Teaching How to Dream
A species unknown to you pale purple floaters bobble in my eyes and they ache from the dreams last night. If only somebody’d teach me how to dream... That’s a…
Galactic Positioning System
Atop a Chilean mountain, two astronomers sat at a table littered with printouts, tablets, and coffee stains. Dr. Petrov scratched his beard and fidgeted in his…
The Presentation 2
The speaker continues although the attendees are obviously distressed. The projector changes constantly, bombarding them with gruesome images. “This alien…
The Presentation
The projector whirrs as it warms up. Papers shuffle as the attendants find their seats. The speaker clears his throat. “Gentlemen, thank you all for coming…
Reassurance
The medical ward was almost empty, devoid of any warmth or comfort as it always was. A fit of coughing broke the tense silence of the room, snapping what would…
A Guy in Need
Since arriving on Earth about seven years ago, Fednor was still having a hard time picking up the nuances of human speech and behavior. That’s not to say he…
The XCOM Diaries: The Ambush Part One
Major Perret ran out of the rear hatch of the Skyranger as it set down, his squad on his heels. They fanned out into cover as their transport rocketed back…
Force Fields and Baby Names
My best friend walked in just as I had laid my head on the metal table. He was carrying his usual machine gun and his goofy grin. “Hey darling. Working on a…
My Babysitter
The girl sat tapping her pencil in between her teeth as she decided what to say in her letter to the President of the United States. She needed to explain her…
A Return
Some say the revolution started a thousand years ago, in the 21st century, when she finally came home. It’d been millenia since she’d taken her Queen’s…
Tapping
There’s a brief tapping on my window. I don’t worry- it’s not loud enough to wake anyone, and soon he’ll give up and return to wherever it is he goes at night…
Survival Patterns
Darwin’s clothes were frost-charred. Black ice crystals cracked and hailed to the ground as he dusted himself off. “I guess we humans are stronger than we…
The Woes of an Old Child
I was born like any other person. At that point, nothing about me was different from you all. I started life like a normal child; I walked and talked and…
The Edge of Europa
They didn’t believe the first patrols who reported the phenomenon. Too long in the wilderness must have addled their brains, scoffed the civil servants in the…
Close Encounter
Ever sampled the buffet 4.4 light years from what used to be Earth? Let’s just say it gives one a new appreciation of airline food. At least that stuff was…
The Third World
They were in utter disarray when we arrived. They were a primitive, fragmented people, bickering between themselves over land or some other resource, sometimes…
Here's to my Great-Grandparents
Alien limbs rained around Dakota, her methodical yet desperate push forward went slowly. Her swollen limbs were pulsating dark ringlets of pain, and she…
Luangwa
The droning hum she heard since leaving her cell now increased in intensity. The corridor’s lights behind her flickered to black. The door at the far end of…
Bill Engvall Cameos
“Oh, don’t worry it’s fine.” I nodded my thanks and started for the bathroom. A man with salt and pepper goatee walked along. He approached the alien with a…
There Was, In Fact, A Sign
“Hey, do you know where the bathroom is?” “No, but there’s a sign over there.” I looked toward where he had pointed; there was, in fact, a sign. “Thanks.” I…