Anderson Miles felt an extraordinary connection to the Earth from the day he was born. As soon as he could, he asked his parents if this was normal. “Enjoy your life,” his father answered. “Live in the present or you’ll… Continue Reading
They’re like cats, I’d said. But who listens to kids? This was Phase Two — where hardship perks gave worker bee families like us houses we couldn’t have dreamed of back home. Ours was on a gloriously uncleared lot —… Continue Reading
Beyond the mangled guardrail, the ground dropped steeply away, a mile down to the valley floor. Dan stepped toward it, heart pounding. When he was a child, Dan’s father told him guardrails were braces for roads. They kept all the… Continue Reading
“The migration of the future is migration to the future!” the advertising slogans cheerfully ran, assaulting people from bright and colourful holo-posters, blaring from radios and televisions, and finding a variety of innovative ways to annoy folks who just wanted… Continue Reading
They came for our water. They asked for two centimeters off the top of our oceans. In exchange, everyone would receive a gift. The world united in its disagreement. If they’d pointed a weapon at us, we’d have complied. But… Continue Reading
Francis was penning a letter to his monastery brothers back home when his bees malfunctioned. He stood from a bolted-down table and chair in a corner of the dirigible as tiny black bots emerged from their hives to buzz around… Continue Reading
The prisoner possessed an incredible capacity for anguish. We crushed entire galaxies, literally crushed them beneath our boots (BOOTS device of course but who can remember what the acronym stands for?), and he would not give up his associates. So… Continue Reading
Kapteyn is dead. No, that’s not right. He’s thinking, therefore not dead. His body is lost. He floats, smaller than an atom. No. That’s not right either. He’s confused. The sensation isn’t entirely unpleasant. He processes. His thoughts are slow.… Continue Reading
“What is art?” The teacher’s holographic image hung in front of a small group of kids gathered in a semicircle. The Detroit Academy for Gifted Beings was a traditionally-minded institution. Parents who wished their offspring to partake of its excellent… Continue Reading
It’s the Wednesday after the starships arrive. Karen meets me with a Dr’uau cradled in her arms. There’s a smile on her thin face, and the glow in her brown eyes echoes the alien creature’s blank though playful expression. She… Continue Reading