
To Be Struck by Lightning Mikki had never been struck by lightning, which was a shame. She’d heard it gave you such a nice energy boost. She craved that now. She was 48,564 meters from home and her reserves stood at 6%. She chewed two 9-volt batteries with her tungsten teeth, sucking out every possible…
A Real Vacation
A Real Vacation Allison woke to the sun shining through the tent door. She made breakfast and sat looking out over the valley. This is what I need. A real vacation. The breeze smelled like pine. Too much? No, just right. Relax. You are alone in the Scottish Highlands for four days. Enjoy it. The…
Yesterdays’ Alchemist
Yesterdays’ Alchemist “Did anything notable happen today?” Dr. Yarrow asked. She looked at Nikolai over the top of her pad. Nikolai did not want weekly therapy session and he suspected that Dr. Yarrow did not want to see him either, but those were the rules. The higher ups thought that historical adjustment and the associated…
Beauty Killer
Beauty Killer Every day I go destroy the most beautiful things in the world. I’ve seen murals that made me cry from sheer awe, moments before my flamethrower melted them out of existence. “Eighteen buildings cleansed,” I say. My boss nods, impassive. “How many new occurences?” “48 yesterday, just in your area,” she says. We’re…
A Bunch of Triangles
A Bunch of Triangles “What were you thinking?” I blushed. “It was an art project, sir.” “Art? What about the Prime Directive? We do not interfere with cultures that haven’t made extraterrestrial contact.” “It was just a bunch of triangles . . .” “Yeah, 500-foot-tall triangles! That’s not going to go unnoticed!” “It was mostly…
The Origins of Brownyz
The Origins of Brownyz
Hail Mary 1230
Hail Mary 1230 The world looks peaceful from up here, the irregular polygons of the old fields and forest divisions looking like they’ve been cut by a toddler with a pair of stolen scissors: straight lines, weird angles. But this is the exclusion zone and the people have gone and left their straight lines behind….
Tethered
Tethered “Come on, it’s New Year’s.” Maria’s tone was pleading. “Show off those new cybers. Put my dancing to shame with your robot legs.” My new upgrades let me bench press 800 pounds and run a 3-minute mile, but I couldn’t afford good batteries. The club said its wireless electricity for fully T6 but what…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 