Oregon’s teeming woods: an escape from New York City, from screens. Right now, there’s no wind, only the warm air and beaming sun. My lungs are open, my muscles eased, my mind glowing. “Ah!” Through a wall of trees, I… Continue Reading
You want to hear a ghost story, cadets? Sure, I’ll tell you a real spacers’ ghost story. No, everyone’s heard tell of zombie cyborgs or cybernetic hiveminds that impress people against their will, so I’ll spare you another take on… Continue Reading
There once lived a person who attempted to banish the word “Sphincter.” Their name does not matter for it could well have been you or me. For as long as they could remember, they hated the word. Fortunately, we have… Continue Reading
As Autumn accelerated — Bertie Bagley began buying blue balloons biweekly. Chauncey Clark couldn’t comprehend colors. “Nonetheless, I have never seen more beautiful balloons,” Chauncey Clark chirped. “Oh! I’ve bought them just for you — just for you,” Bertie Bagley… Continue Reading
When he didn’t get the promotion life became monotonous. He worked in ‘accounts receivable’, in a logistics company, on the top floor of a tall building. He was allowed one personal photo on the pin board at his workstation, so… Continue Reading
Tater Jones was an avid angler with a reliable propensity for never catching fish. He did a lot of angling, but ended most days out of bait and no fish. He got his nickname, Tater, from Ben Joe Crewes, the… Continue Reading
If Richard was going to commit suicide—and this time, he really was—he wasn’t about to make some elaborate production of it. He refused to leave behind a situation which needed cleaning up. That meant not hanging himself, not slitting his… Continue Reading
In New Zealand, there’s a candy assortment of gangs. Most often, they ride on motorcycles, deal in narcotics, prostitution, illegal guns and fear. Recruitment’s booming as New Zealand’s underpaid police scarper to Australia, and dysfunctional kids clamber up the criminal… Continue Reading
After our boss quit the senior executives replaced him with a coffee machine. They said that the consultant had delivered his report and that the replacement was appropriate and cost effective. Each morning we gathered around the shiny appliance and… Continue Reading
“Beware of the Ides of March,” Madame Hannah said, picking up the tarot card with its stormy-looking tower. The woman tapped her long black fingernails on the card. Bree wondered how the woman was able to shuffle with nails that… Continue Reading