Ascension: Insurgence
Giant excavators crept slowly above, churning through the frigid regolith, as the conspiritors met deep beneath the surface. “What you are suggesting, Cera”…
Timeless as the Elements
“Martin, how’d you get so...weird?” Martin gave her a playful look and wiped the mud from his cheek with his shirtsleeve, “I’m sure I have no idea what you…
The Gods Are Restless
There was once many worlds. One world decided it wanted to be One. First, they built Elemental Machines, then they buried the universe’s Four Natural Gods on…
I Wonder Where She Goes
You know, I just wonder where she goes. Everybody has places to go, but it’s different with her. I’m just lounging around and I’ll see her fumble down the…
Of Earth and Not and More
The sun was setting, redder than a peach, leaving red streaks so languid & sinewy across the sky. Night was coming. Emerging from his cabin as if drawn by…
Earth Wants Revenge
The Earth doesn’t let us beat it anymore. Another chop to a root and a branch sacrifices itself to fall onto your sister. Another plastic bag tossed into its…
Five Stages
“Earth to Brian.” It’s so beautiful here. I lie on the red sand and stare at stars winking in shared amusement. They sparkle in a sky clear of pollution or any…
3. The Origins of the Genders
*Mars* is said to be where men come from; Venus, where women come from. I don’t know where the others are supposed to come from. People refer to men and women…
Origin
“Scanning bio signature.” A man in the distance shone a light in the diver’s face. “Hello? Who are you?” He tried to block the light coming at him with his…
The Deskjob From Hell
The silk shirt slid easily under his tailored jacket. His hand reflexively touched his silk tie then came to rest on his lap. He didn’t want to be here. The…
Sorry, We Didn't Mean To Drop That Onto Your Planet
The impact flattened a thousand acres of Northern Ontario forest and was heard 200 km away. But the cause of the event was no meteorite. It was a cylinder…
Growing Up In The Universe
A man sat in a small, dimly-lit office, surrounded by computer screens, server racks, and empty pizza boxes. He hadn’t shaved in three days. The design on his…
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…
Seeing Without Viewing
She slipped her hand into her front pocket and pulled out a pencil. “If there is anyone back there,” she began to calculate, “I shouldn’t stop to check it out”…
The Ojibwe
Vomit spread out from the kneeling form of Noah like a surrealist painting. The fire had gone to embers, and the wind was cold in his sweat soaked hair and…
Roman Candles
It was a falling dream, only he was falling away from the Earth, his cozy campsite and the surrounding forest rushing away with incredible velocity. Rivulets…
What Peace Is There
What peace is there Below this earth We trample upon every day? Always forgetting That we are stepping On pieces of passed beings.
Contact Sport
Dakotah spun around. “Brian?!” But even as she started to move forward to embrace him, she detected the trademark graininess that bespoke a projected hologram…
The Collectors
When it entered the solar system it dwarfed anything mankind could have ever dreamed of. Mankind was excited for their arrival, awaiting contact. The crafts…
The Last Day of Richard
Our ancestors would be disgusted. Klaxons and flashing lights engulfed Richard, but he was completely oblivious. Had been for a few days now. Long ago he had…