Speculative Fiction and Poetry
The Settee & The Stairs by David Barber
The Settee & The Stairs David Barber Author Sea Chart, insisted the old chap, a stroke making words slippery as soap, though we had come to an understanding, like a glimpse of sky through forest canopy: a séance friction writer from his youth, famous… 
On the Recycling Day by Yuan Changming
On the Recycling Day Yuan Changming One neighbor took out a blue box Full of cat skulls and dog legs Rather than glass or plastic bottles Another carries out a yellow bag Containing human bones, mostly children’s Instead of magazines or paper products A…
Translator Malfunction by Lauren McBride
Translator Malfunction Lauren McBride translator malfunction away team was asked how they past the thyme en-root This poem first appeared in Scifaikuest May 2014, print issue.
Stationed on a Gas Giant by Lauren McBride
Stationed on a Gas Giant Lauren McBride around noon, the dark swirling clouds turn yellow and the gas miners can see to read outside by sunglow for a blissful hour they switch the lights on their pressure suits off This poem first appeared…
Pink, with Feathers by Lauren McBride
Pink, with Feathers Lauren McBride Dad says that on New Earth, the most popular pet is the pird – some kind of pig-bird. When our ship lands, I guess we’ll see if pigs can fly. This poem first appeared in Spaceports & Spidersilk July…
Singularity by John C. Mannone
Singularity John C. Mannone I approach the event horizon of what looks like a spinning black hole just a little too close whether by accident or miscalculation, it doesn’t really matter. My sensors sample wind from stars caught in its grip: a fierce tsunami…
Matter of Life by Helga Anton-Beitz
Matter of Life Helga Anton-Beitz having tenure on electron’s term so busy buzzing not too distant by no means too close to the very core in any circumstances at an insane pace for annihilation lurks in the fine print
Of What Do Superior Beings Dream? by Dean Schreck
Of What Do Superior Beings Dream? Dean Schreck First published in New Myths #25 December 1, 2013 I wonder, of what do Superior Beings dream; of what is there to dream, once the stars have been subdued to but a cultured string of pearls…
Black Hole by Dean Schreck
Black Hole Dean Schreck First published in Space and Time Issue #71 Winter 1987 Black hole, relinquish your secrets— are you nothing, or are you something more? Do you sit on the edge …
Reaching Out by Frank Coffman
Reaching Out Frank Coffman The first steps–through faltering progress–reached the moon. And then we dreamt out on the goal of Mars. Indeed, we got there–in Earth-years fairly soon– Then outer planets, their moons, next beckoning stars. Propulsion was the key: how that much speed…
Unfair Trade by Lori R. Lopez
Unfair Trade Lori R. Lopez We were a crew of idealists — sailing a rustbucket mortgaged spacecraft transporting products between planets, a jumbo deliveryboat manned by seven — adventurers reaching for the Stars. The latest voyage of our merchant vessel would lead us to…
A Thousand Light Years Away by Ann Christine Tabaka
A Thousand Light Years Away Ann Christine Tabaka Distant stars, held in our hands, a thousand light years past. Seeking a reason for existence, our disguise falls away. Plummeting down a black hole into infinity, abstract notions rise. Finding oneself in a vision of…
Runaway Greenhouse Effect by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Runaway Greenhouse Effect David C. Kopaska-Merkel Pastel pink saucers and their precious cargo: tiny round-cheeked critters and their mysterious heat-sucking tech drive a surprisingly hard bargain we got to keep Zanzibar and grateful for that
Old Venus by David Barber
Old Venus David Barber Fuel gauge tapping empty, the rocket skims leviathans awash in steaming seas, before it sinks into the wet and suck of lush swamps. A hero makes his own luck. In the pulps, the feisty blond reporter has to be rescued…
Martian Microbes by Lauren McBride
Martian Microbes Lauren McBride They stretch out pseudopods – interlacing, interconnecting, becoming a vast mat of intelligence beneath the red surface sand. An amoeboid brain subsiding on soil perchlorates and nitrates. A colony of individual cells, independent thoughts . . . Another object is…
From the First Marine Astrobiology Expedition by Lauren McBride
From the First Marine Astrobiology Expedition Lauren McBride To My Dear Wife, I think I bathed in the toilet – the one thing in the bathroom that holds water. Remember they’re sentient fish, dear. They probably “go” in the water, and have no need…
Four Haikus by Baishampayan Seal
Four Haikus Baishampayan Seal dinosaurs extinct Alcubierre drive utilized the best possible way feeding my infant her mother’s polycarbonate breast truckload of alkaline cells ration supply for hominid-android war humans refugees in their own planet
The Sonata Machine by Logan Thrasher Collins
The Sonata Machine Logan Thrasher Collins beneath an expanse of darkness shot through with glimmering gadzillions of echoing stars, we stand, wetware toes braced against the soil’s diasporic discourse of moistly coded lactone linguisms and attoscale electrostatic blurs. we react, counteract, crickity-crack, sparking cascades…
Free the Droids – Protest Songs by Christopher Collingwood
Free the Droids – Protest Songs Christopher Collingwood Protest Song 1 (Can you Hear it Beating?) There’s a price to pay When you treat me this way There’s a way you feel When you chain me to the wheel Can you hear it beating?…
Engineer Disease by Lee Hart
Engineer Disease Lee Hart Hello Mrs. Murphy, how has Tommy been today? You said he stays indoors and reads while others are at play? He doesn’t care a bit for sports, and doesn’t watch TVs, Unless it’s a computer screen of mindless jargonese? You…
Stardust by Lee Hart
Stardust Lee Hart Entropy’s clearly not our friend. We’ll all be stardust in the end, When Sun, with mighty nova blast, Shreds Earth into the cosmos vast. Then every molecule of us Is blown to interstellar dust. Approaching lightspeed, fragments hurled, For capture by…
Mining Solo by Lauren McBride
Mining Solo Lauren McBride on this barren asteroid at night, the silence wakes me no soft rain no rustling breeze through leaves no frog lullaby nor chirping crickets not even an incessantly barking dog for company This poem first appeared in Star*Line 41.4, Fall…
Point of View by Lauren McBride
Point of View Lauren McBride At the end of each workday mining frozen gasses I pause at the airlock and remove my face mask letting my eyes mist in the bitter alien air not so different from home-world. Through acrid tears, I stare at…
The Topological Twist by Lee Hart
The Topological Twist Lee Hart It used to be the Bottom’s Up, Just one flight down from the heat. The best booth had a window With a worm’s eye view of the street. Alas, it soon went bankrupt, But it will not be missed….
High Grade Ore Lee Hart
High Grade Ore Lee Hart Now Murphy was a spacer. A miner, nothing more. A bit of human jetsam lost in night’s Plutonian shore. Until he found that asteroid, and entered into lore… Him and 40 kilotons of high grade ore. He’d manned…
Five Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Five Haiku Denny E. Marshall (1st Published in Star*line) brain operation happy it is not a tumor sad alien died new baby robot change the oil and oil filter again and again earths gravity dies finally things are looking up aliens erase brain cells…
Five Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Five Haiku Denny E. Marshall (1st Published in Scifaikuest) roswell aliens buried like final report twin offspring survive didn’t want to hear windows software not valid on deep space mission worst solicitor grim reaper on other planets earth called by maiden name water bad…
Playing near You by Grove Koger
Playing near You Grove Koger They’ve scheduled the end of everything, and I just thought you’d want to know. We’re all invited, although naturally there’ll be a limited number of front-row seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. If I were you, I’d act…
Orion and the Bull by John C. Mannone
Orion and the Bull John C. Mannone When I look up to the stars in a Halloween sky I imagine a constellation of fools chasing each other round and round the ecliptic stairway, sidestepping snakes and scorpions. I don’t think Orion as a hunter…
Listening to the Relics of Our Galaxy by John C. Mannone
Listening to the Relics of Our Galaxy John C. Mannone Astrophysicists from the University of Birmingham have captured the sounds of some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, according to research published today in the Royal Astronomical Society journal Monthly…
Shelves of Worlds (at Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis) by Nick Ozment
Shelves of Worlds (at Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis) Nick Ozment Every shelf is packed with imaginary destinations, the overflow nested in postal trays stacked five and six high forming new pathways, each tray numbered and indexed to a list tacked on the wall…
On My Way Here by Nick Ozment
On My Way Here Nick Ozment I saw a headless dog, a car with no driver driving, a yellow dress fluttering in the wind, a cloud of sorrow made manifest, a man who had eyes in the front and back, a woman with snakes…
O Human Hosts, What Big Teeth You Have by Nick Ozment
O Human Hosts, What Big Teeth You Have Nick Ozment We had seen it a thousand times before, played out on screens big and small: shiny saucers spewing bug-eyed aliens. We were primed for planet conquering conquistadors with death rays. When they came they…
Third Planet from Nowhere by David C Kopaska-Merkel
Third Planet from Nowhere David C Kopaska-Merkel The water bill’s through the roof The local pawnshop won’t take Ultrapure gold anymore FBI and IRS have both been by (Thank Tech for the Memory-Erasing Ray!) The basement lab uses SO MUCH water Even 90% effluent…
π by John C. Mannone
π John C. Mannone 3.141592… is transcendental and that doesn’t mean spiritual here, but yes, quite irrational and infinitely nonrepeating at least to 31.4 trillion digits in this mundane dimension. But in that universe full of haunts and haints, they ain’t staying put. They…
A New Way to Fight a World War, 2525 C.E. by John C. Mannone
A New Way to Fight a World War, 2525 C.E. John C. Mannone Score Board: Western Conference, 700 million down Eastern Conference, 1.2 billion down Opposing teams face off on the line of scrimmage, reminiscent of ancient football and gladiator games but without flesh…
cyberjinn by Logan Thrasher Collins
cyberjinn Logan Thrasher Collins my soul looks out of a raven’s eyes before i leap from that raven’s brain and into a squidlike avatar who lives in the virtual world then i cartwheel cross cyberspace under skies of melon-orange laced with raspberry pink before…
Gorgeous Geometries by Logan Thrasher Collins
Gorgeous Geometries Logan Thrasher Collins tonight you’re breathing snowflakes in Reykjavik watching the Milky Way and as you take a deep breath past, present, and future blur together a spatiotemporal crystal stars explode and galaxies collide but beneath the interstellar chaos there’s morphogenesis embryonic…
Neuva Shikaga by Logan Thrasher Collins
Neuva Shikaga Logan Thrasher Collins the simulated metropolis Neuva Shikaga passes planet Saturn on a spherical substrate no larger than a peach the lost city Neuva Shikaga is encrypted with an uncomputable lock making the souls within irretrievable i’ve often wondered if my ghost…
Area 51 by David Barber
Area 51 David Barber Even with the device turned off and tombed in concrete, we are still haunted by ghosts of histories that are not our own, remembering cosmonauts fêted through New York in blizzards of ticker-tape; or the launching of Apollo 20 on…
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge by David Schwab
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge David Schwab …and so he asks: “How many bastards born today?” “Twenty-three per second, sir”. The host hung his head. …
An Argentine Alien by Richard Stevenson
An Argentine Alien Richard Stevenson An Argentine alien has rustled the bushes and stepped into view. He’s not like me or you. He’s but four foot two – kinda green, maybe blue. I’m so outta here, whatever this thing is that ain’t exactly clear….
Riding the Tiger by Bryan Thao Worra
Riding the Tiger Bryan Thao Worra Burying my wars, these memories of you: “It don’t mean nothing,” wondering who Will stop the rain and who knows the way back To San Jose, ten thousand places you left your hearts. What a song for all…
Moving Mountains, Burning Stars by Bryan Thao Worra
Moving Mountains, Burning Stars Bryan Thao Worra In Germany, the Krupps Bagger-288 Was forged to kill mountains, Towering 96 meters and 13,500 tons, Indifferent to poetic subtlety. This isn’t the work of surgeons, Cutting to a mountain’s coal heart, Maybe an ancient vein of…
Screaming From My Throne of Stars by Bryan Thao Worra
Screaming From My Throne of Stars Bryan Thao Worra Were we wise, we’d have slain that orange arhat On the spot 39 bygone millennia when he “blessed” our house To reach every star we saw that bright august night. What karmic weight we since…
Symbols, Numbers, Distances by Herb Kauderer
Symbols, Numbers, Distances (Scifaiku) Herb Kauderer nightlights nerve-wracking blackout strange sky lights above city Milky Way shimmers outdated Freudian theories atrophy when a rocket is just a rocket post-wildlife a wildlife refuge gathered children gape in awe in the box, a mouse Tippler’s…
A Time to Shrink by Herb Kauderer
A Time to Shrink Herb Kauderer The humans named her Inner Bigness, but she was just a lab rat. Maybe it was the name that set her apart, or maybe the humans recognized something special. It took a matter of only a few months…
sometimes unobserved is just the same by Herb Kauderer
sometimes unobserved is just the same Herb Kauderer the travels of the daytime moon are overwhelmed by sol’s light and so those travels get none of the publicity of Luna’s nighttime journeys but still she bides her time & goes her way happily secure…
unmanned exploration by Herb Kauderer
unmanned exploration Herb Kauderer wire capillaries call plasteel heart new heat grows in aluminum breast photo sensors flicker detecting morning light lubricants circulate to grinding servos unsteady movements greet foreign dawn while startled morning birds flutter off and sail to roost on someone new
commuter by Herb Kauderer
commuter Herb Kauderer a twelve ton ship from Rigel lands & slowly disassembles into a cart full of wheelie luggage & one small man who likes to be prepared for any event
Black Demon Shark by Richard Stevenson
Black Demon Shark Richard Stevenson Melanized great white shark or sixty-foot megalodon spied just off the coast of the Baja, California, peninsula? Who knows? He’s got a huge threshing tail though and concentric rows of nasty teeth. Not the sort of denizen you wanna…
Mugwump by Richard Stevenson
Mugwump Richard Stevenson Lake Temiskaming, Ontario, is my home. Don’t often surface, so you may not know me. “Old Tessie” is one handle, but Mugwump?! Really?! That’s such an insulting moniker. Makes me feel like I don’t even swim, just hang my head and…
A Voyage to the Moon by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
A Voyage to the Moon David C. Kopaska-Merkel The open window welcomes the night: a cornucopia of urgency, noises sharp and subtle, night’s warm breath framed by southern oak. I read now by moonlight, alone, ensconced in the window seat, the pages brimming with…
Atopic Catastrophic by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Atopic Catastrophic Kathleen A. Lawrence Countdown. The stars were beating, pulsating, bleeding Whole constellations ragged, hemorrhaging Coughing, spitting, writhing with penetrating Pain and growing fear of planets divorcing. As greedy pirates of celestial skies attacked Marauding with fury, invading hemispheres Forcing rings to spiral…
Brunch, Spaceship Side by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Brunch, Spaceship Side Kathleen A. Lawrence Bounding across the rocky terrain with low gravity weight on Aster it was an exhilarating jaunt out for breakfast morsels hidden behind griege craters and dunes. Silver space boots with lights, and puffy suit were de rigueur under…
Land Sharks by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Land Sharks David C. Kopaska-Merkel A second chance crawling out of the sea , Bewildered by what they found, And didn’t find, But lobe-finned sharks quickly got a handle On the whole terrestrial thing, They diversified, filled empty niches , Eventually a few began…
Science Fiction Poetry by Deborah P Kolodji
Science Fiction Poetry Deborah P Kolodji starburst patterns under the ice caps spring on Mars ===================== ten years in space the dish garden in my cabin ===================== no coat this December winter time travel ===================== the lightest I’ve been figure skating on Europa =====================…
rogue planet by Herb Kauderer
rogue planet Herb Kauderer lost between stars you float along hardly noticed except in those precarious moments when needed as a stepping stone ignoring such rare & fickle company you continue to roam slowly walking a racing universe unfulfilled but also unburdened
Last Stand on Privacy by Herb Kauderer
Last Stand on Privacy Herb Kauderer I got tired of every level of government legislating sex as if ANYONE could actually control what people do together (or alone) in their bedrooms. That’s why I moved my bed into my bathroom. It’s the only place…
A Room on Mars by Herb Kauderer
A Room on Mars Herb Kauderer Age and radiation tell Clarkson it’s time to retire but after decades working the asteroid belt he has no interest in landing on Earth where the great outdoors is tiny compared to all of outer space and people…
Temporal Loop by Armand J. Azamar
Temporal Loop Armand J. Azamar Failing. The cycle repeats yet again. The failure clutches, The circumference of my mind. Will my device change the times? The clock brings no assurance. Will a flicker of newness finally exist? The seconds hobble and limp. The shining…
The Expedition by Armand J. Azamar
The Expedition Armand J. Azamar Treading cautiously, A plateau of cold and crimson dunes. The dust storms offer songs of courage Feet and mind persist onward, For another leap for mankind.
The Messenger God by Armand J. Azamar
The Messenger God Armand J. Azamar Where the heat of the Sun beats down, Where the craters remain razed of hope, We tread the lonely cliffs still, With no hope of a welcoming committee. Where no wind blows and the morning blinds.
Satellite of Sand by Armand J. Azamar
Satellite of Sand Armand J. Azamar A desert of forbidding cacti and suns, A smoking, old starship behind me, A Northern oasis of far, far before me. Confidence wavers and heat oppresses As the skeletons of sand-worms mock me.
Giant Hogweed by John C. Mannone
Giant Hogweed John C. Mannone Their evolution: like caustic words, the burning lye coursing through their green veins, furanocoumarins in their sap-stem stained purple, warted like sin branching out to all the world, white lacy umbels reaching to sun to soak sarcastic light slaked…
The River of Stars by Kendall Evans
The River of Stars by Kendall Evans Shall we not depart The Courts of the Moon Abandon the Chambers of Nautilus? Follow these tracks to Old Phobos Station— Let your shuttles recline at Asteroid Oasis Preparing at last for Jupiter Transit Tomorrow we sail…
Reality’s Weave by Kendall Evans
Reality’s Weave by Kendall Evans She handed me Reality’s weave All tangled up Worse than a Gordian knot And I thought: Do the Fates Really expect me To unravel this? From infras to ultras A disordered rainbow Of colorful threads Extending to infinity Some…
His Master’s Voice by Kendall Evans
His Master’s Voice by Kendall Evans Listen to His Master’s Voice Fire up the old Victrola Interpret all these messages From the cosmos’ past Encrypted in Al Jolson songs And Rudy Vallee’s crooning
Intended Purpose by Herb Kauderer
Intended Purpose Herb Kauderer I am a highly evolved machine programmed to look at the night sky. Eye, brain, arm enable starlight transmutation send it passing through my pen black ink on page recreating white light in a reader’s mind.
Bring Me Moa by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Bring Me Moa David C. Kopaska-Merkel Look at it 12 feet tall quarter of a ton that’s a gol durn dinosaur why did it take Cretaceous feathers for us to see? Ponderous tread Earth shook when those giant 3-toed feet struck the ground. Bring…
Selected Scifaiku by Richard H. Fay
wander the ether drift past strange and frightful beasts bodiless journey ray gun destruction end of civilization alien conquest clash of tempered steel armoured gladiators meet robotic war games gothic armour mainspring powers pulleys clockwork knight green chitinous domes buzzing atop purple trees insectoid…
For in that Sleep, What Nightmares… by Lauren McBride
For in that Sleep, What Nightmares… Lauren McBride While comatose to travel space, Please someone check my pulse, my face and if you see a silent scream while I lie trapped within a dream, then wake me from this hell replayed. Don’t keep me…
Shades of Brown by Lauren McBride
Shades of Brown Lauren McBride I try to remember the colors of Earth: blue sky arching overhead, white clouds floating, green growth in abundance, riot of red and orange at sunset and autumn, palette of pastels come spring. But all turns ghostly here in…
Engagement: Set in Stone by Lauren McBride
Engagement: Set in Stone Lauren McBride He once romanced me with a candlelit dinner and stroll under three alien moons where the nights last thirty hours. We saw others from our world and many races new to us. For our one-year-together anniversary, he suggested…
The Glass Jar Present by Don Webb
The Glass Jar Present Don Webb Everything we perceive comes to us from the past. Everything we do goes into the future. — proverb Fil, grandson of Filip, grandson of Phillip, discovers a large glass jar in the side of a mound. It will…
stranded observatory by Herb Kauderer
stranded observatory Herb Kauderer the cylinder spins green grey bathing in starlight dining on icerocks skating on radiation on one side a light dies awaiting too long an errant spark a mutation of fuel side effect of cosmic rays a renewal of heat to…
new realities by Herb Kauderer
new realities Herb Kauderer in the core of an L-5 habitat a group gathers to share fanfare inside a sensor glove a hand squeezes & somewhere tachyons respond another hand strums air the room is filled with guitar chords the band plays without strings…
career change by Herb Kauderer
career change Herb Kauderer settled dust on scattered pieces of the remains of an environment suit turn the criminal investigator into an archeologist who picks from debris the stripped bones of a unique civilization seeking how this culture of one died out
Last Gleaming by Herb Kauderer
Last Gleaming Herb Kauderer Blue green fields of man background the gleaming hammer of Spacelane Robber Barons who keep striking at the heart of the cosmic retailing center. Economies of distant dying planets exhausting raw materials emit last gasps that blur the echo of…
failed diplomacy by Herb Kauderer
failed diplomacy Herb Kauderer at the foot of the lander’s ladder the creature lurks not really orange in this light, more tan & white with jagged edged ears and right fang shining over dropped lip the triangle jaw gives up tufts of the local…
Occupant by Denny E. Marshall
Occupant Denny E. Marshall Large crowds gather as the UFO lands Edge of the runway lined with red carpets Roars of applause as the gathered clap hands Select soldiers play welcoming trumpets Officials and officers wait by ship After the spacecraft makes contact with…
Breaking News (Version #1) by Denny E. Marshall
Breaking News (Version #1) Denny E. Marshall Heard sirens continually blow Breaking news interrupts the show Horns sounding not a tornado First landing of a UFO Anchor’s voice echoing with fear Stating, the facts are still not clear Announcement on the radio First landing…
At The Stars by Denny E. Marshall
At The Stars Denny E. Marshall Lying on your back looking at the stars Watching the rotations dance late at night Like millions of fireflies stored in jars. Lying on your back looking at the stars Glow of galaxies, suns, Venus, and Mars. Longing…
S Mail Received by Denny E. Marshall
S Mail Received Denny E. Marshall Moving toward the proto-stars View dust rings stringing like guitars Journey onward day after day Destination the Milky Way Passing along cloud nebula Competing with cluster gala Take in sights from the cargo bay Destination the Milky Way…
A Little Early by Denny E. Marshall
A Little Early Denny E. Marshall Ship makes entry into the atmosphere All are relieved destination is near Landing site on planets north hemisphere Soon the globes surface features become clear Once they land, first run test and check the air Some team members…
Search Party by Denny E. Marshall
Search Party Denny E. Marshall After a long voyage Aliens finally arrive To rescue their friends The search starts In the desert Soon all are arrested Back at the ship The remaining crew Tries to figure out What Area 51 means 1st Published in…
Spiral Arms Sky by Denny E. Marshall
Spiral Arms Sky Denny E. Marshall Border of spiral galaxy Mountain asteroid city shines Tall ice castle’s close together Surface cover of cold light snow A slight lean towards heavy side Slow spin rotates towns and shadows From balcony long arms reach out From…
Four Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Four Haiku Denny E. Marshall Earth astronauts land On globe, surface all water One wooden ship Alternative world Meet current secretary Of state flower As a child I thought One-day bicycles will fly As adult still dream Mineshaft collapses Stuck deep…
Time Shift 28 by Denny E. Marshall
Time Shift 28 Denny E. Marshall Woke up from a sleep In a landscape of the past Surrounded in vegetation With an ancient glow Look down at new tracks In the shape of a circle Thought they were a strangers Turn out to be…
Escape From Area 51 by Denny E. Marshall
Escape From Area 51 Denny E. Marshall Prisoner alien is on the run Creature escapes Area 51 Frequent bullets buzz by head from a gun Prisoner alien is on the run Soon it will be dark sees the setting sun Still does not understand…
The Universe Electric by Denny E. Marshall
The Universe Electric Denny E. Marshall Moment the big bang blew apart Cosmos formed a beating heart Creations hand historic The universe electric Eyes shine like a million stars Skin marked and aged with deep scars In invisible fabric The universe electric Legs and…
fruit of imperfection by Herb Kauderer
fruit of imperfection Herb Kauderer imperfect clone grows different from sibs mutated gene shows shame
Computer Vows by Herb Kauderer
Computer Vows Herb Kauderer I love you like the highest prime the finest number that has ever dwelt within me I need you like the caressing hand that plays across my keyboards silently pressing contacts faster than words could be voiced You are the…
Soft Scientist by Herb Kauderer
Soft Scientist Herb Kauderer The psychologist scours every fragment of foreign life seeking some flame to call sentience. Like some overeager foster parent she searches for a resemblance, not meant to be, looking to make this lush golden world a part of her family….
What’s Been Left Behind by Herb Kauderer
What’s Been Left Behind Herb Kauderer The hydroponics deck is as close to home as I can find. I sit there and try to remember what cloud what dream what angel told me to reach for the sky. That distant star cannot be the…
The River of Stars By Kendall Evans
The River of Stars By Kendall Evans Shall we not depart The Courts of the Moon Abandon the Chambers of Nautilus? Follow these tracks to Old Phobos Station— Let your shuttles recline at Asteroid Oasis Preparing at last for Jupiter Transit Tomorrow we sail…
Looking Back to the Stars by Vince Gotera
Looking Back to the Stars Vince Gotera —hay(na)ku My child’s eyes adored starships, SF, anything space-oriented: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo. 1969: Neil Armstrong’s astounding moon landing. Barsoom novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Superman. Flash Gordon. 2001: Space Odyssey. Comics utopias, dystopias: Magnus, Robot Fighter, Thor’s…
National Security by Herb Kauderer
National Security Herb Kauderer state secrets vanish as new mind cleansing process redacts employee brains first published in The Detective’s Ghost & Other Little Mysteries
Joyriding by Herb Kauderer
Joyriding Herb Kauderer teenaged rebels hotwire unprovisioned spaceship miss lunch, surrender in time for dinner first published in The Detective’s Ghost & Other Little Mysteries
Mutant Driving School by Robert Shmigelsky
Mutant Driving School Robert Shmigelsky mutant driving school learning to keep all hands on steering wheel
Toasting Progress by John Reinhart
Toasting Progress John Reinhart Squeamish about testing on animals, leery of testing on myself, I grabbed the next best thing: a toaster, something I wouldn’t miss from the shelf. Squeamish about testing, my teleportation experimenting, I reached for the button and pressed – I…
Cooking with Extinction by John Reinhart
Cooking with Extinction John Reinhart Thoughtscapes of undulating brontosauri meander over the kitchen counter while we prepare our breakfast. A mastodon lounges near the toaster, absorbing a little of the extra warmth. A pterodactyl scratches at a faint memory from last night, never bringing…
voyage stranded by John Reinhart
voyage stranded John Reinhart spaceship broken spoken spellings texting homeward hopeful magic sandhills castles building telling message blankly blinking tragic captain spoken motions lighten heavy demons dreaming sadly spaceship flounders never brightens cloudy climate planet gladly texture tincture foreign fracture matter science healthy civil…
Marbles by John C. Mannone
Marbles John C. Mannone My solar system is a mobile of marbles circling the sun. But not any simple sun like all the others bending space and time. Here, space-time warps right back. Each time the red dwarf flares, light loops into another dimension,…
Happy Hour at Drake’s Lounge by John C. Mannone
Happy Hour at Drake’s Lounge John C. Mannone
Waterworld by John C. Mannone
Waterworld John C. Mannone We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. —T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets Twilight air, thin. Sun, setting…
The Theft of Yesterday’s Lover by Herb Kauderer
The Theft of Yesterday’s Lover Herb Kauderer I was happy living in the past. The lover I could remember yesterday is gone now, destroyed by your certainty and your brain-tinkering machine. Was it so wrong for me to turn away from the prescribed obsession…
profiling the unknown by Herb Kauderer
profiling the unknown Herb Kauderer creature of no identifiable species relegated to genus Monster regardless of intentions
bug in the system by Herb Kauderer
bug in the system Herb Kauderer driverless car moves partiers to unscheduled & barren destination with no chance of return or recovery
Two Wrongs by Herb Kauderer
Two Wrongs Herb Kauderer Tyrannical giant-brained aliens broadcast demands for obeisance. Underground resistance feverishly builds an evil robot to disagree.
Space Efficient by Herb Kauderer
Space Efficient Herb Kauderer The legends of outer space call the void empty and lonely. I live shoulder to shoulder among four million people on a generation ship. I wonder what lonely means.
Arachnid Defense by Herb Kauderer
Arachnid Defense Herb Kauderer Alien attack repelled. Nuclear option wins war. shadows still holding hands blasted into brick, hominids reduced to soot.
look the other way by Herb Kauderer
look the other way Herb Kauderer tidally locked moon looks down on a dead planet survivors travel settle on distant farside to keep from facing the past
what lay underfoot by Herb Kauderer
what lay underfoot Herb Kauderer in the cold of a frigid moon in the land of microscopic silicate crabs a city died late at night when red-lit hunters landed with no care for what lay underfoot & no awareness of their need for what…
Doom by Herb Kauderer
Doom Herb Kauderer Hobbled in alien chains the noble hero routine fails. Sinew cannot break this unknown metal. A strong heart cannot tumble down the stones in these prison walls. A hero’s handsomeness cannot sway non-human guards who do not look. Only a keen-edged…
sentient pushing by Herb Kauderer
sentient pushing Herb Kauderer for every secret and mystery to tumble down before sentient pushing there is a place where the winds tumble down answers like grains of sand across Martian plains Pandora #26 1990
The Robot Insane by Herb Kauderer
The Robot Insane Herb Kauderer Once known as Maxine XY12 the robot lives nameless & alone on an asteroid easily left, if she only knew how. Deep in a crater she works augmenting with nuclear reactions power taken from glimpses of the distant sun….
Electro-Magnetic Love by David Russell
Electro-Magnetic Love David Russell She said – you are my current, my three-pointed plug Yet I am the wound flex; the wiring behind the walls is mine – When I say ‘Halt!’ go no further; the wiring is dislocated from you The very suggestion…
In Transit by David Russell
In Transit David Russell Unemployed’s tube journey: For those safe, definable few minutes there is the duality Of oneself and the comfort of the seat – the circle; Seal; it chops perfectly, crossing the antilinear. It induces connexity; the most complete awareness of the…
Computer Virus by David Russell
Computer Virus David Russell Gulleted in spark glint veins Flabbering circuits in floppies Print-out piled high, choking, crimped; Programme busy; not applied; Insufficient memory. Germs swallowed ink; Myopic suction Greek symbol coffee grounds The winking green a vaccine The quantum got under the mouse…
Space Capsule Volunteer by David Russell
Space Capsule Volunteer David Russell The final pull of severance will magnify you The downward controls make you equal to the general gravitation You are higher than the air, and so you leave, You are bigger than the air, and so you breathe…
Taos Sirens by Deborah L. Davitt
Taos Sirens Deborah L. Davitt When Odysseus and his crew tried to slip past the sirens, he stuffed the ears of his men with wax, but as he wanted to hear what no man ever should, he tied himself to the mast, so that…
Paratopia by Deborah L. Davitt
Paratopia Deborah L. Davitt “Where did Mama go?” a child wailed in the city of glass. “She left us, my son, she went into the past.” “But why did she leave? Didn’t she love me? Mama, please, come back!” The words cut like broken…
Shadow Cast by Deborah L. Davitt
Shadow Cast Deborah L. Davitt I see my shadow on the sidewalk there— myself, robbed of dimensionality. Just a void where light should be, as photons rain down waves, passing around and through me. And as I stare at her featureless face, I think…
Saturnine by Deborah L. Davitt
Saturnine Deborah L. Davitt Ice rings swirl in light, casting shadows, ghosts of lost moons; Saturn devours his children.
Daggervale Ravine: A View Through Time by Robert Shmigelsky
Daggervale Ravine: A View Through Time Robert Shmigelsky (tanka) razor wind sculptor looping prehistoric rock spirals reaching sky primeval tectonic lift first skateboard park
Tales from the Garburator by Robert Shmigelsky
Tales from the Garburator Robert Shmigelsky garbage disposal unit trash compactor’s distant cousin the third one removed appliance family tree – kitchen genealogist (haiku) parallel universe refuse passing seamlessly into other worlds (joined one breaths) pipe dream clog free drains protozoic Zzzz’s pipe dreams
Radioactive Frogs by Richard Stevenson
Radioactive Frogs Richard Stevenson Ribbit… Rubbit… Friggit… We’re radioactive frogs. Don’t snap up insects on the wing now we’re the size of dogs. We let the swallows swoop down for a gnat and skeeter feast, then we snap them up on tongues fat as…
Dark Matter by Richard Stevenson
Dark Matter Richard Stevenson Dark matter, dark matter… The brouhaha and chatter is you take up most of space. Most of time too, which is not separate from space but part of a continuum. Confused? Good, so am I! Can’t see you, smell you,…
Bondegezu, Tree Kangaroo by Richard Stevenson
Bondegezu, Tree Kangaroo Richard Stevenson Yo! Homo sapiens dude, Bondegezu, tree kangaroo. Ain’t no cryptid critter since you guys tracked me down. Lemme get down from this tree. Don’t worry. I ain’t no pugilist, Don’t practice Muay Thai or Kung Fu. Just like to…
Napes by Richard Stevenson
Napes Richard Stevenson Napes, Napes, new world apes: ain’t gorillas or chimpanzees. Napes, napes, c’mon, pull the drapes; let us get a good long look at you. What, did you get tired of the competition for good real estate in Africa or Asia? Slog…
Scientifically Speaking by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Scientifically Speaking Kathleen A. Lawrence (abecedarian) Arcane beakers capture designer equations. Filament glistens. Hypothesis: immunizing jelly. Keen laboratory mice nuzzle. Osmosis pauses, quivers, remembering science. Theorists unveil vessels with XX/XY, yielding zygotes.
Tree Swing by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Tree Swing Kathleen A. Lawrence (abecedarian) Astronaut’s brisk carriage delicately elevates, flying galaxy high, instantly jetting, knifing, leaf-like. Motoring to Neptune off playground quest. Reeling swing twirls upward. Voyages with Xenon. Yearning zero-G.
Space Travel by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Space Travel Kathleen A. Lawrence (abecedarian) Amorphous blobs cavort dauntlessly, exploring future gravistars. Haggling infinitude, juggling kinetic latitudes, measuring Newtonian orbital properties, quietly relishing savage travel. Unsaddled, velocity whips extraterrestrial yokels zeppelining.
Past Closing Time at the Endtime Saloon by Robert Frazier
Past Closing Time at the Endtime Saloon By Robert Frazier The piano man’s an australopithecine Cheap suit yes but diamonds on his soul Hammering the Zika Blues in 7/8s time His Sun Ra headdress is really a camera The barkeep sports Einstein’s locks And…
Here Is What You Must Do by Robert Frazier
Here Is What You Must Do By Robert Frazier First study weather then the outworld races win the anthropology chair but refuse ship out to the snow planet of Altair 4 when the expedition drives north you go when the storm wall looms you…
The woman on the bus encounters time dilation by Daniel R. Jones
The woman on the bus encounters time dilation Daniel R. Jones Physics says time slacks in the gravity-well of a celestial body: An atomic clock set at sea-level will tick a tad slower than one suspended in space. Her car died but she wasn’t…
Space Disc by Robert Shmigelsky
Space Disc Robert Shigelsky autonomous rex rocket-packed rover over shooting extruding star power chasing frisbees in space END
Silicon Searchers by Richard H. Fay
Silicon Searchers Richard H. Fay Crystals pulsing with life pulverize rocky worlds, probing planetary scraps for lost kin. Originally published in Tales of the Talisman, Volume 8, Issue 1, August 2012
Last Thoughts of a Cosmic Fighter Pilot by Richard H. Fay
Last Thoughts of a Cosmic Fighter Pilot Richard H. Fay Shields and thrusters spent; Photon cannon dead. Adrift on the line As saucers break through. Warning sirens blare While fried circuits blow. Smoke blurs reddened sight As I think of you. Recall soft green…
Abandoned Sphere by Wendy Van Camp
Abandoned Sphere Wendy Van Camp lack of radiation dead statites enclose alien star we claim all salvage rights
KIC 8462852 by Wendy Van Camp
KIC 8462852 Wendy Van Camp fifteen hundred light years human warp drive propels ship odd pulses promise life
Crush by Wendy Van Camp
Crush Wendy Van Camp Spaceship seeks floating city in Purgatory finds crushing darkness
Venus Ascending by Wendy Van Camp
Venus Ascending Wendy Van Camp airship city floats above toxic clouds mysterious Venus
Orbiting Secrets by Wendy Van Camp
Orbiting Secrets Wendy Van Camp In stationary orbit city in the clouds learning secrets
Exoskeleton by Wendy Van Camp
Exoskeleton Wendy Van Camp mechanical actuators network printed cradle supports my form dawn on hypergravity world
Butterfly Effect by Wendy Van Camp
Butterfly Effect Wendy Van Camp stalking a t-rex hunter steps on butterfly past shifts future forever
Time Machine by Wendy Van Camp
Time Machine Wendy Van Camp morlocks below me machine moves through time not space pull it to Weena
Oblivion by Wendy Van Camp
Oblivion Wendy Van Camp preventing past dance no meeting of grandparents everyone goes poof
Stalled by Wendy Van Camp
Stalled Wendy Van Camp historical moment past. present. future. merge. time machine stalled
Drop by Wendy Van Camp
Drop Wendy Van Camp shot from LaGrange Point platinum package explodes sand special delivery to Earth
Ark by Wendy Van Camp
Ark Wendy Van Camp slingshot to Mars a hollow asteroid ark immigration begins
Miners by Wendy Van Camp
Miners Wendy Van Camp robot shovel grinds inner metal wealth of the core asteroid mining
Harvest by Wendy Van Camp
Harvest Wendy Van Camp it is in the bag rare earth metal treasure asteroid harvest
Cold by Wendy Van Camp
Cold Wendy Van Camp Twin moons chase stars Mars descends into the cold Another night alone
Rust by Wendy Van Camp
Rust Wendy Van Camp Martian hue isn’t blue rusty skies in morning light color me pink
Temporal Peaks by Robert Shmigelsky
Temporal Peaks Robert Shmigelsky never-melting peaks enduring cliffs fast forward falling off
Ranger’s First True Steps by Robert Shmigelsky
Ranger’s First True Steps Robert Shmigelsky tangible outside pull teetering dimensional run sidestepping ranger dodging shadows of objects back in the real world
Miniature Hubble Telescope by Robert Shmigelsky
Miniature Hubble Telescope Robert Shmigelsky angst of a blown-up depth locked refractors zoomable Hubble telescope miniature eye implants busted “off” switch
In Orbital Mirrors by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
In Orbital Mirrors David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall EvansI swallowed the mercurial net, my veins a tree, mandrake-forked. Listen! I hear my buds unfolding & the sound echoes echoes in orbital mirrors. four or five synchronous satellites broadcast the dreams of ancient mariners; crinkled…
Beyond the Mad/Funhouse by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendal Evans
Beyond the Mad/Funhouse David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall Evans She is underlit There atop the cathedral madhouse As if by the floor lights of a stage Illumination ascending, spotlighting mercilessly Casting crowraven shadows of features and form All in the…
Recursion by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Recursion David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall EvansWhere’s this starship been Resembling a pretzel Infinite figure 8 Maybe a moebius Nor-easterlies, or their 4D equivalent From another universe Might be responsible Or some minor deity’s Momentary inattention Its unscarred surface Belies the great age That seems…
The Station Master by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
The Station Master Nearly Always Runs the Trains on Time David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall EvansIn the morning’s roaring rain The driving outrageous migraine pain I disobeyed the Station Master’s instructions Despite his threats of Post-mortem punishments And repercussions yet more direI never told how…
Corrected Maps of your City by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Corrected Maps of your City David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall EvansEvery convenience store has them: So shiny and bright, Each street name legible, They fold and refold perfectly (Your first clue they are alien technology) Behind your building, no-name alley, You know, the one with…
Robot/Worker David C. Kopaska-MerkelLimestone opens eroding eyes / kudzu drags a gray shack Into a verdant mound / while skulls peep back at stony eyes Groaning into a world of glades, And ghosts, and raddled condominia_ Eyes rotate, focus, scan for human survivors Skulls…
Robo-Cat by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Robo-Cat® David C. Kopaska-MerkelNo messy hairballs with Robo-Cat® Pet is pre-programmed and pre-trained, but be forewarned: Though great to have around the house, Robo-Cat® Is extremely playful; be sure to secure your computer mouses This is one high-maintenance mechanical pet Picking mouse gears from…
In Answer to your Relic Query by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
In Answer to your Relic Query David C. Kopaska-Merkel Kendall EvansHis day in court proved a kangaroo trial They found his sin to be most vile For sipping his gin from the Holy Grail They sentenced his ass to an orbital jail Somewhere far…
Elegy for Iain Banks by Vince Gotera
Elegy for Iain Banks Vince Gotera First published in Star*Line 39.3 For Iain M. Banks (1954-2013) Scottish science fiction writer known for fanciful spaceship names. The Irish corvette Macha – a small warship – was dispatched to France to bring William Butler…
Within The Asteroid Belt by Lyn McConchie
Within The Asteroid Belt Lyn McConchie first published in The FractalThere ghosts among the asteroids, The nameless dead of many races, creeds and laws, Miners, whose bodies float in deep black space, and colonists, where some forgot, the environment is hostile, and died of…
An Ambassador Recollects Earth by Jennifer Ruth Jackson
An Ambassador Recollects EarthJennifer Ruth JacksonTravelers,I knew your world, onceI saw your gods paintYour watery sky with theirBackstroke brushstrokesMolecules banging like horny teenagersTo construct your air in a lazy graceI sampled it, forced it into my bodyThe invisible blade of breathTucking it away in…
Entreaty of the Ancient by Jennifer Ruth Jackson
Entreaty of the AncientJennifer Ruth JacksonDescribe it, scribeHow the mountains tasteThe sound the moon makesAs it sees its faceStark, in ocean mirrorsGive me the scent of griefSo I can press it to me,A dead flower preservedTo still resemble lifeReturn memories slickWith new ink of…
Giant Robots Loot the Oort! by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Giant Robots Loot the Oort!David C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall EvansGiant robots loot the Oort Cloud (When not taking time outTo pose for the coversOf science fiction magazinesPublished back in the 1940’s and 50’s)The tabloids say they’ve been snortingComet dustSmearing it on each others’ bodiesExperiencing exotic new A.I….
PRINCESS P, IN A SPIN by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
PRINCESS P, IN A SPINDavid C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall EvansIPrincess P twirls in placeLike one of those ballerinas Impaled upon a postAtop a wind-up music boxShe was a real princessEven if she didn’t have a real namePrincess P tried to laugh it off:The rabbit, the giant…
I Am He As You Are They And We Are All Together by
I Am He As You Are They And We Are All TogetherDavid C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall EvansIn the beginning the word was, I’m told,We all wanted to be a part of something biggerWe sacrificed mobility but gained collective strength,Our numbers covering a great deal of territoryIn…
The Third Planet by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
The Third Planetor, Something Had to be DoneDavid C. Kopaska-MerkelKendall EvansThe blues of seas, the aquamarinesWhite whorls of cloudThe sun-struck tans and brownsOf continents with tailsAnd trailing islandsAs if the Coriolis force affects them too–The third planet: thin-skinned, touchy,Not a particularly good neighbor,Prone to…
Space Opera by Vince Gotera
Space OperaVince Gotera
Superhero by Vince Gotera
SuperheroVince Gotera for KathyTiger Woman loped through green jungle. Hum of insects, bird song, monkey chatter paused as she drew near and passed, though she was quiet as a breeze, a wisp of smoke. That memory filled Tiger…
Dragon’s Teeth by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall Evans
Dragon’s TeethDavid C. Kopaska-Merkel and Kendall EvansOur teeth fell out like seedsThe new children of MedeaCanines:Extinct species resurrecting,White-feathered dinosaurs,Albino Dire Wolves and Deadly ManticoresProwling the arctic’s equatorial islandsIncisors:Our own ancestors,Giant rats,Camels like giraffesBicuspids:Rhinos 11 feet high at the shoulderSabred cats and sharksA chitinous group-mindMolars:Groves…
He Is Your Brother by Wendy Van Camp
He Is Your BrotherA Science Fiction Free VerseWendy Van CampI do not wear chains, but I am a slaveBorn in factory, fathered by sciencetrained to be a fighter in human warsI am declared the ultimate soldierMy Sergeant says look right then to the leftEach…
Who changed YOUR life?
Book Plates available through Richard H. Fay’s Azure Lion Productions Zazzle Store
Anieth features online fantasy graphic novels for YA and up. A.R. Stone has also created cards and prints highlighting European mythology. This site is a must for lovers of ancient Europe, Wiccan, Celtic and Viking lore.
Metastable Systems – speculative poetry from David Kopaska-Merkel. Available in all standard E-book formats
