When We Look at the Stars, We See Them as They Were

On the last world of a distant and lonely system, there was a circus made of light.

All the World is Sea

It is lonely between the cities, on the long bridges that span the rivers and the seas.

Death Blooming

In the center of the plaza, Cara watched the glass flower flutter.It was the last of its kind. The last living thing from that world, gleaming and beautiful. Everything else had burned.

The Only Way to Win the Game

This close he can hear the clock ticking. He checks his rifle, glances at the hotel below. The target will be outside soon, off to sell secrets. His Employer doesn't want that. Any minute now. Behind him, he hears his name. His real name. He turns. He didn't expect to see the most wanted woman in the...

Today’s Bargains

Buy one breathing mask, get one free for a child or family member! Get 20% off your next radiation treatment! Offers not valid in cities under martial law, territories outside the Protective Zone, or available to any citizen considered "non-desirable."  This is for Three Line Tales. Thanks to Sonya for running the challenge and Artem...

An Artist Inside the Painting

Glass roses sung like wind chimes in the morning breeze, crystalline stems trembling. The sun shone a brilliant gold and the cloud-marbled sky gleamed. A bee buzzed by, clockwork wings carrying a wire-striped body, and alighted on long needle legs. In the sky the birds circled, watching with glinting eyes and knife-sharp beaks. And in...

Ohwonoh

Ohwonoh stuck the antenna into the carton and set it carefully next to the plastic steak. His lip motors twitched. Perfect. Ohwonoh was an eccentric even by the standards of his model. He had developed a taste for what he described as "an authentic lifestyle, in the model of the Creators." Faith in the Creators...

A High Stakes Game of Noughts and Crosses

Lily tugged Steven's sleeve as he entered the control room. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Steven wished people would stop asking that. A glance at his battered jacket and hair that hadn't been brushed since the first attack should have told anybody that he didn't and would welcome any suggestions. But in...

Set Your Clock

Each day he stands by the window and watches, his eye upon the hands of the watch. The lamps flicker, casting shadows across the street. Footsteps echo on the cobbles. A spider scuttles across the cobweb, long legs dancing on thin threads. Each day, the times are the same. Everything in this world happens on...

The Future is Green

A breeze whistled between the branches. No. Not a breeze. Just the whirring of the fan overhead. He had to remind himself of that. It all seemed so very real. The Garden spread out before him, rows of green, trees lined up like soldiers heading off to war. He found it hard not to think...