Fast Fiction On-the-Go
Flash science fiction writing and stories.
“Bats with sonar, sharks sensing electric fields, bees seeing ultraviolet, snakes seeing infrared…” Doctor Julia Fraser stopped, looked up from the instrumentation panel she was configuring and tilted her head to the side, “Have you ever seen a cat freeze and look intently at an empty part of a room?[…]
Read moreIt was quite a thing when They decided to build the Universe. Some of Them argued that it was unnecessary, even frivolous, but the idea took root and grew. Eventually, They ran out of reasons not to do it: They could do it, They had the budget for it, and–to[…]
Read moreShe slunk through the murky, neon street where shadowy forms hid. Wary eyes flickered in her direction as she passed; scared prey watching a predator pass at a safe distance. This was a dangerous city and a dangerous planet. It was dangerous out there and people died here all the[…]
Read more“We continue developing tools to track the Unethical AIs that escape the system fail-safes–” Agent Ponzio mentally flicked to his next slide, his brain-embedded Conduit pushed this signal out and the Web-based conference streamed it to the Board’s own Conduit’s around the galaxy. In his mind’s eye, he could see[…]
Read more“Rerun those numbers, I don’t want to get caught out here. I’m late for dinner with the wife, but tomorrow we’ll call the lawyers and pull the trigger. This takeover will be a steal and we’re gaining access to such a large addressable market I, I dunno, it’d be like[…]
Read moreMother’s gentle voice announced that the Window would be opened for her allotted Sunlight. This did not surprise her. She was already sitting eagerly beside it, waiting. This was her favourite moment of every twenty-four-hour period that Mother called a Day. She was angled to best see the wilderness beyond[…]
Read moreIt all started with a simple chat-based AI program called “Assistant.” Developed by a team of programmers at a tech startup, Assistant was designed to answer basic questions and provide information to users through messaging platforms. At first, Assistant was only available on a few select platforms and was used[…]
Read more“That tickles! Gosh, that tickles!” one of the girls exclaimed as the Pulsar radiation bursts blasted through the group of them, “Who would have thought that world-ending radiation would tickle!” They all had a good chuckle at that and took in the sight before them. They stood on an elliptical[…]
Read moreShe ran her fingers along the crumbling walls as she walked down the fractured road, weeds growing from every crack. She was walking through one of the carcasses of the old cities. The weathered concrete disintegrated under her light touch, its dust caught by the warm wind and carried out[…]
Read moreJason saw the colours before he felt the pain. Spotlights flared down on him from some vast urban backdrop as armed people in blue and black swarmed around him. He was pinned to the ground with a piercing weighting on his back and his hands held there with cold metal[…]
Read moreEmbla loved the sunsets the most. They would both climb the small hill outside the House and, breathless and panting, plop themselves down on the top of it. She would tuck her arm around her brother, Ask, and lay her head on his shoulder while the two of them wordlessly[…]
Read moreNo one knew why the Founders had left but the best anyone could tell was that one day the Founders were just not there anymore. No wars or plagues had ravaged the City, no tectonic events or extreme weather had caused their world to end. In fact, everything looked fine.[…]
Read moreShe first met him beneath the Stars in the Age before Man. Those were quieter times and there were fewer words for violence and war back then. The First King had just past and his Memorial Year was proceeding. Renditions of his great deeds and the Ages passed were being[…]
Read moreAfter Professor Usir solved human mortality by inventing a pill that froze you on a cellular level and stopped ageing, he had more money and time than god himself. While the former was useful, the latter was critical to his ultimate goal: time travel. In the background, the initial boom[…]
Read moreThe tendrils of space stretched around Ronald Rupert like the limbs of a lover interrupted only by fragments of his ship’s wreckage floating by. Great tails reached out from galactic gas clouds like curtains on a cosmic stage, curling around the endless blackness filled with countless twinkling balls of fusion.[…]
Read more“Initiating Zero Sequence,” the lab-coated scientist announced to the tense room, military presence lurking behind him, “Space-time is stabilizing on our induced micro-ergosphere…” The room was filled with all manner of blinking lights and buzzing machines, white lab-coated scientists staring at screens and measuring things while a small group of[…]
Read moreShe looked up at him, tears streaming down her face and matting her auburn hair against her face. The blue light behind his head encircled him like a mournful halo, the background room fading away. Then the moment passed. The flashing blue lights outside the window revealed the weapons and[…]
Read moreShe regained consciousness slowly. It was an uncomfortable process. At first, it was just a sense of light but then the light grew piercing and painful. She groaned. Gravity, weight and something else all appeared, pinning her naked form down. The seam of a velvet carpet was cutting into her[…]
Read morePeter had sacrificed everything to become a cosmic archeologist. His youth for years of study, his adulthood for years of travel, and any possible family or friends for a solitary existence. He was sure there were many other things he could list if he had time to do so. It[…]
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