by Penny Durham “Mission accomplished” flashed up on monitors worldwide. DeepGreen, usually so modest, was entitled to some self-congratulation. The AI had fulfilled the mission entrusted to it thirteen years ago, a mission that governments had collectively abandoned: restore humanity’s prospects and habitat. The 3,783,333,333rd human assigned for destruction by DeepGreen’s robots had been pulverised. […]
by Stuart Docherty “Give me two tusks, and the force and will to crush my foes between them, to hear their eyes burst,” I said when I found the magic lamp; it was an easy first wish. When the genie clicked his fingers and my lower incisors started to grow and grow and grow, I […]
by G.B. Dinesh We ate the last of our food today. We’re going to sleep the big sleep now. When we hurtled past Mars, Tim joked, “It’s okay. We’ll reach Jupiter instead.” But I knew what was going on in his mind. His wife and their soon-to-be-born son. God, the reason! It still is unbelievable. […]
by Jameson Grey Ed bribed the local gravedigger, Smithy, with a few beers and fifty bucks he could ill afford, and Smithy supplied the coffin with a gleeful, “It’s your funeral, frat boy.” He should have paid more attention to Smithy’s complaints about his gut, else he might have delayed the initiation dare for another […]
by Tim Law They advertised it as the medical breakthrough of the century. No exercise, no diet, just one puff a day and the weight melted away. We all bought it, every single one of us, even those who didn’t need it. Sure, the teens were the first to adopt. Influencers paid megabucks are good […]
by Alden Terzo Daniella’s eyes fluttered. Pain danced across her body. “What… What happened?” “We’ve had an accident,” Car answered. “While under manual control, we impacted a guardrail. Help is en route.” “But… You were in AutonomousDrive.” “My log reports manual control.” “The log’s wrong.” There was a pause before Car responded. “You’ll report that?” […]
by Pauline Yates For the third time, bone shards and chunks of brain splatter when Pete’s bullet hits the tree and ricochets. In a flash of brilliance, his twitching body returns to his maker again. “How long will I repeat dying?” Pete asks, confounded by his death-loop. “Until you admit you erred when aligning the […]
by Kim F.G. Olav “The vault’s new security system is online,” Declan says, pointing to the chequered tiles. “But…how do we cross without triggering it?” Octavia asks. “There’s a safe path over—the technician wrote it down.” He hands Octavia a sticky note, her brows furrow. “Huh? This handwriting’s atrocious.” “It’s easy. Watch.” Declan hops onto […]
by Grace Quon I stare in the mirror. You’re gone again. I brush my hair by feel, but don’t dare to attempt makeup. I search for you all day. Windows, puddles, the polished cutlery at Chez Henri: they look right through me. At night, I say a prayer to someone, anyone, and turn on the […]
by Tannis Mill Miriam set crescent rolls on the table, then disappeared into the kitchen. Marcus buttered one and called after her. “I saw him again today. In the lobby of my office building.” A pot clanked. “That’s four times this week.” Miriam entered with two plates of spaghetti. “It’s just bizarre, Mir! He’s a […]