Tom had been melted again that morning. In a moment of rage, the neural network fired a plasma arc from a gemstone imbedded on the side of one of its exhaust ducts. Cast by the arc was a legion of buzzing orbs of light. Swarmed like fireflies. As you’d expect, […]
Laughing Joking Neural Network Read More »
Peri had been doodling to pass the time, it took hours for the elevator to descend into the facility. A bat, some circles, some lines, numbers, squiggles. She made “rollercoasters”, as she called them, which looked like loop de loops and random lines every which way. A single straight line
Daniel’s day began much like any other, as he awoke at dawn and climbed out of his bed, stretching and yawning loudly, before adjusting his weary eyes to the morning sunshine creeping in through the blinds. His usual daily routine would follow – a quick wash, followed by breakfast, and
Through the Looking Glass Read More »
The Forensic Video Analysis contract was completely standard but for two things Rayna had never seen before: A redaction where the company’s title usually went, and a personal note from a boss she had only met over video call a handful of times. Tell me if they’re like what the
Incident at the Fulfillment Center Read More »
My name is John Dawson. I’m a police lieutenant from Canton, Georgia. In my twenty years on the force, I have dealt with some pretty rough characters. My family and I live in a small suburban house just outside the city. Although I spend most of my time in the
My story begins several years ago when I was a rising star in the mechanisms of federal government and planning on a career within the political establishment in DC. This wasn’t to be however as I received what I thought at the time was a better offer. Believe it or
I was Earth’s ambassador to a murderous alien race. Negotiations have failed Read More »
My uncle was an eccentric man. An accomplished physicist, he was at the top of his field when he abruptly decided to end his career and retire to his villa in the French countryside. His friends and family couldn’t even begin to guess what had prompted the drastic shift. He
Most of you reading this account won’t believe my story. Hell, I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t lived through the horror. To the best of my knowledge, only two people have ever survived this hell and made it back to Earth in one piece, and sadly the other is no
Alien abductions are real and they’re worse than you think Read More »
A coward has many guises, and my bluff; has been called. I’m not a brave man. I slept with a night light on until I was in my twenties. Yet, here I am, Mr. Tough-guy, the first line of defense against forces unknown. Forces that were unknown until we went
It was a pretty simple program.A collaborative effort between me and another user on a forum I like to frequent. We like to help one another with all sorts of projects, personal and professional. He and I were both freelance software developers, and made a good team. He went by
The Saturn Source Code Read More »
IT SKITTERED its way across the leaves, and I knelt down to get as close as I could. Eight legs, black body – it was one of the feared ones; a black widow. I knew that before I pulled up Nature’s Identity on my phone. But I needed to log
The Terror From Beyond the Void Read More »
THE FIRST DIRECTIVE Obey and serve only the One Mind.– Manual of Directives and Subdirectives At ten your head is shaved. At twenty you are assigned your new designation and role. You’re no longer a child. At thirty you’re evaluated for Marital and Parental Fitness. If you pass, you do
Have you ever heard Plato’s allegory of the cave? Well, I’m no philosopher, but I’ll try my best to explain it. Essentially you have a group of people who’ve spent their entire lives chained up inside a cave, all facing a blank wall. The prisoners watch shadows projected on the
I sought out a horrifying truth. Now I wish I hadn’t Read More »
It’s the 21st December. I know this because Emmanuel teaches me to read the sky. That’s how the ancient civilisations navigated the globe, even before the days of maps they had the sky. Seven years was all it had taken since the announcement that it was ‘the end’. The end
The Burden of Time Read More »
“Holy shit! Is that what I think it is?” Brandon’s eyes widened into saucers and, despite being filled with an unabated rage towards his older brother just a few hours ago, Michael couldn’t help but smile and nod at the expected reaction. Even with everything that had happened earlier in
Do you ever just sit and watch your sleeping dog? Observe as their little feet run along the ground, just waving halfway in the air as they let out innocent half-gruntled barks. Have you ever just wondered what’s going on inside their sleeping minds, what they’re dreaming about? Maybe it’s
My Dog Dreams About My Death Read More »
Roxy’s Lounge. It was the sort of dimly-lit, mid-century styled bar that was too classy for me by half. In the real world, it’s the kind of place I’d have gone to get shit-faced on overpriced cocktails at a Game Developer’s Conference after-party. But that was in the old days, back
If you’re armed and at the Glenmont metro, please shoot me. Make it a headshot. Shoot me in the temple, aiming slightly downwards. I need the bullet to travel the shortest possible distance through my brain before it hits my hippocampus. If I’m lucky, the sensation of the gunshot ripping
If You’re Armed and at the Glenmont Metro, Please Shoot Me Read More »
You know those people who you tell the time of events to 15 minutes early because you know they would be late? The ones who would be late to their own funerals, as the saying goes? Well, that’s me. Prepare as I might. I can never seem to get anywhere
Never Stop At Roadside Memorials Read More »
No matter what you see in the coming months, regardless of how convincing it might seem; Know that I didn’t want to die. I’m going to take all possible steps to prevent my predetermined demise, but if I don’t make it, I need at least someone to know what really
My Old Home Videos Showed Me a Life I Never Lived Read More »
Let me just make something clear: I never get to go out somewhere nice. Like ever. My best friend and I struggle just to pay our bills every month, so anything fancier than McDonald’s is usually out of the question. We’ll save up for months to go on one of our “roommate
The day I found my first hole was the day my best friend came back from the dead. We were in high school and stupid. Jake was his name and we liked to go out to this old abandoned house in the woods after school to just screw around. We
My name is Andrew Erics. I used to live in a city you probably heard of called New York. My mother is Terrie Erics—Teresa, really. She’s in the phone book under “E”—if they even have those things any more. Maybe you can just Google her. I don’t know. If you
“Computer, wake up.” The green static flickered on the face of the monitor. The computer system of the ship never completely shuts down, but is occasionally requested to sleep during long periods of inactivity. Red lights flared on and off as the backup generators designated all available power to emergency
