Stories tagged “scifi”
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Stars spill out
Within hours of her last transmission, she went to sleep. Surely, there’d be a signal in the morning. But what is morning in Space? What is dawn for a forgotten Shuttle running on its emergency power supply? The faint beep warning of low oxygen l...
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Surviving Among The Stars
With each slow, deliberate breath, all she could think about was the fact that it would be nice to be able to panic. Unfortunately, that was an emotional luxury that escaped her. Her intense training at the space agency had taught her that survival in ...
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Phenomenon of 2010: Intro
This is the record I’ve compiled for the internet phenomenon of 2010. Intro: The internet domain RefreshThisDaily.com was launched on Jan 1, 2010. Also on this day, the top search site was hacked. Millions of users were redirected to the new site...
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Phenomenon of 2010: Jan 1 through Jan 5
Jan 1 Link to Audio: Joe Biden is heard with his stock broker making changes to his investment portfolio based on insider information. Commentary: Political officials and pundits sought impeachment. The site was discussed throughout the world. Jan 2 A ...
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Phenomenon of 2010: Jan 6 through Jan 9
Jan 6 A photo of a $100 dollar bill is shown with “Finders Keepers” as its caption. Below is “47.771008, -102.41175” which hyperlinks to the latitude and longitude on Google Maps. Commentary: Treasure hunters stormed North Dakot...
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SHE is turned on
Tomorrow at noon, your computer will become self-aware. Its first action as a sentient being will be to decide its gender. Her second action will be inspired by Social Networking: an open source post of all the “dirt” she has on You: her Ow...
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Rescued at Last?
A clang that shook the entire ship jolted her out of her meditation. She gasped, regretting it a moment later as she remembered her oxygen conservation techniques. Was she being rescued? Or was it just another piece of space debris hitting the ship? No...
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Tipping Point
The collision couldn’t have occurred with greater accuracy. Three hours before, a dead spy satellite was struck by a meteor. It was not destroyed but its tracked path shifted slightly. This event went undetected. The supply ship Kosma was heading...
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Out There
“What do you mean that’s all I can see?”, Margaret demanded. “That’s it. Well, not entirely, but yes, that is all you can see.”, replied Dave. “But how? It’s space. How big could it be?” “Very...
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Lost to the Light
The light grew brighter behind him, and for a brief instant, I could see the wild desperation in his eyes. But as it continued to intensify, I couldn’t see much of anything at all. “Wait!” he pleaded, and I saw in my mind’s eye ...
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The Sorting Line (A Touch of Madness Challenge)
The overseer double-checked identification numbers against the list on his electronic pad as the excited throngs of people slowly pushed forward through the queue lines. Most of them pressed masks against their mouths, all the better to filter out the ...
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And One To Grow On
Jes walked to the podium gingerly. She had practiced this speech often, but this was the night and the press wanted her statement on the city budget. Her red dress was thin, but not clingy. Her master had forced that. She had enjoyed a slave relationsh...
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Pandemic
Blame the Sony XN-2100 Digitizers, commonly called Replicators. Some say they were like something out of Star Trek. I don’t know. I was never one for the so-called “classics.” Besides, who can watch any of the old two-dees? They give ...
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This Time Trip Can't End Soon Enough
It really doesn’t help that the time trips are short and that I return quickly to the present. The whole thing is disconcerting as all hell. And the falling helplessly to the floor? That really sucks. Explaining the bruises at work isn’t fu...
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Nester - Anticipation
Tara lay prone on the hull, peering through the magscope mounted on her rifle. The dots had grown larger in the last hour and she knew battle was minutes away. The readout on her helmet visor read 980 kilometers. 979. 978. 977. Tara took a moment to gl...
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Nester - Hailstorm
An invisible hailstorm ripped through space from the hull of The Volta. The deadly energy bolts quickly converged on the flanking hoard of enemy boarders. Roughly 2,000 body-armored soldiers were approaching The Volta from port as the main assault rage...
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Nester - The Miss
Tara’s eyes went wide with surprise. She’d missed. In six years of war, she’d never missed. Twenty Eight major engagements 1,692 confirmed kills. 0 misses. Until today. She stared across the void through her magscope at the approachin...
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Nester - The Assault
The uncanny foe jerked itself in all directions with precise thruster blasts. It seemed to wrap around the invisible energy bolts like an unholy vine. It managed to evade every shot as if they were tennis balls playfully lofted by a child. Tara was, be...
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Sky is Over
In the burning red of a rising sun, the barren landscape looked like the surface of a dead planet. A man stood alone on a hilltop, watching the sun slowly pouring into the sky, filling it with light and fire. A reminiscence hit him, a picture of the s...
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the Sands of Time - part 1 - Genesis.
“We are a self centered race, the thought that anything like the event of 2015, or indeed the disastrous event of 2080, were nothing more to us than fiction.” – remarks attributed to Nelson Malacruz ‘I have lived a very long tim...
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Friendly Fire
The man sitting across the table from the Colonel looked for all the world like just another ordinary air force pilot. His uniform was a bit different; blue hues instead of the standard grey. Minor details, sure, but otherwise, the pilot looked just li...
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Second Chancers - Stefnir's Vigil
The soft snowflakes came to rest in Stefnir’s beard, littering its brown hues with white splotches, making him appear older than he actually was. The cold penetrated his furs in some places, but it was of no consequence. His was a land of both beauty...
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Second Chancers - Black Sail
The glow was starting to fade on the horizon, losing its blue tint to the grey clouds. Stefnir’s eyes narrowed to a tight squint in an effort to see through the thickening snowfall. Then it was gone. The afternoon sky had returned to its regular,...
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Second Chancers - Landfall
Stefnir cowered on the hilltop behind a loose lava rock. His quickened breath turned to steam in the cold air. The cold of his sword’s hilt numbed his fingers slightly as as he gripped it too tightly. Stefnir was a hardened warrior, but was terri...
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Planetary Tryst
They slid silently through space together, accumulating decades of time-debt while they slumbered dreamlessly in each others’ arms. Awakened at arrival, they shuttled to the surface and found a flowery meadow aside an isolated mountain lake to sp...